Just for the record, 2008-1!

Vejigante masks( Puerto Rico)

It is almost February, 2009 but today I am here to write down things that happened to me in 2008, not unforgettable memories, but just that I do not want to forget these memories.

I was in Atlanta last last year for new year's eve , just back from my California trip in December , studying for my qualifiers in the first week of 2008. For new year's eve I went with a couple of my friends to watch the 'peach drop' something similar to the 'crystal drop' in New York , but missed it barely by a minute. Anyways, after the qualifiers, semester started , as usual with its rigor. The only interesting thing / something that I was looking forward in the spring semester was the trip to Puerto Rico, a hub of pharmaceutical industries, as a part of a course called ' Drug development, design, and delivery. Of course, the course was secondary. Though I should confess that in due time, I fell in love with this course and now 'think' that I will enjoy researching on drug delivery. Now lets get back to the main story, the Puerto Rico trip. PR is an exotic , warm place to be in, especially during winter. My stay was filled with pharmaceutical plant trips , Mofongos (a tropical mashed banana dish) and Mojitos. Oh, did I mention that we took a tour of the bacardi plant, which is another highlight of the trip besides biokayaking. We went bioluminescient kayaking , treaded on pebbled streets of the old city of San Juan where in every house is in a different shade and saw the majestic fort, mesmerised by green canopy of trails, misty cloudy sky of El Yunque tropical rainforest.

Tropical Rainforest: El Yunque

National Historic Site: Old fort of San JuanOld City of San Juan

I also went to Savannah, an old quiet, quaint historic city , in the South Georgia , as a part of another course. This city is by the waters and is really old which is beautiful in a different way. It also has some civil-war history attributed to it. Besides, a stroll by the waters in a busy street full of cute old shops, I saw lovely horse carriages, beautiful parks, old walls with graffiti. Apparently, the scene from the movie 'Forrest Gump' on 'Life is a box of chocolates, ..." was shot in Savannah. Savannah is also known as the ghost city or is well known for obbs. Unfortunately or fortunately I did not encounter any. Oh, I had gone to Savannah to visit a paper mill, by the way.

This marked the end of my happening spring semester and there comes summer which is filled with more travel accounts which I shall hopefully document tomorrow.

What does happiness mean to you

I finally finished watching this movie called "Into the Wild".
Loved every bit of it and cried my heart out at the end. Brilliant Direction, Picturisation, Acting, and Music. And that this movie is based on the true story of Christopher Johnson Mcandless,
left me overwhelmed and speechless.

So, the protagonist of the movie, Christopher grows weary of the materialistic world and selfish human beings that surround him and added to that , he has had an abusive childhood with his parents always bickering.

Out of weariness, HE shuns the society, wanders into the wild, sails down the Colorado river to Grand Canyon, kayaks to Mexico, stays with hippies in Arizona , and, finally braves the great Alaskan adventure, all in the pursuit of happiness by growing closer to nature. He hitch hikes in nature , lives like the ancient human beings without any modern conveniences and money. He loves it thoroughly and finds some happiness in it.

He rediscovers happiness during the course of stay in Alaska. While he is in Alaska, he reads an excerpt from Leo Tolstoy's Essay on Family Happiness:

“I have lived through much, and now I think I have found what is needed for happiness. A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is easy to do good, and who are not accustomed to have it done to them; then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one’s neighbor — such is my idea of happiness. And then, on the top of all that, you for a mate, and children perhaps — what more can the heart of man desire?”

After reading the last lines Chris smiles and decides to go back. Having lived many experiences in his lifetime , after having gained the wordly wisdom , he finally intends to return . It is the spring time and the ice caps have melted , thereby the heavy flow of river makes it impossible for him to cross. He is trapped in the wild nature and dies of starvation/indigestion caused by consuming wild flowers. Before dying he etches onto the wood, "Happiness is only real when shared" and sheds a tear in his helplessness ?

A tragic unexpected ending.
I was hoping that someone finds him in ill-condition and rescue him.

Anyways, this movie got me into thinking about my idea of Happiness.

Some find happiness in family,
Some in their work,
Most in money and fame,
A very few in service of less fortunate people,
And extremely few, in nature.

I am yet to discover mine .

Life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.---The Gift of the Magi

"Romance is the privilege of the rich, not the profession of the
unemployed. The poor should be practical and prosaic."-------The model millionaire