Too Nice is not nice afteralll

B'days in HEC are usually fun. It was nice to have a B'day celebration tonite. Champagne, beer, Vodka, Whiskey....all was flowing. But sometimes it can be ridiculous when u plan something and it goes haywire. I guess sometimes i need to just let it go and not bother. I cant say wat went wrong cos its no one's fault...but sometimes i feel too much philanthropy makes ppl take u for granted. And because of this i will be selfish from now on. No need to do anything extra for anyone apart from ur folks, siblings or special ones. Rest will just forget u..and wont even remember u when u r on ur death bed.

Learning this moral...now i am going back to the party. I am going to enjoy the time and not bother.....sometimes being a nice guy is not so nice afterall.

end of random drunken ramblings....hopefully i will be sane when i read later wat iam posting rite now.
till then ...... Cusson timesssssss !!!!

Revival

I know its been atleast a year since i have started writing again. Life has turned quite a lot since i last wrote. Got into LSE Masters program. CEMS program application was successful and now almost nearing the end of my exchange term in HEC, Paris. It has been a good year and a half. Yet lots more happening. Hopefully I will not lose touch of writing again.

Though one fine day i will put a post on the wonderful times of last year and a half...to kinda fill the missing pieces. Also as i see the posts i havent finished the traversing from blah blah to MBA. I will try and finish that too.

Last year and half has been wonderful since i went from ABB to LSE to CEMS to now almost about to join a different environment.

For the first bit of news from paris....Started my first bit of touristy stuff....last night. A month and a half...after coming to paris. Yea, u r right. I am not much of an art connoisseur. So in paris which is an artist's paradise...is somehow not that eye-catching to me. But, there were some things which i liked about it.

The hourly shimmering lights on eiffel were spectacular. It feels as if there are fooljhadis (a type of fire cracker used often in india for celebration) on every piece of metal on the tower. Next, was the most famous museum "Louvre" which has the famous leonardo da vinci's Monalisa. Found it a bit over rated but then again a disclaimer....I am not an art lover and my views are subjective. So don't sue me if u find it awesome.



There is still a lot of touristy bit to do in paris. As and when i travel...i will post the details.
Cya for now.

Traversing from a degree (engineering) to another (MBA )- part 1

Every guy graduating from a tier 1 engineering college , dreams of a plush job. So was the case with me. In 2003 , I had given CAT in november. Don't knw how much I scored but it was no where near the target score that the IIMs wanted. Now, there had to b a twist n we all know now that November 03 paper was cancelled. So again we were supposed to go thru the grind in feb04. The period from nov to dec...i wasted like a CH$$$$TH.....

Feb came...n i SHATTTTTTT ( shockers lingo for goofing up.... ) big time. No calls. Fortunately(or unfortunately as I later realised ) I had a job in hand. So wasnt worried...but before moving to workplace it was drilled into me that this is temporary arrangement,may b a couple of years, NOT more than that...."AFTER THAT YOU HAVE TO GO FOR MBA....." was the cry even my cousin studying in 6th grade kept reminding me of. Parental pressure and Peer Pressure rocks!!!!!

I dunno how the scene has changed from 2004 to 2008 ( life flips 180 in matter of days...4 years is such a long time ) but I still feel that on graduation day every engineering grad feels that this degree equips him to go out there and create something , design something, invent /rengineer miracles. Sadly 80 to 90% of engineering grads realise, within first few months into their work , that the kinda jobs they have been dreaming are far beyond their reach unless they stick onto their firm for 5 or 6 years or join the firm with an additional qualification. The day a MT ( short for management trainee) or a GET ( Graduate engineering trainee) realises this, it's the end of his desire to give 100 % to his first job outta campus and beginning of the never say "give up" attitude to crack CAT, XAT , SNAP ....n plethora of other exams. Countless sundays are spent writing tests , analyzing papers, contemplating n strategising for the next test which is generally scheduled on the following sunday...n this cycle repeats till that fateful day in Novemeber ( It was 19th for me ...god knws wat it is this year) when 3 lakh aspirants slog it out for that elusive freedom from their current jobs or wrongly selected engineering/arts / science /commerce profiles.

My experiences from 2004 to 2008 in this journey from an engineering job to MBA applications and finally some admits in 2008 will b dealt in detail in this multi part series. Part 2 would b on first year of the job...generally known across firms as the "honeymoon period". So keep watching this space for more info on this.....
ciao

Life on the fast lane

....This is my first post in 2 mnths. Life has been on a fast lane in these 2 months. First of all, I am through with my b-school appin n t-bird admit is in my hands. Always wanted to b there. But now once I have got the admit, it feels as if the slog hasnt stopped. It has just taken a break which will start again once the b-school journey starts.

Professionally,This period has been the most turbulent yet interesting one. First of all , I have realised by now that I need to take a plunge into wat I really wanna do ( joining a start up) & not wat people expect me to do(sit in a stable job) . Some how all this while I thought I could do more than wat I am doin rite now, but hierarchy n pseudo-bureaucracy always kept me in check. So much so that the more I tried to better myself, the elites wud see it as an act of rebellion. I am almost on the brink of quitting. Today ( Sat 03/05/08) I have had my toughest day in my professional life. Work started at 9am and its 11.30 pm now by the time wind up. All this cos of silly ego hassels of a particular person. Many ppl bore the brunt of his ego n now it was my turn. Just a week ago , his most trusted lieutenant resigned and now the canons were being directed towards me. I feelllll sooooooooooooooooooooo miserable right now.  Had US economy been more stable and had US visa procedures been fairly simple ( read that as a guaranteed visa on application) I would have put my papers 2 months back. 
Sadly this is just wishful thinking....... Dunno wats gonna happen next n just have to get out of this mess @ workplace soon .

ONE BEDROOM FLAT

Here is a nice article that was mailed to me today. Felt like putting it on the log . Cos I may be very well at the threshold of such an event.


ONE BEDROOM FLAT... WRITTEN BY AN INDIAN SOFTWARE ENGINEER- A Bitter Reality
As the dream of most parents I had acquired a degree in Software Engineering
And joined a company based in USA, the land of braves and opportunity.
When I arrived in the USA, it was as if a dream had come true.
Here at last I was in the place where I want to be. I decided I would be
Staying in this country for about Five years in which time I would have
Earned enough money to settle down in India.
My father was a government employee and after his retirement, the only
asset he could acquire was a decent one bedroom flat.
I wanted to do some thing more than him. I started feeling homesick and
lonely as the time passed. I used to call home and speak to my parents
every week using cheap international phone cards. Two years passed, two
years of Burgers at McDonald's and pizzas and discos and 2 years watching
the foreign exchange rate getting happy whenever the Rupee value went down.
Finally I decided to get married. Told my parents that I have only 10 days
of holidays and everything must be done within these 10 days. I got my
ticket booked in the cheapest flight. Was jubilant and was actually
enjoying shopping for gifts for all my friends back home. If I miss anyone
then there will be talks. After reaching home I spent home one week going
through all the photographs of girls and as the time was getting shorter I
was forced to select one candidate.
In-laws told me, to my surprise, that I would have to get married in 2-3
days, as I will not get anymore holidays. After the marriage, it was time
to return to USA, after giving some money to my parents and telling the
neighbors to look after them, we returned to USA.
My wife enjoyed this country for about two months and then she started
feeling lonely. The frequency of calling India increased to twice in a week
sometimes 3 times a week. Our savings started diminishing. After two more
years we started to have kids. Two lovely kids, a boy and a girl, were
gifted to us by the almighty. Every time I spoke to my parents, they asked
me to come to India so that they can see their grand-children.
Every year I decide to go to India. But part work part monetary conditions
prevented it. Years went by and visiting India was a distant dream. Then
suddenly one day I got a message that my parents were seriously sick. I
tried but I couldn't get any holidays and thus could not go to India. The
next message I got was my parents had passed away and as there was no one
to do the last rights the society members had done whatever they could. I
was depressed. My parents had passed away without seeing their grand
children.
After couple more years passed away, much to my children's dislike and my
wife's joy we returned to India to settle down. I started to look for a
suitable property, but to my dismay my savings were short and the property
prices had gone up during all these years.I could not afford to buy even a One bedroom flat
in a decent locality.(The price quoted in Vakola for 1BHK flat was a whooping 72 lac rupees)
I had to return to the USA.
My wife refused to come back with me and my children refused to stay in
India. My 2 children and I returned to USA after promising my wife
I would be back for good after two years.
Time passed by, my daughter decided to get married to an American and my
son was happy living in USA. I decided that had enough and wound-up every
thing and returned to India. I had just enough money to buy a decent 2
bedroom flat in a well-developed locality.
Now I am 60 years old and the only time I go out of the flat is for the
routine visit to the nearby temple. My faithful wife has also left me and
gone to the holy abode.
Sometimes I wondered was it worth all this? My father, even after staying
in India, had a house to his name and I too have the same nothing more.
I lost my parents and children for just ONE EXTRA BEDROOM.
Looking out from the window I see a lot of children dancing. This damned
cable TV has spoiled our new generation and these children are losing their
values and culture because of it. I get occasional cards from my children
asking I am alright. Well at least they remember me.
Now perhaps after I die it will be the neighbors again who will be
performing my last rights, God Bless them. But the question still remains
'Was All This Worth It?'

I am still searching for an answer................!!!!
Think Of it ………there is nothing big than making our parents happier…………

Dings dongs dings....

The title line is a bit goofed up....but from where i see it, these words convey misery on two of my applications. Yesterday Fisher sent me a nice letter which had familiar content " This decision in any way is not a true reflection of your managerial potential. But due to highly competitive admission criteria we cannot offer u place on our program". As I started putting the hand written letter away , I switched on my laptop to check, if any other schools that I had applied to, had given out dings......... n there it was...a mail from penn state. Before I cud open it and read its content I knew, the writing was on the wall. A ding for sure............ n a reject it was.
So in this app game the score stands rite now at 2 rejects.
Lets c where the game goes from here.....as far as iam concerned..... the title track of film Race- "Race is on my mind" is apt to describe the MBA game. Further reports will be put up as soon as the decisions arrive.

My first post for 08

hmmmm..... I was barely able to post in the second half of last year.Thats primarily because of 3
reasons :-
a) Professional growth had plateaued. N before u jump to conclusions it wasn't about the salary but more about the amount of time I was losing to switch to something which i love doing.

b) More stress on the personal front. I had made tonnes of new friends but lost touch on plenty of old ones.......on relationship- i think i am out of the shackles now

c) Admission Essays--- This was one of the biggest reasons i havent been able to think about anything else. All my weekends are invariable left to thrash out this aspect of the process.

Good news is that me n some of my pals ( Ajax---this guy got some amazing calls n iam sure he will convert those ) will be starting off this fall at one of our cherished b-schools. At this point I am not sure where I am headed...by march I can be more specific but this time I aint waiting for anything. Got to begin my second innings with acads as early as possible....n it will be surely not in India....contrary to some of my friends who may have thought i havent figured out wat I want......n still think iam wasting my time pursuing my quest for an MBA overseas.

Enough of bull crap from some quarters, just waiting for time to be on my side .........just watch this space n the saga will unfold slowly.... will keep u posted from now on.

Grand Slam Sunday

Wow , boy wat an evening . Top 4 premiership clubs r all playing today . First its Man Utd vs Liverpool. An away game for Man Utd. Go Man Utd Go!!!!!

Next its Arsenal vs Chelsea. Iam gonna b glued to my tv ......lets c....its minutes away from the kick off and I hope the team Iam supporting doesnt disappoint.... Man Utd Rock!!!

Last Date @ Gold's

Last week I wasn't able to sleep well.Tossing n turning in my bed I was wondering...... when wud i get to meet ya for the one last time. Its been long since i actually looked at you n admired the kind of changes u have brought in me for the past 9 months. Memories of that day when we first met are still fresh in my mind. You had(n probably still have....) more confidence in my abilities than i ever had.
Wonder what you thought that day.Must have surely uttered these words " Oh Gosh, another jerk with the same goal" or " Spare me, not a jerk again". But still u presented that bright glow....as if complementing me on my perseverance n sayin...." This bloke has guts".
May be it was my dedication or was it the spirit that i possessed. Wateva it was.... 6 months down the line i really have to thank my stars n trainer harish without whom this meeting was almost impossible . Without your presence, I was just a loner trying to find my way. Your face just presented me the inspiration i needed and the gentle reminder that ..."u ought to achieve some more before u can start bragging...... :) "
Needless to say ......the goals that i aimed to achieve, when u came in my life, have all been attained. But I havent rested or paused cos i know .....u will leave one day only to remind me that when there is sweetness around , pain won't be far away. You will be one of my sweetest memories. An hour and half of meeting you everyday at gold's is all i need to enjoy the most beautiful moments in my life......... May be i will meet smone better than u next week...(how rude n insensitive can i get..) but yes watever is scheduled has to happen....... So my sweet heart you also have to go to be replaced by someone else . ......yes ..........my sweet lil "gym diary" u wud be replaced next week gym schedule which will try n take care of me the way u did.....However its simply impossible to forget u,

Rest in peace my sweet heart........

" gym schedule1 ( 18-12-2006 to 30-08-2007)"

Life still exists

A really nice n sweet forward that has been circulated to all of us.I thought lemme have this on my blog as it really stuck a chord. Here it is.....

"Gone are the days!!! My Friend...
When
The school reopened in June,
And we settled in our new desks and
benches!
When we queued up in book depot,
And got our new books
and notes!
Whenwe wanted two Sundays and no Mondays, yet
managed to line up daily for the morning prayers.
We learnt writing with
slates and pencils, and
Progressed To fountain pens and ball pens and then Micro tips!
When we began drawing with crayons and evolved to
Color pencils and finally sketch pens!
When we started calculating
first with tables and then with
Clarke's tables and advanced to
Calculators and computers!
When we chased one another in the
corridors in Intervals, and returned to the classrooms
Drenched in sweat!
When we had lunch in classrooms, corridors,
Playgrounds,
under the trees and even in cycle sheds!
When all the colors in the world,
Decorated the campus on the Second Saturdays!
When a single P.T. period in the week's Time Table,
Was awaited more eagerly than the monsoons!
When cricket was played with writing pads as bats,
And Neckties and socks rolled into balls!
When few played
"kabadi" and "Kho-Kho" in scorching sun,
While others simply played
"book cricket" in the
Confines of classroom!
Of fights but no conspiracies,
Of Competitions but seldom jealousy!
When we used to
watch Live Cricket telecast,
In the opposite house in Intervals and Lunch breaks!
When few rushed at 3 o Clock to
"Conquer" window seats in our School bus!
While few others had "Big Fun", "peppermint",
"kulfi", " milk ice !" and "sharbat !" at 3 3o!
Gone are the days
Of Sports Day,
and the annual School Day ,
And the one-month long
preparations for them.
Gone are the days
Of the stressful Quarterly,
Half Yearly and Annual Exams, And the most
enjoyed holidays after them!
Gone are the days
Of tenth and twelfth standards, when
We Spent almost the whole year writing revision tests!
We learnt,
We enjoyed,
We played,
we won,
we lost,
We laughed,
we cried,
we fought,
we thought.
With so much fun in them, so many friends,
So much experience, all this and more!
Gone are the days
When we used
to talk for hours with our friends!
Now we don't have time to say a `Hi'!
Gone are the days
When we played games on the road!
Now we
Code on the road with laptop!
Gone are the days
When we saw stars
shining at Night!
Now we see stars when our code doesn't
Work!
Gone are the days
When we sat to chat with Friends on grounds!
Now we chat in chat rooms.....!
Gone are the days
Where we
studied just to pass!
Now we study to save our job!
Gone are the days
Where we had no money in our pockets and still fun filled on our hearts!!
Now we have the atm as well as credit card but with an empty heart!!
Gone are the days
Where we shouted on the road!
Now we don't shout even at home
Gone are the days
where we got lectures from all!
Now we give lectures to all... like the one I'm doing now....!!
Gone are the days
But not the memories, which will be
Lingering in our hearts for ever and ever and
Ever and ever and ever.....
Gone are the Days.... But still there are lot more Days to come in our Life!!
NO MATTER HOW BUSY YOU ARE,
DONT FORGET TO
LIVE THE LIFE THAT STILL
EXISTS......"


---(source unknown)

Image

Hi guys.....slightly off shooting from the main topic that my blog generally talks about. This snap of mine i had been trying to put on my profile since ages and every time i tried editing my profile it gave me a message saying link broken and url not found.
Fortunately i was introduced to a website known as www.tinypic.com which lets u upload ur pic and in return gives u the url too so that u can post on blogs, forums etc...
So i guess if anyone is trying to use the methods which blogger is suggesting ......my 2 cents on it...simpler method is available at tinypics.
So keep blogging and adding images to spice up ur blog.

End of a Journey .......Only to start afresh

Saturday mornings are generally pretty laid back at office. The silence in the office with all the hotshots going to the "production review", is simply the most awaited time for all those who work at the grassroots (like me.. :)) . Every commoner indulges in a few vital hours of "orkutting" or "gmailing" to catch up on the weekly snippets that was due for discussion for the entire week.I often end up mailing my sis and friends on the updates if any on my front.
But 10.03.07 was different. I had been waiting for some news bytes from Yale. This school ranks pretty high and i should have refrained from apping to it ,yet something told me that this is my fit n its gotta b yale for an MBA.On opening gmail there i saw the mail with subject line as " Yale SOM admission status updated"
This almost told me that acceptance mails never have such subject lines. So it was just the plain formality that was left. I actually logged on to the Yale website as I was curious to know the exact words that told me that it’s a ding .
All such mails have an awesome verbal display. It makes you believe that u have got everything except what the b-schools are looking for :-))). My prior experience with such mails came to my rescue, as this letter from the Director of Admissions was short and sweet.This year for the 4th time I will be hearing the same “limited number of seats” phrase.So 2006 for me will be the year of misses rather than many hits.
There have been so many negatives, which I don’t even want to think about right now. The only silver lining that I could pick up was that my profile was able to get me interviews and it only fell apart when they saw that my GMAT let my application down. After loads of deliberations with some of my closest pals and my family, I have decided…(Yes, I have decided finally) iam going to have my crack at GMAT again.This implies inspite of having an admit iam going to defer my admission at one of good schools in my view to take a shot at that elusive Yale seat again.
So, guys here I present my blog that will turn into a quest for this elusive dream in the year 07-08. I will keep u posted with everything regarding my falls and even tad bit of breakthroughs that I gain. I hope the post on the day 10.03.08 reads “Victorious Atlast “. Let the game begin…...

Chillax

Yeah thats wat is the mood today. As i see most of my colleagues slog ( the month end phenomena), I can't help myself from smiling and thankin god for savin me from this drill this time . I am through with my design and thus enjoying a welcome break owing to some very very laid-back decision making skills of some of my superiors . Hatzzz off to all my superiors. U guyzzz rockkkkk!!!!! :-)))
Still the trouble is that when it comes to enjoyin these off-days something or the other has to go wrong. This time...it is my head. Having a severe headache..(i guess tried to be a smart ass and thought a lot when it wasn't required ...:-)) )
So what seemed like a perfect paid holiday has gone a lil awry. Nevermind....the song collection on my workstation did come to my rescue. As the slow soothing music played on in my ear phones.......i almost went into a trance...totally oblivious of the fact that my boss (who shares the cubicle space with me n 2 of my colleagues)was givin me some nasty stares. But then...when i slog ppl party....so i care a damn. Cheers to the free time. This has been a welcome break and iam trying to utilise this in the best possible way i can ...cos i know within 2 days my a$$ will be on fire as the pending decisions arrive. But till then it will be simply "Vacation Time"

Go for the Glory or Go bust

Last few days have been quite eventful. Lotsa good things happenin in a week.
One of the events has been simply worth the mention.
The event that kick started it all was the big bang interview invite from one of the "Ivy" league Colleges. I know, I know..... its just the first step and the most important hurdle lies ahead. More so because now there will be atleast 1000 great minds who will be competing for those few seats. But, lemme take a pause n just let this moment sink in. Actually I couldn't believe they actually gave me an invite. As soon as i saw the e-mail.......instantaneous reaction was "Oh shit".......( never even realised when my boss from adjacent seat threw a furtive glance at me to check out what i was upto) . Next few moments were dedicated for making phone calls and writing mails.....a) to my sis b) to one of my closest buddies Ranjith c) to Min -----cos it was she who actually thought i had a chance even when i didn't even contemplate apping to the Ivys.Thanx Min, for being there for me.
Also hats off to Ajay and Yugita, who after knowing that i had appd to such a good school always hoped that i wud get into it. Ajay has been helping me through out. Buddy this post is for u. Infact, When i was clueless bout what to do next this guy has been a phenom with his info and research. I can stick my neck out n say, Ajay Simha is an HBS material. If he settles for anything less ......its a mighty loss.....not for him but to an institution like HBS.Yugita, on the other hand, went out of her way to reply to my queries(however silly they might have been). She has given the valuable insider's view on it....n can still remember her magical words which concluded with---- "hope to see u in Aug"
As i grapple with theWhys and Why nows that will be fired at me .....I just know that this is it..... . The hours of cribbing bout lack of opportunity n the bickerings on this particular "rejected" scenario, which had almost been the routine with so many of my colleagues in domestic b-school apping game, almost made me think that i was gonna go the same way this year. Maybe this is not the only aspect thats gonna see whether iam gonna get that coveted admit. But then....I am gonna go at it with the attitude that reads.......
"Go for the Glory or Go bust"

Goal

Today , after travelling by road for 8 long hours, I came home at 6 am. I actually felt like a king when i got sweet home made "special tea" soon after arriving. These small things like the luxury of depending on ur parents,having those get togethers on festivals and the comfort levels that one gets from his family, i feel are simply unmatched.
With this frame of mind, I was suddenly having those bouts of thinking and rethinking bout my plans to study in US.Now one might wonder y am i spinning a yarn on this emotional note today n that too when my theme is totally different.It's because after these thoughts made me go crazy, i decided to watch the movie "Goal". Choice of the film wasn't based on any particular grounds (............ just cos (a) i had the access to this movie alone and(b) i hadn't watched it inspite of making plans to see it time n again for the past 2 months.)
My decision with movies has never been so right as it was today. "Goal" simply packs the punch . Simple theme, strong emotions & the urge to succeed is what makes this movie click. More so because it kinda firmly nailed the doubts that i had about pursuing my dream.
Santiago Munez, the protagonist is a LA resident, grown up on a staple diet of................"Soccer" or Football as they refer to in England. Simple turn of events occur.....a former scout sees the potential in Munez and convinces Newcastle United Coach to give him a trial.
Munez, against his father's wishes, lands up in newcastle and gets a trial with the reserve lads....fairs poorly n sees his dreams fade away. Emotions run high n the scout convinces newcastle coach to give him a fair trial for a month. Santiago latches on to the chance.....impresses everyone...(including the lady doc who first did his preliminary testing) .
Now everyone might feel ...........oh soooooo the story goes that this guy becomes a champ footballer.
Just as you start feeling that Santiago is the next big thing, story takes a slight twist that keeps the viewer on the edge of the seat.It is this ability of the script that simply keeps the viewer interested all the time.In the reserve side match against Man Utd , Santiago's asthama comes to light. Almost on the verge of being kicked out from the reserve squad, his case is pleaded by the Glamour boy of Newcastle united "Harris" who himself is in the line of fire for his abysmal performance on the pitch and his pompous lifestyle off it
Coach keeps the faith in the lad and from here on Munez's path to glory simply has to be watched. He further faces a heart breaking moment but still manages to come to terms with it and perform.
Films based on this genre, generally have one twist and as soon as the protagonist is through the 30 minutes of agony,tears and depression, he immediately strides towards glory and is seldom heldback during this charge towards his aspiration.
"Goal" deviates from other films in this aspect. This is because, time and again, Santiago Munez falters before he gets what he wants. Thus "Goal" is more closer to reality in the sense that in life we also falter so many times before getting what we want. It rightly shows the dejection and an almost backing out scenario of the protagonist which is what happens in real life too. When dreams shatter, many of us do get back to our comfort zones rather than getting up and trying again...( which is easier said than done...).
Slick football moves, shades of happiness followed quickly by shades of gloom and a sound performance from each actor is what drives home the point .
Don't know y i didn't watch it earlier but i guess it was best suited for the mood i was in today . For anyone seeking buckets of motivation, my advice would be.....Set ur sights firmly on this "Goal"....

SOP on Coffee Table

Yesterday, I could really understand how the ambience influences any piece of literature. Although my written works have been miles off from the literary fireworks but still i could see the difference in the way i think and write about something when there is right kind of atmosphere.
For the whole of last week, I had been planning to put together a decent statement of purpose. On Monday, while i was at home i tried delving into the subject and finding out why i wanted to go to a grad school. But the flow wasn't there in any of the write-ups that i wrote. Thats because early in the morning i simply wasn't in the mood to let loose my creative self. Tuesday was a similar story. The entire morning I dabbled with the write-up / SOP. But the only thing concrete that came out of it was a bucket full of paper trash. On Tuesday, it was the chaos at my work place that kept disturbing me. Also my apartment security knocked at least 5 times on the door for various reasons.
I had given myself time till Friday to put down at least answers to questions like a) Why i needed an MBA b) Short term / long term goals c) Any specialization that i particularly wanted to enroll into.
So as the deadline approached, On Wednesday I tried to shift into a subtler environment that could inspire the writer in me. The lounge music which i had put on to ensure that i write something, was soothing enough to inspire me to go n sleep...(see I am such a lazy bum.)
Then came Thursday, that’s yesterday something amazing happened. First in the morning got the news that a couple of my batch management trainees have left for greener pastures. It was nice to see them try n make the most of the Indian Job Scene. When i met them at office in the morning lots of old dorm talks / gossips emerged. Everyone was a bit nostalgic and everyone had a good thing or two to share about our first year in ABB.
I returned to work feeling a little sad that some of my closest pals had left. Soon I will also leave but exactly when that I don’t know. The morning get-together led me to think that how we worked closely on different projects together. Unknowingly I wanted to pen down everything that came to mind. But due to my hectic work schedule for the day I couldn’t put anything on my blog, forget about writing it down in a diary.
The evening was amazing as I grooved to the latest hip-hop tunes. Mayur and Heer as usual gave the best moves, which we tried to follow. But time and again, the mistakes seemed inevitable. Finally One routine of 4 bars was performed … and only three repetitions (wow …that’s the best I have ever done in the past six months with spin’s instructors).
Although my performance was marred by some errors, but it was all-fine as I could complete the routine with finesse. I left the premises of class with an urge to pen down something about the day. I went straight to Barista, ordered my favourite bru afagarto (…incidently this drink has lots of sweet memories attached to it so generally I have to order this @ barista) and with this started writing out on the note pad, which I had in my bag. After the first draft, the words started flowing smoothly. Revisions / Redrafts happened on its own. After 5 revisions I atleast had a motive as to why I wanted to attend a Grad School. An hour and a cappuccino later I was absolutely ready with several drafts of my SOP. Then I realized that barista was bustling with crowd by 9.30 pm. Families were enjoying the outing, couples were spending quality time in cozy corners and groups of youngsters were bantering over a cup of coffee. In the midst of this seemingly chaotic scene, I was so preoccupied with my coffee and the task on hand that I didn’t realize that how time flew by. It was almost 12 am when the guy behind the counter interrupted the linkin park song and announced that it was time for last order of the day. A moment later with my espresso on one side of the table, I started giving finishing touches to my statement of purpose.
Writing this 600-word document has been nothing less than writing an epic for me. I will put down in detail how one should go about it once I get any worthwhile admits. But admits or rejects, I have decided to pen down these moments (struggle while apping) of my life because this process of application simply makes u aware of who u really are and what purpose u plan to serve in this short productive life span. The process really (and I mean it) lets u know what your goals are and how you are going to go about it.
Lets see where I end up. Maybe 20 years down the line I can reflect back on this blog entry of mine and update it. With title……… “20 years hence”…

Sri's Routine ...

Last week Jaimin, Sri and myself had a couple of hours to spare n hence decided to
brood over a cup of coffee n a burger. Incidently Sri recently got his promotion. So his treat was pending anyways.
I have known sri n jaimin since quite some time but never had the time to actually go hang out with them. Sri actually is an amazing guy (not because he was treating us) but simply because he maintains such a hectic schedule without cribbing.
The good thing i learnt from him was time management. The guy actually uses (in the real sense) atleast 20 hrs of his day if not 24. Twice a week gymming for coupla hours and dance classes for the other 2 days. On sundays, this guy gets up at around 5 am and travels 60 km to attend his karate classes . Thats the time when iam
in my bed and in deeeeeeeeeep sleep.
Also consider this ... He has been following this schedule since the past 2 years. Truly awesome for a working professional. Hatz off to u dude.

8 Commandments that govern my life

This week i have been juggling around with my study schedules. The sole reason for this is the design on which iam working on. Now i "generally" don't pen down the complications happening in my professional life. But somehow after working on this i have realised i think i should write bout it.
The first aspect that it is the largest transformer that has ever been short circuit tested by any manufacturer in India. Second aspect n the aspect which i fear the most is that its reference design had an intial set back before it cud get smoothly tested.
This design from day one has been a roller coaster ride. The things which i assumed were a cake walk have turned out to be really messy . On the other hand the thing about which i made a big hue n cry was nothing but a 30 min job.
In the middle stages , i felt totally on my own...no reference n no one to guide cos one of my senior colleague (Mr. K) was on vacation. So dilemma a) follow the reference design n pray that there is no setback thereby meeting the deadline b) wait for Mr. K to return n then proceed , but with a delay of 7 x 3=21 working shifts.
One hotch potch solution to solve the dilemma has been worked out as of now. Teleconferencing with Mr. K for an hour in the morning....interpreting the result of it (which i am generally bad at :-)) ) n then proceeding with the modifications.
I dunno the fate of the design ....but the most interesting things that i have learned from this (n just for which i wrote the above 4-5 crappy paragraphs ) were....

a) Watever be the time frame u have worked on in the project .....still there is
something that u have forgotten to incorporate till the last minute that will stall the release of the product design.

b) Try n keep things as plain n simple as possible. Too much of innovation results in ......... a kick on ur ass (as top bosses always agree to plain simple version ...spice up the things n ....dhooom ....there u go flying out off the conference room)

c) Never trust a client.....( they r generally smooth operators...n use ur sense b4 u commit any thing. Believe them blindly at ur own risk !!!!)

d) Believe in Murphy's law.Watever can fail, will fail(...my interpretation of the law .dunno if thats the correct one ). Don't ever take printers/workstations/laptops/PENDRIVES/CDs for granted . These devices can and will screw up ur life the day u r about to present ur design to ur boss/VP/MD etc etc.

e) When u feel that 80 % of the project is done......in an hour or so u realise shit iam back to square one n have to start from near bout scratch.

f) Don't ever relax till the complete design is signed off.. just when u thought u have done it....there r some natural forces that will act and somehow client will ask for a change the very next day ......n this throws off ur schedule n weekend/holiday plans .

g) The day u make grand plans with ur family/girlfriend/boyfriend/friends.....ur boss has to give u a call and inform u that u will be required this weekend and u have to cancel all plans that u have made.

h) Last but not the least....expect urself to slog it alone...cos when u will be heavily loaded.... by fate or coincidence all ur colleagues will have loads of time for fun n frolic in office as well as outside it.
Hence when ever u have free time...live life king size. U never know when u will get that weekend off/holiday again :-))

Stressed out......

Past 24 hours for me have been the most nerve wracking . Every hour has brought up a new dilemma.The day started with dad asking me whether I would get leave of about 13 days for a trip abroad. Impulsively i uttered yes (can justify that iam desperate for a vacation now!!! its been a year since i had a decent break) . I realised just after ( and it had to be that the booking was made by then :-(( )that i may not make it to that trip as some work n other committments wud force me to chuck it. Entire morning was wasted literally just brooding over this.
Then there was this discussion in which my current state was the core of the debate. The point was whether to "app" now or sit n crack gmat again.It would have been so fruitful had my pals n me arrived at a definite verdict ....but to my bad luck half the junta said app now immediately n half the junta saying dude...try n go for that glorious score (if at all......) again....
As if this was not enough,a repeat order (already test passed design ) for a 66kV product has run into rough weather. Compounding my problems is the fact that i dont have any information the way this earlier design was done n to look into it would atleast take a day and to add to my woes the shop floor wants the clarification in an hour.....
I have only few words to describe wat one should do when plagued by such dilemmas........Look up into the sky n pray to god SAVE MY SOUL....:-)

Trip to Mahi

Last week was an eventful one.First was the departure to singapore of a dear friend . Its an important event as this friend of mine instilled in me a different view to see life. Before i met this wonderful friend entire focus of my professional life had been to do well in my short yet sweet professional career.The total chillax attitude in responding to some of the gravest of the problems around was her trademark style.
This trademark style prompted me to take a leaf out of her book n try a bit of adventure sport.As in ,riding a bike can hardly be called as adventure sport but well it was a good begining. So it was upto me n Kunal to flag of the trip. Kunal is one guy who will always be there on such kind of trips. Giving me a bike , a destination and he is on his way. Leave him alone to figure out the route n trust me u won't be disappointed.
The ride started with me n kunal cruising on our bikes. Although we had touched speeds in excess of 100 kms on our last ride, this it was like a cruise. We seldom did go beyond 40 kph speed mark.
This place where we had planned to go was --bank of river Mahi . Thats about 20 kms from the place where i stay . We started at around 10 am. A tinge of green was visible throughout the ride on either side of the road . Also the best thing about this route was we couldn't see even one pothole on the tar road . Hatz off to the road development corporation for maintaining it.On the way we picked up the bare essentials (read that as ...snacks/coke/ ciggies for kunal n center fresh for me ...:-) )
As soon as we reached there, the view of the river was splendid.This is the first time in almost many years this river has carried so much water (this is wat iam told).By then shashi had also joined us(we called him up n he shunned his plans for this ride)...We cudnt resist the charm of going on a boat ride in the river. So we asked a fisherman to take us on a boat ride. He obviously didn't want to refuse on the easy money he cud make n off we were, onto the boat and on a ride across to the other bank. It was fun to have gone on this ride.
On the way back, plans r already on to make the next ride about which i wud let u know in detail....so cya at the same place(thatz moi blog)...till then cya..:-)