The start of a new chapter

So, it's a been a year and a half since I got back from India, and I'm starting a new exciting part of my life: graduate school.

A short recap: I got back from India in January of 2007, and promptly moved down to Chicago to continue my work for Infosys.  I lived in Evanston, because I was working way out in the northern suburbs, but wanted to be close to the city. It worked out ok, I guess.  I had a lot of fun in Chicago.  But, I knew I didn't want to be working for Infosys forever: I wanted to go back to school.  I applied to a bunch of grad schools, and got into a few, and settled on one: the University of California at Berkeley for Mechanical Engineering.

So that's where I am now.  I flew out here on the 3rd of August, and stayed with my aunt Barbara in Livermore while I looked for a place.  It took me almost two weeks, but I found a place.  I stayed with some family friends in San Francisco for two nights after I left Barbara's before I could move in.

I live at 9th and Channing, in the 2nd floor of a house, with 4 other people.  They are a student whom I haven't yet met, a doctor here for a public health program, a teacher, and the owner, who is a contractor.  They're all nice people, but it's not a very social household.  The common areas are very nice, and my room is big.  I'll probably take photos once my stuff is here.  Speaking of which: since I moved in on the 17th, I have been living with very little.  The vast majority of my belongings are in a container with Door to Door Storage that will arrive on the 30th.  Until then I'm sleeping on an air mattress.

The location I'm at is decent.  The neighborhood isn't great, but it's served by several major bus lines, including one that stops at the building I will be spending most of my time in.  Also, the late-night bus from San Francisco stops very close to me as well.  And, they are all free to ride as I am a student at Berkeley.

I found a teaching assistantship to fund my schooling, and have started looking into joining a lab to do research.  Classes start tomorrow, and between the three classes I'm taking and the TA position, I'm sure this semester will be very hectic.

The group of new Mechanical Engineering grad students looks to be pretty good, very social and outgoing.  I hope to start playing racquetball again pretty soon (once my running shoes and racquet show up).

I guess that's all I have for now.  But hopefully I'll be updating this at least occasionally.