Educated Insolence

Come as you are

2012-01-15T21:53:00.002+05:30

Come as you are, as you were, as I want you to be.
As a friend, as a friend, as an old Enemy.
Take your time, hurry up, choice is yours, don't be late.
Take a rest, as a friend, as an old Memoria.

Memoria, Memoria, Memoria

Come doused in Mud, soaked in Bleach, as I want you to be.
As a trend, as a friend, as an old Memoria.

Memoria, Memoria, Memoria

Chorus:
And I swear that I don't have a gun
No, I don't have a gun
No, I don't have a gun

--Instrumental--

Memoria, Memoria, Memoria, Memoria. (Don't have a Gun.)

Chorus:
And I swear that I don't have a gun
No, I don't have a gun
No, I don't have a gun
No, I don't have a gun
No, I don't have a gun
(Memoria, Memoria)

I AM

2012-01-14T19:59:00.001+05:30

I am: yet what I am none cares or knows,
My friends forsake me like a memory lost;
I am the self-consumer of my woes,
They rise and vanish in oblivious host,
Like shades in love and death's oblivion lost;
And yet I am! and live with shadows tost

Into the nothingness of scorn and noise,
Into the living sea of waking dreams,
Where there is neither sense of life nor joys,
But the vast shipwreck of my life's esteems;
And e'en the dearest--that I loved the best--
Are strange--nay, rather stranger than the rest.

I long for scenes where man has never trod;
A place where woman never smil'd or wept;
There to abide with my creator, God,
And sleep as I in childhood sweetly slept:
Untroubling and untroubled where I lie;
The grass below--above the vaulted sky.
-John Clare

A hectic start

2012-01-02T19:11:00.003+05:30

The workload is increasing. One of the managers told me that he is planning to choke me. I smiled and said bring it on. Sheer impudence I believe or shall i say sheer confidence in steering things;)

After a long time, I am back into team handling. The irony is that a coupla guys at my level are going to report to me indirectly. So my job is to not only do my part of work but also monitor the progress of my team.

As a bonus, I need to get on with the Telecom course curriculum and also conduct internal training sessions on various client systems belonging to various Lines of Business.

So... fun time ahead!!

Nope.. this post is not about whining but just a reminder to me on the turn of the things; especially on a year start.

Free gyan

2011-12-31T16:38:00.004+05:30

Given a chance, every individual wants to give gyan to me .. I guess everybody likes to give unsolicited advice to everybody.

I believe I need to control my gyan just in case im part of that crowd. I dont think I do but yeah the demarcation is tough when it comes to self ;)

engeyum epodhum

2011-12-17T09:08:00.002+05:30

A wonderful movie. Got tears to my eyes. It is not for the faint hearted though!!

Beautifully interwoven bunch of stories. And a simple way of connecting the dots.

tum ho tho - rock on

2011-11-30T09:33:00.001+05:30

Tum Ho To, Gaata Hai Dil

Tum Nahin, To Geet Kahan..

Tum Ho To, Hai Sab Haasil

Tum Nahin, To Kya Hai Yahan..

Tum Ho To Hai Sapno Ke Jaisa Haseen Ek Sama..

Jo Tum Ho To Yeh Lagta Hai Ke Mil Gayi.. Har Khushi

Jo Tum Na Ho Yeh Lagta Hai Ke Har Khushi.. Mein Hai Kami

Tumko Hai Maangti, Yeh Zindagi...

Ooooooooo..Ooooooo.Ooooooo

Tum Ho To, Raahen Bhi Hai

Tum Nahin, To Rasthey Kahan..

Tum Ho To, Yahan Sab Hi Hai

Tum Nahin.. To Kaun Yahan...

Tum Ho To Hai Har Ek Pal Meharbaan Yeh Jahaan.....

Jo Tum Ho To Hawa Mein Bhi Mohabbat Ka Rang Hai

Jo Tum Na Ho To Phir Koi Na Josh Na Umang Hai

Tum Mile To Mili Yeh Zindagi... ...

Ooooooooo..Ooooooo.Ooooooo

wicked games - chris isaak

2011-11-28T01:30:00.001+05:30

Writer: ISAAK, CHRIS

The world was on fire and no one could save me but you
It's strange what desire will make foolish people do
I'd never dreamed that I'd meet somebody like you
I'd never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you

No I don't want to fall in love (this girl is only gonna break your heart)
No I don't want to fall in love (this girl is only gonna break your heart)
With you
With you (this girl is only gonna break your heart)

What a wicked game you played to make me feel this way
What a wicked thing to do to let me dream of you
What a wicked thing to say you never felt this way
What a wicked thing to do to make me dream of you

And I don't want to fall in love (this girl is only gonna break your heart)
No I don't want to fall in love (this girl is only gonna break your heart)
With you

The world was on fire and no one could save me but you
It's strange what desire will make foolish people do
I'd never dreamed that I'd love somebody like you
I'd never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you

No I don't want to fall in love (this girl is only gonna break your heart)
No I don't want to fall in love (this girl is only gonna break your heart)
With you (this girl is only gonna break your heart)
With you (this girl is only gonna break your heart)

No I...(this girl is only gonna break your heart)
(This girl is only gonna break your heart)

Nobody loves no one

Hallelujah

2011-11-27T20:54:00.001+05:30

Leonard Cohen has many versions of the same song but I guess Jeff's version is much better than the old man's. Suggested by Anandhi to me. She suggested some more but I guess I like this the best.

Is this it?

2011-11-27T08:44:00.003+05:30

I was repeating these words to myself over and over again since yesterday - Is this it?

I was coming back to my hotel room from my office and this question was bugging me coz the other guys were talking about the strip club and if possible, fuck a whore. Well, thats not the point. The point is that they are all married for 2-4yrs now and have a kid each. Yet they had this strong urge to go to the strip bars and have some fun; you know what I mean.

I didnt agree to go there and one of the guys mockingly asks me " are you a vegetarian in this aspect too ? "... I smiled. I walked out of the building and the cold wave was hitting my face. But it didnt matter. I was thinking if most of the married guys are like these? I mean, does the so called love part end within few years of marriage?

Is this it? Does this make a man, a MAN? Would it be alright if his wife does similar stuff when she comes abroad?Especially for Indian men?

The rise of the fucking SE in me

2011-11-21T18:14:00.002+05:30

I have started looking into XMLs for the first time in my life. Always had people to get these things done for me but for the first time, I am the people ;). So I go through the databases, use unix commands to pull the logs,read thru C++ meta language, and use some front end tools. Therefore I believe I am slowing expanding my core to a lil bit of tech.

My designation officially now is Lead Business Analyst but I guess my folks dont understand that term well. I could probably be called a Systems analyst now. OR even worse, I could call myself a fucking software engineer.

I wanted to escape bangalore and so i am ready to pay any price. So in a way it is good coz I am learning new stuff and can now appreciate the agonies of a SE better. On the other hand it is detrimental to my progress coz I am moving away from business analysis. But you know me right? I am going to join both the ends soon and make a new thread.

As of now, I am taking the bull by the horns.

Anandhi

2011-11-20T20:33:00.008+05:30

nice name isnt it?.. well, thats the middle name of a friend of mine. We had good conversations in the initial days of our induction times.Later on, we lost touch..After 8 months, i meet her here in montreal again.She stays 1 floor above mine. It is surprising to know that we could still carry on as if there was no gap at all.

Another interesting aspect is that within 2 meetings, she is able to read my mind.Im astounded. ok. dont get any ideas but it has been a very long time since somebody saw me.And thats the point.She likes to explore too. She likes to read a lot of books. She is also an MBA from another choothad school like mine.A tambram but knows kannada&telugu. To top it all, she can tolerate my eccentricities.

She has loads of friends on FB. So I doubt how many friends she really has. I have close to 150+ and more than half the nos out there are junk for me.So a lot to dig abt her before i can have fair idea on how she is :)

She seems to be more sensitive to people and Im very harsh on people. And she seems to be a socialite which I am not. Otherwise, we are pretty much the same. So after a long time, I spoke to somebody again!! Or rather lemme put it this way, I found someone worth talking.

I went to iskcon temple too with her where I had my first snow encounter. i loved my first snow experience.Overall, a nice week :)

Thank you Anandhi. I know you think I am a jerk deep inside but there is still something that gets us along :) Im sure you would find this page someday. Im glad to have the pleasure of your company

cheers

It is that time of year again!!

2011-11-18T12:58:00.002+05:30

Just felt low today. Quite low at my incompetence at work. Not that Iam pathetic but Im unable to match my own standards set for myself. Ofcourse I have great expectations from myself and I am slowly going down i suppose

The truth is that I am into a all new stuff at work.I have never done this kinda work before. So Im trying hard to gain ground.It has been 3 days here and I dont think I have made enough progress. I know that it has taken years to get a hold on this app by many people. Unfortunately, I see myself much better than those guys. And so I wanna accomplish in weeks what they have accomplished in years.

The race is on. And I am gonna kick my own ass

In the deep

2011-11-18T12:52:00.003+05:30

I couldnt embed the original movie video. But this is the closest and so no worries.

After a long time I remembered this song. Thanks to my pressure on myself at my workplace.

Lyrics:
Thought you had
all the answers
to rest your heart upon.
But something happens,
don't see it coming, now
you can't stop yourself.
Now you're out there swimming...
In the deep.
In the deep.

Life keeps tumbling your heart in circles
till you... Let go.
Till you shed your pride, and you climb to heaven,
and you throw yourself off.
Now you're out there spinning...
In the deep.
In the deep.
In the deep.
In the deep.

And now you're out there spinning...
And now you're out there spinning...
In the deep.
In the deep.
In the deep.

In the silence,
all your secrets, will
raise their worried heads.
Well, you can pin yourself back together,
to who you thought you were.
Now you're out there livin'...
In the deep.
In the deep.
In the deep.

In the deep...

Now you're out there spinning...
Now you're out there swimming...
Now you're out there spinning...
In the deep.
In the deep.
In the deep.
In the deep...

Montreal ahoy

2011-11-13T02:30:00.003+05:30

Finally, the day has come when I am step on to the north american continent. I have gone to the other diagnol end viz., Australia. Loved it. Waiting to see how Montreal would turn out to be.As of now, I got to hear that it is very windy and cold. temperatures are hovering around -4 or so.

A new country.. a new place.. a new project.. a new role of mine... a new horizon beckons !!

Dream on - Aerosmith

2011-11-11T11:08:00.000+05:30

Every time I look in the mirror
All these lines on my face getting clearer
The past is gone
It goes by, like dusk to dawn
Isn't that the way
Everybody's got their dues in life to pay

Yeah, I know nobody knows
where it comes and where it goes
I know it's everybody's sin
You got to lose to know how to win

Half my life
is in books' written pages
Lived and learned from fools and
from sages
You know it's true
All the things come back to you

Sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tears
Sing with me, if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow, the good lord will take you away

Yeah, sing with me, sing for the year
sing for the laughter, sing for the tear
sing with me, if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away

Dream On Dream On Dream On
Dream until your dreams come true
Dream On Dream On Dream On
Dream until your dream comes through
Dream On Dream On Dream On
Dream On Dream On
Dream On Dream On

Sing with me, sing for the year
sing for the laughter, sing for the tear
sing with me, if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away
Sing with me, sing for the year
sing for the laughter, sing for the tear
Sing with me, if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away......

Schindler's list theme song

2011-10-21T00:41:00.001+05:30

car mileage defn changed?

2011-10-12T04:17:00.002+05:30

Of late, I see that every car manufacturer is boasting of bigger numbers.On an average I can say that the mileage figures are close to 22kmph. I wonder how all of a sudden all the cars are in that league.. or close to it.

even big cars like manza are providing some crazy numbers like 45KMPL... How on earth can a big car give a mileage like that? Therefore I have started doubting the car mileage figures .

Whisky times

2011-10-09T16:15:00.003+05:30

Of late, Im experimenting more on the whisky brands. I have been savouring some of the expensive brands in the country. Most of them are good.

Some single malt.. some scotch..

My ratings:

1. Dalmore 12 y.o = 5/5. Smooth and a good taste
2. Jim Beam = 4/5
3. Jack Daniels = 4/5
4. Glemmorangie 12 y.o= 3/5
5. Dewar aberflendy 21 y.0 = 4/5 ( the costliest of all the whiskies I ever had)
6. jameson's = 3/5
7. J&B rare = 3/5

The City Bar, UB city, Bangalore

2011-10-09T16:09:00.002+05:30

Seems like every restaurant in UBcity is expensive enough and is more suited for the wealthier lot of the city. City bar is another one of them.

My take:
Ambience: Good
Food: very limited choices
Customer service: Average
pricing: Very expensive

Overall rating 2/5

svenska, electronic city, bangalore

2011-10-08T12:09:00.003+05:30

I have been here yesterday with few colleagues of mine from office. Here are my views about the restaurant at svenska, bangalore:

1. the restaurant seemed small enough.
2. the choice of food is small enough too
3. service is excellent. Im impressed.
4. Expensive

Overall rating : 3/5

khansama, UB city, banaglore

2011-10-01T08:55:00.002+05:30

I have been to khansama for the first time yesterday. It was a lovely place. Great ambience, great food, and great service.

I didnt find some of the international brands in the vodka/rum sections but yes, i have indulged in scotch yesterday. Tried 12 year old Dalmores and a J&B rare. I could find a huge difference. But I liked dalmore more.

Overall, I had a nice evening and I give a 5/5 for this restaurant. However, this place is not for the weak hearted (read shallow pocketed) people at all. It is fuckin expensive but worth every penny.

Pharmic dies!!

2011-09-29T00:46:00.003+05:30

My friend Shastry whom I used to call pharmic fuck right from my Bschool days is dead. He died of brain tumour. He has been operated twice but then nothing worked. I spoke to his dad who is totally shattered by his son's death. Who can stop the inevitable?

For the past few days, Shastry was struggling with his systems to keep them going. His speech was lost 2 weeks back it seems. After a week, he was unable to identify anything, it seems.Slowly he dropped into coma. The doctors said they cant tell anything for the next 30 hrs but he died within few hours of going into coma.

I was sad for few hours but then I consoled myself stating that he need not struggle here anymore with his work and non work matters anymore. Especially the ordeal of the mind has been dealt with.He set free himself the day before yest. may god give his sole some peace!! Lost another good friend and now a memory remains.

Venkat again

2011-09-25T12:05:00.002+05:30

Dont know why but I thought of this jerk again. I wonder if he ever thinks of me( in a non gay sense ofcourse:P).

I saw him online and told him abt the dream I had wherein I saw him and his parents back in India. And guess what happened next? he logged out !!

Feels good, doesnt it? But yeah, to each his own

The Netflix saga

2011-09-22T00:07:00.003+05:30

A giant on the streaming side of the internet is now plummeting because of these main reasons:
1. Breakup with Starz
2. Breaking the existing company into Netflix(streaming) and Qwikster(DVD)

Starz: This company is the content provider of the streaming videos/movies thru netflix. Starz has a tie up with Disney and Sony which are big names in the entertainment industry. the contract with Starz ends in Feb 2012 but then netflix decided to let go of this relationship.

netflix is the market leader who has thrashed blockbuster to near death. Redbox is the nearest competitor.Blockbuster has been taken over by the giant Dish network. So it can make a come back now to cash on the netflix debacle especially with the backing of the Dish network.

Starz hasnt struck a wonderful deal with netflix so far which resulted in netflix fillling its coffers to the max. Infact the surprising news is 'why now?'. The growth figures of netflix are astounding as more and more customers are hooked to the streaming videos.Thye money to be shared between netflix and starz is not based on the no of users which is where starz was losing money so far. Now it woke up but I guess it isnt all that bad either for that company too

Starz is now free to tie up with any company to provide their streaming content. Amazon, microsoft,akamai,googletv,apple tv, and the channel providers are in the race to cash on this I suppose.the deal with Starz will surely be a good deal for any of these companies and ofcourse for Starz too. Google tv didnt kick off well so far and so it is the right moment for it to have the right tie ups. Akamai is a global leader in content delivery networks. All it has to do is tie up with companies like Starz and it has a good profitable business.

On the other hand netflix is also in a good position to negotiate with any content provider to suit its business model. So now it looks like a win-win or a lose-lose situation for both Starz and netflix.

The breaking up of the existing company into streaming and DVD businesses is a good move as DVD rentals is a losing business.So it is better to keep it away from the balance seet of the streaming business. DVDs might not totally die off though.They will remain in smaller numbers. However, there will be a huge number of subscribers for the streaming business. If the streaming business hits countries like India and China then the numbers will be sky high.

There could be a slight increase in the number of people going for theatres too!!

What is with Indian women?

2011-09-21T13:22:00.002+05:30

A sea change in the persona of the Indian women. Here are few interesting perspectives I found in the recent past:

1. Nubile: The sensuality has risen by leaps and bounds. Also, the ways of seducing have increased. Ofcourse, one reason for this is the expectation from the partner. Also, premarital sex has increased by leaps and bounds as we shift towards the western culture in living the "NOW". not to rule the extra marital affairs too.

2. Marriage: Even for marriage , the girls have become more choosy. They want not just a "good" husband but also a high earner with an equal or a better qualification.The irony is in the avarice I believe.

3. Education: Almost every girl in south india is more inclined to Engineering / medicine still as they are more realistic in earning a better living compared to some other courses like agriculture, home science,arts etc.In India, there is reservation for everybody except for some upper caste guy like me. Women get 33% reservation in education as well as career in certain organisations.

4. Career: They want to be on an equal status with men by securing jobs which were supposed to be men's jobs before. Also, the career women is so lost in the world of money like her partner that the quality of life has degraded, if it is not so already. There might be a counter viewpoint stating materialistic stuff and joy of buying some societally significant stuff like a house or expensive cars or expensive jewellery. And ofcourse the exotic foreign trips.Therefore the vicious cycle continues to have all these things in place.

5. Household chores: There is an increasing trend of outsourcing most of the household functions which were the domain of the women belonging to the yester years. The new age woman has a cook to cook food for the day. Gone are the days when she used to cok food and await the arrival of her husband to feed/serve him food. She also has a maid to keep the house clean. The oldies are taken care of by another maid who is specifically recruited to attend to oldies - taking them to the loo, wiping their privies,serving food etc.

6. Surrogate mothers: Another business idea at work wherein some of the women loan their wombs to carry the child of another couple for few thousands/lakhs of rupees. Surrogate motherhood is usually opted for when there are infertility problems with a couple. However, I wont be surprised if there is some lady who doesnt want to go thru the pain and so might opt for outsourcing the job of carrying the baby.

I guess the only jobs which the new age woman cant outsource is of sex and hunger!!

Heaven and Hell !!

2011-09-09T22:51:00.004+05:30

For the last week or so I have been thinking about these two words and I grossly fail to describe them to myself. I am unable to visualise heaven but I could atlkeast visualise hell. Thanks to the movies: snakes all over, burnt is different fires, eating thru coercion, forcibly feeding excreta...yukk... mostly gross but that seems like hell but i still dont know what heaven is..ice mountains, gentle flowers?? I dont know.

The best part is we dont need to know both the definitions or the feel of it coz we are sure to make it there and get a first hand experience fo what it takes to live in those conditions ;)

R Balki & advertising

2011-09-03T17:36:00.001+05:30

Here is one bold advertising guy whom I admire.

Cheeni kum is a movie whose dialogues have washed me away into awe for this gentlement.

The link in the title is about an excerpt on Balki and his views on crowdsourcing and ads.

Enjoy!!

janaki kalaganaledu

2011-09-02T23:21:00.002+05:30

A lovely song from early 80s.

ignore the dance steps. Just follow the tune. If possible, listen to the lyrics ;)

Anna Hazare

2011-08-19T11:37:00.003+05:30

The Indian media is resonating with this name for quite few days now. Ofcourse I admire the guts of this old guy who has the courage to face the govt.Recently he was arrested and I am sure the UPA govt is going to pay for it in the next elections.

Anna Hazare has fought for Right to Information for a decade in Maharashtra. Good to see that there is atleast one guy who is standing up.

The funny part is that some of the bangalore techies have gone to the roads as part of the procession in support of Anna.They have done it few times for now. My bone of contention with these bunches is that we should stop creating the corrupt rather than using the processions as a means of flaunting for a cause which you dont believe in.
I also found one friend of mine asking me " Arent you fasting today?" I said "no, why?". She says " Anna is fasting for so many days. Cant you fast for just one day?".
My response " This is rediculoous. You guys are illogical". Hang up.

Im sure most of these bunches would have paid Rs.50 to the traffic cop when they are stopped for speeding or Rs100 for entering the wrong lane in your car. It doesnt stop there. In this great country of ours, you need to bribe to get your basics up and running. You need to pay the lineman for ensuring the power line to your house is intact. Same is the case with the telephone person. I need to pay some money extra as part of my municipal taxes for my house every year. For the khata transfer, we need to pay more; For the name on my electricity bill, i need to pay the electricity board some extra money. The real estate guys rob a big chunk out of you but you are no lesss. You want to register the house for lesser rates and thereby pay lesser taxes for the registration... And the lilst goes on!!

So guy, instead of flaunting the fight for a cause, understand the cause. Try to weaken the corruption. Anna is fasting again at Delhi. What would you do as part of your contribution?

Urge

2011-07-31T21:21:00.002+05:30

Of late, I have this strong urge to make things better. Not only things but also myself. I keep kicking myself for certain tasks which I wouldnt usually think of doing. Ofcourse, I have long arguments with my boss discussing on a lot of topics including the WHY for each job.

Just like my time at infy, I have stopped caring about appraisals. I just want to make sure things change for good instead of the tacit way of working among my coworkers wherin each tries to protect the arse of the other for the sake of appraisals/money.However, I am breaking that cycle too by being very particular about the pending issues.

In short, as ever, I am making more enemies at office than friends. Oh.. I would love to.. Didnt find any to look upto so far but like to play with few guys as they have deeper roots here and thereby gathered some influence. But the urge to do more continues and so I dont sstop at anything.. NOT YET!!

Maruti Service problem

2011-07-17T02:35:00.003+05:30

Another post on the service levels of Indian car industry.

It is very common to hear about the lack of multiple service points for vendors like volkswagen, toyota etc., who are outnumbered and outreached by the age old maruti. However, I was the scapegoat recently for maruti.I left office early at 11 but reached home only by 4am in the morning with the help of my dad. Poor guy has to wake up in the middle of the night to rescue me.

My car tyre was punctured. I didnt notice it for few kms until I realised that my vehicle is not moving fast enough in 5th gear. Then I heard a sound. i stopped to the left of the highway. I saw smoke coming out of my rear tyre. I didnt know what caused it save the flat tyre.

I called maruti no. I was given another no 18004200. That CSR was pathetic. He tells me to solve the issue on my own and that he cant help me at all in whatsoever manner. Theni call another maruti serive guy. No answer. I called another showroom guy and yet no answer. I called my TATA AIG, my insurance provider. Got a coupla nos from a polite csr.However, no one picked. I called maruti again.The guy says he will see what he can do (and so did nothing!!). I called my coworker to get me the no for meru taxi, Ecity police station.Then I make a call to my regular maruti service staion guy. He gets back to me in 5 mins as promised ut with a neg response.

I call my dad and he comes to my rescue as he is more worried abt the news in the recent past wherin bikers approach few guys and steal the money from the ATMs/ Beat the innocent victims. So he came to pick me up. He takes me to both the maruti showrooms i tried to ringup.

RNS motors, hosur road, blr still doesnt pick up my call. I bang the gate and wake the security guard. There is a tow truck inside but the watch man tells me that there is no driver who can help me. Then I goto suraksha motors, hosur rd, blr. I call the another supervisor's no there but this guy tells me openly that he cant help me as i am not his regular customer. I tld him to take money but he hangs up.

With no other option, I drive my car slowly to RNS motors again which is probably 3 kms from the place where I stopped my car.I park my car inside the RNS campus. Gave some money to watch man . My dad got the car repaired in the morning. I went there to pick it up. It was only a puncture and the smoke came out as the rubber burnt.The sound came as the rim was in friction with the road.

If the maruti service is so pathetic in bangalore city itself, I wonder what would have happned to the guys who get strapped on the roads who went on to some outstation trips by their car. Imagine what could the service level for some of the auto entrants... God save my countrymen!!

Pizza services, bannerghatta road,bangalore

2011-07-10T12:03:00.003+05:30

Peet-zaa
Thats how it is to be pronounced. Most of our brethren still pronounces it ways like "pijja" or "pee-za".

Anyway, this post is abt my personal experience with the major pizza providers- PHD, PC, and DP.

PHD- pizza hut delivery: Their technology sucks. I have registered on the website and then called those guys. Yet they want every damn detail.I am referring to the national call centre guys on 3988 3988 number.After taking all these details the guy still doesnt fulfill my order. He asks me to note another number and call on that as the service area is different. I called the outlet fro my area and he asked me all the details again. I mentioned my name and phone number. Then I said "screw you guys" and hung up. There was no option of ordering online. A big thumbs down to PHD.

Pizza Corner:Nice service. Ordered my pizza with customization. On time delivery. Thumbs up!!

Dominos Pizza: Option of online ordering. However, the site engine couldnt identify my address.It comes with an error message that some agent will me up shortly. Im waiting for "shortly" time period to be over;)

First milestone at office

2011-06-12T16:20:00.002+05:30

After joining my new job, the first milestone is going to come on this tuesday when I meet some of the biggies and tell them about some basics of telecom as well as our client systems. The test is - whether I can stand those veterans' questions.

After that, there are few more milestones to reach in succession but quickly.Thats when I m catchin up with reality.

As of today, Im working on one thing assigned by my boss and another real problem on my own. Found a problem with the data in the warehouse team. Some teams acknowledged the error in their DBs too but nobody wants to own the problem..or the answer!! Im still trying to figure out the root cause of the prob. Tried talking to few guys but reached a roadblock as they dont know how a certain data in their systems is populated. Trying to find an alternate way of reaching the solution.

Also, figuring out the report stuff of another senior guy.

Both these tasks are on my own.Thats the way I can close in on reality. Even though it is unofficial stuff(read unassigned by my boss), I guess Im liking this 'going in spirals' as of now ;)

The good part about my official job is that I kinda decide how I can help. So I go to my boss with few options and he gets to select one and I work on that option.Therefore I know that I have my job till this month end too ;)

Nisha again!!

2011-06-04T21:34:00.003+05:30

How I wish I can chat/ talk to Nisha again.. So bored talking to duds all the time.Need some time off from idiosyncracy, mediocracy, and Imbecility .I find these at my office all the time.

I even pinged sharat arsehole twice just because of her. He is our common friend and I guess I am inclined to ping him just because he is my link to her. The fucker escapes once claiming work but the second time he couldnt. He promised to mail me her email id but as usual he didnt. Ofcourse, in retrospection, i could infer that had she wished to be in touch, she would have. Since she didnt bother I guess I shouldnt either ..

The last I heard was that she is staying in parsippany,NJ but is in Netherlands for some Official stuff for a coupla months. Hope her business is flourishing. Gotta bug that sharat arse again. I guess he is in south africa doing some shit.

Gift!!

2011-05-15T11:18:00.002+05:30

After a very long time, i got a gift.One lady has gifted me this book considering my love for Ayn Rand's works.

I havent started reading the book yet.Skimmed few pages though.Thank you Bhanu!!

P.S: the first image in my whole blog;)

IT Business Analyst Career

2011-04-23T17:15:00.006+05:30

High time I write about this job.. the much diluted job..atleast in the recent past.

The role of a Business Analyst is different from that of a Functional Consultant.Ofcourse a BA would gradually grow into a Functional Consultant but the roles played by them are different.However the lines are getting lighter. So much so that it is toough to distinguish who is who.

A BA is the one who has a crucial role of establishing a strong foundation for a project. He has the power to build a great project or to destroy its integrity. If he gets his requirements clearly then he can help the project members go in the right direction. If he goofs up with his understanding then he will make sure the rest of the team guys follow him to the debris.So the essence of his role lies in listening well to the client, understanding what is being told explicitly and implicitly, analyse the importance of each requirement, and help the project manager to decide on the implementation of those requirements.

The same stuff could be told using jargons like requirements elicitation, requirements analysis, requirements development; BTW, all these form requirements engineering. Then there is the other set called requirements management which includes documentation, versioning,storage.

As ever, I dont give much weightage to jargon. Here we go with our simple stuff.So the BA has a major role in delivery than maintenance projects.I say so because in delivery projects, a BA needs to be running fast to come up with the clear roadmap of requirements.Based on his work, the developers can build the code.During this build phase, a lot of questions pop up which the BA should have predicted in the requirements analysis phase itself.Ofcourse there will be some new stuff too which he needs to cope up with and get back to the developers with a solution asap.

Here are some of the roles a BA plays in a typical IT services company or can grow into depending on his choices:

1. Architect: A BA might be playing a role of architect for some of the projects. Or he might help the techinical architects in the solution designing process.Some of our desi IT companies dilute the rle of BA with Architects.

2. Solution designer: A typical BA job. the difference from that Architect role is that here the physical architecture is fixed. So based on the physical architecture, the BA needs to come up with a logical design of the solution proposed.Build a wireframe or skeleton view of the solution so that all the stakeholders can understand how the project would look like

3. Functional Consultant: In some firms this role is also called as SME (subject matter experts). The role of this FC is to help the project with his functional knowledge of a particular domain. Based on the domain knowledge , a FC should be able to drive the project with efficient processes or process improvements. A BA can become an FC over a period of few years.

4. Team lead: In some of the desi IT firms, a BA is asked to play a role of Team Lead wherin he has to manage the team with the day to day operations.This role might include some of the project management activities too.

5. Test lead: Another grossly abused role when we talk about the BA . Albeit a BA is not into this wing of software development, he is usually forced into this role in most of the IT companies in India as a BA knows his requirements well. So ideally he should be the one who could test the functionality well right? ..WRONG..There are a lot of mechanical jobs in testing for which a BA is not really required. A systems analyst might be required.

Testing includes both system and business requirements but a BA can ASSIST a test lead with the understanding of the business requirements but he himself isnt a right fit for this test lead role..usually.For the system requirements, the technology lead is the right person. A fresh perspective is needed when a team is testing code. A Technology lead might skew the test results to suit his code(happens all the time here in Indian IT companies).So he shouldnt be the guy who is heading the test team.However, on the other hand he seems to be the perfect fit as he knows the system functionality in and out(in tech terms ofcourse). A BA is too expensive for the test lead role. Also, he would be more productive in another project rather than the mechanical stuff.

6. Process Lead: An offshoot of a FC and BA roles. In some companies a process lead is also called as the BA.In this role, a BA should study the existing processes and come up with the refinements to the existing processes. It might also include scrapping of certain processes based on business value added.This role will include the usage of some process modelling tools.

7. Product Manager: A BA would metamorphosise into a product manager if is working for a product manager. The role isnt much different from a service company role. The only difference is that here he needs to talk to multiple stakeholders and keep them informed of some of the great things happening in the market. A product manager also needs to come up with some innovative ideas on how to make his product a better one. Once he gets his requiremetns clear, he needs to talk with the development team to get those changes incorporated into the product.A Product manager is also needed to be in constant touch with the sales/marketing personnel to get the pulse of the market.

8. Project Manager: A BA can also get into the delivery stream of software developmentas a project manager. As a PM he will be required to look into resourcing, quality, time, stakeholder and cost factors primarily.

9. presales: A BA could also be used as a Bid manager in some of the companies. he could be doing presales work to hook some clientele to his current employer.As part of presales, he is expected to furnish the right info as a response to RFP / RFI solution.

10. project coordinator: A BA can be a project coordinator and thereby help the change management or release management team in scheduling the releases. Ofcourse, for each change/release there is a need for a lot of approvals from the client.The project coordinator needs to coordinate the approvals from the right teams and at the same time get his development team on track with the development.

11. Incident/ problem manager: A BA could turn out to be an incident or a problem manager if he is part of the production support team as he knows the functionailities well which is needed to help resolve a particular ticket.Also, A BA is ideal here as he is good at client handling.

Whatever be his role, a BA thrives on documentation all his life coz thats how he can eliminate some of the future problems and also cope with the current challenges. A BA should ideally have the following for survival:
a. excelent communication skills(oral+written)
b. good people skills
c. good reading speed
d. high analytical skills

Of late, there is dilution of roles as the management expects more from each person. So a BA role is mostly a combination of the aforementioned roles.So, you might land up with a BA+PM job or BA+FC or BA+presales consultant or BA+Architect or BA+test lead roles in the future. These combos might get extended to involve more roles going forward.

3NF and the corporate culture

2011-04-09T21:47:00.003+05:30

To start with 3NF= third normal form, just in case you dont know.It represents the third refinement/classification of your data in layman's terms. I say this coz most techies are supposed to know this but .. I have my own doubts.

Anyways, I recently reminded myself with a link between the 3NF and the corporate culture. Here is how it goes:

In the Database terminology, it is always better to reach for the higher normal forms and therefore the existence of 1NF, 2NF,3NF, BCNF..blah blah..The point is that you have your data with you but you wanna "normalise" the data into respectable tables based on the relationships of the data..An appropriate design will lead to optimised results. Too hi fi?... its ok...Move on..

Even though most of the industry thrives on 3NF and below, there are few companies that would have moved towards the 4NF and beyond. Why only few? Well, most people who are into database designing dont bother in terms of normal forms.Atleast not with our desi(read common indian) firms, ...usually.So the DB design happens in probably a day or less' time.So most of our tables are designed in 1NF or 2 NF. Rarely we goto 3NF.

As per my grad study, 3NF and beyond is good.. The reality is that 3NF and below is good. The reason being a bunch of jerks being produced by our universities and also the companies prefer less turbulence to the new person coming onboard..or shall we say less ripples in the system.Lemme explain. We design our databases based on how WE intend to classify the data as per our tastes. By considering the theoretical stuff abt normalisation, we just are making things complex for all of us. Atleast most of us as we arent that familiar sticking to our sciences.So.. to hell with NFs, we design the way we are comfotable with our data. Sounds good?

Similarly, I found a coupla instances in the corporate world which I intend to share.
First: Normalisation leads to reduction in my ego as a higher order management guy. There is so much of pride exuberated when a person in a higher management role says that " I manage 18 or 20 Apps out of the existing 100 of this company". It is also implicit that the 100 people who work in these 18apps report unto me.This statement in itself implicitly states that "I am important". Be it to an outsider or to some other employee depending on the relative hierarchy.So we dont care whether my team is designed to be at 1NF or 2NF. I just need my team of people for further action when needed.
Second: The minute I hear that there are so many apps handled by one person, there is obviously something wrong.So, dont we think we should go for application portfolio rationalisation?.. YESS..in an ideal world..or for a company looking for a stronger growth. However, the answer could also be a NO instead of an YES because the reduction in app count not only lessens my power in the company but also a significant revenue loss to be faced by the company; Provided the company provides not only development work but also support work. The case might look good if only one of those service lines are included.

The funny thing is that, we , the people, are more accomodative to the inefficiencies of the system than otherwise coz in this age of information, the use/misuse of information decides on where we stand.So, in reality, some of us know the inefficencies of the system and yet we dont point out as that would lead to loss of jobs and also loss of revenue depending on which side of the court we are on.Also, if we embrace efficiency, we are buying trouble from other people which will tacitly have its repercussion on the money we make.In short theory is different from reality as we all know.

This is the moment I thought about the 3NF stuff that I experienced before. We dont want to be on the efficient side. Same is the case for companies who are relying on some external clients as excessive efficiency levels only mean loss of revenue; To all the entities involved. Ironical, isnt it? All our education is to bring something "better" into our worlds and yet we are constrained by our own shortsightedness. A renegade of a mind we have. Infact , it can also be termed as gullibility of our own selves depending on which side of the coin we are looking at.

Happy fucking ..people... Oops... happy working..people ( in case you are still human )!!

blue coriander, electronic city, bangalore

2011-04-02T15:44:00.003+05:30

blue coriander is one of the popular destinations in E city, bangalore as it is close to some of the IT companies. I have been there yest night with some of my colleagues.

I found it a lil weird that people dont know their dinner manners. All the other 4 made munching sounds when they ate their food. All the other 4 didnt use their quarter plate for rotis.

A coupla them are freshers and so the Stupid talk. Somehow I coouldnt relate much there yest.Also, i could see that the fellas are more interested in money than the experience. But yeah, they are not wrong but im the wrong one there.

By the way, I am no less an idiot. I went to the rest room to wash my hands. I waved my hand twice before the tap but the water doesnt flow. I rub the sensor just to make sure it is funtioning and yet the water doesnt come. So I asked this other girl outside if she knows how this tap functions.She asked me move my hands in front of the tap. For my bad luck, this time water came out gushing..Shit..it was so embarassing.

Before going to the washroom i ask the waiter for the finger bowl as we are done with our buffet. The fella says " the wash basin is outside sir"..I didnt like it coz he gets 300 a person and yet we dont get our finger bowls. I assumed he should be having because of the ambience but yeah, he tightened the strings for wrong stuff.

Here are my ratings for this place:
1. Parking - 2/5
2. Ambience - 3/5 (chairs were bad..especially for buffet guys)
3. Food - 3/5
4. Service - 2/5 Bad customer service

my options

2011-03-27T03:39:00.003+05:30

I just thought about my options with my current employer. I have narrowed down on these:
1. Management consulting (my employer is into it. Dont know if there are any openings. None in india for sure)
2. Sales ( i strongly believe that my employer has a lethargic sales team)
3. project management (Many systems are needed for internal purposes. I wanna a PM for those internal systems as it is high time we need them at office)
4. Portfolio mgmt ( i wanna do application portfolio rationalisation as our client has a whole lot of redundant apps)
5. Program management for the existing apps..as there are hardly any managers or leaders here.I believe I can set things straight much better than most here.

Im currently studying various systems and making a presentation for the existing teams about the telecom stuff including the flows of our client systems.Will do this stuff for the next month or so. After that, it is time for me to voice out !!

The truth is that I dont have thos options. those are the roles I can play. Nobody is giving me those options. Darn!!

my booze test

2011-03-27T03:27:00.004+05:30

Its a lazy sat eve.. I dont know why / how but I suddenly felt like doing an alcohol surival test. Here is my thought on the same:

1. Buy any alcohol based drink. Preferably an overproof.
2. Drink as much as you can. Ofcourse not till you puke but till you are on a high.I mean, after those 4-6 large pegs(2-4 for normal fellas ;) ), your head will start spinning and you desperately wanted to sleep. Thats the stage I am talking about.
3. Once you are on a high, you need to stay awake; watch movie or play games or read stuff.. whatever.. Just keep your eyes open.
4. Note the time when you cant hold on yourself anymore from sleeping.
5. How many hours can you hold onto yourself?

I tried this simple test today.(cudnt find a real overproof here unlike aus). The strange part is that Im still awake. The high is gone too. So Im more sober now. I have started sometime in the eve at around 5.30 and now the time is 3.35..ufff..I am glad!!

Dont worry folks.. I havent gone crazy.. I keep testing myself once in a while on certain parameters.. this is just one of them. The most common thing I do is to play with peoples minds!! ;)Yeah, its so much fun to play with minds.

change management

2011-03-25T10:40:00.004+05:30

I still see a lot of scope with my employer for change. Be it their HR /IT /PM processes.The irony is that without strong processes the company is still having strong revenues so far.Maybe someday I will know the secret ;)

As part of my job, Im studying various systems and trying to understand order flows through them.However, I see the task as challenging as there is hardly anybody who knows his system here. Even on the techincal side the fellas are poor; Forget functionality..

The sad part is that people are so glued to their egos that they are refusing to change.Some of the pig headed software engineers have asked me " i know how to resolve my ticket. What do I care about functionality?". So I asked few more questions about the interfaces and there you go.. Stumped but not ready to accept the fallacy.

I spoke to coupla experienced fellas and they smiled at me for talking about change. Seems like everyone is worried about their own appraisals. In fact they are so into it that they dont wanna question the info that is being given to them.The foundation for change is "WHY.. or WHY NOT", depending on the perspective. But if you dont question, how can think about change?

People are giving KTs to new people. The only problem is that the KTs are mostly incomplete. It is ridiculous to hear statements like
" I dont know anything. From now on you will own this app".
" why is system A sending data to system B? and what kind of data is being sent?
The ans was " I dont know..but you could find your ans down there in this doc.. err...maybe some other document..Just dont ask these kind of questions. Take it that sysA gives data to sys B"

Here is another funny instance:
An SE joined this firm recently.The prob is that she suddenly started exercising her brains and her lead is not ready to hear her approach. Infact the idiot says " I have 3yrs exp with this system. My approach is right. So stick to mine. No more talks on this one"..Damn..he should have atleast listened to her approach and should have pointed out the flaws.Amazing "Lead"..Ofcourse these kinds are there in many places. So I guess this girl found the same rottenness which she found with her prev employer. Also, her close friend in this firm is a moron who doesnt wanna think much.I pity her.She atleast has a small spark in her wherin she thnks unlike most of the other people around here.Ofcourse , each person chooses his / her circle and so they are what their company helps them to be.

Now I can classify people under these buckets:
1. I know what I have to know. Dont want any more info. I will follow what has been said to me without any deviation. (Therefore ruling out the scope for improvement.Maybe these cud be called the robots)
2. I know that there are certain things which arent right here. But I dont want to mess with my managers. So I will keep quiet. (Being neutral in a way)
3. I dont know whats going on.As long as I am getting paid, I 'd do any shit. (Do i need to say anything?)

Ofcourse some of you know me. I am trying to be the agent of change. So lets see how I survive here;)

Remember

2011-03-12T12:46:00.000+05:30

Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann'd:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.

-Christina Rossetti

The partner search

2011-02-27T15:19:00.002+05:30

Am just 4 months away from 31. So, is there a prob? ..hmm.. in India, it is a prob as it gets even tougher to find the right partner.My worry isnt really the number but the word called compatibility. The more I interact with a person, the more I can gather info about her.So what I am looking for is time.Unfortunately it is running out fast..atleast as per the Indian context.

Ok, the reason for this post is to check if I have any clarity abt my girl. So lets see how much can i write in the next 5 mins or so.(Ofcourse thinking out aloud helps sometimes)

Here is what I am looking for:
1. Telugu Brahmin(including its various subsects)
2. Age<29 (coz im still 30 hehe)
3. Wheatish and above in complexion
4.Any qualification; Educated as a person not just on paper.
5.Should have worked before or is working now.
6. 5.2- 5.5 in height
7. One who doesnt say no to learning, whenever possible
8. And rest of the adjectives - humble, assertive, articulate etc., where required.
9. Definitely not looking for someone who has fed on her father all her life and now expects me to treat her the same way.
10. Some girl who appreciates music, movies, books.

The good part is that Im ready for the tradeoff on most of the line items here.The sad part is that my pipeline is empty ;) Ofcourse the efforts from my side to search and filter candidates is on thru physical media as well as online. However, it didnt work out so far.

Just waiting for time!!!yeaahhh, I succeeded in the obj of my post... coool

Information gluttony

2011-02-25T00:59:00.002+05:30

After a long time, I was churning info into my head as my mind has starved for months now.

I worked in the order fulfillment section of telecom in infy and with my current employer I get a chance to take a peek into assurance and billing. I didnt say a word and accepted what has been bestowed to me.I also gathered some info on a coupla new systems. I hogged some more docs on some unheard systems in my segment. I stopped few mins back as the eyes were burning.

I need to build up on the functional knowledge of a complex system in the next 2-3 days time. Hopefully I can survive it.

By mon, I should be preparing a presentation on one of the systems I have learnt today. It should not only indicate my understanding but also probable process improvements. Challenging but Im game.I felt a lil rejuvenated to get myself back on track. I better get used to work now.Its only few days before my boss gets to hear preposterous comments on the systems we have. Way to go.

Im BACKKKKKK!!!!!!!

I stay quiet

2011-02-17T23:28:00.003+05:30

Perhaps I am trying to adjust to a new environment. Im in a new job and I see a lot of scope here for improvement. Unfortunately, I dont speak out as I dont think it is right time to speak.

I like our coordinator who has spent 14 years in this firm. He is pretty humble and clear in his communication. But I am not quite sure on how he could have spent 14 years there..weird!!

The sad part is that Im being asked to don a new role which is different from what we agreed upon in the interview. However, I am left with no choice as I dont want my resume to be impacted now. At the same time, Im not ready to compromise yet. So Im waiting for time to heal itself and perhaps guide me thru the right path. Few more days and I shall bite the bullet ;)

My vacation-jan'11

2011-02-05T20:14:00.004+05:30

Trichy: A small town for all I know. However, I remember seeing a municipality there.So it is a city which is on an expanding mode and not ready for the expansion. A whole lotta temples there. I was in search of my religion as I went to that place.I was thinking more in lines of Mulder "I want to believe". And I still remain as confused as ever with a slight inclination towards the religion( what happend to spirituality:P)

Chennai: Happen to meet my junior from grad school after almost a decade of time. Was very glad to meet her. Suganya was still the same albeit married for 6 years now.We had long and interesting conversations down memory lane mostly. She also showed me one of the oldest malls in chennai - spencers. After a good lunch at sigree, we moved to that mall and bought few books for her.Felt good though..to meet and spend time with someone with whom I lost touch for a decade.

Later I met archana for the first time. A lass who was a lil peevish I guess but quite restless as this is the first time she is meeting some stranger ..well, not really :P

Then I met my bud from aus..He was in chennai for a short time.Anil was in chennai for sometime..for whatever reasons;)We tried to catch up on some sambar movie but we couldnt. So we crashed into green park and I had few Belvederes. He doesnt booze..its his bad luck :)

The journey to chennai was a lil irksome initially as I travelled thru some stupid bus, which is what most masses of our country take. I was asked to get up from my seat by some lady who was travelling with some 5 yr kid or so. I was a lil taken aback initially but I gave in as I thought 2 people can sit comfy.Ofcourse I need to stand for just an hr or two as the conductor assured me that half the bus will be empty in some nearby stop.Few people got down the bus stop but it was more overcrowded than before.Ofcourse I cant yell at the conductor and so I adapt myself.( read it as keeping my cool ).

One kid from the fornt seat has actually peed in the bus.. My neighbor was able to feel the heat (or warmth) as some of the golden solution was on his feet.. hhehe.Then some guy tried to talk to me about his career prospects.. I wonder what he thought of me. Anyways, he has studied in some god damn place called Erode(not pronounced as erode-verb). His English was pathetic. He was finding it hard to speak in Eng.And then there was a big tits girl who was doing some translation to me once in a while. Later the seat next to me was vacated and this Big tit girl comes and sits next to me.. Gawd..And I was thinking all the time that I was a pervert..:P..hahaha.So we sat there rubbing shoulders..for few more stops.. hehe.. Funny people.

The bus stopped at some place later and cranky woman got in who probably has gulped down a coupla loud speakers in her childhood. A long argument starts off with the conductor about her destination. A slew of words exchanged and the conducotr loses his temper. The bus was made to stop again and she was forced to get down.. A different and funny trip for me though;)

Pondicherry: salud to Monsieur Dupleix.The French governor who has built pondy.. A nice quite little town..ughh..its a city too. I like this place. There are a lot of hotels built and I also saw an influx of foreigners all the time. I spent a lot of time at the promenade having my quiet conversations with bay of bengal.And ofcourse cursing the HOT sun for making me a live grill ;) The irony is that I didnt feel like consuming alcohol at all even though Pondy is supposed to offer better rates due to waiving off of some of the duties by the government.

I also happened to check out the place with few interesting people. I initiated conversation with some french lady who isnt that well versed in English. Then I met her husband who doesnt know English at all. However he is quite young at heart. Both these people should be nearing 70s and yet they are strong enough to walk few kms with us. Then I was introduced to marie muscat. A sociology student who learnt some theatre and English literature before in US and UK.So we ended up spending more time with ourselves than with her parents. We discussed a lot about our respective cultures.And later we moved onto English literature.Interesting discussion though as none of the guys in the bus understood what we are talking about. Atleast most people around us started sleeping. I happened to read a lil of French text at auroville and the french family was surprised that I know a lil french..pat pat!!

I also poked a coupla israeli guys who were on their south asia tour. Those 2 guys, Marie and I started our talks about the christians and the distinction with Jews. I loved the glass paintings of the angels in the sacred heart church though.Then we started discussing israel, the politics, the gas find..hehe.. poor souls, I cudnt let them have their peace , can I? :P

I have spent some time at aurobindo ashram. I tried to meditate but failed. Everytime I try to get thoughts out, the more they entered in my mind. I could see some movies, hear some songs, sports, animals.. uff.. what not.. its so hard to keep my mind empty.I tried for few hours though battling thoughts.

Hyderabad: Hyd was a fiasco for me this time. Anyways, I spent some time with my cousins.Feels good. Lectured a cuz's son on how not to become me. Played with a 4th class kid who is a daughter of another cousin. Went out for a walk with a 2yr old kid who cudnt speak well yet.Met a coupla people at one of the cuz's place and blabbered my way to glory. However, the couple liked some part of the conversation. They invited me to their place in bangalore..Explained another cousin of me the concept of cloud computing :P.. Fought with santosh as I was almost down with a half bottle of gorbachow vodka..hehe..Nothing serious though..!!

The good part about my vacation was that I travelled without proper planning. I decided where to stay and for how long.It kinda amazed so many people that I met there that they think I am some freak.I only thought about the places I wanna be at. I didnt plan for tomorrow at all. So I kinda explored every place I want for as long as I want.Even my cab driver was shocked to know that I didnt have a plan for the next day or the next destination...hehe..poor guy..he probably hasnt met an explorer in his lifetime.

a new turn

2011-02-05T20:05:00.002+05:30

ahh... that uneasy feeling...of entering a new environment...especially after my month long vacation..Wonder how i can work now.:P..This monday onwards I am going to hit work..or the other way actually. Hopefully I can stand it.

Number portability in India

2011-01-14T13:14:00.004+05:30

The TRAI has given orders for number portability in mid last year. As usual the deadlines get extended for whatever reasons. The current deadline is there in the next week.

Here is the interesting part:
IDEA cellular is promoting the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) thru multiple ads which focus not only on MNP but also on the quality of the call if their services are used. There are multiple ads which end with abhishek bachchan saying" get an idea". For instance the one in elevator , the one in bus, the one in office..Nice ads.

I saw very few ads of vodafone for the MNP and almost zilch of airtel. I am sure thats because airtel has shown decrease in profits or even losses in the last quarter. Perhaps they have started cutting down on the advertising costs. Anyways, the point is that MNP is allowed by govt and Idea guy is able to market it well. Im sure his customer base would have shown a good increase in this quarter, possibly in the last qtr too.

Im glad that finally MNP has come to india relieving itself from the clutches of license raj in a certain way. The good part is that now the service providers need to be more cautious to customers than ever before. The provider who brings the best network availability and best service levels is going to win the customers. So either they straighten themselves or the customers will vote with their feet.

The MNP is also going to hit the other allied parties of telecom service providers. For e.g, the CDMA guys, who dont have big market in india, will be hit more due to the less no of handset varieties available unlike GSM handsets .So the customer will walk out on the pretext of MNP.So reliance and tata might have some issues soon. The GSM providers have ample handset makers and so its the network availability, call quality, customer service etc.. which will bring the market to the toes of the customer.

Due to the impending losses, major M&A is pending as the markets correct themselves. I wonder what happened to the 8000 crore vodafone tax racket with the government of India. I guess the government started taxing vodafone by backdating i guess. Also, there are so many small companies which have sprouted up recently, especially in the handsets market.So there is consolidation pending there too.

Also, the cellular tower providers will boom due to the focus of cellular service providers on better network availability. Perhaps its the boom time for Managed service providers too. This will in turn lead to consolidation of services. For instance the same tower of Airtel will accomodate vodafone,idea,docomo and others. Its more like the banking system allowing cash withdrawal from any banks' ATM with no charge to the customer..I guess I need to brush up my knowledge on MVNOs.( telecom jargon) to speak better.

Awaiting the results of the 2G scam and how the culprits are punished for the huge loss of revenue for the nation. Thats a new twist in politics of late.Each party is out to show how bad the other party is instead of "how good my party is". I mean its only this time that we get to see so many scams in the open.Once the spectrum issue is resolved, a new game will start too.

In short, im expecting the spectrum allocation issue to be resolved and at the same time looking forward to some technological advancements in the telecom space.The customer space is definitely shaken up and it will come to equilibrium over the next year depending on the factors mentioned above.In the meantime, there is 3G which has to mature itself.However I doubt if it could coz I see a possible introduction og 3.5G / 4G soon. Therefore, its spectrum which will decide the progress of the telecom market due to the convergence.

Bhaja Govindam - English

2011-01-10T23:05:00.001+05:30

1 Seek Govinda, Seek Govinda,
Seek Govinda, O Fool!
When the appointed times comes (death),
grammar rules surely will not save you.

2 O Fool! Give up the thirst to possess wealth.
Create in your mind, devoid of passions,
thoughts of the Reality.
With whatever you get, entertain your mind, be content.

3 Seeing the full bosom of young maidens and their navel,
do not fall a prey to maddening delusion.
This is but a modification of flesh and fat.
Think well thus in your mind again and again.

4 The water drop playing on a lotus petal has an extremely uncertain existence;
so also is life ever unstable.
Understand, the very world is consumed by disease and conceit,
and is riddled with pangs.

5 As long as there is the ability to earn and save,
so long are all your dependants attached to you.
Later on, when you come tolive with an old, infirm body,
no one at home cares to speak even a word with you!!

6 As long as there dwells breath in the body,
so long they enquire of your welfare at home.
Once the breath leaves, the body decays,
even the wife fears that very same body.

7 So long as one is in one’s boyhood, one is attached to play,
so long as one is in youth, one is attached to one’s own young woman;
so long as one is in old age, one is attached to anxiety,
yet no one, alas to the Supreme Brahman, is ever seen attached.

8 Who is your wife? Who is your son?
Supremely wonderful indeed is this samsara.
Of whom are you? From where have you come?
O brother, think of that Truth here.

9 Through the company of the good, there arises non-attachment;
through non-attachment there arises freedom from delusion;
when there is freedom from delusion, there is the Immutable Reality;
on experiencing the Immutable Reality, there comes the state of ‘liberated-in-life’.

10 When youthfulness has passed, where is lust and its play?
When water is evaporated, where is the lake?
When the wealth is reduced, where is the retinue?
When the Truth is realised, where is samsara?

11 Take no pride in your possession, in the people at your command, in the youthfulness that you have.
Time loots away all these in a moment.
Leaving aside all these, after knowing their illusory nature,
realize the state of Brahman and enter into it.

12 Day and night, dawn and dusk, winter and spring,
again and again come and depart.
Time sports and life ebbs away.
And yet, one leaves not the gusts of desires.

13 O Distracted One! Why worry about wife, wealth?
Is there not for you the One who ordains?
In the three worlds it is the association-with-good-people alone
that can serve as a boat to cross the sea of change, birth and death.

14 One ascetic with matted locks, one with shaven head,
one with hairs pulled out one by one, another parading in his ochre robes
– these are fools who, though seeing, do not see.
Indeed, these different disguises or apparels are only for their belly’s sake.

15 The body has become worn out. The head has turned grey.
The mouth has become toothless.
The old man moves about leaning on his staff.
Even then he leaves not the bundle of his desires.

16 In front the fire, at the back the sun, late at night he sits with hisknees held to his chin;
he receives alms in his own scooped palm and
lives under the shelter of some tree,
and yet the noose of desires spares him not!

17 One may, in pilgrimage, go to where the Ganges meets the ocean, called the Gangasagar,
or observe vows, or distribute gifts away in charity.
If he is devoid of first-hand-experience-of-the-Truth,
according to all schools of thought, he gains no release, even in a hundred lives

18 Sheltering in temples, under some trees,
sleeping on the naked ground, wearing a deerskin,
and thus renouncing all idea-of-possession and thirst-to-enjoy,
to whom will not dispassion bring happiness?

19 Let one revel in Yoga or let him revel in Bhoga.
Let one seek enjoyment in company or
let him revel in solitude away from the crowd.
He whose mind revels in Brahman,
he enjoys, verily, he alone enjoys.

20 To one who has studied the Bhagavad Gita even a little,
who has sipped at least a drop of Ganges-water,
who has worshipped at least one Lord Muraari,
to him there is no quarrel with Yama, the Lord of Death.

21 Again birth, again death, and again lying in mother’s womb –
this samsara process is very hard to cross over.
Save me O destroyer of Mura (Lord Krishna),
through Thy infinite kindness.

22 The Yogin who wears but a godadi (shawl made of rags),
who walks the path that is beyond merit and demerit,
whose mind is joined in perfect Yoga with its goal,
he revels (in God-consciousness) – and lives thereafter – as a child or as a madman.

23 Who are you? Who am I? From where did I come?
Who is my mother? Who is my father?
Thus enquire, leaving aside the entire world-of-experience,
essenceless and a mere dreamland, born of imagination.

24 In you, in me and in all other places too there is but one All-Pervading Reality.
Being impatient, you are unnecessarily getting angry with me.
If you want to attain soon the Vishnu-status,
be equal-minded in all circumstances.

25 Strive not, waste not your energy to fight against or to make
friends with your enemy, friend, son or relative.
Seeking the Self everywhere,
lift the sense-of-difference born out of ‘ignorance’.

26 Leaving desire, anger, greed and delusion,
the seeker sees in the Self ‘He Am I’.
They are fools those who have not Self-knowledge,
and they consequently, as a captive in hell, are tortured.

27 The Bhagavad Gita and Sahasranama are to be chanted;
always the form of the Lord of Lakshmi is to be meditated upon;
the mind is to be led towards the company of the good;
wealth is to be shared with the needy.

28. Very readily one indulges in carnal pleasures;
later on, alas, come diseases of the body.
Even though in the world the ultimate end is death,
even then man leaves not his sinful behaviour.

29 ‘Wealth is calamitous’, thus reflect constantly:
the truth is that there is no happiness at all to be got from it.
To the rich, there is fear even from his own son.
This is the way with wealth everywhere.

30 The control of all activities,
the sense-withdrawal, the reflection, along with japa
and the practice of reaching the total-inner- silence
– these, perform with care, with great care.

31 O Devotee of the lotus-feet of the teacher!
May you become liberated soon from the samsara through the discipline of the
sense-organs and the mind. You will come to experience the
Lord that dwells in your own heart.

cleaner power

2011-01-09T20:24:00.002+05:30

Im glad, somebody is making efforts to give a better world to our next gen. Im referring to BLOOM ENERGY. A company which took a lot of time to come to limelight. Mr sridhar, the founder, gave interview only because there was pressure from his investors. Anyways, the point is that efficiency in power generation has increased quite a lot because of his product called "bloom box".

Google is their first client which has installed the bloom energy servers at their mountain view office and other places of california.

The best part is that Mr. Sridhar was looking for a funding of atleast 100 million dollars and he got 450 million dollars to keep going up the ladder in the energy industry. Kleiner Perkins seems to have hit a jackpot again by investing in Bloom energy.

The only major competitor is United Technologies.

let the game begin!!

what a wonderful world

2011-01-09T19:15:00.000+05:30

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom, for me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

I see skies of blue, and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces, of people going by
I see friends shaking hands, sayin', "How do you do?"
They're really sayin', "I love you"

I hear babies cryin', I watch them grow
They'll learn much more, than I'll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

Yes, I think to myself
What a wonderful world
Oh yeah

Unemployed..for a short time ;)

2011-01-08T20:45:00.002+05:30

I quit infy yesterday. Everything was alright except when i submitted my ID card. At one moment I felt a lil heaviness but once the guy took the card from me, I felt a lot lighter.. Its an awkward feeling though. It happens to me everytime I change jobs.

I wrote a coupla mails on my last day- one for the employees in general and the other for two guys at the top.I dont know how many guys read my mails but I am glad to say that I got quite a few replies, calls, and chat windows sprouted up a lot.There was some funny female who sent me a friend request on the company messenger after reading my exit mail.Ofcourse most guys liked the gyan which I spread around wherein I questioned each one's existence in the firm. I wanna shake up the system a lil bit so that efficiency creeps in at a higher level into it .

There were many people who were shocked to hear my exit news. Initially, I thought I shall move on without informing anybody around. However, there is one jerk who broke the news out in public and so I mailed everybody as I wanna be "fair" ;)The mail had few interesting "preachings" from my side and the good part is that people loved it. There were few who were disappointed that I was leaving the company. The irony is that I dont know few of them at all.

Most of my folks were interested in the money Im making than the job Iam going to do.Some were countrymen who could ask my salary straight on my face.In the past, I used to blast people for asking such a personal question but of late, I dont. I know that they want a number and so I give a number to them. And the number varies from person to person.. Aint it cool? There was a question asked and an answer was given.Everybody is happy:)

Anyways, Im unemployed as of today. Im on a holiday for the next few weeks.I will join my new employer in Feb. Until then....Im freeeeeeeee!!!So more blog posts to come...Hang on fellas!!

Another chapter ends!!

2011-01-06T10:53:00.002+05:30

Tomorrow is my last day at infosys.I have decided to move on to the next employer. But only after a small break of 1 month ;)

I have spent 3 years here and I look forward to using my brain more extensively in the next job.

I am going to visit places in an unplanned way. Ofcourse some people asked me how can take a loss of 1 month pay..hehe.. I am going to need some time for myself. Dont wanna get into the rat race again so quickly.

This time I am searching for high end consulting or PM job.On the other hand I intend to build myself on the telecom front as a domain consultant.

7hrs

2011-01-02T18:28:00.002+05:30

After a really long time I spoke to someone for 7 hrs. It happened on the train to hyd recently. I met two interesting people. One guy was a businessman who likes streetside food and prefers simplicity. Then there is this other girl who is into urban planning.

All three had interesting conversation. Inititally it was about how the CNG/LPG kits market is in india. Then me and the other guy gotinto some more intricacies of the business in ahmedabad, delhi, bangalore and hyderabad.The girl got bored in the mean time. So I started explaining my job and the games I gotta play as part of client management. This gets both of them interesting.

After a coupla hours, the business guy feels sleepy. So he goes to sleep. But then me and this girl werent sleepy. So we start talking about a whole lot of things including personal lives. She is a planner and her job involves planning tounships/ cities. Being a curious guy, I asked a lot of questions just to understand her job. Then I explained a game called simcity 4 which I used to play quite often. She could understand the game well as it is a virtual version of what she does, more or less.

So instead of sleeping, we spent the whole night discussing how the real world works when it has to be created. It was a nice train journey. I got to learn a lot. After we got down from the train , with due exchanges of the emails and phone nos, we parted our ways. And since then, anytime if I call that girl or if she calls me, we address each other as " Hey 7 hrs"... nice title.. for a memorable journey!!

abroad

2010-12-24T21:48:00.002+05:30

what happens when you go abroad?

initial 1-2 months, you would love it coz you never saw things so clean before or so much natural beauty co existing where we stay/work.But then sooner or later the monotony starts.So, people tend to stay abroad just for the heck of staying abroad.. or to make even more money...

T o kill time from then on, people tend to gel with the people who werent of acceptable standards for them. Then they flock together to a nearby place.Pose for some pics and put them or orkut/FB/picasa. Even then the desire to flaunt the boredom is not extinguished.

An alternative appears from nowhere. People get onto photography.. Some crazy pics from some weid angles get 'like'd on FB.

Still not enough? They get onto some funny recipes..decorate it nicely and then take some more pics of it to be posted on some social network.

Every damn indian pic released gets to be seen by these guys as they kinda lost touch with the idiosyncracies of the commoners here.So they goto a movie hall to feel 'indian' again. Usually this desire is quenched after the movie going public creates the movie ambience of indian theatres.

From there on, they are back to office..and the typical office gimmicks begin... hmm.. now is that a good life or a sad life??

Wishes

2010-11-06T01:23:00.002+05:30

Of late, there is an urge to quite my job and goto US; Spend some time off in the lap of nature, atleast for a month. On the other hand, I know that I cant make it and so Iam looking forward to a change in my employer.

I wanna work with brainy people so that their intelligence rubs off on me too.
I wanna exercise my brains to improve some processes of some firms
I wanna talk to real people who mean what they say and say what they mean to whatever extent possible
I wanna go back to a B school and find a plush job by facing 2 years of rigor at the Bschool

Another diwali

2010-11-06T01:20:00.003+05:30

Ufff.. I just cant tolerate this noise anymore..

Its diwali time and I felt very annoyed due to the sound pollution..Yet nobody budges here. So I refused to participate in the diwali for few years now . the other side is getting stronger too.. Wonder when people get to know that burning crackers which make a lot of noise isnt any good; Not just on the environment but also on the pocket.

Anyways, for the guys who truly belive that it is a festival of lights ( not of sound), happy diwali!!

oh life, where art though?

2010-11-06T00:44:00.002+05:30

looking for some brains..

looking for some passion

looking for some knowledge

looking for a bride

looking for a LIFE..

oh life, where art though?

And now spiritual heads too!!

2010-09-14T06:46:00.002+05:30

Great.. This is simply great. I thought the politicians are contemptible characters and now I see that the spiritual heads of certain institutions are no less.

Nityananda,for instance, is caught having a good night life in his ashram; you know what I mean.

sudhanshu maharaj was caught for abetting a black money transfer thru the mauritius route under the garb of establishing a vedic school. Infact he suggested the use of ayurveda to reduce the taxable income too.

Then there was another saint who promises to provide asylum to some of the felons. He confidently says that nobody can enter the ashram without his permission; not even the cops.

Another ashram in karnataka got closed due to a sexual assault by the founder on one of the girls of the ashram.

DAMN... each one has his own bite.. in his respective space.. Morons like me cant do anything but stare and wonder why ;)

My country is going to dogs !!

2010-09-05T15:16:00.004+05:30

Im so ashamed. Of late I feel very bad for my countrymen who are more into hoarding wealth .I mean the levels of avarice have reached preposterous positions. Here are the recent events which are still troubling me:

1. The commonwealth games funding which is screwed up.You can check out any news site and you can get the numbers. I wonder how certain items which cost less than 100 bucks could also be billed at thousands of rupees. I mean who the fuck can approve such stupid bills. I wonder how they bought the audit guys from UK. It could have been a great opportunity for our country to showcase our sporting talents. Not to forget the deveopment of commerce due to this event. However, it is so shameful to see that the work has been started late. Even that was done with such pathetic quality that the stadia roofs are already leaking. So you see, some of our folks have sold our pride.Suresh kalmadi is the name in the newspapers as of now. I wonder who else is involved.

2. Another debacle is by the FCI. The stock count which was rotten as of this jan is 10,768 lakh tonnes. This kinda grain stock can feed a huge population for 10 years. But you see, our able folks have made sure that nobody benefits from the deal. Perhaps few grain merchants. Mr. Pawar is to be blamed for this. Lemme explain my viewpoint.

The FCI has to purchase the food stocks at a MSP each year.The farmer is to benefit from such MSP. However, we have so many middlemen that the farmer doestn benefit much. The government coffers will be emptied in the process. And who pays for it? WEEEE... its our fucking tax money which is going down the drains mostly.. and a lions share of the remaining goes to the ministers.

The supreme court has ordered the immediate disposal of those food grains to the BPL families. Mr Pawar things that SC just observed the fact but didnt provide any directives. Later, the SC comes out stern at the govt about its order and Mr pawar says that he hasnt received the order in writing.

Meanwhile, th BPL families are stricken as usual. They dont get the grains for free or thru the PDS. We all know how effective our PDS is. Im sure there are some families dying because of this improper administration of the food grains. A major worry is the corruption.

The impact of these rotten grains is that the FCI will not purchase as many stocks as it has to this month or in the coming months. So the crops which have been harvested with the belief that the FCI will purchase will be dumped into the mkt at a less price. So our farmer also pays the price for this mistake of our govt. The mkt equilibrium is lost in the coming months due to these managers of our country. Perhaps some guy would have come up with another stupid scheme for better warehousing facilites and I can imagine corruption waiting at the gates like a hungry mongrel with its insatiable desire to be fulfilled.

3. Double digit inflation:We have been strugglin with huge inflation for few months now. Ofocourse the food grains wastage is one of the reasons. The surprising thing that I didnt get so far is that the RBI hasnt stepped in and raised the CRR or the bank rate. My Sb account currently yields 3.5 %. If I open a 6 months FD , it will tield 5.5 % . So Do you see why I cant afford to keep my money with the bank? But hey, im lazy enough. I didnt do my home work yet and so my money rests in the bank.Anywyas, back to inflation. In layman's terms, inflation means that too much money is chasing few goods. Lemme not get into CPI or WPI now. We shall keep it simple enough to put my view across well.Too much chases too few goods only when the bank deposit rates are pretty low, there is huge jump in the disposable income of the salaried class, food grain debacles,...or in some scenarios it simply is numbers and doesnt have much to do with reality.. I know thats debatable, chuck it for now.

Think about it. Im sure RBI usually comes into sterilisation process when they try to counter the forex flows. Ofcourse the need comes due to balance of trade issues.So now, even for inflation it shud have taken some precautionary measures. I wonder why it didnt take much so far. Im sure it took some step. After all, the think tanks of indian banks doesnt sit idle. Btw, for the uninitiated, RBI's bottomline is hit. So It has to not only worry about its balance sheet but also of the country as a whole.

Contrary to popular economics, even after such high inflation, the maruti car sales rose steeply beating the shit out of the competition.So much so that maruti is planning to open a third plant for one of its range of cars. even the bike sales were up this qtr.Even the white goods did well.. So where exactly is inflation in reality?? i have no clue.

All I know is that inflation is making me pay almost double for the milk packet compared to the last year price of the same milk packet. Similary it is impacting other food prices too leaidng to a vicious cicle of price increases all through out.

ufff... im so depressed.. im more freakish than before of late. I sit here helplessly.The good part is i havent let go of the smaller luxuries of my life still as im better off. But when I look at the street vendor , it kinda reminds me of all these issues and how my tax money is squandered and so are the efforts of those vendors. Hope somebody catches those culprits of CWG or the FCI. Waiting for the personification of "satyameva jayathe" (truth shall prevail).. mind you, hope is a 4 lettered word too... SHIT!!

The girls in my life!!

2010-07-25T21:34:00.014+05:30

im not going to refer to the generic comments of mine on girls. I intend to be a lil specific. I intend to put down the names of the girls who entered my life... and perhaps left. I got this crazy idea while searching on matri sites today.. a different post on that later.

1. Diana - I still remember her face. She has got a face more like a football but yeah she appealed to me then.. when was then?... ahhh...5th class i suppose... in rajahmundry, a coastal town in AP She was my classmate.No idea where/what she is.

2. Sumana - she was my neighbor at rajahmundry. We used to play a lot.. and fight a lot too. She has got a sister as well as a brother. The sister was good looking too but i dont recollect her face or name right now. Her brother srinivas is supposedly intelligent .. a super kid for us in those days just because he used to study in St. Ann's.No idea where/what sumana is now.

3. Class 6 /7 -Another girl from my class but a different section.I met her when my English teacher asked her to take my notes and copy it as the teacher was damn confident that I wont have any mistakes in my notes. The teacher's name is kiranmayee. A shorty but a bomb. Didnt realise in those days ;)..hmm where was I? the girl.. yeah.. So I would say she was my school mate. I still remember her face but dont know her name. I lost touch with her once we moved out of that place. After a decade or so, we accidentally bumped into each other when we went to araku with our respective folks. She smiled.. kinda stared at me for few seconds. I did the same too but we didnt get a chance to talk then.No idea where/what she is.

4.Sukanya:A fair chic.I remember her face. She was my classmate. I used to raom around with a friend called hari shankar yadav. He has a huge crush on a girl called madhuri. Madhuri and sukanya were friends. Mind you, I still didnt know what love means in those days. I thought it was fad because hari loved someone..supposedly..So hari and I used to raom around 'moula ali housing board colony' to get a glimpse of one of these two girls to appease our respective egos.So a glance or a smile from them was the prize.No idea where/what this girl is.

5. Class 8/9 - Jisha.. I joined a mallu school. It was infested with almost 98% mallus in those days. Jisha was pretty active in the class.She wouldnt get a second glance from me now but in those days, I used to steal glance at her whenever possible.No idea where/what this girl is. purnima is another chubby arse who is her friend but more composed.dont know what happened to this one too.

6. madhusmitha:Back at home after the school, I liked a girl madhusmita. She is probably 5.8 in height and healthy too. Srinivas, madhu and I used to meet up everyday post school and play. I used to look at srinivas and madhu with awe as they spoke fluent hindi.No idea where/what this girl is. Th elast I heard is that she got married and is staying in KPHB colony or somewhere in that direction.

7. Then I moved to LFJC. it wasnt co-ed in those days. So no luck :P. later on some juniors came but never cared two hoots about any of them coz I am sure they dont care a shit abt whether i exist there or not.Ofcourse LFJC is a huge turning point in my life by many means. Anyways, the post is abt girls so lets not digress.

8. Suganya: BCA 1yr & 2yr - I met suganya, my junior, at saisudhir coll. She is a smabar girl but is more of gult. We were friends for quite some time. Then we parted.. Actually I dumped her for some silly mistake. After a decade, I found her on the net and initiated conversation.She is happily married and is in chennai now. we still are pals.

9. Naveen: BCA 1yr & 2 yr - Probably naveena tried a lot to be with me. She used to hang out with me and also call me almost everyday. She is OK looking but then I dont kick people out for their looks but I do kick them out for their stupidity. I saw that naveena was upto something after sometime. She kinda called me home and introduced me to her family. I was given some more invitations after that but then I dont rem why/ how I got her out of my friends circle. naveena and suganya were good friends.

10. Subhashini: BCA 2yr & 3 yr - Again I was into ragging the sub juniors. I kinda earned a bad reputation of making girls cry by then. I didnt budge. I was more interested in my abuse of power and my image.I met subhashini who was also from LFJC. So i kinda planned to check out somebody from my alma mater. I asked her questions on economics, and commerce. I got her ego deflated. Then I asked her to sing a song for me - an annamacharya kirtana. She sang it so bloody well that I passed a decree that nobody should rag her ever. We became good friends as she also found the remaining junta as gaotees(=village folk).We remain good friends right from 1999 till date. So you know her patience levels... or rather.. you know how eccentric could she be too :P

11. Srujana: BCA 2yr & 3 yr - I met another wonderful being called srujana. Srujana is that typical geeky kinda girl.Very traditional.. Very conservative.. She had an amazing voice too. I met her during one of the ragging sessions and I fell in love with her voice.Again, another decree has been passed that nobody should rag her. She is happily married and is in bangalore now. We still remain good friends till date.

12. Karuna: BCA 3yr - one of my classmates tried to get along with me. I still dont know why but she tried. She used to secretly call me. Secretly coz her bro is in my class too and the word is out that her dad was a psycho. Her name was karuna. Some of my classmates used to find her sexy and so used to ogle her with lustful eyes. Somehow I never felt so. However I continued talking to her and made sure my friend gets a chance to meet her outside college. Madhubabu blew the chance.Santosh and Madhu are my classmates who are my best friends. She still called me after that meeting but dont remember how karuna and I lost contact.

13. BCA 3yr- I used to hang out more in bhavan's sainikpuri than in my college. We were a bunch of elitists. or so we presumed. Thanks to venkat, my best friend from LFJC, I got to meet so many new fellas at bhavans. I met vedasree there. A mallu. also a nerd i suppose.. almost 5.10 in height.She is in infy too . I met her a coupla times for 5 mins but somehow I could sense that she is not keen on talking to me. This time the reason is another common friend of ours and not me.During the coll days, I broke her leg and also broke my collar bone tanks to my rash riding.Veda is married and is in b'lore. I also met another girl called radhika. A bubbly girl.. we got along well.. but then venkat thought we both were upto something and so i kinda stayed out. I wonder what made me take that decision. I think radhika is married and is in US.

14. BCA 3 yr - bhavans. I also met a vixen called deepti there. Venkat and deepti fell in love with each other and then got married too. Both of them work for intel in US.Ofcourse venkat and i kinda had fights after the entry of this girl. Lotsa issues happened and so I stopped talking to both of them for quite sometime. Ofocurse I went to their marriage which surprised her. I still talk to venkat once in awhile bt not to her.

15.Padma:Callworld: thats my call centre job. I have learnt to speak american only after working in that place. I met padma there. Padma ia a bomb and few guys were behind her almost all the times. I just remained her friend for sometime. Then we moved companies and we lost touch. Only recently she found me on FB. She is married and also has a kid. She is back in hyd now.

16. Meenakshi - CWT: I also met meenakshi in callworld. She came after an yr of my joining this firm. She is a kashmiri and she is a Bomb... Well, we went out together a coupla times and decided to remain friends. She still keeps in touch. I think she is pregnant again now. She still looks good but is not a bomb anymore. She has become a fatso.

17 Kajal:CWT: Anotehr nice woman I met in callworld is Kajal. If not for her, I wouldnt have continued in that job. She taught me the way tat co works and how a sale has to be made over the phone. She is a sweet woman with a sweet voice. We still are good friends even after almost a decade now. Infact I met her in melbourne too.Her hubby is another amicable creature. Loved the company of them when I was in melbourne.

18 Pavani :CWT:Pavani was my TL. She is a good friend of kajal and we used to argue a lot in those days. We still tlak almost once in a year . No fights though. I guess I have become nice ;)

19.Anjani: spanish class: Anjani.. She was my first love.. A short but beautiful lady with good brains..and is equally eccentric.we went arnd for some time..but then she dumped me.In her sabbatical from my life, i became a devdas.. Was an alcoholic but then I woke up in time to find a job for myself after my mba.We didnt speak for almost 4-5 years adter she dumped me. Later on , somehow she intiated the conversation but by that time I swore to myself that she can remain a friend of mine and nothing more than that.She came back recently and asked for her old position again in my life. Ofcourse I showed her the way out on this matter though.We still are friends.

20. Nisha - a stern school grad. The only girl with awesome brains that I have ever met. She is so bloody strong mentally that she kinda grilled me on finance/ business in almost all our conversations. Would love to interact with these kinds but I see them as a rare breed.We had very good conversations even though few in number. Heard that she had feelings for me but it is all complicated so lets leave it here. I used to wait for her emails always curious to know the happenings in her life. Some she shared some she didnt. We never met or spoke ever. We had interesting discussions on messenger or mails.I guess she is back in hyd.

21.Lakshmi: I met this girl thru a common friend of ours. We went around for few days/months. She used to write some stuff in English well. Not too good either. I used to kick her often with her usage of certain words. So, yeah, I used to help her improvise her english skills. She was the one who said "im all yours" when im kinda broke because of anjani.Anyways, we parted. I dont quite rem how/why but we stopped talking for quite sometime.

22.Garima: She was my bschool buddy. A typical girl. Almost always deprived of emotional strength.She was part of our gang in the mba 1 year. We kinda worked together on most of the projects.She is a rich girl but a stingy one. anyways, she is past right after our year 1. From then on, its only me, shastry and rupesh.

23. Jonaki: Another gujju friend of mine. She runs her own food business along with her dad. Usually spends a 1 qtr in US every year.She is careful not to divulge any news about her business.We always used to discuss some business issue of hers. She likes me a lot.

24.Vidhya: She was my team member at infosys. A dark sambar lady who knew the tricks of the trade well. We went on for few months. She had some of her firsts with me (no fuck mate!!). Ofcourse I could convince her for few roadtrips and a lil more. The bottomline now is that she dumped me ;) as she has found some one new in melbourne. Dont know her list now but some trusted sources keep giving me some info once in a while.We parted in melbourne even though thats where we were supposed to freak out more unlike blr.When asked she told me " thats blr and this is mel".So we are done wih each other.Not worth my time anymore.we are not even friends anymore but not enemies either.

25.sreevidya: She is another sambar from infy whom I met during my telstra days. she is a hardworking donkey. So much so that she doesnt know where to draw the line, be it work or be it her life. She has gone to melbourne too and still spends her lonesome time there. In case, I have a startup, I wud keep her in my ops team. She is not a ood manager though.But I need some people who are honest at work and so she fits the bill.

26. Neetu: A hardcore mallu christian. Believes a lot in jesus.She is also a superb worker. She used to finsh the task assigned to her flawlessly. Im crazy about her smile. She always throws that beautiful smile of hers around no matter what tensions are floating around in the project. Im glad to know recently that she finally made it to california. US has been her dream for quite sometime.She is another person whom i NEED in my firm, if i own one someday.

27. Jayashree: a tam-bram. more on the orthodox side. She is a tech lead at infy. She is more inclined to systems and less to people. I give her gyan almost every day on various topics related to finance, proj mgmt, economics.. or any other shit possible. She asks sensible ques and so some of the times i go back to my desk with her ques as home work. Another hard working girl who is lost in the quagmire of infy.

28. Sandhya: I met her during my intel days at infy. Another sane mind. I wonder how she survived so many years at infy. She is married. She still leads a balanced life.We have discussions usually about some book or the other. She yawned almost all the times i spoke to her. And always apologises about it. A conservative lady who knows the right ques to ask. She would make a good BA.

29. Bhanu: Perhaps the last entry in my list at infy.We started talking due to our common habit of reading books. She is a married woman. As usual , i didnt bother abt her status and asked her to join me for an evening snack at infy to discuss some book. I found her response very funny. She said" are you asking a married woman for a date?".. I said "Yes, hope u dont mind"... haha.. I said so coz the thought of her marital status didnt cross me when i called her. I am pretty casual abt things like that.I mean i respect all females usually but I dont explicitly say anything like that out. I talk to people when i feel like i can talk. But the way she put it made those "so called dates" stmt unforgettable.She is an amicable creature just that she hasnt seen the world as much as i did i suppose.Otherwise ,"dating a married woman" shudnt be a prob for all i know. I had few lunches with sandhya too discussing some proj stuff at infy. She never said anything like that.. hehe

I have mentioned all the names of those girls/ladies who are worth remembering for what they are/werein a chronological way. I have intentionally skipped the remaining junta as they are not worth a mention here. ofcourse, my point is not to say that I am a casanova ;) I love the necessary evil..called woman...just like alcohol.Ofcourse, each has its own place in my life :P

My search for brainy people in the female species continues!! Any more diamonds sparkling anywhere??

Thank you youtube!!

2010-07-05T09:31:00.002+05:30

Thank you youtube. If not for you, I wouldnt have got the chance to watch a movie I have been longing to watch for a very long time. Oh yes, Im referring to the movie " the fountainhead" by ayn rand. The movie isnt as great as the book is but the core of the book is shown though.

Guys, if you wanna watch the same movie then search for text "TH1" and go on till th12 to complete the movie.It is a good movie.

Basics of Project Management

2010-07-03T17:21:00.005+05:30

1. Get the right people to the right jobs and keep them motivated.Help the teams to adapt with each other.

2. Lack of safety makes people risk averse. Avoiding risk will make you let go of the associated benefit too.

3. Direct threats make people feel unsafe. And so does abuse of power.Threats are an imperfect way to motivate performance.No matter how serious the threat , insufficient timelines will lead to failures

4. Lead with the heart, trust your gut, build souls into organization, develop a nose for bullshit

5. Listen more than you speak. Ask, if you dont know.

6. There is no such thing as a short term productivity fix.Productivity improvement comes from long term investment

7. Manage projects by managing the risks.Track the causal risks and not just the ultimate undesirable outcomes.Predict , for each risk, the earliest symptom that might indicate materialization

8. Establish easy (perhaps anonymous) channels for bad news to be communicated up the hierarchy.Building trust for this activity is a tremendous task too.

9. You can improve the overall performance more by containing your failures than by optimizing your successes.Be aggressive about cancelling failed efforts early

10. Seek out and use pre-formed teams.Keep good teams together( when they’re willing) to help your successors avoid problems of slow jelling or non jelling teams

11. A day lost at the beginning of a project hurts just as much as a day lost at the end. Most of us dont realise this until we have reached or are approaching the end.

12. Politics exist everywhere. Its our abilty to fight with it or cope with it which which changes the game.

13. The danger of standard process is that people will miss chances to take important shortcuts.

14. High performing projects spend proportionately far less of their time in debugging and far more in design.

15. You cant get people to do anything different without caring for them and about them. To get them to change, you have to understand (appreciate) where they’re coming from and why

16. People under pressure don’t think any faster. Infact pressure slows people usually.And rarely, it has an opposite effect on some.

17. Extended overtime is a productivity reduction tactic.The real reason for the use of pressure and overtime may be to make everyone look better when the project fails

18. Anger and contempt in management are contagious

19. Ambiguity in a specification is a sign of unresolved conflict among the various system stakeholders.

20. Nobody will tell you if a specification is lousy. People are inclined to blame themselves rather than it

21. Negotiation is hard; mediation is easy.Get consent. Ask both people if they will allow you to mediate for them.

22. It is not what you don’t know that kills you.. it is what you know that isn’t so.

23. Early overstaffing tends to force projects into shortcutting the key design activity.Ofcourse it is bad project management.

24. Keep meetings small by making it safe for unessential people not to attend. A published agenda, rigorously followed, is the easiest way to make non attendance safe.

25. Anger is a symptom of fear.

26. Sometimes, your only option is to bide your time, waiting for the problem to resolve itself, or for a good opportunity for you to move on.

27. A project needs to have both goals and estimates and they should be different.

Honesty is not always good

2010-06-20T11:07:00.001+05:30

a lil bit of lies in a sweet coated pill can bring more happinness than a truth in its entirety

@30

2010-06-12T22:00:00.002+05:30

i am bloody thiry yearls old now and heres what i see of myself:

1. almost every third girl i see in infy is an object of desire to me.
2. The door for new friendships is almost closed.Still searching for brains but in infy i think it is very very rare stuff.
3. Nothing exciting in life anymore
4. my office life sucks.
5. I plan to change to my employer again as i have stayed almost 2.5 yrs with this guy which is a record to me.
6. I still dont know what my passion is.
7. Im good at client facing roles
8. I am much clearer about my role in any project than ever before.
9. i like to work and do it bloody good. As long as there is my consent on a job, im going to make sure that I give my best.
10. i dont like to hook up on the phone for hours like before.
11. infact everything i see or do is always preceded by "Why" these days. If dont get a valid ans then im off that activity mostly.

Ideas?

2010-06-04T20:12:00.002+05:30

Of late i was wondering on the following:
1. why there is no pub in electronic city?
2. How about agri tourism in india?
3. how about providing video conferencing facility in towns/villages?
4. how about starting off with guest houses in pilgrimages?
5. How about starting off with an small-med IT company with a difference - employee friendly as well as customer friendly? not in rates though ;)
6. How about doing door to door service of laptops/desktops?
7. How about pooling up the labor; training them; getting odd jobs done ? like carpentry/electronics/electrical work? Basically organising the odd jobs segment as it is getting hard to find these skilled laborers in the cities?
8. How about writing a fiction?

The australian experience

2010-04-17T22:09:00.002+05:30

Nice cars. Nice BABES!! A good lifestyle..neater roads... better systems to help you lead your life in peace. I happened to roam a lot when i was in melbourne. Infact I know more of melbourne than blore. I have checked out few places too:

1. south brighton beach. Saw a coupla nude females even thoguh it is not a nude beach.

2.ballarat - gold mines, lakes, light and sound show, wildlife sanctuary(koalas, kangaroos, echidna,emus...etc..). Infact I was shit scared intially to feed kangaroos but later on I was ok with it.

3.Great Ocean road - Amazing stretch of road spanning the coastline. A beautiful drine and a must see place. On the way, we landed at joanna beach - very violent beach. The waves kinda rose as tall as 5ft on an avg. Then there was bells beach which is pretty safe for swimming. I drove over the night and also the next day there.A pretty good drive.

4. some Quay, wherin we hit the quay at midnight and there were a lot of people with their anglers ready to fish.It was an awesome place . Even it was moonlight, we could pretty well see the water around. A good feeling.

5. Twelve apostles: this is one of the tourist gimmicks of aussies. Just like we do. Basically, there are 9 small massed of land separated from the main land. So you get to see 9 small hillocks in the middle of the sea scattered. It is a natural formation . Its defnitely a good sight to watch but it is hyped more than required.Its callled 12 apostles even though you see 9 hillocks because the other three have collapsed into the waters after standing dilapidated for a while.

6. Sydney - A bigger city than melbourne. Opera house, Harbor bridge, sydney nightwalk, sydney tower, sun city casino,blue mountains,bondi beach are the items we checked out.I felt like climbing the harbour bridge but my leg was screwed up due to the long walks in the previous night.Sydney tower was good. Just that the skywalk is bullshit.So we wasted our money for not having sufficient knowledge.We met prabhudeva and harris jayaraj in sydney tower. We missed out on the aquarium though. We got drunk the other night and went for a mid night walk again. Melbourne and Sydney are pretty active in the nights. So lotsa good looking females around to OGLE at. Ofcourse, some of them are there in the kings st, sydney as it is their workplace. But loadsa good looking prostitutes though!! The weather screwed up our plans at bondi beach. Bondi is supposed to be a nude beach but it was so cold that all the females came there fully covered ;)

7.Wilson prom: Another place with lovely beaches. Places of note here are the tidal river, lily pily gully mountain walk, squeaky beach. Squeaky beach has got very soft granular sand. So every step makes a squeaking sound. Also, the sand is white as snow.So great experience again.The tidal rivr is mor elike the musi river of hyd..or picture this... when a lot of rum/whisky is poured , it becomes tidal river.

8.Philip island: This island is famous for the penguin parade, beaches and the grandprix. Amazing stretch between wilson prom and philip island. So I fulfilled my dream of going over 180kmph in a big car on a smooth road for more than 20 mins.The sad part is that I got caught by the cops for speeding. So another check in my list of aus activities. However, this cops thing kinda scared me but it is all cool. The two cops and I had a long discussion wherin they were trying to have fun and also fix me on some charges. I gave my bullshit and I guess , in the end, it worked out well. Till date no bill came on my name there.The penguin parade is worth looking at. They seemed to be societal beings. They go in herds and so the first penguin thats ashore will wait for the other penguins to join.They are very tiny unlike the antarctic penguins. The Philip Island penguins are as small as the length of your palm. they are on the highway to extinction too it seems. We stayed ina motel which is more like a 3 star hotel of india.

As for me , it s a very big deal that I checked out these many places in a lil over 4 months time. I spent more than 2 yrs in blore and i hardly know 5% of blore.For this aus trip, we were a gult group of bakers dozen in a coupla cars. Awesome trip overall. I still have few things to be checked out the next time I goto aus - great barrier reef (visible from space), aquariums, museums, tasmania and New zealand. These are lovely places for nature lovers and for adventure sports.

I met one of my relatives too. I think I saw this guy for the first time in 25 yrs whereas he knew me from my chidhood. Had some fun at his place too. Had some indian food.Met some more new people at his place. Amicable fellas!!

The melbourne office crap

2010-04-17T21:08:00.004+05:30

Finally I made up my mind to write my aus experience. here it goes:

I had a pretty bad start on entering melbourne. Also, I didnt know anybody and that added to the load initially. My stupid employer has umpteen policies to hazaar-fuck its employess. I am one of the screwed ones. My employer gave me 1000aud initially which as not at all sufficient for a newcomer and that too for a first time onsite trip, it is not at all sufficient. The salary advance took 3 weks instead of 3 days in my case to add to my woes. I paid the rental deposit by asking money from 3 different guys. The co cheated me of my intial stay which is being currently fought by me at my office...almost sure that im screwed.To top it all, the attitude of the managers...you know... the typical " chalta hai" attitude. So the employees and the clients are given importance only as a fire fighting measure and not as a routine exercise or duty.

When I worked for the same project in blore, I only had to do work and nothing more. But when I went to melbourne, I was shown that there are things which are beyond work that gather importance.Since I am what I am, I didnt bother aboout those extra things. So, everyday it was a struggle as I had to fight a whole bunch of guys and yet do my part of the job.The transition from IBM was oveer just then and I had no one to look forward to to clear my doubts. So I wracked my brains and worked overtime to get things sorted. That didnt suffice the thirst of those blood suckers and so was asked to do more on the wekend too. And thats when I have put my foot down and started taking things into my control. Later on, things were pretty good. The client was extremely happy with my work. Absolutely no issues and so i kinda worked for 4 hrs a day and got a full day pay. Then I got bored with the job. Luckily my managers woke to the fact that I m not working full day and so they were planning for other options. Since I was bored, I made sure that the message is conveyed about my uninterest in this project. It worked and so i was asked to get back to blr. However, they gave me enough time to give KT to the offshore guy. I infact cut their deadline by mor ethan half and assured them that the quality of work will not be different from mine.But for safety's sake, they retained me for the time they had in their mind. And so I worked less than half a day to tell them that are not right.

I found a mixed team again. Found a guy called Haydn Silveira with whom I initially fought but then we could get along well later. He has got over a decade of work experience and is almost equally cranky as I am. Ofcourse, there are lotsa jug heads there who compromised their time/life for money.Two fo them crib everyday about their stay there but its only in words and they dont mean it. There are 3 girls (if i may say so). One of them has her fiance in sydney and therefore this proj made sense to her. The other girl got married recently and one of the best workers of the project. The third lady is vixen. She plays her stupid games and usually fails no matter who she plays with. Atleast I havent seen her succeed much so far. Be it at work..or non work related matters. Then I found the standard "posterior smoochers of the boss". Guess what this category of people are doing better than the guys who really do the work. Recently Anirban came into the proj who again seemed sensible and so I doubt his existence in this proj / compnay. Vijay , who replaced me, is ok too. Ofcourse we have 3 useless managers & architects but the team still keeps them.

The office has more gults than smabars or any other cluster.The office has got the chosen ones as girls.. you know what I mean... the ones who are not worth throwing the second glance.Ofcourse, needless to say, PR skills are of more importance than the actual work itself. Im glad that Im out of that production support project along with few more guys. Atleast now I think the team is close to right sizing but ther eis still a flab of almost 3 people.

I had a pathetic farewell party thrown by my office guys in a thai restaurant and so I was starved. However, I had the privilege of having booze with some of the big guys of the proj. For once they shed their office image and became college students again. On the day of my departure I met everybody I knew in that office and questioned their existence there..be it the proj or the company.Seems like some got the message and some didnt wanted to.

Retail in India

2010-04-03T09:33:00.003+05:30

Seems like retail is a big thing in india. I went to big bazaar...very very crowded. Initially I thought there was some discount going on but I was wrong in my assumption. It is not that special promotion which gathered crowds there. It is the belief that big bazaar offers prodcuts at the cheapest prices. Then I thought there should be some more in the same league as we are indians and we are very price sensitive. So I went to the newly opened to hyderabd central. Its store design is good. It kinda is crowded too but not as much as big bazaar. I see 2 reasons for the same - 1. hyd central is designed to have more space for everything inside unlike big bazaar which is more inclined to a warehouse. 2. It ha opened sometime last month but for a month old store it has gathered too many customers...ofcourse the prices are a lil higher than big bazaar but that didnt deter the burgeoning middle class to enter the premises and have a good time shopping away to glory.

I didnt stop here. I went to start hyper market in koramangala. The bugger is screaming for the attention of the lower middle class even though he has setup the store in a posh locality. Everything inside this store is for a typical indian who doesnt expect any kinda service. I experimented a lil with the store guys to check on their customer responsiveness. I see that utter morons who dont understand customer service are recruited. Seems like handpicked!!So you see, you can understand on what basis they could have been recruited- cheap salaries..and so cheap people.The star hyper mkt seems like a close cousin of big bazaar though.

Then I checked out reliance fresh in BTM layout as well as bannerghata road. Both of them suck equally. Bad store design..bad customer service. not much varieties. No wonder they dont attract the crowd like big bazaar..nor like hyd central as hyd central seems to be the one that attracts a lil better crowd. The reliance in bannerghatta is kinda deserted. very poor varieties of multiple products. The only saviour it has got is the grocery section in the basement. The reliance BTM is much better.its pretty narrow though. i mean too many aisles.and so it is congested. Ofcourse the store is not big though.

No matter how poor the customer service, how small the store is, how congested the aisles are, we dont care...coz we are indians. we are groomed not to expect anything from the system but pay taxes well. Ofcourse the same indian when he steps out of this country will mind his ways as per the customs of the host country. I still dont understand why we cant have that collective spirit to make things better. The power of one doesnt apply here coz nobody gives two hoots about your policies.Infact you are seen as wrong for believeing in principles as the line is fading day after day. So, as part of the adaption, I go a lil wreckless on the roads. I scare few vehicles coming f rom the opposite side whenever they cross their side. I dont honk but i go at good speed and aply brakes just to show them that they could have been hit.Its a lot risky though.Back to the topid after digressing a lil. I wish there is atleast a self check in for item count less than 10 here to start with. I wish the super markets replicate the way the safeway or coles of australia operate.

I dont fuck arnd in super markets. I move slowly looking at hazaar things on the way. I buy what i want and also wait in the stupid long serpentine lines and also show the bill to the security guard on the way out. the guy just puts a stamp on the bill. I dont know why coz he doesnt check the contents anyways. I mean, I dont have a choice. Either i buy adhering to their process..or I can be at home starving. Ofcourse I avoid going out in blore as much as possible. Whatever be the case, i guess the volumes are high and therefore the revenues are high too. But due to the poor management i am sure the monies are not effectively used and so the costs will be high too. Therefore the sales person will not get a good hike the next year. The mgmt will have a higher choice again as there will be mulititudes of graduates entering the system the next yr anyways.

A sad story begins!!.....SHIT

india strikes back

2010-03-26T13:09:00.002+05:30

its not a month yet since i came back to blr from mel. But Im finding it hard to take. I am doing all the naatak i can as if i have stayed abroad all my life.

Its the stupid traffic which is driving me crazy.. Absolutely no lane discipline for any vehicles. Lotsa honks..Infact, I wish I had the power to mute all the vehicles...uff...just cant take it. They honk for no reason. The auto guys drive as if theirs is the road and so they will threaten you for encroaching their space. Thanks to my adamant nature, I refuse to give up. I rev up my engine and make them stop, mostly..

I took leave to check out soe place down south. I find it hard to travel in blore sun. I wonder how I can take the heat of TN. And so I dropped my plans of exploring TN. I just dont want to get out of my house again. Its too hot outside.

Everytime I go out, I only think negative abt my country. We could have been better but chose not to. I wonder why!!

Get out!!

2010-03-22T23:09:00.003+05:30

It was long back that I heard these words from my dad. Thats because I refused to study further after my graduation. Since it was IT burst, I could not find a job for myself in those days. I tried a lot of places but none that I could crack. So many doors closed on my face but i kept on knocking. Later on, I gave up. So I ended up staying at home. No further education, no job. I got to hear a lot in those days. The mounting pressure on my dad as he retired from his employment;The burgeoning pressure in my head to prove myself; Nothing worked. I got jacked outside as well as at home.. . Lost some more friends in the same period. That was the period in which I got to hear a lot of " get out of my house sttmts" from my dad. There were times when i used to get drunk home and so my dad asked me to get out. There were times when i was asked to get out as i refused to do certain petty things.But yeah, understandable..which middleclass father would like to see his son sit at home and do nothing?So my dog years continued.

There was a long gap in between. Now I work for infosys and im better off and yet I got the same "get out". Surprisingly I am not ready to take it anymore.Ofcourse this time its not due to alcoholism but its due to the non conformist nature and some reality check talks. Anyways, its a day to remember in my life as I got a "get out" stmt even though im doing better off.Ofcourse the times are different from my graduation days and now. So many things changed!! Its ironical but true. Perhaps I need to do a reality check now at my end.

ZEDD: where the fuck are you mate.. Would love to have booze with you now :)

Back to india

2010-02-24T19:00:00.002+05:30

its been a while since i blogged. the one regular reader of my blog asked me to shed laziness but I guess im still not ready to shed it. ANyways, here is the news. Im going to be back in bangalore on mar1. Im travelling from melbourne to bangalore on this weekend.

Im glad to get out of this project. But im not all that happy to leave melbourne as im enjoying my stay here so far. But yeah life moves on. So I will search for another onsite project if possible. If i get bored i guess its time to look for a new employer. Lets see!!

Another new yr

2010-01-01T09:03:00.002+05:30

Watched 3 idiots. The movie was good. The movie taps the pulse of the youth pretty well.
I went to another gult's house. watched an old rajendra prasad movie. The other gult was excited abt the new yr. He hugged me to wish happy new yr. As ever, I dont give much significance to days like these. I wished him back though. We then played cards. We thought of going to fed square in melbourne where it is a treat to the eyes due to the fire crackers they burn which are very visually appealing. We couldnt make it as it was pouring like anything.

So we dozed off. No alcohol on the new yr's eve. Can you believe tht? well...you dont need to..Coz i had a 90ml ruskov vodka and went to work at lunch time. I usually dont do that but I felt like doing it this time. My roomy was shocked coz i took alcohol at noon. Yes, I have a guest till 6jan from 29dec. Everybody around knows that I intend to stay alone and so wont share my room with anybody. However, this guy works well. I knew him from my blore days and so agreed for the initial accomodation.

The new yr's eve was a damp squib overall due to the rain. Even my sydney trip was kinda fucked up by the rain. the sydney trip deserves a new blog. so more later.

Sad for Nisha

2009-12-12T10:16:00.003+05:30

The only girl I admired so far for her awesome brains lost her companion of life for life. They were 2 beautiful minds together. Infact I got to know this news of their separation in body very recently after almost a delay of half an yr. I am saddended by the news. it got tears to my eyes. Thats ones of the times i felt the ques "why" echoing in my head but you see life moves on!!Even though i never met her husband, i heard few instances of that guy where i got to know that he is just like me(except that he is much much better than me). Now that hes gone from this planet, I bow to the courage of this girl for all the bold moves she has taken so far with respect to this guy.

Awesome girl...carry on..I salute your spirit. Im sure someday you will come to this page. Hope we meet atleast once in our lifetime in person!!

melbourne ahoy

2009-10-26T17:37:00.002+05:30

i finally made the first overseas journey of my life. Melbourne. A land of varied cultures. gripping with anger and restlessness .ofcourse only in the suburbs. Its a beautiful place. quiet and neat. Its very cold and windy even though they claim it to be a summer.I stay very close to the sea and so I guess the climate amplifies its exremes. I enjoy travelling in the trams here. The govt runs one free tram to roam in the city for every half an hr eevry day. I m impressed with the supermarket here. lotsa choices for yoghurt, chocs , biscuits and juices. i just went berserk yest. I blew 117 aud yest night coz i am as such an impulsive buyer.I still need to blow a similar sum to buy what i really need.

the chics are good to look at. I wonder how some of them can still show their skin when it is cold outside.I didnt see a traffic cop so far. everybody stops on red and goes on green.The pedestrian has to press a button on the pole to get a green signal for himself to cross the road. I saw a lotsa famous car brands here. mostly luxury cars but I also noticed that there are speed limits in the city.Oh..of what use are thelexus, bmw,ferrari,mazda,totyota,ford etc when you cant speed up much. Some corners of the city have got cameras too. So you break the signal or speed up beyond limits then you will get a ticket to your place.

The roads are smooth. no speed breakers whatsoever..or even potholes. The road somehow is mixed in such a way that even during rains, the grip of the tyres can be maintained.Most people dress in black.Ofcourse lotsa fashion but still usually its black or white.I stayed at an expensive place for 4 nights initially and then I moved to a lil expensive place and then finally found rental space in a posh locality.I am staying in a studio apt and am not sharing my room with any anybody so far leading to the shock of so many people. Everybody in the office is either sharing their house with their spouses or else 3-4 friends.I am spending a big chunk of money on my rent instead of saving it by sharing the accomodation.

I still have my teething probs with respect to my stay here but yes, a good experience so far. I am currently leading a student life in a way. But yeah, it wont last that long though.

Bored!!

2009-08-02T08:54:00.002+05:30

yes, im bored of my life. I guess its time
1. i catch some good fish to be my GF. i tried for one long time back..i failed. the chic came back after 5 yrs but now i am not keen abt her... And recently , i thought of offering the same post to another girl...well... this one is not the one too..
2. I go on vacation - pondy and chennai on my list.
3. change my job and be part of something that gives both pleasure and money...(accenture and IBM...hold the gates open for me!!)
4. I wanna go abroad atleast once to find out if its worth leaving this place. ( US or Aus or eur)
5. join spanish class again. (this lang makes me feel good)
6. or..hold ur breath...do MBA again from the top 5 b schools as per my list.(IIM-A,B,C,XLRI,SPJain)...why these? coz its not worth doing from any other in india.I cant think of studying abroad because ivy league wont admit me.

I guess I have been thinking more about 2 and 3 more often these days. Well, i like my work.its more like setting up a unit in infy....but...the sarkari stuff bugs me.

Physiotherapy again!!

2009-08-02T08:46:00.002+05:30

I have joined the physiotherapy at wockhardt bangalore again. I wake up at 5am everyday and goto physiotherapy ...and my day eneds at 11.30pm. Its been a very long time since I have done my exercises properly. Since it is high time for me, I have joined it and I go there religiously. Somehow that pain is good. its been more than a month..so I stretched a lil more.And thats it...the pain suddenly shooted up...now im limping again...immense pain in every step..but i dont allow my leg much to rest so i try to limp and walk till my destination.Thanks to that pain i remembered few things of leelavathi hospital again:
1. the smiling face of nirad vengsarkar, my doc... the guy who gave me a second life in a way.
2. the shaving of my leg and my scrotal sac twice.
3. lying nude in front of a 45 yr oldie as well as 20 something girl..too shameful but no choice.
4. the inability to move the leg by an inch...
5. the gushing of the blood to my feet which made me feel as if acid is poured on the inside of my leg right from the thigh to the foot.
6. every step made the rod in my thigh hit some muscle in my buttocks adding more to the pain.
7. the pitiful and "odd man out" glances of different people
8. a 1000 cold needles simultaneously pushed on my knee when they apply a cryo( a sack which covers ur knee in the right angle with very cold ice water flowing thru it.
9. umpteen tubes flowing in and out of my body
10. Hot water bath when i was on two crutches which made me feel alive as it was a lil buring and i needed it to overcome the other pains of my leg.
11. the graduation of my self from total bed rest to a wheel chair to double cructches to single ccrutch to painful steps to bad limps to my current state of "close to normalcy" walk.
12. the hard to breathe feeling when the operation was about to start..even though i was trying to put a smiling face and cracking PJs, it was difficult to breathe..uff...

And today i was smiling at myself because i have survived those painful instances and still battling some of them till date.However, the most painful days are over... only good times ahead!!

Venkat

2009-06-25T20:07:00.003+05:30

I dont know why but i was staring at the sky right from my bus start. Its a beautiful sky today. and all of a sudden i remembered this moron called venkat. venkat was my best friend from +2. He is the more civilised kinds and i am the villager kinds. Somehow we got on with each other. Actually he was one of the few guys who made a mockery of my english speaking skills. Oh yes, till my 10 std, i didnt know ay other language apart from telugu. So some of my classmates hurt me so much that I decided to learn the language at once and teach them a lesson. Thats how I have started learning language and venkat helped me with it.

Venkat and I stayed close by in secunderabad. We were in the same class. We played ping pong together everyday. Infact, playing TT has helped us bond better. then we started downloadig loads of music. he had a comp in those days and i didnt have one. Then we started playing computer games. We started competing each other in those games. Then we started playing snooker. he was rich enoough to sponsor my games but at a price. I mean the 2 rich guys play the game first. I wait for one of them to lose and then i used to play..Sometimes I didnt get my chance. Eitherways, i owe him a lot as I used to see the world through him.Latest songs, movies, games etc...are all thru him. I was not that civilised in those days and so I used to go to his house everyday as he was the only one i could hang out with. there were time when he didnt wish to see me there but i went there.Later on, I understood whe to go there and when not to go. Perhaps from then on, he used to call and only then i used to go to his place or for snooker. harish used to join us too. We became a trio.

Soon i have learnt good english that I started playing with my classmates . My interest i economics and commerce grew too. We competed with each other in those subjects too.Then the time has come to join a grad college. So we wrote the etrance for Bcom (Hons) from vasavi, khairatabad. This coll is the best for Bcom (hons)Venkat and I made it to this college.Harish couldnt. the funny part here is that Harish aces in acads pretty well but he somehow cant do much in entrace tests.So venkat and I stayed there for a coupla months. Then we though we will write BCA exam and all 3 will study together. This time all 3 of us got into diff colleges. Since we dont have ay more chances we went our ways. But i continued going to venkat's coll as it was on the way to my coll. I became one of his grp friends too. So we were a bunch of 13 people.

There was one girl called deepti. And this guy fell for her even though initially he hated her.I warned him initially to stay out of her reach as she was not 1/10 of what he is in terms of intelligence. After sometime, that girl and I got into some stupid fight. He took her side and so we parted ways. Ofcourse I apologised later for a mistake but it was too late i guess. He started keeping me out. So I stopped talking to him or meeting him altogether. He didnt stand by his word on a coupla occasions and so i gave up on him. he left for US. Deepti also left for US the next yr and joined a better coll than his. They got married and are happily settled on the west coast (hillsboro- intel).

after he left for US , we didnt speak for almost an yr or two. We clung to our egos. Then we gave up on our egos later and we were alrigth but u see, when u love somebody and u lose them..and u build high walls...and then later on if u r trying to break the wall, it still wont be like the old times..can it be?So we smile. I behave the way he wanted me to behave long back (civilised kinds)...he was his own self...but yeah we both knew what game we were playing.

I attended his marriage..and served badam milk to his wife which was a shocker to her as she was not expecting me to be there in the first case. i replied " I like making people drop their jaws..at the same time there r better things to pursue in life than petty quarrels"..and i walked away after that. Oh yes, i was actually very hurt on losing him.but yeah as they say time has healed certai things. I stopped thinking about him for long now. when he came to india last year, I went to hyd to meet him..spent a day with him and came back.

The gap still remains!! and perhaps will remain forever!! We used to talk for houors and now i dont know what to talk to him.

Reliance Kitchens - YUKK service

2009-06-15T20:22:00.004+05:30

more than 2 months back we have ordered "Reliance Kitchens bangalore" to make a modular kitchen for our house in bangalore. The buggers are soooooo pathetic...uff....every time i think of them my blood boils....very bad service...its so bad that I have to mention here so that some poor soul could save his money if not his peace.

In case any of you guys are planning to get your modular kitchen done by these guys then beware...you are asking for painful days ahead...The carpenters take their sweet time. Their SCM is very bad too.No time management. I wonder how they can be so UNpunctual. Nobody stands by their word there. Even the quality of service isnt good.

I have to follow up with reliance kitchens bangalore every second day to get things moving atleast..YUKKKKK service... I dont have patience to search for a site and write reviews but will write soon.I mean, taking money and not providing service is one big blunder they have made. I m going to tell atleast 10 people about their blunder. they screwed up my attic too.

thinking again

2009-06-12T19:29:00.002+05:30

i have been released from the teleceom project as per the big guy's order. Now im free as the SPM in the platform tema has left the initiative for something else. So i dont know whom to report to. I have already mailed the big guy twice but no reply yet..So i was thinking what next..

i found a whole lot of ebooks from one of my friends from pune. Finished eric segal's love story again as i cudnt recollect the story that i read more than a decade ago. then i started off with "rendezvous with rama"...this book seems to be interesting. Then I had a chat with few people.Today I have helped one girl decide her career path. When I started thinking about my own self then I didnt get a proper answer. I am going to get into solution space as part of this platform stuff. Looking at the mismanagement of my telecom project, I have realised that I shud get into some client interfacing role. Hopefully this platform stuff has it sometime later, a similar role. I guess I would also venture into IT sales if given a chance.

In the previous project, they were not handling the client well and so we , at offshore, got screwed. I wish I am there to handle the client.So yeah, i will do some ppt / presales stuff as part of this platform job and then will ask for sales. Perhaps I am getting bored and so want to venture into something that I havent done before!!!

Am i HOT or what?

2009-06-09T08:58:00.003+05:30

i was hardly on bench for 3-4 days and i got work offers with other divisions.

1. The SAP XI retail proj

2. The solutioning space of platform grp

3. my old telecom proj

Im shocked when I saw that each of the big guys involved with these projects is trying to fight for my services. I felt good coz I have a choice. The choice also made me think. I have bottomed all this work to one word - JUNK. Now i need to decide on which is the best junk possible. Yes, junk, i 'll tell you why.

The retail proj is into SAP XI which I never worked on. Also it comes with a temporary stand.After 2-3 months I need to move into SAP BPM.The platform thing is shitty because the guy who is heading it one lousy candidate who doesnt know where/ how to go. total gassy guy. I initially planned to join his grp but i gave up after listening to his responses to my questions. For a change I will be working with another person who seems to know a lil way around. But in the long term this team which I am going to start off will be merged with that Gassy guy's unit.The job involves more of preparing solutions in the tech stack space. S more of Research and more of PPT gyaan. The third one is my old project fellas. They have released me because i went hom early for 4 days continuously as against the norm of the project. I have spent 12-13 hours of work time eveyrday for the last 5 months but I kinda relaxed lil in the last few days. that made them think that i have nothing to do at all. So they released me. Within few hours of releasing me, they could feel the heat. They took some more time and started kicking sreevidya with the additional load. She kinda lost it but as ever she doesnt say it out unless asked for. The job with this telecom project is more into testing which is a differenet ball game altogether.So the time has come to decide the which junk to go for. unfortunately, i dont have the luxury of choosing it as i am a RESOURCE which will be used as per another RESOURCE's wish.

then the competition grew.My services are up for grabs by the guy who changes my project code first. So my telecom project fellas did that first and so I was into it again. But...destiny has got something else in store for me...out of those 3 offers that i had with me, one of them was recommended by the BAAP of the other 2 big guys. So the baap guy ordered me to get into platform shit starting today.So my telecom guys have no choice but to release me as their baap has given the orders. So here I am...venturing into yet another IT space.

Im FUCKIN proud!!

2009-05-30T09:45:00.003+05:30

oh yes...i need to use that word..it makes perfect sense right now...an added emphasis which says how i feel about myself now. ..OK here is the detail.

I got into a telecom project before. totally new to the industry and the work. I survived it though. I was initially taken for functional role.Then they loaded me with some presales work with no documentation to let me know how to go ahead..no statistics...yet I need to come up with an estimate. So i started with this activty but I guess they thought they can load me with some more stuff.So they gave me func+presales+testing. thats when I cracked. i couldnt handle 3 things..So slowly they gave up on my for the presales as I didnt spend any time on it. The testing and the func roles are intertwined because to lead testing i need to be func strong. Then got more into testing. Stood tall for some time as I thought my counterparts in australia are not able to handle the client well. Then , they started fading me in the team. I was OK with it coz I could finally relax a lil.

Recently, the axe fell on me.I mean I was released from my project. My long awaited bench period has come back.but within two days I started getting bored.I am getting ready for anther tool called IBM Business modeler...its a big name but i shortened it. So i wanted this free time to take the tool coolly. I pinged few of my old friends and acquaintance as I finally found time. Got to know how bad the scenario is outside as some of those guys r on bench for 4 months now.So i guess I shoould initiate my hunt for a new project.So I mailed a coupla guys to let me know if they can get me some project. Luckily both of them had leads that could have worked.

OK, here is the pride part. One of my leads was the SAP XI head whom I knew from my previous project of oil industry. He was very keen on having me in his team. Actually there is no true vacancy but he doesnt want me to go to some other project again. So he got me fixed into a retail proj for the time being as I told him that I have to be billed if I need to work under him. He plans to get me into SAP BPM. A BPM product from the SAP stable. This product is expected to be in the mkt after 3 months or so. He wants me to be into that when it comes. All I saw was an opportunity to be into something new. I mean Im going to be one of the early entrants in that practice when the time comes.But for the next 2-3 months I am going to be part of RETAIL industry.Thats another feather in my cap. So far in my life I covered Telemarketing,US healthcare, insurance, Oil, telecom,...and now retail.Now the best part...He knows that I dont know SAP XI but he wants me to learn it. I said "Im not fit for it as I never worked on a tool like this. So im going to be slow.Also, am func guy who has spent most of my time in everything other than tool like this..."..And before I complete he responded " bhargava, I know how you work.Im sure you can make this one too.So just hang on..and do your best as ever."I have again stated that I dont think I should as I dont quite understand what he is saying about the role except for the word functional.He again was sure of me.Then I gave in to his deal. there is no onsite promised because Im not technically sound. But yeah felt good that somebody is interested in offering me a role for whhat I am .In case I pickup well in the next 2 mnths or so then yes, he can gimme an onsite role too.

A coupla of my friends who knew me for 5-10 yrs now thanked me for being a very good of friend of theirs for long.

For these two reasons, I fell FUCKIN proud. ..i feel good. The next challenge is to learn SAP XI...boy ...thats going to be a tough job..

Kangal Irandal

2009-05-24T02:40:00.004+05:30

Kangal irandal is a tamil song which i am in love with these days...I liked it a lot even before i understood what is being said.Its a lil heavy song but amazing tune

Sreevidya

2009-05-24T02:15:00.003+05:30

My colleague at work, sreevidya, is an amicable creature. She is softspoken. A girl with integrity. And a workaholic..so much so that she doesnt even know why she is doing certain things at certain points of time.A daddy's girl...Plays well within her limits....She likes the thriller kinda books whereas i feel those r for kids.

We both share work..of late, im not sharing coz she is scared of my involvement in the activity.No, im not all that bad...but because if I jump in then I will question things..and also set certain people at right places.Somehow that seems scary to this one.

A problem is that I took steps down to my current position in this firm whereas she climbed up to be in the position she is. We both are associate consultants but yeah our perspectives are different. The same diff between a top down approach and a bottom up approach.(due to our prev employment)

This girl usually says YES to the work that flows in.Doesnt argue much.(I know...she is working with a contradiction of herself..in me). I have learnt the testing stuff from her. An arena which i never ventured in my life.Waitng to see some more of it.

She got so used to infy that she expects the same outside infy too..well, im referring to facilities.We usually talk only work. She usually is with another friend of hers.So ..very less of non official talk when possible.

There was a time when i asked her for a movie and her immediate response was "WHY"? I smiled and said " wanna watch some tamil movie"..But yeah, actually I was embarrased when i heard a WHY for my question. not that Im flirting or trying for her but I dont know..she seems to be very gender cautious....Well what else can you expect from a sambar girl who hasnt seen much outside her state? ;)

Overall, yes..a good girl to work with..she is the one i lean on when i have some testing issue. i dont even know if leans on me for something.She is an asset to the team and im..well..a liability as of now...Too many things on my head intially but I failed some of them because of lack of time..Also, I felt its not worth it if its not turning into learning experience of significance...or atleast money / recognition. So some intentional ..some unintentional..So yeah, im better off the way i am.

Another negative with this female is that she doesnt know how to say NO. she accepts shit loads of work and so i pity the guy who are under her working as a team. Ofcourse, she deserves a lil pity too but not much as she is the one who willingly gave in to the whims of those higher ups.

Funny, i intended to write abt her and i was writing more on comparison between me and her...well that says it..i dont know much abt this girl.

ZEDD or ZEN?

2009-05-24T02:04:00.002+05:30

Initially i thought it was a typo but yeah this guy talks like a zen..hehe..I am sure he is one of my brother's friends. I can be sure of that because no body in my circle reads a lot of books. Also, the way he writes his comments says that he is into reading a lot..maybe quality stuff..

Another interesting aspect to note is that no one that i know usually leaves a comment on my page for some reason. but this guy, for some reason, is not afraid to leave a comment.He has been following my blog for years. the only one i know of apart from my bro who is following it for years.

hey zedd, incase u r murali from delhi then its time to write comments with ur actual name instead of a " nom de plume". In case you are not murali then please meet this guy. An interesting character again ....kinda guy who belongs to ur kinda thinking.

Here are the comments by zedd on different posts of mine. The guy speaks sens:

Welcome relief to see you back after a loooooooooong time. Hope you would be writing many more posts for the benefit of us ordinary mortals. You obviously have been through traumatic times and that too, for no fault of yours. The mind must have vaccillated between self-pity and anger, despair and grouchiness. But remarkably, your survival instinct seems to have brought you through..... these most difficult of times. Glad to see this latest post. Keep them coming. You have at least one fan who will voraciously devour all that you write and come back for more.

Extremely disturbing..Especially when one realises that this could have happened to anybody...simply ANYBODY. I hope they put the cad behind bars. Actually, even that's too lenient on the da*n chap. He could have ruined a budding life, at the very onset. The mind is too benumbed to think of a sentence which would inflict an equally excruciating and painful experience on the guy

It's depressing to read the gruesome details of the aftermath of the accident and the horrific experience. Pls. it's good to know that you have emerged from the experience unscathed and without any mental scars. Request you to share some of your other reflections/sunny observations

Good for you kiddo!!!

You have an opportunity to start afresh and move on. Remember, it's just the beginnning and there will be more difficult times ahead.But you are a survivor, and you need to keep your chin up and your determination high.

Hope you give it back to all them who had written you off in the old workplace...

Take it easy Sir.... It's a stark reality everywhere. Mediocrity rules... The Keatings and the Tooheys abound but a Roark cannot be found..

Where have the good people gone?

2009-04-12T10:09:00.002+05:30

i just interact with lotsa dickheads...Infact, i was being shown people who are only to delegation or who talk at 50k feet as role models. I wonder where have all the brains gone. I didnt find anybody worth looking up to in my stay here in the last 14 months with my current employer. All i see is more means of confusing the client as well as ourselves. With my previous employer (thats my first job after my mba), i was told to think clearly. However, i have got this feedback here in my current project that I am the perfectionist kinds it seems and slow i need to dilute my thought process. I was specifically asked not to ask questions to understand the totality of a situation but to the bare minimum to move on.I have also noticed that there is a lot of importance given to the grey area.They dont like my answers in terms of "I know or I dont know". I understand that you cant be that straight in answering the client but even to our own internal stakeholders, they want me to be in that grey area. Im shocked...

Due to these constraints of not allowing somebody to know the functionality properly, there is a big gap as to why certain processes happen. You cant optimise unless you know what is what. Later on they struggle to find a way out....then blamestorming..then beatings from client...then rework...nonsense!!!

I wonder where have the good people gone who are intelligent...who are passionate...who know what they are doing....who want the people under them to understand and make them better. Nobody seems to care about value system. But sub consciously they need people like me who can speak certainty....ufffff...tired of this hide and seek game. God , lead me to better brains and brainy people....!!!!

Rasmus - In the shadows

2009-04-05T17:46:00.000+05:30

No sleep
No sleep until I am done with finding the answer
Won't stop
Won't stop before I find a cure for this cancer
Sometimes
I feel I going down and so disconnected
Somehow
I know that I am haunted to be wanted

I've been watching
I've been waiting
In the shadows all my time
I've been searching
I've been living
For tomorrows all my life

In the shadows

In the shadows

They say
That i must learn to kill before i can feel safe
But I
I rather kill myself then turn into their slave
Sometimes
I feel that I should go and play with the thunder
Somehow
I just don't wanna stay and wait for a wonder

I've been watching
I've been waiting
In the shadows all my time
I've been searching
I've been living
For tomorrows all my life

Lately I been walking walking in circles, watching waiting for something
Feel me touch me heal me, come take me higher

I've been watching
I've been waiting
In the shadows all my time
I've been searching
I've been living
For tomorrows all my life
I've been watching
I've been waiting
I've been searching
I've been living for tomorrows

In the shadows

In the shadows
I've been waiting

10 weeks old

2009-03-29T22:32:00.002+05:30

Im 10 weeks old in this project. Time just flew by. I spent more time and effort in this telecom project than I did for my previous project. However, the results are similar : not enough . There are too many things happening and I believe there is no one strong enouogh in the onsite team and say something to the client. ofcourse they are not able to differentiate the thin line between standing up and micro managing. Perhaps they dont understand or I dont undertsnad . Eitherways I get to bear the brunt and I am taking shit too well so far.

Another good thing that happened with all this SNAFU status is that my team members started respecting me more for my energy levels and hardwork. In fact I saw few of them dedicatedly working on my assignment. Also, some people worked on my work even after sickenss.....I am impressed with some of my chennai folks than my other team members.

The bad part is that the axe is hanging on my neck. I dont know when I will be kicked out of the project. Not because i am bad but because of the project costing struc. I told my PM to release me long time back but I dont know why she still is keeping me in the team.

Bon Question-2

2009-03-29T22:31:00.001+05:30

How do you ensure that a drop of water is never dried up?

Ans: By throwing the drop into ocean

I was totally shaken by the ans by the way...awesome!!

Bon Question

2009-03-29T22:30:00.001+05:30

What is more important : satisfying one thousand desires or conquering just one?

At what price?

2009-02-16T22:53:00.002+05:30

Freedom...Individuality....Peace.....Respect...Pride.......Happiness

When do you decide that you deserve all of these...or else..atleast most of them? When you earn lakhs? or when you remain the toilet paper for other people's egos?I m sure most of us have compromised on some of these..Atleast I did for sure...for long.

Why this serious blog all of a sudden? Well..I realised recently that I am a short tempered person.I realised that my patience levels have gone down by a huge extent.Not too aggressive to kill people but yeah I could get the sky flying egos of others down most of the times.I have always been a rebel but sometimes I am left pondering as to what is left of me over the past few years.

After my graduation, I stayed like a dog in my home. Yes..dog because you dont have your own values in place as long as you dont earn money or atleast learn the art of it. After the dog years, I have decided slowly to climb up as there was no more choice left to go down except the societally wrong way.I am not keen on that as I always tried to offer a lilttle luxury that i can afford to myself.

Then cam the whore days at the mumbai b school where I killed 2 years of my time with my bro's money.Ofcourse there were few factors that led me to that stage.1. I lost my girl. 2. My dad kicked me out of the house 3. the so called B school that I was a part of is infact a whore house. Except that there was no bodily abuse involved. The only good thing I earned there are 2 good friends. I blew a lot of money in alcohol. Suddenly I have realised that those 2 years are at an end soon due to the placement season.So I woke up from sleep and studied one book each night on the topics I wanna work on in my real life.

Found another rogue of a friend as my room mate in mumbai. Ofcourse I ignored his negatives for long till one day I broke my leg. Then the reality hit me hard and told me what kinda guy I was sharing my room with.Not that he is into utterly gross stuff but yeah he is very low on values.

Then I joined one of the premier IT factories of India in which I am a commodity too. I am a functional consultant I dont see myself any different from a door mat or a toilet paper.Atleast thats how my experience was so far.

Theres the gist of my life in one single post. Now...the question still remains.. At what price do we buy these fundamental things that we all desire deep under? Perhaps we all know the answer and yet cant word it out. We hide our pride sometimes and sometimes we tame it openly. We compromise to get what is required to have our priority #1 cleared. Isnt this a never ending cycle? or is there a way out?.....

Buy peace when it is cheap is my line for long now.....but by the time we get the barter for peace, it usally scales up in price..isnt it..Maybe I can term it as one of the ironies of life.

The confession of a finance professional

2009-02-07T16:01:00.000+05:30

I dont know where and when did I find this article but its an interesting read!!

Every morning in the southern part of the country, mostly in my home state of Tamil Nadu, hundreds of astrologers sit below a shade, usually a tree and predict the future of their 'clients'. Their tool is a caged parrot. The mechanism - the parrot when allowed to come out of the cage is trained to pick one booklet from many that the astrologer spreads out.

And based on the clues printed in that particular booklet the astrologer predicts the future of his clients. Mostly the questions are predictable - problems relating to cash flows, business, finance, health, children and of course marriage. Years of experience has taught the astrologer to give non-standard yet satisfactory replies to these standard questions even to the most intelligent clients. Interesting, isn't it? Or is it mastery of the human psyche?

Cut to the metros. Every morning across the country, we the finance professionals begin our work as meticulously as the parrot-astrologers mentioned above, but with a crucial difference. Instead of the parrots we use laptops, and instead of the unsophisticated printed booklets, we rely on Microsoft office.

Without Excel spreadsheets and Power Point we will instantly be rendered hors de combat. Ask us any question about anything we will answer you only through these tools - even if it means introducing ourselves, our company or our services. We will use jargons or acronyms even for silly things. We have our own grammar for our operations.

The idea is to bamboozle our clients and give them an impression of being in a hurry. If a client is a multi-product company we would advice them on de-merging and concentrate on core competencies. If it is a single product company we would ask them to diversify to de-risk themselves. Never mind, in both cases we are actually experimenting with our clients at their cost.

And should a client have a rupee term loan we would advice them on a foreign currency loan and exactly the reverse should they have a forex loan. For the former we would predict the depreciation of the dollar, for the latter, the appreciation of the dollar. Who said cheese for the goose is cheese for the gander?

If we find a non-finance professional on the other side of the table we reckon that they are lambs to the slaughter. When we encounter fellow finance professionals on the other side, things are no different. After all, he would be compassionate to our cause, understand our jargons and empathise with our constraints.

In effect, others' ignorance (or their negligence) is our strength. We sell from the mundane to the complex, in the process warranting far above what we can deliver, causing much more havoc than what the clients could have ever imagined and charging much more than want is apparent. Welcome to the world of finance professionals and consultants.

You dream, we make money

We understand the fundamental human psyche far better than any other professionals with the sole exception of the parrot astrologer. We know the proclivity of businessmen to make quick money and the power of greed. We love such people. In fact, we encourage them to dream big, bigger and better. After all when you dream it is money for us.

Most of you don't waver. But if some of you do, we have the ready quotes of Shiv Kheras and Robin Sharmas of the world to motivate you, chosen with outmost care to be quoted out of context. Added to these are the real life stories of Narayana Murthys and Aziz Premjis. And when all these weapons are used, most of you fall. Only the extremely lucky escape from the heady brew that we concoct.

So, to a small timer we will recommend public issue. From being a partner of a small firm or to a private limited company, we play on his psyche and encourage him to go for a public issue. If his capacity today is 1000 MT, we easily work his profitability for 100,000 MT, never mind the availability of raw materials or ability of the person to market or any other fundamentals. Naturally profits one-hundred times the present levels can excite even a saint. Why talk of lesser mortals?

Surely, Excel spread sheets has made life easy for us. But to make life far simpler we have ready made templates, of course, with the usual disclaimers to cover our backs should something go wrong. Yet we occasionally goof up by denominating steel in litres or some liquid chemicals in meters. Our clients are very understanding - they do not find fault with us. How can they when we have bamboozled them in the first instance?

Our fundamental mantra is to calculate the earnings before Depreciation, Interest and Tax. Then we extrapolate such calculations to the next few years adjusting the prices to what we think is 'reasonable', never mind that the commodity prices are gyrating by the hour. If we decide, a?four per cent?variation can be serious. In the alternative a 40 per cent?can be immaterial.

But if you still understand what we do, we will talk in terms of IRR, cash flows, MAT, dividend tax, tax-shield, leverage etc so as to flummox anyone. Management of most corporates wastes millions of precious man hours to check and recheck all these as if it were Bible, Koran and Veda all rolled into one. When all these happen, no wonder, we chuckle in front of you and have a hearty laugh behind you!

The next step is to approach banks for financing or other non-conventional lenders viz. venture capitalists and Private Equity. Here it is very easy for us. Since we have our own people on the other side of the table speaking our language, jargons and lingo, it becomes so easy. As we try to sell the dream of our clients, the finance professional sells his 'products'. And it takes two to a tango. Isn't it?

For us short term is few hours. Long term is a few days. And when something goes wrong we blame everyone from Bush, Iraq, Oil, Pakistan, Taliban and for that matter everyone except ourselves. And when people succeed we ensure that media covers the same adequately. On such occasions naturally we act with extreme alacrity and appropriate the credit.

Our relationship with these lenders means that it only we who can get you the funds or the facility. And when things go bad, it is only we who can bail you out. It is only our restructure package that will be accepted by these lenders. In tennis parlance - it is game, set and match for us. In chess, it is check and mate.

Horse multiplied by an ass is equal to a pig

The earnings of 30 companies that determine the BSE index is approximately Rs 1000 crores. We multiply the same with a price earning (PE - the Holy Grail) multiple of say 12 or 15 or even 21 to arrive at the BSE index. Much as all this is voodoo economics, when it is a bull market we point to markets that have a higher multiple and justify such higher prices. When it is a bear market we point out to markets with lower PE multiples to justify the market prices of shares. Either way you will lose.

Worse still, we move from channel to channel and from columns to columns using charts and what not to justify either the rise or fall in stock markets. And for the past six months we have first suggested resistance to NSE at 5,800, then at 5,400, then at 4,800, subsequently at 4,400.

In the process we had encouraged every small investor to stay invested. When all these levels have been broken, we have now suggested 3,700 little realising that an umbrella is of no use when you face a tsunami. Yet we continue without any shame or remorse to pontificate. How can you shame the shameless?

And when people survive all these, we tutor them to repurchase their shares or better still de-list. And should they have surplus cash even for a movement we move in silently as the big cats move in for their kill and make the gullible invest in commodities, real estate or some other exotic markets.

Better still, we advice on mergers or amalgamating with some other companies or better still sell the stake to others. Yes, in all these transactions we are interested.

And on all these, whether you make profit or loss, we would ensure that we make money first-up. Naturally, we see money in every transaction, why every part of a transaction. We would encourage one set to sell and other set to buy, and broker the deal both ways. Of course we do profit both ways. Did I hear that dirty word called ethics? Remember, we see value in everything except in values themselves.

But what is surprising is that despite what we do blatantly remains beyond the comprehension of many. Consequently as a class we remain un-critiqued. No wonder as the cliche goes, what is obvious is usually the most oblivious. This allows us, like the astrologer in the streets of South India, to endlessly play on the psyche of men and their greed.

PS: We believe, we can sell anything to anybody and buy anything from anybody. If only the PM had hired us, we would have sold even the nuclear deal to the Leftists.

Damn the documentation!!

2009-01-25T21:55:00.002+05:30

Damn the documentation!!

Its an irony that an IT business runs because of documentation. But what on earth is happening with the flooding of documents and redundancy of information? We, the Business Analysts, need to create umpteen documents and review them thereyby making things tough not only to oursleves but we ensure that the developers and all other stake holders of this information get our piece of mind(rather the lack of it).I used to think that my previous organisation has an inkling for documentation but now I have realised that being an SEI CMMi level 5 company means more waste of time on some idotic stuff than is usually required. The good part of it is that MBAs like me get a job to do!!

To add to this conundrum, we have some subjects taught during some part of our so called education. The names like Unified modelling language, system analysis and design, object oriented analysis and design etc should strike your mind by now. Due to these , during our professional life, we come up with terms like Functional requirements, functional specification, Use case diagrams, System requirement specification, High level architecture diagrams, process flow diagrams,solution flow, traceability matrix, component use cases, test plan, test strategy, and a lot more jargon to handle every day.Do we need so many documents?..NO...all we need is a lil bit of common sense...and ofcourse a lot of simplicity. I say simplicity because all those terms that I have mentioned here do come up with a lot of attachements and variants.Another important thing to remember here is that there is a lot more gyaan that goes into pitching for a client.But if not for that gyaan, there wont be any transaction at all.

My employer boasts of an amazing campus and clinches some good deals beacue of that. Seriously..I am impressed with my campus too.However, I am no different from another IT coolie. The only difference is that I have people under me to be supervised.Ofcourse I need to pass the buck and so will ask the developers for certain kinda documentation as my boss will kick me if I am not part of the game. So to answer a question like " what is 1+1?", we come up with different documentation. one to say that both the 1s are integers. Another to say what is the first one is doing with teh second one. Then we get some fancy diagrams to say how these two 1s interact. Then we give gyaan back to the client as to why he has a + in between. We also say how different technologies could be used to get the sum of 1+1..blah blah..

ganda hai par dhandha hai yeh!!

Back to work

2009-01-18T18:34:00.003+05:30

After 2 months of time, I am back into working mode. Now I am into IBM Websphere process server. I am the functional guy. The other change being the change of domain - telecom. Now I am working for a large australian telecom giant.

Its a new project. I am lagging the other people in the team by 3 weeks but I guess I am on a good speed to catch up on them soon. Ofcourse my new team mates are shocked at my probing skills. I found out that half the guys are just doing theit duty to get their sal. There is no concrete stuff with most of them to move forward. Luckiliy they were not the func guys and so they need not know the entire flow to save their jobs but I have to know it. So a big task is pending. Lets see how I take it further.

Lots of reading though.

NUMB

2008-11-29T13:53:00.001+05:30

I'm tired of being what you want me to be

Feeling so faithless lost under the surface
Don't know what you're expecting of me
Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)
Every step that I take is another mistake to you
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)

I've become so numb I can't feel you there
Become so tired so much more aware
I'm becoming this all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you

Can't you see that you're smothering me
Holding too tightly afraid to lose control
Cause everything that you thought I would be
Has fallen apart right in front of you
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)
Every step that I take is another mistake to you
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)
And every second I waste is more than I can take

I've become so numb I can't feel you there
Become so tired so much more aware
I'm becoming this all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you

And I know
I may end up failing too
But I know
You were just like me with someone disappointed in you

I've become so numb I can't feel you there
Become so tired so much more aware
I'm becoming this all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you

I've become so numb I can't feel you there
I'm tired of being what you want me to be
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
I'm tired of being what you want me to be

-LP

Nisha

2008-09-21T07:21:00.005+05:30

This post is one among a series of posts wherin I mention about different folks who entered my life at some point or the other and made an exit... well, some didnt yet. However, this post on Nisha will surely be on the acme of all those posts because .........read on..

Nisha Sacher is the girl with amazing brains. I never found any girl with brains so far in my life. I , kinda , believed that all girls are dumb. Only after the conversations with Nisha did I feel that the previous sentence is grossly wrong. Therefore, you might have seen the text in one of my pages in other sites that "All girls are usually dumb except for some diamonds which shine real well". Nisha is one of those diamonds that I encountered in my life.

I happened to meet her through a mutual friend of ours. That guy is kinda low on the values but sommehow he has the privilege of talking to this one. He has introduced me to her one night at around 1AM when I was in mumbai working on some assigment of mine.He and I were in our respective B schools whereas Nisha is a daredevil who sacrifices everythng for an objective set by her. so day/nighht doesnt matter to her much.

Initially I didnt bother about her questions because I was in my own world and didnt like interacting with strangers.As usual I was drinking and studying coz thats my style of getting things into my mind.I somehow feel alcohol and music are required for me to go at huge speeds on my mind highway.

Anyways, where was I? oh yeah, I was speaking about Nisha. her questions came at good speed and were really precise. So yes, her articulation made me draw attention to her than my assigment. the funny part was that I had absolutely no clue on what she was asking for because I wasnt studying in those days. My only objective is to scrape through every piece of shit I come across in those 2 years and come out to lead a life of my own. So initially I was a little embarassed that I couldnt even think about the funadamental questions she was asking about.The other good thing about the call is that she spoke to me as if she had known me for years and I was very cautious as to how could she gather/infer so much about me.Later I was told that this common friend of ours has always mentioned about me to her but he never mentioned about this one to me.

Nisha is damn good with finance. Never have i seen somebody so good. I was totallyimpressed by her financial prowess. So much so that I have gone zany and used to look forward to meet her again to get burned/roasted for my lack of knowledge in finance.We also spoke about our personal lives but yes usually the conversation starts with some finance thing. Probably she got sadistic satisfaction whenever I say I dont know and ask her to enlighten me on those different aspects of finance. the best part about her is that she was very clear in what she wanted. I lacked that vision too and so used to question her on different things( her life, others lives, her work, her experiences etc.) just to make myself understand her viewpoint so that I could be as good as she is.Infact both of us liked our company so much that we used to look forward to our conversations in the nights.

Another good quality of hers which I really love is her ability to stand by her word. I usually am particular about this value and I like people to respect it too. However, most people cant stand it. I believe my time is as precious as yours. So if you say you will finish off an activity by this time then you better get that activity done by that time. She respects that principle too. Nisha is a workhorse and still she made it a point to come online one day to talk to me albeit a short one.I really appreciated it.There are few other common elements between me and her. Maybe thats why we could get along well

After that we had few more conversations which I cherish till date.She went to Stern, NY to study her favourite subject "valuation" under the best in the class professor by name "aswath damodaran". I used to study a little from a book authored by him and she got to learn from the man himself. I felt really happy for her coz she got to a place she really deserved to be.

Thanks to that decision of hers to be there, she gained a lot on few fronts viz., peace, education,life partner and I dont know what else. i wish to speak a coupla lines on her life partner too. Dont know much about this guy. Heard that he is one brainy guy.Excellent on acads. Its all hearsay when I have to mention about him as a person. He is a nice guy who helps every friend/acquaintance of his in whatever way he can. Unfortunately I am not as strong as he is on many fronts.

Ok, back to Nisha. the interesting part is that I have never met this girl in the real world. I always met her in the cyber space. So I dont even know how she looks like or how it is to hear her voice. But still I am crazy about the conversations we had.The sad part is that we are no longer in touch for a very long time now. I still dont know the reason but I can surely guess one or two...wait wait wait....I havent said anything wrong to her yet. I have tested her patience levels long time back when I used a lot of swear words in the conversation but never did she object to the language.So the reason is not me....there is something else...I tried to reach her through mails quiet a few times but surprisingly there is no response. Not that she responds immediately but she didnt respond for a long time now. I dont have any other details of reaching her. the only source would be this mututal friend of ours apart from the emails. So in short, I lost her.

Anyways, I just hope she is doing fit and fine in the US and I miss this friend of mine a lot.The reminiscences remain!!!

My parents got married again!!

2008-09-03T21:50:00.003+05:30

we went to thirukkadaiyur; also spelt as thirukadayur(near mayiladuthurai) in aug. After a long time did i set my foot out for some special occasion. We went to that place to celebrate my dad's completion of 60 years on this planet.

I intend to write this post for the benefit of those netizens who intend to go there (from blore to thirukadayur) for the same purpose as I did. I mean when I planned to go there, I hardly found any information about the travel.So my post here should be popped up in the search for those guys who wanna be comfy reaching there.

Its a very small place to begin with. The temple still attracts a huge number of visitors. There are 5-6 hotels near the temple. Ofcourse the names of the se wont be on the net except for hotel sadabishekam. There is kumars, guru,sadabhishekam,,blah right opposite the entrance of the temple. There is hotel moogambika almost 300 meters away from the temple. We stayed in moogambika which is decent enough. there are cottages (7 beds) or std 2-bed room (w/o AC).We stayed there because we didnt have any other info about the stay till we reached there. the accomodation is pretty cheap though. Infact kumars is much better than moogambika in terms of facilities as well as pricing.We stayed in kumars on day2 of our visit there.I think each room costed approx rs300

The local travel is going to be expensive because the travel agencies charge you a huge premium for your lack of information as well as language problems.We were charged rs.350 per trip in the mahindra mini bus from our hotel to the temple. The indica from temple to kumars costed us rs.200. This charge was applied to us as we have oldies who cant walk the 50 mts distance.

The food has been arranged by one of the priests of the temple. the food was good.the water was bad.Infact, after the trip, some of us fell sick. maybe its the water..maybe its the smoke of the pooja time. the videography was amazing. It costed us 7k for the video and photographs. The 2 DVDs, photos, 2 storage tapes, big photo album were given as part of the deal.

There are some more specialised temples in and around mayiladuthurai. We went to the bday spl temple. Similarly there are temples specialised for "wanna marry" folks; wanna have kids etc..there are few beaches in the nearby areas too.Its a good getaway from the city lifestyle. I felt elated when I saw that the roads are free enough.

my first project

2008-09-03T21:43:00.004+05:30

finally I got my voice heard by the top guys and thereby got into SAP XI project. The project is good. Howeevr I think the whole team needs to pay for the gross under estimation done by the PM. Standard office stuff going on.Its just that one of the functional guys is pushing me too hard. Waiting for some day when he gets it all back.

I have been assigned a new tool which nobody in the firm knows about. Infact this tool is specific to the oil industry. The sorry part is that I am supposed to get the tool up and running by the 9 sep-08. I guess my neck is on the roll but it is good to run even though I know that I cant make it in time.

I am going to chennai soon for my b1 visa interview. By the end of this month or the first week of oct, I should be in US if all things go as planned. Too much pressure these days making me skip my lunch too. I gotta spend almost 10-11 hrs eveyday in the office not that that no signifies the amount of work being done but yes gotta do a whole lotta things.

The tech architect is regretting his presence in the project but i am thoroughly enjoying the kicking part. I almost get some gyaan or the other from 2-3 top guys..but what to do...when ur bosses decide to hit you then you have nowhere to run...funny but true..luckily i didnt lose my calm yet.

something tells me that im into something good

2008-08-02T00:18:00.002+05:30

..thats the song playing in my head right now....

I am supposed to be in houston for a period of 1 week for a product training .

later on, I will be going around the world to different countries on offical work... so this is just a beginning... but yeah im all excited abt going abroad for the first time in my life.

got appreciation from the consulting head. got appreciation mails from my bosses for the presales work i did... oh yeah, forgot to tell u guys..now i have moved into SAP XI...lotsa integration....a novice here but i will try to climb up the ladder for sure.

high

2008-07-20T01:25:00.003+05:30

well, after being free for quite sometime, the rebel in me woke up. Even this firm had to see my true colors so fast. I voiced out my concerns to the top guys but to no avail. Oh yes, lotsa gyaan came puttering out from the so called intelligentsia... damn, i am just 5 months old in this firm or else, I would have had the privilege of setting some things straight.The best part is that, slowly, people gave me work...Yes, there was a time when I had to work on multiple assignments and still meet the deadline. Now, thats the high I was talking about. I mean you loook into those eyes of the guy , say what you want and yet come out unscathed. Few appreciated but I didnt bother to heed what they say as I am stoical and Im only interested in knowing my mistakes.

The game gets all the more interesting when your opponent is the person who is close to your practice head(read influential). There was every effort to make use of authority on me but I didnt budge. I believe my freedom, happiness and laziness are more worth than the appraisal that they control. This person was behind me to work in her team.I was not keen on the work and so I refused to work twice so far.I am ready to face consequences.

I am doind all kinds of jobs these days - peon, presales,consulting,support. I am just trying to keep myself occupied and yes..so far so good.I also found one person that I can hang around with in blore.Thats the good thing in the recent past but the worst is to deal with the autowallahs. I hate haggling but I have no choice. Ofocurse, autos...hmm...day&night robbery.

a happy family , all smiles, good amount of work(still waitng for quality work) are all keeping me on a high.no booze for 3 months in a row now...and yet im ona highhhhhh.