What a night!

This night was the culmination of Nidhi’s and mine holiday, living with Udit and Randip at their Long Island apartment.

Nidhi had been on our back for a few weeks now that she really wanted to check out Lexicon. We could put it on hold for sometime, but, eventually, we caved in.

Being an ardent fan of going out and checking out new places, I didn’t mind joining Nidhi, Udit, and other friends to this night of adventure and cheer for one of the most memorable nights of my life.

The plan was to catch a subway from Long Island to NYC. Meet a few people at the nearby club. Hang out a little bit, before heading to Lexicon. Have some fun at Lexicon and then head back to Long Island in the early morning.

The plan was well and the only question was the execution & I was glad that we didn’t disappoint ourselves.

We left Long Island in time. It was a weekend, so we knew it would be rush hour, everyone trying to get to NYC to have a weekend getaway. The journey to NYC was a fun one. We reached the metro station and while awaiting for the metro arrive, we thought it would be a good idea to get six cans of beer while riding the metro to NYC. It turned out to be a good idea as we not only chugged all those beer cans, but had fun doing that.
Before this day, I didn’t know we were allowed to drink inside a metro.
We had a lot of fun during this short journey, setting our moods correctly for the night that was unraveling before our eyes.

The next stop was a high end pub at the heart of the NYC. We had to wait at least 10-15 minutes to get inside this pub, as it was a rush hour. Even after waiting for such a long time, we made sure to keep the conversation going with each other, as we were meeting a few of other friends here for the first time. You can imagine we had a lot to talk about.

The pub was at the top of a skyscraper, giving us beautiful views of the city that never sleeps. My friend Udit told me while leaving for NYC to get a small whiskey flask and fill it up with some booze, so that we don’t have to pay a lot when we start drinking at these pubs. I got his point and it was an amazing tip. I filled my flask with some Jack Daniels and that’s what we drank the most throughout the night. Unfortunately, it wasn’t sufficient for everyone and we had to order extra drinks after a couple rounds.

The view from this pub was amazing. We had the entire viewing area to ourselves and we made sure we click many pictures of the evening. We had a great company too, so there was nothing to worry about.
This was one of those evenings when a small town boy within me was overwhelmed looking at the magnificence of NYC. Growing up in Patansaongi, I had a simple life. I used to play cricket with my childhood buddies and used to heat home food. Studying hard was the only way to progress in life. After years of hard work of toil from both myself and my parents, I could enjoy these moments and was simply overwhelmed because (frankly) it was too much to comprehend that I was *actually* living that moment.
This sweet realization made me go quiet a little bit and was enjoying the cool breeze on that Saturday evening, surrounded by my friends.

After spending more than an hour here, it was time to head to Lexicon, which was our actual attraction of the night. By this time in the evening, I think, most of us were a little more drunk than being sober.
Once we got to Lexicon, we stood in line to get inside. Nidhi had this brilliant idea of checking with the bouncer who was standing at the entrance, as she saw mostly guys lining up for the entry. As soon as that bouncer saw Nidhi, he told her to go inside, resulting us to tag along with her. This was again a moment that I was living that I had only seen in movies before. This night was turning out to be an awesome one!

NOTHING. I repeat, NOTHING would have prepared me to brace what I was going to witness when I stepped inside Lexicon. I knew Nidhi told me that they play Bollywood songs, but I didn’t know that they played *only* Bollywood songs. The Bollywood buff in me (back then, I was a huge Bollywood fan) got so happy to listen to the famous Bollywood numbers and seeing hundreds of people rocking the dance floor, I didn’t know where to begin.

We got a spot to sit somewhere. Once we got acquainted to the atmosphere, it was time to hit the dance floor. Man, it was crazy. I never saw so many Indian people rocking the dance floor. The guys were were trying to impress the girls that they brought here and the girls were trying to impress the boys with their latke zatke.
I saw so many people making out, so many guys trying to seduce girls, sometimes many boys on a single girl. It was fun to see all that with your friends, and passing comments while doing so. This is what was missing from my life in Hartford – being careless, and not at all arduous with my behavior, to let loose and don’t worry about anything.

I was happy that I was part of it and my friends are the one of the reasons this night stands out as a memorable one. We danced, drank, and danced some more. There were countless Bollywood songs blazing in the background and our legs didn’t know when to stop. There were around 5-6 people in our group, so everyone was going to the bar and get some drinks for either themselves or for the group. When it was my turn, I went for the shots and got some shots for Nidhi and Udit too. After having those shots, we got some extra energy to rock on some more Bollywood numbers.

When we were tired, we came out of the steamy Lexicon floor to the outside to enjoy some smoke. It gave us enough energy to go inside one more time and enjoy one more hour of music as it was about to close at 4AM.

We made sure we stayed till the end, as it was worth it. In the middle of all this, I am having a hard time to remember whether we actually consumed any food or not. It is still blurry for me and not sure if I will be able to remember it.

We bade goodbyes to our other friends when Lexicon shut down. We caught an uber to the metro station and were on our way back to Lexicon. Man, that ride back to Lexicon was so much fun.
Nidhi and I were singing constantly under the influence of Alcohol and it was Udit’s responsibility to take care of us and make sure we don’t do anything stupid. The biggest surprise to me was that even though we were constantly singing at 5AM, nobody sooshed us. That was one of the first instances that I witnessed how a free country looks and feels like. We sang so many explicit Hindi songs and had a blast doing it.
Our friend, Randip, was kind enough to pick us up from the metro station.

It was amazing night. So amazing that writing about it brought countless chuckles to my face. I am smiling! I think this was the last time Nidhi and I hung out together!
Thanks for the lovely memories. Grateful!

Next stop – some family time at the Rocky Neck State Park, Connecticut.

During this point in my life, I was just chilling with my friends, in between semesters at UConn. I was done with Fall 2016 and Spring 2017 semesters. I wasn’t intending for any internship, so I was just waiting for Summer 2017 to commence and finish, so that I can be done with my MSBAPM degree and head to the next stage in my life. Simple plan!

The month of May happened to fall between Spring 2017 and Summer 2017, so the only thing that I could do was to chill with Nidhi and other UConn buddies, as Shlok left Connecticut a few days ago. That’s when Nidhi & I decided to visit our friends, Udit and Randip, who were living in Long Island during this point.

As none of us knew how to drive, we took a bus from Hartford to NYC. From NYC, we took a subway to reach my friends’ place. It was a nice feeling to spend a few days out on the road, with friends like family, and let loose a little bit.
When you prepare to come to the US for studies, they don’t tell you about how stressful it can get if you don’t land a job in time. Though I was in no hurry to land a job, still the thought of being a graduate student and still not have landed a job haunted me, so I knew I needed to take it seriously.
But, there was definitely some time to let loose and have some fun, so I nodded yes to Nidhi when she suggested to visit Udit & Randip during one of the weekends. I was excited to these trips and having known both of them for some time now, knew that I would definitely have a good time, to recharge my batteries.

For this evening, we decided to explore the Long Island Downtown. Our definition of exploring a Downtown area has evolved over time. When we were driving through the streets of Downtown, we found it hard to get a parking spot in the area. As it was a Friday evening, everyone were out for obvious reasons, so after spending almost 10 minutes, we finally found a spot which was decently close to the Downtown area. It gave us both peace of mind and relief to finally carry on with the Friday night feelings.

The area was full of people, like every Downtown area is. The crowd here, though, was somewhat different. There were so many people that we had to line up outside every restaurant and pub that we wanted to go in. Though I loved going to these places, the constant lines and wait was a little annoying. That’s when I was missing pubs in Hartford, where I didn’t need to stand in line and used to have some fun as well.

We were exploring different pubs to “feel the vibes”. The atmosphere was great. The energy was on par and the people were awesome.
I made sure I annoy Nidhi a little bit amid all the “bar hopping” scenes just like Shlok used to, to soothe her and cheer her up. Sometimes it used to work, sometimes I used to fall flat, but, I used to have fun!

After drinking I don’t know how many beers, we finally had some food and it was around midnight when we headed home. It was during this time, I developed my love for Chicken Wings. Having explored key places in the West Coast, my go to food used to be Chicken Wings and beer. I used to savor every moment of it, and trust me, I am salivating just writing about it! GOOD OLD DAYS!!!

Check out the pictures.

Next stop – Lexicon, NYC.

What an evening!

For starters, to avoid any confusion, this was not a farewell for me or for anyone. A little backstory might help, so here it goes.

One of our professors at UConn, Dr. Ram Gopal, was kind enough to offer us an extra set of lectures on Statistics when the rest of our UConn buddies were busy with their internships and were not available for in-person classes at UConn’s Hartford campus. I didn’t apply for internship as I wanted to graduate earlier than normal batch and start working and earning to support my family. I know it was a risk, but it was a calculated risk and didn’t seem a bad decision to me.

Anyway, this evening was a culmination of all the extra classes that we were attending. I am not sure what we learned during the last class, but at the end of the class, he invited every one of us (roughly 20 students) to join him at the brewery where he invited us the last time – Citysteam brewery. We were jubilant to join him and spend more time with him discussing about various things and the future prospects once we graduate from UConn.

As we were only 10-12 people, we got a table easily and that’s when we started chugging some beer and talking whatever was in our mind (& by we, I meant me). By this time, I was a little “pro” when it came to drinks now, so when the professor asked around what we would like to have, I went ahead and told a pitcher of dirty blonde would be nice. Along with the dirty blonde, the professor ordered one more pitcher of some other beer, which I don’t remember now.

We started chugging glasses of beer and there were a couple of us who were not into beer, so the professor made sure they order a drink of their choice. Everyone started talking to each other and professor and started sharing their stories, their plans after the graduation and what not.
This is where I wanted to seize the opportunity to have some “future” discussion with the professor. I mentioned my ambition of pursuing a Ph.D. degree, to which the professor was nothing but supportive. Having mentioned my desire to pursue highest level of education, I made sure to mention that I do have a family to support and three sisters to marry off. Having come from the similar background, the professor grew a little serious in his tone and mentioned that if I could commit 5 years of my time to him at Hartford, it would be easier for me to purse a part-time Ph.D. degree at UConn itself.

That’s when I realized that the idea of part-time Ph.D. degree never crossed my mind. This short five minute discussion was something I needed really bad to figure out a way to realize my ultimate dream – “having a Dr. before my name”.
The reason I came to the US was to unlock the better life and better opportunities. Ever since I knew how the education system of this world works, I knew I would like to get a Ph.D. degree and then call it a day (as far as my formal education is concerned).
I was glad that I got this chance to talk to the professor and sought his advice about my plan for higher education. Ever since that day, this discussion has been with me and I go back to this day whenever I feel like taking that next step in my life.

Anyway, as the evening progressed, we drank more and I was feeling a little dizzy with the effect of a few glasses of beer. I was enjoying and my fellow batchmates were enjoying me talking to them. That’s when we clicked so many photos with everyone, thinking that this might be the last time we see each other, which was true, sadly!

At the end of the evening, we hugged the professor and each other and bade goodbyes. On the way to my apartment, I picked a subway sandwich as I was not in mood to cook dinner. It was enough to call it a night.

Memorable day and good people!

Next stop – exploring New York state, Long Island in particular.

Well, to start things off with this post, Shlok did leave Hartford, for good!

He graduated a couple days ago, we celebrated a day after his graduation, so it was fitting that he would fly to his next destination, which was Bay Area in search of his next adventure. It was too soon to be true, but it was happening and we were happy for him.

But, before that, let us back up to a night before his departure.

This night, it was all about celebrating the hard work and sacrifices that Shlok and Nidhi made for the last couple of years, let loose a little bit, and have fun. That’s all!

To celebrate their graduation, we decided to head to West Hartford Downtown and we had been here on numerous occasion for dinners and stuff. It was a perfect location to let loose, especially because it was away from Hartford Downtown and not a lot of familiar faces around. This place was filled with so many pubs, bars, restaurants, and things to check out.
To celebrate today’s evening, we decided to head to World of Beer. It was the first time I was going to head to WoB and as the name indicated, was hoping to taste some delicious beer here. Back then, I was a newbie back then, so (as always) was relying on my friends to recommend me something that I would like, as they knew my taste buds.

As we took our seats and settled in, everyone started ordering stuff. I, on the other hand, was still contemplating about what to order. That’s when one of our UConn seniors passed by and recommended trying Hefeweizen. First of all, I was hearing that name for the first time, so I had to make sure I am hearing the word right. After I got the word right, I googled what it was and what to expect if I went ahead with the order, and frankly, not to make a fool of myself.

I took his suggestion and order a tall glass of Hefeweizen for myself. When I took that first sip, I didn’t realize how good and tasty the drink was. I was overjoyed to finally found the beer which I found to be suitable for my taste. If you know me, you would know that I am a very choosy person, and I take my time to “like” something, so it was evident that I immediately liked the taste of Hefeweizen and gulped the entire glass within no time.
I order a plateful of chicken wings along with a couple of beers for the evening.

Our seats were in a perfect spot. We were surrounded by so many UConn students i.e. huskies that I got to meet almost everyone from my seniors’ batch. I made small talks with many of them and clinking my drinks with them.
The evening was filled with talking about many things, almost everything of which I am not able to recollect right now, but, we made sure to let Shlok know that we were not happy with him leaving this early and made him feel bad about it (but in a good sport)!

We made it home in the wee hours of the night and before I knew it, fell asleep!

So many memories made in the last couple of months, so many more things and places to explore! Stay tuned!

What an awesome day! This day was more special because we spent the last evening at Nidhi’s place, rejuvenating all memories of UConn days.
The excitement to this day multifolded when a couple of our UConn seniors joined us to celebrate Nidhi and Shlok’s graduation day. It feels funny to call them seniors, they were more like friends to us and family away from family.

The day started off with us getting ready to head to UConn’s Storrs campus, where the graduation ceremony was scheduled to take place. Shlok and Nidhi headed before us as they had to take care of the formalities, since they were the ones graduating.
I was accompanied by my friends, Pravin, Udit, and Randip. I was waiting for them downstairs my apartment and the journey to Storrs began when they picked me up.

As soon as we reached the UConn Storrs campus, I am sure Udit and Randip might have gotten some refreshing memories as it had been no more than a year for them graduating the same institute. After we parked our car, it was time to click countless pictures before heading inside the Gampel Pavilion where most of the UConn indoor games are played and that’s where the graduation ceremony was held.

It was hard for us to get a good seat to ease our lives clicking photos of the ceremony. We had to call Nidhi to make sure we see her as the ceremony time was getting closer. Once we located her and Shlok, it was time to sit back, relax, click pictures, and have fun, basically!

When they announced that the UConn MBA graduates are next in line, we all stood in our seats as we didn’t want to miss a single moment.
It was Shlok who was called before Nidhi for the graduation ceremony. I am sure he must have felt proud and happy at the same moment to get recognition for the hard work that he put in for the last couple of years. I was wondering how I would feel when I will graduate and be a part of the ceremony next year. It gave me goosebumps.

After a few minutes, it was Nidhi’s turn and we were screaming her name so that she could see us and pose for a picture. The thing is, there are thousands of people in the pavilion and it becomes a little hard for anyone to hear the person next to them, but, still, Nidhi could hear us and posed for a quick picture. She was looking radiant and visibly happy, working for the last couple of years for this day. It must have been an amazing feeling for her.

The graduation ceremony was soon over for the rest of their classmates and everyone started gathering outside the pavilion to pose for the last few pictures and create memories and spend some time with their loved ones. Everyone gathered outside the School of Business building and then started the next wave of graduation pictures. I also clicked many pictures and sort of became a part of their celebration.

Once we exhausted all the energy to take picture, we were hungry and wanted to eat something & what was a better place than the pizza place in the campus itself. We devoured the pizza in no time and headed home to doze some steam off, as it had been a long day already.

Truly a memorable day, especially for Nidhi and Shlok!

Next stop – post graduation bar hopping and my accidental meet with the tastiest beer I ever had!