Branch's First Law of Crisis
The spirit of public service will rise, and the bureaucracy will multiply itself much faster, in time of grave national concern.

I have unforgettably not been able to be on the blog scene for a long while; not that I have been busy with regards the stale but workable academic work, rather, the fact is what others would call it a writer's bloc, and I would put it in a more amusing neological expression as blogger's bloc. But now, I do seem to have a lot to think about, consequently a lot to write about.
Firstly, I seem to be getting somewhere, with respect to my getting aid for my studies at UT - Austin; a professor there has sent me a mail, saying that he is interested in me, and would like to talk to me over the phone. (Unable to express visually an internal expression of elation in the net-world here).
Secondly, me donating a precious red liquid, what some would call blood, what I would call a life-saver, tomorrow. If i do that, it will be my third time after joining this university (third time overall anyway). Donating blood is a nice experience anyway, gives a pretty warm feeling in the heart, and is just as painful as taking a sample for blood testing. Once the needle penetrates your outer epidermis, you wouldnt feel as much as even a mosquito bite. All I keep thinking about during that 20 minute process (yes, it is necessary to keep your mind occupied to prevent you from seeing the bag of blood being squished frequently at regular intervals, and yes, it takes only that long, sometimes lesser) is to imagine myself in the world of my favorite game.
Thirdly, my project advisor has asked me to start writing the dreaded project report - though it also signifies that my project is near completion - or that my advisor is satisfied with my work. But I have to see if the viva comittee also has similar ideas.
Fourthly, even though exactly outperform in the GD and interview, I just saw the scores on my CAT exam - and they were beyond my wildest expectations. My percentile is 98.25% and I scored about 45.89% (which translates to about 68 correct answers). My performance in the individual sections are also pretty good. 58.93% in verbal, 48.22% in DI and 30.3% in quantitative ability. I never did expect that much in my CAT 2003. It just goes to show that CAT is not that difficult - only the following parts (GD and interview) are. So anybody serious about IIM should prepare seriously about it.

PS : If you have, by any chance wondered why the tone of my writing looks a tad more sophisticated, it is purely the inconsequential result of the reading through (with a roving interest, I may add) of an Alister McLean novel aptly titled The way to dusty death. If you ever manage to get the hands on one of his books, dont ever put it down. And you will understand what command over the English language ever means. And the plots are good too, but what he does manage to achieve with his wonderfully constructed sentences would spellbind you.