PDF Converter, Split n Merge

I shy away from cumbersome WORD documents due to poor navigation between pages and delay in loading images and prefer to use PDFs. Google Documents is good but for files under size of mere 500 KB but beyond that it gives up.

I recently discovered an efficient and fast way of converting a file using services of Free PDF Converter. It is a 3 step process - Upload, Press Convert Button, Download. You have the option of uploading multiple files (maximum 5) in zipped format and you can also provide your email id to have the PDF emailed to you. A copy of the PDF is saved on the server which either you can delete immediately after downloading/ receiving the document or will be automatically deleted within 24 hours.



It helped me convert a 5 MB WORD document to a 2 MB PDF in less than 5 minutes. Pretty neat and quick!

PDFs too can be a hassle when it comes to split and merge. And for this exact purpose I dug up a software called PDF SAM. The basic version is free to download and is pretty sleek to use. It has a very simple user interface and a number of split options. Only the file order matters for merging. See the screen shots below.

Half Marathon

My take away from the big climb was information on marathon. My friend and I chose to enrol for 13 miles long half marathon scheduled for 29th June 2008. It provides the unprecedented opportunity to cross the 520 Bridge, the longest floating bridge in the world, on foot.

Am all excited and plan to train for the event. That reminds me that I need to buy new running shoes.

Volunteering while on Visa in US

Last week I decided to do some volunteer work for Seattle's Public Library. Since I'm on work visa, my friend advised me to check if I was legally authorized for volunteering.

I was flustered to know that volunteering could be illegal. But sources on www reveal that the law has been made to ensure Fair Labor Laws and I agree. Besides being unpaid, a job should fulfill several other criteria to be considered volunteer work.

A job can be considered volunteering if

• it is really volunteer work i.e. nobody will expect any remuneration or compensation for the work.
• is preferably for a non-charitable organization e.g. museum, church, public libraries.
• the position has been unpaid in the past and continues to be so.
• any American would perform the job without pay.

The information is relevant specifically to H1B and H4 Visa holders. Based on this, am ready to submit my application to SPL.

Sources on www that I read to reach conclusion -

Capitol Immigration Law Group LLC

Kevin Keane's advice

Information from Department of Labor

Murthy Law Firm Resource-1

Murthy Law Firm Resource-2

A word of caution from University of Washington

Off topic, stumbled on this interesting DOL's audit report [pdf] on Foreign Labor Programs and LCA procedures.

Harry Potter

Harry Potter - Level III

Why do stories have a happy ending?

Boy meets girl. They fall in love. They get married and live happily ever after. This is a simple example of a story with happy ending.

Why do most of the stories have a happy ending?

I got an optimistic answer on a TV show. The explanation goes like - "A story is not over until it culminates into a happy ending. This means that one should work thru difficult situations until the desired result is achieved."

I strongly feel that the goal should be determined before taking on the task to ensure that one is not settling for something less after beaten up by the hurdles on the way.

The Big Climb

The annual Big Climb presents its participants a seemingly daunting task to climb 69 flights in 1311 steps and 788 feet in vertical elevation. The event takes place at Seattle's Columbia Center. All the proceeds from the event goes to fight leukemia.

My friend enthusiastically enrolled both of us for this fund raising event & gave me tips on how to pace myself and face the giant task. I knew that I had a Buckley's chance of making it to the top and hence I had prepared myself to content with 40-45 flights. Still, last night at dinner table I gave a highly optimistic climb time of 45 mins.

My friend and I started the climb at 8:47 am, resting every 10th floor. I was enthusiastic and hoping to make it to the top floor. My friend slowed down to keep me company and make sure that I was doing okay. The volunteers were boosting morale of the climbers with free water and free water showers :-)

At 9:15 am, we were at Observatory on the 73rd floor of the tallest building in Seattle. Woo Hoo!!! I climbed 69 floors.

The sense of achievement and self discovery along with satisfaction of working for a cause made the day special.

One step at a time

I've a list of things that I want to do. Every day I'd think of making a better use of tomorrow. But after every retrospection, I'd be disappointed to see no progress.

Over the past two days, I tried to reason and realized that...

1) I never worked on any target in an organized way...I had no plans but only wishes.
2) I wanted things to change overnight.

I've figured out that the only solution is to take one step at a time, to be in the moment!

I've decided to follow the below plan to get things done.

1) Arrange/ Prioritize
2) Allocate time
3) Assign measurable targets
4) Accomplish