Got swamp water runnin through my veins
October 25, 2011 at 4:15 pm | Posted in Ramblings, Seen and Scene, Travel Diaries | Leave a commentTags: comparison, experience, job, life, Louisiana, Monroe, swamp
Monroe-bound.
After two and half months of living at home with my parents while job hunting and freelancing for The Gainesville Sun, I finally got some good news. A Gannett paper in Monroe, Louisiana was interested in hiring me as a reporter to cover their city beat.
I didn’t really know what to expect. I’d never even been to Monroe or heard of it before I’d applied for the job. In fact, I’d never been to Louisiana or driven more than three hours anywhere, so the thought of driving more than 11 hours to get to the city I’d soon call my “home” sounded daunting. But Louisiana couldn’t be too much different than Florida in terms of climate, right? Maybe slightly colder in the winter. And from what I’d read of Monroe, it seemed like it might be somewhat like Gainesville too: large medical centers, a university, and a tight-knit community about the size of Gainesville, if you include the nearby towns that are grouped into the Monroe Statistical Area. Gainesville might have a much larger university— an enrollment of 50,000 compared to the University of Louisiana-Monroe’s 8,000— but it would suffice. (Before you ask) It’s about four hours from New Orleans.
What did I know about Louisiana? That perhaps the French I learned since fourth grade could finally come into use after living 21 years in Florida (Parfait!), and that Cajun food probably wouldn’t do me much good. Thankfully, I learned after getting to Monroe that being in Northeast Louisiana, they weren’t huge on Cajun cuisine (phew). To my dismay, no French was spoken either (quel dommage).
I decided to split the trip up, driving north to Atlanta first to visit some friends and to stop at the Hindu Temple to seek blessings before starting the new job. From there, I took I-20 West for…. well, hours, but that initial drive was far from boring. It was exhilarating because I’d never seen Alabama, Mississippi, or Louisiana. Something about driving that far on your own on the freeway is absolutely liberating.
Driving from Atlanta, I passed by Atlanta’s Six Flags theme park and Stone Mountain, past the Talladega Superspeedway, through downtown Birmingham, past Jackson University and Jackson Zoo and across the Mississippi River.
Finally seeing the first sign for Monroe, I got really excited.
It was in that moment that I didn’t care anymore that a few people back in Gainesville raised eyebrows when they learned I’d be moving to Louisiana. Why wasn’t I moving some place more hip like New York City, they asked. Or Boston or Philly? A couple even warned me not to come back with a southern accent (not kidding, though I wish I were).
But moving to what they considered the “deep south” turned out to have its benefits– southern hospitality. Since the moment I got here people have been nothing but welcoming and helpful. My bosses, coworkers, sources and absolute strangers have been so accommodating. All this time I thought Gainesville had been a really warm and friendly community, but I’m glad to learn that Monroe is just the same. I don’t think that’s something I’d get from living in a big, bustling city, but I’ll wait until I move to one to find out for sure.
For now, all I can say is that compared to the swamps of Florida, the bayous of Louisiana aren’t so far off. Some might call this job offer fate.
Crossing the Mississippi River into Louisiana. Vicksburg on one side. Village of Delta on the other.
Too many straws
September 16, 2009 at 1:39 pm | Posted in Ramblings | Leave a commentTags: anxiety, choices, depression, generational differences, quarterlife crisis
My dad wanted me to go to graduate school to make myself more qualified. I, on the other hand, wanted to jump right into the field and get a job.
However, newspaper job openings were/are scarce and I had a journalism professor advising me to use this time of my life to try completely new things like blog about my travels to exotic countries so that I wouldn’t be wasting my time fixating on the fact that I needed to find a job that probably didn’t exist.
That last semester of college, and even the few months after, I became so worried that I’d become a jobless, homeless bum because I had no idea where my life was going.
And I wasn’t the only one going through this “quarter-life crisis.”
Several of my peers and friends just couldn’t decide what their next move would be, and that fear of the unknown seemed to lock them into a standstill of indecision. At 21, we’re finally allowed to make our own choices, but we can’t decide which one to make because we’re afraid it will take us down the wrong path.
The ironic thing is in some cases, the previous generations have been unfortunate because their career tracks, and in some cases, even their life partners were chosen for them, but in some ways I feel like that gave them an advantage: they didn’t have to worry about making the right or wrong choice. They went with the path that was already set for them and they seemed to be pretty successful.
It’s probably also why they reached all the life milestones a lot faster than our generation has been able to.
Our generation has been so spoiled with choices that we actually freeze ourselves in time and we slow down or progress. We get jobs later, we marry later, have kids later….
Alexandra Robbins, in her book, “Conquering Your Quarterlife Crisis: Advice from Twentysomethings Who Have Been There and Survived,” writes that 65% of 2005 college seniors expected to live with their parents after graduation,” and “the average age of marriage has shifted from 21 for women and 23 for men in 1970 to 25 for women and 27 for men.”
I know friends who have decided to take a year off traveling, joining the Peace Corps, or working for Teach for America—which are all admirable and rewarding experiences, but they’re also a way to buy time. Personally, I don’t think I would have had the courage to opt for these alternative tracks, seeing as how I became anxious only after a month of rigorous job-hunting. And of course, another factor here is that competition is so fierce these days that having a regular bachelor’s and master’s degree under your belt isn’t enough. You have to have hands-on experience in the field and a handful of other activities and interests to make out stand out from other applicants in the candidate pool. So in some ways, those who DID end up joining the Peace Corps or traveling may have a leg up over me since they’re going out into the world and actually living. I can’t be sure. Perhaps they had it right.
It’s no wonder that we start getting depressed in our twenties now instead of in our late forties and fifties. Whereas our parents and grandparents didn’t have to become anxious about how their lives were going to turn out but may have ended up regretting their decisions later in life, we become depressed by that fact that we have no idea where we’re headed, only to (hopefully) end up enjoying the experiences we’ve had, since we chose them in the first place.
So I suppose it just depends on what stage of your life you mind being hit with that depression, because at some point, it’s going to get you.
Ready for my tranquilizer
August 7, 2009 at 9:09 am | Posted in At work, Ramblings | Leave a commentTags: Guam, new job, Pacific Daily News
This is my third week working for the Pacific Daily News, a newspaper established in 1944 as the Navy News and then acquired by Gannett in 1971.
For kicks, I will recap the first day for you since it got lost within the scramble to find an apartment and car, set up a bank account, and the general chaos that ensues the first few weeks of a new job.
The Sunday before my first day of work, groggy from jetlag, I fell asleep at 8 p.m. and asked a friend from the U.S. to call and wake me up in a few hours so I could prep for the following morning. I wanted to brain storm some story ideas so I would be ready for my first day, as I was supposed to report to the office at 9 a.m.
When I woke up, the clock glared 11 and I leaped out of bed so quickly that my head started throbbing. “How could I have woken up late??!” I thought, absolutely livid and embarrassed with myself. I had set three alarms and called for reinforcements. I certainly did not imagine my ideal first day traipsing in over two hours late….
Until it dawned on me that I still hadn’t even slept past midnight. I had woken up only 3 hours after passing out, thinking it was 11 the next day.
I didn’t miss work, I made it on time, and the best part about this story is that the exact same thing happened to me again last night, as I worried about missing a deadline. I woke up at 12 midnight thinking it was noon.
So I can officially say I’ve gotten into the groove of the new job and there are more entries to come on life in Guam and at PDN.
Check out my Guam clips at guampdn.com, search for “Amritha Alladi,” or just surf the lifestyle pages.
Deja Vu: Layover in Tokyo
July 17, 2009 at 5:15 pm | Posted in Ramblings | 1 CommentTags: airlines, tourism, travel, travel diaries
Funny thing happened to me on my way to Guam. I almost thought I was traveling to India again.
As I got myself comfortable in the business class upper deck of the 747-400 (one of the last of its breed, since Boeing plans to discontinue the Series 400 model to make way for the series 800) and the plane was taxiing away from the gate, the captain announced that something was wrong with the plane and the flight would be slightly delayed. I didn’t think much of it as I dozed off under the warmth of a thick comforter and the lull of the massage chair.
Until two hours later I was asked to deplane…
My flight was delayed, I miss my connection to Hagatna, and as I type this sitting in the exact same Radisson Hotel where I was stuck just a few months ago, I can only laugh at how familiar this whole scenario is.
Guam: Yes, It’s American
July 14, 2009 at 4:34 pm | Posted in Ramblings | Leave a commentTags: Guam, history, United States
(Flickr photo by showbizsuperstar)
Half the people I talk to are excited that I’ll be moving to Guam to work as a lifestyle and feature reporter for the Pacific Daily News in the next week. The other half are too embarrassed to ask where Guam is because we’re already too far into the conversation that it would be impolite. So I thought I’d use this opportunity to just to make it easier and less awkward for all of us.
Guam is an unincorporated United States territory in the Pacific, south of Japan. It’s the southernmost of the Marianas Islands, and although it’s closer to Asia than it is to the States, I assure you, it’s American land. William McKinley won Guam from Spain after the Spanish-American War and established a naval base there.
They use the dollar. Their phone country code is 1, just like the U.S. They speak English, and another local language, Chamorro. Most of the population is Catholic, because for over three centuries it was under Spanish rule. However, Guam has also played host to a large Japanese population because it fell to Japanese hands in 1941 right after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Even today, Guam is a popular tourist destination for the Japanese because it’s about 1500 miles south of them. In fact the territory’s economy is primarily fed by tourism and military spending.
Their President is Barack Obama, and like each state, they have a governor (Felix Camacho). However, their local government is unicameral instead of the bicameral system we use here in the States. Guam also has a single congressional delegate to represent its interests in Washington D.C., although s/he (currently she: Madeleine Bordallo) is not allowed to vote in Congress.
Guam has a population about the size of Gainesville (appx 150,000), but it’s spread over an island instead of a tight university town.
More answers (and pictures) to your questions once I actually get there.
(Inset Flickr photos by dugspr-in Osaka and UNC-CFC-USFK respectively.)
Dave Gorman’s Googlewhacking: there’s still hope
June 17, 2009 at 5:41 pm | Posted in Ramblings | Leave a commentTags: book, comedian, Dave Gorman, experience, Googlewhacking, novel, travel
I am aware I haven’t been posting lately and I almost felt bad for it, until I realized I have a legitimate excuse: I’ve been busy with job applications and freelance writing.
I think most of my friends and family have reached their limit at hearing my whining at the status of my job applications.
So I took a break today and decided to go back to some GRE studying, since graduate school may be the more realistic option in this job market. I was over at a friend’s place studying when she played a recorded show of British comedian Dave Gorman.
Just as I’d lost faith in my future viability, the story of Dave Gorman’s Googlewhack Adventure lifted my spirits. I was just telling another friend of mine on the phone this morning that I’d like to write a book at some point in my life. I just haven’t had the kind of life-changing or crazy experience to write about yet. But I’m 21. There’s still time.
Dave Gorman set out to write a novel when he turned 31, but a bet by his friend caused him to travel the world in search of Googlewhacks instead, on Random House’s dime. Well, he got his book. It just wasn’t a novel.
I was so inspired and entertained by Gorman’s story/show that I immediately decided to post this for you guys to check out. He toured in 2003, so maybe you’ve seen it already. But I saw it 12 minutes ago, so I thought I’d share one of the few clips available online if you hadn’t.
…..Needless to say, I still haven’t gotten past Princeton Review’s tips on working with exponents and square roots.
Obama’s Notre Dame visit incites student boycott….surprise,surprise?
May 17, 2009 at 4:59 pm | Posted in In the News, Ramblings | 1 CommentTags: abortion, Barack Obama, Catholicism, human rights, Notre-Dame, speech
I was just watching the CNN coverage prior to the Obama commencement speech at Notre Dame. A conversation with a Catholic friend of mine immediately following John King’s interview with graduating senior Emily Toates, made me wonder where the newsworthiness of this issue really lies.
To me, the fact that the Catholic university’s president invited the pro-abortion President to address the graduates is “newer” than the expected protests by Catholic students who see bestowing the honorary degree upon him as a clearly disrespectful. In fact, I was more surprised to find that many Catholics approved Obama’s visit to the university.
Perhaps it makes me closed-minded to assume that students of the primarily Catholic institution would be angered by Obama’s visit. Well it’s not that I assume it. I’m just not surprised by it.
Jis: this girl needs a slap across the face
me: the Catholic girl?
me: I thought she spoke well. but i mean, it’s understandable. I guess you, as a Catholic, have stronger feelings
Jis: The thing she is fighting for…It’s discriminatory, inconsiderate… not very open-minded
me: well obviously. but…for some reason, it doesn’t offend me. i can understand why she feels that way
Jis: well i don’t like it if people like that represent Catholics… and most of them are like that. but I’m not proud to be a Catholic because of people like them
me: true. that makes sense. but perhaps that’s the reason I’m not offended…because (i’m sorry i have to admit this to you) but i kind of expect it. so i understand where she is coming from and i’m like..well duh. she’s obviously against Obama coming to speak at Notre Dame. That’s not to say i think all Catholics feel that way. I know that’s not true. but I’m saying, it’s kind of like if you saw a Hindu and the Hindu was vegetarian…you wouldn’t be surprised. You’d be more surprised seeing a Hindu who eats meat, right? It’s like that. in fact, to me, the news would be if they focused on the group who were EXCITED about Obama’s coming to Notre Dame. or that the president of Notre Dame invited Obama in the first place. that’s news. “dog bites man is not news. man biting dog is news.”
Jis: I just wished some people opened their eyes to the twentieth century and respect other people no matter what their ideologies are. She’s objecting Obama’s visit simply because he’s not Catholic. He doesn’t agree with her beliefs..and that’s okay. But Obama is not even coming there to profess his beliefs. He’s coming there to talk about other goals in life, the American way. Why can’t she just respect him for that and be pleased with having him come over here to speak? likewise, last year the Iranian president came to a forum to speak to a bunch of Harvard students. i think it’s safe to say most Americans do not agree with the policies that leader has implemented. Nevertheless people opened up, listened to what he had to say. There was a lot of interest around him despite the apparent disagreements.
me: ok that’s true. her saying, “he’s going to be talking at us instead of having a dialogue…” You’re right. he’s not going talk about abortion thoughhe’s gonna talk about how to be successful, etc.
Toates sees it as disrespectful, a slap in the face, which according to my Catholic friend, is well-deserved.
Reasons I know I turned into a FOB within just 4 months
May 5, 2009 at 7:44 pm | Posted in Ramblings | 3 CommentsTags: Chennai, comparison, culture, FOB
My friends and family have started to make fun of me now that….
1. I catch myself spelling words like “flavor” with an “ou” before realising–whoops, realizing– that’s not how it’s spelled in America.
2. I find the weather in Gainesville somewhat chilly.
3. I would prefer to lounge around my house in a cotton salwar kameez rather than jeans and a t-shirt.
4. I tell people to send me an SMS if I am unable to pick up my mobile.
5. I fight the urge to start or end all my sentences addressed to superiors or strangers with, “Sir,”
6. I can appreciate “mokkai” jokes.
7. I ask for warm water at restaurants.
(….I’ll add ‘em as I catch ‘em….)
Flying like a Maharani
May 4, 2009 at 10:32 pm | Posted in Ramblings | 1 CommentTags: airlines, flying, Indian Airlines, return journey, service, travel
A week before my departure from Chennai my dad gave me explicit instructions on how to check my bags all the way through to Tampa.
Dearest Amritha,
This is how your bags must be tagged. Please
show this to the Indian Airlines agent.
==============================Destination: Tampa TPANW 648 May 2
via Los Angeles LAX
NW 002 May 2
via Tokyo(Narita) NRT
NW 020 May 2
via Singapore SIN
IC 557 May 1
(from Chennai)
===============
==============================WARNING:
1) Sometimes, agents carelessly put TYO as
the three letter code for Tokyo. TYO stands
for Tokyo’s Haneda airport (old). The three letter
code for Tokyo Narita is NRT. Please check this
when the bags are tagged.2) Sometimes agents carelessly put LOS as the
three letter code for Los Angeles. LOS stands
for Lagos, Nigeria. LAX is the three letter code
for Los Angeles. Please check this when the bags
are tagged.Enjoy your trip.
Appa
Sounds simple enough, but trust me, the airline agents always put up a fuss when it comes time to tag the bags all at once from the first flight.
I’ll admit I was already a little skeptical about traveling Indian Airlines after years of flying Jet Airways, because all I remember from my experiences with Air India and Indian Airlines from trips earlier than the Jet era are delays, long waits, and pretentious stewardesses. I had a feeling this trip back home was going to get off to a bumpy start…..
Well, I’m pleased to say that, Indian Airlines proved me completely wrong.
When I arrived at the check-in counter, sighing with my dad’s notes in hand, the agent looked at me, my tickets and said, “Don’t worry, when you travel Indian Airlines, you don’t have to worry about anything. All smiles.”
Umm. I beg to differ.
But check-in took less than 10 minutes. And to my pleasant surprise they even upgraded me to first class. Sweet.
The in-flight meal? Four choices. Two for veg and non-veg each. I was completely satisfied with my pick of the palak paneer, complete with pilaf, papad, paratha, curd rice, pickle and a chocolatey dessert. I know I usually complain about what India has to offer, but let me tell you, when it comes to food selection and preparation, the Indians have it right. (I hardly ever eat my meals when I fly Northwest).
The flight itself was smooth, comfortable. When I landed I thought, “Ahh, now that was a flight I didn’t even feel go by.” The way it should be.
So this is my formal thank you tribute to Indian Airlines. I commend them for cleaning up their act and delivering true Maharani service, perhaps miles higher than their counterparts.
A.k.a.
April 14, 2009 at 6:05 pm | Posted in Ramblings | Leave a commentTags: alias, also known as, greeting, identity, name, nickname
“Dear Sir/Madam/Mr. X/Ms. Y” our business letters start. We always tread carefully when we’re addressing someone new, until we get the green signal to use their first name.
On Saturday, a professional contact, someone I have seen only twice in my life said, “Ok, bye Amru” as he was getting off the phone. I was taken aback. First, that this almost-stranger took the liberty to give me a “pet name”; next, because he utilized a name only my cousin uses for me; and lastly because even the short form he used was not a very pretty one — just “Amritha” would have sufficed. I didn’t have the chance to retort with an “Excuse me?!” over the phone, but thankfully upon our next meeting, he addressed me normally.
People usually don’t like when their names are mispronounced by first-time acquaintances, etc., yet at the same time, we allow our loved ones to butcher, shuffle, and splice parts of our name to make up a new one, on the pretext that it is an affectionate “pet name.” It made me think of how many times we have to correspond or meet with a person or how deep a relationship must be before we grant people permission to call us something other than what’s on our birth certificate, or go so far as to let them call us something we don’t even like.
So what do we have to think about before we drop the formalities?
1) We are close enough to someone to be using a short form or variation
2) It is not a name that’s already taken by someone who is very close to that person already
3) We can sometimes get away with some ugly pet names if the person likes us enough or we have, without permission, used the name so much that it’s too late for the person to request us to stop its usage, (ex. Srinidhi’s “Amru”, Adam’s “Mrith, or Anjalee’s “Alladi”)
Well, for the record, these greetings are taken, so I’m fine with just Amritha until you and I become closer and you can come up with something clever.
Appa: “Jinkbokbing”, “Bulbul,” (don’t ask)
Gerry: “Hey amrith…”
Thatha: Amrit (intonation: higher note for the second syllable)
Vani: Hey moo moo (I can always sense a smile as she says it over the phone)
Adi: Hey amu! (always upbeat)
Srinidhi: Amru (cringe)
Dhyana: Yo mu
Shagun: Ams
Jis: Amu
Juhi (and subsequently all other people in ISA) : aMMMMrithaaaa
Adam: Mriiiiith (cringe)
Anjalee: “Alladi–er sorry, I know you hate when I call you that,….”
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