..."A wise man gets more from his enemies than a fool from his friends." ~ Baltasar Gracian...

(Part 3)

... i remembered none of the fabled tricks to shrug off the nervousness and keep your calm ... i heard my name called, twice and both were feminine voices... i wiped my face my palms and wished the air-conditioning was a lot more cooler then it was right now! as i entered the cabin i was stumped by the sight in front of me... my heartbeat was on top gear... 'Panel C' consisted of two women... they offered me the seat and i had to consciously contain my grin...

... i had played and replayed the entire interview in my mind close to dozen times earlier!... i pictured myself in the hot seat and the furry of the questions and the answers i will be dishing out... subtle jokes or funny lines... their grueling and my rehearsed answers and their facial expressions and my composure and their rolling eyes and my smug and ... well... u got the idea...

... but i was not prepared for two women interviewing me! who said that there is pro-male gender bias in the industry? ... maybe it's there maybe it's not... but i was sitting in front of two ladies who were still reading my application form... i could see their gaze piercing through the paper... i was trying to calm my nerves counting numbers... and i was trying to breathe... and then it began

... lady 'one' remarked about my company being at just round the corner... and i immediately corrected that i am on the client's location so i'll be travelling from fifteen kilometers on the far side... and then the usual stuff "what do u do in the current profile?"..."how do u see MBA fitting into this?"..."is it for the learning purpose or a career enhancing option?"..."you said blogging and reading. what do u read?"..."what do u blog?"...some more stuff about the family and all...and then "whoz gonna fund ur education?" ...

... in all, it was good... "do u have any questions?" one of them asked... of course i had questions!! ..."do u have any tie-ups with banks for education loans?"..."you mentioned that the weekend classes and weekday classes may be merged... how come?"..."what about the timings? fixed or flexible?"..."attendance mandatory?" ... honestly i had no serious questions to ask! :-) ... these were trivial ones but still it is better to ask than to mull over them... and then i was asked to meet the co-ordinate if i still had any queries... and now i only had one issue... they never cross verified my documents!... i mean with the fake pilots and all ... they should be more vigilant na? ... so when i told them my thought i was asked to report back to the 'hall' and get them verified... the lady over there opened the file and shut it close and said it's fine! :-| ... i wanted to return the IDs we were wearing... however the lady at the counter smiled and said "oh! it's okay and u can keep 'em!" ... as a souvenir or wat?...

... and then while leaving the 'hall' i picked up a casual chat with another candidate and as we were leaving he told me that one of his friend is interested in the marketing dept of my client... and that he had to leave for Mumbai ... i offered him a ride to the nearest shuttle point... and when i reached there i realised that i can drop him further on the way towards Mumbai... and then once i dropped him at the next bus-stop i realised that it was only noon ... Sunday abhi baaki tha mere dost! ... so first i called mom and told her about the morning interview and all... and then called another friend and we planned for spending the Sunday like we like spending the Sunday... with a movie and lunch...

... but even before that the gleaming tarmac was right there in front of me and the music was loud and air conditioning was chilling... so i smiled and opened the throttle...

(to be continued)

... "Beware the fury of a patient man." ~ John Dryden...

(Part 2)
... the Sunday morning started early... 0600 hrs to be precise... it was the big day... the day that was marked on my calendar for quite some time and the day my family was constantly reminding me of...

...so there i was... in front of the mirror... gliding away my Gillette... the clothes were laid out the night before and the shoes were awl shining... everything was all set for the exam-cum-interview ... also, thanks to the 'meena aunty' my breakfast was in the refrigerator... all i needed to do was fire my oven... and i could feel the throbbing heart of my Vista waiting outside!...

... and while i was getting all dressed up, i couldn't stop thinking of this 'bad vibe' my mind was picking up... what if the tire blew during driving? what if it went flat?... i reminded myself that these are just the same Devil's thoughts that kept me from revising some important topics... and then i realised this consolation was not helping either!... so i reminded me to just shut up and move on...

... so i hit the road to the IT park i was supposed to report @ 0830 hrs... loud music... air-conditioning... and a little rash driving... it was adding to the confidence and so i continued... i reached the venue half-an-hour early... some of the candidates were already there and after a brief hi-there-how-ya-doing thing we decided to sit in the reporting hall... pretty soon i realised that the eight thirty reporting time was a myth and with fifteen minutes over there was still no sign of any official... and then it began... basically we were asked to cross check the form that we have filled online and sign the hard copy of same... we were given IDs that we were supposed to wear during the entire process...

... and then we the large tray with the sandwiches arrived and the automated tea and coffee machine was already in place... after the registration we were asked to take our breakfast and wait... it was about 0915... the exam was soon to follow and now a mild, albeit very mild, nervousness started to creep-in... we were told that we have to take an online exam however once seated in a conference hall i was we were pretty sure that it will be the old fashioned way... and it was old fashioned way...

... the difficulty level was okay and i was feeling bad giving in to the temptation of skipping some of the sections that i cud have very well covered... i could hear the Devil laughing away... but as they say... the confidence abhi baaki tha mere dost! ... we gathered again... this time to face the interview panel... i was up for the Panel C and guess what? :-)

... the coordinator (he's a nice guy!) called my name and i was all game... he walked me up to the cabin and asked me to wait... while he gave my documents etc to the panel... i could hear their voices... i was expecting a panel of three... and could identify at least two distinct female voices... wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing... women make my heartbeat northwards... what if the third member is a 'baddie' guy?... the one who is meant to destroy the confidence of the candidates ... i could hear them discussing my academics... i knew it was not a very strong point to talk... and now the nervousness had taken complete control over me... the slow breathing was not calming me and the sweat was oozing out like fountain outside Bellagio! ... the coordinator told them that i was waiting outside and then he left... my name was called and i heard two female voices (again!)... one final deep breath and i entered the cabin... WTeF!!

(to be continued!)

..."There is nothing so inspiring to man as a beautiful woman." ~ John Eldredge...

(Part 1)
... it was one of the most anticipated day on my personal calendar ... and i was being reminded AWL the way from the Lutyens' city to 'prepare' for this day... and as if the phone calls were not enough, i got a 'packet' from my li'l sister... and all this was adding to the 'performance anxiety' ... i am talking about the same performance anxiety that we suffer in the adolescent stage of our long life... nope! not THAT one... i am talking about the anxiety before the 'entrance exam' ... if u r born in this part of the world then u know what i am talking about...

... i almost made my mind that i'll be talking leave on saturday to 'prepare' for the exam... and i was aware that this will eat-up the precious leave quota... i am suppose to 'save for the rainy day'... but then my monsoon is not in sight or maybe not responding to my malhaar ... but then that is a different story... so the saturday was all for me... the day started early @ about 6 and most of the topics were easy to refresh... with occasional distractions, thanks to FB and emails i was pretty much on the right track...

... and then Devil's advocate visited me or i shld say whispered to me... ten questions from each section and thirty questions to be solved in sixty minutes... hmmm... why kill urself for that? ... and could feel a sly smile cracking... so with some more distractions and some more Bappi Da pumping the speakers i finished my day... with the ten nightly rituals AskMen suggested...

... but then... Sunday abhi baaki tha mere dost! ;-D

(to be continued)

"I don't understand you. You don't understand me. What else do we have in common?"

... there's a rumor spreading on the internet in the form of Status Messages and posts and notes and what not ... "The speed with which the female population is decreasing we would soon have marriage cards like these.... "Anjali weds Raj and Rahul"..." ... now, i was tempted to answer in my bone-dry sarcastic remark however what i have learned from the 'Outbound' trip is there is a limit to everything and the pure fun of breaking that limit is just an iota short of the brazen stares that follow thru... so... u got the point! ;-)

... in an unrelated story ... i got a call from this lady called Swats ... of course this is not her real name, anyway... she called and told me that i can collect my free passes for some place and blah blah blah... i was walking towards my canteen as it was my lunch time and whenever i am walking towards my canteen during my lunch time i conquer my senses and somehow manage to capture the sensory signals before they can distract my brain from anything other than food and women...

... so i forgot the whole thing and then this Swats called me again in the evening and 'reminded' me that the passes are for a water park and valid for the entire Sunday and four people allowed... now THAT is good thing... a water park on a sunny, though not the good wala sunny, sunday... so i called A-MG and they readily agreed...

... only after we reached there we felt that strange "eew" feeling... there were more people in the pool than the water molecules! ... not literally of-course! ...

... i will cut down the story here... but it was a drab sunday... inshallah agla hafta roshini ki kiran laaayega! :-)

..."Captain, I wish to report a mutiny. I can name fingers and point names."...

... do u remember Julia Roberts in the movie "The Runaway Bride" confessing in the Church? ... and i feel like i need to confess as well ... and going to a church and confessing there wud be walking a little strange path... so i thought why not do it here? on the blog... it is personal and yet public enough... and maybe (just maybe) i can hail-marry my way out of this... the thing is that even though i spent two decades of my life on the road side of a windshield, i am losing my patience and respect for the humble pedestrians...

... okay, so i was raised in the capital territory and the civic senses there are on the sensible side of the insanity scale, so what? ... the traffic laws are the same and so is the man-machine combination... but boy-oh-boy! the maanooos (as they like to call themselves) are so boorish when it comes to human-machine-human interface that it will make even Aussies look gentlemen... and no, i am not being hurling racist sarcasm here...

... congratulations AC! ...

... A of A-MG called and told me he got promoted! ... now THAT is some news! :-D .. life is good and may it continue that way! ... amen!

..."The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going"...

... it was almost a regular second shift today... got off from a lazy start though... had to dash for the fresh poha and medu-vada sambar ... it was a wholesome late brunch... and almost made me doze off again... but then therez a pile books that i am supposed to finish off... so i had to keep my tea mug within my arm's distance to help me stay away from the forty winks...

... sharry messaged me earlier today that he won't be coming to the office and then the regular off-beat meetings and stuff... the mortals in my vicinity have been lying in this pool of incompetent filthy mindset for so long that i feel pity for them!!... and then add the clichéd 'dumbBlondie' into the mayhem and u get a purrfect 'flop show' episode!

... but then... i finished-up what i was supposed to and decided to do some virtual soul stirring... stumbled across a video on youtube about posted by the Alex Jones of Infowars.com ... the video documents some historic news items about the CIA and the Osama binLaden and the purported 'relationship' between them, indicating that the US government needed Osama for fueling the 'fear factor' and blah blah blah...

... and then i ended up with a screen full of Princess Diana related stories... and then one thing led to another and i was hooked to the videos...allegations that her death was a conspiracy and then the counter allegations that it was not... and then i was on Google for some more 'trivia'...

... i got carried away in some fantasy-land afterwards... i have no idea how the time went by... the honorary titles and decorative robes and the artificial wigs and the oil paintings and and the seductive charming gaze and the battles and the mighty wars and deceit and love and conspiracy and i can go on and on and on... phew! and we think it's a crazy world NOW!!

“Work like you don’t need money. Love like you’ve never been hurt. Dance like nobody is watching.”

... how difficult it is to make a habit? or rather to break it? ... day after day after day i remind myself that there are certain things that need to be done... be it following a stricter diet regimen, going for that solo walk, restarting that book on the shelf and of course this blog... that started with a whim... or was it?

... a lot has happened over the past couple of months... the stay of my family here for close to one month and the subsequent trips to nearby holy towns are perhaps more noteworthy... and of course the latest being the official 'camping' in the woods near a popular 'hill station'...

... there are many aspects of my daily routine that i want to 'document' here... and i shall... not right now... but over the time... amen!