Author: Mandar
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Read Once, but Giggle Twice
Did you first read the title with the word Google in it. Yeah, that happens, but I’ve got a deal that’s even better than googling and finding a chocolate chip in every bite of your cookie – it’s the “Read Once but Giggle Twice” special! Remember the Bollywood blockbuster of academic escapades starring yours truly…
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Monday Mojo
Picture this: It is Monday morning, pre-COVID times, where we all used to go to office 5 days a week – Yikes! The office is still shrouded in weekend regrets, and the coffee machine is having an intense argument (and ‘heated’ debate) with itself. The weight of weekend indulgences is palpable where the collective groans…
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It’s all relative!
Brrr! Grab your winter coat and buckle up, folks, because here in St. Louis, the chill is real. I mean, really real. And guess what? It’s about to get even colder tomorrow. But hey, no biggie – we’re seasoned pros at this icy game. We religiously tune in to the morning weather forecast like it’s…
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Metamorphic Moments
A 5-part story of ‘growing’ happened within first 48 hours in the land of free! Believe it or not, in just 48 hours (or less), I transformed from a wide-eyed dreamer with aspirations of studying in America into a self-reliant man. Who knew adulthood came with such a swift delivery service? Certainly not the curious…
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Stats, Struggles, and Second Chances
Bollywood Bliss with Statistical Twist – Part 2. If you haven’t read the part 1 yet – please read it here. The story will flow better for you. As the anticipation hung thick in the air, Professor Kelloy, with an air of gravitas, handed back the test results that had the power to redefine our…
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Billboard Wisdom
This is bit of a detour from my personal narratives so far, for a reason. Read on! Blame WordPress for this quick off-the-track post. Haha! Not really. The motivation behind sharing this little excerpt today extends to the cultivation of writing practice fostered by the daily prompts provided by WordPress, especially for the whole month…
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Bollywood Bliss with Statistical Twist
So, I’ve noticed my stories have the temporal agility of a ninja on a trampoline. Chronological order is so last season; I’m all about that time-hop life. From the ’90s to the roaring twenties, my narrative is a rollercoaster with a mind of its own. My last post was about Y2K (Dec 31, 1999) and…
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Y2K, remember anyone?
Launching into the New Year with first week of my blogging journey under my belt, it’s only fitting that I pay homage on this 12/31/2023 – reminiscing about how I navigated the Y2K frenzy during my inaugural New Year’s Eve in 1999 in America. For all you young cats who weren’t rocking the cradle during…
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Day 2, Be a Tiger
Hey there! So, it’s Day 2 of my American adventure, and guess what? Still haven’t given my mom a ring to let her know I made it here in one piece. It’s already halfway through the day. (Do you need to fill in on the crazy first 24+ hours I’ve had so far? Let me…
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Everything will be OK, or will it?
Solitude in an Empty Room: A First Night in America” (if you like to know how my morning and afternoon went – start reading from the Top) The sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows on the bare walls of my new apartment. Exhaustion clung to me like a heavy cloak, a testament to…
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Couch…that thing you sit on.
Well, I am still on Day 1. I promise I will write about something else soon, but Day 1 in America was so jam packed of events that I could never forget that day in my life. (Read Part 1 and Part 2 of my journey as I landed in Greenville and came to Clemson,…
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Getting to Clemson…
Welcome to America, Mandar – Part deux! If you have not read the part 1 – please read that first, to get the full story 🙂 So, I hung up the red phone and went back to my waiting place. I almost avoided talking to the lady out of feeling of embarrassment. Strange yet true.…
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Welcome to America, Mandar – Part 1
On a hot summer day in August of 1999 (Aug 2nd to be precise), I stepped off the plane in Greenville, South Carolina with a mix of excitement and nervousness bubbling within me. 3 long flights, Mumbai to Paris, Paris to Cincinnati and finally, Cincinnati to Greenville, South Carolina inching closer to my final destination,…
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Another year…
As my birthday draws near, it’s that time of the year when I look back at my attempts to maintain a consistent blog, only to realize that my blog’s consistency is as mythical as finding a unicorn in my backyard. Over the years, my blogging journey resembles a rollercoaster ride, full of enthusiasm at the…
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What is Hyphenated-Homestead?
The term “hyphenated” in “Hyphenated Homestead” refers to the use of a hyphen (-) to connect or join two separate words or parts. In this context, it symbolizes the connection between two different cultural identities or heritages. “Homestead” typically refers to a place of residence or dwelling, often associated with a sense of belonging or…
Hyphenated-Homestead 