On TV!!!!!

I'm Gonna Be on TV!!!!!!!!!!!Surprise!!!!!!

keep watching this space for more details!!!!
Luv

Dilbert for the Day :)

Happy Birthday, Blog!!!!

Hi Bloggy,
On behalf of all your readers, the blogger wishes you a very Happy Birthday...He promises to patronize you like this forever (Conditions Apply).
Well, the blogger himself has been finding it really HARD to believe that he has been consistent in doing something, and that too, for ONE YEAR...my god, you must be lucky!!
He also thanks you for being with him, during high and low times, all through this year and most importantly, for listening patiently to all the junk he poured out over here. He conveys his best wishes to you in your future endeavors.
Since this is your first birthday, as a present, the blogger gives you a new 'OUTFIT' for the day. Hope you like that.

Anyway, have a nice time with all those other co-blogs and do invite them to your party, particularly, those from the female bloggers. After all, even you need some fun!!!!

Loads of Luv,
BLOGGER ID : ADDLE-HEAD

The Bliss of the Solitude!!!!!

It was 12:00 PM already by the time I got off from my bed today ...well, that’s partly because it's a Sunday and more than that, I was pretty much tired due to the train journey last night....I 'quickly' got ready, reached my aunt's place, picked up mom, dropped her off at sister's and headed to the gym.
By the time I reached the place, it was 2:10 PM already. I was hardly surprised to see none there. In fact, I would have been much more 'surprised' (read embarrassed) if I found that half-naked guy I saw last week around at this time.
The entire place was pretty much dark and dull, probably, due to the lack of lights. I tried to find the switches but was in vain. Finally I gave up and thought I would start off with my jogging (before some one comes in and spoils the bliss of solitude). I switched on the music system and it was Britney there, crooning joyously about fooling some guy...huh....for one sec, I just felt how it would have been so "unacceptable" if n-sync or BSBs sang about cheating on their GFs....
Having figured out that these songs would not help me in my jogging (believe me, music really matters while working out. It would be really hard to run at 12 kmph while listening to 'Strangers in the night'), I switched on the TV and tuned in to Star Movies. It was 'Cocktail' that was being played. Not sure if any you ppl have watched that movie but I like that movie. Not just because of Elizabeth Shue (who, was amazing, by the way) but also because of the story line. Anyway, by the time I tuned in, I already missed almost 60% of the movie... In fact, to be exact, it was when Tom knew that Shue was pregnant. By the time Tom got 'spoofed' for the last time in the movie, I was at 5.2 kms on the treadmill, which was decent because I was just planning for a 5.5 today.
To round things off, I decided to make it 6. But guess what the next movie was?? the Child’s Play 2!!! yuuuccckkkk...I can't stand that movie at all. Particularly, the doll..it just freaks me out...so, I tried my luck with other channels but none seemed to prove any better. So I switched off the TV. This made the room even more darker. Just then, I realized the glass screens were all closed...I thought I would take them off so that I could at least have a good peek at the nature and finally, some light in the room other than the one from the TV CRT Screen.
Before I go any further, I should tell you about the geography of the room a little. As any other normal room, it has four walls (stop it!!)...However, the wall facing the treadmills has a huge glass window with white porous screens. The window almost covers half of the perimeter of the wall. The TV hangs on the other half of the wall over a suspended base support. The climbers are placed on the left of the treadmills facing the north of the room. Apparently, the people who use this don't have the privilege to watch the TV unless they stain their neck a lot...
Coming back, I paused the tread mill, got to the window and pulled aside the screens. As I saw through the glass windows at the sky, I was mesmerized by the sheer beauty of the nature. I had a wonderful view of the sky, the distant hills and the fluffy grey clouds...for once, I felt so ecstatic that I could hardly think of anything else other than the grace with which the drifting clouds moved over the background of the blue sky torn beautifully at the edges by the surrounding hillocks...I'm neither a poet to capture that beauty in the words nor a painter to freeze it with life on the canvas... I ain't a photographer to frame it on a film...neither am I, a dancer to blend with in it... I was just a layman standing there totally submerged in the beauty….
Still caught in it, I got on to the treadmill to finish off the left over business. I don't know why but I could not practically take off my look from the scenery, until the treadmill started beeping. I looked down and lo!!! I completed a 10k...wow, Before this happened, I would have never agreed that I could run a 10k watching mere clouds, hillocks and sky, with out any music..with out any TV...just the nature...and I would say, of all the runs, this would be the best.....
Luv

My Life - A dentist's Playground

The last 12 months have been pretty much terrible for me and my tooth ache alone contributes to around 30% of that. That's right.
As most of you guys might be aware (if not, plz check out my previous posts on Dental Woes I and II..don't miss it), going through a Root Canal Treatment was a hell of experience for me.

It did not quite end there. The problem resurfaced the other day when I started feeling pain in that tooth again. Could you believe it? Hardly 10 months after the surgery??
So, I again go to the Apollo and guess what? They say that the earlier treatment was not done properly and the doctor who did that is not working with Apollo any more!!
To get a better 'Clarity' on the situation, the chief asked me to come today for conducting a few 'tests' on the state of my tooth.
So far, my case has been reviewed by the following 'specialists':
Prosthodontists
Orthodontists
Peridontists
Endodontists

hmmm...apparently, seems like the Apollo Clinic is going through a serious financial crunch and hence, its trying to cover up for this by making the 'Treatment' of my tooth (Right Upper 6, in technical terms), a learning experience to all its newly joined staff.
At this rate, seems like I might know each and every dentist who works at Apollo.
Every time I come for an appointment, I see a new face greeting me at the dentist’s chair. Aah…I hate that chair. Bloody the moment I sit (or lay) in it, my mouth automatically opens up and my eyes get closed.
Oh..by the way, I’ve made one interesting observation today. All the while I’m in the chair, I breathe only through my nose and not through my mouth :)
Nice discovery, isn’t it?

Anyway, they finally felt that the tooth should be removed (my god!! I'm just 24 and with one tooth less. My prospects of ever getting married are diminishing day after day :( )
The D-day is yet to be finalized but I'm pretty much nervous about this. Hope this will go off smoothly..
Thats all from me for now...need to go give a farewell to my tooth with some nicely cut, juicy mangos :)
Luv

120 days, 120 nights

Thats it!! if you understood that, Thank You!! and if you did not, its better that way.
In case someone thinks this is a little embarrassing, Bingo!!! but honestly, who cares!!! its an achievement for me and I'm proud of it :)
I guess I will not be (...) ever in my life again...or may be I will...who knows..
Luv

PS : For ppl who are wondering about the pic, its the famous 'Death and Victory'...though a little out of pontext (pun intended), guess it goes good with many aspects of my life

All Hail Loser!!!! oops...any hands up?

The meal maker :)

okie..i'm back (after really loooooong time)
the reason for absence is nothing in specific;
i just felt that there was nothing really to put up in the blog as things were all pretty much going on and on in a round robin fashion.
obviously, the next question would be what’s new now?
Well, first, I'm living all alone again. Mom left last Sunday to viz. She might not be back for another month or so. While leaving, she made me promise I would cook for myself and avoid eating outside.
Well, initially, I thought that would be a pain but now, I'm sort of enjoying it. Believe me, cooking is the best stress buster. For one hour, you will totally forget all your troubles, issues, grievances and would live in a totally different plain.
My recipes include Upma (though it eventually turned in to a disaster), kichidi, potato smash and of course, lots of green salad...and hey, I'm also preparing some sprouts for the 'health-conscious' me :)
Though cooking is truly fun, (most often) its immediately followed by a shitty job called 'cleaning'..my god!! its so tough and uninteresting. At times, it makes me feel like avoiding cooking, in the first place..
The worst part is i realize that I pull out and use all the available ladles, spoons and dishes just to prepare one curry, only when I get to the cleaning part.

coming to consuming ( 'eating' would not be a apt word here) the stuff I prepare, well, I don't have the luxury of complaining. So ,even if the curry gets a little burnt or the upma becomes too hard even to scoop from the dish, I don't have an other choice..

But, I don't have any complaints. I’m loving this. At least, for once, I can come home and watch my fav movie peacefully with no one trying to pull the remote from my hand so that they could watch their stupid TV serials.... :)

in some unconnected news, I've joined the Blank Noise Project, a social awareness campaign against the sexual harassment in the society..
we have also started a Hyderabad chapter a week ago. Though its still very much in its nascent state, I hope this would be a fruitful venture. There are about 30 people on board so far and we are tying to rope in more.. Personally, I think we should not really go on a enrolling spree. Loads of people will only generate more noise than sense. I think we should first get people from various back groups, say software professionals, lawyers, students and social workers. Once done, we need to first prepare a scope to the project, get clarity on some vague terms and phrases, prepare a plan of action and then, move in to public.
Rushing in to get numbers in the initial stages doesn't help, particularly, when we are talking about such a debatable issue. The best example for this was the movie club. when we formed that, there were around 30 members and after the second show, we were left with just seven. Anyway, let’s see how things take shape further.

That shud have been a really long post already. I should leave
Luv

Patience Pays

Patience Pays
amen

Your true color

Your true color is Black!


What's Your True Color?

Brought to you by Tickle

Escapa!!!

Found this game on one of the blogs...its truly kewl... try this and let me know your personal best scores....
happy gaming
Luv

For the record, mine is 22.95 secs


Update : Found this game to be very much system dependent. Seems like there is some sort of time dilation working in the bachground ;)

and this one is the bonus :)))

Dilbert for the day :)

life - again :(

done the interviews....flushed my mind and guess what?? All the crap that ate my brain once, has, sort of got back in there...lately, i realized that i've started complaining about everything in my life again...about my status (which apparently doesn't seem like changing from 'Single'), about my job and most importantly, about my future goals and aspirations...
the last part is particularly troubling because i've got too many dreams and its getting increasingly difficult for me to draw my life through all these...
I still don't know what i want to become...a professor? a political analyst? a social worker? a politician? a noble laureate? a member of the royal society? a Honorary Knight Commander? a philosopher? a globe trotter? or a CFO (aah...how much ever i brag about this being my life goal on my resume, believe me, its not that enticing, but for the money...hope none of my adcom members see this)...
i just wonder how people can form long term goals...i heard that some people plan for their entire lives...huh..i cannot even answer a simple question like 'where do you see yourself 10 years down the road?'...its so complicated for me...things 'Start my own company' or 'be a venture capitalist' doesn't make any sense to me....
so, what is that I want out of my life? I want money, for obvious reasons....i also want fame.. seriously.. i want to be really famous and popular...in the positive way, of course...many of my friends told me that this should be a effect rather than a cause for leading my life but thats how i see my life to be...and the third one is a very mature, beautiful, rich and understanding partner...of all, i want her to be rich. this is because most often my balance sheet ends up negative and my expenses always surpass my revenues...hence i cannot afford someone who totally depends on me financially...rather, i would prefer someone who can actually support me monetary wise(of course, only when i'm in dire necessity...huh...seems like i'm thinning out my own chances of getting married ever... :)))
other than these, i dont have any specific interest towards anything in my life...big houses, costly cars, fancy gadgets all make very little sense to me...its not that i dont care about them..its just that they don't inspire me in to being someone...
nor they are my life goals...
aah...this sucks..i must be good at something...
well, i think i need a break here...
Luv

whatz ur dream date???

Had this interesting conversation today with my one of my friends about how we want our life partner to be?
Well, though this is the most talked (or atleast, more thought) about thing in any one's life...well, here is what i figured out only today...
Of late, I kind of found out that my interests keep changing very often...i tend to get bored at things more sooner than others usually do...so, I think my life partner should be one who is really intricate (mentality wise)...some one who is deep that I wud require a life time to understand... some one who constantly puzzles me (of course, all in the positive way)...and more importantly, who is really mature about things....i would be more than happy if she is more mature than me...(believe me, i always dream about such a date)...
and guess what my frnd's dream date would be? With one who is 100% beautiful and 0% brainy...hmmm..easy choice...huh...i should say this won't work...well, there is a reason for this...had i to go for such a female, I would be with one who matches exactly with my general perception of females...which I hate (yeah…never had any interest in such ones) I actually want someone who proves me wrong. who says there is more to a woman than mere beauty (of course, its a weighted average. everything counts)...
so, who’s on my list??? Let me see… (oh my god..can’t think of a single name…)ok…got the first one..its Norah Jones…since there are not many entires, I’m gonna leave this list open till I figure out the top 10…
well, guess thats pretty much it is...
need to get some sleep...
Luv

Finally, I'm out

Hi, I'm back to my senses again...Its 5:10 AM and I've just completed the Season 10 of friends...phew...Almost two weeks of Friends Saga culminated today...aaahh...how relaxed (and of course , sleepy) I feel now..oh god!!! Believe me, this has been really difficult period for me. I have been so deprived of sleep the past two weeks that it actually affected both my personal and work life ...But guess what, it kind of feels weird that from tomorrow, I won’t be watching Friends once I’m back from office in the evening. But that’s ok….I got to concentrate of really really important things and I’m glad I finally could spare time for them.

However, I'm sure this is going to be one of those periods of my life that I would never forget...Its like one of those days you first learnt how to ride a bike. Well, I should now term this 'era' of my life. What would it be? Say 'Ten Seasons'.
Well, that’s all from me for the moment...guess its time I need some rest :(
Luv

PS : Have changed the phrase 'Mad about Friends' to 'Ten Seasons'...this sounds better :))

Mad at Friends

Have you ever got yourself stuck to the TV for one full day? I mean, FULL day...well, today was one such day for me. Right from 11:00 AM in the morning to 10:30 in the night, I've been doing just one thing. Watching 'Friends'. Apparently, I missed my breakfast, had a couple of creamy wafers for lunch and some juice for dinner. That’s it…
Well, this is getting too much. You won't believe, I took a day off only to sit and watch this. Ok. I heard that. It does sound crazy but hmmm.. I would be more than relieved if I knew some of you guys as well do that (please tell that you do.. please). Every time I finish off one episode, I tell to myself 'This one episode and then, I'm going to stop ...' however, seems like the last episode hasn't yet arrived :) Just in case you are wondering, I'm still watching the fourth episode of fifth season while typing this message.
The worst part is that I have also picked up their accent. I was talking to this friend on phone and I observed that I was pronouncing ‘because’ as ‘Bcuzz’ rather than ‘bico(s/z)e’. Hmm..very provocative (oh no…its again prrrvactve :( )
Oh god!!! I'm getting pissed off about myself. I've got lots of work to do and study, given that my interviews may be anytime next week or the one after that. SO, I guess, I should stop fooling around myself and rather concentrate on more important things. Anyways, the day is almost over and all I can do right now is to go have some sleep.. I should rather start working from tomorrow. Hope I do that. Yeah, before I go to bed, let me finish off this last episode…
Luv

'Rang De Basanti'

The Movie Club's ninth show happened today. Guess which movie we screened? Its 'Rang De Basanti' :)
But so far, this is the best show we ever did. We collected about 20k for our NGO from this show.
Of course, it was not a cake walk though. We literally toiled for two days with out food and rest just to make sure that the show would be a success.
Till yesterday morning, things were going pretty much at normal pace. We talked to a theatre guy and fixed 2 shows, one this Saturday and the other, this Sunday. While the Saturday show was for 100 tickets, the Sunday one was for 150.
Though it was very problematic for us to split people against the shows, we didn't have any other option then.
However, at about 12:45 PM yesterday, the Prasads Multiplex Manager called me and asked me if we wanted to do the 'Rang De Basanti' show at 7:30 PM today (26 Jan) for full house (375 tickets @ 150/- each). It sounded really tempting but I was very much reluctant due to many reasons.
One, we actually paid the Sensation theatre guy the advance of 15,000/- already for which unfortunately we did not have any receipt. The second was that we were planning to do this show for a premium and already made a promise to 'Oracle Volunteers' that we would donate the extra money to an NGO called 'Lakshya Sadhana'. Third reason was that there was simply no time. The show was about 30 hours away and we have not yet started with the booking, forget about collection, allocation and distribution.
However, I some how felt this would work. I once again called him and asked him if he could reduce the price and give the tickets in partial (instead of giving us the entire full house). To my luck, he finally reduced the price to 115/- a ticket and promised us to give partial booking if the booking is more than 200. I got my deal. I took the risk and cancelled the sensation show. I opened the booking site, kept the initial count as 350 tickets, sent out the org wide mail and then, went to have my lunch. While I was in the cafeteria, I got this call asking me if there were any extra tickets available. I told them to actually book from the site and that I have just opened it up. Guess what the answer was!!! The tickets are already SOLD!!!!!!!!
350 tickets in 23 minutes flat. Phew....this is a record for us. The previous record was 'Rising' where we sold 200 tickets in 48 minutes.
I could not have my lunch any more and so, I ran up to my desk and verify this. When I opened the database, I could see all the tickets booked up.
Also, many people called us and asked us if they could be accommodated. Again, I had a decision to make. Whether or not to do a second show. I thought even this would go off. So, I arranged a second show and opened the site again for this. This time, we had about 150 bookings and I thought I would stop it there because it was already 5:00 PM and any further bookings would be a burden in terms of collection and allocation.

And then started my 'Marathon'. Things like talking to all the people, getting the money collected from employees spread across various buildings, going to the theatre for paying him, getting the tickets and sorting them out.
All my team members did a wonderful job. We were all awake till about 4:00 in the morning just to finish off the allocation.
Finally at the theatre today, we saw the result of all our efforts. Employees were really impressed by the show and congratulated us for it. Also, the amount we collected form this show surpassed the ‘Swades’ collection, which was around 15k.

About the movie, well, this is my first movie in the past 8 months. I liked it. Especially, the camera work was innovative and impressive. Also, the movie was kind of fresh in terms of screenplay, action and direction. The songs are amazing and truly moving. Particularly, the 'Thodi si Dhool Meri' was amazing....Hats off to AR. However, the story was a little narrow. Though the director wanted to draw parallels between the Indian rebel leaders(Bhagat Singh, Netaji and all) and the modern generation and how both these have and could bring a radical change in the society, the narration lacked the vigor and was like a typical bollywood movie.
All said, it’s a movie really worth watching and is a good value for money.
Thts all for now. Shall get back soon.
Luvz

Still Alive....

Hi,
I'm back again...
Its been really long. the reason was that I truly got bored writing about myself...seriously...off late I've been writing so many essays, God! I just wanted a break...
Well, the reason I came back today is to update you guys with the status quo of my life...
Apparently, it seems like Indian roads are not any safer for me :(
I have met with two consecutive accidents recently...
The first one happened yesterday (Saturday) in the morning when I was returning to my flat on my bike. This accident happened right in front of the St Anns school building, the exact place where a speeding bus ran over a school kid about a couple of months ago.
The irony is that this time, its a kid who is responsible for all the mess that happened.
In anxiety to cross it, he started running across the road. Seeing him, the car guy who was raging at about 60 kmph had to put a sudden break. Well, the guy behind him could not control his car and thud...he hit the first one. I was behind this second car. I didn't know what to do. All I knew was that I was wearing a helmet. So, I was not that bothered either. I knew I would not be hurt much because it was a head on collision and my 'head' was covered :)
Anyways, I ran in to his bumper and there was I, diving in the air, leaving my bike crash in to his car. For one second, I realized how tom cruise should have felt while doing all those somersaults with his bike in MI-II. I was literally catapulted from my bike and I hit the wind screen and fell on the right side. People flocked around me and wanted to see if I was still alive. God's grace, I came off with out the slightest wounds...
The funny part was that the car guy in front of me started cribbing about the entire incident even before I could reach him and give him a couple of blows for stopping the car mid-way. His problem was that he got it 'both sides' :)
Well, that was the first accident.
The second happened today and apparently, at the same location, but on the other side of the road. This time, I and dad were in my car and I was just trying to find the remote of the music player. As I was unsuccessfully searching for it, dad thought he would help me out and for a second, forgot that he was driving the vehicle and boom, he ran in to a water tanker. Once again, I jumped from my seat (that was one of the rear movements where I did not wear my seat belt) and hit my head to the windscreen ( and yeah, I almost broke it).
The bonnet got completely damaged and the left door also got jammed...hmm...need to find the insurance guy first...
Well, other than these two significant events, nothing much is happening in my life...
just taking some time out to relax..tat's it...
shall update you soon with more details..
Luv

Dilbert for the Day :)

Gandhian Thoughts

Removing this article...

Hi There!!!!

Hi again!!
Long time...ehh...
well, have been neck deep in activities these days..
still not out completely..have the last few things to patch up..
want to end this post here 'coz the next one is gonna be reeaallyyyyyyy long..
Luv

Dogbert for the Day ;)

Dilbert for the Day :)

What's your sign ???

One particular thing I've observed off late is that everyone has a unique way of signing off a message.
Well, my signature is 'Luv'. It kinds-of inadvertently makes its place in every message I post. I felt happy thinking it was kinda unique about my writing style only to realize that many others do it.
Anyways, I would like to post here some such interesting signs that I saw recently.

Ravi's Blog : ^_^
Beady's Blog : All this to be taken with a grain of salt!
Mine ;) Luv
Apart from this, there are some unique styles that I've observed in people's blog entries. While most of them tend to end their message with a greeting or a wish, many others prefer to leave behind a question for the readers.
Well, thats all for now..should work for a while ;)
Luv

Anukonunda Oka Roju

Today, I really had some gud time watching the movie ‘Anukokunda Oka Roju…’…its been ages since I saw any such interesting movie..the plot was excellent and the taking was so natural that you could empathize with every scene in the movie..
Off late, I’ve totally stopped watching movies, at least at the cinemas. You wouldn’t believe but its been more than six months that I’ve watched a movie at the theatre.
Well, while one reason is that there was no new Chiru’s movie :), the most important one is that there are no good movies around. I mean, you options are limited to two. Either a stupid college love story, which has no meaning whatsoever (at times, this dislike of mine towards such stories make me doubt about my youthfulness :( )or a hero-centric faction oriented movie..
The good thing about this movie is that the narration is fresh and enticing. The movie has a very strong backdrop and an intricate story line. This it was the life of the movie. All the actors also did a great job. In total, its certainly a movie worth watching.
In case someone is interested, plz let me know. I can share the files. Actually, these are rm-compressed. So, the size is quite low. Its around 300 MB, I guess.
Well, other than that, got nothing much to say. Need to still work on my essays. I’m eagerly waiting for the Feb ‘coz by that time, all my apps would have already gone in.
Till, then, I wait here with my fingers crossed :(
Luv

Merry Christmas :)

Hi,
Well, while my songs go from my cell phone to my mp3 player, I thought I would make a quick entry.
Well, first thing is that I got a w550i (Sony ericsson) recently...thnx to my bro-in-law :)
Frankly speaking, this is my first present...have never got such a thing till date :(
nyways, you can find more features about that here

Well, the best feature I feel is its walkman....man, its amazing..the sound clarity is soooo crisp and clear, I'm sure an Ipod comes no where around this..
Well, the rest things like cam(still, video), radio, voice rec and of course, the phone are all ok...kind of decent...
on the whole, i wud give this a 4 on 5.
what else?
other than this, yeah..met my college frnds today...its been reeeeeaaaaaaalllllllyyyyyy years since I had such a gud time with old time buddies..
had been at their place till now...
well, tats all from me..need to get to bed...its already 3:00 AM :)
Merry Christmas..Ho..Ho..Ho..
Luv

Dilbert for the Day ;)

MicroFinancial Institutions

Well, these days have been doing some research on MicroFinancial Institutions (MFIs). Thought I would put that up here and 'enlighten' u guys as well :)
Now, to the topic.

MicroFinancial Institutions are credit bodies that extend very small loans to unemployed, poor entrepreneurs and others living in poverty who are 'not bankable'. These individuals lack collateral, steady employment and a verifiable credit history and therefore cannot meet even the most minimum qualifications to gain access to traditional credit. Microcredit is a financial innovation which originated in developing countries like Bangladesh, India etc where it has successfully enabled extremely impoverished people (mostly women) to engage in self-employment projects that allow them to generate an income and, in many cases, begin to build wealth and exit poverty. Due to the success of microcredit, many in the traditional banking industry have begun to realize that these microcredit borrowers should more correctly be categorized as pre-bankable; thus, microcredit is increasing gaining credibility in the mainstream finance industry and many traditional large finance organizations are contemplating microcredit projects as a source of future growth. Although almost everyone in larger development organizations discounted the likelihood of success of microcredit when Muhammad Yunus began it in the mid 1970s, its taking giant leaps in changing the face of Rural places in developing economies.
The United Nations has declared the year 2005 as the International year of Microcredit.
In India, currently, there are around 30 MFIs, most of which are commercial. The total credit so far extended is in tune of about $450 million. This number is expected to rise by another 40-50% by next year.
More details on this very soon :)
Luv

quote for the day ;)

The word 'politics' is derived from the word 'poly', meaning 'many', and the word 'ticks', meaning 'blood sucking parasites'
- Larry Hardiman

Dilbert for the day :)

A common sighting in the Coprorate offices :)

Sorry :(

Been busy writing my essays.. :(
shall update this blog soon...
Luv

Some unconnected thoughts - 2

some unconnected thoughts on my day to day life..

1. Thanks to the Hyderabad traffic Police, we now have buffaloes as the traffic keepers...they not only stop the traffic, but also divert it and beyond all, make people feel like kicking their A*S....
Today, I got stuck in a traffic jam for nearly 1 hour only to find that the 'New Recruits' are having their lessons on the road.. :)

PS : With due respect to Traffic Police, Hyderabad :)

2. APSRTC Bus - The new rape victim

Sorry guys but my vocab is totally defying me here and I'm not able to find a better word to describe..The Jubilee Hills Road is quite billowy (if I can use) and full of crests and troughs....While I was going through this road today, I saw an APSRTC maneuvering a crest...the bus is overcrowded and I could see people hanging from the open rods at the doors. The worst part was even though the bus was struggling hard to climb the crest, not even a single guy boarded off the bus..I bet they would have reached the crest more quickly than the bus would, if they got down from the bus and walked for while..such was the speed of the bus..
now, tell me...can you find a better word than the one I used? Probably, not...I mean, I got this in my mind the moment I saw the plight of the bus...
Hence,the moral of the story is !@#$%^&* (shall leave that to you to decipher :))
Luv

Oracle Movie Club turns 1 this dec

Today, we are done with yet another movie club show...The movie Club, which started about an year ago is now eight shows old, out of which five were for a premium and the rest at cost-2-cost...
When we first came together to form the club, I was pretty much new to Oracle. I did not know any of the guys there and I was sitting all alone through out the meeting. Since most of those who attended that meeting were either members of Oracle Volunteers or Employee Club, the entire meeting went chaotic and colorful. Seeing this entire bustle, I was a bit intimidated. At the fag end of the meeting, the organizers took up the team allotment. Arul called for volunteers to the Theatre Interaction team and I was the first person to volunteer. That was the first time I opened my mouth in about 2 hrs. Post-meeting, all our team members met backstage and started a quick round of introductions. I remember, there were about 8 of us.
Soon, we started working on our first project, 'Swades'. Our team's responsibility included finding out the various theatres that would play 'Swades', talk to them and get the best deal available for the Oracle Employees.
Apart from Theatre interaction, 4 more teams were formed, namely, Marketing Team (these are supposed to sell the tickets), Survey Team (These are supposed to come up with viewer's prefs through internal surveys), Finance Team (supposed to handle all the money related issues) and finally, distribution team (supposed to distribute the tickets).
In total, the movie club had about 30 members, then. Soon after Swades was a hit (we actually raised about Rs 15,000 for charity), we started off for our next venture 'Kisna'. By this time, I saw some people dropping off the team either due to pressures at work or due to simple lack of interest. Still, we were a sizable number. Because of improper planning, Kisna show was a flop. Though we did not end up negative in our cash balances, still, we could not sell all the tickets. The un-sold tickets ate up all the money that was raised from premium.
This is when the movie club underwent a major metamorphosis in terms of members...almost two thirds of the members took a 'Sabbatical' from the movie club activities...
In this way, we were finally left with seven of us, Avi, Myself, Ajay, Manasi, Rohit, Swati and Amit.
The tough part was Arul, who was the In-charge till had, also left us because he had some other commitments. This was when he nominated me as the In charge. But truly speaking, I never found a necessity to use this anywhere ‘coz we were more like buddy group rather than a professional team. We did not need any follow ups or all those regular team building activities. Everyone was equally interested and understanding. We all were in the same page, in the sense; we all valued each other’s thoughts and ideas.

Soon, we took up more ventures like Kaal, Robots, Paheli, Rising, Salaam Namaste and Apaharan.
In this process, we also had the opportunity to work with some NGOs.
The NGOs we have worked with so far are Diya, Lakhya Sadhana, The Thalassemia Sickle Cell Society and Little Sisters of Poor.
It's a wonderful experience working with these great organizations, which have gone a long way in proving that service to humanity alone ensures deliverance of mankind.
Hope we do more such activities....
Three Cheers to Oracle Movie Club... :)
Luv

Oracle Movie Club(Manasi, Swati, Rohit, Ajay, Meeee)

The tough get going !!!

When the going gets tough, the tough get going
This is exactly what I felt during the 10k today in the morning. The event was supposed to start at 7:30 AM but I was at my home then, getting ready to leave :( When I reached the venue after a nightmarish parking saga, it was 8:10 already. I quickly strode through the place, reached the start point, stretched a little and then, started off the run. As I already told you, I’ve got this knee pain and so, I had this psychological feeling all the while behind my mind about my fitness. I thought I would need to break at least twice during the run so that I would at least finish it.
Well, I ran for a kilometer and lo, I started feeling the pain at my calf muscles. Though I was tempted to stop for a while seeing all the people around me, I some how managed to convince myself to stay running at least for 2 more kilometers. Another 100 meters and I was almost about to halt when I saw Raghu. Thank God…I felt really relieved. I ran towards him and greeted him. Even he was surprised. Though we planned to run the race together, we could not somehow meet each other at the start point. Thanks to Raghu, I continued the race for 3 more kilometers, taking the total covered distance to 4 kilometers. Now, this was the time I thought I needed to take a break. It was already beyond my expectations that I completed 4kms with out a break. Anyways, I told Raghu to go ahead in case I stopped in the middle to take some rest. Even he accepted. Though I told him this, I still felt a bit bad to halt. Reason, simple. All these guys knew that I’m a long distance runner and now, on the day that I needed to prove my worth, if I stopped, it would change their attitude towards me. So, this fear was some source of energizer for me all the while. We both covered another 500 meters when Raghu asked me if I wanted to take a break. I told that it was ok and I would see if I can still hold on. Now, here, I was seriously tempted. I saw a water booth and so, ran towards that, picked a glass with out stopping and then, drank half of that and splashed the other half on to my face. I just wanted to get going. To my surprise, after another 10 mins, Raghu told me he was going to stop for a break because he could not take it any longer. That was the moment I felt ‘The tough get going’. It actually boosted confidence and strength in me. All the while, I was of the feeling that it was me who was craving for a break and no one else. But, I realized then was wrong. I found it was a universal phenomenon.
With the new zeal, I continued the run. This went on till the 7 kilometer mark. It was three kilometers more and I was already drooping. You won’t believe, it was Anjali now, whom I saw. She was walking. I recognized her from a distance and again, my spirits woke up. Just at the point when I needed some company did god show me her. I ran towards her and greeted her. Seeing me, she was surprised because she thought she would never meet me that day and that I would have gone far beyond her by that time. I told her I was about 45 mins late to the race. She looked at her watch and said ‘wow, which means eight kilometers in 35 (it was 38, actually) mins :) ‘ Aaahh..That was some relief for me. I usually run 8 kilometers in 45 mins at the gym and this was kind of a new record for me…. :) I asked her if she wanted to join me and she readily agreed. We together ran for another 1 kilometer after which, even she gave up. She said she would walk for some time. This was again a cross road for me. To stop or to continue? I re-affirmed myself the quote ‘The tough get going’. So, I bid her bye and moved forward. The two kilometer mark seemed elusive and inexistent. It took a lot of determination for me to finally see that. Seeing that, I was again tempted to stop. This time, it was a guy who did the favor. He was jogging behind me all the while and the moment I slowed, he overtook me and went ahead. I felt bad. I felt I was paving way to others and more than that, he took the advantage of my lack of strength. Come what may, I decided I would cross him. I got prepared for one of the two things. Reach the finish line with out stopping or collapse in the middle. As simple as it is. So, with this new push, I moved on and to my surprise, found the guy walking about 10 feet ahead of me. Again, the tough get going. So, I moved on and there it was the 1 km mark. It was a deciding point for me. I thought I would save my energy by running slowly till the first 500 meters and after that, start sprinting. However, the road being serpentine, I soon was able to see the ‘FINISH’ point. Now, what should I say, I don’t know what happened to me or what was going on in my mind, but with in no time, I found myself sprinting towards the Finish point (like a mad dog, I should say:)) ) with all the force and vigor. There was not even an iota of strength left in me. I also realized I was shouting (like hell, believe me) and panting and even roaring, just to get that extra push. And guess what; there I was, collapsed on the other end of the finish line. Everyone was cheering me and two guys came to lift me up. The first thing I asked them was ‘What was the time?’ They told me it was 8:53 AM. Huh, there it is. My new record… 10 kilometers in 48 mins….
I was relieved. I was not even feeling any pains though I was not able stand. All that was in my mind at that time was ‘I completed the race and that too in a good time’. After about 10 mins, I started feeling the pain, first, at my calf muscles and later at knees and later, at every other part.
The legs are still paining but I guess, I have more beautiful memories to make up for the pain.
Luv

Some unconnected thoughts about time and life...

Hi,

I'm sure most of us have heard the quote 'Time and tide waits for none' . Living is nothing but moving with time. (Un)fortunately, time can neither be reversed nor slowed down (unless you are traveling at speed of light, of course :) ) and hence, our lives too. Moments (good/bad) spent exist no where else other than in our memories.
No doubt past is important. But its only an aid to look at the future, not the the blue print of future. As I see, past cannot(and should not) shadow our future. Future is always untouched, pristine and bright. This is because future is divine. No one knew it nor felt it.

I remember reading once that if we see everyday as a new start to our life, we would feel much better. That way at least, we can leave our past to historians and move ahead. Everyone has his/her own set of ups and downs in the life. Life isn't an express way and if it was so, it would not have been any fun living.Being bold is not about how often we felt low but how well we managed ourselves in such situations. Being bold is all about having belief. Believe in your self, believe in the people close to you and beyond all, believe in god. Its faith that kindles the fire from ashes, good from bad, sweet from sour and bliss from dejection.

Its this faith that keeps us moving. Its faith that keep us alive.

Talking at a much higher and abstract level, we think too much about our lives, our acts and our deeds. If only we knew what little we could do to our lives and to others' , we would stop worrying about it(life).
I remember a verse from Bhagavadgeeta which says 'Your dharma is only to do your carma, not think about the consequences of it. You are neither responsible for results of doing your carma nor should you abstain from doing them' . This very thought would take off our burdens and lightens our mind and soul. So, lets stop worrying much about our future. Its all safe when you do your duties well.

Well, I do understand that its all easy said than done. But, its not that tough either if we remember one thing i.e. 'life is a box of chocolates. You never know what you get' ( taken from forest gump) . So, hope for the best, work hard, be happy and pray to god. This is the paragon of life.

Hope it makes some sense.

Luv
Krishna

PS : All my views expressed above are totally my personal views.

dilbert for the day :)

Dibert for the day :)

Expectations

when was the last time you said to some one " Don't worry. Things will be alright...”
hmm...I said this very recently to one of my friends. Well, while speaking these words, however, I was not sure what I actually had in my mind...
I guess, we say these words more to show our sympathy and concern to the other person rather than to predict some thing for them.
At least, I felt it this way. I knew things would be fine and there is no absolute necessity for me to utter such prophecies.
Well, all these wouldn't bother me much if the other person was expecting exactly the same from me. i.e. some concern. beyond that, I truly feel that every one should handle his/her own problems themselves and there is nothing much others could do.
Also, from my past experiences, I have realized that interfering in to other's personal issues would only invite unwanted coldness and friction between them. Again, I don’t claim I'm true. I can be equally wrong at my interpretations. hmm..It all depends...
coming back to my question, what is that we expect from others when we are feeling low???
Well, as far as I’m concerned, I would expect people to listen to me and my problems, suggest me and instigate a confidence in me. But, what generally happens is that people take me to be a really mature and bold. So, they would end up saying 'Hmm..I don’t think you need all that persuasion and support and I'm sure you know what's good and what's not...so, I guess, you can handle yourself'. Hearing these words, though I feel a little bad, I know there is no point in convincing them other wise, ….rather, I would prefer coaxing my self back to normality as a better option.
But yeah…such words do boost up my morality and confidence levels and at times, make me self adorable.
This is the reason why I generally don’t ask people about their problems unless they confide in me by themselves. I think asking them about their personal life is not proper. If at all they feel they should tell you things, then, they would do so even before you asking them.
One more thought that’s coming to my mind right now is ‘Am I afraid of being disliked or is that I’m trying to play things too safely??
I don’t know but as of now, I would prefer being a dilettante unless I’m invited in.
That’s all for now.
Luv

The Road to Sky

The road to Sky


This will be my autobiography, though not sure when I’m going to write one. :) So, what do you say..isn't the title kewllllllllllll???

Some other possible titles are:
1. Life, In and Out
2. Me and my Alter Ego
3. Plato, Gandhi and Datta

Shall add more to this list as and when I hit upon them.
Luv

god's debris

have found this book on the net...truly interesting..
this would certainly appear in my recommended reads :)
you can find the book here..
Go ahead...happy reading...
Luv

Presentation Skills

today, had a good time at the office..reason : I had a presentation skills training for the entire day :)
actually ,we are supposed to prepare 2 presentations as the part of the pre-training assignment. I didn't have time to prepare two of them, so, had prepared just one presentation and the topic was 'Humor is a serious business'. Well, frankly speaking, I took it off from my soft skills classes that I attended during my college :) but yeah, since I did not have a backup of that presentation, had to prepare it all from scratch. Thankfully, I remembered most of the presentation and so, did not have much difficulty in searching for the relevant material...
The training as such was pretty normal..Apart from re-iterating some points on body language and gestures and non-verbal communication, the facilitator did not add much value to the content. However, the best part of the training was that first, the crowd that attended the training was an interesting lot...they were all full of energy and enthusiasm and second, the facilitator was very much amicable and friendly. So, though the training started off with a serious note ( there were a couple of people who even took down some notes on effective presentation techniques in the first half an hour), as the time went by, it became more and more informal. At one time, we felt that all of us were immediate team members and that we are sitting together discussing some junk to cut the time :)
coming to the structure of the entire training, it started off with a brief DOs about effective presentation techniques followed by individual presentations. I was the first to start. Though it was all good, I failed at managing time. While I was supposed to complete the entire presentation in 5 mins, I took 13 mins :))
Never the less, it was very well taken and I could catch the attention of the audience.
Well, re-conciling some of the aspects that I need to correct, first thing would be 'Preparation' . I'm sure, had a prepared a little bit, I could have given a much better presentation. Lack of proper practice was evident in the presentation, at least for me.
Second thing is the use of unnecessary fillers. 'Like' is one thing that I tend to add before almost every word. The reasons are many. First, I give myself more time to think about what I speak. It also acts as a stress mitigator. But, I have noticed that usage of 'Like'often took off the attention of the listeners from the content of the presentation.
Lastly, its the time management. I did not notice how much time I was taking all the while.
Ofcourse, good voice modulation, spontaneity, knowledge about the subject and pro-activeness in presenting was some of the good qualities that I should be happy about :))
Nyways, all our presentations are recorded and we are going to get the DVD soon. So, looking at them again, hopefully, will give better insights in to our week areas and our strengths.
After the class, I left for gym. Spent about a couple of hours there and headed back to home.
Now, the news. Guess what...I'm purchasing a car :))))
well, though not a new one, but never the less, I'm promoted from a two wheeler rider to a four wheeler owner ;)
Thats all for now. Its kind of getting late here, (12:15 AM, infact)
I'll retire for the day..
Luv

the importance of Curd(Youghurt) :)

Hi,
today, during lunch, we had a very interesting discussion. why do south Indians eat loads of curd?
hmmm...not sure who discovered this or how he/she discovered this but even I never realized that south Indians eat lots of curd.
But yeah...we do....reasons...let me guess..
curd is supposed to be a very rich food for us. Curd, along with milk, are considered to be the very symbols of prosperity. Since owing livestock was very common in those days, people always had milk and curd in their homes.

Apart from this, there are some other reasons as well. Curd is supposed to be one of the 'pancamrtas' (Five forms of ambrosia, namely, sugar, curd, milk, honey and ghee). It is considered as food of gods and so, really sacred. Hence, is its importance.
Also, curd is used in many places for treating ailments. Crud is believed to have lot many medicinal properties and hence, the belief is that the more you eat, the better your health will be.
There are many people even today who feel that their meal would be incomplete with out curd (I'm one amongst them :))
.. for me, curd is a must..)
I remember, when I went to my village last year, we invited a few close friends for a dinner. Since my grand mother did not plan for this dinner, we did not have enough curd in the home. So, we thought we would dilute the curd with some water so that it could be served to everyone. You would not believe me, not even a single person ate that curd. When asked about the reason, they told us ' How do you think we could eat such a curd? Its so dilute. Leave it. We'll have it at our homes' . I was like 'What? you make a scene just for some curd??'. Nyways, later, I realized that its not just the matter of habit but also the matter of social status...
So, thats a shot narration about curd and its importance in south india...
hope you enjoyed this
Luv

back to work :(

After dallying for quite some time, I've decided to get back to work in full form..
there are loads of tasks that I need to complete and some more which I have committed to do.
Apart from that, nothing new. Have been recovering from the injuries. Its really pissing me off 'coz its been a week since I went to the gym. I have got this psychological feeling that my figure has started bloating :(
guess, I would start going to gym from today.
And yeah..my search for car has become an unending saga. Have to go this weekend and finalize one..have been delaying this for quite some time.
What else? hmmm..thats a hopeless blog entry that I made but phew...this is all that I have for now..
shall see u some other time
Luv

10k run

Hi..

the 10k run is back again..
for ppl who are interested in participating, check it out here.But yeah...this is not updated yet:)))
I'm planning to participate in this run this year..
Well, all I'm interested in is not about winning but more about completing the run..
I know its kind of a small stretch and cannot truly be called a 'Marathon' but never the less, it still serves its purpose well... that is bring awareness in people about the good aspects of
heard this time, there are going to be two tracks and many more...also, the prize money for the winners is also increased..
so, lets se..
btw, if I haven't told the date of this run, its on 22 Nov.
I should be free that day..(hopefully :(()
Luv

Limping Lucky :((

Hi,

Some thing bad happened yesterday. I met with an accident :( The good part is that I was wearing my helmet..otherwise, I would not be tying this today..nyways, getting to the reason for the accident, its something like this.
I started off to the tennis class at about 8:30 AM. The road was quite empty as there were hardly any vehicles. I was riding @ 60kmph. There is a turn that I need to take (ofcourse, there are lot many but this one is quite a steep one). While I was taking it, I found an auto infront of me which was also going the same way. So, I kind of tried to overtake the vehicle from the right and oh...he suddenly turned his vehicle to the right. dhhhhhoooooooddddd...there I was trying to balance my vehicle which was already falling to the right before I could apply the brake.
The first thing to touch the road was my head. Than god, I was wearing my helmet. You would not believe, I was not actually wearing the helmet when I started..I stopped in the middle and wore it :) . Th first thing I did was to take off my helmet, catch hold of the driver by his collar and start abusing him. I even swung my helmet to hit him but he fell on his knees and caught my feet (yeah...right..in the movie style) and started pleading me. I was completely in shock and so was unaware of what I was shouting and what I was doing. I did not get back to senses for about 2-3 minutes. Only after I came back to normal senses did I calm down a little.
Anyways, I'm saved with some minor bruises on both the hands and on the right leg...Though I wont be able to workout,play tennis or ride my bike for another 3-4 days, its still great that I 'm alive, in the first place.
Well, that's all for now. btw, just spoke to Jumbo today...I was a bit scared listening to all those MBA woes. Not sure how I would deal with them once I'm in. Let's see.
Luv

Dad, Mom, Akka and Me

happy diwali !!!!

yet another diwali..this is what I felt for this diwali..expect for bursting a few crackers, I didn't do much so to say. But yeah..mom and dad prepared a variety of dishes yesterday..so, had a good time hogging.. :))
But one thing I noticed yesterday was that the very essence of the festival is being limited to firing crackers and eating food...I'm it was not thing way during my childhood days...there were a lot fo things happening simultaneously.. relatives, new clothes, hours of pooja and many more..
all that was missing...
Mom was the only one who was truly interested in firing crackers...rest of us were like 'hmm...not interested...' types...she forced me fire some and so, had no other option. so, took her downstairs and fired a few cracers...worsst part was that in my entire apartment, i was the only guy who was firing crackers....rest all were busy watching television..i felt stupid...i thought a festival is the time where in you gather in groups and celebrate. But, here I'm, alone, trying to burn 5000 work crackers :(
After bursting a few, I gave off the rest to the street kids eagerly looking at me while I was bursting..
atleast, they would have a nice time with them..
but yeah..this festival has a specialty..its after 4 years that my entire family(akka, amma, dad and me) were there...
hmm..need to get back to work...
Luv

@leisure

The one in red is me :)

GVD@SOS

had a very tiring but equally interesting and memorable day yesterday....
it was the day out with the SOS kids...
the two months of planning finally culminated in to a wonderful experience..
let me narrate teh entire day's activities.
We reached the place at about 9:00 in the morning..
the kids have already got ready and were eagerly waiting for us to join them..
We started off the day's work by having a quick pre-event talk..
after that, we started off by dividing ourselves in to the respective pre-mediated teams. Which, later assembled in groups and decided their plan of action..
My work, being the project leader, was to coordinate with various teams and the NGO admin and make sure things happen the way we planned to be..

Thanx to the volunteers and harish, we got the nametags ready by the time we reached the place.
While I was going around the houses, the teams went on with their individual tasks.
The event started off with a medical camp, which included two dentists and one general physician. Thanks to these doctors as they actually volunteered to conduct the medical camp :)
Simultaneously, we started off with the games event. The games reps have already planned a plethora of game events for all kids which included things like spoon race, running race, desi version of dodge ball, cricket, shuttle and so on.
The kids really loved the games and had a very good time. We could see them all opening up by themselves and coming to us for playing. Its exactly the same way we feel when our cousins come to our home for playing games.
They all addressed us as 'Annas'(brothers) and 'Akkas' (sisters)...we were all touched by the love and affection they showed us in spite of we being totally strangers for them.
They would come to u just the way your younger brother would come running to you...they would fall on you, jump on you, play with your hair and do what not...
So, there I was, covered up (or shud I say, mobbed by :)) 8 of them, each trying to grab my attention towards them. They told me all sorts of stories, played with me and took to their homes..
Their biggest attraction was the digicam...they just could not understand how one could get the pic immediately...they were so amazed by that, they started posing to the camera like professional models...and it did not stop there. Some of the would-be engineers amongst them questioned me about how it works, what is uses and what is the mechanism behind it...
They also took a few snaps with my digicam and proudly showed their skills to their mothers.
All this went on till about 12:00 in the afternoon... Lunch Time :)
We got the food ready from the caterer and then, cleaned the big room. We arranged the news papers on the floor in about four rows and then, placed the food plates on them..
Then, we got children one after the other, made them sit, pray and then, eat....
The menu was sambar rice, potato chips and curd rice...the food was awesome and the children enjoyed it (btw, we never knew sambar rice was their fav dish until their big mother told us :)))
Post lunch, we took the kids back to their respective homes and then, distributed decoration material to the house volunteers. Along with the kids, the house vols decorated the houses beautifully with streamers and other fancy items and also, with the diyas.
In the evening, we had curry puffs and biscuits for snacks. Later, we conducted musical chairs for the mothers and the volunteers. At first, we thought we would not be able to make this up 'coz first, we didn't have a audio player and second, the mothers were not so keen about this..
Later, we found a tape recorder with the NGO Admin and so, decided we would go for it...believe me..the moment we started the game, there was so much enthu flowing around that all our inhibitions got washed away..
the mothers truly competed with each other to win the game and we all cheered them all through the game to keep their spirits high..
by the time we were done, it was about 6:15 PM and it started getting dark.
So, we sent all the kids and their respective house reps to their homes and asked them to light the diyas..
The grand event of bursting crackers took place at about 6:45 PM. Each house got a pack of crackers and the respective house volunteers were put in charge of the kids safety.
I was going around the place and shouting instructions all the while, just to make sure nothing goes wrong..My only fear was that if something went wrong there( as there is a very high probability of happening), then, all our efforts we have put in right from the morning would go waste..
At one point of time, I even shouted at some volunteers for not having their kids with them...
good that everyone took it in the positive sense and so, there was no friction. and yeah..i later, apologized them for my short temper..
after all the houses were finished with their supplies, we got some fancy items, which everyone enjoyed...
soon after the cracker session, we got the food ready and guess what's for the dinner????
yummy biryani and gulaab jamoon.. :) :)
While we were making arrangements for the dinner, the kids were having a good time dancing to the tunes of the latest telugu and hindi filmi numbers :)
10:00 PM..phew.....it was really late( we planned the event till only 8:30 PM)...I thought I would go for one final round and went to each home for bidding farewell...this was the most memorable one for me...I moment I said bye, I could see tears in their eyes.. truly, they were all weeping. they asked us to stay that night and leave next day...some kids asked us when next we would come?
Even the volunteers became psenti...since they were with the kids right from 9:00 in the morning to about 10:00 in the night, they could not come off easily..
Before leaving, they sat with thier house members, told me all the good things like 'study nicely', 'be good', 'listen to mom' and so on..
Tears rolled in my eyes too....Thank god, they finally found brothers and sisters..
When we planned this event initially, I thought I and couple of others would be the only ones who would return after the GVD event is complete. But now, I'm sure, all the volunteers who came there yesterday would continue their association with the NGO.
This was the most satisfying thought for me and at last, I felt I did some thing good and worth full..
Though physically tired, I was mentally satisfied..
Before leaving, all the volunteers gave bums to me.. :(( 'coz they said that's the tradition with the volunteers. If an event clicks, then, the Project Leaders will have to bear this...
we started off at about 10:30 PM from there and by the time I reached home, it was 11:15.
I changed my clothes and the, fell on my bed and went in to sleep in no time..

So, that was a brief narration of the event..
shall update more about the NGO as we go ahead. Till then
Luv,

This is the cutest face I have ever seen....this is the pic of my neighbour's son..

Hi thrice

Hi,
its exactly one month since I posted an message..hmm..the timing was not arbitrary. In fact I could have returned to you earlier it self but some how thought I would wait till its one month...
The reason for not updating is again the same...no time...i know, this reason sucks...and if some one gave me that reason for not seeing me for a month, I would simply say 'Bull ****'. But yeah...I might be wrong though, just the way you would be had you felt the same :)
lot many things are happening....by the way, I got my digicam...thats truly a cute one....its Sony cybershot DSCF88 5.1 MPX. Also, got my handycam...shall click that some time and post in here...The sad thing is however, I haven't got my charger :(
its a gun with out bullet, right now.. ;)
The GVD dates are comming close...still, we have got loads of work to complete....apart from that, have sooooooo much of office work that I'm barely getting time for things like work out and sleep..and about schmoozing with frnds, I have totally forgot that..
look, again, an issue @ work..need to attend that ...
shall get back to u once gone..
Luv,

dead lines:


princeton : 1 Dec,05 : reqs: toefl,gmat

November 14, 2005 : MSCF, CMU

Hi

This week was again hectic. Guess, I got used to this now. As I told you, its not just the office work. There are lot many other things that I have started picking up. Next week is supposed to be much more hectic. I guess our project proposal for the GVD will be approved. One this is approved, we have to start working on that again. The first big task would be to convince the people about the cause and get more of them enrolled to our project. We also need to find out some one who could teach candle making to the mothers so that the mothers would be able make their own candles for the diwali. Many other things like Sports kit, food, transportation also needs to be planned. But, I guess, we also have lots of time 'coz the G-day is 30 Oct.
Apart from GVD, next week (starting from tomm), I also have to do some finishing work for the movie club. We have recently conducted two shows and we raised about Rs 20,000 for the Charity 'Little Angles for Old'. I guess, I already mentioned this earlier. So, I have to do a bit of number crunching before I decide the final amount that needs to be donated. This money will go to the NGO during the GVD time, I guess.
There is one more recent development on the movie club. The Employee club told us that they would sponsor one annual event for movie club in return to merging movie club with the employee club. This is going to be a great opportunity for us 'coz we have been waiting for external help since the inception. Money is the biggest problem for movie club 'coz all the additional revenue generated from the club's activities goes to charities. The club doesn’t have any money of its own. So, any such external funding will only be a added advantage for us.
What else?
Other than this, I have got loooooooots of enhancements to finish and trainings to take. Not sure how I would tackle all these. But again, I guess, there is no point in worrying 'coz all these need to be done and so, I'm bound to find some time to complete them.
Well, then, that’s all from me for now. Shall update you as and when I find some time.
Luv

Duties Vs Interests

How many times have you faced tough time taking decisions? Particularly, in such moments where you had to select between to equally plausible solutions? I almost live with such moments. They occur every now and then. These days, I have got quite used to such situations. Whenever I plan to do some thing, two options (plans/ideas/methods...whatever) pop up, both seeming equally likely. Because of this, I end up wasting my time figuring out which one to eliminate. Recently, I thought I would figure what all this, actually is. On further thinking, I have found out that most of the times, the two choices were not of equal possibility. Rather, while one was what I wanted to do, the other was want I thought I should be doing to complete the task successfully. Let me make it easier for you by giving an example for this.
Say, at about 8:00 PM on a Sunday, I'm driving back from one of my friend's place. I have two options in front of me. The first one is to go home. Dad will be leaving to Viz in night. So, he would feel good if I meet him before he leaves. The other option is to go to gym. It’s been two days since I went to gym and so, its really important that I go.
At the first thought, this might seem like an exact fix that I was talking about. Both the situations demand immediate attention. On further musing, you can figure out that the later task is not just a task of high importance but also a task of your liking. So, you could say that it should be the one you should be doing. But, the way I see it is as follows. Consider the first option. It might not be the one in which you are really interested, but, even then, its competing hard with your interests convincing you to doing it. This very fact proves that it is of much more importance than the second one. Hence, you should go for it.

It happens several times. We often tend to get stuck between our interests and our duties. Though attending your interests make you feel good about your self, not attending your duties will certainly make you feel bad about your self. So, I would say, if you are held up in such cross roads, try weighing the importance of the individual options and then, act accordingly.
Hope this makes sense to at least some.
Luv

Reading skills

Off late I have discovered that my reading skills are very much below the mark. I'm not sure if I can read about 300-400 words a minute, the standard that most ppl say. I have to concentrate on this. All the while, I have been reading just for pleasure and so, never felt the crunch of time not the necessity of quick and comprehensive reading. Only after tasting a few setbacks at my passages have I really started thinking about fast reading. On this regard, I have browsed some sites and compiled a list of some good self-help sites.
Hope these wud be helpful in increasing my reading speed. :))

http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/suggest.html

http://www2.yk.psu.edu/learncenter/students/studyreadskills.shtml

http://www.coun.uvic.ca/learn/program/hndouts/psq5r.html

Luv

Its not over until its OVER

I'm feeling really low. Not sure why. Everything is going for a toss. I'm not sure whom to blame for this. This time, its certainly not me. I have tried all the possible ways from my side to change the way things are going but seems like its not enough. Its all the divine will, I suppose. But, again, these thoughts make me feel that I'm weak and that I'am trying to find an excuse of my inefficieny. I should be able to correct these things. Why not? Well, one possible reason for my dejectedness is that I'm trying to take too many things at the same time. Probably, I should stop this. I should prioritize the things and then, work accordinly. I dont know but I tried this as well. Still its the same. What else can I do? One thing is sure. There is no point in complaining about things not happenning. Its jsut a part of life and if its not happenning, then, probalby, that is how it is. I should not be left behind fretting about things that dont take me any where. Rather, I should go ahead with my stuff and hope for the best. So, the thought for the day(night) is 'Its not over until its OVER'.
Luv

sorry.....reaalllyyy busy :(

have been busy all these days and so, could not find enough time to update you.
nyways, I promise, I shall update you with some interesting stuff soon...
till then
luv

The importance of Being 'Single'

Being single has its own advantages. The most important one is that you don’t need to wait for any one. I hate waiting for people and particularly, when there are many other interesting things to do. May be because I have been single for most part of life(so far), I did not get used to waiting for people. Yet another advantage of being single is that you don’t need to plan things based on others' choices and possibilities. You can do what ever you feel like doing and when ever you feel like doing. You don’t need get any approvals or give any explanations. For all you guys who are 'hooked on', such a thing will be unthinkable. And yeah, one more excellent advantage of being single is that you come out of the stereotyped aspects of life and try thinking big and different. Today, I was talking to some of my team members, who were all married, about what they do during their free time. Most of them told me that they don’t get any free time. Either they are occupied with their office work or with the regular chores at home. Even though they feel like watching a movie or a cricket match, they cannot do that because they are too busy with other stuff like feeding children or buying grocery and so on. Of course, I do agree, things all boil down to preferences, but its still feels tough for a bachelor (like me) to understand the commitment.
As far as disadvantages are concerned, I guess, I can see only one. It’s that you are forced to clap with just one hand… :(
Luv

Listen to lead

Managing things is truly a tough job . It is not only identifying resources and allocating them as and when needed (now, when I say resources, it also includes the human resources), but also about sorting out differences (amongst people) and convincing them to do the job. It becomes particularly difficult when you have too many managers (self-proclaimed) in your team. They just spoil the dish. This problem becomes evident in a situation where you dont have a single, pre-decided manager. The best way I see in such situations is to pro-actively support those guys who want to take the initiative and then, fall behind them till they finish the job. This sounds some thing like managing the managers. Though people might not realize this, its still an efficient way to get the things done.
I remember, during one of our corporate outings, we had a group activity, which needed us to divide ourselves in to 4 teams and then, compete amongst us. My team had around 12 members and most of them were willing to direct some one else rather than willing to listen to some one. They had ideas and were hunting for people who would implement them. At one point, we had almost 9 people talking simultaneously and incessantly and hardly anyone listening to them (yeah...you guessed it right.. the other 3 were not interested in listening at all). At this point, I had a choice to make, either continue dabbling (like others) and then, loose the competition or be a manager's manager.
I stopped explaining my ideas. Instead, I picked up a guy who was speaking some thing sensible and listened to his ideas keenly. Once done, I started asking him questions and by this time, other people also started noticing the things happening around them. Slowly, about 50% of us were doing just one thing. That was listening. As and when some credible objections came up, there were alternate views and suggestions. Finally, after about 15 mins, I could see everyone looking at me for a chance to explain their ideas. They have, in other words, accepted my leadership. However, one thing I should agree here is that, content wise, I was not adding any value but I was doing some thing more important than that. I was coordinating. I know, at the end of the day, no one might accept me as a leader but they cannot certainly deny the fact that they accepted me as an interlocutor (at least).
This satisfied me. All that I wanted was to have a cohesive effort rather than a spate of incongruent tries by the team members.

One more important thing that I have learnt from that day was to listen. The art of listening is really important. You can never co-ordinate things amongst a group unless you listen to your members keenly. Some people have an opinion that listening to some one hampers their prospects of speaking. I would like to contradict this because if you carefully observe, 60-70% (typically) of the team members prefer speaking rather than listening. Hence, there is a dearth of listeners and not speakers. Once you start listening to them and start involving them together, you would not only get the chance of speaking but also get the privilege of coordinating and leading.
Hence, the thought for the day is ‘Listen to lead’…doesn’t that sound gud ;)))
Luv

A day at SOS Village

Today, I woke up at 8:00 AM, quite an unusual "wake-up" hour for me on a saturday. Got up early 'coz I had to visit SOS Village. We were totally four. Me, Imran, Sindhu and Prashant. We all met up at our office, where I and Imran parked our bikes, and from there, we left to the village in Prashant's car. It was about 30 mins drive from the office. Though the road was narrow, never the less, it was still decent. The best part was that four of us got so well with each other that at the end of the day, we became good friends. We reached the place at about 11:00 AM. Thanks to Srini Gadde, the director of the NGO knew that we were coming and so, he was waiting for us. He received us cordially and lead us to his room. We discussed our ideas and policies with him and explained why we were there.
He was very happy with what we proposed and quickly agreed to it. He then took us around the place. The whole place was green and serene. There are about four buildings, with each building housing three homes. These are supposed to be the places where the kids live. Each home houses about 10 kids and every home has a mother, who is supposed to take care of the kids. We met one mother there and she was very good to us. While we were chatting with the director, she went in and brought us tea and snacks. We were surprised 'coz we did not expect such hospitality. When we told her that she should not have taken so much pain in preparing things, she smiled and replied ' Oh..you are my guests and you came to my home for the first time. I guess, even you would do the same thing if I come to your home' . That was enough for us. We could not agree any better with what she said. After she spoke those words, our basic attitude towards her and the kids changed drastically. Till then, we were looking at her as just for care taker of kids but after that, we could see a mother and a true host in her. We felt really happy about that. We were at the right place. Now, its all up to us to add some value to these people ( and ofcourse, to us as well).
We proposed three things to the Director. One was to conduct a dental camp at the village. The second one was to help the village build a bio-waste treatment plant. And finally, we asked him if we could celebrate diwali with the kids. He was truly delighted by this idea. He gave a big smile. We got the message. After going around the place, we went in to the pre-school and met some kids there. They have guests very rarely. On seeing us, they were so happy and elated that they started reciting rhymes. They were also dancing to those rhymes. Watching them sing and dance was truly an experience that I can never forget in my life.
After bidding adieu to the kids, we four went to subway for having lunch. While having lunch, we discussed about the things that we could do. We also divided responsibilities amongst us as to who would do what.
After that, I came back home. Though physically not at SOS now, the memories are still vivid and heart rendering to me.
I’m eagerly looking forward to work with them.
Luv

Another Day

Yesterday was yet another hectic one. . Though the morning went off fine, the evening was too cramped. First, I had to attend the volunteers meeting in the evening, which, went on till about 8:30 p.m :( , forcing me to post-pone my other appointments.
However, one good thing about this was that we could finalize our new project for the coming GVD. We zeroed our choices to SOS. SOS is an NGO Home for the orphans. There are about 50 children for now, most of them, falling in the age group of 8-12. One good thing about SOS is that it's a adequately funded international organization, the exact kind of NGO we were targeting this time.
Before I go any further, let me explain a bit about GVD. It stands for 'Global Volunteers Day' where in the employees of Oracle volunteer some man hours of work towards any social cause. It's a world wide event, where in the Oracle Volunteer chapters present all round the globe participate. The basic modus operandi is that every chapter comes up with some projects, each project involving about 20 to 100 volunteers and about 2 to 10 project leaders. The event usually happens on a week-end where in people get some free time.

Now, about SOS. SOS Children's Village Hyderabad is a member of the SOS Children's Villages of India group, which in turn is a sister concern of the SOS Kinderdorf International foundation, head by Mr. Helmut Kutin. Each of the children's villages is divided in to homes and the kids are divided amongst the homes. Each home is taken care by a Mother, who takes care of all the needs of the her children. The children are all orphans, most of them, who had lost their parents in the natural calamities. The NGO takes great care of these children by providing them not only with their physical requirements but also their emotional and psychological requirements.
Working with this NGO should be truly a wonderful experience. Now, guess what.. we have decided to celebrate our Diwali with these kids, this time. And it does not end there. We are also planning to conduct some sports events and some other competitions for the kids.
We are yet to finalize the proposal. I guess, we should be done with this latest by tomorrow evening. Once that is done, we need to start preparations for the events.
So, eagerly waiting forward to working with the kids.
To continue from the point I left, soon after the meeting, I left to my flat. On the way, I remembered some thing. Vimal was supposed to leave that day to US and I promised him that I would come to see him off at the airport. So, I called him and found out the timings of his flight. It was at 4:45 AM ...phew.....I had no other choice but to get ready and go back to his house. Soon, all the ICs gathered at his home and we had a blast for about 4 hours, with the usual doses of banter and satire.
Finally, at about 2:00 AM, we started to Airport, bid him adieu and went back to our respective places. Hmmmmm....after a tiring day, nothing is more comforting than a good sleep.
Luv