First of all, a Merry Christmas to one and all! And a Happy New Year 2007!! For five years (1990 to 1994), Class VIII to XII in school, I maintained a daily diary. It was something I liked doing, and was a good habit I think. For some reason, it got discontinued once I came to Singapore, though there are a few odd days documented here and there. December end was a time when I used to sit for 2-3 days each year and send New Year cards to all my friends – that’s how one of it landed at Archana’s grandfather’s address one year (after our very first meeting in 1993), and created a furore as to who was the card from 
Since coming to Singapore, I started sending year-end emails/e-cards to all my friends and contacts – a way of saying that I haven’t forgotten you. Over the last 2-3 years, I haven’t done that. This year, I’ve decided I’ll send New Year greetings to all my friends. Before I do that, I’d also like to reflect on the year that is slipping down the hourglass. Below are some of the major events in my life this year:
Parents in Singapore: After 10 years in Singapore, my parents finally came to Singapore and spent about a month here. Last New Year, we watched the fireworks over Esplanade together.
Archana: She passed her USMLE Step 2 Clinical Knowledge Exam (91 percentile), went to Los Angeles and gave/passed her USMLE Step 2 Clinical Skills Exam, applied for US residency, went to the US island of Guam (a dot in the Pacific) and did a 1-month externship and travelled through US cities (Baltimore, Washington DC, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Tucson and New York) for her interviews. She also passed the MRCP-UK part 1 exam, did research at SNEC and was offered the position of Honorary Fellow in Emergency Medicine at NUH and temporary registration with the Singapore Medical Council. She made a large pencil sketch of roses.
Bond completed: I got the bond-relieving letter from Ministry of Education. All the talk about serving a 6-year bond working for a Singapore-registered company finally came to an end.
Modules done: Got A’s in both the Level 6000 modules I took this year, thus completing all required modules for PhD with a GPA of 5.0/5.0 (A+ in 5 modules, A in 3 modules)
PhD candidature: I passed the Qualifying Exam/Graduate Research Paper and was transferred from Graduate Program to PhD candidature.
Publications: Two top-ranked paper acceptances (a Rank-1 journal and a Rank-1 conference in Beijing, China in July 2007); acceptance of a 35-page chapter in a book; one Rank-2 conference paper acceptance (May 2007, Vancouver, Canada). Other included APSEC 2006, Bangalore, India and InSciT 2006, Merida, Spain.
Conferences: Attended the IEEE EDM Workshop (presented a paper) and the EDOC Conference in Hong Kong. Also presented a paper at the weeklong APRU (Asia Pacific Rim Universities) DSC (Doctoral Students’ Conference) at NUS.
Extra-curricular activities: Got elected as Director, Academic, Research and Cultural Affairs, NUS Graduate Students’ Society and as Board Member, APRU Doctoral Students’ Network – one of the two members elected from Singapore. Also reviewed a number of papers.
Art/Painting: I had my first Solo Exhibition (13 paintings), “Expressions in Watercolor & Oil”, at ArtsBuzz, the NUS Central Library. Made a watercolor of a Rajasthani flute player.
Acting/Modeling: Acted in True Files Season 4 for Singapore Television (Channel 5) and appeared on TV twice this year.
Public speaking: I won the first prize in the ‘Rang de Basanti’ movie critique competition.
Spirituality/religion: Completed the 9th volume of Swami Vivekananda’s works. Attended and greatly enjoyed a weeklong Srimad Bhagwatam (Bhaagavat) discourse by Girishanandji of Vrindavan. I’m currently reading the first chapter of the Bhagvat Gita – a verse each day.
Personalities: Attended the talk by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, the President of India and a lecture by Claude Nicollier, Switzerland’s first and only astronaut in Space. The 82-year old Basant Kumar Birla (BK Birla, grandfather of Kumar Mangalam Birla) and his wife Sarla Birla attended the last 2-3 days of the Bhaagavat in Singapore.
Friends: Sanjog and Leona got married; Prateek became a father. Pavneet got married yesterday
Visits: Shekhar bhaiya, bhabhi and Ishaan visited from Bahrain. Sharad Gurung from TNA was also here. Met Naresh Subba as well.
Deaths: Mahabir dadaji died in Gangtok. Dadi in Patna passed away too. With the two went the last of my great-grandfather’s sons and their wives. The husband of Bidya Mousi (she’s the sixth among eight sisters) died in Jalpaiguri. Mr Manas of TNA also passed away.
Health: The lumps on eyelids returned on both eyelids, had to be operated upon (twice), but haven’t gone completely. Acne appeared on the face as well, but is almost gone now.
This New Year’s: I plan to spend a quiet New Year’s eve this year- probably sit at home and watch TV or work. Archana will be in New York or may have to travel to Pittsburgh by 31st or 1st. I was interviewed for and offered the position of Teaching Assistant (Research assistantship coming to an end). I begin from January.
