Azeem Azeez

Old-ish

Even though I am only 21, I think I’ve gotten to a point in my life, where I’ve realized that I am old-ish. I think if you ever find yourself saying, “When I was a kid….” or “back in the day…”, it probably means you’re too old to be driving that tricycle. Its amazing when you look at these high school kids, with their odd sense in clothes, their awkwardness etc, you realize that not too long ago, you were exactly in their (ugly, colorful) shoes.

And also, its weird when you watch things like, “Tom and Jerry” or “The Pink Panther” and tell those kids from younger generations that this is what you watched as a kid; they look at you funny mainly since the cartoons I watched compares nothing to their fancy “Pokemon” or “Camp Lazlo” (Of course, there just had to be an elephant on that show, who just happens to be Indian). So yeah, if you ever find yourself going, “I used to fit into these things”, dont worry, we’re all in the same boat.

I miss the Internet

Ah yes, the internet, how I missed you so. Its been one week since I last was able to check emails, and browse the internet. I have safely landed in India, after taking a 32+ hour trip, switching 5 different planes in 4 different countries. Oh it was tiring. Let me tell you, you can never get used to jet-lag, no matter how many times youve done this. You cant sleep at night, but the instant the clock hits 5 p.m. your eyes dont want to stay open.

Our flight from Ohio to London was delayed. So we ended up missing our flight from London, but thank god there was another connection flight. Also, our last domestic flight was delayed since the planes didnt get in on time.

The weather in India is hot and wet. It started raining 2 days ago, and it basically just stopped raining an hour ago. Theres water everywhere, except when you want to drink some.

The Internet here is oh so slow. The internet cafes share one Dial-up connection with 4-6 computers, so checking emails takes an average of 2 hours. Slow internet connections just means more profit for the owners. Sigh.

Keeping busy is so easy here. Between reading books, travelling, meeting friends theres not a whole lot of internet time. But I guess thats considering I cant do all this when I have to go back home and go back to school.

I promise photos soon. Im planning to take atleast a thousand photos before I return, so look out.

Cyber Cafes

One of the most frustrating things about India, is the Internet here. No where around where I live, can you get a decent internet connection. Dial up is standard here, and its not that great either. Cyber Cafes here use a dial up connection shared among 4 or more computers. Making it so slow, that it takes 4 minutes just for the hotmail website to open up.

Sad part is that there is no alternative. Broadband connections are a thing that can be expected in all areas in around 6-8 years, and possibly not anytime sooner. Even then, it would take an additional 2-4 more years till the prices were right enough for people to start using it.

Also, whats even more frustrating, is the equipment that these cafes use. The computers are old enough to end up in a museum. Monitors are 14". And using a computer with speakers will cost you more.

And if you thought that was bad, wait till you hear about the software aspect. Almost every cyber cafe I went to uses Internet Explorer 5.0 on Windows 98. Firefox is not even an option on these old computers. Although, they all come with Netscape 7.2 for some reason. Makes me have second thoughts about not designing for older browsers.

And since there is no other alternative, people are forced to stick with this plan. Hundreds of college going kids have to check emails. And these Cyber cafes are the only option to most of them. I just cant wait to get back to the U.S. and use the T1 connection at work. Im sure its going to take some time to get used to.

Sesame Street

So last night, I watched an episode of Sesame Street after almost seven years!! I cant tell you much Ive missed that show. From The Counts pointy teeth to baby bears tie and from Elmos wierd, yet cute, anitcs to Big Birds droopy eyes, I cant believe this is what I grew up on. I distincly remember watching this show on T.V. and waiting for Big Bird and his gang to teach me something new everytime.

They dont make shows like these anymore.

Googlized

So yesterday, I was in school, waiting in line to buy some books, when I overheard this lady having this conversation with someone on her cell phone, it seemed like a normal conversation, apparently, she had a 2 year old son and one day, she was getting ready to go the doctors with her son, when he couldn’‘’‘t find his little shoe. So she actually said, “So you know Debra, I just “googled” under the couch, and I found it.” After hearing this, I had to shake my head. Did she say…googled? I mean, she actually replaced, “searched” with “googled”.

A lot of people don’‘’‘t realize this, but Google has become such a big part of everybody’‘’‘s lives. Don’‘’‘t know whether a tablespoon is bigger than a teaspoon? Just google it. Who won the NBA in 1994? Google it. How do I power my iPod with gasoline? Well… You could google it. Whether you’re doing research on the Great Wall of China, finding a lawyer, or looking for an image of a Yak, google has answers. It’s one of those things that you use everyday, but never actually appreciate it. Kinda like using a fork or a spoon. My point to this post is to kind of give credit to the little things in life. I don’t mean to go thank your fork or your spoon, but instead, thank Google.

Go Illinois

Illinois is in the finals! The finals is today against North Carolina. I personally think that Illinois has a very good chance of winning this one as well. This is so exciting. Illinois has a victory level of 37-1 throughout this tournament and hopefully after today, it will be 38-1.The last game was unbelievable. 72-57 Victory over Louisville.

Its getting so crazy here. You walk down campus and the color you see is orange. People are getting ready for the game tonight, and almost everyone I know is cutting class just to get ready to watch the game(including the teachers). Orange T-Shirts are on sale on every corner, and Orange water bottles are in everybodys hand.

Funny what a couple of guys running around a ball can make you do.

Old School

This one is from the archives. I was going through some old photos last night, and came across this one. This photo was taken when I was like in 4th grade, and we were doing a class play or something. Yes, I know, a play without costumes? Don’t ask.

But doesn’t that look professional though? I mean 4th graders wearing ties and belts. Can you guess where I am in the picture?

Country Music

Why is country music becoming a genre of music to hate? I mean almost everyone I talk to seems to just hate country music. In fact, hate it even more than they hate pop music. First of all, I realize that I am talking about a small population here, but again, this is a population of college students from Central Illinois, where there is a very diverse population.

I personally have nothing against Country music. I love Willie Nelson, and when I am driving around on long trips, I admit that I switch on the country radio station. I think the reason why there is such a dislike towards country music, is because a lot of people dont know a lot about it. The first thing they think about when someone mentions country music is a singer in tall boots with shiny spurs and a big hat with a background of an old man, sitting on his porch, chewing on a straw, while swaying back and forth on a rocking chair with an old, lazy dog beside him. I mean if you step out of the United States, names like Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw and Dolly Parton are strange. In fact, last year, when I was at the London airport, waiting for another flight, I found only 4-5 country music albums at the music store. And two of them were from the 60s.

Now, as some of the visitors to this site might know, I grew up in another country, and moved to the U.S around 3-4 years ago. Now before then, the only country singer I knew of was Celine Dion, and that was because she was on the Titanic soundtrack (ok, this is a joke, Celine Dion is not a country singer). So when I moved here, I met this one friend, who was just crazy about country music, and to help me with my disability towards country music, she, along with some friends, decided to play some country music for me.

So there we were, lunch time in high school, six of us crammed into a friends car, she popped in a mix cd of country music, and the first song that played was “She thinks my tractors sexy” by Kenny Chesney. Now, I dont know about you, but when the first real country song you hear has the words “sexy” and “tractor” in the same sentence, that surprises you. But eventually I did learn to listen to others like Tim McGraw, Dolly Parton, Reba McIntyre, Alan Jackson and so on.

Also, just browsing through the names of country music singles, brings a smile to my face. For example, “I Play Chicken With The Train” by Cowboy Troy. Makes you curious doenst it? Or how about “My Give A Damn’‘s Busted” by Jo Dee Messina?
Both of those songs are pretty good by the way. And “I Play Chicken With The Train” actually has a rapper on it. That’‘s another topic. Nelly recently made a single called “Over and Over” with Tim McGraw thats a sensational hit. So there is this movement where country singers and rappers are collaborating. Country Rap, interesting.

I think country music is highly entertaining. Nothing else can make you jump up and clap your feet to the floor, as much as country music can. Anyway, if you are running out of music to listen to, pop in a country album. Its not that bad, I promise.