Benazir Bhutto was just killed by a suicide bomber! Whew, its frightening & shocking!
*Update*
Not that i am a big fan of Benazir's or something. But the point that struck me was like - what kind of a place is today's pakistan - imagine like 17 crore people (thats like 170 million people) all running amok & bombing each other and stuff - whew !
I know a few pakistanis we do business with - they re the most well educated, uh, Shareef people ive met and i have excellent regards for them - I just wonder how much of a proportion of pakistan is like this - Can they somehow overcome this kind of scenario now ?
The same story in Bangladesh too - i remember my trip to Dhaka last year pretty vividly - large, well to do companies have like 14 foot walls topped with barbed wire and armed private guards - i mean - they fucken FEAR for their physical safety.
I have heard of people who lived for a long time in Punjab telling the same thing - I was once telling a bunch of them like this - Arre, who will be animal enough & Crazy enough to do stuff like this without thought ? I mean, if the guy just thinks for like 3 seconds - he will just stop doing such violent crap and get to work - but it appears that the answer is much more complicated than that - the fact is the i really havent met any of these Zeolot types.
Funny, i was reading 'The Kite Runner' the other night - i felt the same thing - i mean - where will our best laid plans go if theres sudden anarchy & Violence :)
Crazy shit, i cant imagine it happening in Madras ;)
We're blessed & fucken lucky, arent we ?
Thursday, 27 December 2007
Wednesday, 19 December 2007
Bangkok > Dec 2007
Bangkok > Thailand
The 24 x 7 view from my Room window at my Hotel in Sukumvit :)
How the hell am i expected to concentrate on my work ? Im fucken trying though.
[ Im not too optimistic , because the pool has lights and i suspect is heated because i see a few of em at it even now (Like 6:45 pm Bkk time) ]
Sigh !
Friday, 14 December 2007
The Tag Game !
I wasnt sure if i wanted to spend 15 minutes on this. But the overwheming monotony of trying to write for 3 simultaneous brochures ready drove me to take a break.
So here goes:
Four things about me that you don't know:
(Nothing too dandy :) will be written here, u cant be too careful these days!)
-> I have been living on a fake birth certificate all my life. I was born 20 Nov 1984 - but my mom entered me in School when i was much too young and obtained a fake affidavit advancing my birth by 6 months. I have been the youngest person in my class from way back in school to up until college.I used to fucken get cheap kicks out of making older guys in Junior classes/college level call me Anna :)
-> I have a somewhat unexplained disorder with my reading. I read all my new books in one stroke - often ignoring pending work. I re-read books like crazy & read em real quick. It takes me about 2 hours to read, say. Kane & Abel or some Ken Follett. When at Home (in madurai where most of the books are) i read one novel a day - often just skimming through boring sections and complete the book before going to sleep that day.
- > I still take what 'pocket money' i want from my mom's purse everytime i go out. I havent ONCE, EVER - checked how much money i have in my bank account. [i track receivables, EEFC foreign currency accounts, Stock broker accounts everything at work but NEVER once my bank account - i might be penniless for all i know]. I carry my dad's credit card. People still call me a miser.
- > I once gave an about 30 min long speech on the 'Life & greatness of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru' back in Class II under floodlights, to an audience of over 500 people, won the first prize - all with my bloody fly undone. It took me the next 10 years to locate and destroy about a dozen copies of the incriminating photographic evidence. I tore them all up and flushed them down toilets :)
Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Research assistant 04,05 (Unpaid)
2. Various odd jobs around our business now :) [Supposedly paid, but all i see is chidambaram getting his cut and the rest accounted on paper]
Four movies I've watched more than once:
1. Baasha
2. The Incredibles
3. LOTR 1 and 2
4. Munich
I used to watch like 2 movies a day back when in college. There have been several weeks where id been to Satyam more than 5 times.
Four Places I have lived:
1. Madurai
2. Madras
Four T.V. Shows that I watch:
-> Not a TV guy. Sports sometimes.
Four places I have been to:
1. London, Uk
2. Florence, Tuscany, Italy
3. Paris, France
4. Shanghai, China
Four People who email me:
I get emails in TONS (all connected to work). Very few personal emails.
Four favorite foods:
1. Sambhar anything.
2. Um, molagootal and vendikkai uppadan.
I am a bloody glutton, so the rest dont matter. I eat them all.
Four Places I would like to visit:
1. Brazil
2. Mexico
3. Some places in the Middle East i hope to go this year (Istanbul, Damascus & Amman)
4. Rajastan / Kashmir
Four friends to tag:
I CAN think of 4 ppl who i can tag. But il pass. (Hari, I beg u not to do this if ur reading this :)) becoz ul then write it like 3 miles long and il faint)
Four things I am looking forward to in the coming year:
1. Travelling,
2. Starting basic Chinese, Portuguese & Spanish
3. Complete a new CMS based website
4. Bring my BMI back down to tolerable levels.
Hey, i kinda like this tag game !
So here goes:
Four things about me that you don't know:
(Nothing too dandy :) will be written here, u cant be too careful these days!)
-> I have been living on a fake birth certificate all my life. I was born 20 Nov 1984 - but my mom entered me in School when i was much too young and obtained a fake affidavit advancing my birth by 6 months. I have been the youngest person in my class from way back in school to up until college.I used to fucken get cheap kicks out of making older guys in Junior classes/college level call me Anna :)
-> I have a somewhat unexplained disorder with my reading. I read all my new books in one stroke - often ignoring pending work. I re-read books like crazy & read em real quick. It takes me about 2 hours to read, say. Kane & Abel or some Ken Follett. When at Home (in madurai where most of the books are) i read one novel a day - often just skimming through boring sections and complete the book before going to sleep that day.
- > I still take what 'pocket money' i want from my mom's purse everytime i go out. I havent ONCE, EVER - checked how much money i have in my bank account. [i track receivables, EEFC foreign currency accounts, Stock broker accounts everything at work but NEVER once my bank account - i might be penniless for all i know]. I carry my dad's credit card. People still call me a miser.
- > I once gave an about 30 min long speech on the 'Life & greatness of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru' back in Class II under floodlights, to an audience of over 500 people, won the first prize - all with my bloody fly undone. It took me the next 10 years to locate and destroy about a dozen copies of the incriminating photographic evidence. I tore them all up and flushed them down toilets :)
Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Research assistant 04,05 (Unpaid)
2. Various odd jobs around our business now :) [Supposedly paid, but all i see is chidambaram getting his cut and the rest accounted on paper]
Four movies I've watched more than once:
1. Baasha
2. The Incredibles
3. LOTR 1 and 2
4. Munich
I used to watch like 2 movies a day back when in college. There have been several weeks where id been to Satyam more than 5 times.
Four Places I have lived:
1. Madurai
2. Madras
Four T.V. Shows that I watch:
-> Not a TV guy. Sports sometimes.
Four places I have been to:
1. London, Uk
2. Florence, Tuscany, Italy
3. Paris, France
4. Shanghai, China
Four People who email me:
I get emails in TONS (all connected to work). Very few personal emails.
Four favorite foods:
1. Sambhar anything.
2. Um, molagootal and vendikkai uppadan.
I am a bloody glutton, so the rest dont matter. I eat them all.
Four Places I would like to visit:
1. Brazil
2. Mexico
3. Some places in the Middle East i hope to go this year (Istanbul, Damascus & Amman)
4. Rajastan / Kashmir
Four friends to tag:
I CAN think of 4 ppl who i can tag. But il pass. (Hari, I beg u not to do this if ur reading this :)) becoz ul then write it like 3 miles long and il faint)
Four things I am looking forward to in the coming year:
1. Travelling,
2. Starting basic Chinese, Portuguese & Spanish
3. Complete a new CMS based website
4. Bring my BMI back down to tolerable levels.
Hey, i kinda like this tag game !
Friday, 7 December 2007
Timepass - Part II
Heres one very interesting post (atleast not the content, but more like in a general way)
The author 'Jedi' is another guy whose rss feeds pop up once in a while. Although not one of my more preferred haunts, his work, is sometimes very good.
http://onecrazeeworld.blogspot.com/2007/10/over-and-out.html
This time he writes a fairly verbose piece admitting that he is Gay, out & proud of the fact.
Apparently, hes reproduced an article he wrote for his college mag or something. There have been several gestures from friends, fellow bloggers - 'i m proud of you' ' i respect you more' etc.
This is got me thinking on several issues
- I havent ever met any openly 'gay' person (i put 'openly' on purpose) and or lesbians either, im pretty sure.
Sure we all have heard of the Elton Johns, Ian mckellens & Ellen Degeneres of the world - but never in the flesh - no real people i know admit to be openly homosexual.
I wonder how the stats look for others ! I mean like - if some1 is reading this post - can you think of 3 people you know (not point "Hey that guy who lives next door is, like, gay" - but KNOW the person) who are openly homosexual ?
- Ive heard of instances (hearsay, i have to admit) where lesbians are like bisexual - not openly homo - but like occasionally lesbian etc. But to be gay, im sure, one has to be like really 'oriented' that way !
- I consider myself pretty tolerant & modern / without attaching any credence to ones 'orientation' - but say, i meet Jedi in some party - without him knowing that i read his fucken blog once in a while - im sure to feel queasy - like - "hey, hes gay. thats strange"
I dunno if my kids will grow up in a world where there is a fucken check box titled 'orientation' in college entry forms or something !
The author 'Jedi' is another guy whose rss feeds pop up once in a while. Although not one of my more preferred haunts, his work, is sometimes very good.
http://onecrazeeworld.blogspot.com/2007/10/over-and-out.html
This time he writes a fairly verbose piece admitting that he is Gay, out & proud of the fact.
Apparently, hes reproduced an article he wrote for his college mag or something. There have been several gestures from friends, fellow bloggers - 'i m proud of you' ' i respect you more' etc.
This is got me thinking on several issues
- I havent ever met any openly 'gay' person (i put 'openly' on purpose) and or lesbians either, im pretty sure.
Sure we all have heard of the Elton Johns, Ian mckellens & Ellen Degeneres of the world - but never in the flesh - no real people i know admit to be openly homosexual.
I wonder how the stats look for others ! I mean like - if some1 is reading this post - can you think of 3 people you know (not point "Hey that guy who lives next door is, like, gay" - but KNOW the person) who are openly homosexual ?
- Ive heard of instances (hearsay, i have to admit) where lesbians are like bisexual - not openly homo - but like occasionally lesbian etc. But to be gay, im sure, one has to be like really 'oriented' that way !
- I consider myself pretty tolerant & modern / without attaching any credence to ones 'orientation' - but say, i meet Jedi in some party - without him knowing that i read his fucken blog once in a while - im sure to feel queasy - like - "hey, hes gay. thats strange"
I dunno if my kids will grow up in a world where there is a fucken check box titled 'orientation' in college entry forms or something !
Monday, 3 December 2007
Timepass
I've been following this girl's exploits online for a long time now (maybe a good year & a half). Shes just brilliant :)
I havent yet seen 1 boring piece on her blog yet !!
Go check her out: http://poomanam.blogspot.com/
Atta girl!
I havent yet seen 1 boring piece on her blog yet !!
Go check her out: http://poomanam.blogspot.com/
Atta girl!
Sunday, 18 November 2007
Um, nameless
Interesting phase of my life i guess.
Drove down to Tuticorin, Sivakasi, Tirunelveli and the likes during the last week (Just a few hours from here, inspite of the horrific state of the 'National highways')
My first time ever to Tuticorin & Sivakasi - inspite of having been born & brought up so close to there. Interesting places, interesting people - some of the guys with whom i had appointments are surprisingly savvy, well informed & um, avante garde in their line of work - inspite of outwardly appearances & a general perception (at least mine was) suggesting otherwise.
Folks from down here are down to earth, warm & very eager to share information & offer guidance - Very different from Gujjubhais or Marwadis or Bhaiyyas - who'll think nothing of hustling & exploiting & often misguiding people with limited commercial experience - All down to different business cultures in different places i guess !
Interestingly, it really drives home one very important lesson:
It is easier & More profitable to sell in your own backyard - whatever you are making - derive strength & profitability from your backyard & talk volumes, geographies, international etc. AFTER being in control at your own turf.
Other things:
-- I DESPERATELY want some software / thingy - which can catalogue our book collection at home - my dad & i estimated today that we spent about 1,00,000 rs. every year at a minimum for the last 5 yrs (excluding educational material) - and because of lack of space & excessive loaning out to friends / carelessness we lose about 3/4 books a month.
I cudnt find freakonomics, The Hobbit, Beating the Street - My dad cudnt find parthiban kanavu & Hawley's condensed encyclopedia of chemistry [and omigosh, he went mad] -
-- My laptop is nearing its death [ i can sense it already - the battery is cranky, the power system is cranky (i cant work on ac power) & I ve been drooling over Thinkpad Ts&Rs for too long now ]. Some action is expected on wednesday when il be in chennai.
-- After neglecting the John Grisham shelf at home for over 2 or 3 yrs now - Ive done like 4 or 5 in the last 10 days - The Rainmaker, Innocent man, The last Juror, The Client ... the inspiration came from 'playing for pizza' - which soon led to a re-read of 'a painted house' - Nothing majorly spectacular
- but it really is AWFULLY HARD to find, buy & do good fiction these days - I may even resort to buying the heavily advertised / publicized blokes like - Khaled Hosseini or Orhan Pamuk - who just MIGHT write passable, light fiction.
Lifes good, informative & the works fun - but everytime i blog - the isolation & boredom get rubbed in :)
Drove down to Tuticorin, Sivakasi, Tirunelveli and the likes during the last week (Just a few hours from here, inspite of the horrific state of the 'National highways')
My first time ever to Tuticorin & Sivakasi - inspite of having been born & brought up so close to there. Interesting places, interesting people - some of the guys with whom i had appointments are surprisingly savvy, well informed & um, avante garde in their line of work - inspite of outwardly appearances & a general perception (at least mine was) suggesting otherwise.
Folks from down here are down to earth, warm & very eager to share information & offer guidance - Very different from Gujjubhais or Marwadis or Bhaiyyas - who'll think nothing of hustling & exploiting & often misguiding people with limited commercial experience - All down to different business cultures in different places i guess !
Interestingly, it really drives home one very important lesson:
It is easier & More profitable to sell in your own backyard - whatever you are making - derive strength & profitability from your backyard & talk volumes, geographies, international etc. AFTER being in control at your own turf.
Other things:
-- I DESPERATELY want some software / thingy - which can catalogue our book collection at home - my dad & i estimated today that we spent about 1,00,000 rs. every year at a minimum for the last 5 yrs (excluding educational material) - and because of lack of space & excessive loaning out to friends / carelessness we lose about 3/4 books a month.
I cudnt find freakonomics, The Hobbit, Beating the Street - My dad cudnt find parthiban kanavu & Hawley's condensed encyclopedia of chemistry [and omigosh, he went mad] -
-- My laptop is nearing its death [ i can sense it already - the battery is cranky, the power system is cranky (i cant work on ac power) & I ve been drooling over Thinkpad Ts&Rs for too long now ]. Some action is expected on wednesday when il be in chennai.
-- After neglecting the John Grisham shelf at home for over 2 or 3 yrs now - Ive done like 4 or 5 in the last 10 days - The Rainmaker, Innocent man, The last Juror, The Client ... the inspiration came from 'playing for pizza' - which soon led to a re-read of 'a painted house' - Nothing majorly spectacular
- but it really is AWFULLY HARD to find, buy & do good fiction these days - I may even resort to buying the heavily advertised / publicized blokes like - Khaled Hosseini or Orhan Pamuk - who just MIGHT write passable, light fiction.
Lifes good, informative & the works fun - but everytime i blog - the isolation & boredom get rubbed in :)
Sunday, 11 November 2007
The Trip to the UK > Nov 2007
This has to be brief for now - just a word or two - because iam now terribly busy writing up a business plan / activity report which means a lot to me and is VERY interesting (Yeah baby! my fingers are burnin to type up the rest of it)
I ve uploaded most of the photos & commentary as a photo album on Picassa (this is for no one's benefit - but i cant risk just keeping the photos on my comp)
I promise il update the complete photo set and commentary soon (From China, Italy and the rest of this one) - again serving also to protect my photos against accidental crash/data loss.
[ UPDATE: All my albums are up and running - although not like a photo journal - there just a few pics ive put in because a) I did not get that many pics because i was fucken working, unlike in London b) It is a real big pain to do the comments for each photo after 2 months :) - Theyre there nevertheless and surely are worth the storage ]
I'l be back, soon - and hopefully complete a few of the several WIP posts.
Cheerio!
Monday, 29 October 2007
Northampton > Ooh So English
The whole of the last few weeks had been a blur - hopping from one form of transport to another - just in time visas, ticketing and what not.
With the post on the italy not yet complete and here i am in an idylic, lonely little suburb (the locals here like to call [pronounced 'cooull' ;)] it a 'village') of Northampton, UK. (its called Moulton)
Ive been here now for a day and my work begins tomorrow.
The ride down to Northampton & then down to Moulton on the bus (called 'coouch' here) was all nice & cushy - thanks to google & my hotel's helpful boss cum manager.
I had a nauseating dinner yesterday of vodka, orange juice, french fries ('chips' here) and some kind of Rivoli made of mushrooms & Goat's cheese at the village pub called 'The Artichoke' - whatever that means. The matronly waitress calls you 'luv' and 'tut - tut's when you say you're vegetarian. ( The dinner put me back about 13 pounds, so that rubs that much more salt in)
Earlier Today - Explored Northampton town square on foot, got back & went out on an another expedition locating the best route on foot to my workplace for the coming week (that turned out to be a 4 mile trek in the rain, in shorts - and back - what now turns out to be a 2 mile route)
Turns out that this stay down might just turn out better than the Italian trip (i was longing for that one to turn out into a dreamy experience and didnt quite happen that way because of work pressure maybe).
The best thing is - Im not in a huge place like London and see things out of Buses & Taxis & Trains - I am staying in an old fashioned country inn (i even have a key to the front door & the owners live in the same building) in a nice & proper ('proh pah') English Village.
Will keep updating !
With the post on the italy not yet complete and here i am in an idylic, lonely little suburb (the locals here like to call [pronounced 'cooull' ;)] it a 'village') of Northampton, UK. (its called Moulton)
Ive been here now for a day and my work begins tomorrow.
The ride down to Northampton & then down to Moulton on the bus (called 'coouch' here) was all nice & cushy - thanks to google & my hotel's helpful boss cum manager.
I had a nauseating dinner yesterday of vodka, orange juice, french fries ('chips' here) and some kind of Rivoli made of mushrooms & Goat's cheese at the village pub called 'The Artichoke' - whatever that means. The matronly waitress calls you 'luv' and 'tut - tut's when you say you're vegetarian. ( The dinner put me back about 13 pounds, so that rubs that much more salt in)
Earlier Today - Explored Northampton town square on foot, got back & went out on an another expedition locating the best route on foot to my workplace for the coming week (that turned out to be a 4 mile trek in the rain, in shorts - and back - what now turns out to be a 2 mile route)
Turns out that this stay down might just turn out better than the Italian trip (i was longing for that one to turn out into a dreamy experience and didnt quite happen that way because of work pressure maybe).
The best thing is - Im not in a huge place like London and see things out of Buses & Taxis & Trains - I am staying in an old fashioned country inn (i even have a key to the front door & the owners live in the same building) in a nice & proper ('proh pah') English Village.
Will keep updating !
Sunday, 21 October 2007
More -- An MBA / Management / Me
In the same vein as the previous post - One thing that struck me as pretty significant - In all these accounts, books, magazine articles, TV talkshows - even discussions with friend / acquaintances etc. - theres always - I Banking, Management consulting, Marketing, Finance, M&A - and what the heck - even working with "NGOs" - as fancy - B School type career options.
In case, uve read this far - u might ask - fine, whats wrong -
My little observation is - 'Where is 'General Management / Managing ur own thing ' / 'Entrepreneurship' as a career option?' does any MBA at all focus on training some1 to run a business - B Schools are just teaching students the 'skill sets' needed to be successful, specialized EMPLOYEES - who work on specific assignments ?
As i gather - there ARE 'courses' listed in all B schools for 'Entrepreneurship' etc. and i guess, no successful entrepreneur will ever sit down to write a book about how B School helped him be a successful entrepreneur ;)
After all this thought about this whole thing - a few things have emerged - worth recording -
a) When i write my essay for 'Why an MBA?' when i apply (i mean, IF at all i apply) It'll begin like this -
' In my opinion - to be well rounded, successful & content in any endeavour the following are important:
i) Keeping oneself updated - Information
ii) Being capable of performing several specialized functions - Skill sets
iii) Giving oneself opportunities - Putting oneself in the right 'places'
iv) Making use of i, ii and inherent values, instincts, personal qualities (Personality, discipline, hardwork) and converting Opportunities from (iii) into worthwhile accomplishments.
The express purpose of my applying for an MBA from GSB XXXXX is to improve my sources of information, gain exposure of updated skill sets, broaden industry/geographical/network exposure AND identify/evaluate/improve my personal qualities to be successful & content in future complex, global ventures.
b) I WONT apply for an MBA until i manage a significant / groundbreaking achievement ( or achievementS ) with my current EXISTING portfolio of skillsets, Information and Opportunities [ I can judge it for myself ] - Otherwise there i run of risk of coming back from an expensive MBA - with more information, Skillsets - but unstable, incapable of what i am doing presently and in essence, very destabilizing for my present family, family business & employees - All probably because my personal qualities are no good for this kinda thing.
Closing comments : I havent managed a clear thought session like this for a LONG time :)
So - Gud luck to me & We'll keep updating on progress made.
In case, uve read this far - u might ask - fine, whats wrong -
My little observation is - 'Where is 'General Management / Managing ur own thing ' / 'Entrepreneurship' as a career option?' does any MBA at all focus on training some1 to run a business - B Schools are just teaching students the 'skill sets' needed to be successful, specialized EMPLOYEES - who work on specific assignments ?
As i gather - there ARE 'courses' listed in all B schools for 'Entrepreneurship' etc. and i guess, no successful entrepreneur will ever sit down to write a book about how B School helped him be a successful entrepreneur ;)
After all this thought about this whole thing - a few things have emerged - worth recording -
a) When i write my essay for 'Why an MBA?' when i apply (i mean, IF at all i apply) It'll begin like this -
' In my opinion - to be well rounded, successful & content in any endeavour the following are important:
i) Keeping oneself updated - Information
ii) Being capable of performing several specialized functions - Skill sets
iii) Giving oneself opportunities - Putting oneself in the right 'places'
iv) Making use of i, ii and inherent values, instincts, personal qualities (Personality, discipline, hardwork) and converting Opportunities from (iii) into worthwhile accomplishments.
The express purpose of my applying for an MBA from GSB XXXXX is to improve my sources of information, gain exposure of updated skill sets, broaden industry/geographical/network exposure AND identify/evaluate/improve my personal qualities to be successful & content in future complex, global ventures.
b) I WONT apply for an MBA until i manage a significant / groundbreaking achievement ( or achievementS ) with my current EXISTING portfolio of skillsets, Information and Opportunities [ I can judge it for myself ] - Otherwise there i run of risk of coming back from an expensive MBA - with more information, Skillsets - but unstable, incapable of what i am doing presently and in essence, very destabilizing for my present family, family business & employees - All probably because my personal qualities are no good for this kinda thing.
Closing comments : I havent managed a clear thought session like this for a LONG time :)
So - Gud luck to me & We'll keep updating on progress made.
Snapshots from Hell - A Review
I am recording my train of thoughts from the last couple of days on a lot of subjects, mostly along the same central theme:
The whole thought process was, i guess, triggered off when i started reading my new copy of "Snapshots from Hell - The Making of an MBA -- BY Peter Robinson"
[ Interestingly i bought it because i was at the bookstore and cudnt really find anything i havent read / or on the read list / or new stuff which caught my fancy - I had called Suraj from there asking him for some book to read - and he suggested this - Dunno if hes read it - but it has -- for a couple of hours yesterday and a good portion of the morning today -- kept me entertained and got me thinking ]
It is a very entertaining, very -in detail- account of the author's two year MBA course at GSB Stanford back in 90 or 91. What sets this apart - from the other similar books like 'Running with the bulls (some guy's account of his Wharton experience) is that the author - a self confessed 'Poet' (i.e a guy with no math background / literature / Non-business work ex) - gives us the other side of what superficially was a 2 yr top tier MBA
The emotional ups and downs, self doubts, course difficulties, day to day things etc. are chronicled with very good thoughts on -
Why an MBA ?
Hows an MBA grad different from others ?
What does it take to be an Investment Banker or Is Investment Banking a correct career option at all ?
Or is Marketing or Management Consulting your cup of tea ?
Is it really worth the trouble - cramming for 2 years, spending 100,000 $ ? etc. etc.
It is a nice read for guys like me who can always use a concise, lucid account (without the jargon) of what skill sets can acquired, networking is achieved, how it changes your life etc. etc.
Nice Read !
The whole thought process was, i guess, triggered off when i started reading my new copy of "Snapshots from Hell - The Making of an MBA -- BY Peter Robinson"
[ Interestingly i bought it because i was at the bookstore and cudnt really find anything i havent read / or on the read list / or new stuff which caught my fancy - I had called Suraj from there asking him for some book to read - and he suggested this - Dunno if hes read it - but it has -- for a couple of hours yesterday and a good portion of the morning today -- kept me entertained and got me thinking ]
It is a very entertaining, very -in detail- account of the author's two year MBA course at GSB Stanford back in 90 or 91. What sets this apart - from the other similar books like 'Running with the bulls (some guy's account of his Wharton experience) is that the author - a self confessed 'Poet' (i.e a guy with no math background / literature / Non-business work ex) - gives us the other side of what superficially was a 2 yr top tier MBA
The emotional ups and downs, self doubts, course difficulties, day to day things etc. are chronicled with very good thoughts on -
Why an MBA ?
Hows an MBA grad different from others ?
What does it take to be an Investment Banker or Is Investment Banking a correct career option at all ?
Or is Marketing or Management Consulting your cup of tea ?
Is it really worth the trouble - cramming for 2 years, spending 100,000 $ ? etc. etc.
It is a nice read for guys like me who can always use a concise, lucid account (without the jargon) of what skill sets can acquired, networking is achieved, how it changes your life etc. etc.
Nice Read !
Saturday, 13 October 2007
Am i fucken suffering from Manic Depression !?
I was on a trip to Italy - Milan - Florence - the works - and just got back to work. Beautiful place, Italy. I really loved the trip - possibly some of the most beautiful places ive ever ben to.
But the fucken matter of fact is that i suddenly have been feeling so goddamn low and all - i spoke to my dad today about it - he told me that 'at my age, i am blessed to be going through such a productive/informative phase and must take everything in stride'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manic_depression
But i dunno, i think i have Manic Depression - Means - i have prolonged phases of Angst/depression/negative periods lasting 3/6 months in between periods of good life & productivity.
Are such periods of Intensive introspection / Thought / Loneliness / actually good for you ?
What i mean is , Is it like you're supposed to build on these thoughts and do the groundwork for your next period of productiveness OR Am I really a hopeless, fucken depressed asshole.
But the fucken matter of fact is that i suddenly have been feeling so goddamn low and all - i spoke to my dad today about it - he told me that 'at my age, i am blessed to be going through such a productive/informative phase and must take everything in stride'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manic_depression
But i dunno, i think i have Manic Depression - Means - i have prolonged phases of Angst/depression/negative periods lasting 3/6 months in between periods of good life & productivity.
Are such periods of Intensive introspection / Thought / Loneliness / actually good for you ?
What i mean is , Is it like you're supposed to build on these thoughts and do the groundwork for your next period of productiveness OR Am I really a hopeless, fucken depressed asshole.
Sunday, 9 September 2007
Mindblowing stuff!
Um, something i forgot to scribble about. There is this new PHENOMENAL song by some nondescript band called 'The plain white tees' - called
"Hey there Delilah - (dee lie lah)"
I think in the 'fresh quotient' category it is as good as it can get.
I listened to it the first time with headphones on, i swear it made me smile & weep at the same time. I was so,um, 'overcome with emotion' that other pedestrians on the road started staring at me like, 'whatthe!?'
If you dont have it - RUSH to the nearest computer and download it.
Heres some nice bit of trivia on this masterpiece:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hey_There_Delilah
"Hey there Delilah - (dee lie lah)"
I think in the 'fresh quotient' category it is as good as it can get.
I listened to it the first time with headphones on, i swear it made me smile & weep at the same time. I was so,um, 'overcome with emotion' that other pedestrians on the road started staring at me like, 'whatthe!?'
If you dont have it - RUSH to the nearest computer and download it.
Heres some nice bit of trivia on this masterpiece:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hey_There_Delilah
Shanghai, China > September 2007
First - the photos
Pic 1 : Bridges, Highways, Tunnels.. Tunnels, Highways, Bridges - they are all over in China. Indians still dont know how to spell "INFRASTRUCTURE" (um, is that spelt right !? ;) )
Pic 1 : Bridges, Highways, Tunnels.. Tunnels, Highways, Bridges - they are all over in China. Indians still dont know how to spell "INFRASTRUCTURE" (um, is that spelt right !? ;) )
Pic 2: The view from my 15th floor room near Xujia hui Park. There are more skyscrapers (15 floors Plus) in this ONE district in Shanghai than the WHOLE of India. I can bet a 100 bucks against anyone. (Yeah, in US dollars)
Pic 3: One building in Yu Garden (the old town in Shanghai) - this street was like Ranganathan Street back home in Chennai - Each Jewellery store is like - 3 or 4 floors each - a 100,000 square feet PER floor.
A quickie recap of this month's week long trip to China.
1. First Impression: China (at least where i was in - Shanghai - and some nearby places) does not project the air of oppression, governmental intervention etc. as what i had expected - People i met with are all young, eager, progressive & dont complain of anything. I was walking around the hotel at night too - downtown shanghai is as glitz, dirty as Bangkok & Pattaya - right down to street pubs, hippie western junkies, girls etc. - No sign of too much of a governmental crackdown on such things.
But hey, there ARE cons. It has become a real big pain to take out business visas for China & hey - Blogger was banned in all the hotels i stayed in & even in the free wifi offered at Shanghai Pudong Airport. (cant vouch for the banned part - but i sure tried a few times - everytime - It came up as 'IP address blocked')
2. China is VASTLY different from India in one context - especially in the context of a westerner working in India Vs him working in China. In China - EVERYTHING - from roadsigns, bus signs, SMSs, Email, Keyboards, maps, forms etc. are fully in mandarin. They think, speak & work in Chinese 100%. Unlike India, where i guess a westerner can work with 100% comfort.
That said, these days the younger chinese take pride in what level of English they studied in University & inherently, they are a friendly, interactive bunch. Learning chinese isnt that hard as i figured :).
Chinese HATE the Japanese. Chinese think Westerners treat them poorly - they treat Indians like their own - for eg. when i visited customers - they treat us as if they are receiving local guests - informal, warm & traditional in reception. They treat Indian products as local products (In my context that is). But they receive Europeans more differently, Coolly - often serving them stuff in fancy, western cups & Saucers - and dont invite them to share their lunch etc. with Indians - as one old guy i met explained to me (thru a translator) they share a brotherly affection.
3. The Food - it HAS to be mentioned. Chinese cuisine is a gatronomical nightmare for anyone from India. All the stuff is like boiled in greasy, mildly oily,um, stew - all meat is eaten after being boiled, pan fried in funny gravy. They arent familiar the concept of vegetarians - I was invited to a elaborate dinner meeting at a really swanky, resort type 4 star Hotel - the big boss who was hosting told me through his interpreter - " Because you are vegetarian, I ordered this special fish & lobster for you " :) The dish in question was about a foot long fish, freshly gutted & steamed and served with funny long greens in a sort of Lemony stew.
Pork in china is reported cheaper and forms the bulk of the chinese meat consumption. It is advisable NOT to eat out in smaller places which are cheap, no doubt. But one can go in and request in chinese that you are sick and would like plain rice before made into a dish. Even with such a precaution, the kind waitress brought me rice with shreds of egg (iam ok with eggs) and some chewy pieces of meat, nodding kindly :))
Shanghai had a few Indian places - One place was "Tandoor" in the Jin Jiang Hotel area (part of a chain - www.tandoor.com.cn ) good food [ there was even dancing for 'Kajra re' & "maar daala" ] and the bill is that much. A good veggie meal (without frills like wine / Starters) costs about 400 RMB for two ( 400 / 7.5 = 53 USD ).
*** Rule of Thumb ** INR / USD = 41 & RMB / USD = 7.5. so any RMB you spend is equivalent to spending about 5.5 times more Rupees.
So my meal for 2 costed,what, 2000 indian bucks.
There is also the Indian Kitchen chain - (google for it, i think they have a site) run by a guy from Madras - The shanghai branch had managers called 'Siva' & 'Mani' - good fare - i think a really great meal (Masala dosa, vadai, sambhar sadam, Naan/Roti, subji anything pretty much) for 2 costs maybe 200 RMB - about 500 Indian Bucks per head.
My strategy was to hog at breakfast (the bread, butter, corn flakes) at the Hotel, skip lunch and eat out at Indian kitchen in the evening.
3. To continue in the same thread - Travelling & staying in China - minimum taxi fare 11 RMB - i think a 20 kilometer costs about 80 RMB (about 400 bucks) in Shanghai.
The trains are cheap - about 6 RMB for the same distance. Although are swanky & fast - travelling in them with a suit, carrying a laptop case - is like re-living one scene i remember i saw in Discovery channel - It was some documentary where they were showing how Tokyo metro was hiring guys to act like bouncers/hustlers - who use a sheet of metal to cram as many people into the trains as possible - by kicking the sheet/simultaneously pushing more and more people in. :)
My Hotel was'nt too posh or anything - i think after discounts we paid about 3000 RMB (about 15,ooo Indian bucks) for a week long stay. It had free unlimited broadband - free breakfast and is located in a very very central place. (Tianping Road, Xuijia Park area)
[ www.tianpinghotel.com i think, Google for it if doesnt work ] AND there are a couple of english speaking guys to help if you need anything.
I couldnt travel too much or make too many friends - but i anticipate more trips & more prolonged stays in China from now on :)
1 line summary:
China isnt as Sexy as other places, but is fun, exciting & a BIG opportunity.
Friday, 31 August 2007
Thursday, 30 August 2007
Who is Chris Daughtry ?
The most FRESH song ive heard all month
'Home' by Daughtry
**UPDATE**
A segment of what i caught off this song - Brilliant !!
"I'm going home,to the place where I belong,
And where your love has always been enough for me.
I think you got me all wrong.I don't regret this life I chose for me.
But these places and these faces are getting old.
So I'm going home.I'm going home."
*Yawn*
'Home' by Daughtry
**UPDATE**
A segment of what i caught off this song - Brilliant !!
"I'm going home,to the place where I belong,
And where your love has always been enough for me.
I think you got me all wrong.I don't regret this life I chose for me.
But these places and these faces are getting old.
So I'm going home.I'm going home."
*Yawn*
Tuesday, 14 August 2007
*Um, Nameless*
I am sitting at my newly assigned office desk in Chennai with scribbles all over the table & atleast 10 Post It Notes & about a dozen emails marked **REMINDER** and am still feeling jobless enough to write on my blog.
A fucken classic paradox :)
But i guess like all paradoxes - this sounds contradictory and untrue in the beginning, but resolves itself on closer observation.
Ahh WTF, i have to get back to work now.
A fucken classic paradox :)
But i guess like all paradoxes - this sounds contradictory and untrue in the beginning, but resolves itself on closer observation.
Ahh WTF, i have to get back to work now.
Monday, 6 August 2007
Saturday, 28 July 2007
HP 7
Yay! I have the E Book.
Email me any1, if u need it - its real good quality PDF and it aint doctored or something, as far as i can see (l.abhilash@gmail.com)
I've done about 4/5 chapters
**Spoiler**
Mad Eye Moody went Six Feet Under pretty early on. No one else, not YET :)
UPDATE: End August
The darned download did not have 2/3rds of the book. So I finally did the most Dastardly thing that cud av ben done - I went down to the harry potter shelf at Crossword Tnagar and read the last chapter. Frankly, i dont care about who kills who etc. I was more interested in what happend in the End (The 'happily ever after' part) - After i read the last chapter - i dunno - i wasn't like too impressed. It was pretty ordinary.
LOL - Lupin's Son was called 'Teddy' - and there was a lot of 'snoggling' mentioned. There was a lot of name calling, 'Bastard' etc. Tut, tut such is the state of children's books these days.
UPDATE: Mid September
I capped all my cheap deeds concerning HP7 with this one - I bought a superb looking fake in T Nagar and completed the chapters in between.
One thing that struck me - Rowling is pretty smart to have hung up her quill and give Potter a final 'Happily ever after' - It *started* getting a bit boring with the last 2 editions - Half blood prince & now this.
But hey, yum yum, i cant wait to look at Emma Watson in the new movies ;)
Email me any1, if u need it - its real good quality PDF and it aint doctored or something, as far as i can see (l.abhilash@gmail.com)
I've done about 4/5 chapters
**Spoiler**
Mad Eye Moody went Six Feet Under pretty early on. No one else, not YET :)
UPDATE: End August
The darned download did not have 2/3rds of the book. So I finally did the most Dastardly thing that cud av ben done - I went down to the harry potter shelf at Crossword Tnagar and read the last chapter. Frankly, i dont care about who kills who etc. I was more interested in what happend in the End (The 'happily ever after' part) - After i read the last chapter - i dunno - i wasn't like too impressed. It was pretty ordinary.
LOL - Lupin's Son was called 'Teddy' - and there was a lot of 'snoggling' mentioned. There was a lot of name calling, 'Bastard' etc. Tut, tut such is the state of children's books these days.
UPDATE: Mid September
I capped all my cheap deeds concerning HP7 with this one - I bought a superb looking fake in T Nagar and completed the chapters in between.
One thing that struck me - Rowling is pretty smart to have hung up her quill and give Potter a final 'Happily ever after' - It *started* getting a bit boring with the last 2 editions - Half blood prince & now this.
But hey, yum yum, i cant wait to look at Emma Watson in the new movies ;)
Lots of unrelated stuff !
I am just coming in after a really long Saturday evening walk. Nice, pleasant, drizzly weather - a rarity in this part of the world.
The walk lasted from "In Dinon.." to "Last Kiss.." a total of about an hour and a half of music on my iPod shuffle :)
[ A slight ramification from the original post's content - Last Kiss - the Pearl Jam version is one of those songs which really,u know, makes an impact when you listen to it closely - like on personal stereo or something:
" Oh where, oh where can my baby be,
The Lord took her away from me.
She's gone to heaven so I've got to be good,
So I can see my baby when I leave this world.
We were out on a date, in my daddy's car,
We hadn't driven very far,
There in the road, straight up ahead,
A car was stalled, the engine was dead.
I couldn't stop, so I swerved to the right,
I'll never forget the sound that night.
The screamin' tires, the bustin' glass,
The painful scream that I heard last...
When I woke up, the rain was pouring down,
There were people standin' all around.
Something warm going through my eyes,
But somehow I found my baby that night.
I lifted her head, she looked at me and said
"Hold me darlin' just a little while."
I held her close, I kissed her our last kiss,
I found the love that I knew I had missed.
Well now she's gone, even though I hold her tight,
I lost my love, my life that night."
Its a phenominal example of how a real beautiful song works - simple, wonderful lyrics and sung/delivered with as minimal fuss as possible. ]
One really funny incident that happened and an analysis of a related issue:
Somewhere during the walk (I remember it was during "Yeh Fizayen..(Main hoon naa)") i suddenly felt like i wanted to pee, real bad. I somehow held on till the um,urge, passed and walked on ok. There was always the option of the street corner - where theres always the garbage dump to pee into - which thankfully i did not have to excercise because of my,um, urge being moderate.
I remember in the same context walking one evening Last November along the Left bank of the Siene, trying to walk all the way from the Notre Dame to the Effiel Tower. I saw atleast 2 separate acts of,um, guys peeing on walls along the embankment - it wasnt like late in the night or something and those guys werent exactly tramps - and there wasnt any shortage of Toilets - all one had to do was to climb up back on to the Road from the river bank and walk into a public loo. Still one or two chose to pee,um,on the pavement.
I got into one public loo near the base of the Eiffel tower - sure enough - there were broken toilets, overflowing ones and shocking stench - maybe it was one of those 'bad hair' days ( :) OR maybe it was swampled due to this great horde of Indian tourists milling around yelling in Gujrati, Telugu and what not!)
Now, Proper Paris, the sprawling Metropolis that it is, has a 2 mn population - density roughly equal to any indian metro - maybe slightly lower in density. And in some cases, some rough neighborhoods werent any better than any Indian small down in terms of cleanliness etc.
Its true the infrastructure in superior in every sense - but it isnt the heaven that some people assume & as some of these columists portray it.
Elsewhere outside Proper paris - just 20 miles out - the absence of people came to me as a major shock - there simply isnt anyone visible on the road - there are quaint hamlets every 10/15 miles and roadsigns all around - but the absence of people is HUGELY visible.
France has a TOTAL of 64 mn people of which 61 mn of them live in 'Metros' for eg.ONLY the region designed as paris metro has about 12mn people living (Paris + 75 mile radius or so) inside a Total Sq.Km area of the whole country of roughly 6.50 lacs.
Now INDIA - total area 31 lacs (Less than 5 times France's land mass) BUT a population of 1150 mn (20 times France's population) consequently India is MUCH crowded & there a MUCH bigger stress put on the natural resources, governments & the general peaceful life is THAT much more difficult.
I sometimes wonder how we manage to exist - ruled by some old puppet sardar thousands of miles away - still paying taxes, getting work done etc. I guess theres always an element of self governing, religous/cultural tolerance etc, in-built in the Indian ethic or something :)
And hey ! Back to the old issue in hand - if some wiseass is thinking of mouthing off about building public loos in every street - think of all this too !
The walk lasted from "In Dinon.." to "Last Kiss.." a total of about an hour and a half of music on my iPod shuffle :)
[ A slight ramification from the original post's content - Last Kiss - the Pearl Jam version is one of those songs which really,u know, makes an impact when you listen to it closely - like on personal stereo or something:
" Oh where, oh where can my baby be,
The Lord took her away from me.
She's gone to heaven so I've got to be good,
So I can see my baby when I leave this world.
We were out on a date, in my daddy's car,
We hadn't driven very far,
There in the road, straight up ahead,
A car was stalled, the engine was dead.
I couldn't stop, so I swerved to the right,
I'll never forget the sound that night.
The screamin' tires, the bustin' glass,
The painful scream that I heard last...
When I woke up, the rain was pouring down,
There were people standin' all around.
Something warm going through my eyes,
But somehow I found my baby that night.
I lifted her head, she looked at me and said
"Hold me darlin' just a little while."
I held her close, I kissed her our last kiss,
I found the love that I knew I had missed.
Well now she's gone, even though I hold her tight,
I lost my love, my life that night."
Its a phenominal example of how a real beautiful song works - simple, wonderful lyrics and sung/delivered with as minimal fuss as possible. ]
One really funny incident that happened and an analysis of a related issue:
Somewhere during the walk (I remember it was during "Yeh Fizayen..(Main hoon naa)") i suddenly felt like i wanted to pee, real bad. I somehow held on till the um,urge, passed and walked on ok. There was always the option of the street corner - where theres always the garbage dump to pee into - which thankfully i did not have to excercise because of my,um, urge being moderate.
I remember in the same context walking one evening Last November along the Left bank of the Siene, trying to walk all the way from the Notre Dame to the Effiel Tower. I saw atleast 2 separate acts of,um, guys peeing on walls along the embankment - it wasnt like late in the night or something and those guys werent exactly tramps - and there wasnt any shortage of Toilets - all one had to do was to climb up back on to the Road from the river bank and walk into a public loo. Still one or two chose to pee,um,on the pavement.
I got into one public loo near the base of the Eiffel tower - sure enough - there were broken toilets, overflowing ones and shocking stench - maybe it was one of those 'bad hair' days ( :) OR maybe it was swampled due to this great horde of Indian tourists milling around yelling in Gujrati, Telugu and what not!)
Now, Proper Paris, the sprawling Metropolis that it is, has a 2 mn population - density roughly equal to any indian metro - maybe slightly lower in density. And in some cases, some rough neighborhoods werent any better than any Indian small down in terms of cleanliness etc.
Its true the infrastructure in superior in every sense - but it isnt the heaven that some people assume & as some of these columists portray it.
Elsewhere outside Proper paris - just 20 miles out - the absence of people came to me as a major shock - there simply isnt anyone visible on the road - there are quaint hamlets every 10/15 miles and roadsigns all around - but the absence of people is HUGELY visible.
France has a TOTAL of 64 mn people of which 61 mn of them live in 'Metros' for eg.ONLY the region designed as paris metro has about 12mn people living (Paris + 75 mile radius or so) inside a Total Sq.Km area of the whole country of roughly 6.50 lacs.
Now INDIA - total area 31 lacs (Less than 5 times France's land mass) BUT a population of 1150 mn (20 times France's population) consequently India is MUCH crowded & there a MUCH bigger stress put on the natural resources, governments & the general peaceful life is THAT much more difficult.
I sometimes wonder how we manage to exist - ruled by some old puppet sardar thousands of miles away - still paying taxes, getting work done etc. I guess theres always an element of self governing, religous/cultural tolerance etc, in-built in the Indian ethic or something :)
And hey ! Back to the old issue in hand - if some wiseass is thinking of mouthing off about building public loos in every street - think of all this too !
Tuesday, 24 July 2007
$$$ and :) :) :)
Sep 7 Shanghai, China
Oct 3 Milan, Italy
Oct 31 Northampton, UK
A lot of $$$ and a lot of fun !!
Oct 3 Milan, Italy
Oct 31 Northampton, UK
A lot of $$$ and a lot of fun !!
Wednesday, 18 July 2007
Sivaji !!
It has been a VERY interesting last week - several of my medium term financial, professional & personal goals have been put in to much clearer perspective.
Terminology like: Rapidly changing business practices, Industrial climate, excessive dependence on one business model, financial discipline, consistency etc. are showing their true significance.
Now heres something fresh, finally watched 'Sivaji' on Thursday. Incredible, its been running 9 shows housefull for 4-5 weeks now !!
10 observations:
1. Sivaji is an out and out Rajini Movie. No logic, its all, u know, Style
2. The quality of each frame shows - Great technical work - It HAS to be said
3. It is said that 'Sivaji' is the MOST expensive movie ever made in India costing in excess of 90 crores & so far, it has generated revenues of 350 crores worldwide - nearing/near surpassing 'Sholay's' TOTAL collection. Whew!
4. The Music - BGM is good. But with all Rajni music - the music does not appeal to you immediately - it sort of grows on you - after watching the visuals on screen and all - its true for 'sivaji' as well.
5. The Music videos are great - possibly with the exception of "Oru Koodai sunlight". The money can literally be seen being thrown. For eg. the recreation of some kind of a babylonian harem in "Vaaji vaaji.." is probably the best looking, best lighted set ive ever seen (vis-a-vis Devdas etc.)
6. Shankar movies use graphics a wee bit too much - which often ends up making the whole effort cheap looking - Its ok in 'Sivaji' - but sometimes, this 'white skin' etc.. is not too funny and appears somewhat clumsy.
7. This new RAP lyrics thing in all new Rahman's Tamil movies is becoming a wee bit repetitive & irritating - with the exception of the climax score in 'Sivaji'
8. An interesting analysis of the economics - Pirates of the Caribbean - At the World's End - is the BIGGEST movie ever - and it made roughly 949 Million USD worldwide - and it cost - 225 USD to make. Sivaji interestingly costed 22.5 Million USD to make and has made 87.5 mn USD to date.
Pirates made roughly 67.5% abroad and the rest 32.5% in the US. And considering the scale of promotions, number of screens and the potential worldwide audience pool, English language etc. it has made only 10 times the amount of money 'Sivaji' has made and has costed 10 times what Sivaji has costed.
It also goes to show why theres more scope - The biggest chinese film ever- Crouching tiger hidden dragon - made about 213 Mn USD Worldwide
- I dunno - maybe some Hollywood studio must meet up Rajini and THINK of a nice storyline, a Great script - which can make a movie with Inherent merit AND something which can leverage Rajini's inherent 'Style'
9. I am however, going to be a buyer of Media stocks like Adlabs films, Zeetele, TV18, NDTV whenever the current market slips :) looks like good longtime fun.
10. Coming back to Sivaji - If i watch Sivaji for a second time - it will be ONLY for Shriya - Her provocative costumes & more provocating,um, shall we say, 'dancing' carries most of the songs and finally made my day.
:))
Sunday, 8 July 2007
Roger Federer & More..
Just saw Roger Federer lift the 5th consec wimbledon trophy beating Rafael Nadal - A nice 5 setter - which Nadal cud av won easily - as Federer admitted - "I told rafael at the net that you equally deserved the victory, i got more lucky today"
Rafa is no longer awkward on grass like he used to be - he is Phenom !! :) Gud luck to him!!
I did a marathon session of Mario Puzo's works concerning Vito Corleone, Micheal Corleone & a related, more recent work titled 'the sicilian' - also watched GF I and II back to back on DVD last night.
If at all - theres a lesson that can be taken from these characters (and to an extent from Al Pacino's powerful portrayal of Micheal) is how seriously they are portrayed to be taking their work, ethics, u know, the other sicilian stuff like omerta, 'Don' 'The Godfather thing' etc.
For a slightly superficial reader of this kinda sicilian stuff - it actually will appear stupid, funny because these guys - as the usual americans in the books say - 'Smooth guineas' 'sicilian simpletons' - appear to overly glorify even cheap, lowly stuff they do - and to be fair a reader has every right to just treat it as only that.
But in my opinion - this 'glorified treatment' of mundane, often 'chickenshit' work can do real good to the person and his organization ('company' as in sicilian 'family') in the long term.
My father has one quote made out on a wooden cutout - " The secret and priceless ingredient of every product & service is the honor, diginity & integrity of the one who makes it" - one who stops realizing that and treats regular work as 'chickenshit' subject to endless Gaali & procrastination - is in a deep pile of shit himself - no sustained 'organization' / 'business' can be created by such people.
I'l try and be consicous of this analogy when i actually do work in the coming days, i thought about it real hard today and it really makes some sense.
Rafa is no longer awkward on grass like he used to be - he is Phenom !! :) Gud luck to him!!
I did a marathon session of Mario Puzo's works concerning Vito Corleone, Micheal Corleone & a related, more recent work titled 'the sicilian' - also watched GF I and II back to back on DVD last night.
If at all - theres a lesson that can be taken from these characters (and to an extent from Al Pacino's powerful portrayal of Micheal) is how seriously they are portrayed to be taking their work, ethics, u know, the other sicilian stuff like omerta, 'Don' 'The Godfather thing' etc.
For a slightly superficial reader of this kinda sicilian stuff - it actually will appear stupid, funny because these guys - as the usual americans in the books say - 'Smooth guineas' 'sicilian simpletons' - appear to overly glorify even cheap, lowly stuff they do - and to be fair a reader has every right to just treat it as only that.
But in my opinion - this 'glorified treatment' of mundane, often 'chickenshit' work can do real good to the person and his organization ('company' as in sicilian 'family') in the long term.
My father has one quote made out on a wooden cutout - " The secret and priceless ingredient of every product & service is the honor, diginity & integrity of the one who makes it" - one who stops realizing that and treats regular work as 'chickenshit' subject to endless Gaali & procrastination - is in a deep pile of shit himself - no sustained 'organization' / 'business' can be created by such people.
I'l try and be consicous of this analogy when i actually do work in the coming days, i thought about it real hard today and it really makes some sense.
Thursday, 5 July 2007
Sunday, 1 July 2007
Nameless - due to lack of energy to think up a name :)
Somehow, i really dig Johnny Bravo, u know.
I spent the better part of my day - unloading my old comic book dabbas from the top of the bookshelves & reading them one by one.
Asterix & Obelix, Tarzan, Archie, Disney stuff (Donald, Uncle Scrooge, Mickey, Goofy & friends), Amar Chitra Katha, Mad Magazines, Phantom & my other favorite - Rani Comics "Lucky Luke" series (The stuff is illustrated in Tamil and each copy costs about 10 bucks for about 40-50 pages) - real good stuff [ Might sound stupid - the idea of reading illustrated tamil comics - trust me - its fun ]
My mom's giving way one dabbafull to someone and all that'll be left will be the more expensive, glossy stuff :(
*sniff* will miss the good old times
Song of the Week: Doorie (Atif Aslam). Man ! these Pakistani rockers sure do know how to write, sing and play the guitar !!
So long! and So much for serious blogging !! :)
I spent the better part of my day - unloading my old comic book dabbas from the top of the bookshelves & reading them one by one.
Asterix & Obelix, Tarzan, Archie, Disney stuff (Donald, Uncle Scrooge, Mickey, Goofy & friends), Amar Chitra Katha, Mad Magazines, Phantom & my other favorite - Rani Comics "Lucky Luke" series (The stuff is illustrated in Tamil and each copy costs about 10 bucks for about 40-50 pages) - real good stuff [ Might sound stupid - the idea of reading illustrated tamil comics - trust me - its fun ]
My mom's giving way one dabbafull to someone and all that'll be left will be the more expensive, glossy stuff :(
*sniff* will miss the good old times
Song of the Week: Doorie (Atif Aslam). Man ! these Pakistani rockers sure do know how to write, sing and play the guitar !!
So long! and So much for serious blogging !! :)
Sunday, 17 June 2007
Nother beautiful thought
When I am working on a problem, I never think of beauty. I think only about how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.
-- Richard Buckminster Fuller
-- Richard Buckminster Fuller
Business Blogging
The last week has been a major revelation for me - I have seen atleast two (one of them a pretty comprehensive success story) case studies where a properly put together, continously updated business blog & Online Networking thing - can prove to be an EXCELLENT business development resource - for the guy who is maintaining it AND for anyone who wants to employ/coordinate/discuss new things with the writer of the journal - you enter the table with a LOT of insight on the person's background, quality, experience etc. which makes it VERY easy to work together.
I'l do more stuff on my blog here on on these lines - instead of time wasting, lyrics writing and general bitching.
For starters:
Heres my little profile (i was about to write, 'Pathetic little' - but in business blogging - theres NO room for self depreciatory lines :0 ) on LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/4/40a/182
Il be updating it soon.
One really good line, which seems almost too simple, but is the LESSON OF THE YEAR for me, is here:
" The reason it seems that price is all your customers care about is...
... that you haven't given them anything else to care about."
I guess il print it on a Tee Shirt and send it to all our key salesmen or something - and for 'green' guys like me who think nothing about cutting prices left and right with utter disregard to anything else while making deals - i guess we cud tattoo this one across our foreheads.
( Heres the actual blog's URL with the full article http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/05/price.html )
So heres to 'better blogging' and 'giving my customers more' !! Cheerio !!
I'l do more stuff on my blog here on on these lines - instead of time wasting, lyrics writing and general bitching.
For starters:
Heres my little profile (i was about to write, 'Pathetic little' - but in business blogging - theres NO room for self depreciatory lines :0 ) on LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/4/40a/182
Il be updating it soon.
One really good line, which seems almost too simple, but is the LESSON OF THE YEAR for me, is here:
" The reason it seems that price is all your customers care about is...
... that you haven't given them anything else to care about."
I guess il print it on a Tee Shirt and send it to all our key salesmen or something - and for 'green' guys like me who think nothing about cutting prices left and right with utter disregard to anything else while making deals - i guess we cud tattoo this one across our foreheads.
( Heres the actual blog's URL with the full article http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/05/price.html )
So heres to 'better blogging' and 'giving my customers more' !! Cheerio !!
Wednesday, 13 June 2007
More !
Discovered today :
How Offset printing works - and what a Big Business Segment it is Whew! -- http://www.howstuffworks.com/offset-printing.htm
Also getting pissed with this bloody job where i am having to switch off from one mode to another all day and finally ending up doing 5 out of 10 jobs in a totally lameass way
Design brochure in the morning, Send filled Vendor form in the afternoon, Raw material Purchase / negotiation before lunch, Negotiate 1 or 2 orders with customers after Lunch, New product understanding at night ...
God ! Give me about a Billion Tax free Dollars in Bloody Goverment bonds which pay monthly coupons for me to burn !
I'l fucken retire with Eva Green in Bloody Stockholm!!
:))
How Offset printing works - and what a Big Business Segment it is Whew! -- http://www.howstuffworks.com/offset-printing.htm
Also getting pissed with this bloody job where i am having to switch off from one mode to another all day and finally ending up doing 5 out of 10 jobs in a totally lameass way
Design brochure in the morning, Send filled Vendor form in the afternoon, Raw material Purchase / negotiation before lunch, Negotiate 1 or 2 orders with customers after Lunch, New product understanding at night ...
God ! Give me about a Billion Tax free Dollars in Bloody Goverment bonds which pay monthly coupons for me to burn !
I'l fucken retire with Eva Green in Bloody Stockholm!!
:))
Tuesday, 12 June 2007
Breathless !
In dino, dil mera,
mujhse hai keh raha
tu khwaab saja,
tu ji le jarahai tujhe bhi ijaazat,
karle tu bhi mohabbat
Berang si hai badi zindagi kuchh rang to bharoon
main apani tanhaayi ke waaste abb kuchh toh karoon
jab mile thodi fursat,
mujhse karle muhabbat
hai tujhe bhi ijaazat,
karle tu bhi muhabbat
Usako chhupaakar main sabse kabhi le chaloon kahin door…
aankhon ke pyaalon kse pita rahoon usake chehre ka noor
iss jamaane se chhupakar,
puri karloon main hasrat
hai tujhe bhi ijaazat,
karle tu bhi muhabbat
- 'In Dinon' from 'Metro' - Brilliant !
Strings, Pritam and artists who've performed stuff like 'Woh lamhe woh baatein' have literally written a new episode in Hindi music History- a whole new genre of soft rock - which is so full of soul.
Shitheads like Himesh Reshammiya - please shut up for a few months, listen & learn from work this.
mujhse hai keh raha
tu khwaab saja,
tu ji le jarahai tujhe bhi ijaazat,
karle tu bhi mohabbat
Berang si hai badi zindagi kuchh rang to bharoon
main apani tanhaayi ke waaste abb kuchh toh karoon
jab mile thodi fursat,
mujhse karle muhabbat
hai tujhe bhi ijaazat,
karle tu bhi muhabbat
Usako chhupaakar main sabse kabhi le chaloon kahin door…
aankhon ke pyaalon kse pita rahoon usake chehre ka noor
iss jamaane se chhupakar,
puri karloon main hasrat
hai tujhe bhi ijaazat,
karle tu bhi muhabbat
- 'In Dinon' from 'Metro' - Brilliant !
Strings, Pritam and artists who've performed stuff like 'Woh lamhe woh baatein' have literally written a new episode in Hindi music History- a whole new genre of soft rock - which is so full of soul.
Shitheads like Himesh Reshammiya - please shut up for a few months, listen & learn from work this.
Tuesday, 5 June 2007
Feminism
While i am all for "Woman Empowerment" (whatever the hell that is), i fucken HATE feminists.
I mean those people who raise hell for non relevant, natural issues concerning basic differences between men / women and write friggin newspaper columns on such subjects.
I got to read atleast 3 such pieces today. Man ! Iam pissed off.
I mean those people who raise hell for non relevant, natural issues concerning basic differences between men / women and write friggin newspaper columns on such subjects.
I got to read atleast 3 such pieces today. Man ! Iam pissed off.
Friday, 20 April 2007
गूगल हिंदी में !!
वाह ! क्या बाथ है !!
अभी ब्लॉगर हिंग्लिश को हिंदी में ऑटोमेटिक बदल देता है !!
I dunno, at such a scorching pace of progress with technology - i dunno what the F&*k il become in the next 5 years ??
A f&$#$en ogre whos so out of vogue that, il be like one of those uncles u get to see once in a while who cant fucken SMS or email.
:))
अभी ब्लॉगर हिंग्लिश को हिंदी में ऑटोमेटिक बदल देता है !!
I dunno, at such a scorching pace of progress with technology - i dunno what the F&*k il become in the next 5 years ??
A f&$#$en ogre whos so out of vogue that, il be like one of those uncles u get to see once in a while who cant fucken SMS or email.
:))
Saturday, 31 March 2007
Historical Moment !?
Well what the heck!
Today will go down in History as the day where i discovered that the first results of a google search of the words "Abhilash Narayanan" leads to
1. A link to my blog
2. My name cited in some research paper
Cool :)
Here, Try
But hey, that reminds me - i have to go easy on the swear words & the contents of my posts hereafter :)
Today will go down in History as the day where i discovered that the first results of a google search of the words "Abhilash Narayanan" leads to
1. A link to my blog
2. My name cited in some research paper
Cool :)
Here, Try
But hey, that reminds me - i have to go easy on the swear words & the contents of my posts hereafter :)
Thursday, 29 March 2007
Item 3 of the cool song list
"Tenu leke" from Salaam-E-Ishq
I really like these cathartic climax naach gaana type songs :)
I really like these cathartic climax naach gaana type songs :)
Um, stuff
"If you take a life do you know what you'll give?
Odds are, you won't like what it is.
When the storm arrives, would you be seen with me
By the merciless eyes I've deceived?
I've seen angels fall from blinding heights,
But you yourself are nothing so divine;
Just next in line.
Arm yourself because no-one else here will save you.
The odds will betray you,
And I will replace you.
You can't deny the prize; it may never fulfill you.
It longs to kill you;
Are you willing to die?
The coldest blood runs through my veins;
You know my name."
-- The coolest song ive heard in the last month :), after "Aaj ki Raat" from Don. Whats the connection, u may ask, um, i dunno - i like both.
The amount of money i saved by switching to Skype for telephonic chit chat (for business ) from home & office - About 6500 - 9000 in the last month. More accurate estimates will show up from this month from my mobile bill.
Business concluded purely out of electronic introductions contact making / Googling / Skype conversations / Um, some old fashioned phonecalls :) as on date (Consolidated 12 months) - crossed USD 10,00,000 on 16 march 2007.
I tell my dad this morning how business with people abroad is simpler and almost purely based on resourcefulness / deal to deal competitiveness and your level of what is, as per my dad' lingo "Useness knowledge" :)
He, the disciple of diogenes that he is, mumbles something and walks away. Although i agree with him on some of the merits of a sound local customer centric business model complemented by what he calls 'exports'.
But the fact is the world has changed and fast. It is, more than ever, possible to understand and build good businesses around the needs of customers abroad - the nimbleness of an organization - from the top down to adapt to such changing rules of the game is important.
*yawn* lets see
Odds are, you won't like what it is.
When the storm arrives, would you be seen with me
By the merciless eyes I've deceived?
I've seen angels fall from blinding heights,
But you yourself are nothing so divine;
Just next in line.
Arm yourself because no-one else here will save you.
The odds will betray you,
And I will replace you.
You can't deny the prize; it may never fulfill you.
It longs to kill you;
Are you willing to die?
The coldest blood runs through my veins;
You know my name."
-- The coolest song ive heard in the last month :), after "Aaj ki Raat" from Don. Whats the connection, u may ask, um, i dunno - i like both.
The amount of money i saved by switching to Skype for telephonic chit chat (for business ) from home & office - About 6500 - 9000 in the last month. More accurate estimates will show up from this month from my mobile bill.
Business concluded purely out of electronic introductions contact making / Googling / Skype conversations / Um, some old fashioned phonecalls :) as on date (Consolidated 12 months) - crossed USD 10,00,000 on 16 march 2007.
I tell my dad this morning how business with people abroad is simpler and almost purely based on resourcefulness / deal to deal competitiveness and your level of what is, as per my dad' lingo "Useness knowledge" :)
He, the disciple of diogenes that he is, mumbles something and walks away. Although i agree with him on some of the merits of a sound local customer centric business model complemented by what he calls 'exports'.
But the fact is the world has changed and fast. It is, more than ever, possible to understand and build good businesses around the needs of customers abroad - the nimbleness of an organization - from the top down to adapt to such changing rules of the game is important.
*yawn* lets see
Friday, 16 March 2007
Back to old ways
Hmm, after what,an year?, of proper sleeping & some attempt at work & getting a life iam back to the old ways:
Somnipathy (my patented term for inability to sleep), fretting, aimless googling, and hmm, blogging :)
I guess everyone's life goes through ups, downs and lean patches. Must fucken learn to cope and learn it fucken fast too
We'll see, wont we ?
Heres a link to the video of chris cornell's "You know my Name: OST Casino Royale"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7j93Bf-EyI
Nice & catchy
Somnipathy (my patented term for inability to sleep), fretting, aimless googling, and hmm, blogging :)
I guess everyone's life goes through ups, downs and lean patches. Must fucken learn to cope and learn it fucken fast too
We'll see, wont we ?
Heres a link to the video of chris cornell's "You know my Name: OST Casino Royale"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7j93Bf-EyI
Nice & catchy
Sunday, 18 February 2007
Whats Hot lately
a) Asin, whos like majorly hot
b) "Mera Dil.. Dil mera.. Ishq main.. ab tera.. ho gaya" - the song from Salaam-e-ishq
What not hot, but intriguing:
Micheal Crichton's "NEXT" - Transgenic apes a.k.a Monkeyboys, Trangenic parrots, Gene sprays, Patenting human cell lines & genes. Stuff like this happening could change a fucken lot of stuff, and as it appears, not too far off in the future. **worth a thought **
Narayana Murthy, fucken says, hes 'disappointed' that the goverment is not levying enough taxes on IT companies :) What NERVE !!
b) "Mera Dil.. Dil mera.. Ishq main.. ab tera.. ho gaya" - the song from Salaam-e-ishq
What not hot, but intriguing:
Micheal Crichton's "NEXT" - Transgenic apes a.k.a Monkeyboys, Trangenic parrots, Gene sprays, Patenting human cell lines & genes. Stuff like this happening could change a fucken lot of stuff, and as it appears, not too far off in the future. **worth a thought **
Narayana Murthy, fucken says, hes 'disappointed' that the goverment is not levying enough taxes on IT companies :) What NERVE !!
WHOA - finally, here we are
Its ben, i dunno, 2 or 3 months since i even thought of blogging :) The last couple have been lame ass, football fixtures :), and frankly the fucken game, rooney, ronaldo & his bunch are beginning to bore me. Maybe im growing up !
First up - one thing that somewhat peeved me a bit. (I read hari's post about his 'article' (ahem, no pun intended) in some actech mag, which was supposed to av been released with Chemfluence this year.
Some junior guy who had been organizing it kept calling me for advice, contacts & money. I gave him some gyaan (of course, thats free), a few contacts and no money. I feel bad now in retrospect, mebbe i shud av sent him 10 - 15 G. But somehow, call me a miser or whatever, i felt no association with the damned place & absolutely NO sense of affiliation whatsoever.
Funny, like, i was one of those guys in college who used to shoot crap (or atleast listen to) about how actech is a pathetic pigsty & how no ones contributing to add value and all. Now see what i do :)
But somehow, i feel no fucken sense of attachment/responsibility whatever. Although I feel bad, fucken really bad about not contributing even little money.
I guess like Suraj used to say, i am a 'Selfish b#@$@$@' who does not care a quid about anything apart from my own personal agenda.
But hey, while i feel like shit for not helping those guys, i still feel strongly about spending 10 - 15 G just like that - and i feel so even strongly now after ive been seeing how REALLY difficult it is to make any kinda money.
Coming to money - the sensex went up 500 came down 600 and then went back up 400 in the last 15 days. While i am able to spot the right stocks at the right prices and buy them, i still am like "Bunty and the Biscuit jar" [ gyaan on this later on] when it comes to selling them, accumulating them & milking them for maximum money.
And Peter fucking Lynch says, of every 10 stocks he buys - 3 are multibaggers, 3 are duds, 3 are sorry cases and 1 is Ok. While i have bought and sold multibaggers for 10, 20 or 50 % gains, ive never EVER had an actual multibagger in my bag yet.
Eg. I bought bharti tele back when i was in college @ 62 sold at 95 and felt like Sunil Fuckin Mittal :). Then it went to 130, i bought back @ 125 and sold out at 170 - thinking, AHA, im the best. then B 230, sold 300. B 360 S 425. Thereafter tell my dad, "Appa bharti is so highly valued, it will crash one day" - my dad showed me the paper yesterday and said " aaman da, ippo it is 730. some valuation metric u seem to be using. U have a lot of learn & then to apply "
*sigh* and all this thought & talk of hitting billions & retiring with eva green in Stockholm, within another 10 years. At this rate, i dunno where il end up :)
First up - one thing that somewhat peeved me a bit. (I read hari's post about his 'article' (ahem, no pun intended) in some actech mag, which was supposed to av been released with Chemfluence this year.
Some junior guy who had been organizing it kept calling me for advice, contacts & money. I gave him some gyaan (of course, thats free), a few contacts and no money. I feel bad now in retrospect, mebbe i shud av sent him 10 - 15 G. But somehow, call me a miser or whatever, i felt no association with the damned place & absolutely NO sense of affiliation whatsoever.
Funny, like, i was one of those guys in college who used to shoot crap (or atleast listen to) about how actech is a pathetic pigsty & how no ones contributing to add value and all. Now see what i do :)
But somehow, i feel no fucken sense of attachment/responsibility whatever. Although I feel bad, fucken really bad about not contributing even little money.
I guess like Suraj used to say, i am a 'Selfish b#@$@$@' who does not care a quid about anything apart from my own personal agenda.
But hey, while i feel like shit for not helping those guys, i still feel strongly about spending 10 - 15 G just like that - and i feel so even strongly now after ive been seeing how REALLY difficult it is to make any kinda money.
Coming to money - the sensex went up 500 came down 600 and then went back up 400 in the last 15 days. While i am able to spot the right stocks at the right prices and buy them, i still am like "Bunty and the Biscuit jar" [ gyaan on this later on] when it comes to selling them, accumulating them & milking them for maximum money.
And Peter fucking Lynch says, of every 10 stocks he buys - 3 are multibaggers, 3 are duds, 3 are sorry cases and 1 is Ok. While i have bought and sold multibaggers for 10, 20 or 50 % gains, ive never EVER had an actual multibagger in my bag yet.
Eg. I bought bharti tele back when i was in college @ 62 sold at 95 and felt like Sunil Fuckin Mittal :). Then it went to 130, i bought back @ 125 and sold out at 170 - thinking, AHA, im the best. then B 230, sold 300. B 360 S 425. Thereafter tell my dad, "Appa bharti is so highly valued, it will crash one day" - my dad showed me the paper yesterday and said " aaman da, ippo it is 730. some valuation metric u seem to be using. U have a lot of learn & then to apply "
*sigh* and all this thought & talk of hitting billions & retiring with eva green in Stockholm, within another 10 years. At this rate, i dunno where il end up :)
Thursday, 1 February 2007
Rooo :)
I almost forgot that a thing such as my blog existed :) and thank heavens google migrated Blogger to their google account
Before you do anything watch this:
http://www3.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1_PA71d25E
Go Rooney boy !
Before you do anything watch this:
http://www3.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1_PA71d25E
Go Rooney boy !
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