A tablet of Google before you make new friends

Well these days background checks have become as simple as pressing Enter on the keyboard…as a matter of fact and curiosity I Google all my acquaintances… to know more about them… and the stuff that usually turns up is pretty interesting…
From entrance exams, to house details, to interesting news items, Government of India has laid bare all the records for all to read… the electoral rolls… everything is online …googlexed (Google indexed) and googotized ( Google robotized )

Well I know my friends… how well do you know yours???

of MBA Tour, Married friends and other miscellanies

The MBA tour “happened” today, and I decided to do things differently this time. Instead of going at the start of the tour, I went in after about an hour. By this time the enthusiasm levels were already dropping for most visitors were tired. Right time for a focussed pitch. Grin :)

Received a call from a friend, who is now blissfully married (yeah right!!! that was an oxymoron), who used to say that things wouldn’t change between friends… well he is eating home-made food and his words these days…

The out of whack stereo in my car lets me listen to only cassettes now…no more FM for me… to top it, I have a useless cassette collection… so I am listening to gospel music (bhakti sangeet) these days from old worn out cassettes.

Job satisfaction within closed doors… MBA tour was followed by a panel discussion with alums…applicants poured out their hearts… from why don’t they consider 15 yrs education enough… to…. How much GMAT… the alums were like the nannies… a guy complained of low job satisfaction too…

One Down five more to go!!

Allright... today was a good day... not just because i wrote three couplets or the fact that i got up very early and enjoyed the morning... but because today my first application is on its way to Hyderabad today...
Its time to get cracking on the next application in line... this one will be going to London...:)
btw here are the couplets...
***********************************
Is it me the heavens are crying for,
or is it just the rain,
is it the gods washing my memories,
or is it just me and my pain??
***********************************
I wish i could stop this pain
I wish I had the power to heal,
alas i dont know i'd still be human
if i forgot the way i feel
******************************
do we just love misery
or plainly hate ourselves so,
some things in our mind
we just wont let go
maybe they are the meaning of our existence
maybe its just our insistence
whatever they may be,
this i think is true
we are all
fools by our own virtue.
*******************************

Another one i wrote for a friend of mine long time back ...

i ll be the ocean ...
i ll walk with you ...
with my gentle waves just lapping at your feet...
and just when you expect the least...
my tides will take you away ...
away from the world... away to me....
**************************************

Search and thou shalt find it

Well well well… I found something “wow” while I was looking for something else. It just so happens that I am planning a visit to my colleges today to get my transcripts…here I was looking for my Post Graduation Mark sheet and I stumbled upon.. a transcript of the Certificate course in German Language… wowieee… I had forgotten about my German course in the course of time (pun intended)… yahoooooooo for that matter gooooggleee … I am that much closer to my schools… (

Trust

“I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you”
Friedrich Nietzsche

"It is better to suffer wrong than to do it, and happier to be sometimes cheated than not to trust. "
Samuel Johnson

Garden State

Garden State : Well if there was any such thing as a Droopy's wall of fame for movies... this one would be somewhere along the ceiling...Zach Braff wrote acted and directed this masterpiece... its one of those rare movies you feel connected to ...the one that voices all those things you never really shared with anyone but that you reassure yourself with....take this one for instance...

Andrew Largeman: You know that point in your life when you realize that the house that you grew up in isn't really your home anymore? All of the sudden even though you have some place where you can put your stuff that idea of home is gone. Sam: I still feel at home in my house. Andrew Largeman: You'll see when you move out it just sort of happens one day one day and it's just gone. And you can never get it back. It's like you get homesick for a place that doesn't exist. I mean it's like this rite of passage, you know. You won't have this feeling again until you create a new idea of home for yourself, you know, for you kids, for the family you start, it's like a cycle or something. I miss the idea of it. Maybe that's all family really is. A group of people who miss the same imaginary place.

The movie is not really extraordinary... $2.5 million dollars dont get you flashy vehicles or locales... but yes if there is something called character... you ll find it here... its a gem... listen to this one....

Sam: You're in it right now, aren't you? Andrew Largeman: What? Sam: My mom always says that, when she can see I'm like working something out in my head, she's like, 'you're in it right now' and I'm looking at you're telling this story, and you're definitely in it.

Incidentally this movie was nominated for 2005 MTV Movie award for the "best kiss"...i am not really sure which scene would that be... but i like both the kissing scenes trustworthy... the one in the rain... and the last kiss before they say goodbye.... Here s another one

Andrew Largeman: You know, this necklace makes me think of this totally random memory of my mother. I was a little kid, and I was crying for one reason or another. And she was cradling me, rocking me back and forth, and I can just remember the silver balls rolling around. And there was like snot running down my nose. And she offered me her sleeve and told me to blow my nose into it. And I can remember, even as a little kid, thinking to myself, this is love... this is love.

Good Lord!!!! I really loved the movie....

Interpreting Dreams

Well apart from the “other” dreams that I have… yesterday night I found myself in a grocery store with huge variety from groceries…muesli, fruits and veggies... so much to choose from … even in my dream I was the strict utilitarian that I am…Well I interpret my dream as the answer to my prayers and my wishes… God has given me yet another chance in this grocery store of life where I have loads of opportunities in front of me… I just have to choose the ones that will make me happy and will be with me forever….Past few days…14 to be exact… have made a terrific impact… I was a huge learning curve… Now I’ve regained my focus… set my priorities right… and am back on track… watch out world…my new maxim...
“Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people”

Essay Time again

First official day of Fall....sigh... I could ve been in Duke today... sigh.... and here i am writing essays once again... all over again.... well this time i ve managed a head start.. staying on top of things as they happen...
From my feedback sessions I know now my strong areas
-- My Acads are solid... dont need to do anything here.
-- Work Experience displayed in good detail through my essays.
-- Long term/short term goals are in place
-- International workex displayed in good detail (I had a client recommendation last year)
and my weak spots
-- Why specifically this univ?
-- What do i do outside of work?
well Mr. Montauk rightly points out in his book (The Bible of Admissions) that engineers/IT guys are known to do notoriously less outside office hours...yeah right ... so it is this mind set that i must defeat in my positioning... hell i do so much reading and career counselling that i can talk about...
Brings me to another lingering question.... LBS essays this year have a compulsory essay on international experiences... does that mean anyone whose not been out of his country is ineligible??

Duke deny feedback

“I got spooked” – Brian Flanagan, Cocktails (1988)
Duke University spooked me today with the shocking revelation in my Deny Feedback. The average years of professional experience has climbed a notch higher to 6 years. With it came, the pat suggestion, “I am sure you would have gained that extra experience between the time you applied and now.”
Elsewhere it was mentioned, “You should apply in R1…but there is no guarantee… (Slight giggle)... Considering that the applicant pool is always strong and competitive”…
Had i known this about 7 agonizing months ago (the ones i spent waiting in the waitlist)... would have withdrawn it myself...

Pool Tourney

Was just editing my Essays for LBS when this incident came to my mind. First year in PGDCA, soon after the ragging session got over, the “organizing” bug bit me. My roommate and I decided to organize a 7 ball Pool (Cue stick and ball and 15 balls).
With about 200 odd MCA and 220 odd MBA students we had a potential market. Now the minor question, how do we rope in people we hardly know? Putting a poster up on the notice board would go unnoticed and get far too less airtime.
That’s when the advertising devil visited me. Our team of 5 pasted the following notice on each rest room door, bang opposite the WC. The first few took a little while but we patiently covered all 5 hostel blocks and all 3 floors. In all some 60 odd WCs…. phew….

PSSSTTT.... SORRY TO DISTURB YOU AT THIS TIME….BUT... Would you be interested in playing with 8 Balls, a Cue Stick and getting rewarded for the same?? Then rush in your entries and Rs XX entry fee. You can drop it in Room XXX. p.s. : Please dont forget to wash your hands!!!

Net Result : Instant Hit. Enough Airtime generated to last a lifetime. Enough nominations received for a decent pool tourney…
p.s. For all those curious about how we covered the Female Hostels… we had a female member helping us…:)

Memory Feat for the day!!!

Well today I will try to do something that hasnt been attempted by anyone till now...for all those people at home... some of the events you are about to witness are hazardous to health.. they are performed by experts...we urge you not to attempt to duplicate them...
Having said that... i am going to list all 28 classmates from T13 batch of ITP from the confines of my brain...
Here We Go

1. Uday Kiran hung out with
2. Shiva
3. Sirisha Shetty
4. Saras Krishna Kiran knew
5. srinivas reddy sabella who was also a haddu (now married)
6. Vineet goyal and
7. sajuvendra singh sekhon were roommates just like
8. Neeraj monga and
9. Saurabh srivastava
10. Now Ritu Singh and
11. Savita Upadhyay were close friends... but could never make up their minds..as opposed to
12. Parul Jain and
13. Maa Saab - Vineet Aggarwal.
14. the official Bards deserve a mention Mr. Bibudh Lahiri and
15. Ms. Surya Kanti Pratyusha who was teased constantly by
16. Mr. ramnish bhandari.
17. the silent entities of the class were Vani tekumalla
18. and the cricket guru Shridhar
19. we had a dreamer ...now a management grad at SPJ... Sujay
20. and a follower* Tanuja Gupta....who;s also at SPJ
21. Fellow Bengalis Md Hassanuzman Sheikh and
22. sandeep da.
IS MY MEMORY FAILING ME??....
23. surabhi Baisawar... the lady on a tough mission and
24. Shashi (who was forever with Vani tekumalla..right??)
25. I know this guy... used to bite his lower lip... come on... S
26. Ahh my project mate... Venkat... the hardly working venkat....
WHO ARE YOU???
27. NITIN PAL (i am extreemely sorry i misplaced you...:)
28. KAVITA?? (I'll confirm on monday)

26/28 Not bad....

RSM- Europe Beckons

Received a mail from RSM saying that the deadline has been extended to Aug 8th and that they have 5 new scholarships to offer. The best part about these € 10,000 scholarships is …apart from the money of course ;) …. The fact that RSM has said that the sponsor companies will have a counseling session for the awardees and there are internship and final placement opportunities available.
Well this goes on to show the corporate tie-ups RSM currently has and how sure it is about the network.
I am tempted to apply. I have made a school visit while I was in Rotterdam. I am in touch with a few of the desi students there. Another year here at TeaSeaYes isn’t going to add any value anyhow.

Feedback Session

I have my feedback appointment with Tuck Business School tomorrow evening. Surprisingly enough I did not even remember that I could ask them for one. Better late than never, I shot off a courteous mail on Monday and got a reply on Tuesday with an appointment for Thursday. So far so good.

I was doing an MBA Essay breakdown from Mr. Montauk’s book, for the most important essay, “why mba, why our school, why now”, when I came across this interesting line. It said that showing lot of research in this question shows that that you are interested in the program and will most probably attend if offered admission (because of yield reasons). But then again if you forget to demonstrate the “fit” or forget to answer “the question”, you might just become another statistic for the admissions committee. I think that’s what happened in the Duke Univ case too. I will look more concrete answers this time.

I think besides MIT, all other schools will provide some sort of feedback on my application, so will better mail UNC too. A List of things I need to do before calling the schools is:

• Read Complete submitted application again


• Demarcate feedback into the four categories of Innovation, Teamwork, Maturity and Leadership.

Badminton

Well of course I am tired, I’ve played badminton today after almost 4 years that too an indoor court. For the uninitiated, the indoor badminton court makes you sweat like anything and makes you want to shout out before every shot like Monica Seles did. 5 games, broken guts and a pair of torn sports shorts; the first day could not have been more eventful.

Duke University

The result is out.  After a long wait of 8 months Duke University Fuqua School has finally dinged me. The feeling on reading that dreaded mail was like a shot in the arm but then the pain went away and I am filled with hope. I know where I messed up in my best application. One, I did not give enough clarity on my long term goals and Two, Duke places a lot of emphasis on Community Work, which was of course missing from my application.

On the Road to an MBA

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started”
Well I am half way through the road to getting admission for an International MBA and yet I am at the beginning of the road. Reason: I applied for Fall 2006 admission but did not get through, partly because I didn’t choose my schools correctly and partly because I did not work hard enough. On my journey I have found many other co-passengers and I intend to use their experience as well as mine, this time around.I read somewhere that keeping a blog through this journey might help, so here goes.

“Dreams alone will get you nothing but asleep"

My Toothbrush

I am very possessive about my toothbrush. Though it is not very different from it's kinds, same bristles, same plastic, still i am very attached to
it. I bought this one at a place called Team Juice at trivandrum. Every morning when i brush my teeth i am reminded of a series of events. Arrival at trivandrum, the shock at seeing ARUVI, the pleasure at seeing Kovalam, the first day at office, the top floor canteen, the barottas, the night shows, sharmaji's paranthas which kept us alive...(not to forget chutneys), aruvi rooftop parties, POLICE, swagat bar, the HDFC atm, Ariya jyoti, The project mates, the trip to ponmudi ...the dangerous waterfall trek, the trip to moonnar and the night at the hotel and the morning afterwards (hic.) ...narial paani, badminton tounament i lost, charu sharma's quiz, The DIRTY AD -MAD we did...., the badminton tournament we won, the terrifying Hostel shift..., the chetta shop and the horlicks, the kenton leisure suites, the booze there..., the technopark club and mani ,the waiter there....night outs with friends .. night before mid term... night before MATC....and the leaving time......
So you know next time i am brushing my teeth i am not just doing that...i am taking a trip down memory lane....
p.s. ...i know that toothbrush is pretty old ... but can i just keep it for old times's sake??please...

RDB

I went to see RDB today. Reached Chanakya 10 mins before the show and just like always, the BALCONY tickets had “sold” out. So quickly conferring with my brother on the going rate of the black tickets, I managed to get hold of 3 tickets behind a parked car for 400 bucks.
The movie itself was fun, an artist’s imagination of what would happen if we explore an option, an option that was explored by our freedom fighters, and yes the ideology of trying to make a difference. I could hear people talk about how killing a Defence Minister is not that simple etc. but I think they’ve missed the whole point of the movie. Its not a movie about a gang of students who kill the defence minister and then are killed by the commandos, it’s a movie about people who

1. Understand the results of their actions


2. Decide that they have to do something rather than just sit around and say that nothing gets happened.


3. Find a meaning to their life.

Cinematography of this movie worth mentioning, Eastman colored clippings transport you back to another era, the clippings sometimes falling in place a little later in the movie like Bismillah being captured by the soldiers in the swamp, sometimes they were over simplified for the viewers like the one with Jaliawala bagh with the defence minister ordering the shooting.

Talking about individual and team performances, Su was a wise choice to this movie. I mean we ve all seen movies with foreigners but they aren’t half convincing when they don’t speak GOOD hindi (exception Mr. Tom Alter, who is the exception to this rule). Another good choice was the Telugu chap who played Karan Singhania. When I compare him to Madhavan, he loses on the looks factor but his appeal as an actor is much much better than what Madhavan has done in hindi movies. Moveover Madhavan…”no deal”. Talking about the chappie who played Aslam, terrific buddy, it was a difficult part to play because everyone over does it just like they do to full fried eggs, but you handled the role exactly like it was supposed to be. If I were to rank the characters actors in the order of their performances, It would be something like this

1. Karan Singhania


2. Aslam


3. Style waala banda


4. ….


5. ….


6. Aamir Khan


7. Soha Ali Khan

Which brings us to Soha. Soha why? Why? Why did you have to stand out like a sore thumb? Infact if there is anything that consoles me to the fact that this movie could have been perfect and isn’t is the fact that life is not perfect. Soha try harder beta. The only thing that saved Aamir and his tooti frooty punjaabi/hinglish(I still don’t know what dialect he was speaking in… it surely wasn’t Punjabi) was that soha did worse. Baal bal bachche…poof…phoof…

Paisa vasool factors:

1. Aamir’s comedy.

Rangoli Competition @TCS

I made my first rangoli today... i ve seen many and commented on the quality of even more... but this experience was totally humbling... Drawing a straight line with colored powder is not a cup of tea believe me... Our theme was "mission kashmir" to remind the people of the quake hit kashmir and to remind them to contribute to rebuild the home of the homeless... we were awarded a box of celebration chocolates for our efforts...

Jugaad

Networking / temporary fix / Black / Jugaad

Well besides the bursting-at-the-seams population there are more things that are plaguing my country today; the attitude of people towards work. The “jugaad” factor, as I call it. Well just day before yesterday, my onsite manager tells me a fact that two technologically different things are in fact one. Just like saying North and South are in fact one. Well this is not the first time he has done so and shown his ignorance but that guy never ceases to amaze me with his ignorance. But I really wonder how in the world did he reach to the level where he is now.

Welcome to the world of “Jugaad”

Lying to the client, saving face by making excuses, and putting temporary fixes in place; well its like trying to repair a bursting dam with post-it. In the world where mangers are spending a fortune in the CRM software trying to make the customer come back to them for repeat business, here are the glorious Indian managers indulging in unethical conduct, buying time to pass of their wares.

Why and wherefores

Yes the companies are getting bigger and the responsibilities are getting specialized. The employee can, of course, shirk these responsibilities and appear too insignificant to make a change. When things go wrong, all that the employee is concerned about is saving his own skin.