Finally some good news in life. Got promoted. Now am officialy over-paid. Two years ago, I would've laughed if someone had shown me my current pay-cheque. The guys who talk about India loosing its competive advantage in off-shoring cos of rising wages have a bloody good point.Am not complaining though...have to make some "wise financial decisions" in the next few weeks. NOT looking forward to that.
And my pleas for "more challenging work" have not fallen on deaf ears. After going thru the agony of doing mostly grunt work and odd-jobs, Ive been given a rather challenging piece of work...among others involves working with start-ups like this...its kind of a steep learning curve for me...but i think i'll pass
Oh and ACE 2006 is on Sunday...been part of the amazing team which has made this happen...truly wonderful human beings...nice to know that the IT industry has some ppl like this ...
Life is good...finally
Friday, July 28, 2006
Monday, July 24, 2006
Got this fwd some days ago. One of the best I've recd so far...almost makes me forgive the whole forward-sending community. Anyway this fwd is meant for one especially confused person in Chennai-mama apparently everyone is going thru this shit...so chill!!!
Being a twenty-something
It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are many things about yourself that you didn't know and may not like. You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now.You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren't exactly the greatest people you have ever met, and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones. What you don't recognize is that they are realizing that too, and aren't really cold, catty, mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you.You look at wat ur studyin or ur job... and it is not even close to what you thought you would be doing, or maybe you are looking for a job and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and that scares you.Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and are constantly adding things to your list of what is acceptable and what isn't. One minute, you are insecure and then the next, secure.You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life. You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly, change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life, but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away, and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward.You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you. Or you lie in bed and wonder why you can't meet anyone decent enough that you want to get to know better. Or maybe you love someone! but love someone else too and cannot figure out why you're doing this because you know that you aren't a bad person. Getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic. You go through the same emotions and questions over and over, and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision. You worry about loans, money, the future and making a life for yourself... and while winning the race would be great, right now you are scared just to be a contender!What you may not realize is that every one reading this relates to it. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out. Its called "Quarter-life Crisis." nothing is constant......except change.Wats life without a few risks? keep playing the game..
Being a twenty-something
It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are many things about yourself that you didn't know and may not like. You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now.You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren't exactly the greatest people you have ever met, and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones. What you don't recognize is that they are realizing that too, and aren't really cold, catty, mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you.You look at wat ur studyin or ur job... and it is not even close to what you thought you would be doing, or maybe you are looking for a job and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and that scares you.Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and are constantly adding things to your list of what is acceptable and what isn't. One minute, you are insecure and then the next, secure.You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life. You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly, change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life, but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away, and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward.You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you. Or you lie in bed and wonder why you can't meet anyone decent enough that you want to get to know better. Or maybe you love someone! but love someone else too and cannot figure out why you're doing this because you know that you aren't a bad person. Getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic. You go through the same emotions and questions over and over, and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision. You worry about loans, money, the future and making a life for yourself... and while winning the race would be great, right now you are scared just to be a contender!What you may not realize is that every one reading this relates to it. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out. Its called "Quarter-life Crisis." nothing is constant......except change.Wats life without a few risks? keep playing the game..
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Can post. Cant see. Thought I was immune to the blogonazi's till yesterday. Thats 'cos my employers proxy server was in the US. Someone somewhere has grown a brain now and I have no access :((....this blog I guess is for my "NRI Audience" if any :))
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Completed one year with my employer today. All of us batch-mates went out for lunch. Surprised by the sheer ferocity of changes that have taken place since July 18 2005-two ppl had gotten married(to different ppl),two ppl moving to the Chennai office, two ppl quitting...more may join the exodus. With the market as hot as it is that should'nt be a surprise, really. But, it still feels kinda sad that the same faces wont be seen. Have to move on.
Personally, am pretty satisfied with the way things are going at work.Could've been slightly better...but hey am lucky to be here instead of some VLSI lab in Idaho. I remember sitting at Nungambakam Quicky's with four other equally dis-illusioned non-engineers and wondering where life was going to take us. Two years down the line, I still dont know. But atleast I have a job that pays and a roof over my head(however leaky it may be). I am in a profession where technical intution rather than knowledge per se is the key to success. Proabably the best fit for me. Hey that should count for something.
Sometimes our expectations of our future cloud the uncertainties of the past that got us here...I am in one of those moments...just need some perspective...that means a nice long vacation away from it all. Get some distance,some perspective and come back energized...oh and I mis Chennai like hell...even more when I know that I was given the choice of going there...argh!!! the kinda things you have to sacrifice for your career!!!! Sorry for the criblog...had to take it out somewhere...
Personally, am pretty satisfied with the way things are going at work.Could've been slightly better...but hey am lucky to be here instead of some VLSI lab in Idaho. I remember sitting at Nungambakam Quicky's with four other equally dis-illusioned non-engineers and wondering where life was going to take us. Two years down the line, I still dont know. But atleast I have a job that pays and a roof over my head(however leaky it may be). I am in a profession where technical intution rather than knowledge per se is the key to success. Proabably the best fit for me. Hey that should count for something.
Sometimes our expectations of our future cloud the uncertainties of the past that got us here...I am in one of those moments...just need some perspective...that means a nice long vacation away from it all. Get some distance,some perspective and come back energized...oh and I mis Chennai like hell...even more when I know that I was given the choice of going there...argh!!! the kinda things you have to sacrifice for your career!!!! Sorry for the criblog...had to take it out somewhere...
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Hi, heard u were leaving to the us from anmol...all the best...sorry for all the troubles caused and words said...wish I could go back in time and redo everything...i cant...have to live with it.Hope I bump into you sometime in the next 100 years...fingers crossed...hope you would've forgiven me then...so long...kick some ass in the usa...Arun
What do you think? Sweet? Crisp? Gentle? Gross? Took me close to an hour and a couple of suttas to think it up! So much for "closure"...what part of not-talking-to-each-other-for-the-last-8 months is not "closure"?? Guess am reading too many vidheshi books!! But I enjoyed writing it.....gross, I know!
Talking about vidheshi books....the master is back....cant wait to get my hands on this whammer!!! this guy is the only English author whose books I TRULY look forward to...Also happens to be his first book after 9/11...ohhhhhh maama....cant wait...have placed an order on ndtvshopping...firstandseconds selling the hard-cover for 1350....no thanks...check out the blurb:
When British and American intelligence catch wind of a major Al Qaeda operation in the works, they are primed for action - but what can they do? They know nothing about the attack: the what, where or when. They have no sources in Al Qaeda, and it's impossible to plant someone. Impossible, unless ... The Afghan is Izmat Khan, a five-year prisoner of Guantanamo Bay and a former senior commander of the Taliban. The Afghan is also Colonel Mike Martin, a 25-year veteran of war zones around the world, a dark, lean man born and raised in Iraq. In an attempt to stave off disaster, the intelligence agencies will try to do what no one has ever done before - pass off a Westerner as an Arab among Arabs - pass off Martin as the trusted Khan. It will require extraordinary preparation, and then extraordinary luck, for nothing can truly prepare Martin for the dark and shifting world he is about to enter. Or for the terrible things he will find there ... "The Day of the Jackal", "The Dogs of War", "The Odessa File" - the books of Frederick Forsyth have helped define the international thriller as we know it today. Combining meticulous research with crisp narratives and plots as current as the headlines, Forsyth shows us the world as it is, in a way that few have ever been able to equal. And the world as it is today is a very scary place ...
What do you think? Sweet? Crisp? Gentle? Gross? Took me close to an hour and a couple of suttas to think it up! So much for "closure"...what part of not-talking-to-each-other-for-the-last-8 months is not "closure"?? Guess am reading too many vidheshi books!! But I enjoyed writing it.....gross, I know!
Talking about vidheshi books....the master is back....cant wait to get my hands on this whammer!!! this guy is the only English author whose books I TRULY look forward to...Also happens to be his first book after 9/11...ohhhhhh maama....cant wait...have placed an order on ndtvshopping...firstandseconds selling the hard-cover for 1350....no thanks...check out the blurb:
When British and American intelligence catch wind of a major Al Qaeda operation in the works, they are primed for action - but what can they do? They know nothing about the attack: the what, where or when. They have no sources in Al Qaeda, and it's impossible to plant someone. Impossible, unless ... The Afghan is Izmat Khan, a five-year prisoner of Guantanamo Bay and a former senior commander of the Taliban. The Afghan is also Colonel Mike Martin, a 25-year veteran of war zones around the world, a dark, lean man born and raised in Iraq. In an attempt to stave off disaster, the intelligence agencies will try to do what no one has ever done before - pass off a Westerner as an Arab among Arabs - pass off Martin as the trusted Khan. It will require extraordinary preparation, and then extraordinary luck, for nothing can truly prepare Martin for the dark and shifting world he is about to enter. Or for the terrible things he will find there ... "The Day of the Jackal", "The Dogs of War", "The Odessa File" - the books of Frederick Forsyth have helped define the international thriller as we know it today. Combining meticulous research with crisp narratives and plots as current as the headlines, Forsyth shows us the world as it is, in a way that few have ever been able to equal. And the world as it is today is a very scary place ...
Note to self: Dont even think of marriage as long as you get goosebumps after reading blurbs like this.
Grisham is also coming up with what looks to be a jab at the President's loving brother....hmmm...finally something to look forward to in life...
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Are you a an avid quizzer? No? A crappy one like me? No problemo....ACE 2006 is here...get your companies to loosen their purse strings a little bit! Hey, all for a good cause!
Ok I just realised that I'd make a crappy copy-writer. So check the official flyer below....mail me at arun_83[at]rediffmail.com if you think your company may be interested in either sending you to the quiz or in sponsoring the competition...
What is ACE 2006?
ACE 2006 is a battle among the best brains from India's top corporate houses. The Quiz is being conducted by J. Krishnamurthi, one of India's top-ranked quizzers and a key member of Quizerati, a team of avid quiz experts. The quiz offers participants a chance to pit their brains against the best, win attractive prizes and most importantly lend their support to a deserving cause. The proceeds received from this would go towards the welfare of needy students at Ramakrishna Upper Primary School at Yellammabanda, Kukatpally, Hyderabad.
ACE 2005 attracted about Thirty-Eight Teams from various companies in the twin cities and helped Asha raise around 2 lakh rupees, which was used towards providing mid day meals to over 240 children suffering from malnutrition at Ramakrishna School, Kukatpally.
How can you help?
You can also be a part of this noble endeavor and help us in following ways:
1. By Participating in the Quiz. You can send in teams for participation in the quiz.
The Registration Fee for Participation is as follows :
Rs 5000 for one team
Rs 4000 per team (if there are mutiple teams from your company)
Please refer to the attached doc for registration details
2. Being a sponsor for the event. Join hands with us by being one of the sponsors of the event. Please refer to the attached doc for Sponsorship Details.
For more details, please visit http://www.isb.edu/ACE2006/
ABOUT Asha
Asha was started in 1991 at the University of California, Berkley. Since then, both the cause and the organization have found support from individuals across the US and India. Asha has supported more than 385 different projects in India since its inception and currently has 66 chapters worldwide with more than 1000 active volunteers.For more details visit:
http://ashanet.org and http://ashanet.org/hyderabad
ABOUT THE ISB
The Indian School of Business evolved from a need for a globally top-ranked and distinctive business school in the Asian region dedicated to providing the best management education. The ISB's aspiration to groom tomorrow's leaders is grounded in the belief that leadership skills can be learnt and that successful leaders must take charge of their own development and growth to achieve their true potential. For more details visit:
http://isb.edu
Ok I just realised that I'd make a crappy copy-writer. So check the official flyer below....mail me at arun_83[at]rediffmail.com if you think your company may be interested in either sending you to the quiz or in sponsoring the competition...
What is ACE 2006?
ACE 2006 is a battle among the best brains from India's top corporate houses. The Quiz is being conducted by J. Krishnamurthi, one of India's top-ranked quizzers and a key member of Quizerati, a team of avid quiz experts. The quiz offers participants a chance to pit their brains against the best, win attractive prizes and most importantly lend their support to a deserving cause. The proceeds received from this would go towards the welfare of needy students at Ramakrishna Upper Primary School at Yellammabanda, Kukatpally, Hyderabad.
ACE 2005 attracted about Thirty-Eight Teams from various companies in the twin cities and helped Asha raise around 2 lakh rupees, which was used towards providing mid day meals to over 240 children suffering from malnutrition at Ramakrishna School, Kukatpally.
How can you help?
You can also be a part of this noble endeavor and help us in following ways:
1. By Participating in the Quiz. You can send in teams for participation in the quiz.
The Registration Fee for Participation is as follows :
Rs 5000 for one team
Rs 4000 per team (if there are mutiple teams from your company)
Please refer to the attached doc for registration details
2. Being a sponsor for the event. Join hands with us by being one of the sponsors of the event. Please refer to the attached doc for Sponsorship Details.
For more details, please visit http://www.isb.edu/ACE2006/
ABOUT Asha
Asha was started in 1991 at the University of California, Berkley. Since then, both the cause and the organization have found support from individuals across the US and India. Asha has supported more than 385 different projects in India since its inception and currently has 66 chapters worldwide with more than 1000 active volunteers.For more details visit:
http://ashanet.org and http://ashanet.org/hyderabad
ABOUT THE ISB
The Indian School of Business evolved from a need for a globally top-ranked and distinctive business school in the Asian region dedicated to providing the best management education. The ISB's aspiration to groom tomorrow's leaders is grounded in the belief that leadership skills can be learnt and that successful leaders must take charge of their own development and growth to achieve their true potential. For more details visit:
http://isb.edu
Monday, July 03, 2006
I've got Mail
"I will be on Vacation from Monday. Arun will open the bridge. He will be the SPOC for the BOM for the ID4 week. Will miss you all. Bye."
Dont understand this? Join the club. This is just a sane sample. What he was trying to say was that Arun will open the Conference Call bridge(not the Banjara Hills bridge as I had assumed). He is our Bakra for this week so he will be the Single Point of Contact for the Build Of Material(as opposed to some al-qaida plot).
Another game they play is 'Lets CC the Bakra'. Thats when you are sent the 43rd mail in a huge long chain of mails and asked, "Arun: What can you do about this?". This is usually when you start craping your pants cos there are some really Hot-shot names in the CC. You cant reply:"Exactly which part of this is my problem?".
This is when your Chennai-trained mind thinks-up imaginative responses:" I discussed this with Kishore today, under the circumstances we do not have any other options for you but Kishore feels that he could stabilise this area of work and will be ok to carry out the role for the 9 months. As your aware Sandeep is in charge of the PW workstream as a Leverageable service and could use Shatanu to assist in the matter of moving this are of business to be less reliant on individuals and more reliant on standards, processes & systems to produce successful proposals. " It basically means:"Exactly which part of this is my problem?".
Another game played is 'Zap 'em with Attachment'.
"Find below the specs. Need your response immdly." Below I find a 6 MB Excel sheet which has its ass plastered from head to toe with numbers...I mean only numbers....nothing more...not even one fucking alphabet!! My response:"?????".
Sender's response:"Sorry thought you were someone else bye".Adapaavigalaa!! Ethana peru da ippudi?? If I'd been a lil more industrious I would've actually started working on those numbers!! Near-miss.
Its not good enough to just give earnings-warning every quarter. People need to know where all that money is going....
Dont understand this? Join the club. This is just a sane sample. What he was trying to say was that Arun will open the Conference Call bridge(not the Banjara Hills bridge as I had assumed). He is our Bakra for this week so he will be the Single Point of Contact for the Build Of Material(as opposed to some al-qaida plot).
Another game they play is 'Lets CC the Bakra'. Thats when you are sent the 43rd mail in a huge long chain of mails and asked, "Arun: What can you do about this?". This is usually when you start craping your pants cos there are some really Hot-shot names in the CC. You cant reply:"Exactly which part of this is my problem?".
This is when your Chennai-trained mind thinks-up imaginative responses:" I discussed this with Kishore today, under the circumstances we do not have any other options for you but Kishore feels that he could stabilise this area of work and will be ok to carry out the role for the 9 months. As your aware Sandeep is in charge of the PW workstream as a Leverageable service and could use Shatanu to assist in the matter of moving this are of business to be less reliant on individuals and more reliant on standards, processes & systems to produce successful proposals. " It basically means:"Exactly which part of this is my problem?".
Another game played is 'Zap 'em with Attachment'.
"Find below the specs. Need your response immdly." Below I find a 6 MB Excel sheet which has its ass plastered from head to toe with numbers...I mean only numbers....nothing more...not even one fucking alphabet!! My response:"?????".
Sender's response:"Sorry thought you were someone else bye".Adapaavigalaa!! Ethana peru da ippudi?? If I'd been a lil more industrious I would've actually started working on those numbers!! Near-miss.
Its not good enough to just give earnings-warning every quarter. People need to know where all that money is going....
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