Whats up with Hatim!

On Sep 1st 2008 I have started a new chapter in my life, Grad School. I look back and think that it took almost the double amount of time for me to get to this point. Many of my peers started Grad School back in Fall of 2004. I have had my ups and downs in life but this is definetly an up. My program was greeted by the faculty head and then by the program director. Later we were greeted by CEO of Chalmers University. It was truly reaffirming that Chalmers was a correct choice for all of us when she counted all the positive aspects of Chalmers. Here at Chalmers they take student input very seriously and change the workings of university based on that. The CEO especially mentioned that there would be absolutly no compromise on equality and every one would get the same level of attention which they truly deserve.

After all the talks it was time for me to get keys to my new room. Here are some pics which i snapped before moving in. It's an OK sized room and I am glad that I got it on time. After this I completed my registration and all the related activities. As of now I have already attended atleast 2 lectures of both of the courses I have to take this study period (ie for next two months). One is Algorithms and other is Agile Devlopement Methodologies. The latter is more of a team/lab work than a course (so it would be just like working for a company).

I have started preping for my forthcoming stay in Sweden (I am quite hopeful about the visa). Since there is no tution in Sweden so the biggest expense one has to bear is accomodation, clothes and books. I registered my self to one of the housing comapnies in Gothenburg few days after I recieved my admission offer. The rents begin at around 280 Euros / month (including electricity and internet). I am targetting for an apprtment complex which is very near to the university and is frequented by international students.

As for clothes I am hoping to get some clothes stiched up within coming few months. I will rely alot on Jeans and Tshirts :) but would definetly get a black 3 piece suite. Sweden is a very very cold country so I need to buckle up (I also need some good shoes).

As for books I am on the lookout to buy them from here, but it seems very few books will be available in Pakistan. I will try to put a list of all the required books for software engineering and technology on my blog soon.