It's only today that I realized that there is this seriously hot babe in my building. And the funny part is the way I discovered it.
For the last two days - there has been some water shortage issues in my building. I was actually planning on staying over at my friends place to beat the water problem, when some of my flatmates decided to do something about it and took matters into their hands, and arranged for a truckload of water.
An old lady came around collecting the cash - 70 bucks to be exact - from each house. An hour later, the water had still not come in my house. So, I went to the terrace to see what was happening. That's when I saw her!
Maaaaaaaaaaan ... She is gorgeous. Fair ... Nice Body ... Nice Curves ... Nice Ass ... and most importantly Nice Tits (I am a boobs man!!!). Once I saw her, I quickly jumped in and started running the show (in the hopes of attracting her attention/impressing her i.e.). I don't know whether she was impressed by that, but we did end up talking for over 30 mins (No ... Don't get any ideas people. We were just talking about how to resolve the water problems we were facing!).
But, to give myself some credit, we did do a little bit of small talk - where I slipped in the fact that I work at Oracle. You should have seen the expression on her face. It was like - "Wooooooooooooow ... You work at Oracle ... You must be super smart and super rich!!!" - was written all over it!
I also learnt that she works at this company called Zenith Softwares at Koramangala. And most importantly, she also mentioned that her mom is leaving for Chennai tomorrow and after that she's going to be alone for a couple of weeks.
(I don't know why she mentioned that point, but, somewhere in the back of my horny mind - I'm cooking up a lot of weirdo and kinky theories!!!)
Anyways ... Only time will tell how and where and to what extent this "association" will progress!!!
And before I forget - I have to thank Dr. Karunanidhi (Hon Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu) for helped me in this matter.
Confused?
Well ... The reasoning is pretty straight forward:
I met Anu (that's her name btw) because of the "Kaveri Water Shortage Issue" for which the sole cause is Dr. Karunanidhi.
"Jai Kalangar Karunanidhi!!!"
(Being a little melodramatic aren't I)
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
There Is Too Much Water Under The Bridge
I came across this phrase "There's Too Much Water Under The Bridge" whilst I reading a book recently, and after some googling, found out that it means - "Things have been damaged/spoiled well beyond repair".
I guess its the perfect word to describe things between me and my X-College Sweetheart.
(I don't want to mention her name here, but people who know me well/from college will probably know who I'm talking about!)
We broke up in a very very very (no ... I didn't repeat the very's accidentally) nasty manner.
I guess I have to account that to - confusions between us, the geographical distance between us (her in Calicut and me in Chennai), my insecurities, a "particularly scary" problem - or should I call it a tendency - she had (don't ask me what - I ain't gonna tell!), jealousy on her part, doubts on my part, pressure and tensions of starting a career, restrictions placed on me by my relatives with whom I was staying, my physical needs, etc, etc, etc. (I could go on forever, and I bet she had a similarily long list too!).
Anyways ... All those "reasons" finally culminated in an outburst. Correction - it was more like a NUCLEAR EXPLOSION!
I said a lot of things I shouldn't have, she reciprocated in kind. Which made me say even more nastier stuff - which made her break down and cry.
The Nett Effect - the relationship was doomed!!!
In all fairness, I did miss her a lot and did try to revive the relationship a couple of months down the road. After a lot of cajoling and apologising on my part - we decided to give it another shot.
But, try as much as we might, the most important element in a relationship - TRUST - had disappeared.
As the weeks passed - we fought over sillier and sillier things, and soon the rift between us became so huge, that yet again - we had a disastrous fight and we broke up yet again!
The only difference this time was - the break up was for good!
After that incident, we didn't speak for close to 2 years. I guess we both moved on with our lives.
After around a 2 year hiatus when we finally starting talking (more like chatting over gtalk), things were completely different. I was finding it difficult to pick up a conversation with the girl with whom I used speak for at least 10 - 12 hours a day during college. And the soreness and anger (maybe even hatred) inside both of us was so very noticeable.
Even smallest chit chat sessions would end up in fights - for no valid reasons of course - which were followed by weeks if not months of silence and cold war, and then either of us (mostly me) would initiate an icebreaker chat which would eventually - yet again i.e. - lead to a fight ....
(You get the picture!)
She was in Bangalore for around 1.5 months - for her summers program - and neither I nor her took the initiative to meet up for a coffee. That's a courtesy you give even the most casual of acquaintances when they're in your area/vice versa.
This is when I truly realized how bad things were between us!
Heck - I repeat what I started off saying in this blog - There's Too Much Water Under The Bridge!
I guess its the perfect word to describe things between me and my X-College Sweetheart.
(I don't want to mention her name here, but people who know me well/from college will probably know who I'm talking about!)
We broke up in a very very very (no ... I didn't repeat the very's accidentally) nasty manner.
I guess I have to account that to - confusions between us, the geographical distance between us (her in Calicut and me in Chennai), my insecurities, a "particularly scary" problem - or should I call it a tendency - she had (don't ask me what - I ain't gonna tell!), jealousy on her part, doubts on my part, pressure and tensions of starting a career, restrictions placed on me by my relatives with whom I was staying, my physical needs, etc, etc, etc. (I could go on forever, and I bet she had a similarily long list too!).
Anyways ... All those "reasons" finally culminated in an outburst. Correction - it was more like a NUCLEAR EXPLOSION!
I said a lot of things I shouldn't have, she reciprocated in kind. Which made me say even more nastier stuff - which made her break down and cry.
The Nett Effect - the relationship was doomed!!!
In all fairness, I did miss her a lot and did try to revive the relationship a couple of months down the road. After a lot of cajoling and apologising on my part - we decided to give it another shot.
But, try as much as we might, the most important element in a relationship - TRUST - had disappeared.
As the weeks passed - we fought over sillier and sillier things, and soon the rift between us became so huge, that yet again - we had a disastrous fight and we broke up yet again!
The only difference this time was - the break up was for good!
After that incident, we didn't speak for close to 2 years. I guess we both moved on with our lives.
After around a 2 year hiatus when we finally starting talking (more like chatting over gtalk), things were completely different. I was finding it difficult to pick up a conversation with the girl with whom I used speak for at least 10 - 12 hours a day during college. And the soreness and anger (maybe even hatred) inside both of us was so very noticeable.
Even smallest chit chat sessions would end up in fights - for no valid reasons of course - which were followed by weeks if not months of silence and cold war, and then either of us (mostly me) would initiate an icebreaker chat which would eventually - yet again i.e. - lead to a fight ....
(You get the picture!)
She was in Bangalore for around 1.5 months - for her summers program - and neither I nor her took the initiative to meet up for a coffee. That's a courtesy you give even the most casual of acquaintances when they're in your area/vice versa.
This is when I truly realized how bad things were between us!
Heck - I repeat what I started off saying in this blog - There's Too Much Water Under The Bridge!
Dasavatharam - Movie Review
I went for the movie Dasavatharam starring Kamal Hassan, with my cousin Sriji, on Sunday (15-06-2008). I must mention that we had to take the tickets in Black (For people who didn't understand what that means - It means - I had to pay 100 bucks for a ticket that should actually have cost only 60 because I had to buy it off the "Black Market").
Although the story is pretty average, the movie - on the whole - is fast paced. The music is amazing, screenplay is good and Kamal Hassan's acting is, without any doubt, Spectacular.
Generally, I am hardcore fan of Asin. On that note - let me make things crystal clear by saying - it's not because of her acting prowess but more so because of her A-Potent-And-Perfect-Mix-Of-Cute-And-Sexy looks.
But even that did not come to her rescue in this picture. Not only is the role played by her completely forgettable, she also overacts like mad. The character she plays (or maybe it's just her!) is so nagging and irritating that I wanted to give her a tight slap right then and there in the theater!
(I know it's impossible to do that - but trust me when I say - you will want to as well!!!)
Also, there were a few Kamal "avatars" which had no significance in the play. For example "The Paatti", "George Bush", "Chineese Martial Arts Instructor", "7 Foot Tall Guy", "Singer Singh". I guess he just wanted to beat Sivaji Ganeshan's record of 9 roles.
But, justice be done - each of roles have been played to perfection by Kamal.
This picture is indeed Kamal Hassan's Magnum Opus and once again - Kamal has proved that he is the best actor in South India
On the whole, this picture is definitely worth one (even two or three - if you have the patience) watch!!!
Although the story is pretty average, the movie - on the whole - is fast paced. The music is amazing, screenplay is good and Kamal Hassan's acting is, without any doubt, Spectacular.
Generally, I am hardcore fan of Asin. On that note - let me make things crystal clear by saying - it's not because of her acting prowess but more so because of her A-Potent-And-Perfect-Mix-Of-Cute-And-Sexy looks.
But even that did not come to her rescue in this picture. Not only is the role played by her completely forgettable, she also overacts like mad. The character she plays (or maybe it's just her!) is so nagging and irritating that I wanted to give her a tight slap right then and there in the theater!
(I know it's impossible to do that - but trust me when I say - you will want to as well!!!)
Also, there were a few Kamal "avatars" which had no significance in the play. For example "The Paatti", "George Bush", "Chineese Martial Arts Instructor", "7 Foot Tall Guy", "Singer Singh". I guess he just wanted to beat Sivaji Ganeshan's record of 9 roles.
But, justice be done - each of roles have been played to perfection by Kamal.
This picture is indeed Kamal Hassan's Magnum Opus and once again - Kamal has proved that he is the best actor in South India
On the whole, this picture is definitely worth one (even two or three - if you have the patience) watch!!!
Lonely Again
For the last two weeks, my cousin (Sriji) and my brother (Appu) were staying with me at my Bangalore home. For those of you who don't know - I stay in a tiny 1 BHK all by myself.
And no, I won't be fending questions as to when/what/why I am staying alone! Let's leave that for another blog shall we.
So - Back to the story of the day ...
So, there were three of us staying in my house. Although it was cramped - it was as fun as fun can be.
From Gossip Sessions To Cooking Dinner To Watching Movies Every night To Booze Parties - Maaaaaaaaaan ... It was helloffaa fun 2 weeks.
As the wise say - "All Good Things Must Come To An End", and so did this fun spree. As of Sunday, Appu moved in with his friends at Indiranagar. Sriji has gone for a week-long tour and by the time he comes back, he'll probably have found a good apartment for himself and his family.
I guess this only means one thing - Its back to "Me-Myself-And-My-1BHK"
And no, I won't be fending questions as to when/what/why I am staying alone! Let's leave that for another blog shall we.
So - Back to the story of the day ...
So, there were three of us staying in my house. Although it was cramped - it was as fun as fun can be.
From Gossip Sessions To Cooking Dinner To Watching Movies Every night To Booze Parties - Maaaaaaaaaan ... It was helloffaa fun 2 weeks.
As the wise say - "All Good Things Must Come To An End", and so did this fun spree. As of Sunday, Appu moved in with his friends at Indiranagar. Sriji has gone for a week-long tour and by the time he comes back, he'll probably have found a good apartment for himself and his family.
I guess this only means one thing - Its back to "Me-Myself-And-My-1BHK"
Monday, June 9, 2008
Cool Cartoon ...
I found this cartoon on my friend KSP's blog. I just loved it so much that I decided to post it on my blog as well.
N.B: KSP - Sorry for stealing your cartoon. No plagiarism intended.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Working Out - 15 days Into the program
Its been 15 odd days since I started working out. And thankfully, most of all to my friend and gym partner Chery, I have been very regular this time around.
And although the results are not too visible (yet), I feel like a totally different person now. I feel more confident, energetic and enthusiastic about everything, and most importantly, these days - I sleep like a baby - instead of tossing and turning around like I used to earlier.
And the best part is - I've become calorie conscious. I never thought I'd see the day when I would end up looking at the caloric value of all the foods I eat and start screening them out or in based on how high or low they are in terms of calories and carb content.
In closure I would like to quote the Mc.Donald's punch line - "I'M LOVING IT!!!"
And although the results are not too visible (yet), I feel like a totally different person now. I feel more confident, energetic and enthusiastic about everything, and most importantly, these days - I sleep like a baby - instead of tossing and turning around like I used to earlier.
And the best part is - I've become calorie conscious. I never thought I'd see the day when I would end up looking at the caloric value of all the foods I eat and start screening them out or in based on how high or low they are in terms of calories and carb content.
In closure I would like to quote the Mc.Donald's punch line - "I'M LOVING IT!!!"
My TCS - Cochin - Interview
Today (23/05/2008) I had an interview with TCS, Cochin. Working at Oracle for the last 18+ months has been a wonderful experience in terms of the sort of facilities they give + the sort of work culture they follow + the "Zero-Politics" principles they inculcate in each and every employee, etc, etc.
But, on prima facie, I think I will have to give all this up if I want to pursue a career option with TCS, Cochin.
I met an old schoolmate of mine - Vivek - who reacted as follows: "Eda ... Are you fucking crazy to leave Oracle and come work at this shit hole company????" - when I told him I am here for an interview. Another schoolmate of mine - Rohit - who was the one who referred me for this opening also gave a similar feedback, albeit using better words (I think we can accredit that to his preparing really hard for CAT 07)
:-D
And worse still, I think I might even have to give up the fat (ok - not so fat as per current market standards) pay cheque that Oracle gives me!
But, to give them some credit, they haven't quoted their "numbers" yet. As per the HR lady - Ms. Rajashree - at TCS, I will get the know about the offer (if any) latest by Monday end of day.
So, for now, I guess the only thing left to do is - wait for them to mention their "Numbers" per se ...
But, on prima facie, I think I will have to give all this up if I want to pursue a career option with TCS, Cochin.
I met an old schoolmate of mine - Vivek - who reacted as follows: "Eda ... Are you fucking crazy to leave Oracle and come work at this shit hole company????" - when I told him I am here for an interview. Another schoolmate of mine - Rohit - who was the one who referred me for this opening also gave a similar feedback, albeit using better words (I think we can accredit that to his preparing really hard for CAT 07)
:-D
And worse still, I think I might even have to give up the fat (ok - not so fat as per current market standards) pay cheque that Oracle gives me!
But, to give them some credit, they haven't quoted their "numbers" yet. As per the HR lady - Ms. Rajashree - at TCS, I will get the know about the offer (if any) latest by Monday end of day.
So, for now, I guess the only thing left to do is - wait for them to mention their "Numbers" per se ...
My Bro's Gonna Start Working
Finally ... My little brother (Ok ... Not so "little" anymore) is starting to work. And as fate would have it - he's gonna work for the same company as me. So - Same School -> Same College -> Same Company. "Is it a co-incidence?" many people as me. Well - Of late I've been hearing that a lot, and honestly the answer is YES.
Schooling - well you can't blame (or maybe you should) my parents for wanting to educate us in the same institution.
College - He just did extremely well in his entrance exams (just like I did when I appeared for them)
Work - He was super brilliant and Oracle chose him (I was just plain lucky. As they say - at the right place at the right time!)
Anyways ... I just hope he ends up in some other team other than mine. And this I wish for two major reasons:
1. My team is not exactly the most happening team in the company right now.
2. The last thing I want is to compete with my brother, for growth and glory, at the workplace!!!
I guess time is the only thing that will tell if/not he will end up in my team.
But, taking a cue from all the events that's happened so far - I wouldn't be surprised if he did land up in my team!
(Guess - that situation has only one outcome - I'LL QUIT!!!)
Schooling - well you can't blame (or maybe you should) my parents for wanting to educate us in the same institution.
College - He just did extremely well in his entrance exams (just like I did when I appeared for them)
Work - He was super brilliant and Oracle chose him (I was just plain lucky. As they say - at the right place at the right time!)
Anyways ... I just hope he ends up in some other team other than mine. And this I wish for two major reasons:
1. My team is not exactly the most happening team in the company right now.
2. The last thing I want is to compete with my brother, for growth and glory, at the workplace!!!
I guess time is the only thing that will tell if/not he will end up in my team.
But, taking a cue from all the events that's happened so far - I wouldn't be surprised if he did land up in my team!
(Guess - that situation has only one outcome - I'LL QUIT!!!)
Movie Review - Paycheck
I saw the movie Paycheck - starring Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman - on Friday evening (16/05/2008), and I must say - It's definitely and interesting movie.
Hmmmmmmm ... I think I'm not being very fair by making that statement. So, let me rephrase the previous statement to - The movie is mind blowing!!!
(I'm not gonna talk about it here - see the movie if you want to know what its all about. All I can say is - you won't regret it!),
For all those movie buffs who love movies like "Butterfly Effect", "Minority Report", etc - this is a must watch movie.
So, open up those beer cans, pop the popcorn and watch this movie ...
Let me know how it went!!!
Hmmmmmmm ... I think I'm not being very fair by making that statement. So, let me rephrase the previous statement to - The movie is mind blowing!!!
(I'm not gonna talk about it here - see the movie if you want to know what its all about. All I can say is - you won't regret it!),
For all those movie buffs who love movies like "Butterfly Effect", "Minority Report", etc - this is a must watch movie.
So, open up those beer cans, pop the popcorn and watch this movie ...
Let me know how it went!!!
Sunday, May 18, 2008
My Team - A Sinking Galleon
A couple of months into joining Oracle, my team constituted of 6 members - Praveen, Milan, Annapoorani, Ariff, Saravanan, Ali, and Good old Me!
The first member to leave was Praveen. Although I did miss him as a friend, since another member - Milan - was the one chalked out as his replacement, I didn't feel to much of a change in work load.
Then, a couple of months later, Milan abandoned ship. Milan's resignation came as a shock, partly because we only came to know about his quiting somewhere during the last week of his notice period, and partly because - I was chalked out to take on his work load, at least until we hired another person.
But, let me add this, since we are in a "Hiring Freeze" period - I don't see us hiring any new people. At least not anytime soon!
Just as I was beginning to come to reality with this extra work load, another member in the team - Annapoorani - took off for 3 weeks to get married. Initially, she was saying that she WOULD come back to work after marriage etc. But, for the last couple of weeks, she's been saying - "Maybe" she might quit, especially if her husband wants her to do so!
But, thankfully, since she and I work on completely different technology platforms, with any luck - I won't have to take on her workload.
Then, another team member - Ariff - who is the person that'd end up taking on Annapoorani's work load (in the event she's flies the coop i.e.), has started cracking jokes about quiting. Although his comments were supposed to be jocular in nature - I have a gut feeling that he probably means business!!!
And when I thought things couldn't get any worse, the star member of my team - Ali - quits!!!
He's got admit calls from some really prestigious MBA institutes in India and abroad, and ergo wants to pursue a degree there.
(It's what any sane person would do!!!)
Since, I am the only other person in the team working on the same technology stack as Ali, sure as hell - I will have to take on his work load. And trust me when I say - that means a shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit load of extra work!
Thankfully - we got a bakra - Abhiram Nagappa, who, at the moment - is sharing my work load. But, I feel sorry for him as he's gonna get crushed by the workload the second I bail out of this sinking ship!!!
Every time I mention that to him - he cries - "Ravi Bhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaai !!!"
(For those blinking in suspense - Ravi Bhai is Ravi Ramachandran, our ex-colleague, who works at CTS and has been trying - very hard that too - to get us to leave Oracle and join CTS!!!)
:-D
From the looks of it - I guess I'm gonna end up doing 5 times as much work for the same pay. I don't love my company, boss or work that much!!!
The following one word should say what's going on in my mind - "Juranimooooooooooooooooooooooooooo"
The first member to leave was Praveen. Although I did miss him as a friend, since another member - Milan - was the one chalked out as his replacement, I didn't feel to much of a change in work load.
Then, a couple of months later, Milan abandoned ship. Milan's resignation came as a shock, partly because we only came to know about his quiting somewhere during the last week of his notice period, and partly because - I was chalked out to take on his work load, at least until we hired another person.
But, let me add this, since we are in a "Hiring Freeze" period - I don't see us hiring any new people. At least not anytime soon!
Just as I was beginning to come to reality with this extra work load, another member in the team - Annapoorani - took off for 3 weeks to get married. Initially, she was saying that she WOULD come back to work after marriage etc. But, for the last couple of weeks, she's been saying - "Maybe" she might quit, especially if her husband wants her to do so!
But, thankfully, since she and I work on completely different technology platforms, with any luck - I won't have to take on her workload.
Then, another team member - Ariff - who is the person that'd end up taking on Annapoorani's work load (in the event she's flies the coop i.e.), has started cracking jokes about quiting. Although his comments were supposed to be jocular in nature - I have a gut feeling that he probably means business!!!
And when I thought things couldn't get any worse, the star member of my team - Ali - quits!!!
He's got admit calls from some really prestigious MBA institutes in India and abroad, and ergo wants to pursue a degree there.
(It's what any sane person would do!!!)
Since, I am the only other person in the team working on the same technology stack as Ali, sure as hell - I will have to take on his work load. And trust me when I say - that means a shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit load of extra work!
Thankfully - we got a bakra - Abhiram Nagappa, who, at the moment - is sharing my work load. But, I feel sorry for him as he's gonna get crushed by the workload the second I bail out of this sinking ship!!!
Every time I mention that to him - he cries - "Ravi Bhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaai !!!"
(For those blinking in suspense - Ravi Bhai is Ravi Ramachandran, our ex-colleague, who works at CTS and has been trying - very hard that too - to get us to leave Oracle and join CTS!!!)
:-D
From the looks of it - I guess I'm gonna end up doing 5 times as much work for the same pay. I don't love my company, boss or work that much!!!
The following one word should say what's going on in my mind - "Juranimooooooooooooooooooooooooooo"
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Switching to Consulting
My team as it is - is drooping, and now, for real, I too am thinking of fleeing!!!
Not a very loyal, nor for that matter brave, thing to do eh?
But ... Truth be told - I'd put the blame on the following factors:
(1) A spiralling work load.
(2) Poor facilities @ the new office - No more biscuits, No more Soft Drinks or Tetrapack Juices, Pathetic coffee vending machine, No company-organized bus service, No security coverage for personal belongings at the work place, Fear of being robbed/mugged on the way back, etc.
(3) Employees leaving top-bottom-left-and-right is slowly beginning to triger a domino effect amongst the remaining work force.
(4) No replacement hires happening.
(5) Lack of clarity and visibility on when the hike cycles/correction cycles/promotion cycles are going to happen. This leads to a general lack of motivation to push yourself to the extremes.
If I were to put in an lighter shade - If I were to look at it from the point of the "Donkey-And-The-Carrot" story, the Carrot (Hikes/Promotions/Bonuses) is no longer visible, and ergo, the Donkey (We Employees) is not in the least bit enthusiastic about working!
(6) Zero Overseas Opportunities.
(7) Lack of Opportunities to switch roles and responsibilities.
(8) Dissatisfied about my current paystack.
I am in a dilemma as to whether/not talk to my manager about my plans, or just go ahead with my plans and jump organizations!!!
He's been a great guy and an even greater boss so far. That's what makes me want to help him out by giving him a headsup at the very least. But, I know if I go to him with my woes and concerns - he'll give me some pep talk, in the most "managerial" fashion possible, and I'll end up being "brainwashed" to stay!
It's not like I haven't raised my concerns to him earlier, but, like I mentioned earlier, all I have received so far is pep talk and requests to be patient. But, pep talk can only do so much. As, a week later, all your worries come back stronger than before and yet again they begin to taunt you!
Anyways ... For now ... I am just gonna play it low!
Manager Sir'ji - If by any chance you are reading this blog - I'm sorry for not having kept you in the loop about my plans ... Nothing personal about it!!!
N.B: Let me make up for not giving you a headsup by giving you a useful tidbit of news:
The moment I put down my resignation, you can be rest assured that a flurry of resignations will flow in like the wind. I don't want to and neither will I take names - but trust me - this much I can assure you!!!
Not a very loyal, nor for that matter brave, thing to do eh?
But ... Truth be told - I'd put the blame on the following factors:
(1) A spiralling work load.
(2) Poor facilities @ the new office - No more biscuits, No more Soft Drinks or Tetrapack Juices, Pathetic coffee vending machine, No company-organized bus service, No security coverage for personal belongings at the work place, Fear of being robbed/mugged on the way back, etc.
(3) Employees leaving top-bottom-left-and-right is slowly beginning to triger a domino effect amongst the remaining work force.
(4) No replacement hires happening.
(5) Lack of clarity and visibility on when the hike cycles/correction cycles/promotion cycles are going to happen. This leads to a general lack of motivation to push yourself to the extremes.
If I were to put in an lighter shade - If I were to look at it from the point of the "Donkey-And-The-Carrot" story, the Carrot (Hikes/Promotions/Bonuses) is no longer visible, and ergo, the Donkey (We Employees) is not in the least bit enthusiastic about working!
(6) Zero Overseas Opportunities.
(7) Lack of Opportunities to switch roles and responsibilities.
(8) Dissatisfied about my current paystack.
I am in a dilemma as to whether/not talk to my manager about my plans, or just go ahead with my plans and jump organizations!!!
He's been a great guy and an even greater boss so far. That's what makes me want to help him out by giving him a headsup at the very least. But, I know if I go to him with my woes and concerns - he'll give me some pep talk, in the most "managerial" fashion possible, and I'll end up being "brainwashed" to stay!
It's not like I haven't raised my concerns to him earlier, but, like I mentioned earlier, all I have received so far is pep talk and requests to be patient. But, pep talk can only do so much. As, a week later, all your worries come back stronger than before and yet again they begin to taunt you!
Anyways ... For now ... I am just gonna play it low!
Manager Sir'ji - If by any chance you are reading this blog - I'm sorry for not having kept you in the loop about my plans ... Nothing personal about it!!!
N.B: Let me make up for not giving you a headsup by giving you a useful tidbit of news:
The moment I put down my resignation, you can be rest assured that a flurry of resignations will flow in like the wind. I don't want to and neither will I take names - but trust me - this much I can assure you!!!
My New Apartment's Owner
On Friday, I had gone to meet Mrs. Shakuntalama M, the owner of 1 BHK I am shifting to. She lives a good 18 kms from the house in some area called Prashant Nagar. The broker, during our autorikshaw ride to her house, had told me that she was a very rich lady and was giving all sorts of descriptions of how majestic the house in which she resides is.
At that time, I didn't think much of it. As a matter of fact, I even thought he's bullshitting me. But, when I actually got to her house - give the cricket mania going on right now - I believe the right termed to described my feeling right then is "Stumped".
Seriously, the house which was built in a 50 * 80 plot has 10 feet high walls (I ain't joking!!!). It kindda gave it a fortress sort of feel. The gates opened via remote control (Kya Technology Hai!!!)
And the interiors ... Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan !!!
That's what held me spellbound. The house had so much of wooden inlay work - that it'd have taken atleast half a forest to make it!!!
There were these twin teakwood pillars around 10 feet high - which as per my estimate would've cost 1.5 laks a piece. The 54" Sony Home Theatre System added to the sights and sounds of the house.
In short - this house makes all the other BIG houses I have been to, look like a public restroom!!!
On the way back - when I asked the broker, he told me that her husband was a very highely ranked officer in the forestries department. Well, that explains where all the wood came from!!!
:D
I also learned that she has a daughter - and that too - an unmarried one. Also, I am told, that she comes around to collect the rent every month. Let's see if I can somehow seduce her. That way - I get to take a dig at all her mom's wealth.
(How Clever Of Me eh!!!)
Heck - It this isn't motivation enough to hit the gym - Nothing Is!!!
Chisel ... Here I Come!!!
At that time, I didn't think much of it. As a matter of fact, I even thought he's bullshitting me. But, when I actually got to her house - give the cricket mania going on right now - I believe the right termed to described my feeling right then is "Stumped".
Seriously, the house which was built in a 50 * 80 plot has 10 feet high walls (I ain't joking!!!). It kindda gave it a fortress sort of feel. The gates opened via remote control (Kya Technology Hai!!!)
And the interiors ... Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan !!!
That's what held me spellbound. The house had so much of wooden inlay work - that it'd have taken atleast half a forest to make it!!!
There were these twin teakwood pillars around 10 feet high - which as per my estimate would've cost 1.5 laks a piece. The 54" Sony Home Theatre System added to the sights and sounds of the house.
In short - this house makes all the other BIG houses I have been to, look like a public restroom!!!
On the way back - when I asked the broker, he told me that her husband was a very highely ranked officer in the forestries department. Well, that explains where all the wood came from!!!
:D
I also learned that she has a daughter - and that too - an unmarried one. Also, I am told, that she comes around to collect the rent every month. Let's see if I can somehow seduce her. That way - I get to take a dig at all her mom's wealth.
(How Clever Of Me eh!!!)
Heck - It this isn't motivation enough to hit the gym - Nothing Is!!!
Chisel ... Here I Come!!!
Back To The Gym
I've been wanting to hit the gym for a very looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time now, and finally, its going to be a reality. And, I owe it all to my friend Chery!!!
As of now - what I've decided - I'm going to enroll with the health club "Chisel" and work out every morning between 8 am - 9.30 am. Since, Cherry is also hitting the gym at the same time, he has graciously agreed to pick/drop me at my home.
Hopefully, this time around, I'll be regular and won't "Drop Out" for some reason or the other. Anyways - Chery's already given me motivation to not-drop-out-this-time. To quote his exact words - "Bugger ... If you even think of dropping out - I'll kill you you bastard!!!".
Knowing him - he probably will ...
Besides, Chisel charges around 5000 bucks for 3 months. So, as you can guess, it'd be an expensive mistake to pay up and then not turn up for gym class.
Anyways ... I don't know what or why - but this time, I think I'm going to be a regular to the gym.
(Touchwood!!!)
Wish me luck guys (and gals ofcourse)!!!
As of now - what I've decided - I'm going to enroll with the health club "Chisel" and work out every morning between 8 am - 9.30 am. Since, Cherry is also hitting the gym at the same time, he has graciously agreed to pick/drop me at my home.
Hopefully, this time around, I'll be regular and won't "Drop Out" for some reason or the other. Anyways - Chery's already given me motivation to not-drop-out-this-time. To quote his exact words - "Bugger ... If you even think of dropping out - I'll kill you you bastard!!!".
Knowing him - he probably will ...
Besides, Chisel charges around 5000 bucks for 3 months. So, as you can guess, it'd be an expensive mistake to pay up and then not turn up for gym class.
Anyways ... I don't know what or why - but this time, I think I'm going to be a regular to the gym.
(Touchwood!!!)
Wish me luck guys (and gals ofcourse)!!!
Moving Into My 1 BHK
I am planning to move into my new home over this weekend. As a forerunner to that I need to start packing my stuff, need to pay the remainder of the house advance, need to intimate the current owner to come and have a look at the house and work on the final settlement of the rent deposit we gave him, etc, etc, etc.
So, basically, its going to be a very very hectic weekend for me this time around. And you know what - I look forward to it. After all - It's not every time you move into your first "purely-to-myself" 1BHK Apartment.
The way I see it - The effort is really worth each and every bead of sweat!!!
:)
So, basically, its going to be a very very hectic weekend for me this time around. And you know what - I look forward to it. After all - It's not every time you move into your first "purely-to-myself" 1BHK Apartment.
The way I see it - The effort is really worth each and every bead of sweat!!!
:)
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Useful Stuff - Interview Questions
Here are some interview questions you might find useful.
I have 3+ yrs of Work Experience primarily in Java/J2EE, Oracle Applications, and Oracle Applications Framework.
So, people with > or < experience that me can expect an increase or decrease in the standard of the questions you might end up getting.
===============
CURRENT PROJECT
===============
1. Explain Business Requirement/Domain Need to which the product caters to.
2. Explain Architecture of the application.
3. Roles and Responsibilities in current project.
4. Participated in which all stages of the SDLC.
5. Which Software Development Model is used for the project. What is the business need to use this model.
======
PL/SQL
======
1. Exception Handling.
2. Collection Objects.
3. Cursors.
==========
SQL TUNING
==========
1. Need for hints.
2. Name a couple of hints.
3. Performance implication of IN clause.
4. Advantages of IN v/s EXISTS.
5. Maximum number of parameters IN clause can take.
6. How does SQL Engine work.
7. Explain Plan - How is it calculated/decided.
8. When to go for denormalization/normalization of tables.
9. How to read a trace file.
10. Is full table scan always a bad thing.
11. When does an Index degrade performance.
12. What are the different types of indexes, and when and where should they be used.
13. Does using a hint ensure that the SQL Engine will follow the instruction specified in the hint.
===
SQL
===
1. How to lock a row in the table without performing an update command.
2. What is Outer Joint.
3. How to get the 3rd highest value of an attribute in a table.
4. Design criteria for deciding what all attributes will go into a table, and number of tables needed.
5. WHO Columns - What is the business need for such columns in a table.
6. Do you use index on String fields on a table. If yes - what is the performance implication of the same.
7. How do you partition data/tables to ensure maximum performance, especially when tables have 10's of millions of rows of data.
8. How can you do clustering of a D/B.
====
JAVA
====
1. OOPS Concepts.
2. Difference between Abstract Class and Interface.
3. Why doest object class contain methods like wait(), waitFor(), notify(), notifyAll().
4. Why should all classes extend Object.
5. If Class A extends B, then how does A extend Object - since one class can only extend one class.
6. How can you load/unload a class which has been loaded by the JVM.
7. How to write Custom Classloaders.
8. What are the different interfaces in Collections.
9. Linked List - What is the advantage of using it in Java.
10. What is the significance of having a datastructure like linked list.
11. Performance of Linked List v/s ArrayList.
12. Difference between ArrayList and Vector. Which and Why and Where would you use these collection objects.
13. If you had to add 1 million objects to a particular collection object, which collection objection would you use and why.
14. Feature differences/advancements in Java 1.6 v/s 1.5 v/s 1.4
15. Usage of Iterators.
16. Garbage collection.
17. What are the different ways in which the JVM decides which objects are ready for Garbage Collection.
18. Why is a method like System.gc() given - when there is no assurance of the GC being called.
19. Give a practical need/use of overloading the finalize() method.
20. When and Why does a programmer have to do a System.gc().
21. Why doesn't Java give programmers the privilege to overload operators.
22. WHY is String considered a special object. Why is this privelege not extended to other classes.
23. String is an immutable object. Why so.
24. Difference between String and StringBuffer.
25. When is String more performant and useful than a StringBuffer.
26. Why is the entry point of an class which needs to be run from a console - public static void main(String args[])
27. How to write native methods in Java. Is it advisable to do so.
28. Explain what CORBA stands for and the need for the same.
29. Difference between Checked and Unchecked Exceptions.
30. Explain the design condition when would you decide that your method would throw a Checked Exception or an UnCheckedException.
Also, give a real-time example to support your answer.
31. Multi-Threaded Applications - What is your exposure to them.
32. How is exception handling done in Java.
33. What is the business need to have exception handling in Java.
34. Why do we need the finally block.
35. If an application encounters an Error or an Unchecked Exception - does it crash. If not - is it a good idea to continue running it.
36. Have you encountered and Errors, if yes - name them.
====
JDBC
====
1. Types of drivers available.
2. Which is the most performant driver and why.
3. Under which scenarios would and should one use each of the 4 types of drivers.
4. Different Steps involved in JDBC, from start to end, to fire an SQL query and get a resultset.
5. Where would you write the conn.close() - in the method or in a finally block. What is the advantage of doing so.
6. Connection Pooling concepts.
7. Explain what are the standard methods one would need in a ConnectionPool class.
8. Differences between JDBC 1.0 and JDBC 2.0
9. Difference between Datasource and ResultSet.
10. Scrollable Resultset - What is the advantage of such resultsets. When do we need to use such a resultset.
11. How to create a scrollable resultset.
12. Why do we need a Datasource when in the code we can make the URI being referred point to Collection Pool directly,
as a Datasoruce indirectly points to a Collection Pool anyways.
13. If ResultSet/Connection/Statement etc are Interfaces - who gives the implementation of these interfaces.
14. If you were to write your own Driver API - which class would you need to give and implementation of.
15. How to achieve Batch Update.
16. Difference between - execute(), executeQuery(), executeUpdate().
17. Difference between - Statement and PreparedStatement.
18. What is a PreparedStatement Cache.
19. In PreparedStatement - where is the explain plan cached - D/B, Application Server, JVM, Application, Heap Memory.
20. What happens when you fire an "Update ...." command in the executeQuery().
21. What happens when you fire an "Update ...." command in the executeQuery() and zero lines are updated.
22. How do you get SQL Warnings. Name other approaches besides using the getSQLWarnings() method.
23. Which approach is better - firing SQL from Java layer, or invoking a PL/SQL procedure to do the same. Explain.
====
J2EE
====
1. Difference between JSP forward and sendRedirect
2. Implicit Objects in JSP.
3. Session Tracking - Different Methods Used.
4. If cookies are not allowed by the client web browser - does any of the other session tracking methods work effectively.
(Hint - most of the other methods of session tracking internally depend on usage of cookies)
5. How to set a cookie and get cookies from a browser.
6. Explain MVC architecture.
7. Difference between MVC 1 and MVC 2 architectures.
8. What are the latest developments in J2EE.
9. Do you prefer JSP or Servlets. Give real-times examples of when Servlet is more useful than a JSP.
10. Servlet Life Cycle.
11. JSP Life Cycle. How is it different from a Servlet Life Cycle.
12. Difference between Static Include and Dynamic Include.
13. JSF - Have you used it.
14. How do you write custom jsp tags. Have you had to write custom tags in your career
15. Struts - Are you aware of the basic architecture. If yes - Explain it.
16. What are the different Back End Persistance Technologies that are "hot" in the market now. Have you used any of them.
17. How to tune a Web Application.
18. Explain the approach you would follow to identify in which layer the performance is poor and how would you fix this such
that minimal application down time is required.
19. Have you used eclipse plugins like JUnit and JMeter.
20. How to make an application run on a Single Thread Model. What would be the pressing business need to support such a requirement.
21. How to handle the challenge of Different Browsers interpreting HTML Tags in different ways, and also the need to give a rich UI.
22. Difference between GET and POST methods.
23. Max value of URL Length in GET protocol.
24. If I need a servlet to handle a protocol like GOPHER - how would I go about doing it.
25. Describe the Inheritance Architecture of the HTTPServlet.
26. Differences between the HTTPServlet and GenericServlet.
27. How does an HTTPServlet identify an incoming request as an HTTP request.
28. Explain how you would write a proxy server to intercept HTTP requests, process the request and send the output to the user.
29. Servlet Chaining - Why do we need this. How is it achieved.
30. Servlet Filters. Explain the need for the same. How to use it.
==========
WEB SERVER
==========
1. How to achieve clustering.
2. What are the different services that a Web Server provides that your application uses/needs.
3. Web Server Turning - Any exposure
I have 3+ yrs of Work Experience primarily in Java/J2EE, Oracle Applications, and Oracle Applications Framework.
So, people with > or < experience that me can expect an increase or decrease in the standard of the questions you might end up getting.
===============
CURRENT PROJECT
===============
1. Explain Business Requirement/Domain Need to which the product caters to.
2. Explain Architecture of the application.
3. Roles and Responsibilities in current project.
4. Participated in which all stages of the SDLC.
5. Which Software Development Model is used for the project. What is the business need to use this model.
======
PL/SQL
======
1. Exception Handling.
2. Collection Objects.
3. Cursors.
==========
SQL TUNING
==========
1. Need for hints.
2. Name a couple of hints.
3. Performance implication of IN clause.
4. Advantages of IN v/s EXISTS.
5. Maximum number of parameters IN clause can take.
6. How does SQL Engine work.
7. Explain Plan - How is it calculated/decided.
8. When to go for denormalization/normalization of tables.
9. How to read a trace file.
10. Is full table scan always a bad thing.
11. When does an Index degrade performance.
12. What are the different types of indexes, and when and where should they be used.
13. Does using a hint ensure that the SQL Engine will follow the instruction specified in the hint.
===
SQL
===
1. How to lock a row in the table without performing an update command.
2. What is Outer Joint.
3. How to get the 3rd highest value of an attribute in a table.
4. Design criteria for deciding what all attributes will go into a table, and number of tables needed.
5. WHO Columns - What is the business need for such columns in a table.
6. Do you use index on String fields on a table. If yes - what is the performance implication of the same.
7. How do you partition data/tables to ensure maximum performance, especially when tables have 10's of millions of rows of data.
8. How can you do clustering of a D/B.
====
JAVA
====
1. OOPS Concepts.
2. Difference between Abstract Class and Interface.
3. Why doest object class contain methods like wait(), waitFor(), notify(), notifyAll().
4. Why should all classes extend Object.
5. If Class A extends B, then how does A extend Object - since one class can only extend one class.
6. How can you load/unload a class which has been loaded by the JVM.
7. How to write Custom Classloaders.
8. What are the different interfaces in Collections.
9. Linked List - What is the advantage of using it in Java.
10. What is the significance of having a datastructure like linked list.
11. Performance of Linked List v/s ArrayList.
12. Difference between ArrayList and Vector. Which and Why and Where would you use these collection objects.
13. If you had to add 1 million objects to a particular collection object, which collection objection would you use and why.
14. Feature differences/advancements in Java 1.6 v/s 1.5 v/s 1.4
15. Usage of Iterators.
16. Garbage collection.
17. What are the different ways in which the JVM decides which objects are ready for Garbage Collection.
18. Why is a method like System.gc() given - when there is no assurance of the GC being called.
19. Give a practical need/use of overloading the finalize() method.
20. When and Why does a programmer have to do a System.gc().
21. Why doesn't Java give programmers the privilege to overload operators.
22. WHY is String considered a special object. Why is this privelege not extended to other classes.
23. String is an immutable object. Why so.
24. Difference between String and StringBuffer.
25. When is String more performant and useful than a StringBuffer.
26. Why is the entry point of an class which needs to be run from a console - public static void main(String args[])
27. How to write native methods in Java. Is it advisable to do so.
28. Explain what CORBA stands for and the need for the same.
29. Difference between Checked and Unchecked Exceptions.
30. Explain the design condition when would you decide that your method would throw a Checked Exception or an UnCheckedException.
Also, give a real-time example to support your answer.
31. Multi-Threaded Applications - What is your exposure to them.
32. How is exception handling done in Java.
33. What is the business need to have exception handling in Java.
34. Why do we need the finally block.
35. If an application encounters an Error or an Unchecked Exception - does it crash. If not - is it a good idea to continue running it.
36. Have you encountered and Errors, if yes - name them.
====
JDBC
====
1. Types of drivers available.
2. Which is the most performant driver and why.
3. Under which scenarios would and should one use each of the 4 types of drivers.
4. Different Steps involved in JDBC, from start to end, to fire an SQL query and get a resultset.
5. Where would you write the conn.close() - in the method or in a finally block. What is the advantage of doing so.
6. Connection Pooling concepts.
7. Explain what are the standard methods one would need in a ConnectionPool class.
8. Differences between JDBC 1.0 and JDBC 2.0
9. Difference between Datasource and ResultSet.
10. Scrollable Resultset - What is the advantage of such resultsets. When do we need to use such a resultset.
11. How to create a scrollable resultset.
12. Why do we need a Datasource when in the code we can make the URI being referred point to Collection Pool directly,
as a Datasoruce indirectly points to a Collection Pool anyways.
13. If ResultSet/Connection/Statement etc are Interfaces - who gives the implementation of these interfaces.
14. If you were to write your own Driver API - which class would you need to give and implementation of.
15. How to achieve Batch Update.
16. Difference between - execute(), executeQuery(), executeUpdate().
17. Difference between - Statement and PreparedStatement.
18. What is a PreparedStatement Cache.
19. In PreparedStatement - where is the explain plan cached - D/B, Application Server, JVM, Application, Heap Memory.
20. What happens when you fire an "Update ...." command in the executeQuery().
21. What happens when you fire an "Update ...." command in the executeQuery() and zero lines are updated.
22. How do you get SQL Warnings. Name other approaches besides using the getSQLWarnings() method.
23. Which approach is better - firing SQL from Java layer, or invoking a PL/SQL procedure to do the same. Explain.
====
J2EE
====
1. Difference between JSP forward and sendRedirect
2. Implicit Objects in JSP.
3. Session Tracking - Different Methods Used.
4. If cookies are not allowed by the client web browser - does any of the other session tracking methods work effectively.
(Hint - most of the other methods of session tracking internally depend on usage of cookies)
5. How to set a cookie and get cookies from a browser.
6. Explain MVC architecture.
7. Difference between MVC 1 and MVC 2 architectures.
8. What are the latest developments in J2EE.
9. Do you prefer JSP or Servlets. Give real-times examples of when Servlet is more useful than a JSP.
10. Servlet Life Cycle.
11. JSP Life Cycle. How is it different from a Servlet Life Cycle.
12. Difference between Static Include and Dynamic Include.
13. JSF - Have you used it.
14. How do you write custom jsp tags. Have you had to write custom tags in your career
15. Struts - Are you aware of the basic architecture. If yes - Explain it.
16. What are the different Back End Persistance Technologies that are "hot" in the market now. Have you used any of them.
17. How to tune a Web Application.
18. Explain the approach you would follow to identify in which layer the performance is poor and how would you fix this such
that minimal application down time is required.
19. Have you used eclipse plugins like JUnit and JMeter.
20. How to make an application run on a Single Thread Model. What would be the pressing business need to support such a requirement.
21. How to handle the challenge of Different Browsers interpreting HTML Tags in different ways, and also the need to give a rich UI.
22. Difference between GET and POST methods.
23. Max value of URL Length in GET protocol.
24. If I need a servlet to handle a protocol like GOPHER - how would I go about doing it.
25. Describe the Inheritance Architecture of the HTTPServlet.
26. Differences between the HTTPServlet and GenericServlet.
27. How does an HTTPServlet identify an incoming request as an HTTP request.
28. Explain how you would write a proxy server to intercept HTTP requests, process the request and send the output to the user.
29. Servlet Chaining - Why do we need this. How is it achieved.
30. Servlet Filters. Explain the need for the same. How to use it.
==========
WEB SERVER
==========
1. How to achieve clustering.
2. What are the different services that a Web Server provides that your application uses/needs.
3. Web Server Turning - Any exposure
Job Hunting!!!
Off late, things haven't been looking all that great in my team. People are leaving faster than you can say "Juranimoooooo", and this is really beginning to worry me.
Add to this the that the fact that workloads are spiking astronomically and pay hikes seem a loooooooooooooooong way away - and we have the perfect stage for people to start thinking of "migrating to better seasons"
As a result, to be on the safer side, I started interviewing with a few companies - just in case things go from bad to worse out here.
I haven't gotten any offers so far, partly because I haven't done any proper preparations for my
interviews, and partly because I still nurture a hope that things will get better here and I might not have to leave Oracle after all.
A couple of things I realized are as follows:
1. When you mention you are from Oracle, the expectations automatically soar. The interviewers expect you to be some sort of a rocket scientist and the nature and level of questions automatically goes from tough to impossible-to-answer.
2. Oracle Brand Name Rocks!!! It gives you a loooooooooot of leveraging power!!!
3. Markets are not as bad as analysts and newspapers claim.
4. If you can convince the interviewer that you are very smart and tech savvy - the company is ready to pay you whatever number you are quoting (when I mentioned I was expecting 9.5 laks per annum and I was not negotiable on that figure - they simply agreed to pay me that much)
5. Working in a product company and trying to move to a service company is a challenge - for two major reasons:
.a. Service Companies can't afford you.
.b. Working in a Product company makes you an authority on all aspects of a product. But, service companies need people who are authorities on Technologies - not products!
6. Trying to make a switch from Technology into something like Pre-Sales or Consulting is not easy - especially if you're not already doing something like that in your current organiztion.
Anyways ... I better start preparing harder and try to read up on the latest fads in the market. That way - I think - my chances of bagging an offer will increase.
So ... Wish me luck!!!
Add to this the that the fact that workloads are spiking astronomically and pay hikes seem a loooooooooooooooong way away - and we have the perfect stage for people to start thinking of "migrating to better seasons"
As a result, to be on the safer side, I started interviewing with a few companies - just in case things go from bad to worse out here.
I haven't gotten any offers so far, partly because I haven't done any proper preparations for my
interviews, and partly because I still nurture a hope that things will get better here and I might not have to leave Oracle after all.
A couple of things I realized are as follows:
1. When you mention you are from Oracle, the expectations automatically soar. The interviewers expect you to be some sort of a rocket scientist and the nature and level of questions automatically goes from tough to impossible-to-answer.
2. Oracle Brand Name Rocks!!! It gives you a loooooooooot of leveraging power!!!
3. Markets are not as bad as analysts and newspapers claim.
4. If you can convince the interviewer that you are very smart and tech savvy - the company is ready to pay you whatever number you are quoting (when I mentioned I was expecting 9.5 laks per annum and I was not negotiable on that figure - they simply agreed to pay me that much)
5. Working in a product company and trying to move to a service company is a challenge - for two major reasons:
.a. Service Companies can't afford you.
.b. Working in a Product company makes you an authority on all aspects of a product. But, service companies need people who are authorities on Technologies - not products!
6. Trying to make a switch from Technology into something like Pre-Sales or Consulting is not easy - especially if you're not already doing something like that in your current organiztion.
Anyways ... I better start preparing harder and try to read up on the latest fads in the market. That way - I think - my chances of bagging an offer will increase.
So ... Wish me luck!!!
Monday, April 21, 2008
What's The Difference Between Flirting and Being Very Friendly
"Is she flirting with me? Or is she just being very friendly?" This is a confusing question that most guys go through when interacting with females.
The correct answer - will steer you away from trouble or (if you're lucky i.e.) maybe even get you laid!!!
But, the wrong answer - most definitely spells TROUBLE!!!
I spoke to my friend and "Agony Aunt" - as she prefers to call it - Pallavi about this the other day, and she too did not have any clear cut formulae that I could use to identify which is which. But, she was kind enough to point out a few tell-tale signs that could be indicators of flirting. They are:
.1. One-too-many flirtatious touches
.2. Hugging for no valid/major reason
.3. Good-Bye/Good-Night Kisses
So, guys, if you've been getting a lot of hugs and kisses from any of your female counterparts (off late i.e.) - I think it'd be a good idea to try pushing it up a notch and giving her a soft kiss on the lips next time she comes really close to you.
[At least that's what Pallavi suggested. So, if things don't go as planned (read as you get slapped and kicked in the balls) - blame her, not me!!!]
The correct answer - will steer you away from trouble or (if you're lucky i.e.) maybe even get you laid!!!
But, the wrong answer - most definitely spells TROUBLE!!!
I spoke to my friend and "Agony Aunt" - as she prefers to call it - Pallavi about this the other day, and she too did not have any clear cut formulae that I could use to identify which is which. But, she was kind enough to point out a few tell-tale signs that could be indicators of flirting. They are:
.1. One-too-many flirtatious touches
.2. Hugging for no valid/major reason
.3. Good-Bye/Good-Night Kisses
So, guys, if you've been getting a lot of hugs and kisses from any of your female counterparts (off late i.e.) - I think it'd be a good idea to try pushing it up a notch and giving her a soft kiss on the lips next time she comes really close to you.
[At least that's what Pallavi suggested. So, if things don't go as planned (read as you get slapped and kicked in the balls) - blame her, not me!!!]
How not to attend a B-School Interview - My PGSEM Interview
My PGSEM interview on Friday (11-April-2008) was by far one of the most humbling experiences in my life. Till date, I have an 95% conversion rate for whichever interviews I have attended (i.e. 95% of the time I get the post/job which I am interviewing for).
But, the MBA interview is quite a different deal in itself. This - I realized the hard way!!!
Anyways ... Lets move straight into the story!!!
I was scheduled to have my interview at 2.30 pm. To avoid any delays due to traffic, I started early and got there at 2.00 pm itself. Quite a feat considering that 90% of the times, for a job interview, I end up reaching the would-be-employers-office late!
I somehow managed to hunt down the location of the classroom where I am supposed to report for my interview - only to find that my interview panel was in-charge of interviewing candidates for the FPM program as well, and ergo, my interview would have to wait till 3.30 pm. Since, I had no choice but to wait - I did just that.
In the meanwhile, I found a few other "candidates" who had come for the interview. To kill some time, I made small talk with them, and in the process learnt a couple of questions that their panel members were asking the candidates. These were basic questions like
.A. Strengths and Weaknesses.
.B. Achievements in Career and Personal Life
.C. Are you an entrepreneur material. Describe with examples.
.D. Roles and Responsibilities in current projects.
"No Sweat!!! I've already got rehearsed answers for those questions!" was what was going through my mind. And yes, I had spent the previous night working on "convincing" answers for these common B-School questions.
At around 3.15, I saw a lady standing in front of CPP Room # 5. Since I was scheduled to have my interview there, I rush over to meet her.
Lady: "Sharath Kumar?"
Me: "Yes Ma'am ... Thats me!"
Lady: "Please get into this room. We will start your interview shortly!"
Me: "Thanks ..."
I didn't figure that she would be the interviewer. She was in her mid to late twenties max. No way she was a professor here at IIM. But, as luck would have it - it turns out that she was one of my interviewers.
The other interview also turned out to be a lady - a really cute and young one at that!
She was so damn pretty that I had an instant crush on her!!!
;)
As soon as I enter the room, I knew the sane thing to do was to wish the interviewers "Good Afternoon". But, smitten by her beauty, I ended up saying "Hey ... Hi!!!"
For the sake of convenience, let me call the two ladies - L1 and L2; L1 being the person who asked me to get into the room, and L2 the cute pretty lil darling!
L1: "So ... You're coming from office is it?"
Me: "No Ma'am. I am coming from home. I took the day off."
The second I told her this, she looks at my shoes and then gives me a rotten look.
Let me take a moment here to describe my attire:
I was wearing a yellow checked shirt, black trousers, no tie, and a sneakers. Yes ... you read it right - a sneakers. To justify myself - I don't own a pair of formal shoes. And although - the sane thing would've been to buy one - I didn't think it was "worth it" to blow so much money on a pair of leather formal shoes - since I would be wearing it only this once.
Now, you know why she was giving me that rotten look. It's only when I saw her reaction - that I realized how important a formal attire was when attending a B-School Interview.
Anyways ... Moving right along ...
L1, and L2 settle down in their chairs. I am still waiting for an invitation to take my seat. L2 realizes that and asks me to take a seat.
Let me take another minute of your time to describe the seating arrangement in the room:
Basically, we were in some sort of a meeting room. So, there was this huge circular table with chairs strewn all over the place.
Now, back to the story ...
I observe that there is a seat right next to L2, and make a dash for it. I almost sat down on this chair when L1 points at a chair on the opposite side of the table and instructs me to sit in that chair.
Half heartedly, I obey her instructions.
L1 and L2 are busily leafing through my SOP. A minute later, L1 drops the SOP on the table and looks at me.
L1: "If I were to give you 3 minutes to tell me about you, what would you say. And since I have already read your SOP, I don't want to listen to anything you've written in there. So, tell me only stuff that's not there!!!"
This caught me unawares. I had rehearsed and re-rehearsed what I would say if I were asked this question. But, most of the stuff I had prepared for my "speech" was already there in my SOP. I was begining to go into a phase of Psychological Blackout. Trying to maintain my cool, I did some thinking and came up with an answer.
Me: "Basically, I am a very fun loving, jovial person. Also, I am very committed and dedicated to the tasks at hand. This is what you need to know about me that is not there in my SOP."
That's it. Seriously ... All I could cook up was this.
The ladies were giving me a "go on kiddo ... go on ..." look, but I looked back at them as if I had just spoken for hours and there was nothing more to say.
L1 looked pissed, but L2 felt sorry for me. She, I'm guessing, thought I was tensed at hell and decided to give me another chance.
L2: "So ... You mentioned fun-loving. What all do you do for fun?"
Me: "Well ... It depends ... On my mood and the resources I have at my disposal."
L2: "Music?"
Me: "Yeah ... I love music a lot."
L2: "What sort of music do you listen to most?"
Me: "Well ... I'm not sure whether you've heard of a genre called - Techno/Trance/Electronic?"
L2: (With an mischevious look) "Of course ... We're not that old Sharath!"
Me: "Sorry ... I didn't mean that. I just didn't think stuff like that 'sells' at places like this."
L2: (With a laugh) "No issues ... What else do you do - Books?"
Me: "Yes ... I do read a lot of books as well."
L2: "What sort of books do you prefer?"
Me: "I read all types of books. But, I like reading humor the most. As a matter of fact, I am reading this book called 'Snap Shots From Hell' by Peter Robinson. It's a very hilarious book.'
L2: "Hmmmmmmm ... I haven't heard about the author or the book. What's it about?"
I saw this as a chance to impress the interviewers and decided to talk at length about the book.
Me: "Its basically about the author's experiences while he was pursuing a MBA from Stanford. It talks about the woes of student from a non-financial/non-techie background. Also, it takes a dig at the MBA education system and how it breaks the students before moulding them. I short - Its fully loaded with satire about the MBA System."
When I stopped, L1 was giving me a schmuck look and L2 was not smiling her 70 mm smile anymore.
L1: "So basically, you like to laugh at the MBA and Education System eh?"
Its when she made this statement that I realized my folly. I knew anything I say wouldn't help me. So, I decided to smile back at them and keep quiet instead of trying to defend myself.
L2: "Hmmmmm ... So besides this. What else do you read thats humour?"
Me: "I just adore the Dilbert series by Scott Adams. Its one of my all time favourites."
L1: "But that's a cartoon strip, not a book."
Me: (Slightly Irritated with L1) "So what? It's still very funny and I like reading it!"
L1 looked slightly offended by my statement, but it also served as a clear indicator for her to back off.
L2: "Who is your favorite character in the series?"
Me: "Dilbert obviously!"
L2: "Why's that Sharath."
Me: "Basically, Dilbert is an engineer and he keeps taking a dig at management and their fallacies. As an engineer myself, I identify with him."
Yet again, L1 was giving me a schmuck look. L2 looked amused though.
L2: "And you are here to become a manager?"
Me: (With a laugh) "Well, real life is very different from a book."
L2: "So ... Besides this, what all do you do?"
Me: "I am into blogging."
L2: "Oh is it? Where do you blog?"
Me: "I write on www.blogspot.com"
L2: "Just one blog site?"
Me: "I explored other sites like www.ibibo.com, etc. But, I preferred the UI and features that blogspot gives me, and so I stick to one site."
L1: "What do you generally write about?"
Me: "I write about pretty much anything that happens in my life. You can expect to see my blog about this interview there in a bit."
L2: (Smiling) "Do you read any blogs?"
Me: "Yes ofcourse. I read blogs at a site called www.wokaylah.com. It's a web portal maintained by one of my seniors from college. A lot of good bloggers write there, and it makes for a fun read."
Since, I had made blunder after blunder, I decided to play on their feminist side to gain a few brownie points so that they wouldn't kick me out right away.
Me: "Also, I read a blog called 'What Women Want'."
L2: (Very Curious by now) "What's that about?"
Me: (Thinking - "The trick had worked") "It's basically an in-your-face blog maintained by a lady. It talks very openly about what women want in life, career, relationships and marriage. It definitely makes a fine read."
L1 and L2 were finally smiling together. Yaaaaaaaaaaay!!!
Me: "Besides this, I am also in the process of writing my first book."
L1: "Wow ... That's nice to hear! What genre?"
Me: "Its fiction. It talks about the life of a graduate - like me - from a good college and his dreams of a high flying career in the IT sector."
L2: "What stage of the book are you in right now?"
Me: "I'd say about 50%. I'm basically going through a writers block right now. Need to somehow maintain the humor and satire element and stray away from becoming overtly emotional per se."
L1: "Why on this topic?"
Me: "Well ... Basically, since I am an engineer who say dreams of a high flying career in this industry - I can identify easily with the protagonist in the story. Besides, with more than a million engineers in India - I am sure a lot of people will identify with this book, and hopefully - It will be a 'Best Seller'".
L1 and L2: (Smiling) "All the best with that."
Me: "Thanks."
At this point, I was hopeful that I could turn the interview to my advantage. But, that was not to be. Because, the very next second - Lighting Struck!
L1: "So ... Do you read the newspapers? What's the headlines today?"
To be honest, I haven't read a newspaper in a very loooooooooooooong while. To be more exact - 7.5 years. I read an odd article or two. But, nothing more than that.
So, I had two options:
1. Lie that I do read the newspaper.
2. Tell them the fact that I don't.
The problem with lying was the fact that they would catch me red handed - Because surely, when they asked me questions like - "What are the headlines today/yesterday/day-before, etc, I wouldn't be able to answer them. And that would clearly shatter my credibility per se.
So, I decided to go the safer route. In other words - Tell them the truth - that I don't read the newspapers.
Me: "I don't read the newspapers."
L1: "Oh ... you must be a very busy man. What about the news on TV?"
Me: "Well ... I don't have a TV at home!"
When I said this, L1 and L2 together looked at me in a totally shell shocked manner.
I bet they would've been thinking - "Even people in the remotest of villages have TV's. And you're staying in the most happenings high-tech city in India - and you don't have a TV?"
L1: "What about the internet?"
Me: (Slightly annoyed by her insistent prodding) "I don't follow the news. PERIOD!"
L1: (In a slightly annoyed tone) "So basically you're telling me that if I ask you about current affairs, international news, economy, politics, etc - you won't be in a position to answer?"
Me: (Nonchalantly) "Yup ..."
At this statement, L1 just gave up and fell back into her chair. L2 too didn't seem very impressed with my answer, but at least - she was still smiling (or at least trying to!).
By this time I realized that the interview had spoiled beyond recognition, and that my chances of getting an admit call was more remote than Milking A Rooster! So, I decided to have some fun myself.
Although L1 has given up on me, L2, I guess, wanted to give me a chance. I prefer to think of it as - she has a crush on me too, but I know that's just wishful thinking!
:D
L2: "You've mentioned in your SOP that the PGSEM class will benefit by your innovative ideas. Can you suggest one innovative idea that you would bring into class?"
Me: (Slightly nervous) "Wow ... That's a question I didn't anticipate ... Can you give me a minute to think?"
L2: "Sure ... Take all the time you need!"
Me: (After about a minute) "As per my understanding, you break the class into different groups to analyze case studies, etc. Right?"
L2: "Yes ..."
Me: "I also presume, that since this is part time course, no one is truly aware of the other persons skills and network per se."
L2: "Possibly yes ..."
Me: "I strongly believe in the power of social networking. And since MBA is all about business per se, I would try to bring in some sort of forum which would help the participants leverage the skills - both personal and their network - of every other participant in the class. You never know when someone you know could be useful. And more importantly - your classmate could be the one who could get you that multi-million dollar contract."
L2 seemed to be impressed with the idea.
L2: "Also, you've written about trying to achieve a work-life balance. Assuming that you reach a position in your organization where you can frame policies, what would you do to ensure that your employees also achieve a work-life balance?"
Me: "Well Ma'am. Firstly, I would try to incorporate Google's '1-day-for-your-own-ideas' policy. I believe, this is a way of clearly telling the employees that 'We Care About Your Needs'. Besides this, I would get the HR folks at each of the locations to conduct a lot of competition that would serve as a platform for the employees to showcase their talent. Additionally, I am aware that a lot of people want to learn new things like - Salsa, Public Speaking, Yoga, etc. But, due to a multitude of reasons, ranging from being shy to not having time because of workload, they are not able to pursue it. So, I would try to conduct workshops at office where people can pursue their interests."
L2: "Nice to see that you've got a lot of ideas ..."
Me: (Smiling) "Thanks Ma'am."
L2 takes a minute to read my SOP again.
L2: "You've written about wanting to do something for the blind. What's that all about?"
Me: "First of all, let me make one thing very clear. My idea of charity is not giving 100 rupees to a blind person because he/she needs the money more than me. I personally just can't buy the idea of giving away money when I haven't achieved all I need to with it. My idea of charity is giving away to people when I have in surplus. And that too by giving away - I don't mean giving away free. Its more like - I help them by giving them a tool or a skill which can help them in making a living."
L1 seemed offended by my statement. My guess is - her idea of charity is very different from mine.
Me: "Basically, I want to give them some sort of a vocational training which would help them earn a decent living. I understand most of the blind people make a living by making bags or chairs. The revenue they earn hardly helps them meet their day-to-day needs. What I want to do is something on the lines of starting a factory, or a business, where I can provide them a safe and conducive environment to work. Also, this would help them by giving them a job where they can fetch a daily wage and thereby lead a much better and economically better off life."
L2: "Hmmmmmm ... Ok!"
L1 who was silent till now, decides to step in and take a stab at me - AGAIN!
L1: "See Sharath ... I see you have a full life, and we're happy for you for that. But, we are looking for people who are very interested in what the Indian economy is like, what are the issues that affect the markets, international implications of the global cues and factors, etc. This course basically helps such people to go to the next level in their organizations by giving them an understanding of business and how best to run it. I am not sure you are interested in all that. Are you?"
I realized what the outcome of the interview was going to be with just that one statement she made. But, sure as hell, I wasn't going down without a fight.
Me: "Well Madam. The reason I am not very aware of these facts is because they don't really play a key role in what is the occurring in my life right now. But, like you mentioned, if these are key things which are required for me to be an effective manager - I don't see any reason why I can't pick them up. As a matter of fact, there are a lot of things besides technology that I have picked up as and when the need arose. For example, I am working on a ticketing solution which I am looking forward to sell. Technology wise, I am very familiar with how to build it. But, I learned the nuances of product feature specifications etc by reading a book on marketing. I did a market survey on the target audience to understand how successful my product would be. I did an analysis on existing market players and came up with features that would differentiate me from them. I also came up with an excellent revenue model for my product. These are things I learnt on my own because the need arose. So, like I said earlier, if the need arises, I don't see any reason why I can't pick up a newspaper reading habb\it and an interest in international affair or politics."
L2: "Hmmmmm ... Ok ..."
L2: "What do you think are the 3 major fallbacks in an entrepreneur
Me: "Arrogance ... Poor Money Management ... I don't know about the third."
L1: "What?"
Me: "Arrogance ... Poor Money Management ... And I'm sorry - I can't think of a third one!"
L2: What about strengths?"
Me: "Confidence ... Optimism ... and a Supportive Nature"
L2: "Could you please explain what you meant."
Me: "Without Confidence - there is no such thing as an Entrepreneur. By Supportive Nature I mean he should not be selfish and try to achieve only his goals, but he should also be sensitive to needs and goals of his team and the people trying to rally his cause. And Optimism - That is the most important strength. If you loose a contract, you should have the optimism to believe that another contract is around the corner and not cry or give."
L1 and L2: (Nodding their heads in a very appreciative manner) "That very true ... Well said Sharath!"
With this my interview came to an abrupt stop.
They asked me to ask anyone waiting outside to wait until called for. But, since no one was waiting outside, I took my leave and headed back home.
On the whole - It was a very very different experience. My performance was dismal to the core, but I learnt a loooooooooot of things and I am sure I can use this experience to my advantage next time around.
Anyways - For Now It's - Bye Bye PGSEM @IIMB!!!
But, the MBA interview is quite a different deal in itself. This - I realized the hard way!!!
Anyways ... Lets move straight into the story!!!
I was scheduled to have my interview at 2.30 pm. To avoid any delays due to traffic, I started early and got there at 2.00 pm itself. Quite a feat considering that 90% of the times, for a job interview, I end up reaching the would-be-employers-office late!
I somehow managed to hunt down the location of the classroom where I am supposed to report for my interview - only to find that my interview panel was in-charge of interviewing candidates for the FPM program as well, and ergo, my interview would have to wait till 3.30 pm. Since, I had no choice but to wait - I did just that.
In the meanwhile, I found a few other "candidates" who had come for the interview. To kill some time, I made small talk with them, and in the process learnt a couple of questions that their panel members were asking the candidates. These were basic questions like
.A. Strengths and Weaknesses.
.B. Achievements in Career and Personal Life
.C. Are you an entrepreneur material. Describe with examples.
.D. Roles and Responsibilities in current projects.
"No Sweat!!! I've already got rehearsed answers for those questions!" was what was going through my mind. And yes, I had spent the previous night working on "convincing" answers for these common B-School questions.
At around 3.15, I saw a lady standing in front of CPP Room # 5. Since I was scheduled to have my interview there, I rush over to meet her.
Lady: "Sharath Kumar?"
Me: "Yes Ma'am ... Thats me!"
Lady: "Please get into this room. We will start your interview shortly!"
Me: "Thanks ..."
I didn't figure that she would be the interviewer. She was in her mid to late twenties max. No way she was a professor here at IIM. But, as luck would have it - it turns out that she was one of my interviewers.
The other interview also turned out to be a lady - a really cute and young one at that!
She was so damn pretty that I had an instant crush on her!!!
;)
As soon as I enter the room, I knew the sane thing to do was to wish the interviewers "Good Afternoon". But, smitten by her beauty, I ended up saying "Hey ... Hi!!!"
For the sake of convenience, let me call the two ladies - L1 and L2; L1 being the person who asked me to get into the room, and L2 the cute pretty lil darling!
L1: "So ... You're coming from office is it?"
Me: "No Ma'am. I am coming from home. I took the day off."
The second I told her this, she looks at my shoes and then gives me a rotten look.
Let me take a moment here to describe my attire:
I was wearing a yellow checked shirt, black trousers, no tie, and a sneakers. Yes ... you read it right - a sneakers. To justify myself - I don't own a pair of formal shoes. And although - the sane thing would've been to buy one - I didn't think it was "worth it" to blow so much money on a pair of leather formal shoes - since I would be wearing it only this once.
Now, you know why she was giving me that rotten look. It's only when I saw her reaction - that I realized how important a formal attire was when attending a B-School Interview.
Anyways ... Moving right along ...
L1, and L2 settle down in their chairs. I am still waiting for an invitation to take my seat. L2 realizes that and asks me to take a seat.
Let me take another minute of your time to describe the seating arrangement in the room:
Basically, we were in some sort of a meeting room. So, there was this huge circular table with chairs strewn all over the place.
Now, back to the story ...
I observe that there is a seat right next to L2, and make a dash for it. I almost sat down on this chair when L1 points at a chair on the opposite side of the table and instructs me to sit in that chair.
Half heartedly, I obey her instructions.
L1 and L2 are busily leafing through my SOP. A minute later, L1 drops the SOP on the table and looks at me.
L1: "If I were to give you 3 minutes to tell me about you, what would you say. And since I have already read your SOP, I don't want to listen to anything you've written in there. So, tell me only stuff that's not there!!!"
This caught me unawares. I had rehearsed and re-rehearsed what I would say if I were asked this question. But, most of the stuff I had prepared for my "speech" was already there in my SOP. I was begining to go into a phase of Psychological Blackout. Trying to maintain my cool, I did some thinking and came up with an answer.
Me: "Basically, I am a very fun loving, jovial person. Also, I am very committed and dedicated to the tasks at hand. This is what you need to know about me that is not there in my SOP."
That's it. Seriously ... All I could cook up was this.
The ladies were giving me a "go on kiddo ... go on ..." look, but I looked back at them as if I had just spoken for hours and there was nothing more to say.
L1 looked pissed, but L2 felt sorry for me. She, I'm guessing, thought I was tensed at hell and decided to give me another chance.
L2: "So ... You mentioned fun-loving. What all do you do for fun?"
Me: "Well ... It depends ... On my mood and the resources I have at my disposal."
L2: "Music?"
Me: "Yeah ... I love music a lot."
L2: "What sort of music do you listen to most?"
Me: "Well ... I'm not sure whether you've heard of a genre called - Techno/Trance/Electronic?"
L2: (With an mischevious look) "Of course ... We're not that old Sharath!"
Me: "Sorry ... I didn't mean that. I just didn't think stuff like that 'sells' at places like this."
L2: (With a laugh) "No issues ... What else do you do - Books?"
Me: "Yes ... I do read a lot of books as well."
L2: "What sort of books do you prefer?"
Me: "I read all types of books. But, I like reading humor the most. As a matter of fact, I am reading this book called 'Snap Shots From Hell' by Peter Robinson. It's a very hilarious book.'
L2: "Hmmmmmmm ... I haven't heard about the author or the book. What's it about?"
I saw this as a chance to impress the interviewers and decided to talk at length about the book.
Me: "Its basically about the author's experiences while he was pursuing a MBA from Stanford. It talks about the woes of student from a non-financial/non-techie background. Also, it takes a dig at the MBA education system and how it breaks the students before moulding them. I short - Its fully loaded with satire about the MBA System."
When I stopped, L1 was giving me a schmuck look and L2 was not smiling her 70 mm smile anymore.
L1: "So basically, you like to laugh at the MBA and Education System eh?"
Its when she made this statement that I realized my folly. I knew anything I say wouldn't help me. So, I decided to smile back at them and keep quiet instead of trying to defend myself.
L2: "Hmmmmm ... So besides this. What else do you read thats humour?"
Me: "I just adore the Dilbert series by Scott Adams. Its one of my all time favourites."
L1: "But that's a cartoon strip, not a book."
Me: (Slightly Irritated with L1) "So what? It's still very funny and I like reading it!"
L1 looked slightly offended by my statement, but it also served as a clear indicator for her to back off.
L2: "Who is your favorite character in the series?"
Me: "Dilbert obviously!"
L2: "Why's that Sharath."
Me: "Basically, Dilbert is an engineer and he keeps taking a dig at management and their fallacies. As an engineer myself, I identify with him."
Yet again, L1 was giving me a schmuck look. L2 looked amused though.
L2: "And you are here to become a manager?"
Me: (With a laugh) "Well, real life is very different from a book."
L2: "So ... Besides this, what all do you do?"
Me: "I am into blogging."
L2: "Oh is it? Where do you blog?"
Me: "I write on www.blogspot.com"
L2: "Just one blog site?"
Me: "I explored other sites like www.ibibo.com, etc. But, I preferred the UI and features that blogspot gives me, and so I stick to one site."
L1: "What do you generally write about?"
Me: "I write about pretty much anything that happens in my life. You can expect to see my blog about this interview there in a bit."
L2: (Smiling) "Do you read any blogs?"
Me: "Yes ofcourse. I read blogs at a site called www.wokaylah.com. It's a web portal maintained by one of my seniors from college. A lot of good bloggers write there, and it makes for a fun read."
Since, I had made blunder after blunder, I decided to play on their feminist side to gain a few brownie points so that they wouldn't kick me out right away.
Me: "Also, I read a blog called 'What Women Want'."
L2: (Very Curious by now) "What's that about?"
Me: (Thinking - "The trick had worked") "It's basically an in-your-face blog maintained by a lady. It talks very openly about what women want in life, career, relationships and marriage. It definitely makes a fine read."
L1 and L2 were finally smiling together. Yaaaaaaaaaaay!!!
Me: "Besides this, I am also in the process of writing my first book."
L1: "Wow ... That's nice to hear! What genre?"
Me: "Its fiction. It talks about the life of a graduate - like me - from a good college and his dreams of a high flying career in the IT sector."
L2: "What stage of the book are you in right now?"
Me: "I'd say about 50%. I'm basically going through a writers block right now. Need to somehow maintain the humor and satire element and stray away from becoming overtly emotional per se."
L1: "Why on this topic?"
Me: "Well ... Basically, since I am an engineer who say dreams of a high flying career in this industry - I can identify easily with the protagonist in the story. Besides, with more than a million engineers in India - I am sure a lot of people will identify with this book, and hopefully - It will be a 'Best Seller'".
L1 and L2: (Smiling) "All the best with that."
Me: "Thanks."
At this point, I was hopeful that I could turn the interview to my advantage. But, that was not to be. Because, the very next second - Lighting Struck!
L1: "So ... Do you read the newspapers? What's the headlines today?"
To be honest, I haven't read a newspaper in a very loooooooooooooong while. To be more exact - 7.5 years. I read an odd article or two. But, nothing more than that.
So, I had two options:
1. Lie that I do read the newspaper.
2. Tell them the fact that I don't.
The problem with lying was the fact that they would catch me red handed - Because surely, when they asked me questions like - "What are the headlines today/yesterday/day-before, etc, I wouldn't be able to answer them. And that would clearly shatter my credibility per se.
So, I decided to go the safer route. In other words - Tell them the truth - that I don't read the newspapers.
Me: "I don't read the newspapers."
L1: "Oh ... you must be a very busy man. What about the news on TV?"
Me: "Well ... I don't have a TV at home!"
When I said this, L1 and L2 together looked at me in a totally shell shocked manner.
I bet they would've been thinking - "Even people in the remotest of villages have TV's. And you're staying in the most happenings high-tech city in India - and you don't have a TV?"
L1: "What about the internet?"
Me: (Slightly annoyed by her insistent prodding) "I don't follow the news. PERIOD!"
L1: (In a slightly annoyed tone) "So basically you're telling me that if I ask you about current affairs, international news, economy, politics, etc - you won't be in a position to answer?"
Me: (Nonchalantly) "Yup ..."
At this statement, L1 just gave up and fell back into her chair. L2 too didn't seem very impressed with my answer, but at least - she was still smiling (or at least trying to!).
By this time I realized that the interview had spoiled beyond recognition, and that my chances of getting an admit call was more remote than Milking A Rooster! So, I decided to have some fun myself.
Although L1 has given up on me, L2, I guess, wanted to give me a chance. I prefer to think of it as - she has a crush on me too, but I know that's just wishful thinking!
:D
L2: "You've mentioned in your SOP that the PGSEM class will benefit by your innovative ideas. Can you suggest one innovative idea that you would bring into class?"
Me: (Slightly nervous) "Wow ... That's a question I didn't anticipate ... Can you give me a minute to think?"
L2: "Sure ... Take all the time you need!"
Me: (After about a minute) "As per my understanding, you break the class into different groups to analyze case studies, etc. Right?"
L2: "Yes ..."
Me: "I also presume, that since this is part time course, no one is truly aware of the other persons skills and network per se."
L2: "Possibly yes ..."
Me: "I strongly believe in the power of social networking. And since MBA is all about business per se, I would try to bring in some sort of forum which would help the participants leverage the skills - both personal and their network - of every other participant in the class. You never know when someone you know could be useful. And more importantly - your classmate could be the one who could get you that multi-million dollar contract."
L2 seemed to be impressed with the idea.
L2: "Also, you've written about trying to achieve a work-life balance. Assuming that you reach a position in your organization where you can frame policies, what would you do to ensure that your employees also achieve a work-life balance?"
Me: "Well Ma'am. Firstly, I would try to incorporate Google's '1-day-for-your-own-ideas' policy. I believe, this is a way of clearly telling the employees that 'We Care About Your Needs'. Besides this, I would get the HR folks at each of the locations to conduct a lot of competition that would serve as a platform for the employees to showcase their talent. Additionally, I am aware that a lot of people want to learn new things like - Salsa, Public Speaking, Yoga, etc. But, due to a multitude of reasons, ranging from being shy to not having time because of workload, they are not able to pursue it. So, I would try to conduct workshops at office where people can pursue their interests."
L2: "Nice to see that you've got a lot of ideas ..."
Me: (Smiling) "Thanks Ma'am."
L2 takes a minute to read my SOP again.
L2: "You've written about wanting to do something for the blind. What's that all about?"
Me: "First of all, let me make one thing very clear. My idea of charity is not giving 100 rupees to a blind person because he/she needs the money more than me. I personally just can't buy the idea of giving away money when I haven't achieved all I need to with it. My idea of charity is giving away to people when I have in surplus. And that too by giving away - I don't mean giving away free. Its more like - I help them by giving them a tool or a skill which can help them in making a living."
L1 seemed offended by my statement. My guess is - her idea of charity is very different from mine.
Me: "Basically, I want to give them some sort of a vocational training which would help them earn a decent living. I understand most of the blind people make a living by making bags or chairs. The revenue they earn hardly helps them meet their day-to-day needs. What I want to do is something on the lines of starting a factory, or a business, where I can provide them a safe and conducive environment to work. Also, this would help them by giving them a job where they can fetch a daily wage and thereby lead a much better and economically better off life."
L2: "Hmmmmmm ... Ok!"
L1 who was silent till now, decides to step in and take a stab at me - AGAIN!
L1: "See Sharath ... I see you have a full life, and we're happy for you for that. But, we are looking for people who are very interested in what the Indian economy is like, what are the issues that affect the markets, international implications of the global cues and factors, etc. This course basically helps such people to go to the next level in their organizations by giving them an understanding of business and how best to run it. I am not sure you are interested in all that. Are you?"
I realized what the outcome of the interview was going to be with just that one statement she made. But, sure as hell, I wasn't going down without a fight.
Me: "Well Madam. The reason I am not very aware of these facts is because they don't really play a key role in what is the occurring in my life right now. But, like you mentioned, if these are key things which are required for me to be an effective manager - I don't see any reason why I can't pick them up. As a matter of fact, there are a lot of things besides technology that I have picked up as and when the need arose. For example, I am working on a ticketing solution which I am looking forward to sell. Technology wise, I am very familiar with how to build it. But, I learned the nuances of product feature specifications etc by reading a book on marketing. I did a market survey on the target audience to understand how successful my product would be. I did an analysis on existing market players and came up with features that would differentiate me from them. I also came up with an excellent revenue model for my product. These are things I learnt on my own because the need arose. So, like I said earlier, if the need arises, I don't see any reason why I can't pick up a newspaper reading habb\it and an interest in international affair or politics."
L2: "Hmmmmm ... Ok ..."
L2: "What do you think are the 3 major fallbacks in an entrepreneur
Me: "Arrogance ... Poor Money Management ... I don't know about the third."
L1: "What?"
Me: "Arrogance ... Poor Money Management ... And I'm sorry - I can't think of a third one!"
L2: What about strengths?"
Me: "Confidence ... Optimism ... and a Supportive Nature"
L2: "Could you please explain what you meant."
Me: "Without Confidence - there is no such thing as an Entrepreneur. By Supportive Nature I mean he should not be selfish and try to achieve only his goals, but he should also be sensitive to needs and goals of his team and the people trying to rally his cause. And Optimism - That is the most important strength. If you loose a contract, you should have the optimism to believe that another contract is around the corner and not cry or give."
L1 and L2: (Nodding their heads in a very appreciative manner) "That very true ... Well said Sharath!"
With this my interview came to an abrupt stop.
They asked me to ask anyone waiting outside to wait until called for. But, since no one was waiting outside, I took my leave and headed back home.
On the whole - It was a very very different experience. My performance was dismal to the core, but I learnt a loooooooooot of things and I am sure I can use this experience to my advantage next time around.
Anyways - For Now It's - Bye Bye PGSEM @IIMB!!!
I'm Flat Broke
Due to a family exigency - I had to lend Rs. 39000/- to my dad. This left me broke - yet again! Just that this time - its worse than my previous times.
This time - I am frigging BONE DRY!!!
(I mean it!!!)
But, anyways - since I have to pay up for my house deposit by next month (A whooping 40000 bucks) - I guess the only way out for me is to take alms/loans from my good old friends!!!
So, if anyone reading this lovely old blog of mine has a couple of thousands to spare - please feel free to contribute to the "Help Sharath Beat Poverty" fund. I will return your cash latest by the 1st week of June - That I promise!!!
Thanks in advance all you lovely philanthropists friends of mine ...
:-)
This time - I am frigging BONE DRY!!!
(I mean it!!!)
But, anyways - since I have to pay up for my house deposit by next month (A whooping 40000 bucks) - I guess the only way out for me is to take alms/loans from my good old friends!!!
So, if anyone reading this lovely old blog of mine has a couple of thousands to spare - please feel free to contribute to the "Help Sharath Beat Poverty" fund. I will return your cash latest by the 1st week of June - That I promise!!!
Thanks in advance all you lovely philanthropists friends of mine ...
:-)
Crying
Crying ... It's one of the most common things you see on TV Soaps these days (atleast the Hindi and Mallu ones that I know of). The TV serial heroine is always ostracised, and she is left with not other alternative but to "cry" it out (don't ask me the logic behind it - I have no clue!!!). Or, there is someone or the other dying (or if we viewers are lucky - Dead), and this leads to another set of people crying. In short - TV Soaps are filled with someone or the other crying!
Anyways - none of them are "crying for real". So lets not take into account their tears!
But, since we are on this topic - Lets take a moment to think:
Why do people cry???
Well - the answer is very very simple - Because they are really really upset!
Is crying the right thing to do?
Well - although the answer is not very straight forward this time around - its a mechanism, more like an instinct, to vent their frustration at not being able to do anything in particular to resolve the particular problem/crisis they are facing. And although it might not be the "best of solutions" - it helps one overcome, or at the very least - live with, an adversity.
Who all cry?
Well - The answer to this question is elementary - EVERYONE!
Even the most hardened criminals would cry - provided the right stimulus came their way!
Kids cry when the are injured.
Men cry when their glory is destroyed.
Women cry when their pride is tarnished.
Mothers cry when their children are hurt.
Lovers cry when their lover is upset.
I could go on and on and on ...
But to cut a long story short: "People cry whenever they experience an unforeseen person loss, and it is a very natural instinct - Period!"
Anyways - none of them are "crying for real". So lets not take into account their tears!
But, since we are on this topic - Lets take a moment to think:
Why do people cry???
Well - the answer is very very simple - Because they are really really upset!
Is crying the right thing to do?
Well - although the answer is not very straight forward this time around - its a mechanism, more like an instinct, to vent their frustration at not being able to do anything in particular to resolve the particular problem/crisis they are facing. And although it might not be the "best of solutions" - it helps one overcome, or at the very least - live with, an adversity.
Who all cry?
Well - The answer to this question is elementary - EVERYONE!
Even the most hardened criminals would cry - provided the right stimulus came their way!
Kids cry when the are injured.
Men cry when their glory is destroyed.
Women cry when their pride is tarnished.
Mothers cry when their children are hurt.
Lovers cry when their lover is upset.
I could go on and on and on ...
But to cut a long story short: "People cry whenever they experience an unforeseen person loss, and it is a very natural instinct - Period!"
My Kerala Vacation
Finally ... After around a 3 month long hiatus, I am back in Cochin, Kerala. My brother also made it a point to come down to meet me. Mom and Dad are extremely elated at being able to have a "family reunion" after such a long while.
Just like a Master Card ad - Their smiles are truly "Priceless".
Just like a Master Card ad - Their smiles are truly "Priceless".
Monday, March 24, 2008
Sleeping - An Expensive Luxury
I had gone to Chennai over the weekend to visit my sis and niece. For the onward journey, I had train (Courtesy - Indian Railways) as my prefered mode of travel. The onward journey was pretty eventless, and I had the best two days of my life.
Now, for the return journey, I had chosen "A Luxury Sleeper A/C Bus" (courtesy - KPN Travels). I personally prefer trains and flights to bus traveling any day. And that too for good reasons:
1. I can stretch my legs and wander compartments checking out the "scenery".
2. Trains travels leave you faaaaaaar less tired than bus journeys.
3. And the most important reason - Trains have toilets, whilst buses don't!!!
Reason 3, although might not sound a big deal to many, is indeed a BIG DEAL!!!
(Picture this - Its 1.00 AM and you’re in the middle of nowhere, and you want to use the restroom! If you were traveling by train - there are no problems at all. But, if you're traveling by bus - Govindaaaaaaa ... The Govindaaaaaaa thingy escalates to Govindaaaaaaa Gooooooooooovinda - if you’re a lady who’s going through this dilemma!!!)
Anyways, moving on ... So, I get to the bus stop at 10.00 pm, and board the bus by 10.30 pm (thankfully, the bus was on time!)
It’s when I got in that I realized that my seat was the last one on the bus - Lower Berth 30. "It’s Volvo ... The vibrations at the back can't be that bad!" is what was going through my mind. But, when I got to my seat - the vibrations were the least of my concerns!!!
Ok ... Let me take a break here to describe myself... I am good 120 kilos and sport a 173 cms frame. In short - I am pretty beefy!!!
And, what I saw in front of me - was a seat (berth actually) designed for a guy who was 20 kilos and maybe sported a 73 cms frame (Ok ... Ok ... I am exaggerating ... The berth would've barely been sufficient for a person with a 70 kilo/5' 5" frame).
Its not the first time I have traveled by Sleeper Bus. But generally, I get seats somewhere in the middle of the bus. And also, I make sure that I get one of the double berth seats. This way, all I need to do is squeeze my poor co-passenger to get that "extra" space I need!
But, heck - this time - I was done for. I tried my level best to adjust in that meager space, and I guess the right way to put it is - "I was spilling out of my seat"
:(
Somehow or the other, I managed to get some shuteye. But, it was already 2.30 am. "At least I'll get a couple of hours of shut eye. Its better than no shut eye!" I thought and continued sleeping.
Yet another mistake!
I woke up to the conductor prodding me - "Sir ... Get up ... Last Stop - Kalashipalayam!!!"
Still half asleep, I told him - "Can you wake me when we get to Madivala boss???" - turned to the other side, and continued sleeping!
"Get out you stupid idiot ... We crossed Madivala long back!"
The force with which he said it kinda jolted me out of my sleep. And with no further ado, I got off the bus - clutching my bags, with my eyes still shut!
I ended up paying an autorikshaw driver Rs. 120/- (I reached that price tag after a lot of haggling) for a journey that would've cost me a max of Rs. 20 - HAD I WOKEN UP AT MADIVALA!
Hopefully, next time - I wont oversleep!!!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Job Interview at Vendio
Today (20/03/2008), I had a job interview at a IT firm called Vendio. For those of you who don't know about it - please refer www.vendio.com. Honestly speaking, I don't have much idea about the organization except for the fact that they are into E-Commerce and E-Auction related products. So, anyways, lets move on to the more interesting aspects of the interview!!
I had 4 rounds of interviews - all of them technie rounds, each of which I was able to clear with panache. Basically, from my extensive experience in giving/taking job interviews, one thing I've realized is that - all it takes to crack an interview, however tough/techie it be, IS THE ABILITY TO BULLSHIT WITH A STRAIGHT FACE!
Seriously, that's all it takes. The more straight faced and confident you sound - the more un-nerved the interviewer gets and will move on to the next question. And the best part is - he/she begins to think that you are right!
:D
But, I must warn you in advance. There are people, like one of my good friends Ravi Ramachandran - who interviewed me for my opening at Oracle, with whom you should not try this trick. It will simply back fire. The reason is pretty simple: They're technically very very very sound (read as - they are geeks with no such thing as personal lives!) and on top of that - they are pretty rude to strangers!
Anyways, let get back to main story - So, I was put through four rounds of interviews, each one testing a different skill set:
1. Java/J2EE Concepts, Web Application Design and Standards, Best Practises.
2. Algorithms and Logical/Analytical reasoning Puzzles.
3. Database Concepts, SQL Tuning, Schema Designing, Load Balancing Databases
4. Scenario/Caselet Analysis, Performance Tuning, Applications Scalability Architecting/Designing.
Anyone reading this - would probably feel that I went through some really intense interview panels - Right?
Well - now you know I can bullshit with a straight face!
:P
Anyways ... With my "skills" I navigated each of these panels very successfully - right until the point that the 4th interviewer asked me - "Why do you want to leave Oracle?"
Well ... Truth be told - I kindda forgot that Vendio, like Oracle, was a product company. And so, instead of giving them a concocted answer, I gave them my honest reason for wanting to leave Oracle - because I wanted to move into Business Analysis/Development related of roles in the next 2 - 5 years. All I can say is - this proved to be the most disastrous thingy I could have said at the interview.
The 4th interviewer - who was till then smiling at my excellent "performance" - suddenly started giving me a stern face. He went something like - "We are a product company like Oracle. And the chances of moving into BD is not impossible. But, at your experience level - I think it will take a lot of time. But, yes, you have mentioned a time frame of 3 - 5 years. I don't see any reason why you should not be able to move into such roles in that sort of a time frame - provided you have the right skill sets and talent and showcase the performance needed for the same! Anyways ... How the process works here is - we will give our feedback to the HR and if all goes well, they will get in touch with you in another 2 or 3 days. It was nice talking to you. Have a good day!".
With this he stood up to indicate that it was the end of the interview process per se. Heck - he even escorted me to the reception area.
Well, for the uneducated (read as Non-IT crowd), the above statement might have not sounded "bad" per se. But, since I've been in this business (and I mean interviewing and not IT) for long - that above statement, translated, means this - "Awwwwwwwwww ... Big mistake man ... Just when I was beginning to like you and thinking of offering you a job, you blew it. Now, I'm sure a couple of months into your joining my team - you'll realize this role is not a fit for your career goals and will throw your papers. So, I better go back and see if I can find another person to do the job I want done. In the meanwhile - do you want to leave my office premises on your own, or would you prefer me, to tell security, to throw you out?"
Anyways ... That is a closed chapter. There is nothing much I think I can do about that.
Thinking about it right now - I'm not at all upset at not having got an offer from Vendio, because, if I had eventually gotten an offer, I would have ended up in a job profile that wasn't exactly what I was dreaming/yearning for, and ergo, I wouldn't have been very passionate about it!!!
(Although, I must confess that it is a Big Hit on my ego - that some company turned ME down!)
Guess this mean - The Hunt Is Still On!
I had 4 rounds of interviews - all of them technie rounds, each of which I was able to clear with panache. Basically, from my extensive experience in giving/taking job interviews, one thing I've realized is that - all it takes to crack an interview, however tough/techie it be, IS THE ABILITY TO BULLSHIT WITH A STRAIGHT FACE!
Seriously, that's all it takes. The more straight faced and confident you sound - the more un-nerved the interviewer gets and will move on to the next question. And the best part is - he/she begins to think that you are right!
:D
But, I must warn you in advance. There are people, like one of my good friends Ravi Ramachandran - who interviewed me for my opening at Oracle, with whom you should not try this trick. It will simply back fire. The reason is pretty simple: They're technically very very very sound (read as - they are geeks with no such thing as personal lives!) and on top of that - they are pretty rude to strangers!
Anyways, let get back to main story - So, I was put through four rounds of interviews, each one testing a different skill set:
1. Java/J2EE Concepts, Web Application Design and Standards, Best Practises.
2. Algorithms and Logical/Analytical reasoning Puzzles.
3. Database Concepts, SQL Tuning, Schema Designing, Load Balancing Databases
4. Scenario/Caselet Analysis, Performance Tuning, Applications Scalability Architecting/Designing.
Anyone reading this - would probably feel that I went through some really intense interview panels - Right?
Well - now you know I can bullshit with a straight face!
:P
Anyways ... With my "skills" I navigated each of these panels very successfully - right until the point that the 4th interviewer asked me - "Why do you want to leave Oracle?"
Well ... Truth be told - I kindda forgot that Vendio, like Oracle, was a product company. And so, instead of giving them a concocted answer, I gave them my honest reason for wanting to leave Oracle - because I wanted to move into Business Analysis/Development related of roles in the next 2 - 5 years. All I can say is - this proved to be the most disastrous thingy I could have said at the interview.
The 4th interviewer - who was till then smiling at my excellent "performance" - suddenly started giving me a stern face. He went something like - "We are a product company like Oracle. And the chances of moving into BD is not impossible. But, at your experience level - I think it will take a lot of time. But, yes, you have mentioned a time frame of 3 - 5 years. I don't see any reason why you should not be able to move into such roles in that sort of a time frame - provided you have the right skill sets and talent and showcase the performance needed for the same! Anyways ... How the process works here is - we will give our feedback to the HR and if all goes well, they will get in touch with you in another 2 or 3 days. It was nice talking to you. Have a good day!".
With this he stood up to indicate that it was the end of the interview process per se. Heck - he even escorted me to the reception area.
Well, for the uneducated (read as Non-IT crowd), the above statement might have not sounded "bad" per se. But, since I've been in this business (and I mean interviewing and not IT) for long - that above statement, translated, means this - "Awwwwwwwwww ... Big mistake man ... Just when I was beginning to like you and thinking of offering you a job, you blew it. Now, I'm sure a couple of months into your joining my team - you'll realize this role is not a fit for your career goals and will throw your papers. So, I better go back and see if I can find another person to do the job I want done. In the meanwhile - do you want to leave my office premises on your own, or would you prefer me, to tell security, to throw you out?"
Anyways ... That is a closed chapter. There is nothing much I think I can do about that.
Thinking about it right now - I'm not at all upset at not having got an offer from Vendio, because, if I had eventually gotten an offer, I would have ended up in a job profile that wasn't exactly what I was dreaming/yearning for, and ergo, I wouldn't have been very passionate about it!!!
(Although, I must confess that it is a Big Hit on my ego - that some company turned ME down!)
Guess this mean - The Hunt Is Still On!
Looking Out For A New House
Today (18/03/2006), out of the blue, my roomie Sajith said that come 1st April he is moving out to another house. That leaves me with a meager 12 days to find another house - or else - bear the onslaught of splitting a 12K rent between (just) two people.
I've been on it since morning, and one thing I realized is - Home hunting sucks big time!!!
I've been on it since morning, and one thing I realized is - Home hunting sucks big time!!!
Finally - I'm Going Home
The last time I hit Cochin was to appear for the XAT exam sometime during the first week of January. I wouldn't take into account that visit as a holiday as my itinerary pretty much went like this -> Reached Cochin around 3 pm on Saturday - Did some last minute Exam Preparation - Wrote the exam on Sunday morning through noon - Headed back home - packed my stuff - caught the bus to Bangalore.
So, if I discount that visit, then, The last time I went home was sometime in early November. That makes it 5 full months since I last went home for a holiday. Maaaaaaaaaaan ... That is a looooooooooooooong hiatus!
No wonder dad is all senti over the phone!!!
(Last time he called - he was like - "Do you remember there are two poor old souls called your parents back here in Cochin? It'd be very nice if you'd come to see us once in a blue moon atleast!")
I know that dad is a very sentimental person, but he generally contains his emotions pretty well. But, yeah, given the scenario above, in all fairness - Its justified for him to have have that emotional pandemonium.
Anyways ... I'm happy that I don't have to live with this guilt anymore. I'm going home next week. And that too - for a loooooooooooooooooooooooong weekend. I'll be in Cochin from 4th - 7th April (both days inclusive).
Hopefully - this will cheer dad up and maybe even raise his spirits!
(In case that doesn't work - I've saved enough money to buy him a bottle of some expensive Scotch Whisky. Now that should definitely raise his "spirits"!!!)
:D
So, if I discount that visit, then, The last time I went home was sometime in early November. That makes it 5 full months since I last went home for a holiday. Maaaaaaaaaaan ... That is a looooooooooooooong hiatus!
No wonder dad is all senti over the phone!!!
(Last time he called - he was like - "Do you remember there are two poor old souls called your parents back here in Cochin? It'd be very nice if you'd come to see us once in a blue moon atleast!")
I know that dad is a very sentimental person, but he generally contains his emotions pretty well. But, yeah, given the scenario above, in all fairness - Its justified for him to have have that emotional pandemonium.
Anyways ... I'm happy that I don't have to live with this guilt anymore. I'm going home next week. And that too - for a loooooooooooooooooooooooong weekend. I'll be in Cochin from 4th - 7th April (both days inclusive).
Hopefully - this will cheer dad up and maybe even raise his spirits!
(In case that doesn't work - I've saved enough money to buy him a bottle of some expensive Scotch Whisky. Now that should definitely raise his "spirits"!!!)
:D
Making A Lot Of New Friends
Today (16/03/2008) I made a few new friends at the Empire Hotel on Churchstreet. They're work as the bouncers (official designation - Captain) at the hotel!
Although bouncers are portrayed to be a mean and nasty lot, these guys turned out to be really nice and friendly.
(One of them "advised" us not to order the Paneer Butter Masala at the hotel - as the paneer was "Not Good")
The way I see it - Its a part of my efforts at Social Networking. You never know when you need/could use someone's services/help!
Although bouncers are portrayed to be a mean and nasty lot, these guys turned out to be really nice and friendly.
(One of them "advised" us not to order the Paneer Butter Masala at the hotel - as the paneer was "Not Good")
The way I see it - Its a part of my efforts at Social Networking. You never know when you need/could use someone's services/help!
Partying @ HINT
On Saturday night me and my friends hit the disc called HINT (Its on the Top Floor of Bangalore Central). It is by far the best nightclub I've been to in Bangalore. Wait - It's by far the best nightclub I've been to - Period!
The crowd rocked, the ambience was amazing, and the music was mindblowing. The drinks, on the other hand, were extreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeemly costly. I ended up shelling out 800 bucks for 2 Mojitos's and a snack.
But you know what - I have absolutely no regrets about that. It was money well spent!!!
Pallavi - Thanks a lot for getting all of us on the guest list at that place!!! I owe ya one - Big Time!!!
The crowd rocked, the ambience was amazing, and the music was mindblowing. The drinks, on the other hand, were extreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeemly costly. I ended up shelling out 800 bucks for 2 Mojitos's and a snack.
But you know what - I have absolutely no regrets about that. It was money well spent!!!
Pallavi - Thanks a lot for getting all of us on the guest list at that place!!! I owe ya one - Big Time!!!
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Alien V/S Predator 2 - Movie Review
This movie is so bad, that I ain't going to bother writing a detailed analysis about it! Let me jump straight to my verdict:
This movie sucks ... Please ... For the love of god - stay away from it!!!
This movie sucks ... Please ... For the love of god - stay away from it!!!
My Back is all Messed Up
Aaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrggggghhhhhhhhhhh!!!
I don't know whether it is because of my daily 30+ kms commute to work on my 'dappaa' bike - or is it because of "Fireman's Lifting" Pradhaan at office today (He said he was not going to accompany me to breakfast. So, I "carried" him to the canteen!!!), but, the point remains that my back hurts like hell!!!
Dear Goooooooooooooood ... It hurts like hell!!!
:-((
I don't know whether it is because of my daily 30+ kms commute to work on my 'dappaa' bike - or is it because of "Fireman's Lifting" Pradhaan at office today (He said he was not going to accompany me to breakfast. So, I "carried" him to the canteen!!!), but, the point remains that my back hurts like hell!!!
Dear Goooooooooooooood ... It hurts like hell!!!
:-((
Robbed of Thirty thousand bucks!!!
In the hopes of pursuing an MBA, I had applied to the following universities/exams:
1. CAT - Rs. 1000/-
2. NITIE - Rs. 1000/-
3. SP Jain - Rs. 1000/-
4. FMS - Rs. 500/-
5. XAT - Rs. 1300/-
6. IMT - Rs. 1600/-
7. PGSEM - Rs. 500/- (IIMB's 2.5 year executive MBA program)
On top of that, I had enrolled for TIME's CAT classes. That cost me a whopping Rs. 20,000/-. Add to that the cost of traveling to and fro every weekend for the classes and exams, lunches, stationery, books, etc ... etc ... and I think I'd be justified in saying that it'd cost me around Rs. 2000/- over a span of 6 months (April - Nov).
Add to this, the cost of "moral boosting" with Rajesh after every dismal Mock CAT (read as booze party), and the sum goes up by another Rs. 2500/-.
Add these figures up, and, as if obvious, the amounts to well over thirty thousand bucks!
I feel I was looted because - after shelling out so much of money, time and energy, I did not get even a single call from any of the "A" grade MBA colleges. The only college that actually gave me a GD/PI call was IMT, which I was never very enthusiastic about anyways!
No offense meant to all you IMT'ians out there, but as per me - IMT just doesn't cut it!!!
1. CAT - Rs. 1000/-
2. NITIE - Rs. 1000/-
3. SP Jain - Rs. 1000/-
4. FMS - Rs. 500/-
5. XAT - Rs. 1300/-
6. IMT - Rs. 1600/-
7. PGSEM - Rs. 500/- (IIMB's 2.5 year executive MBA program)
On top of that, I had enrolled for TIME's CAT classes. That cost me a whopping Rs. 20,000/-. Add to that the cost of traveling to and fro every weekend for the classes and exams, lunches, stationery, books, etc ... etc ... and I think I'd be justified in saying that it'd cost me around Rs. 2000/- over a span of 6 months (April - Nov).
Add to this, the cost of "moral boosting" with Rajesh after every dismal Mock CAT (read as booze party), and the sum goes up by another Rs. 2500/-.
Add these figures up, and, as if obvious, the amounts to well over thirty thousand bucks!
I feel I was looted because - after shelling out so much of money, time and energy, I did not get even a single call from any of the "A" grade MBA colleges. The only college that actually gave me a GD/PI call was IMT, which I was never very enthusiastic about anyways!
No offense meant to all you IMT'ians out there, but as per me - IMT just doesn't cut it!!!
Monday, February 18, 2008
Feeling Very Lonely
Off late, I've been feeling very very lonely, and I have absolutely no clue as to why!!!
Maybe I can attribute this to suddenly having a lot of free time. For those of you who're wondering what that means - till about 4 weeks back, I was moonlighting and you could say - was juggling two full time jobs:
(a) My regular day job at Oracle, and,
(b) Consulting work at Carinov.
This left me very very busy, very very occupied, very very tired, and moreover stressed out. Ergo, all I wanted to do when I came home - during those days - was take a shower and crash!
Or, I could attribute this to having cut down on my liquor intake. From once/twice a week to once in maybe a month/two. Thanks to the cut down, I am sober in the evenings, and ergo, my mind is free to wander around and think silly (sometimes bordering stupid even) thoughts.
Or, I could attribute this to my office having shifted to outer ring road. Thanks to this, I come home pretty early these days - say by 6.30 pm (when my office was near Forum, I used to work, on most days atleast, till around 12 pm).
(For those of you who're wondering why I come home early now - its because Outer Ring Road is a pretty unsafe area once it gets dark, and like every other person - I fear for my life and valuables more than my work!)
To kill time during evenings, initially, I tried calling up my college and school batch mates. But, thanks to a soaring telephone bill, I had to give up that "hobby".
Later, I tried to revive the reading habit I used to have during my school days. But, sadly, reading is not so much fun when you do it every day, and moreover you're "having" to do it cause you have "nothing better" to do. Maybe many of you bookworms won't agree with me here - but hey - This is a democratic country, and in it - I'm entitled to voice my views and opinions too!
After this, I tried to work on improving my culinary skills. Justice be done, cooking does help one kill his time. And in my defense, I do make the "regular stuff" - like omelets, dosas, noodles, spaghetti, et al - pretty well.
But, when I try to experiment with new recipes, I end up either adding too much chilly or dhania or turmeric powder (or for that matter some ingredient or the other!), or if I am especially lucky - just burning it!
End result: The dish drills a wide hole in my stomach and large intestines, and I end up having to sit in the toilet - both at work and home - for extended hours till the excess chilly powder leaves my system. Finally, in my best interests, I decided not to experiment anymore!
(For example I tried my hand at making Potato Sagu last Monday (11/2/08). Everything went fine - till I added too much of the Potato Sagu Masala I'd bought the previous night. The end result - the dish was so damn 'hot' that my eyes and nose was watering. I tried to counter it by squeezing lemon over the dish, but lemon can only do so much. And thanks to the Sagu, I ended up in the toilet for the next 4 days!)
So, like all good things, that too came to an end.
Finally, I started resorting to watching movies. I found myself thinking - "Now, that is something that'd never fail!"
Well, to an extent, I was right. But, like my reading fiasco, when you're watching movies because you have nothing else to do - this too came to a screeching end.
And since we're on movies, let me talk about it a bit more...
After a very long hiatus, I started watching romantic flicks, and most surprisingly - started to like them!
I don't mean to say that I'm some sort of a "Grinch" when it comes to romancing and stuff. But seriously, I find most of the English and Hindi romance flicks a little toooooo mushy and gaaa-gaaa-gooo-gooo types for my tastes.
But, like I said a second earlier, I started savoring whatever bullshit the actors/directors were throwing at me!
And, I don't know whether its because of this, that I started feeling the need to "Complete Myself" (read as get myself a Girlfriend!)
(I can't believe I'm saying bullshit like this ... Must be an effect of watching them romance movies!)
Heck, its even got to the stage where, during the last couple of days, I was sitting and thinking - If I didn't break up with my college sweetie I'd probably not be feeling so damn low right now!!!
For those of you who know why we broke up - Well ... You'll understand that this means dire straits!
For those of you who don't know why we broke up - Well ... It's for good reasons you don't know about it - So, let's keep it that way!
As an engineer, and moreover an IT professional at that, I'm trained to solve "problems". So, I'm going to take this chance to solve this problem. The way I see it, I have the following options:
1. Start boozing everyday.
That way, I won't have the sense to feel lonely. And in the event I do - It’s just because I am drunk!
2. Tell my mom about this "feeling" of loneliness I am going through.
I already know what would happen if I did tell her about it. She's been trying to convince me to get married for a while now. This will just add value to her case. She'll start justifying and rallying her case by saying - "This will help you get over your loneliness!"
But, that’s like suggesting one to get their feet amputated - because your feet hurt. Agreed that moving forward your leg won't hurt anymore, but hey - you don't have a leg anymore.
Similarly, in this case, Agreed that I won't be lonely anymore. But, I'll be stuck with one girl for the rest of my life!!!
Not exactly the best of deals - at least the way I see it...
3. Hook up with someone.
Although this sounds like the most straightforward thing to do, it is also by far the toughest thing - for a plethora of reasons of course! So, let’s, at least for the moment, set it aside!
4. Shoot myself.
Well-wishers - don't worry - I'm not that desperate, at least not yet! It's just that I know Options 2 and 3 will "eventually" get me killed. So, I decided to put in another option that gets me there impromptu!
5. Find a new hobby.
But the million dollar question is what??? I've pretty much exhausted all my options - Reading Books, Cooking, Movies, Music ... Any suggestions are welcome on this front!
6. Enroll for Higher Studies.
Sadly, thanks to a "Not-So-Great" CAT score; I don't think I will be able to get into any good B-School this year. And, I'm not that desperate to enroll myself in some 3rd grade B-school like NIRMA or TAPMI! After all, B-Schools cost a huge pot of money, and I definitely want better and highly tangible return on investment than it proving to be a way to get over my loneliness!
Well, this is all I can think off for now. In case I find any more options, I will update this blog accordingly.
In the meanwhile, if any of you can come up with anything suggestive - please feel free to leave your valuable "ideas".
Maybe I can attribute this to suddenly having a lot of free time. For those of you who're wondering what that means - till about 4 weeks back, I was moonlighting and you could say - was juggling two full time jobs:
(a) My regular day job at Oracle, and,
(b) Consulting work at Carinov.
This left me very very busy, very very occupied, very very tired, and moreover stressed out. Ergo, all I wanted to do when I came home - during those days - was take a shower and crash!
Or, I could attribute this to having cut down on my liquor intake. From once/twice a week to once in maybe a month/two. Thanks to the cut down, I am sober in the evenings, and ergo, my mind is free to wander around and think silly (sometimes bordering stupid even) thoughts.
Or, I could attribute this to my office having shifted to outer ring road. Thanks to this, I come home pretty early these days - say by 6.30 pm (when my office was near Forum, I used to work, on most days atleast, till around 12 pm).
(For those of you who're wondering why I come home early now - its because Outer Ring Road is a pretty unsafe area once it gets dark, and like every other person - I fear for my life and valuables more than my work!)
To kill time during evenings, initially, I tried calling up my college and school batch mates. But, thanks to a soaring telephone bill, I had to give up that "hobby".
Later, I tried to revive the reading habit I used to have during my school days. But, sadly, reading is not so much fun when you do it every day, and moreover you're "having" to do it cause you have "nothing better" to do. Maybe many of you bookworms won't agree with me here - but hey - This is a democratic country, and in it - I'm entitled to voice my views and opinions too!
After this, I tried to work on improving my culinary skills. Justice be done, cooking does help one kill his time. And in my defense, I do make the "regular stuff" - like omelets, dosas, noodles, spaghetti, et al - pretty well.
But, when I try to experiment with new recipes, I end up either adding too much chilly or dhania or turmeric powder (or for that matter some ingredient or the other!), or if I am especially lucky - just burning it!
End result: The dish drills a wide hole in my stomach and large intestines, and I end up having to sit in the toilet - both at work and home - for extended hours till the excess chilly powder leaves my system. Finally, in my best interests, I decided not to experiment anymore!
(For example I tried my hand at making Potato Sagu last Monday (11/2/08). Everything went fine - till I added too much of the Potato Sagu Masala I'd bought the previous night. The end result - the dish was so damn 'hot' that my eyes and nose was watering. I tried to counter it by squeezing lemon over the dish, but lemon can only do so much. And thanks to the Sagu, I ended up in the toilet for the next 4 days!)
So, like all good things, that too came to an end.
Finally, I started resorting to watching movies. I found myself thinking - "Now, that is something that'd never fail!"
Well, to an extent, I was right. But, like my reading fiasco, when you're watching movies because you have nothing else to do - this too came to a screeching end.
And since we're on movies, let me talk about it a bit more...
After a very long hiatus, I started watching romantic flicks, and most surprisingly - started to like them!
I don't mean to say that I'm some sort of a "Grinch" when it comes to romancing and stuff. But seriously, I find most of the English and Hindi romance flicks a little toooooo mushy and gaaa-gaaa-gooo-gooo types for my tastes.
But, like I said a second earlier, I started savoring whatever bullshit the actors/directors were throwing at me!
And, I don't know whether its because of this, that I started feeling the need to "Complete Myself" (read as get myself a Girlfriend!)
(I can't believe I'm saying bullshit like this ... Must be an effect of watching them romance movies!)
Heck, its even got to the stage where, during the last couple of days, I was sitting and thinking - If I didn't break up with my college sweetie I'd probably not be feeling so damn low right now!!!
For those of you who know why we broke up - Well ... You'll understand that this means dire straits!
For those of you who don't know why we broke up - Well ... It's for good reasons you don't know about it - So, let's keep it that way!
As an engineer, and moreover an IT professional at that, I'm trained to solve "problems". So, I'm going to take this chance to solve this problem. The way I see it, I have the following options:
1. Start boozing everyday.
That way, I won't have the sense to feel lonely. And in the event I do - It’s just because I am drunk!
2. Tell my mom about this "feeling" of loneliness I am going through.
I already know what would happen if I did tell her about it. She's been trying to convince me to get married for a while now. This will just add value to her case. She'll start justifying and rallying her case by saying - "This will help you get over your loneliness!"
But, that’s like suggesting one to get their feet amputated - because your feet hurt. Agreed that moving forward your leg won't hurt anymore, but hey - you don't have a leg anymore.
Similarly, in this case, Agreed that I won't be lonely anymore. But, I'll be stuck with one girl for the rest of my life!!!
Not exactly the best of deals - at least the way I see it...
3. Hook up with someone.
Although this sounds like the most straightforward thing to do, it is also by far the toughest thing - for a plethora of reasons of course! So, let’s, at least for the moment, set it aside!
4. Shoot myself.
Well-wishers - don't worry - I'm not that desperate, at least not yet! It's just that I know Options 2 and 3 will "eventually" get me killed. So, I decided to put in another option that gets me there impromptu!
5. Find a new hobby.
But the million dollar question is what??? I've pretty much exhausted all my options - Reading Books, Cooking, Movies, Music ... Any suggestions are welcome on this front!
6. Enroll for Higher Studies.
Sadly, thanks to a "Not-So-Great" CAT score; I don't think I will be able to get into any good B-School this year. And, I'm not that desperate to enroll myself in some 3rd grade B-school like NIRMA or TAPMI! After all, B-Schools cost a huge pot of money, and I definitely want better and highly tangible return on investment than it proving to be a way to get over my loneliness!
Well, this is all I can think off for now. In case I find any more options, I will update this blog accordingly.
In the meanwhile, if any of you can come up with anything suggestive - please feel free to leave your valuable "ideas".
Doom 3 - Yahooooooooooooo ... Finished it
Finally ... After around 10 days of hard work, I finished the game. Accepted, that at certain levels I had to use cheat codes, but hey - I did finish of the game didn't I. And the way I see it - That's all that counts!!!
;-)
Anyways, here's my verdict regarding the game:
The graphics is mind blowing, the game settings and storyline is spooky/scary, its got a host of weapons, and even more types of aliens, the sound effects is absolutely stunning. On the whole the game rocks!
Those of you who haven't played the game yet - please don't miss an the opportunity to play it. Trust me when I say - "You'll love every minute of it!"
The next game I've installed on my PC, and am yet to try it though, is MS Flight Simulator 2004. Lets see how much I like that one. Till my next blog - Keep smiling!!!
;-)
Anyways, here's my verdict regarding the game:
The graphics is mind blowing, the game settings and storyline is spooky/scary, its got a host of weapons, and even more types of aliens, the sound effects is absolutely stunning. On the whole the game rocks!
Those of you who haven't played the game yet - please don't miss an the opportunity to play it. Trust me when I say - "You'll love every minute of it!"
The next game I've installed on my PC, and am yet to try it though, is MS Flight Simulator 2004. Lets see how much I like that one. Till my next blog - Keep smiling!!!
IMT GD/PI Calls
Yesterday (9-Feb-2008), my uncle rang me up and informed me that I had received calls for GD/PI from IMT Ghaziabad (Since we'll me moving into a new house soon - I had given my communication address as my uncles' address). I wouldn't say I was particularly elated or anything, but yes, I agree that I was indeed "happy" at having got at least "a" call from some college. The reason I ain't particularly elated is because - after having, as jealous people say, a "pedigreed" education at N.I.T Calicut, and working at Oracle, I frankly don't know whether doing an MBA from IMT is really worth my while. To put it point blank, I sometimes even think that it might dampen my presently bright resume.
Either ways, I think I should give it my best shot. If I do manage to clear it - I can then choose whether/not to accept their invitation to join. Since the interview is scheduled for 26-Feb-2008, I'd better start reading up on current affairs and the other crap that they'll be asking me for my GD/PI right away!
(I haven't read a news paper in around 7 years now!)
Wish me luck folks!!!
Either ways, I think I should give it my best shot. If I do manage to clear it - I can then choose whether/not to accept their invitation to join. Since the interview is scheduled for 26-Feb-2008, I'd better start reading up on current affairs and the other crap that they'll be asking me for my GD/PI right away!
(I haven't read a news paper in around 7 years now!)
Wish me luck folks!!!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Widening Generation Gaps
I was watching this movie called American Chai today (05-Feb-2008). Although the movie deals with the topic - "Woes of 2nd Generation American Indian at the hands of their parents", it is a topic which has been picturized to death. I must agree, though, that it has some really bright performances - The most striking being Paresh Rawal. He's done the role of an Indian Dad who's son was born and bought up in the USA, and ergo has more American values than Indian ones, and has to cope up with his sons' decision to pursue a career in music!
From comedy roles to serious roles - this guy handles everything with panache ... Hats off to you Paresh!!!
But, my main intention of this blog was not to talk about the movie per se. What I wanted to write about was something else. I have this really good friend (I am not mentioning her name because I don't think she'd want me to be so damn public about what I am going to talk about) who, along with her parents, migrated to the USA about 7 years back.
And a lot of things about the movie reminded me of the stuff that she was (and still is) going through during her stay there. Her parents were the characteristic "Malayali Christians" who had stumbled upon a chance to go to the land of dreams and make it big. Translated into layman's terms - these were people who were in the land where "Gay Marriages" were legal - But at heart they were as Orthodox as Orthodox can be, and at the risk of sounding rude, maybe even pre-historic regarding their thoughts, view, outlook and approach towards life!
I won't side completely with my friend here - cause she did some stuff which were not very "Indianish", and moreover not very "Malluish", in nature (like having a Non-Mallu Boyfriend, chilling out with the "American" crowd, drinking liquor, losing virginity to someone other than your husband, having sex with her BF before marriage, etc, etc, etc). And I only say I wont side with her completely because - I do have to take into account the fact that no Indian parents, however modern they are, will be able to digest all those things - at least not in one stretch!!!
But, I will completely defend her by saying - it's her life and she had more say about it than anyone else!!!
But, anyways, the issue remains that her parents were not approving of her lifestyle! And as can be expected from any Indian family - and that too a Orthodox Mallu Christian one at that - they imposed "bans" after "bans" on her. She tells me that, at times, she got beaten black and blue and in a couple of occasions - even whipped!!!
(I just felt soooooo sorry for her when I heard her parents still beat their 21 year old daughter to get their points through!)
But, anyways, contrary to their expectations, it just made the situation worse.
She just got ticked off even more, and started doing stuff just to get her "revenge" (But, ofcourse, she was smart enough not to get caught!).
Again, I wouldn't blame her per se. What else could you expect from a teenager?
I mean - come on - haven't you done stuff just to tick off your parents, just because they ticked you off in some way or the other (for example - Just for shouting and grounding you for flunking that test in school - didn't you ever try to get revenge on your dad by smoking your first cigarette?)
;-)
All that said and done, I was just wondering - It would be great if parents just understood what kids were going through and helped them outlive those "phases" - instead of just bossing them around and making life a "living hell" for them!!!
I understand it might be very different from what/how things were during their generation - but they better accept it ... Times have changed ... And its best that they should too!!!
Lets try to do some justice to people under the "parents" category by saying "They're just not trying hard enough to accept the facts that things have changed in the last 30 years since they were teenagers". This is what leads to them to try and oppress their kids feelings and thoughts, and thereby, aid them in living in a world of denial.
All I can say is - they're in for a rude shock if thats what they plan to do forever!!!
Not that my one blog is going to change your mindset or viewpoint or culturally oriented stereotyped inclinations ... But - I believe - It would, at the very least, serve as food for thought!!!
From comedy roles to serious roles - this guy handles everything with panache ... Hats off to you Paresh!!!
But, my main intention of this blog was not to talk about the movie per se. What I wanted to write about was something else. I have this really good friend (I am not mentioning her name because I don't think she'd want me to be so damn public about what I am going to talk about) who, along with her parents, migrated to the USA about 7 years back.
And a lot of things about the movie reminded me of the stuff that she was (and still is) going through during her stay there. Her parents were the characteristic "Malayali Christians" who had stumbled upon a chance to go to the land of dreams and make it big. Translated into layman's terms - these were people who were in the land where "Gay Marriages" were legal - But at heart they were as Orthodox as Orthodox can be, and at the risk of sounding rude, maybe even pre-historic regarding their thoughts, view, outlook and approach towards life!
I won't side completely with my friend here - cause she did some stuff which were not very "Indianish", and moreover not very "Malluish", in nature (like having a Non-Mallu Boyfriend, chilling out with the "American" crowd, drinking liquor, losing virginity to someone other than your husband, having sex with her BF before marriage, etc, etc, etc). And I only say I wont side with her completely because - I do have to take into account the fact that no Indian parents, however modern they are, will be able to digest all those things - at least not in one stretch!!!
But, I will completely defend her by saying - it's her life and she had more say about it than anyone else!!!
But, anyways, the issue remains that her parents were not approving of her lifestyle! And as can be expected from any Indian family - and that too a Orthodox Mallu Christian one at that - they imposed "bans" after "bans" on her. She tells me that, at times, she got beaten black and blue and in a couple of occasions - even whipped!!!
(I just felt soooooo sorry for her when I heard her parents still beat their 21 year old daughter to get their points through!)
But, anyways, contrary to their expectations, it just made the situation worse.
She just got ticked off even more, and started doing stuff just to get her "revenge" (But, ofcourse, she was smart enough not to get caught!).
Again, I wouldn't blame her per se. What else could you expect from a teenager?
I mean - come on - haven't you done stuff just to tick off your parents, just because they ticked you off in some way or the other (for example - Just for shouting and grounding you for flunking that test in school - didn't you ever try to get revenge on your dad by smoking your first cigarette?)
;-)
All that said and done, I was just wondering - It would be great if parents just understood what kids were going through and helped them outlive those "phases" - instead of just bossing them around and making life a "living hell" for them!!!
I understand it might be very different from what/how things were during their generation - but they better accept it ... Times have changed ... And its best that they should too!!!
Lets try to do some justice to people under the "parents" category by saying "They're just not trying hard enough to accept the facts that things have changed in the last 30 years since they were teenagers". This is what leads to them to try and oppress their kids feelings and thoughts, and thereby, aid them in living in a world of denial.
All I can say is - they're in for a rude shock if thats what they plan to do forever!!!
Not that my one blog is going to change your mindset or viewpoint or culturally oriented stereotyped inclinations ... But - I believe - It would, at the very least, serve as food for thought!!!
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
MBA Admissions
Like another 2 lakh odd people, this year - I too wrote the Common Admission Test (CAT 2007). My results were not dismal, but sadly, not very good either. With an overal percentile of 96.71 (95.02 QA + 69.75 DI + 98.93 VA), it is pretty obvious that I didn't get any calls from the prestigious IIM's.
And even more so, thanks to the dismal DI sectional score, my chances of making it into any of the other Top B-Schools - like S.P Jain, NITIE, etc - is also pretty much ruled out.
All I can say is - Next Year, hopefully, I'll be a bit more lucky!
:-)
And even more so, thanks to the dismal DI sectional score, my chances of making it into any of the other Top B-Schools - like S.P Jain, NITIE, etc - is also pretty much ruled out.
All I can say is - Next Year, hopefully, I'll be a bit more lucky!
:-)
Mid Night @ Brigade Road
On Saturday (02-Feb-2008), me and a couple of friends from school, headed over to Brigade Road around 1.00 am. There were quite a few pubs and night clubs in and around Brigades. And the prime reason we had decided to go there - was to get a glimpse of the party crowd. Either they'd be chilling out there, or heading home. But the point remains - they would be there!
I do agree that the 20 odd minutes we were there was visual ecstasy for all of us, but, I did see a couple of disturbing things as well.
For starters, there was this piss drunk kid on his bicycle who lost his balance and ended up falling right in front of our car! Thankfully, my friend Cherry - who was driving the vehicle at that time - was alert, and moreover quick enough, to apply the brakes and avert any untoward incident.
After this, for the first time in my life, I saw a hooker on the streets. At first I didn't notice. But, it was Cherry and another friend of mine - Fayaz - who pointed out the sight. She was dressed up in this blood red and really revealing costume, and was pacing up and down the road trying to find herself a "customer".
I don't know why - but seeing a "live" prostitute - freaked me out! All I wanted to do was get away from that place as fast as I could!
Another 30 secs later, I saw some drunk buggers molesting a foreigner (lady). That was a really sad sight. The girl was frantically trying to get away from 3 thugs, and all those jerks wanted to do was touch her privates! Cherry wanted to stop the car and fight the goons. Ofcourse - he's a body builder and has a black belt in Karate - and ergo can take on 3 people! But that was not the case with the rest of us. Besides, the guys looked really really shady. The typical underworld sort of characters! I was pretty sure that atleast one of them had a knife or gun hidden away somewhere in his clothes!
With these perturbing (read as freaking scary) thoughts in mind - we somehow convinced Cherry to just drive away from the spot. I feel guilty for not having gone to the rescue of that helpless lady. But, something tells me that if I did, I'd probably no be around to write this blog right now!
Hopefully - she got home safe and sound!
On the whole, these sights had a very disturbing feel to it. I wouldn't even hesitate to say - it kindda spoiled my mood!
I do agree that the 20 odd minutes we were there was visual ecstasy for all of us, but, I did see a couple of disturbing things as well.
For starters, there was this piss drunk kid on his bicycle who lost his balance and ended up falling right in front of our car! Thankfully, my friend Cherry - who was driving the vehicle at that time - was alert, and moreover quick enough, to apply the brakes and avert any untoward incident.
After this, for the first time in my life, I saw a hooker on the streets. At first I didn't notice. But, it was Cherry and another friend of mine - Fayaz - who pointed out the sight. She was dressed up in this blood red and really revealing costume, and was pacing up and down the road trying to find herself a "customer".
I don't know why - but seeing a "live" prostitute - freaked me out! All I wanted to do was get away from that place as fast as I could!
Another 30 secs later, I saw some drunk buggers molesting a foreigner (lady). That was a really sad sight. The girl was frantically trying to get away from 3 thugs, and all those jerks wanted to do was touch her privates! Cherry wanted to stop the car and fight the goons. Ofcourse - he's a body builder and has a black belt in Karate - and ergo can take on 3 people! But that was not the case with the rest of us. Besides, the guys looked really really shady. The typical underworld sort of characters! I was pretty sure that atleast one of them had a knife or gun hidden away somewhere in his clothes!
With these perturbing (read as freaking scary) thoughts in mind - we somehow convinced Cherry to just drive away from the spot. I feel guilty for not having gone to the rescue of that helpless lady. But, something tells me that if I did, I'd probably no be around to write this blog right now!
Hopefully - she got home safe and sound!
On the whole, these sights had a very disturbing feel to it. I wouldn't even hesitate to say - it kindda spoiled my mood!
Saturday Night Bonanza
Finally, after an extremely loooooooooooong hiatus, today (02-Feb-2008) was a weekend when I didn't have anything related to "work" bugging me - be it my full time job, my freelance consulting, or anything else for that matter!
So, as can be expected, I caught up on some sleep (read as I woke up @ 11 am), and after that I was checking out the movie - National Treasure (Ofcourse - a Pirated version of it!)
That's when I got a call from one of best friends - Cherry B Koshy. Before I go on to rest of the story, let me speak a few words about Cherry. Cherry and me go back a loooooooooooooong way. To be more precise - we we were classmates during 11th Grade @ Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Vaduthala (Cochin). We were best of friends then - as we are now!
If you want me to describe him in one sentence - "He's got King Kongs' body and a puppy's heart!"
(Cherry - If you're reading this - PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!!!)
So, with no further ado, lets move on to the story ...
Cherry: "Da ... What you doing today?"
Me: "Nothing much ... Just watching a movie!"
Cherry: "Then you do one thing! Get dressed ... We're going out!"
Me: "Is it to check out that 2nd hand car thingy?"
(I was planning to buy a second hand car - for which he had said he'd help me find a good car/deal!)
Cherry: "Not really ... We'll do your car thingy later into the day though. But right now, its for a re-union."
Honestly speaking, I wasn't very ultra thrilled by the idea of having to drag myself out of the comforts of my home to meet with my friends whom I hadn't spoken to in over 7 years now. But since Cherry had asked me - I couldn't refuse.
Me: "Ok ... What time are we meeting?"
Cherry: "For Lunch."
Me: "You picking me up?"
Cherry: "Sure ... You wait at that petrol bunk near your house ... I'll pick up in a bit!"
Me: "Fair enough ... Who else is coming?"
Cherry: "Lots of our old friends will be coming ... It'll be fun man!"
Me: "I hope so ... Anyways - see you in a bit."
At the petrol bunk I met my school mate Thushar. It turned out that Cherry had offered to pick him up as well.
Since Cherry was late by about 15 mins, we took the opportunity to catch up on old times. It was really fun chit-chatting with old pals like him!!!
:-)
As promised, he picked us (Me and my friend Thushar) and we headed over to Barbecue nation for lunch. I found out during the course of the journey that a couple of other people had backed out and it was just the 3 of us for the re-union per se.
A 25 min wait time later, we were enjoying a lovely meal at Barbecue Nation (They have the best Kebabs in Bangalore - and that too - its unlimited!).
The lunch lasted around 3 hours (I mean it - we were the last people to leave the restaurant - At 4.30 pm).
After this, we were supposed to meet another friend - Fayaz - at the Barista outlet nearby. That meeting lasted another 1.30 hrs. It is at this point that another old friend - Pallavi- said she'd drop in, but she'd be another hour. So, everyone decided to kill another hour and meet up with her as well.
By this time, do your math if you wanna cross-verify, the time was around 7.30 pm. And, all I wanted to do was leave. Don't get me wrong here - I was having a good time catching up with friends from school. But, I had another appointment to make - with my batchmates from college!
But, come what may - Cherry kept compelling me to stay. If anyone else in the trio there had asked me to stay - I'd have very politely wriggled my way out. But, like I said earlier, since it was Cherry who asked me to stay - I just couldn't brush it aside. So, I decided to stay back - albeit half-heartedly!
But, you know what, it was the best decision I took in a really loooooooooooooooooooooong while!
(I'll explain why in a bit ...)
Since Cherry wasn't very comfortable driving with an unfamiliar girl in co-passenger seat (although it was his car we were in), Fayaz offered to drive. So, we head over to Pallavi's place - pick her up and then head over to a pub at Indiranagar, called "Stones", for a beer. It's a pretty neat spot - but, let me add a disclaimer - it isn't all that great a place to hang out either! In other words - it's just worth one visit. Period!
We had a nice time there - catching up on old school stories, gossips, pulling each other's legs ... etc ... etc ... etc ...
(Btw - Pallavi is getting engaged sometime soon - Please join me in congratulating her on that!)
After pub closing hours, obviously, we had to drop Pallavi home. This time, Cherry said - "I'll Drive!". A couple of Wheel spins, 120 Km/hr drags, nail bitting and tyre screeching 90 degree turns - we dropped her off at her place. After that, we headed over to Brigade Road to grab a cup of tea.
Once we were done with our teas', Cherry suggested that we go for a drive. Since, none of us had anything better to do, we tagged along. This time, Fayaz was at the wheels.
We hit the Tumkur - Hebbal highway. We were easily doing 100+ when a guy in a Maruti Swift challenged us to a drag race. Fayaz took on the dare. What followed was an adrenaline rush, mind blowing 20 seconds! Our car was doing 120 kmph in the 3rd gear. The Swift didn't stand a chance against the monstrous power the Palio was churning out.
To put it in a drags'ters terminology - "We Smoked em!"
After that race, we dropped off Fayaz at his place and headed home. This time, we took the Inner Ring Road route via Domlur. It goes without saying that Cherry was at the wheels.
Suddenly, without any warning whatsoever, he says - "Hold on guys!"
And before we realize, he's racing with a Scorpio. That guy already had a lead of around 300 mts when Cherry down-shifted to 3rd gear. But, in less that 7 secs - we were at 130 and had overtaken the Scorpio bloke. On top of that - Cherry's driving was fucking cool. He swinged in and out of the traffic with such ease that it left me and Thushar spellbound.
At this time, we also saw a couple of bikers doing races and stunts of their own. I saw 2 guys on a Fiero 2 pull off a wheelie. It was a pretty cool sight, but I must also add, that it was pretty stupid of em to do it right in the middle of the Inner Ring Road!
At this juncture, Cherry slowed down so as to not hurt the bikers unintentionally. The Scorpio guy, who BTW was still frantically trying to catch up with us, made the maximum use of this and almost caught up with us. But, then, it was back to 3rd gear and 130 Kmph for us. We "smoked" him yet again! Another 10 secs later, he was no where to be seen. An ecstatic Cherry was shouting - "That fucker picked the wrong car to mess with!"
For those of you into Computer Gaming - If you've played Need For Speed ... Well - Let me just put it this way - I was pretty much living Need For Speed that Saturday Night.
(For those of you who don't know what Need For Speed is - Its a game adaptation of the movie Fast and Furious. For people who don't know what Fast and Furious is - GET A LIFE!!!)
Maaaaaaaaaan ... It was by far the most amazing drive I've ever had. I do agree, there were moments when I really thought what we were doing was crazy, and that we were gonna end up dying for sure! But, my trust in Cherry's driving skills was what prevented me from jumping out in between!
But, honestly, on the whole - It was a fun, extremely crazy and most importantly - a very fulfilling evening!
Thanks a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooot for this Cherry. I really needed the break!!!
Btw - I'm so damn impressed with your car - that I'm gonna start saving up for one!
:)
*****************************
* Very Important Disclaimer *
*****************************
Street Racing is very very very dangerous and moreover - Its illegal. It could cost you your life or at the very least - get you a jail sentence!!!
I would never advise anyone anywhere, whoever it be, to try this on the streets!!!
So, as can be expected, I caught up on some sleep (read as I woke up @ 11 am), and after that I was checking out the movie - National Treasure (Ofcourse - a Pirated version of it!)
That's when I got a call from one of best friends - Cherry B Koshy. Before I go on to rest of the story, let me speak a few words about Cherry. Cherry and me go back a loooooooooooooong way. To be more precise - we we were classmates during 11th Grade @ Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Vaduthala (Cochin). We were best of friends then - as we are now!
If you want me to describe him in one sentence - "He's got King Kongs' body and a puppy's heart!"
(Cherry - If you're reading this - PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!!!)
So, with no further ado, lets move on to the story ...
Cherry: "Da ... What you doing today?"
Me: "Nothing much ... Just watching a movie!"
Cherry: "Then you do one thing! Get dressed ... We're going out!"
Me: "Is it to check out that 2nd hand car thingy?"
(I was planning to buy a second hand car - for which he had said he'd help me find a good car/deal!)
Cherry: "Not really ... We'll do your car thingy later into the day though. But right now, its for a re-union."
Honestly speaking, I wasn't very ultra thrilled by the idea of having to drag myself out of the comforts of my home to meet with my friends whom I hadn't spoken to in over 7 years now. But since Cherry had asked me - I couldn't refuse.
Me: "Ok ... What time are we meeting?"
Cherry: "For Lunch."
Me: "You picking me up?"
Cherry: "Sure ... You wait at that petrol bunk near your house ... I'll pick up in a bit!"
Me: "Fair enough ... Who else is coming?"
Cherry: "Lots of our old friends will be coming ... It'll be fun man!"
Me: "I hope so ... Anyways - see you in a bit."
At the petrol bunk I met my school mate Thushar. It turned out that Cherry had offered to pick him up as well.
Since Cherry was late by about 15 mins, we took the opportunity to catch up on old times. It was really fun chit-chatting with old pals like him!!!
:-)
As promised, he picked us (Me and my friend Thushar) and we headed over to Barbecue nation for lunch. I found out during the course of the journey that a couple of other people had backed out and it was just the 3 of us for the re-union per se.
A 25 min wait time later, we were enjoying a lovely meal at Barbecue Nation (They have the best Kebabs in Bangalore - and that too - its unlimited!).
The lunch lasted around 3 hours (I mean it - we were the last people to leave the restaurant - At 4.30 pm).
After this, we were supposed to meet another friend - Fayaz - at the Barista outlet nearby. That meeting lasted another 1.30 hrs. It is at this point that another old friend - Pallavi- said she'd drop in, but she'd be another hour. So, everyone decided to kill another hour and meet up with her as well.
By this time, do your math if you wanna cross-verify, the time was around 7.30 pm. And, all I wanted to do was leave. Don't get me wrong here - I was having a good time catching up with friends from school. But, I had another appointment to make - with my batchmates from college!
But, come what may - Cherry kept compelling me to stay. If anyone else in the trio there had asked me to stay - I'd have very politely wriggled my way out. But, like I said earlier, since it was Cherry who asked me to stay - I just couldn't brush it aside. So, I decided to stay back - albeit half-heartedly!
But, you know what, it was the best decision I took in a really loooooooooooooooooooooong while!
(I'll explain why in a bit ...)
Since Cherry wasn't very comfortable driving with an unfamiliar girl in co-passenger seat (although it was his car we were in), Fayaz offered to drive. So, we head over to Pallavi's place - pick her up and then head over to a pub at Indiranagar, called "Stones", for a beer. It's a pretty neat spot - but, let me add a disclaimer - it isn't all that great a place to hang out either! In other words - it's just worth one visit. Period!
We had a nice time there - catching up on old school stories, gossips, pulling each other's legs ... etc ... etc ... etc ...
(Btw - Pallavi is getting engaged sometime soon - Please join me in congratulating her on that!)
After pub closing hours, obviously, we had to drop Pallavi home. This time, Cherry said - "I'll Drive!". A couple of Wheel spins, 120 Km/hr drags, nail bitting and tyre screeching 90 degree turns - we dropped her off at her place. After that, we headed over to Brigade Road to grab a cup of tea.
Once we were done with our teas', Cherry suggested that we go for a drive. Since, none of us had anything better to do, we tagged along. This time, Fayaz was at the wheels.
We hit the Tumkur - Hebbal highway. We were easily doing 100+ when a guy in a Maruti Swift challenged us to a drag race. Fayaz took on the dare. What followed was an adrenaline rush, mind blowing 20 seconds! Our car was doing 120 kmph in the 3rd gear. The Swift didn't stand a chance against the monstrous power the Palio was churning out.
To put it in a drags'ters terminology - "We Smoked em!"
After that race, we dropped off Fayaz at his place and headed home. This time, we took the Inner Ring Road route via Domlur. It goes without saying that Cherry was at the wheels.
Suddenly, without any warning whatsoever, he says - "Hold on guys!"
And before we realize, he's racing with a Scorpio. That guy already had a lead of around 300 mts when Cherry down-shifted to 3rd gear. But, in less that 7 secs - we were at 130 and had overtaken the Scorpio bloke. On top of that - Cherry's driving was fucking cool. He swinged in and out of the traffic with such ease that it left me and Thushar spellbound.
At this time, we also saw a couple of bikers doing races and stunts of their own. I saw 2 guys on a Fiero 2 pull off a wheelie. It was a pretty cool sight, but I must also add, that it was pretty stupid of em to do it right in the middle of the Inner Ring Road!
At this juncture, Cherry slowed down so as to not hurt the bikers unintentionally. The Scorpio guy, who BTW was still frantically trying to catch up with us, made the maximum use of this and almost caught up with us. But, then, it was back to 3rd gear and 130 Kmph for us. We "smoked" him yet again! Another 10 secs later, he was no where to be seen. An ecstatic Cherry was shouting - "That fucker picked the wrong car to mess with!"
For those of you into Computer Gaming - If you've played Need For Speed ... Well - Let me just put it this way - I was pretty much living Need For Speed that Saturday Night.
(For those of you who don't know what Need For Speed is - Its a game adaptation of the movie Fast and Furious. For people who don't know what Fast and Furious is - GET A LIFE!!!)
Maaaaaaaaaan ... It was by far the most amazing drive I've ever had. I do agree, there were moments when I really thought what we were doing was crazy, and that we were gonna end up dying for sure! But, my trust in Cherry's driving skills was what prevented me from jumping out in between!
But, honestly, on the whole - It was a fun, extremely crazy and most importantly - a very fulfilling evening!
Thanks a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooot for this Cherry. I really needed the break!!!
Btw - I'm so damn impressed with your car - that I'm gonna start saving up for one!
:)
*****************************
* Very Important Disclaimer *
*****************************
Street Racing is very very very dangerous and moreover - Its illegal. It could cost you your life or at the very least - get you a jail sentence!!!
I would never advise anyone anywhere, whoever it be, to try this on the streets!!!
Latest Computer Gaming Craze - DOOM 3
After a tryst with it around 3 years back (during the final year of my college), today I started playing DOOM 3 again. It's every bit as scary and difficult as it was back then. Sadly, during my college days, I was so damn spooked by the game that I discontinued playing it and pursued less scary games like AOE and Quake 3.
Take my word for it when I say its a very scary game to play - especially if you have a Good Graphics Card (to be read as a GeForce 6 series, and upwards, card) and a 4.1 Creative Inspire Speaker System!
Hopefully, this time around - atleast - I will muster all the guts I'd need to complete the game!
Doom 3 Aliens - Here I come!!!
Take my word for it when I say its a very scary game to play - especially if you have a Good Graphics Card (to be read as a GeForce 6 series, and upwards, card) and a 4.1 Creative Inspire Speaker System!
Hopefully, this time around - atleast - I will muster all the guts I'd need to complete the game!
Doom 3 Aliens - Here I come!!!
An Expensive Habit
Yesterday evening, I was plain bored - as usual - and so, I decided to create an Index of all the book titles I had bought over the last 12 months of my stay at Bangalore. And whilst I was at it, i thought it would be fun to find out how much I had blown on books during this period. The results were, if nothing else, SPOOKY!!!
I had blown Rs. 7658.50/- on books in the last 1 year alone, and if I hadn't done the accounting bit yesterday, I would have been in the dark about the same! I never actually realized that those "kutti" ... "kutti" (read as teenie weenie) book shopping trips of mine - each of which would cost me around Rs. 500 to Rs. 800 - would culminate in such a Goliath amount!!!
Justice be done - I loved every book I bought. And to me atleast, they represent a collectors item.
Each of them, in some way or the other, helped me - either by means of motivating me or giving me an additional info or "gyan", so to say, which I was able to use at some point or the other.
So, honestly speaking - I dont really repent having pumped in so much of my hard earned cash into buying these books, but, atleast moving forward, I am seriously considering NOT investing so much in books. Maybe a budget of around Rs. 2000 - Rs. 3000 per year would be more of an acceptable scale per se.
What say???
I had blown Rs. 7658.50/- on books in the last 1 year alone, and if I hadn't done the accounting bit yesterday, I would have been in the dark about the same! I never actually realized that those "kutti" ... "kutti" (read as teenie weenie) book shopping trips of mine - each of which would cost me around Rs. 500 to Rs. 800 - would culminate in such a Goliath amount!!!
Justice be done - I loved every book I bought. And to me atleast, they represent a collectors item.
Each of them, in some way or the other, helped me - either by means of motivating me or giving me an additional info or "gyan", so to say, which I was able to use at some point or the other.
So, honestly speaking - I dont really repent having pumped in so much of my hard earned cash into buying these books, but, atleast moving forward, I am seriously considering NOT investing so much in books. Maybe a budget of around Rs. 2000 - Rs. 3000 per year would be more of an acceptable scale per se.
What say???
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