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Thanksgiving and Shopping

Life is busy for the most of us and we keep on running towards the next goal in life which keeps on moving like a mirage. We become frustrated with life and hope for the next best good thing to happen. We rarely cherish the many moments in life, take things for granted not even aware that they might be precious to someone else.

To make things right, count the many blessings that god had showered upon us and see the many wonderful and bad memories in rear mirror of life we celebrate the THANKSGIVING. Its a day of celebration of being "THANKFUL" for many things in life.

THANKSGIVING is an American Tradition which is celebrated on the Fourth Thursday of November. It was first celebrated among Native American Indians and the Pilgrims from  England who have come to seek freedom, for the bountiful harvest and thanking god for the blessings in the new world. If you need to read more and get the full history click here

Thanksgiving cooking Menu:

How to cook turkey Indian style? , How to cook turnkey Chinese style? , How to cook thanksgiving meal vegetarian style?

Shopping:

In recent years the famous past time for thanksgiving is shopping and the very famous shopping event is the Black Friday sale which happens on the day next to thanksgiving day. 

If you are wondering how and where to do shopping I have some few tips which would be helpful to you. I think this site lists a comprehensive list of shops that offer sale.

TIPS:

1. To receive exclusive coupons I would suggest signing on to the newsletter of the shops you are planning to buy. Companies blast out deals and coupons through email. Once the Black Friday sale is done you can unsubscribe.

2. If you have specific items in mind, if possible go to the store before thanksgiving and check it physically and make sure that it's the item you want. If it's some dress wear and see if it fits you well and good.

3. Companies offer various kind of deals. Some deals will be online ONLY, store ONLY and some, store and online. Check the website and make sure how deals are offered. In some cases you might not need to go to store to get your deal. 

4. Be sure to check the return policy of the item and if you have doubts don't hesitate to check their customer service.

5. If you are planning to make an in store deal purchase, check the opening time of the store for the "BLACK FRIDAY SALE" . Depending on the store and the location you will have to plan your time to be at the place to get the best deal. Some stores offer specific deals for like the first 10 people only  who are in line. So best will be to check the customer care people.

6. There are online stores like amazon.com who put deals on item only for specific time period and they advertise the next bunch that's gonna be on sale. So keep watch.

7. If you are living in a city like Chicago and have taken public transport to go to store be sure to check the schedules of the route you are going to take. My best advice will be to take a rental car before hand or do carpooling with friends.

8. You can get Black friday deals from clothing, electronics, travel package, sweets, sports gear, etc.. Be sure to check your wishlist website for what you need. Spend your money wisely. Don't give yourself to impulsive shopping. Tips to avoid impulsive shopping.

9.bestbuy.com,walmart.com,deals2buy.com,target.com,amazon.com,macys.com, etc

I will try to put another post hopefully Tuesday with more links to the store and the deals.

Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy time with family and friends.

Thanks

Vimalan @covider.com

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Avoid fall blues & get ready for winter!!

Life is always busy with gadgets getting more modern, and a plethora of social networks promising to make your life connected and relaxing, but you all know the truth :)

With the time at school making your life too busy, you might be wondering what happened to your free time!! Don't worry too much as you are already spending most of your energy doing assignments and preparing for exams. 

If you are working you could be pushed right down to make sure that your clients or the company is ready for the holiday season.

This brings me to write this post to help you worry about one less thing and get yourself ready to enjoy some winter fun. As you wonder about the stuff that could be done during this time of the year I have some suggestions that will be useful for you to get PREPARED and have some FUN!!

1. Skating:

Get ready to do some winter sports.. If you are in a metropolitan area and you are lucky you can enjoy the skating at one of the rinks for free. If you are in Chicago there are multiple skating rinks through out the city for free, all you need is a skating shoe. Your school might provide them for rent. If you are around chicago land you can buy used shoes at playitagain.com or new shoes at dicks sports or you can check the walmart or target or some other sporting shoe stores around your area.. DON'T order ONLINE. You must wear and check to see how you feel. 

2. Skiing:

The next fun thing could be skiing. This could be a little costly sport. If you are a student, some club in your school might offer skiing trip for free or at a concession price. If you get a chance go and try it out. Though it will look challenging at the beginning I am sure you will enjoy it and get a hold of it. Most ski ranges offer group booking with a free trainer. You will have to check Google for that and read the reviews at yelp. If you are from Chicagoland this skii range list could be useful for you. Also you might want to check craiglist.com as well where people group and get deals.

3. Cross Country Skiing & Ice Fishing:

If you are living in an area away from city you might be lucky to do cross country skiing or do ice fishing. If you are gonna do either one of them be sure to check the place  beforehand. Inform your friends or somebody responsible about your adventure trip and have a blast. If your state has lot of parks you can get very lucky as well.. Check the cross country ski trails in illinois.

4. Snow Man:

Skiing or skating is not in your to do list then you could enjoy some time making snow man when snow beats your place. Just keep rolling snow and it will become a big ball, stack couple of them, plugin some carrots, soda or pop cap,sticks for hands and you should be good. It's fun. Check for detailed steps here. During my first winter around 10 of my friends joined and made our snow man and it's still memorable. 

5. Indoor guy:

If you are not an outdoor person and don't wanna try any of these I would suggest you get some hot chocolate and have a good book to read sitting by your fire place or couch. If you don't have them then you can have some pillows around and cuddle inside your comforter and I am sure it will feel heavenly as well. Your next best bet would be movies or youTube I guess.

Stay warm and stay safe.. Be sure to check the next post about Turkey & shopping!!

As always we love to hear your comments.

Cheers

Vimalan @covider.com

http://twitter.com/covider

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My Experience with thugs

Though life is serious and hard don't forget to have some laugh!!

I am glad to have been educated at IIT from where I graduated with Masters in Computer Science.

Very recently I have been attacked by teenage( I guess) thugs and heard that many IIT students have faced similar or more violent crime towards them. I have experienced 2 attacks during my 7 years of stay in Chicago. I hope this post will help you to make better decisions and have safe good times as you continue your life in USA.

My Experience:

This happened 2 months ago. I was in bus #4 and couple of teenagers(I guess) got inside at 24th&Michigan. They came to the end of the bus and were standing near the door, then they made some comments about my skin color. Though such comments would be considered as racist or hate crime if I were to make against some one, I don't think it applies equally to all, all the time. I was trying to understand from their broken vocabulary the things they were talking about me and they started to stare at me, so I stared back.

In the mean time the bus reached 28th&Michigan and they were about to get down. When they did get down one of the thugs hit me in the face and ran away. This was fully unexpected by me as there were a lot of people in the bus and it was around 8.30pm.

So I immediately went to the driver and told him that I need to file a complaint with CTA and Police. He asked me to provide my details and assured me that his supervisor would call and talk with me very soon. I did not realize at that point very soon means NEVER.

Nobody contacted me from CTA so I called their customer service next day to register the complaint. The rep heard my story, not even said the regular sorry BS, but told that CTA management would talk with me. I was happy at that time that justice will be done.

But I heard back from them a week later. The person from CTA recorded my conversation about the events that took place and told that CTA will get back to me with money if the fault has been on CTA side. I don't know if this is the way to shut people's mouth!! I did not ask for their money, I needed justice. I asked her about the police complaint that I wanted to place but no clear answer from her. At that point I realized that I should have called 911 when the event took place not trusting the driver. A lesson!!

After a week I received a regular mail from CTA stating that there was no fault on CTA side. I know that long time ago, but at the end the whole thing was a bureaucratic BS. My request to file a police complaint was fully omitted and at the end I felt that CTA was trying to keep itself away from a potential lawsuit.They did not seem to have real concern for the event that happened to me that night. Take home points:

1. You might NOT have seen child rowdies robbing you in your country but this is USA and if you are at the south side of Chicago you better keep watch of yourself. Be aware of your surroundings.

2. In case you were attacked and you have a phone click some pics and call 911 ASAP(Try to keep your Phone Safe)

3. The potential criminal will mostly be wearing a long hoodie or have braided hair or you can see his pants hanging till his knees or have a heavy smell of cigar or have a combination of all of them. Most of the time if your heart says be careful you better be. My recent attacker was wearing some good jacket and had short hair but his buddies had those signs I have in this point. 

4. If somebody saw you being attacked ask them if they could be a witness and get their contact info.

5. If couple of guys have planned to rob you they would spread out and will jump on you like wolves so look around and rate your surroundings.

6. If you are an international student and planning to visit south side of Chicago in the evening, think twice about it. Even at downtown or near the your campus as well please be cautious.

7. IIT public safety TIPS, Crime reported to Chicago police based on neighbourhood, Crime report in Map view.

Recently a friend of mine mentioned an IIT student who reported to responsible people in campus about his robbery experience and was advised to stay in on campus housing.  I don't think they realized that person need to move around and he can't stay at his bunker 24/7. So If you are a student, faced robbery and have(have not) reported to your campus security it will be great if you can share your experience and what you have done to protect yourself. I can post it in a separate post as well.

This post is from my personal experience.

COMING SOON!! An another robbery experience.. 

Have a nice week and stay safe,

Cheers

Vimalan @covider.com

http://twitter.com/covider

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How to make friendship??

When a  person is in a foreign country one of the most important need is to have friends and if you don't have any then it's your turn make friendship.

If you are able to make friendship I am sure you would have a sense of belonging.

So if you want to make friendship and maintain it with somebody from America I think these tips could be helpful for you. Step 1: Friendship starts with communication, It's the starting point in any relation so TALK. Don't be hesitant to talk. Be confident in your mind. Even if your vocabulary is broken or you think that  you are from a non English speaking nation don't worry. People can understand you most of time so just jump in. In the mean time improve your vocabulary. As you need topics to talk, for a friendship to blossom I m throwing some suggestions.. Sports: Most of the Americans are very interested in sports. They would be having their favorite team in Football(not soccer), basketball, baseball,tennis,NASCAR among others. So know the game and choose your team and follow the sport. Thus you will have a topic to talk and a friendship can grow out of it. If you are in Chicago you might want to follow the Bears, Chicago Bulls, Cubs or White sox etc..

You can even play a game with some group if they will take you in :) which should not be a problem if you know to play the game.

Movie: This could be helpful as well. You can watch movies and read reviews from imdb.com, rotten tomatoes, wikipedia and other sites. Thus you can have a clear idea about the theme of the movie. Watch movies in languages other than English Language and have your opinion as well. You may want to watch anime movies as well because I know there are lot of fans for those kind of movies in USA. You could have a good channel to make friendship.

Photography: This is a passion for many people. If you can spare some money, buy a used camera from craigslist, amazon,eBay,zappos,newegg or borrow from a friend and join a group through meetup.com and go for photography. Thus you can visit interesting places in and around the area you live and you can get to know like minded people with whom u could make friendship.

Charity: There could be lot of charitable organizations around your neighborhood, know them and volunteer at those place. Do some research and review before you step in and be cautious. Here you can form friendship by helping your fellow men and feel a sense of satisfaction by contributing to the society . Student organization: Join them and even be partially active in them at least so that you will know people. As always you could make friendship and meet lot of people from other campuses as well and be the popular person in the campus. Be open to give your ideas even if you think that they are not great. You will know only when they are put to test. Some of the student organization could be "International students association", "Intervarsity christian fellowship","Robotics club", "Alpha Sigma Phi", etc..

Gaming: If you interested in gaming I am sure you can meet a lot of people in any place you are in USA. Adults and children are into gaming and there might be various meets among them to share some time and talk about many more games. There could be house parties, LAN parties and things on those line. So you have a good chance to make friendship.

Book club: There are lot of people who are interested in novels and such . So you can read your favorite author and titles and have better grasp at them. You can use meetup.com and other sites and join a club and thus  could make friendship and could have a network of people whom you can interact. You may check this or check out meetup.com groups

Religious: If you trust in God or you are a spiritual person then you might want to check the related organizations through yelp.com,pintrest.com or good ole google.com. This way you can make more friends as you could get to know more people through various events. Good luck on making friendships. If you follow the idea you took from here and make friends, do spread the word about this post and let us know as well.

Cheers

Vimalan @covider

http://twitter.com/covider

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American way

Glad that you dropped in. I hope that this post is helpful to you. If you are a new student you might have settled in your new fall semester and would be preparing for the mid semester exam. I am sure that you will be enjoying your time in this great country in the midst of all other countless problems.

To become more culturally aware of the USA you might want to read through.

This might be more apt for Asian readers where cultural norms are more strict and different from the western world.

1.Holding hands!! 

In USA friends do not hold hands REALLY or put their hands over the shoulder of another friend. Generally couples hold hand or parents hold their children's hand.. Nothing more..If you are of the same sex and holding hands or putting hand over a friend's shoulder then you might be thought of as a person having different taste by many people.Its good to avoid it unless you want to do what you want to do.

2. Smooching on the road!!! uuuh sounds good 

Many people in USA have no real problem to do or watch Public Display of Affection(PDA). This could be a shocker or interesting to many people from conservative countries but its really normal here.Take it with a stride and enjoy the fun around. In future you may wanna try it and check it how it feels. :)

3. Directions

If some body asks you for direction and if you direct them saying take a left and then a right and then.. they might be confused most of time and clueless. In USA many people need to be told the name of the intersection as well, to give them clarity, so try to say the name of the street. This will make them clear and not make you look like a confuser in chief in their eyes.

4. Holding doors

It's a basic etiquette, to hold the door for the person who is behind you. It shows respect and concern for the person. People from other countries might have to learn to do it. You are said a 'Thank you' for your courtesy mostly. I have read that it's an American conservative tradition to keep the door open for a lady or a gal.

5.Peeping!!

People are curious to know what others do,  many people have the attitude to snoop and have a look at other people's activities which might be personal. Say if you are travelling in a bus or train and the person next to you is busy doing something you might not want to look at. People in many countries hide or try to hide from snoopers. Please don't peep or snoop in USA because it's considered to be very rude and bad behavior  So you wanna change your self if you do that. You might be named as a CREEP.

6. Playing with children

If you are from India particularly you would even play with a child you don't know, but it's a big NO NO in USA. There have been very large cases of pedophiles and the parents are very concerned about their children's safety.So if you like to play with a child ask for their parents permission which could be a NO in reply. Even if you know a child's parents it's better that you don't touch a child.

7. Touching dogs , cats and wolves

In many countries dogs are just animals to provide safety to the home but in USA they are considered part of family. So if you are going to pat a dog ask the owner first and then ask their pets name and then you may pet it using it's name. Don't call them doggie or a cat. The owner might be ready to punch you or could get irritated. SHOCKER!! Americans spend in billions on cat & Dog food. 

8. Helping elders and people with disabilities

As most people have a fierce feeling of independence and pride within them, even if a person is old and you go to help them they might snap at you or feel unease unless you are known to them. If you think you could help someone or they might need your help, you could offer them your help. They might accept if needed. Same in case of a blind person, don't touch or hold their hand without asking them when they try to cross a road or something as they could think that you are a thief, abuser or some thing else.

9. TIME

Americans are very concerned about following schedules and they try their best and be on time for the appointment. So if you have scheduled an appointment with a doctor or a professor or a USA friend you should plan to be there at least 5 min before the time. Time is considered a very costly commodity in USA so be aware of it.

10. Visiting

In your country you might have the liberty to drop at anybody's house at the time of your pleasing but be aware that if you are planning to go to an american house or visit a person who is an american you might need to fix a time. Don't give heart attacks by just dropping any time you like. 

I will write more on these lines in future. Please be sure to check the blog. You can subscribe to the feeds as well.

All the best

Cheers

Vimalan @covider.com

If you liked this post you may like other post as well. Hang and check us out

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Winter Clothes and Boots!!

With the fall already in and the cold slowly setting in, if you are from a tropical or a desert region you will start to feel blues. You wanna lie down in the bed more and want somebody to tuck you in and give you hot coffee in bed..Arrgh, I hate to say this but the international students 99.9% of them are not bestowed with these goodies.

If you are thinking what could come next you guessed it right.. "The winter"

Chicago is one of the places where the wind sends chills in your bone(check weather.com). If you have never experienced it you will feel it soon.The winters are cold and windy with lot of snow most of time. You will walk on slush (mix of snow & water) most of the time. If you are planning to buy some winter gear I thought I could share some info that could be useful to you.

If you like cold raise your hand!! I think then you might not need much of the stuff written in the article but you can go through and be the all knowing person(winter clothing wizard!!!) 

Winter coat:

Make sure that it can be zipped. If it had a tall collar it would be great to protect your neck. DONT buy the coat like a perfect tight fitting shirt which exactly goes till your hips. Go for a coat which goes little below hips and which you think is little loose. You wanna buy a little loose one because when it gets really cold you would want to wear a hoodie or a sweater inside.

Even if you cover your neck with scarf or muffler, the little big coat, will be very helpful.It will help to protect your butts from freezing. You will feel what I meant when it gets cold and you walk long time in wind or sit in a bus stop.

From what I have observed most of the time the guys go for winter coat with synthetic feel and girls go for coat with the fur feel. If you are planning to wear formal wear during winter time I would suggest getting a coat that drops till your knees.

I wear hoodie and a coat. The hoodie protects my neck and head and provides extra warmth and avoid the cold air from entering through hands. My coat does not have a cloth inner lining so the hoodie helps me to stay warm & comfy. 

Try to buy a coat with an inner cloth lining that will make you more comfy.

Some people may want to buy thermal wear. I did buy one but never wore than 2 times because I was feeling itchy due to the dry skin that comes from cold air and it was uncomfortable. Buy thermal wear from target or Walmart if you really think you need it and check whether you feel comfortable by wearing it couple hours. If you don't like it most stores will allow you to return. Be sure to check the store return policy on these items before buying them.

The winter coat is sold at Walmart  old navy, Macy  Northface, columbia, Aeropostale, Abercrombie and even in malls with less popular brands. I purchased mine from a mall and it works for me. There is a store TJ max among others where you can get deals on branded stuff. You can try jcpenny,kohls also.

Burlington coat factory  is a hyped place for winter coats in my opinion, I have seen that the coats from that place are heavy and are not exactly designed with international people in mind.

Gurnee mills, Riverside , ford city , Aurora mall are some of the famous malls around Chicago land. Check how you can reach there through google.com. Most places have public transport access as well.

All it boils down is the amount that you can spend and the time you have. People might scare you that you need to get THE BEST but its not scary as it seems because the public transportation facilities and buildings are all heated. Most bus stops and some train stations might not have proper heating.

Try to budget around 30$-100$ for coats.. Good hoodie and sweater can be purchased for 10-20$. check Aeropostale or oldnavy for this kinda price

Boots:

To be honest I don't have an winter shoe. I wear my sneakers. I make sure that I don't step in the slush(ice mixed with water). Couple of times I was outta luck.  If you would feel cold easily in you foot checkout the sears,DSW, footlocker, Macy or even you can check in some other less branded stores in a shopping mall. You can buy expensive pairs from other places as well but I don't personally feel that its worth unless you HAVE to buy them. You can get fancy winter shoes at columbia and Northface.

TRICk, Go to store check what you need and order it online. You could get a DEAL. This trick could work the other way around as well.

Gals, get a boots till your knees from target,walmart,macys, DSW, northstorm rack, Agaci etc..It helps you to make sure that your legs stay warm. Personally from friends I know they buy shoes which are more taller, the reason being it feels comfy, warm and stylish. Keep an eye on deals from Macy where you can get good shoes for 50$ or like 50-70% off

Plan on spending any were between 20$ - 80$ for shoes.

Muffler and Earmuffs:

I have seen very good deals from old navy. For gals I have seen scarf sold for 1$. If you are more focused on brand and styles check sears, Agaci which could be your next good bet. Forever 21 and others can provided stylish options. Aeropostale can provide cheap trendy stuff.. You can get earmuffs from jewel as well for 2$ or less. Try Macy or other places for better styles and quality. I think as a student its not worth to spend more than 10$ on this unless you have big bucks to spend.Looks for deals on your favorite places.. 

 Guys you can check on most stores and get your choices easily.

Gloves:

This could be one of the over stated item needed in winter. Get a good one from Walmart or target. Again, prices shoot if you go for stylish or functional gloves.. normally within 10-15$ you can get a good one.  

Gals prefer wool based gloves from what I have observed but if you are gonna buy one such make sure to get a good one..

Also I have seen in target winter gloves which can help you to work on your touch screen phones without pulling off the glove each time. It might be little costly, or go for a glove that allows you to open one or 2 fingers at a time. Walmart, Target, Old navy,sears carry them among others. You can check in target and sears for better deals.

Hats:

You might need to get a monkey cap, or a band which covers your ears or cap that covers your head and ears. You can get in target and Walmart easily. Again if you wear a hoodie you might not need this as it covers your head,ear and most part of your face. Again just the hoodie option will not be enough for some people.

Body lotion:

Get a good body lotion with moisturizer . People have different taste for brands and flavor, I personally like st.Ives and Vaseline.

You can get aromatic moisturizing lotion of different flavor from Target, body shop or some other place.  

Apply after bath or when you feel dry. Also make sure to buy some lip balm or lip gloss(gals) .Drink lot of water to keep you hydrated. 

Disclaimer:Again I do not endorse any brand or store. I just say what ever I have experienced or heard from friends. 

Enjoy the hot chocolate, the season, skiing, skating and being with your loved ones.

Thanks

Vimalan @covider.com

http://twitter.com/covider

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Time for another New Life in USA Tips - part 3

Hai there,

Here again I have written down some of the things which I think could be very helpful to you and your friends. If you find this helpful to you it could be helpful to others whom you know as well. So please pass it along.

I think I am ending this series for now but could extend it in future.

http://covider.tumblr.com/newlifeinusa3 bring more info on robbery, place of worship, free stuff info and much more. Do read it and please leave your feedback. 

Thank you

Vimalan @ covider.com

twitter.com/covider

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New Life in USA Tips - part 2

Hai there,

Yup time flies!!! I have been trying to put down my thoughts on stuff with links, which could be helpful to you. 

http://covider.tumblr.com/newlifeinusa2 adds some more points which will be helpful for you and I will add more in the weekend. 

I would like to know your feedback and let me know if you need me to write on some more things you like to know about.

Thank you for reading

Thanks

Vimalan @covider.com

http://twitter.com/covider

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New Life in USA Tips - part 1

I have written down a tumblr which would be helpful for the people who are starting out new student life in USA.

http://covider.tumblr.com/newlifeinusa. This is part of the many tips that I wish to share. Hope this is helpful for you. If so or otherwise please do let us know. I will be glad to improve. We would also welcome to our website covider.com http://covider.tumblr.com/welcome

Thanks

Vimalan @covider.com

http://twitter.com/covider