Get Me A Reindeer!!

I am not a Christian and I have nothing to do with Christmas and Santa Claus... but like Santa I do love the reindeers. It all began when I saw a picture of a little ethnic Sami boy riding a reindeer somewhere in Norwegian Arctic. Then I read about other people in Tundra and Arctic Circle especially people in Siberia and their association with the reindeer.

 

According to popular belief Santa Claus lives in the North Pole and rides a sleigh ridden by seven reindeers. I ain't greedy but since I don't have a ride and know you can ride a reindeer, for last 3 years I have been writing to Santa Claus if he could get me a reindeer. But so far, all negative... haven't heard from him yet. I don't know whether he was too busy or he never received my mail.

 

I didn't believed that Santa actually fulfilled people's wishes until today when on the eve of Christmas Justin Bieber announced his retirement. Yes, some dreams/wishes do come true. I hope even mine will come true this year. But if it doesn;t... I have decided, may be I have to make a trip to the Arctic be it Alaska, Greenland, Svalbard, Lapland or anywhere around to get myself a green-ride.

 

Post script: I won't be surprised if Santa actually sent me a reindeer via USPS and they lost it in transit. They do it just too often. On the other side, I strongly wish that Santa lives in Alaska and I can make a trip to go see him... but then, who needs Santa Claus when you are friends with Oelklaus?  

I Wish To Dream Again

Even with my eyes wide open
I can imagine you doing all the things I do
Strange? But I believe it is possible
When anyone has a crush on someone like you!

I dreamt about you first time, last morning
Wondered for a while if that was true
Tried hard to go back and fall asleep
With a hope that if I can be with you!

I am worried if my feelings will evaporate
And worried if I will get to see you ever
For all the time I was with you
I wished I could live in the moment forever!

It's about time for me to leave now
Not sure what awaits: sun, snow or rain
Whatever it be, I will face it with smile
If and only... I wish to dream again!

Friday the 13th!

Officially the last day of the semester or should I say the last day of my grad-school. I had a paper due for my Energy Economics and Policy class and had nothing to do after Monday when one of my other paper was due... but what did I do? Nothing! I told you, I am lazy and there is no motivation doing things on time when you have already graduated and still have papers due!

 

But now I am done, finally. Friday the 13th is considered to be unlucky day, right? Maybe it was... I am done with school. I will miss it. I actually got a ride to Denver for tonight... packed all my luggage, didn't know I still had this much stuff! I called it off thinking it would be too much. So, not being able to go to see my sister and niece, that's bad as well. And... I didn't see the 'Awesome Alaskan' today or yesterday... meaning the last time I saw her was 11/12/13... But I will remember the day and of course the fancy earring that she was sporting!

So, today is my last night in Laramie. After so many visits to Denver in between it feels kind of awkward when I think I don't have to come back here anymore. I will be gone once and forever... but I will be back sometimes soon. I promise. And I hope I will be missed!

Goodbye and good night Laradise!

Hello Goodbye!

I had never heard that Beatles song ever before until I heard the rendition by Gwen Stefani from No Doubt at Kennedy Center to honor Sir Paul McCartney. And lately I have been listening it quiet often... along with some Celtic drums and bagpipes... the second obviously has a very good reason behind it!

So after one year, three months, twenty days and a degree later, the day has eventually come when I have to leave this place. Time to say Goodbye! If you had asked me if I would like to come back to this place back in October, I would have probably replied I would better love to go to Iraq or Afghanistan than return here... but then God has different ways of changing one's heart. That is what happened with me as well. Laradise Regained! I am thankful to God for that.

I don't know how I survived the strong winds, snowfall, negative temperature or overall the hostile environment... I don't know. When I look at the pile of snow outside which has been there for a week, I wonder that happened last year as well, right? This place is no where close to paradise if you keep that in account... but maybe it is the warmth of the people, their affection that actually makes Laramie, "Laradise". 

There are people I have met who actually don't have anything good to say about people here... maybe if you had asked me similar questions in October, I would have responded in similar line... not as positive as they are now... but, maybe I was lucky to come across only the good hearted people. Or maybe I have changed and by now only look for the positives in the people... maybe. I do know few people whom I don't like much... the kind of people you feel like throwing brick at... but for all the love and affection that I have received from people over here... I forgive them all.

Post Script: I will miss those "Hi's" for sure!

11/12/13 Again!

If you have been following my blog lately, you must have realized what is my favorite topic to write about! Ahem ahem! So, Sunday last I actually got congratulated for graduating with a pat on my shoulder! Could I have imagined that? Could it get any better? I don't know! 

Lately I know this guy from Gabon who likes to talk a lot.. a LOT! His name is Christian and he is kind of funny. He doesn't remember my name so calls me 'Nepal'. I even handed him my MBA business card, he was so surprised when he saw that... he actually kept it in his wallet. Every time he sees me, he goes on and on... There are lots of Nepalese girls after me, do you think I am ugly... and all random stuffs... he even sang a song for me... that was hilarious.

So coming to the point, I was just talking to the 'Alaskan' and he pops up. Even though he doesn't know her, he goes on, "Do you know this guy, he is from Nepal!". She says, "Yes I do. We are friends." Then he goes on, "Do you think he is awesome?" I was wondering inside, what are you asking dude? You crazy? She says, "He is a nice guy." To avoid it getting awkward, I look at her responding in sign gesture that he is insane. She smiles, as she always do!

We talk about finals again. She doesn't have finals but two papers, one due on Wednesday and another on Friday. I believe the paper due today (Wednesday) is the same one she was working on when I met her in the library last week. I say how weird it is that even though I have graduated, I still have paper due on Friday. She agrees. I wish her Good Luck and she leaves.

Christian pops up again and goes on... "Is she your girlfriend?" After a brief pause, I reply - " I wish!" I don't know if I meant that but we both erupted in laughter after that reply! I don't think I have any complaints about what he asked though, even though it was awkward... kind of but it went straight to the pages of memories that I will always cherish!

Wyoming Poem

It's winter in Wyoming
And the gentle breezes blow
Seventy miles an hour
At twenty five below.
Oh, how I love Wyoming
When the snow is up to your butt.
You take a breath of winter
And your nose gets frozen shut.
Yes, the weather here is wonderful
So I guess I'll hang around.
I could never leave Wyoming
'cuz I'm frozen to the ground.
-Anonymous

Done With Grad-school!

One year, three months and fifteen days! That's how long it took me to get my MBA. That's a long time, I think... but a fast-track considering the degree which usually takes about two years. Whatever it be, I am done with school for now.

 

There are people here mostly Nepalese who have never seen me before and they ask me if I just came this August or so. I used to tell them I came last August and I will be done in December. Then they used to follow up with another question, "Are you exchange/transfer student?" Hah, no! I don't have to answer those questions any more. This MBA is one of the major write off from my bucket list!

Did I say that they announced my name wrong when I walked down the stage to receive my degree? Ah, whatever. Interestingly I am the first international student to get an MBA from University of Wyoming. Hope they will remember me for that. And I am grateful to them for having this wonderful bunch of people as my classmates, my friends. I don't usually forget anything... but even if I was forgetful, I wouldn't have forgotten them... I mean how can anyone forget friends like these?

 

Post script: I am not sure when I will go to school again or what I plan to study next if I eventually decide to... maybe Finance, Economics or even International Relations... I got no clue as of today... but for a while I am a free man. My brother always said, once you are done with your MBA study something that you like to, that you are interested in... I hope I can find something soon. I am thankful to my family and friends for being able to make it here today! Dhanyabaad! Thank you God!

Rewarded For Being Lazy!

Chosen By The God!

There is a thing about me that I don;t like, I am so damn lazy at times! Lazy as if no one can beat me for being so... I would have too much stuffs to do and still I will end up doing everything else, wasting my time besides what I am supposed to do! For hour and hour. I am someone who will do a work for like 10 minutes and treat myself with an hour long break!

So, I had my finals this week... lots of stuffs to do, assignments, presentations, exams and what not? Had a five day break last week for Thanksgiving, and since I don;t celebrate it, I had plans to get most of my stuffs done! On first day, I thought "Oh! I have still four days to go, I can finish my stuffs easily!", I did nothing that day but went to Thanksgiving potluck with my classmates. Had a wonderful time. The next day? I went to Cheyenne for Thanksgiving at my friends' place. Had wonderful time again!

Asked my other friends if they had started doing their stuffs? Most of them had hardly started... I felt better. Thought maybe I will start writing my papers on Saturday like most of my other friends. I hardly got anything started until the fourth day! Wasted most of my Sunday as well doing nothing... but then wait! I had one paper due next morning... now I have no more excuses... so I head to the library... and start writing my paper at 8:00 pm on the last day of my five-day long holiday break! Worked till late, went home early morning... made it before deadline, luckily!

Then I had another 10-15 page research paper due on Friday, today. I decide to start it on Tuesday as I had most of my research done. Went to the library at 8:00 pm as if that was normal for the finals week... just edited the researched data here and there... got nothing done even though I stayed there till early next morning! Sounds pathetic? Wait there is more.

I decide to go and finish my paper Wednesday night. Kept on postponing the time I will start writing the paper. I decide to stay at the library all night. Oh, did I tell you how hard it is to find a computer during the dead week? You should consider yourself lucky, and lucky I was. Rather than starting to write my paper, I helped a friend write her HTML codes which I did for a week or so years ago! Surprised that I still remembered some of that. But the thing is, I hardly got my paper started, even though I stayed there almost all night and went home early morning as if now it was normal. That sounds too much.

Book & Bean ... and Memories!

So here it is a day before the deadline, I now seriously decide to finish my paper and get it done anyhow! I start early, earlier by my standard!, at 5:00 pm on Thursday... took a break once in a while... but by this time I had few other stuffs to worry as well, the presentation for the paper that I was working on and exam for my Financial Trading class. I finally get my rough draft ready around 1:00 am! Bingo! And tell you what? I was rewarded for that accomplishment, at least that is what I think.

After working for so long, once I got my rough draft ready, I wanted to stretch for a while. "Oh maybe I need to go get drink some water", I said to myself. So as I told you, when you have to study, you feel like doing everything else but study. On my way to drink some water I see a friend outside Books and Bean... Ok, I will go talk to her for a while, I thought after she saw me and waved. We talked for a while, she is like "Oh! You are graduating this Saturday. You won;t be around? I will miss you." Not bragging, but I have heard that from too many people in this last few weeks! And as I am talking with her, I look around and whom do I see? Alaska, Alaska! And she was looking at me! Oh My! And we greet each other and smile. I talked to my friend for sometime and after a while she left.

Do you call it emotional stability or what but even though I get very excited whenever I see her, I act as if I am normal. So I decide to go talk to her. She said she was there since like 9:00 pm working on her paper and I saw her just now! Damn bwoy! I must have been working seriously on my paper, otherwise how could I have missed it!? How? We talk about the finals week... I tell her how lazy I am when it comes to doing assignments and how my final week was going so far. And then she asks me, "Are you coming back next semester?" I reply, "No. I will be done tomorrow and I am graduating this Saturday."... She lays her right arm on the table, and puts her head over it, smiling as ever and looking my way, she says, "I have just known you for a while, and you are leaving!?!"... Oh bwoy! I could have died there and then... was I dreaming? Of course not even though I was kind of sleep deprived during the week. I reply with a smile, "I will be around, down in Denver."

After a while, eventhough I wished to talk to her all night long, acting normal I get back to finish my paper and let her finish her's. I didn't see her leaving but probably she was there till 3:00 am or so... So, I get my paper and presentation slides done. Decide to go home and study for exam. It's 4:00 am now... dozed off while I was studying... it was hard to stay awake. But I think that's normal when you have not slept for over almost a day, right?

Finally, I am done with everything. Graduating tomorrow. But doesn't it sound weird when you are graduating tomorrow and still have two papers due for the week after? I think it is. It is snowing like crazy in Laradise and it is -31 Celcius. I hope my sister and niece can make it here tomorrow with some family friends for graduation. God, you listening to me? I hope it won;t snow anymore, at least till tomorrow. I want them here!

Post script: I will probably remember Laramie for warm memories than this cold weather though. Now it feels like these 16 months passed too fast! And a part of me feels that I will be back here, sometimes, someday!