Finally Finished Kungfu Panda

Yeah, there's supposed to be a 27th april and 28th april Page. But I didn't find time to finish what I started on the 27th while waiting by the road side, waiting for the bus to go to Doni's place. It was a nice and sunny day, and I took my small sketchbook with me. I sketched some cars driving by, and wanted to paint them in watercolor style. However, when I got back home on 28th, Corel painter 11 refused to cooperate.

As for drawings from 28th, I was sketching briefly in the Missisauga transit bus, but it was too shaky for me to continue. And I don't feel like posting those drawings. so here's something from the archives, did this during reading week, when I was going to Ohio to visit naniji. There was this really cute kid at the airport dressed in layers of loose clothing. 'very gangsta' I thought to myself. LOL

Anyways, Staying at Doni's was fun. I finished kungfu panda game on his xbox 360, and I guess I might be playing more games more often now. LOL.

April 26th inspiration

Today's inspiration is artist Alberto Ruiz . I have his sketchbook 4 Straight curves. And I decided to attempt at copying the first drawing in the book. His original drawings are pretty big. but I didn't do the full figure. And I am very scared that I don't end up getting slapped with a lawsuit or something. So let me clear this out again, this original design is by Alberto Ruiz, this is just a fan art or something. I'm not making any money off of it, so please leave me be.

April 25

A few weeks ago I was talking to Adam David, an old classmate, and we talked about drawing something for oneself every day during the vacations. And since saturday today was the first day, if I hadn't done this, I would have felt like I gave up even before I tried. Besides, I am getting rid of so much paper lying around my room that I know I won't be able to take with me. So this drawing, after I have scanned it, is going in the garbage. 

The top left guy is the jelly alien character I've had in my mind since sometime in fall 2008. I did so many versions of this, it was almost going to be my portfolio character. But I scrapped it for Frank. Then Monsters vs Aliens movie comes along and B.O.B. played by seth rogen is pretty much exactly what I had drawn so many times before! Uncanny! My inspiration had come from art of wall-E book and Mike from Monster's Inc. But I also draw him with two eyes sometimes..

The other drawings.. Nicole had her friends over. They had a little baby girl and a huge dog. a Boxer.. his name slips my mind right now.. but he was a very adorable friendly little.. no not little.. HUGE dog. The sketches are from memory.

Wow Mickey!

This is all you. Thisblog post hasbeen provoked by: Mickey.


I skipped going to the pub night and the house party downstairs, because I wanted to stay at home tonight. Rest. I had a tiring squash game today; After a break of a few weeks, and I have a class to go to tomorrow.

As I was finishing laundry, Mickey starts chatting with me. And he said something that made me a little furious. But he wasn't wrong. His point: that, I am a good friend when it comes to asking for monery or a place to stay but I'm never there for emotional support.

I recalled all these instances of us both sitting together and talking, both before and after I had been denied admission in Sheridan college animation program. We were at Laurice(the restaurant) or at my place, his place, in the go train, at chapters.. We talked about 'the human condition' in every possible way. At times, both were troubled. More often, it was just Mickey. The Mickey I know, didn't like talking about himself.. He wouldn't even want me to tell my parents I'm hanging out with him, what he's studying, where he's from, etc. (Is Mickey racist or does he think my parents are? LOL j/k) Actually, I can understand that. I've had my own reasons for doing the same thing in the past. I remember having such low self esteem that I didn't want anybody talking about or knowing what I'm doing.

And since mickey has, on more than one occasion, refused to share with me about what's going on with him, I FINALLY picked up on that blatantly obvious hint that he doesn't want to talk and stopped asking him. I just believe in my head that like all those times he was troubled and was talking to me, he'll come and talk to me about things when he's ready. (and I guess he did that today.)

I have never been the motivational speaker that mickey is. Nor the probing psychiatrist like suju. In trying to cheer me up as I was leaving canada in summer 2008, Mickey told me, "you'll come back to Canada." And I did. Suju's thing might have worked on others, but She tried to do that routine on me and it led to irrepreble damage to our relationship.(or so I thought for.. I dunno about 4 days?)

I am the one who never knows what to say. I'd be lying if I claim I have ever said anything profound to Doni when he told me things are not going well relationship or career wise. But I could sense that in just telling those things to someone, he was feeling a little better. And I was feeling better that I'm not the only one on this side of the planet who has things on one's mind. That time, never for one second I thought to myself, "Oh god, shut up I'm not really interested, I just asked because it's the formal thing to do." (That happened when I was talking to someone else on the phone once.) Kinda became a back and forth thing between Doni and I. Next time up, I didn't hesitate to tell him what's bothering me. And he retaliates. This wasn't limited to the sad times. I force him to get off his ass and come play squash sometime, he forces me to come play other times. Like I drag him out of his room in the cold to go to bk. Next time it's his turn to ask me to come to bk, I have to go.

I don't know where I'm going with this. If you do, well and good. If not, let's just say I'm putting it out there. This was just what my mind was musing as I tried to fall asleep...
I had to write this, as I couldn't go to sleep and this thing was going round and round in my head as I lay in bed resting my neck.

So if your decision is to stop talking to me because I don't go "there there"...

..

...

I'm fine with that.

Dreaming about Akola

I came back from college on friday at around 6. I had finished my prints by 2:30 and then submitted my portfolio for re-evaluation. While I was printing the appeal letter, I ran into Jake and Laura. Jake came and talked to me for a while. I was feeling so relieved after I dropped off the portfolio! I wasn't very hungry, but I figured I was going to have to eat sooner or later. So went to Harveys, got poutine from Rajat and ate it outside with Franzi. It was beautiful, sunny and warm today. And even Andrew came outside, talked to us for a bit, then left as he had to get back to work. The weather's gonna be like that for two more days, then it's going to rain and get cooler again.. so they say. As I was walking back home, I ran into katie and we talked along the way.

This has become so common. Me running into at least 4 people I know on my way to and back from school. More than one of who are close/old friends. I feel sad realizing that I might have to go away from here. Let's just say, having even a little time on my hands while my brain isn't occupied with something, does not always lead to a very pleasant result.

whoops! I already lost my train of thought here. So, before I get distracted again, Let's proceed with the real topic. After I got back, I was feeling kinda sleepy. I thought I'd make up for the only 4 hours of sleep I got last night. I just crashed on the bed and dozed off. And I had another dream about me being in Akola. This time, I was with a different bunch of people. One of whom was Jayant; my school buddy who I recently ran into after about 3 years when I was vacationing in India this summer.

It was dark, probably late at night, and we were at a restaurant or cafe having food, just hanging out. When one of them suggests we go drinking. And then we are all having a conversation about what 'bars' we could go to in Akola! LOL. I can imagine what my face would be like if that happened to me for real. I am just trying to imagine what a pub or bar would look like and what the people there will be like. I get a chill down my spine; that's how creepy the image in my head is. haha!

In the dream though, I believe I voted for getting some drinks and heading back home. Anyways. I am sure I was enjoying being among friends rather than family. The last dream about me being in Akola with family and ...

I sure am going to miss these adventures

Mickey Mak:

14:00:35

So this is new adventure for you. Are you gonna miss Canada?

yash gupta:

14:00:52

I was talking to friends about coming back to canada for christmas.

yash gupta:

14:00:55

:)

yash gupta:

14:01:18

I didn't tell you about the adventures we had out in the snowstorm!

yash gupta:

14:01:25

or did I?

Mickey Mak:

14:01:36

I don't think so

yash gupta:

14:03:29

okay, let me introduce the characters...

yash gupta:

14:04:21

one indonesian guy by the name Doni leemrijse. you can call him Donnie.

yash gupta:

14:04:38

and skinny Indian dude called Yash.

Mickey Mak:

14:04:40

lol

Mickey Mak:

14:04:49

SUPER LOL

yash gupta:

14:05:41

they are good friends, they help each other out, play squash together, go to BK, etc.

yash gupta:

14:06:53

so one friday evening, Doni calls up Yash and goes, "Hey, let's go to Toronto. I want to go to bestbuy to purchase an Xbox 360 and a HDTV."

yash gupta:

14:07:25

Yash says, "No man, there's a snowstorm outside."

yash gupta:

14:08:16

Doni says, "we just have to get in the bus, take the go train to Union, walk through the PATH to eaton center, get the stuff, and come back. No snow, No cold."

yash gupta:

14:08:29

"I'm not so sure about it." Yash says.

yash gupta:

14:08:52

Doni convinces him anyways.

yash gupta:

14:09:25

but a little while later, he calls Yash and goes, "Hey, I checked on the website, there are no more Xboxes in Toronto!"

yash gupta:

14:09:36

you see, it was almost christmas time.

Mickey Mak:

14:10:21

lol

yash gupta:

14:10:24

"New plan!" he proposes.. "We take the 24 bus to missisauga and get it from the bestbuy on Winston Churchill. They have it in stock there!"

yash gupta:

14:12:19

Yash still not convinced, Doni bribes him with Sushi. "we can go to bestbuy, then eat sushi at the buffet restaurant. I'll pay for both of us." Yash unwittingly agrees. (no way he could resist Sushi!) They get dressed in their warmest winter attire and take the 24 bus, get to winston churchill, and begin their march towards bestbuy.

yash gupta:

14:13:48

As we knock our shoes on the mats inside best buy to get the snow off our shoes, I notice my jeans cuff has frozen stiff!

yash gupta:

14:14:05

well, it was a little amusing.

Mickey Mak:

14:14:35

lol

yash gupta:

14:14:47

Doni as usual, takes forever to decide whether he wants to buy the xbox arcade or 'ultimate' or whatever it was.

yash gupta:

14:14:56

arcade vs ultimate

yash gupta:

14:15:15

using his iphone to compare and contrast the features/drawbacks..

yash gupta:

14:15:56

then he considers if he can stretch his budget to get a large LCD display...

yash gupta:

14:16:25

and after about an hour and a half or so.. as the weather has worsened..

yash gupta:

14:17:05

he finalizes his purchasse, and we walk out. Fuck that Xbox was heavy!

yash gupta:

14:17:15

and the box of the TV awkwardly wide!

yash gupta:

14:18:15

The distance from the bestbuy to the sushi restaurant, seemed 10 times as long while walking in knee deep snow with these boxes in our hands while dressed to look like pilsbury doughboy and Michellin tyre man!

yash gupta:

14:18:52

they stumble, pause, switch, many times over

Mickey Mak:

14:19:15

lol

yash gupta:

14:20:15

constantly motivating each other. "Come on man, it's only less than a hundred thousand centimeters more!

yash gupta:

14:21:17

Realizing Doni was much slower, and Yash was more succeptible to the cold, he walked fast, walked ahead and got to the sushi restaurant first

Mickey Mak:

14:21:19

lol

yash gupta:

14:21:47

he put the tv down, and remembered the promise he made to his friend, "I'll be back for you!"

yash gupta:

14:22:23

Yash took few deep breaths, wiped his nose and walked out oh so bravely!

yash gupta:

14:22:43

Reached Doni, and offered help. They had both almost made it!

yash gupta:

14:23:07

The walk of misery was over, and a warm soup and some delicious sushi awaited them

Mickey Mak:

14:23:16

lol

yash gupta:

14:25:34

After eating their reward feast, they decided they will need the help of a majestic and heavy metal contraption capable of pushing forward through all this snow at great speed, driven by an Immigrant who most probably speaks broken english, while we both sit comfortably in the magically heated interior of the beast.

Mickey Mak:

14:26:09

lol

Mickey Mak:

14:26:14

exploiter!

yash gupta:

14:26:31

so they called a cab. Which would seem was the easy part.. but the wait on hold was getting more excruciating with each passing second!

yash gupta:

14:26:49

both tried different companies with their respecive cellphones.

yash gupta:

14:27:10

and when finally we got through, it was like god had answered our prayers

yash gupta:

14:27:17

...if there was a god at all!

yash gupta:

14:27:57

because the cab was here, and we had to walk out in the cold hell, carrying the boxes to the cab as it couldn't come any closer to the door because of the snow.

yash gupta:

14:28:53

and again, we were relieved.. though only momentarily! because after the cab got us to sheridan college, we had to drag our asses all the way to the res, and into Doni's room!

yash gupta:

14:29:22

did I mention i was christmas, and the res was as busy as a graveyard at midnight?

Mickey Mak:

14:29:52

What!

Mickey Mak:

14:29:59

lol

yash gupta:

14:30:21

Yash actually dragged the tv box on the floor with the last bit of energy he had.

yash gupta:

14:31:17

and then, when it was time to open the boxes and install it, suddenly, they were as ecited and refreshed as kids on chistmas morning!

yash gupta:

14:31:28

such a happy moment!

yash gupta:

14:31:35

RUINED!

yash gupta:

14:31:51

by the traitor who said "Yash you can't be here in the res man."

yash gupta:

14:32:01

"FUCK!"

yash gupta:

14:32:13

the end.

yash gupta:

14:32:37

gotta go now.

I Have Never Gotten a Scholarship in my life

Before now, that is. I was so happy to get an email from Julie, the International Admissions Counselor at SCAD. She is a very nice lady, and one of the reasons to go there, would be to meet her in person and thank her for helping me out with the admission process. I still remember when I sent her an email I was supposed to send to a classmate here, and I accidentally typed the wrong email address and pressed send. Realized what mistake I had made at 2:30 am in the night and immediately sent her an email apologizing for the mixup. And she was really nice about it. I was so relieved.

So, When I first read the email from her, I called up Arpan, then Sachin. I was so excited, I wanted to talk to everybody! I called up Natansh and doni, but didn't get to talk to them. I also tried anju mausi... I missed her birthday 4 days ago on 27th march.. (happy bilated birthday mausi) but there was some problem again. I didn't bother to go and paint as I just felt like celebrating! I met Franziska in the learning commons and we decided to go eat something in the cafeteria. It was a nice sunny day.

After that, as I was heading home, I met Sachin, talked to him in person about the scholarship and the rest of the admission process. He asks, "तू खुश है ना?" I just smiled and said, "बहुत.." That is, until I ended up talking to Sujata. I don't say it's her fault. But as she scratched the surface, asking me all these questions, it dawned on me that it's only 11 % of the fees of 2009-2010 Parents would still be paying $24k in tuition. Well, atleast for those one and a half hours, I was truly happy. Even though my parents aren't saying anything about it, (I told dad to tell mom, but she didn't find out until the next morning, at which point, I wasn't available to talk to her on skype.. so I talked to her the day after that.) I emailed SCAD back and asked if there were other opportunities for financial help. And Julie let me know that there was another scholarship I could apply for. I am going to get on it asap.

Today I got the letter from SCAD in mail. I was running late for college so I put it in my bag as I left. After the printmaking class, I went to the learning commons, and met Sachin. Asked him to open it up and read. Their letter head is really sweet. SCAD  written on the top in silver ink. I read that they will get back to me about my artistic honors scholarship in two weeks, and that I was awarded Academic Honors Scholarship for a gpa of above 3.0 I have only ever gotten a D in History of western Art, in fall 2007, which brought my GPA for the term down to 2.85

Another 'fine print' was that I would only get 70% of the scholarship if I was not living on campus housing. I don't know how I feel about that. But I am still happy that I have a shot at artistic honors scholarship also. All my friends are really excited about the news, and we are looking for an opportunity to party. As soon as we are not as busy anymore.