Fury of the Phoenix

Aragog

My H1 B Visa interview

I really do not know the need of penning these interview experiences. But hope its helps some innocent lives :) This one was almost same like the last interview :) However the documents here were different. Not to forget the 2 day interview process was a lil' pain but no worries.. its all fine as along as you answer to point with a smile.

Please know what documents you carry. They are capable of asking anything, and it shouldn't be odd if you are searching for it. So please memorize it. I had labelled them to be safe. :) 

We stayed at Crystal Residency, with a wonderful view of the consulate from the roof. I remember my husband telling me to hurry up seeing the crowd :)

Day 1: Finger-printing @ Chennai Consulate

A wait in a long long queue is a must. This queue was not well managed :( Passport, DS 160 confirmation letter and the appointment letter are verified at the entrance. You need to enter into a huge building and go to the next floor. A small door on the right leads to a small room, where your passports, documents are once again verified by smart men at the counter and you are given a token. Now you enter into a big room and when your number on the token is called out, you need to go to one the windows. Here the finger printing process happens and you are sent out. You are asked for a feedback too on this entire process. I gave a satisfactory :) While my husband gave a poor :) :) All this was about 15 minutes work here. 

Day 2: Interview @ Chennai Consulate

Show the appointment letter and the passport at the entrance. Do not have any closed envelopes with you, they will send you out, ask you to remove it and then you need to iterate the process again. They give you a token, which will lead you to a counter where they ask your basic documents and for god knows what reason they took my fingerprints again here. Here, i feel is where they decide most of it.

We then proceed to the other building for the interview. I did see 4 rejections. They were all from consultancies. Basically, they couldn't answer well and to point. So they were rejected. My interview went well.

I: Hi
Me: Hi
I: hows your day so far?
Me: So far so good. how about yours?
I: Where do you work
Me: (told)
I: Do you have a clients location.
Me: No. I work at the head office in ..
I: Where did you do your masters
Me: (told)
I: My day has been pretty rough. But glad to meet you. Your visa is approved!
Me: thank you so much. Good day!!

All the best readers!!

You can see my other iterviews as well here: F1 Visa interview & H1B Visa interview & H4 Visa interview. 

Boston Dragon

H1B Visa proces

Hmmm... as usual penning out the process i followed. My interview experience can be found here.

The company usually applies for your H1B. And they give you a packet which has all the documents needed for applying. As per my knowledge these are the ones i had with me. Please refer to respective consulate websites for more information.

Mandatory for Application and Interview:

1. Passport
2. DS 160 confirmation page (Photo & barcode are important)
3. Fee payment receipt.
4. Interview appointment letter.
5. I-797.
6. Photographs

For the interview:

• Resume
• All Documents submitted to USCIS
• Offer letter \ Employment Contract
• Tax returns statements.
• Labor Certificate
• Proof of residence (Lease documents)
• Last 3 bank statements
• Last 3 pay stubs.
• Company document which contains the details of your company

You need to fill the DS 160 here and submit it:  https://ceac.state.gov/GENNIV
This site was really helpful in filling the DS 160. You can fill the appointment date here. This process is all easy and smooth if you have the documents required.

I noticed that the process to apply for H1B renewal is also the same as above. All the best. 

VML & GG 2012

Gowri Ganesha Sept22 2012

Varamahalakshmi Jul 26 2012

Getting close to Myself again!!

6 months tada...!! All due credits to my parents and sister-in-law, with out whom i would have been a clumsy cribbing housewife!! Anyways here i am, meeting so many new people, living with roommates, paying and managing all bills by myself.. not bad right..! Life teaches a lot! Now the journey around the globe has been worth it !! Glad things are smooth! :) touchwood!!

I stay here in Framingham which is 30 minutes from Boston. Its a part of greater Boston are which consists of about 203 towns. Best part is i'm away from all the hustle bustle of a city but i get to enjoy it with just a 30 minute ride.  This also gives us so many places to visit. Ummm.... everytime he came here we made it a point to do some activity. White mountains, Martha's vineyard, Blue Hills hiking. Trust me, I have been to boston just once. Without MM it feels pointless to go out.  So basically i don't roam much. But moving to boston has been the best thing that has happened to me in USA. Getting really close to myself again.  :) 

ATT is benefitting a lot from me because of the innumerable calls i make. Watsapp and Viber are getting me close to my family and friends again. Family time and friends time is never an issue. My grandma asked me if me and Mr hubby talk at-least once in 3/4 days and i told i told her i call him 3/4 times a day. Have just got too used to him.  Missing him has become an integral part of my day.Give basic updates about day, ask if he ate (which he always answers with a Sub), bug him a lil', make plans as to when to meet next blah blah. I would never ever advice staying apart to couples who have lived together for some time. Its a whole new void in each's life, especially in US where you don't even have your family with you.

There are sooo many Indian restaurants nearby :))). A temple 15 minutes from home. A touch of home food now and then and visit to temple keeps me happy here. There are so many indians in this area. And hence lot of options and facilities for indians. There's indian grocery available and so now attempting to cook with new vegetables. Actually the ghar-foodie (MM) would have been super happy here! Fresh vegetables! :)

Living with roommates is indeed fun. Not fun as in fun but its a different experience. Glad i have great roomies. We cook together sometimes, chat and gossip endlessly but equally respect each others space and privacy. I have heard people in East coast are little arrogant than the west, but by personal experience Boston is more welcoming than New York. I can somehow relate my current life to my life in bangalore and thats one of the reasons i like being here.

Work is all fine but gets very hectic and unexplainable sometimes but learning to cope that also. More over i had my final semester project to submit. So till April had many things on mind. This is my first full fledged job, so theres a lot of things to learn. Basically lot of non-technical things to learn. But its all going good so far and has been a pleasurable experience too. Having parents here was one of the other awesome things that happened to me here. We four had good time but it would be great if they could  have stayed here for more days. Fun seeing dad house arrested :)

Lots of things yet to happen, lot of problems yet to be solved, lot of decisions yet to be taken.  Staying together is one of the highest priorities but nothing seems to work out at all. Hmmm.. Time's the answer for everything. Hoping for the best :)

Candle sketch!

Happy frenship day all!! Esp to my dearest frens... who have been ther always for me. :)

Fruits

 New experiment :)

Didn get the fig right!! So chucked it!! :)

P.S: i am <3in it!!! :)

Fruit bowl

Timeless Beauty

Sketching is fun :) Got a new sketch book for myself....!! 

SHE

SHE .......

a daughter, a sister, a grand-daughter, a niece, a cousin and a friend. A colleague and a student. A young girl and a grown woman. I am confident and scared, terrified and excited. I am loving and caring and thoughtful and hopeful. I am sick and tired. I am shy and friendly and careful and careless. I am broken and whole. I am misunderstood, miguided and mislead. I am hardworking and determined, but a little scared on the inside. I wish on stars and dream my dreams. I pray to God and cry my tears. I smile on the ouside while im hurting on the inside. I listen to others who wont listen to me. I walk on eggshells and i walk on fire. I believe in passion and true love. I am everything and nothing all at once.

Case "Bee"

"The first 15 years, my father had never seen an honey bee. In his mid teenage this new interest sprung in him. The house he stayed in & currently the one he stays in are the same; the one at the end of this tree-lined dead end street. Neighbors here were very ignorant about beekeeping and protested at the beginning, but later realized how docile these creatures were. He was a very good apiarist. There was no doubt in that at all. " said Tom Dyre sobbing.

Jim Dyre's death had occurred today morning. There was no one to blame, no one suspicious. But yet it was a little strange. Jimmy was into apiculture since years and he used to directly feed them without any protective clothing. How could the bee's sting him to death only today? This could be dismissed of as an ordinary case of death by natural reasons, but Tom insisted on investigation. A local investigation officer offered to help him for a low fare on this. Molly was her name. She was pretty novice in experience but was smart. She had handled few cases with outstanding smartness, but had her share of miscalculations, wrong approaches too.

It was a warm welcome for Molly. Jane was a little sober but the fragrance of the house was enriching. Jane had a great taste in choosing potpourri. There was one in every corner of the house, and when all these flavors combined, the aroma felt great. Molly's senses were basking in this fragrant land when she noticed Tom's elder son Mike who stood at a distance. He rarely interacted with family and never spoke much to strangers. "Poor boy! He hasn't recovered from his grandfather's death yet.", said Jane. Molly expressed her views to talk with each member of the family. No one sulked upfront but they were not for this investigation. One by one proceeded to meet Molly!

Molly made her own notes.. she scribbled on for an entire evening.

The investigation revealed nothing. Only few of the facts collected seemed to matter. Money might have been the reason, thought Molly. Jim had won a $10000 lottery and had not yet told anyone how he was planning to use them. But $10000, was not a great sum to murder someone. Another one, 3 days before was his birthday and the small party organized by his wife and family was pleasant to everyone's eyes. Everyone showered him with gifts Nothing suspicious at all! Molly was on the verge of dismissing this case but then she decided to think over it again.

"Something's fishy. No story can be so perfect. Some one is definitely up to something." she thought. "May be not!" she sighed!!  She introduced herself as Maria's friend and spoke to few friends of Jim. A few cribbed about the monsters humming around and stinging their guests and few mentioned about the  delicious honey Jim used to share with them.

"Could you give me the best book on bee's?" "Sure ma'am, right away.. you want to try apiculture? my books will definitely help you.  Can you sign here..." Bee's were the ones left to be investigated here and now they weren't spared too. Interesting creatures... she began to enjoy the book.. how they behave.. what they feed on and most importantly why they attack on people.  Few possibilities showed up..  few instances sprung up.. and she suddenly felt everything pointing to one person. But WHY ?

"Hey Tom, Case solved.  The cause of death is Perfume. Jim used the new perfume Jane gifted him for his birthday. The bee's didn't seem comfortable with that and stung him. Well now, If this was intentional or not... is none of my business...!!"

Baby Krishna

I planned to draw a cute chubby boy baby, hidden under the mink actually!! All of a sudden, i remembered that cute kid who played the role of Krishna in some soap aired by the Zee/Sony.  And.. bingo... i converted it to Baby Krishna...!! :) Yeah.. its not bad i guess!! I like it..! Found it cute! Few colleagues liked and appreciated it too! So did my Roomie!! :)

Baby Krishna

Lemme know if u like it!!

Friendship

Those innocent days spent together with a few, more than special
Memories of good, funny, bad and few nearly forgotten

The unknowing bond communicating through all times
the group hugs, lorry rides, long walks, loud chats

Completing the puzzle of Friendship with get-aways
Murugmalla & Pondi which will always be cherished by our minds

I know, alone I could only smile & enjoy,
but never could laugh & celebrate..... !!

Cheers!!
- Shruthi

The mighty mace champ!

The mace champion, elephant rider, best cook, Draupadi's favorite who else can it be apart from Bhima.

It is said that Bheema, Duryodhana, Keechaka, Jarasandha and Hidimbasura were born in the same cosmic phase. It was also said that one among these five will kill the rest of them too. Bhima was the first to kill Himdimbasura and eventually slays everyone else. His encounter with Dhuryodhana is known by all, the epic Mahabharath is all about it, but those with the others is less known. The thigh of Dhuryodhana became his weak point and hence he was killed. That was a lovely plot. The other stories too have really interesting plots. Perhaps, many of them don't even know about it. A small attempt to fill in those stories.. again of course told by grandma. Hmm.. some day may be my kid might google these and read them and appreciate me for taking this effort.(',') I don't exactly remember the cause for the fight between Bhima and Jarasandha. But I do know the details of the fight, from a movie i watched :)

Encounter with Hidimbasura:

In their exile, Pandavas lived in many villages . One night, when Bhima was on guard, 2 demon siblings named Hidimba and Hidimbi came in search of food. They smelt human flesh and saw all these brothers with their mother Kunthi sleeping. The hungry Hidimba asked his sister to bring loads of fresh human meat to satisfy his hunger. Hidimbi proceeded to the camp site and while deciding whom to kill first, her eyes fell on Bhima. His gigantic personality attracted her towards him. She came back and told her brother that she would not kill him as she loved him and wanted to marry him. Then Hidimba, disregarding her words, came there to kill them and eat them, but the mighty Bhima fought him and killed him. By then the other Pandavas and Kunti also woke up and were surprised to see a demon killed and lying there. Hidimbi requested Kunti to accept her for Bhima. Kunti accepted her on Bhima's consent.

Encounter with Keechaka :

During their 13th year of exile, a period which they had to pass unrecognized, they chose to stay disguised in the kingdom of Virata. Yudhistra, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakul and Sahadev were disguised as Royal Adviser, a cook, a eunuch dance teacher, the shepherd and cattle-caretaker respectively in this kingdom. Draupadi was called Sairandhri/Malini, the care taker of the Queen. Keechaka was the Queen's brother, who was also the commander in chief of the army. He surpassed the king Virata in all qualities and hence was dominant and bullying as well. His eyes one day fell on Malini and lusted for her. He expressed his desire for Malini to the Queen, but she denied saying that she was a Pathivrata and such a thought also would be considered a sin. But he vowed to destroy her husband's kingdom and hence she sent Malini to his chamber without telling her his intention.

While Malini was serving the wine, Keechaka embraced Malini and tried to kiss her. Malini cried and pushed him and escaped from him. The next day in the throne room, she was once again humiliated amidst an assembly full of courtiers, the King including her disguised husband Yudhishtira, neither of whom could bring themselves to react because Keechaka wielded so much power within the kingdom. Seething from the public insult, Draupadi confronted all her husbands who hung their head in shame and yet showed no signs of help. They resented to reveal their identities, which if they did, they had to go on exile for another 13 years. It was Bhima, who consoled her and agreed to solve her problem. He told her to invite Keechaka to her chamber room and leave the rest to him. When Keechaka arrived in the room, he saw, much to his pleasure, what he thought was a sleeping Malini. As Keechaka advanced forward, however, the person who he thought to be Malini revealed himself as Bhima, who proceeded to brutally kill Keechaka. This was indication to the Kauravas that Bhima and the other Pandavas were in this very kingdom and hence Dhuryodhana attacked the Virata's after this to search for all the five brothers.


Encounter with Jarasandha :

Bhima and  Jarasandha fought for many days, may be almost a month, but still Jarasandha was undefeatable. His name meant "joined by Jara". Apparently in the past, a king gave half fruit, given and blessed by a holy sage to have a son, to each of his two wives, . Each wife gave birth to only half of a human body. A demon named Jara, happened to unite them to eat it and unknowingly the child got its life and came into existence.

Bhima did not know how to defeat Jarasandha. Every time he killed Jarasandha and threw the bodies, they would merge and come back to life. Every attempt to kill him was futile. Bhima was on the verge of quitting when he resorted to Lord Krishna. Krishna, from distance made a signal to catch Bhima's attention. He then, took a stick, broke it into two and threw the left piece on right side and the right piece on the left side. Bhima precisely followed the same. Now, when he killed Jarasandha's body into two, he threw them in opposite directions. The two pieces of the body could no more unite and thus was the end to Jarasandha.

P.S :No wonder "Chota Bhim"'s TRP is amazingly high. My nephew has all cd's of it!! :)

Insane Me

There are some days when I think magic doesn't exists. Everything that happened was all a fantasy. When this thought creeps in, I fall into a deep black pit with the only thought being that . . . . This is life.. I chose it! Nothing is special, nothing is magical, and there's no way I'll ever be more than just any other idiot cribbing in US of A.

I am hopeless, reckless and lost.... tripping and tumbling through internal chaos i AM making a sincere attempt to find myself, the old me, the idiot me, the insane but sweet gal in me. This shall pass, things shall change and i will be back may be with a bang.

Careless words make people love us a little less. Patience is really a most important virtue. This too shall pass is the best answer to all questions. Be yourself, there will be people who like the real you. Don't care about the rest. Give the right things happening in your life a chance. Worry will not strip tomorrow of its burdens, it will strip today of its joy. Cry if you need to, it’s healthy to shed your tears. Forgiveness is not saying, “What you did to me is okay.”  It is saying, “I’m not going to let what you did to me ruin my happiness forever.”  Thank God for what you have and for all the wonderful people around you supporting you. Every single thing that has ever happened in your life is preparing you for a moment that is yet to come.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.