In Western musical theory a cadence is a particular series of intervals or chords that ends a phrase, section, or piece of music. Cadences give phrases a distinctive ending. An analogy can be made with punctuation, with some weaker cadences acting as commas, indicating a pause or momentary rest, while a stronger cadence will then act as the period, indicating the end of the phrase or musical sentence.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Booking for My First Flight Ever

My VISA was granted on 29th March. I had been doing quite a bit of survey on flights to US. I had to go to Seattle for the conference and also visit Stanford. Further I had to meet my close friend Maggi in Singapore on my way back. So I chose to fly across pacific rather than atlantic. Since I had to break my journey I was of the notion that I had to make separate bookings between Chennai - Singapore and Singapore -San Francisco. However it turned out that, when I contacted a booking agent he told that I could take a break journey on my way back for how many ever days I want. This fixes my airline to be Singapore Airlines. I was expecting this to be a very costly affair but it turned out to be cheapest fare Rs 60,200 for the complete journey. Further Singapore airlines is well known for its food and other facilities. In addition I accidentally happen to see an agent called STIC travel who provides discount for ISIC cards. That saved me an other 800. Finally I got my ticket booked for the best airline at the cheapest rate. Further since my booking is till US I get a baggage allowance of 2 X 32 Kgs right from Chennai.

Gate pass to meet Big Brother

I guess it's been a long time since I posted anything on this page. I hope to keep it updated from now on. My hard work during the Master's got me a paper in ISCAS 2008, and international conference at Seattle, Washington, USA. By the grace of my prof. I have got all the necessary funds to attend the conference on May 18-21st 2008. As u all know one has to get a VISA to enter into Big Brother. I worked about two weeks to get all the necessary documents (approval letters, hotel reservations, air travel itinerary etc..) ready. I had booked an appointment with VFS on 27th Mar 11:45 pm. I was a bit worried about the scorching sun in chennai and the long queue one has to endure while waiting for the interview at the Chennai Consulate. I went there ahead of time by about 9am. To my surprise the VFS authorities told that I could make use of the lounge facility available at a km distance from the consulate and there is a van pick up and drop from that place. I had heard about it some time ago but was not very confident about this service. Of course it comes at a cost of Rs. 200. But I would say it is worth it. On arrival at the VFS lounge, I was subjected very strict security check. You are not supposed to turn on your mobiles while you are in the lounge. After paying the required amount, I went into the lounge and deposited my bag at the counter and relaxed in the chair under the comfort of the air conditioner. While in lounge u have a large wide screen television to entertain u, a Cafe Coffee Day shop and a rest room and dressing room facilities. The fee includes a free cup of coffee and a sandwich. You can also get your documents ordered and checked by the VFS authorities in the lounge. This helped me because I had taken my photograph with eye glasses and there was a glare in it. There was a photographer next to the lounge where I could take a new photo without my glasses for a fee of Rs. 100. About 15 minutes before the interview time you will be called for boarding the vehicle to the consulate. I was called at 11.30pm. At the consulate, I was a bit doubtful about my DS 156 and DS 157 forms as I had filled them wrongly while doing it online. However the person in the first window told me that I could do the corrections before i submit it to the consulate officer. I did all the changes and went to the BEP counter meant for B1/B2 Visa. The consulate officer was a fat American. I was standing in the queue and I could see he was intimidating some of the kids and young people who were standing ahead of me. However I met him and gave the required documents. Luckily he asked me a very few questions like ' What is the purpose of your visit'. 'What is the paper about?' 'How long will you stay in US'. I had forgot to take a copy of the paper with me, but managed to brief him about it. After a few seconds I was relieved when he said 'Your VISA is granted and will receive it in three business days'. I went back to the lounge with happiness and relaxed there for some time before I left that place.