Sunday, May 30, 2010

..."god is a kid with an ant farm"...

... for some reasons i've been quite busy lately... cudn't concentrate on blog among other things... and then out of the blue i was asked to attend this 2 day program on 'Self Management and Personal Effectiveness' ...

i jumped at it... any of my colleagues wud have jumped at it... not because that it was a program on 'Self Management and Personal Effectiveness' ... they wud jump at it because it was held @ our HNJ campus...

... for two days... in an office that feels like heaven... with all the walking angels... some good looking and some with ruffled hair and crumpled shirts!... buggers! ... just because they are working in an IT setup doesn't mean that they have to dress so 'cool' ... anyways... i felt out of place... like a stranger in Moscow...

... the program was good... maybe i felt that way because i wanted to feel that way... anyways... for those who are into shooting the beautiful landscape while travelling by rail... this should be a visual treat... and for those who like to tingle their eardrums as well ... listening to this song might be a good idea...

Thursday, May 27, 2010

..."Where there is much light, the shadow is deep"...

...two day program on "Personal Effectiveness"... maybe u should see the difference in my blog afterwards :p ... who knows?... to be delivered @ our Global Delivery Centre in HNJ ... feeling a bit awkward a bit uncomfortable a bit angry a bit excited and whole lot 'looking forward' ...

... it always feels good at the HNJ campus... let's see...

... meanwhile, u enjoy this ...

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

“My dearest colleagues seem to become metamorphosed into snarling beasts if I as much as glance at them, even if my glance is a complimentary one.”

... it all started with an innocent looking post about NOT trusting your gut @ HBR website...

... the thing is... about an year ago i was so hooked to the idea of pursuing my MBA program that i decided to read/follow/observe/subscribe to any darn material related to management... i was in a new(er) team in new office and with even newer (and better) responsibilities... all this happenings rekindled my sub-conscious passion of meeting newer people from different walks of life with varied experiences and motivating peers and leading men and women (and children maybe?) ... and then there was the 'rumor' of the (...now seemingly fabled...) "Restructuring" ... that seemed so real at that time... and so i subscribed to the Harvard Business Review... for one year of their monthly publised gyan with access to their unlimited articles and other online resources... the future seemed bright... my is was my future...

... and boy! oh! boy! ... its been one full year now... and my new team is no loner that new... the office is ... well... office... and i don't even want to talk about the responsibilities... not even to my HRBP in our next scheduled one-to-one... whenever it is... BUT... and i feel like kicking Rabbit's arse!... however ... the only thing that has remained with me over all this time... apart from my gained pounds... is my HBR Subscription...

... so when i started reading this post at their website... the words "sorry Malcolm" in the very first para grabbed my attention... and i clicked the link... and found myself at the serene looking website... since the article i was reading was on gut feeling... i clicked on the "BLINK"... and then i tripped over to the "Tipping Point" ... pretty soon... i was all over and out on the site... like a dog!

... and then... in a jiffy and on a flash... something like "in the blink of an eye" i ended up buying his three books from Landmark... it took sixteen minutes and three sixes in a row on the final invoice... i punched the credit card number and the order was placed... damn!... u can't even snatch the 'cash back' ...

... so now they are lying on that shelf... smelling like fresh biscuits... and ever so inviting... i am thinking of starting with the Tipping Point... because that was his first book... and i really need some push... some nagging... some sarcasm... some motivation... some wink... some hi... some hello... some smile... some naughty looks... (u still need more hints!!!)...


(plz visit, read and promote: BackBones)

Saturday, May 22, 2010

..."Give a man a fish, and you'll feed him for a day; give him a religion, and he'll starve to death while praying for a fish"...

... there were several occasions in this past week when i felt bad for not writing on my blog... its just that i had returned from Dilli and on both outward and return journey KF let me down... and then i found there wasn't much activity by bloggers whom i follow... except on the fashion front... and even with all the dose of VitaminF ... and loads of attitude looks; i couldn't motivate myself... i mean not enough to write a post...

... BAB suggested to pay a visit to our prod line in second shift... I jumped at it the next moment... his suggestion was not the first time... we have been there on several visits many a times... however this time we decided to be there for longer duration than usual... the result?... mehnat ki kamai and mehnat ki neend ... simply put... it felt great... we observed things that went unnoticed earlier...

... while the weekly meeting on [confidential] issue was another 'time spent in air-conditioned conference hall with tea' ... and had there not been a smiling face with attractive watch on nazuk kalai ... who wanted to strike a conversation with me in sign language! ... i wud have excused myself from the meeting... and then i realised i was hungry... all that dal-chawal was gone!... so couple of SMSs and quick wrap-up later i was in the cafeteria savouring on masala-dosa with hot cuppa coffee...

... and i am getting a little impatient with 'Mr. Wacky' ... lord save the world... and btw i am curious if recession is over... i mean ... some men are getting 100 % hike!!! this is freaking me out... 100%!!! ...



... and to wrap this post... i must say that i am immensely happy for Ritz & Vikz... who are coming back to India... the young couple had to 'put-up' somewhere in the Queen's Land... and so once again... Welcome Back guys! love u both! :-)

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Monday, May 17, 2010

..."Marriage is nature's way of ensuring that a woman picks up some mothering experience before she has her first child."...



... can u imagine what kind of silly words these websites can make u type... just to leave a comment or one's blog???


... btw... Nitesh's marriage was good and of course memorable... met couple of school friends... missed some of the turns on my way to attend the ceremony (in my home town!)... had to take a detour!...

... return flight of Kingfisher was delayed by 2 hours... which may not sound that bad... now try to picture yourself arriving @0110 hrs!!... yep! it IS bad... and to top it all... there was some 'non-serviceability' of the 'equipments' because we were not served Tea or Coffee... and not to mention... the water bottles served were 'hot' if not 'normal'... is this where the Kingfisher is heading??... and btw i recently joined the Club membership ... i think somehow i got swayed away by Clooney G ... from his act in 'Up in the Air' ...

... hopefully... i will be posting some more photos from the wedding ... provided my memory remains active and my schedule permits... as of now... it is 0330 hrs here in Poona ... and i am feeling sleepy...

Thursday, May 13, 2010

..."Job mein miley na miley... har insaan ko apni Life mein promotion lete rehna chaahiye"...

... i got so much sucked up in the office lately that i just forgot i have another life as well... saw her some days back... had a sigh of relief... i fear this may not last as long as i think it wud... neither it will end the way i hope it will... but then...

... deposited two cheques that were lying in my car's glove box from past two months... another sigh of relief...

... got a call @ 2100 hrs... my white good's consignment was on its way to be delivered... i asked y at this unearthly hour... no answer... neways... it came... another sigh of relief... the consignment will remain packed till atleast Monday... and that is bcoz i will be visiting my native... love u all! mwaah! mwaah! :D ... balle! balle! .... aaahoon! aaahoon! :D

Monday, May 10, 2010

..."Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but never hit soft!"...

... it was Mother's Day on Sunday... Ajay & MG completed 3 months of their marriage on Sunday... and after years of managing and months of deliberation... i went on a shopping spree on Sunday... most expensive after Vista... and as if this was not all... my sis decided to buy a touchscreen phone! ... i need that like... now! ... and that is the reason i got my Motorola serviced today... khaide paer as my grandma says... so i hope to be back in Poona next monday with MY touchscreen! .... heee haaaa! ...

.... alright! ... on some serious note... i wud appreciate some visibility for this article by Aura, by my fellow bloggers...

...pssst:: i mentioned here that Aura will come-up with something good... :D

Saturday, May 8, 2010

..."Living up to ideals is like doing everyday work with your Sunday clothes on"...

... it rained like a madman on the loose... started around 1530hrs yesterday... we were perhaps the last lucky lot of lads successfully making out of the office canteen to our desks... anyone who thought of taking second round of tea with the punjabi samosa arrived two hours later... and visibly excited (perhaps they were trying to hide the nervousness!)

... the rain and the thunderstorm that followed, did what they usually do in our company premises... they tear apart the trees... if u have seen the videos or photos of devastating cyclones... u can scale it down to 1:50 and u can picture what it looks like here... the thing is... this may sound exciting even romantic sometimes... but when u realise that you have parked your precious gem in the jungle parking in such situations, the air-conditioning wudn't seem to be work... so we went for a stroll after dinner to have a look... and it was covered with 'fresh' leaves from the trees...

... and tomorrow is going to be another Sunday for shopping spree... i pray we finalise at least one refrigerator for Ajay or else i will be in MG's line of fire! ... (...i am exaggerating the speculation...) ... and there were couple of points i wanted to write about... i am not able to recall now... neways... will post soon...

Thursday, May 6, 2010

..."There comes a time when a man and woman realize that their separate schemes can be better achieved as a conspiracy."...

... i used a quote about 'grains of sand wearing u out' for one of my post recently... and after Chanz commented that "Atul, you really have so many problem"... it stuck me how easily we tend to get all drenched in the grains of sand... and lose the focus from the golf balls... we keep counting the pebbles ... and we may continue to pour the coffee (or beer; if that makes more sense to you!) ... thinking it as 'doing our part'... i also remember "Tumhare paas bahut free time hai na!"... that pinched... perhaps pierced through... my heart... the innocent remark was so well placed sarcastically in the middle of the conversation that i felt the vacuum sucking a beat of my heart away...


... whenever i see my dad's name on the screen of my mobile phone... i expect two things... the call will end after two or three more rings... and when i will call back it will be my sister or mom/dad (depending on the time of the day)... so when the phone kept ringing today... i felt the urge to pick it... and then the 'hello' was in familiar but not the usual voice... it was my grandmother! ... how on earth it is possible that one person i was thinking about yesterday would end up calling me!!...


... my mom is very fond of telepathy... and i have experienced some practical examples ... in fact so many and so often that i have taken it for granted that if and whenever i am hanging around her, all that i have to do is take a deep breath, shrug my shoulders and copla eye contacts and she knows what i am thinking... (i bet this wud make my would-be-better-half very very envious; where ever she is right now!) ... but i neva knew i wud endup chattin with grandma! :D ...

... and that's when i realised i was missing the golf balls... the pebbles and the gravel mattered no more... the door squeal was inaudible and to heck with the Trojans! (although i must thank Chanz for the effort she took to advise me)... and after reading that Dolphin was not being invited by ISB, i remembered the time when i cudn't crack the DCE paper... i knew i had prepared seriously enough and i knew i have answered the questions right enough... but still... i came back home along with my father in the scorching heat of Dilli from their NSIT campus to Sahkhet and fell on the bed with tears... my stomach was churning... i felt terrible...

... alright!... NOT being able to crack DCE and NOT being invited to ISB are in two way different leagues... but then... and yeah! now i know when the bloggers i am following are not posting they have some far better things to do than i can only imagine... sometimes not even that! :-

... so i must say 'all the best' to Rokr: ur "flight plan" is keeping my chain of thoughts in right track, keep posting... to Aura: for she will surely come up with some verse to touch everyone's heart... to Kapil, Vikz, Karan, Enigma, Garry, Chitz and some Anonymous people who have given standing instructions to me NEVER to mention ANY thing about them... Lady Tao knows about that and i know she will smile after reading this (... IF she reads this...)

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

..."You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother"...

... with over a decade of exposure to computers, i feel immensely proud of myself about being able to keep my PC/Laptop bug-free... and i must confess, i despise people who are utterly careless about this basic 'computer hygiene'... and then... i was told that my lappy has a Trojan...

... with so much information available on the Internet... i was not able to find a simple way to 'delete' this 'unsearchable' file and make my lappy's life easy... my Antivirus program prompts me every hour about this file in one of the 'OS protected folders' ... and says that it cannot remove it... and it won't tell me either how to do that... so i am getting very very annoyed with this... can the real saviour please leave comment?...





...in another unrelated event... i was told "we have not yet made any decision about you" what does that suppose to mean?... being a Piscean i thought it is my birthright to be indecisive... a birthright forced upon me... however i do not expect 'managers' to be indecisive on matters of such importance... but then... i am not an MBA!... sigh! ...

... and for those who care a hoot... my Vista's rear wiper is very noisy and driver's door has started squealing...after just one day of showers in Poona... so much for the build quality... i think you don't just buy a Tata Car... you buy all its quality problems... 'more car per car' also means 'more problems per car'! @_@

Monday, May 3, 2010

..."It isn't what they say about you, it's what they whisper"...

...when u wake up in the morning realising that you are not feeling "Monday blues" u know that it was a weekend well spent...

Saturday, May 1, 2010

..."There's a difference between beauty and charm. A beautiful woman is one I notice. A charming woman is one who notices me"...

... a lot of feats accomplished today... starting with the morning...
1) i woke up @ 0500 hrs... no alarm... no shor-sharaba... and still ... wide-eyed i was up @ 5!
2) i washed my car ... every nook and corner... wiped clean with loads of affection ... and i fell in love with her again! :-D
3) i drove @ 100kmph on Poona-Bombay highway...
4) mah Vista was loaded up to 'teeth' and we drove half the length of poona... (MG was supposed to take a picture... but then... we all were too tired to remember that!)
5) we shifted 'entire house' in just two cars! ... figuratively...
6) it rained later in the day...followed by aandhi! ... meri car was covered with dust! :'( ... why me? why me???
7) had one of the most delicious masala dosa in recent times... mebbe i was too tired for for anything hot crispy and chewable... psst...my imagination is running wild...
8) took quite-a-few photographs in public places... which are not at all ... well... used as 'background' ... mebbe it was some inspiration from 2 Cups of T'n'Koffey

-- hope to receive some pictures from MG's camera for ze uploads...

EDIT:: one important event i forgot to mention earlier... an old batchmate called ... i'll call him 'FM'... it was good to catchup with him... i think close to eight years! ...