Skip to main content

The curse is lifted

It seems like a fairytale. And the worst part is, I cannot fully feel that it is over now. Yes, the AGRE is over and well, it went better than I expected it to be. It feels nice to be back. And the best part is that I have two things to tell you: one a bit of my gyaan and the other is well, just somthing which you might like.

I have been pondering over something while I was not blogging, and that is, what is it exactly which I miss. To see as a pure machine, I can see that I saved myself some very important time, and also some keystrokes. But I am human, and so I am prepared to spend much time and energy on keystrokes just to blog... because at the end of the day it is my diary. When I ponder over things, I sometimes come to conclusions. And I want to record these thoughts here... you just never know when you think of what. Also, as Abhinav puts it here, you cannot make the baby pee just by asking it to. It just happens, and I am told that when a baby wants to pee, you better let it do, or else you-know-what. So in my case, or even in others' cases as well, I believe that we miss blogging because we too want to let off our thoughts once in a while. A self-imposed exile from blogging therefore is like asking the baby to hold until you reach home... only that you are the parent and the child at once here.

Ok, after the gyaan, the fireworks. I am sure many of you know that we PhD applicants (or even other MS or MBA applicants) need to write a statement of purpose (SoP) that tells the admissions committee the other side of our personality beyond academics. Here is one SoP that I am sure will keep you jumping on your chair for sometime:

This is an actual essay written by a college applicant. The author, Hugh Gallagher, was admitted to NYU. Or so the legend goes .
*******************************************************
In order for the admissions staff of our college to get to know you, the applicant, better, we ask that you answer the following question: Are there any significant experiences you have had, or accomplishments you have realized, that have helped to define you as a person?

I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently. Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row.
I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook Thirty-Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.
Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Mets, I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When I'm bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.
I am an abstract artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless bookie. Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy evening wear. I don't perspire. I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. I have been caller number nine and have won the weekend passes. Last summer, I toured New Jersey with a traveling centrifugal-force demonstration. I bat .400. My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international botany circles. Children trust me.
I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read Paradise Lost, Moby d_, and David Copperfield in one day and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket. I have performed several covert operations for the CIA. I sleep once a week; when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair.
While on vacation in Canada, I successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. The laws of physics do not apply to me. I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my bills are all paid. On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago, I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four course meals using only a mouli and a toaster oven. I breed prizewinning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin. I
have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis.

I am sure I can show you more of my skills if I reach there.

*******************************************************
So howzzat?

Comments

  1. jeez....man my SOP seems so real compared to this...
    I bet this guys gonna get his admit..coz anybody reading this BS of a SOPs going to want to meet the dinghead who wrote it....
    on another note Welcome back....

    ReplyDelete
  2. For the Love of GOD! Is this guy for real??!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Goan Pao, yeah, I guess he might have been admitted just because of that. BTW, thanks for the errr... 'welcome'

    Docs dope, first of all, welcome to this place. About his getting the admit, well, "so the legend goes"

    Parna, now, do you think it is taller than participating in full contact origami?

    sbk, guess what? What if he is?? Do I smell something?? :D

    Just kidding!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey Sudipta Ch terjee,

    Your blog "The curse is lifted", leads me to believe you will find my information on HSPT to be very beneficial.

    We have many hundreds of study prep guides and aids to help you pass your exams without weeks and months of endless studying. Come over now and have a look for yourself ... you have nothing to loose but everything to gain!

    Best Wishes
    Emily

    ReplyDelete
  5. Well,we all need to pee literally and bloggingly....hmm...that sop was amazing...guess no one really gives a shit to what u write in ur sop's!!!??? wondering....

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hee hee hee....nice...U know what..I was planning to publish a post on a SOP I had seen recently..Will do it soon..:D

    ReplyDelete
  7. fpt, Oh really?? and you expect me to click on that link?? Mu haa haa.. may the curse be with you!

    Stallion, Hey! thanks for the info... so the urban legend is now confirmed!! :D.. would like to meet this guy

    Kay, people do give more than shit (read pee), and thus I guess he was admitted... to see his accuracy of hitting moving objects with tennis rackets.

    Corleone, sure!! Will be waiting for that post. Long due from your side I think

    ReplyDelete
  8. Add a "word verification" to your comments list.
    and let us both "blog link" each others blogs.. (for an idea visit mine.

    And all the best, go ahead and prepare one such SOP :-))

    ReplyDelete
  9. Juggernaut, yes... thanks for the idea... was planning it.

    Blog-linking? Yes, me planning to do that soon. Actually need to update the list of links.

    God forbid me writing one such SoP.

    ReplyDelete
  10. so how was ur AGRE? Mail me arnabsinha@gmail.com...I just misplaced ur email address.

    -Arnab

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hey sudipta as usual ur blogs are jus to good.they really lift up my spirits.Ur this special guy ...well how did u manage to collect this extra ordinary SOP...congrats to u for all the work done ...the greatest SOP i've ever read :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oindrilla, hey! Thanks .... I got this one from an old edulix forum. But still good enough to cheer you up, right?

    ReplyDelete
  13. welcome back, and it's my turn now for blog exile, and you know why. Too gruelling a time schedule I have these days. Waise if I were the guy, I wouldn't risk writing that SoP. A lot is at stake here for me to pull those stunts. Don't you agree?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Sunshine, of course! But as the legend goes, he made it!

    ReplyDelete
  15. News and seduction , Hmm... interesting nickname you got too! Thanks for dropping by. Will check out your place

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Maa khuh chihal a panjam hastam

The hit counter on my blog reached 20074 today. Why you may ask, is that news, and why hadn't I cheered myself up when it was at 20,000 for example? Well, it is news because 20074 has been a very special number for me during my entire college life: it was my admission number, and my system-wide unique identity. It is strange, and surprising, how these numbers become a part of our identity. The social security number, the passport number, the id number in the college, or even your roll number somehow becomes an almost innate part of the day-to-day life. As soon as I see the same number somewhere else: maybe on a telephone, on a hitcounter, maybe somewhere else... a thousand memories are triggered. As my eyes struck the hitcounter showing 20074 right now, I was thrown back to memories of filling up exam answer sheets, hostel admission forms, library recall requests, and so much more! I believe that number was present on almost every official form which I filled in college: even when ...

Swami Vivekananda and the Indian Renaissance

The following is an article I sent to my mother based on which she presented at one of her conferences. Do read. =======================================  The common perception of Swami Vivekananda as the religious leader who preached Hinduism to the West and established the Ramakrishna Mission in India is a very limited definition of the impact he had on the collective psyche of the common Indian. Besides his direct impact in adding steam to the Indian Renaissance, a large part of his thoughts and writings also affected the other stalwarts of the movement. While fathoming the entirety of his impact on the Indian Renaissance would be impossible, we will briefly explore some aspects of his influence in the following pages. Raja Ram Mohan Roy is generally credited with ushering in the revolution. His numerous ventures that contradicted the prevailing religious opinion of right and wrong broke the stranglehold of the prevalent quasi-religion, the norms of society and its sole autoc...

Say aye

Hi fellas,   I need an ego boost, seriously. So if you are reading this, please drop a comment. Even if to say "hi" or "never commented - like your blog", etc. Other things like what you like in the posts, what more you wish to see here, and what can be done better around here: please, anything... even if you are one of those hunting for a link back at any cost. Just say "aye".  Cheer me up, and I promise I have some cool ideas waiting to be converted into posts! :)