2012 to 2069 - The Game of Number

When I pull the curtain of window in bedroom, the white snow has already covered the ground. It was the first snow of the season. We were about to leave for a trip of 2700 miles all the way to New York from Illinois. That was one of my dreams to travel all the way from Midwest to east coast. We left the Carbondale at 6:45 in the morning and passed through the Marion seeing the first car pooled off. As we move further east towards Indianapolis and then Cleveland, we saw couple of wreck. Amazingly we had to fix our watch when we enter the Eastern Time zone.  We decided to stay in Ohio. The other morning, weather was pretty and sky was blue and clear, it looks cunningly beautiful. The Pennsylvania looks endlessly gorgeous with high and low ridges, the terrain looks amazingly unevenly plethora, I felt that was the most beautiful state I ever had visited in US. As we move into the New Jersey, It was already 3:00 PM, the traffic looks restless, giving us the flashback of New York, the headquarter of the world.

The New York looks amazingly beautiful at least in the aesthetic beauty, perhaps the most diverse conglomerate of man kind. The big mansion, the bridges, the crowded peoples didn’t lured and enticed me as it looks recklessly and chaotically fanatic. The scenery from the bridges of New York looks so hilarious and yields us to rethink about the superb civilization of human beings.

From Hoboken New Jersey, We look at the spectacular view of New York City. The other day we took a ferry to Staten Island, perhaps that is the only free things you can expect in the city like NY. New York metros looks so much complicated but I remembered the metro in Beijing in 2007 that looks more horrible and crowded. However, traveling through the metros in the big cities is not appealing as it should be, you will be always leaving the life of uncertainty if you are not a day to day commuter. We saw the financial capital of the world, Wall Street, one of the worst tragedy of human civilization, the bases of demolished twin tower. The city looks very vibe with plethora of diversity and for me, a chaos of uncertainty. The people will gather in the new year-eve celebration in Manhattan.

The other day we went to Co-Co Key water resort in Mt. Laurel, NJ and had one of the best experiences in the life. It was so much fun as we pass through the tunnel.  The Queens looks like a typical Indian city like Banaras where you have to think whether you are in US or not, the diversity in queens and the environment in queens look very uneven than typical cities of the United States. Perhaps, being the land of immigrants and home of hundred of countries, Queens represents the unique perception in New York City. It could be interesting to analyze the dynamics of heterogeneous society for sociologist and cultural anthropologist but for me it was obstructively pathetic.

The day was New Year eve. We decided to go for Dance Party at 42 Route 46 in Wayne, NJ. I was so lucky to win two T-Shirts. That was the great time, the excitement for New Year, the seeds of thoughts, the emotions of present, and the inspiration for the future.

Finally, on the day of New Year 2012, we decided to travel to Atlantic City, the city of casino in the east coast in the beach of Atlantic Ocean. It was really a big co-incident that Pit Bull was in the ocean city, the very day. Atlantic City looks calm in winter but again the city of passion and fashion lures us. Although, it was not a summer time, city looks uniquely blended.

I was so disappointed to see the casinos for the first time in my life,  I  saw how humans are mechanized in front of those tiny machines seamlessly for endless hours , the passion and indulgent of an addiction. I played in casino for the first time, surprisingly; I was not so excited although I won the first game.

Seeing the Atlantic Ocean for the first time was an exhilarating experience. The sand was cold; the wind was chilling but the passion to see the ocean for the first time was euphoric and tranquilizing.

The houses in the beach looks awesome, absolutely peculiar and the sounds that you can hear in the early morning shows the life is same 24 hours a day, the clock keeps on ticking seamlessly. Later we traveled back to Queens and ate in Indian Restaurant, the food was great. The other day we came back seeing the wonderful ridges of Pennsylvania, stayed again in Ohio, finally we were back at Carbondale.  I felt good and excited, to see my home for a year. It was such a wonderful trip for me traveling more than 2700 miles and seeing the natural beauty and the civilization of eastern US.

The school started again, the chilling weather was on the door-way. School makes the life exciting but busy. Amazingly I never realized that I was in the middle of the semester and the spring break is already over. The Tornadoes hit badly in Harrisburg, which was only 50 miles away from Carbondale. I felt sorry for the loss; the Midwest is prone to this catastrophic weather. We never know the other one might be coming anywhere. As the temperature goes off and the spring shows up with beautiful buds and leaves in the plant, I realized that life is moving faster than ever and happy to enjoy the wonderful weather outside. The international cultural show 2012 was memorable experience for me.

Finally I am expecting for the summers very soon as the odd weather become terrible, killing 5 peoples in the Oklahoma Tornadoes; back in Nepal, people have just celebrated New Year 2069 – giving not only the glimpse of 12 hours ahead but a feelings of 57 years ahead!! – Happy new year to all of us, the numerical illusion of 2012 to 2069!!

24*7*365 days – Cocktail of Past, Present, and Future.

The clock ticks seamlessly for 365 days. The beautiful greenery are gone; trees are hibernating for the snow that might precipitate any time. They look insanely naked, utterly natural, and blatantly transparent.The sun loves to hide, most of the time. I didn’t realize that time is moving so intensely yet with subtle experiences, and everlasting spatio-temporal memories, keeping myself in the verge of litmus test.  Nevertheless, the year 2011 has been phenomenal for me.  It’s been exactly a year in Carbondale, and I remember vividly the white snow, when I arrived here last year, the very same day. Paradoxically, the global myth of climate change or the hoax that was always there which has never been noticed before, at least invincible for the penguins marching in the poles, and perhaps, absence of snow in Carbondale. Personally, the military attire is  relinquishing, and fading away faster than ever, hopefully, good things are staying forever.

As we walk around the Carbondale main-street, the downtown of Carbondale, Friday nights seem to be extraordinarily and plethora in enjoyment. The beautiful wind and midnight, PK’s and Fuss ball, Cali’s and the DJ’s, are bitterly enough to get rid of the natural beauty ,and humans encroachment, the dynamics and the vibrant Carbondale, at least on the Friday night.The Cali's has been wonderful place with dance music drumming our minds and  souls , dragging our body  to dance seamlessly.

Other day, we watched the captain America, in school’s theater and figured out that it was one of the worst movies I ever watched. It merely takes the advantage of veterans and inertia of status-quo, molded for commercial ratification, absolutely fusses for me. The temperament of erotic kiss, the notoriously masculine life of soldier was not merely an extreme but coupled with hyped bio-technology that not only pushes this world towards techno-human but inherently degrades the aesthetic value of environment.

I remembered the time in the Bangkok in the year 2004, an art of striping! I remembered the movie Pretty Woman each time when we were in Desoto-the club!, cultural shock again but resembles the beauty of woman shielded into the gas chamber and the thin layer of vacuum that separates an individual with the realm of reality, and makes you feel hyped, take you to the virtual eternal soul, explicitly fenced by the gleaming and smoothing wax, that get excited for the insane rein of masculinity.

The temperature began to drop sharply and we feel the coldness of the winter knocking in the door, making you ready for the cold days ahead. The football game was more than excitement than we were wondering; the participation of Nepalese Team was really encouraging and playing for the first time in a team and in a match was again another personal achievement for me. Also we took a participation in table-tennis completion and as usual ended up with nothing in our hand, but a sense of experience to play any sports in more professional, and structured paradigm.

The other day, I went to Fredrick Town, the small country town in the MO and was trying to portray as a cow-boy for a while, looking at the farm house, and seeing the hay getting ready for the icy-winter. The enjoyment and the fun, was certainly the ballooning of the feelings in early teens when we used to watch the cow-boy movies. It was so much fun to learn horse –ride, knowing little about the saddle and behavior of this wonderful animal, yet it inherently pushes you to start the cow-boy life in rural area, with a  pacifist insignia in a mind. That was one of the most subtle memories of the year 2011. Thanks to the wonderful creatures and who cares them.

Again, We went to east of the Carbondale and watched entire seamless united states as much as we can with our greedy eyes that want to see everything far up to the horizon. It was a flat land yet I could see the some ridges of the small so-called mountains. Being Geography major, it’s a shame to me as I couldn’t locate east or west!

GIS student society was instrumental in starting the different GIS related documentaries and we watched couple of them with Soda and get amused with geo-spatial technologies having huge impact in our daily lives,  technology is changing faster than ever and shaping our life to understand it more vehemently and apply to solve the problems of the all disciplines. Thanks President Amber, for the refreshment and encouragement you showed up to start our club.

Playing Geo-caching was a noble idea for me, Thanks to Nicholas. It was fun when we start to figure out the Geo-cache around our school area and get excited to write the name of GIS society of SIUC in those miniature log books. That was one of the exciting game I played.

The growth of SSA (Secular Student Alliance) at SIUC this year has been instrumental in shaping the secular movement and sharing the secular values to the larger community in the region. From five members to more than 30 members, we are really excited to keep the spirit and momentum of our movement. The death of Hitchens was really a big setback for the entire community and around the globe. Some other day, we attended the in-house concert in the university premises and get indulged into the phantom of music in no-time.

In the outskirts of the Carbondale, neighborhood looks beautiful and amusing, the houses and streets are decorated with lights and garlands, waiting for the snow to come and flush away the bad memories forever , reviving the fresh hopes, expectations, motivations, and initiations,  for the year  2012. The semester is over and the schools looks completely deserted and is keenly waiting to revive its presence in the year 2012. I am excited to travel 3000 miles to feel the New Year in New York and Florida, next week, hopefully my last plan  for the year 2011. Good bye 2011! and  Happy New Year and Holiday to all of you.