Athletically and Artistically Productive Winter

There is plenty of time to relax and I cannot ask for more when I am spending winter in San Antonio.  Days are warm and sunny and the Sun stays with me almost all day long. To prevent myself from getting bored or philosophical and start searching for meaning of life, I have kept myself busy by playing Tennis, soccer and basketball, not to mention books and movies.

Apart from being athletically productive, this winter has also been artistically productive. I have spared some time to sharpen my photography skills and I am still in the process of bettering it. Apart from these, I have also been an almost regular audience for Trinity's basketball matches even though there are no cheerleaders to entertain the audience (during winter). I was unaware that Trinity's women played such good basketball and were among the ten best teams  in Division III.

I also had to make trips to Mexican Consulate in Downtown to get a Mexican visa. I was impressed by the ease of application process and surprised by the fact that a tourist visa for Mexico is valid for multiple entries for five years. I will be going to Mexico with Campus & Community Involvement as part of a service project sponsored through Mexico-Americas-Spain (MAS) program of Trinity University.

Winter at Trinity University

Merry Christmas to all my readers!!

This Christmas season has been unusually merry for me. Grades are out and despite a demanding semester loaded with courses from engineering, maths, sociology, anthropology and media, results exceeded my expectations. Besides that, I am glad that semester is over and there are weeks of holidays ahead. Since my country-Nepal- is on the other end of the world, I've decided to stay at Trinity. Staying at Trinity over Winter is not as boring as people believe.

I decided to explore in the field of arts, a discipline that harbors my weakness, and try my hands on photography. Now that I own a camera, given to me by Trinity University, I took some experimental shots along with my friend Abhishek who is also staying at Trinity. If you want to see what Trinity looks like during Winter, here are some pictures for you.

The above picture reminds me of prospectuses of colleges in the Northwest, that I used to receive in Nepal.

This one is just behind one of the residence halls.

You can see more pictures of Trinity University during Winter 2010 by clicking on the album below.

Trinity Winter 2010

Avatar, the Greatest Movie of this Year

Avatar, the most expensive movie ever made and directed by James Cameron (who also directed Titanic and Terminator 2) has lived up to expectations injected prior to movie release. It is poised to winning several Oscars, for its superior animation and fantastic graphics. It has wowed its audience and people who have watched simply loved it, passing on positive feedback to their circle of friends through updates on Facebook, Twitter and likes.

When I went to watch Avatar, I did not expect a real good story because I had been warned by film critics about absence of a credible, real life story but I did expect to be entertained. Not only were my expectations surpassed, Avatar had a real good story too. I don't know how film critics missed it. That's the downside of being a critic; you have to be critical and criticize every work you judge.

For anyone who is considering watching this movie, it is an absolute "optical candy" as it is claimed. You can expect to see graphical illustrations that will amaze and transport you to the land of Pandora, where everything is exotic, more exotic than the Himalayas, Machu Pichu or Pyramids of Egypt. There are numerous Orientalist  philosophies embedded in the film, especially relating to the life ten foot tall blue creatures living on Pandora live. These blue creatures have a very close knit society and consider every life form, an integral part of Nature and of the infinite. Every living creature is connected to each other, every trees' roots are connected with others' forming an underground dense network that helps create a deep bond.

The fact that this was my first movie with a 3-D experience made it even more special. I considered it worth my bucks and would recommend to anyone who likes going to theatres to watch movies.

Trinity Flash Rave 2010

(Written as part of Official Student Blogger Program for Trinity University).         
       Newest addition to Trinity's Tradition, and by far also the coolest one is Trinity Flash Rave. It started in Spring 2009 and enjoyed popular support of Trinity students. I got to participate in Trinity Flash Rave 2009 (Fall Semester) for the first time in real time and space. At a time when Final Exams are already driving students crazy, this is one event where students voluntarily choose to go crazy over dance numbers in Holy Mecca during Finals- The Library- as library staffs watch with amusement.

                                                      

      Having to miss on sports due to severe cold weather (that San Antonio has been facing since weeks)  and exacerbated by busy Finals Week, there couldn't have been better time for some muscoskeletal movement. While I usually derive fun by watching others dancing, this time I unrestrained myself and simply melted into the crowd. It is one time where you get to see people, who would normally not dance, go absolutely wild. Geeks and party freaks alike, danced under the common banner of "Flash Rave" while live human bodies floated and translated five feet from the ground on strong shoulders of students. And, this was a great break from stressful Final Week. I'm glad Trinity introduced this coolest, newest tradition.

                                                       (Photos by David Leon)

Engineering Christmas Party

Written as part of Official Student Blogger Program for Trinity University.
I don't celebrate Christmas because I am a non-Christian and I don't usually publicize my religious affiliation but my parents are Hindu and I love my parents. But, at every chance I get, I join others to share happiness and eat good food. You got it, it's again about authentic off-campus food.

Contrary to what people like to believe, engineers do take off time solving differential equations to relax and enjoy. Evidence: Christmas Party organized by Engineering Department. And, most of the food was home-cooked, some by professors' wife (makes you realize how much professors care for you) That's unique about a close-knit community of Trinity University.

                                 (Moody Blues singing. From left, Tasha, Trey, Dr. Leifer)

I assisted in setting up the party since I work as an Electrician Shop Assistant for Engineering Department. The food was really good. My plates were full of rice (Basmati) and chicken curry cooked by Dr. Mahbub's wife (Please, accept my thanks). It was a good break from intense pressure that we students are feeling during this Final exam week. And, to add value to the party, Moody Blues (led by Dr. Leifer) recited Christmas songs and an original composition by Caroline that made fun of engineering and engineering professors, in a good way. Everyone laughed and enjoyed.

Winter Jubilee

I wrote this blog-post as part of Official Student Blogger Program for Trinity University.

I love cultural events at Trinity University. There's so much off-campus food, some authentic, others not quite authentic but, off-campus food nonetheless. My attendance and volume of audience at most of these events  depends on advertisement about authenticity of off-campus food. And, if it's Indian food, the crowd just swells.

Trinity Diversity Connection, the umbrella organization for all cultural clubs at Trinity University organized a Winter Jubilee cultural event, the grand cultural event to seal off Fall semester. And, it was great. Several cultural clubs were present and there was an extensive variety of delicacies and cuisines. It's events like these that make me realize how diverse really Trinity is. When I see Indian girls creating beautiful mehndis (heena) designs on other students' palms, it reminds me of large international student body that constitutes more than 10% of student body. 

I ate a lot of food, and ate marsh mellows for the first time, but can't say I would want to try it in future owing to its sticky nature.

Why Humans are Never Satisfied

An excellent comic of why humans are never satisfied. It's very funny and accurate. Should motivate you to reflect on your own lives.

Picure taken from: Fortune Watch.

International Holiday Dinner & Gift Exchange

Again, I wrote this as part of my Official Student Blogger for Trinity University.
        
     Trinity students were treated to exotic cuisines yesterday which included authentic Nepalese style cooked momos, popularly known as dumplings. The program was organized by International Programs office in collaboration with International Club. Students at Trinity come from 57 different countries and there was a representative dish from each one.

      No, I'm kidding. But there were authentic and representative dishes from several countries. It was home-made meal cooked by students, international programs staffs assisted by dining services staffs. I was involved partly in cooking momos which ran out before everyone had a chance for first serve. I'm not kidding. I didn't get to eat a single one since I was busy cooking other dishes in the kitchen while it ran out.

This is Sawan and Paurakh cooking momos.  Photo by: Inessa.

          Also, there was a traditional Christmas style gift exchange which was a good experience for international students who were not previously aware of how Christmas is celebrated in the US. I got a "I love Texas" logo in exchange for my little "statue of liberty" replica. To make exchange more interesting and add some mystery to game, gifts were wrapped which meant one had to choose a gift based purely on instincts, but people tended to use size as their primary choice variable. So, my gift was chosen last. No one noticed, except me.

        In addition, my host family- Roy and Cammy- two great people also were invited for the dinner and we had a very nice conversation with them. It's always nice to have a family here in the US while I am away from my home in Nepal.

Engineers in Action

(This blog was written as part of official student blogger program for Trinity University.)


Have you ever thought of who makes those bridges as you drive across one of them? They are not made in heaven, obviously. First year Engineers at Trinity get a decent exercise in Engineering field by designing a Truss structure, which is simply a fancy word for bridge-like structures.

Trinity Engineers use CAD and force analysis softwares to design and build trusses. The main objective is to build a structure with highest strength to weight ratio. To add a competitive edge, a truss design competition is held among first year Engineers where their structure's maximum strength is tested.

Truss competition is an annual event of Engineering Department that draws a fair number of spectators, who laugh and cheer as structures buckle and eventually break under heavy load. I participated last year (my Freshman year) and my group had won in the lightest structure category. Here are some pictures taken by a First-Year, Mohsin Rahim.