Resolutions and To-Do for 2012

Happy Birthday To Me!!!

Gum Sum Gum, Gum Sum Ho Kyun Tum??

This is what happens when you do not watch the match and follow the proceedings by reading the commentary on a web site. In my last post, I mentioned that Ishant Sharma was pretty ordinary in the first test match. Just saw the highlights and realized that he actually bowled really well. Its just that he was not lucky enough to bag more wickets!!! 

I was harsh and take my words back. Unless we find a luckier bowler, Ishant should play. In fact the entire bowling attack should stay. Ashwin could have been better but was decent. And he is a much better batsman than Pragyan Ojha and anyone else in the bowling department and probably..the wicket keeper!!! :P

Ideally, we should be adding a fifth bowler but that means weakening an already weak (can't really figure out the reason why) batting line-up. An All-rounder would be great but there are none. Can Irrfan Pathan still be summoned???

Nowhere to Go

Another tour in Australia and another defeat. This is the fifth straight defeat in as many test matches outside India and that is something extremely worrying. More worrying is the fact that the mighty Indian battling line-up has seldom been able to cross the 300+ figure in a test innings since their tour to West Indies.

India was indeed able to give a fight to Australia and won a few sessions as well. Indian team may do better in the remaining three test matches on this tour but there is a big issue.....what shall be changed from the present approach? Of course there has to be more application on the part of our batsmen but can we change anyone in the squad who did not contribute much?

I think Ishant Sharma, Kohli, Laxman, Gambhir and Dhoni had pretty ordinary outing. However, out of these, the only player who may be changed is Kohli and the team management may include Sharma. I do not think that will make much of a difference. Not that I consider both of them equally bad....I consider both of them equally good. I think Kohli had a bad match but if we persist with him, he may turn out to be a better option. Of course there is no need to change Gambhir and Laxman on the basis of one bad test match. Both of them select themselves.

I am not a big fan of Ishant Sharma, however I do not think we have anyone in the squad who can replace him. Ideally I would have wanted to see Irrfan Pathan instead of Ishant Sharma but that is not possible. So, there is no choice over there.

Another person whom I do not want to see in the playing XI but would definitely play, is MS Dhoni. I do not consider him a test batsman at all. He does not have the temperament. He tries to apply 'violent tactics' to come out of tricky situations. Such tactics work in the shorter version of the games. In test matches, one has to know which balls to play and which balls to leave. Look at the way he has been getting out. Trying to slog when the team is 4-5 wickets down. Trying to drive on the up and away from the body when the situation demands cautious play. But again, I cannot even hope for an injury or upset stomach for Dhoni as I think Wriddhiman Saha is equally useless. Pappu (Parthiv Patel) would have been a much better option but I know I may be the only person in India/world/universe who holds such an opinion!!! So even that is not going to happen.

So the bottom line is that we cannot change much but only hope that the current playing XI comes up with a much better show in the remaining matches.  

Thanks to Live Streaming!!!

New Entertainment System!!!

Laptop + LCD TV + 1 TB hard disk + 850 GB movies + HDMI cable + Wireless Mouse = My New Entertainment System

We are FAMILY!!!

Red Alert

Daddy & Daddy's Girl

Hidden Charges = Short Term Strategy

I simply hate it when sales guys explain a deal that sounds very attractive, however later one finds himself duped because of all the hidden costs. Of course, they are sales guys and they would try to sell but I believe that such strategies are short-sighted. If I take a deal but later feel cheated, I will always think before using the services of the company in future. Moreover, whenever I speak to anyone about my experience, I won't have good things to say about the company. 

In today's competitive environment, companies do not only want to have a new customer but they remain more interested in repeat businesses. As repeat businesses prove to be less costlier. You are selling the product/offering to a customer who is already sold to the idea. However, if your new customer feels cheated about the experience, he/she is unlikely to come back unless your product/offering is head and shoulders above the next available option. Moreover, the customer is likely to spead negative publicity and no company wants that.

I will share an experience that I had a few days back. We brought some stuff from India to Kuala Lumpur and used MASKargo for that. MASKargo is a logistics company that is managed by Malaysia Airlines. Now, if you are carrying any extra baggage in the flight, Malaysia Airlines charges INR 600 per KG. I learnt it the hard way when I came to Kuala Lumpur. If you have too much luggage to bring in the flight along with you or if you are looking for cheaper options, they give you another option i.e., MASKargo. When my wife was coming from India, she had 85 KGs extra baggage!!! Now that would have costed around INR 51,000 if she had tried checking in the baggage with her in the flight. We were suggested MASKargo and were informed that it will cost INR 106 per KG. It would have costed us INR 9010, much lower than the first option. We happily took the MASKargo option. 

While submitting the consignment, we were informed about the taxes. It increased the total figure by INR 5000!!! Unexpected expense but still much better than INR 51,000. We were also told that we can collect the consignment after landing in the usual manner. Later, we found that the baggage cannot be collected immediately and were told about all the extensive paperwork, that of course we had not planned for. Moreover, if you do not collect the baggage on time from their facility, it attracts storage charges.

After sending the consignement from New Delhi, we were informed by MASKargo representatives in Kuala Lumpur that there would be handling and other charges of around RM 170 and then delivery charges of RM 180. I can understand the delivery charges as that was something extra that we were asking for. However, I could not understand the handling charges and why we were not told about these additional 'hidden' charges in the first place. 

Overall, there were huge savings and I am happy about that. However, the amount of confusion that was created in the whole process and the hidden charges would make me look for another option next time around. As I mentioned earlier, if there is a huge cost differential and if MASKargo is a much much and much better option than the next player, I would still use it. But the point is that, they are allowing me to look for another option. Had they been transparent about the whole things and informed me about ALL the charges beforehand, I would have still paid the same amount but would have been a 'happy customer'. Common sense!!! 

Something to look forward to

Yesterday, for the first time during my stay in Kuala Lumpur, I had something to look forward to while walking back home. I knew that I won't have to use the keys to open the door (which I eventually did....to surprise Roshni and Ananya). I am so happy that they are here. As Paul Walker said in Eight Below..."Almost Perfect"!!!

And there is something else to look forward to. Home-cooked food. Yesterday, we had Rice and Chicken!!! That was heavenly!!! Though we did not have all the required ingredients, Roshni was able to prepare a great Chicken Curry. I was not feeling too well in the evening and went to bed around 8 PM without having dinner. But I got up at 12AM as I did not want to miss that dish.

Ananya has been chirpy as always. She wakes up just when I get ready to leave for office and then makes me late!!! :) She makes me forget a lot of things that usually worry me.

I am happy.

Princess is here!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen....she has ARRIVED!!! 

She has become even more cute. Touchwood!!!

And in less than 15 hours, she has made me smile, laugh and.....cry!!! In the afternoon, she started crying uncontrollably and I was clueless about the reason. Her discomfort and tears were enough to make me cry!!! 

In the morning, she was friendly but was not sure about who I am. But now, she seems to understand. I took a quick nap in the late afternoon and when I woke up, I noticed that she was next to me and was looking at me intently. When she saw my open eyes, she gave me a biiiiiiiiiiiiiig smile, which seemed to say...."lets play"!!!!

Night out at KLIA - 4

Thanks KLIA for the support. Thanks for the free WiFi, the massage chairs, clean loos, 24 hour restaurants, allowing people to wait for the arrival of their friends/family inside the airport and all the transport options.  Thanks for valuing not only the passengers but also the people who come to receive their family/friends. The night was not all that difficult with all the facilities. :)

Night out at KLIA - 3

Night out at KLIA -2

Someone has joined few chairs and is sleeping, someone is looking for something, someone is talking to a friend thousands of miles away, someone is crying (an African woman....do not know why), someone is going through the flight schedule, someone is blogging (yours truly), someone is trying to find a place to lie down, someone is running to reach somewhere.......Thats the world around me.

Night out at KLIA

I am sitting at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). I am here to receive my wife and daughter, who are coming from India. Their flight is scheduled to arrive after 3 hours and 40 minutes!!! And I have already been sitting here since last 1.5 hours!!!

Basically, I reached the airport before their flight took off from New Delhi. It becomes difficult to get a cab after 12 am. One has to book in advance and that turns out to be much costlier, especially in the early morning (12-6 am). Moreover, I did not want to take a chance and wanted to be here much before they land in order to ensure that things are properly lined up.

Hence, this long long vigil at KLIA. Insane!!!

Its the time to....TESCO

For the first time in my life, I went to a 'Tesco' today (Tesco is not there in India...not yet). It was huuuuuuge. In terms of the size, it is slightly bigger than the 'Hypercity' in Hyderabad. However, in terms of choices, it is much.....much bigger!!! Having said that, I would like to add that Hypercity looks much more organized and Tesco lacks breathing space and is much more chaotic. (BTW, I went to Tesco Extra, which are bigger than usual Tesco stores)

There is a problem with such places. If you do not go there with a fixed agenda, you will get lost. Or let me put it this way.....either go there with a list of things that you want to buy or go there with a plan that you will buy if you like anything, else you would just enjoy. You need to go to such places with a list like....I need detergent, tooth brush, bread, chips and beer. Full Stop. You buy all that and leave. If you go there with a list like...I need a baby bath tub and 'lets see what else I need' (that was my plan today), you will feel lost. Aisles after aisles.....going back and forth......you will never enjoy.  

But I know that I will enjoy my future trips to Tesco. As I will be going there with my wife. She goes to such places with a list and takes care of the 'planned shopping'. I roam around and enjoy myself. I buy the 'extra' stuff and more often than not, that proves to be costlier than the planned shopping for the month. For example, I have bought DVD player, recliner chair, refrigerator (extra one for stocking beer!!!), foot massager etc without any plans on such weekly shopping trips. 

With sections for electronics, hardware and camping gear, something tells me that I am going to love Tesco.....and Tesco is going to love me!!!      

Caught Red Handed!!!

Have you ever been 'caught' doing something that you were not doing? Have you been into a situation in which you suddenly find someone looking at you suspiciously and when you look at  yourself, you feel that, "of course!!! anyone would be suspicious!!!" I do not know why but suddenly I recalled a past incident, in which I was in a similar situation.

This was during my Deloitte days. It was year 2006. I was new in Deloitte and so were most of the people in my team. It was a new team that was set up in Hyderabad. There were some expats, who had come from US to do some hand-holding, help with cultural sensitization and make everyone feel part of the system.

Initial days in Deloitte used to be fun. It was more about getting to know the people, the practices and the Deloitte way. Consulting was an absolutely new environment for me. One thing that used to fascinate me the most was the ease with which people used to network with each other. Everyone mixed up with each other with ease, something which I was and to some extent still am not too good at. But I wanted to learn all that. 

The incident took place on a day when we were planning some 'fun' activity and we needed some pictures. Like always, I was carrying a camera and became the photographer. We clicked some pictures and then were finding a way to transfer them to my laptop. No one had a transfer cable. Someone suggested that W. Cecyl Hobbs must be having one. Cecyl was a manager, who had come from Deloitte US. He was with the same industry vertical in which I was working but I did not know him that well. 

I went looking for him and found him in a conference room with the senior leadership. Being new in the system, I felt a little awkward walking into the room and asking for a camera cable!!! Basically, I could not muster enough courage to walk into the room. So I went back to the discussion room in which my team was sitting. One of my colleagues Balaji, a senior member in the team, asked me about the cable and I told him that Cecyl is busy so I will ask him later. Balaji probably sensed my hesitation and asked me to go and ask Cecyl right away. When I did not jump out of my chair, he gave me another option. An option that sounded much better since I was feeling uncomfortable walking into that conference room. Balaji suggested that I check if Cecyl's camera bag is in his workstation and if it is there, take the cable and let Cecyl know later. Sounded much much better. 

However, when I reached Ceycl's workstation and found a red and grey bag, which looked like a camera bag, I started hesitating again. How can I just pick up someone's bag and check if there is a cable inside!!! This is not right. But just then........my desire to overcome such 'shyness' kicked in and I started thinking that I should be like everyone else in the team....mix up with people with ease. And for some reason I thought this would be a good way to start in that direction!!! After all, I am not stealing anything. I will take the cable, use it and when Cecyl comes out of the meeting, I will let him know and return the cable to him. Cool!!! And that way, I will introduce myself to Cecyl as well. Sounded like a plan to me.

I moved forward and picked the bag. Just then I noticed someone standing behind me. It was Cecyl. He did not say anything. He looked at me.....I looked at him and smiled. Then he looked at the bag in my hand, with a suspicious look on his face. Then I looked at my hand and I got the same feeling that I described in the beginning. Of getting caught doing something which I was not doing!!! I blabbered something...I do not remember what....but I tried to explain my presence in his workstation. He did not seem much interested in what I was saying and continued to give me that look. I can understand his reaction as I would not have believed myself. 

Turned out that he did not have the cable. I do not even know whether it was a camera bag or not. I came out of his workstation and asked myself...... "WHAT WAS I THINKING!!!"

It is one of the most embarrassing moments of my life. Continues to haunt me.        

I love Susu!!!

Just had Chocoloate 'Susu'!!!!

Susu means Milk in Malaysia!!! C'mon guys....SUSU!!??!! Yuck!!!

Some experiments with the photo editor on my Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

Cricket's 'DUMBASS" award should go to the West Indies Cricket Board!!! Chris Gayle hit another century in T20 (Big Bash). How can they not play a player like him!!!

Christmas

Festival atmosphere out here. Christmas has not been anything more than a holiday for me but here, it engulfs you. The place is full of nicely and brightly decorated shops, people who are busy buying all they need and much more....smiles all around. 

Though I do sometimes feel jealous but overall, the atmosphere makes me feel happy. However, unlike everyone else, my Christmas is on 26th.  

Today I got my first haircut in Kuala Lumpur. The saloon is run by a Tamilian and it costed me 15 Ringgits. That is much costlier that India but way cheaper than some of the other options available in the area in which I work/stay.

And the guy was pretty friendly. Though he did not know Hindi and his English was not too good as well, he tried hard to have a conversation. He was saying random things....."Lokpal bill will not come", "Malaysia is better than India, good roads, no road in India....politicians.....", "Vajpayee's time was good, there was development.....". Though I wanted to have a conversation, I remained busy trying to link the various statements. It is not that he was excited to see an Indian as this area is full of Indians. Yet, he was excited about having a conversation with an Indian and that is what I really liked. Could sense a bond.

Skype Escape

Skype has been helping me in remaining connected with my family. In last month and half, it has helped me in looking at my daughter through video calls when she is thousands of kilometers away. 

Today, Ananya left Ranchi. I wanted to talk to my parents but there is no balance in my phone. Moreover, calling me is turning out to be a pretty costly proposition for them (INR 14 per minute!!!). And there is some issue with their desktop.

So, I took a Skype subscription. Now, I can call from my laptop directly to their phone!!! And it is pretty inexpensive!!! Skype has again come to my rescue.  

Trip to Port Blair and Havelock Island

I went to Andamans in December 2006. Since then, I have changed a lot and so would have Andamans. However, I think there are some basic pointers that can be shared with people who would like to go to Andamans.

Reaching there: Let me start by saying that do not even think about taking a ship. One can take a ship to Port Blair from Kolkata or Chennai. However, I have been told that the journey is not very comfortable. These are not luxury cruises, they are normal passenger ships and there is nothing out of the world about the journey. You may not be sea sick but others may have that problem!!! Not worth it.

By the best of my knowledge, the only airport in Andamans is in Port Blair and there are direct flights from Chennai and Kolkata. Several airlines connect Port Blair with other major cities through flights via Chennai/Kolkata.

Port Blair: If you are going to Andamans, do not plan for more than two days (at max) in Port Blair. There is not much to do over there. You can go to the Cellular Jail in late afternoon and can watch the Sound and Light show in the evening. It is a good experience.

Port Blair has a 100 metre beach. That is the only beach in Port Blair and it is nothing great. The water there is pretty muddy. Moreover, all the people who come to Andamans without proper planning and with a long stay planned in Port Blair, try to make the most of it by spending time on the beach. It remains crowded and overall it is not a great experience. Moreover, it is a little far from the city.

One can take half/full day tours to islands nearby. We went to Viper Island, which is pretty close. Again, do not spend a lot of time doing all that.

Staying in Port Blair: The city offers several options for all budgets. If you have a friend/relative working in State Bank of India or in Army, do leverage the connection. Not only can you get a place that is insanely inexpensive, those guest houses have great location.

Where to go in Andamans: Ok, I have been discouraging people about spending too much time in Port Blair. Does that mean Andaman has nothing to offer? Not really, one of the most beautiful beaches in India (it was also voted at the best beach in South East Asia in 2004) is in Havelock Island. Radhanangar Beach. That is a place that you do not want to miss. 

Havelock is 2.5 hours away from Port Blair and one has to take a ferry. Though there are several resorts in Havelock and it attracts a lot of tourists, it still is pretty much a virgin island. It offers several options for staying. The best option and probably the costliest one is Barefoot Resort, right on Radhanagar Beach. This resort also has scuba diving training facilities.

Other options are Wild Orchid (though I did not personally like the place. Ya, food is great over there) and Dolphin Resort. Dolphin is a government resort and has aweful service. But it is cheap. If you are not staying at Barefoot, stay at Dolphin and have food at Wild Orchid, which is next door.

(Please note that all this information is for 2006. There may be several other better options now)

What to do in Havelock: Relax and enjoy on Radhanagar Beach and go for snorkeling on Elephanta Beach. Elephanta beach is not connected by road and one has to hire a boat to get to Elephanta Beach. That is a 30-45 minutes boat ride.

Weather: It is never cold in Andamans. However, due to all the greenery, nights can be cold especially if you are riding two-wheelers.

Something to be careful about: Sea around Havelock has some unfriendly creatures....Salt Water Crocodiles. People die or get injured but it is hardly reported as it may affect the only industry in Havelock...tourism!!! I know it is dangerous but do not get too far in the water and you would be okay. If I am not mistaken, this danger is only on Radhanagar beach. Elephanta is safe. Thats what I was told by the boat man. Use your own judgement.

Do not miss a trip to Havelock. You wont regret it!!!

Ananya is coming on Monday....pretty excited about that. But at the same time, I knew that papa-ma will be extremely sad that she is going. I knew that will happen. 

Ananya is leaving Ranchi today and ma was crying yesterday. Cannot describe the emotions that I was having. That is why it is important that all of us stay together and I need to make that happen.

Balls!!!

During my days with Symphony Services, we used to spend a lot of our free time in the office playing Table Tennis. Once, late in the evening, our Manager Ramani, my team lead Aparna, my colleagues Subhasish and Yamijala Murlidhar (a.k.a Yam) and I went to play TT.

The TT table was in the roof-top cafeteria. Ramani, Aparna, Subhasish and I went to the cafeteria and were waiting for Yam to come. He had gone to collect TT rackets/bats and balls, which used to be in possession of the security guard on the floor below. 

It must have been around 9 PM in the night but even at that hour, there was a decent crowd in the cafeteria. Since Yam was taking too long to come back, we decided to get something to drink and went to a refreshments counter. 

Just then Yam arrived in the cafeteria. Since we were a little far from him, he shouted at the top of his voice..."We cannot play TT.....the security guard does not have balls!!!". 

It took couple of minutes for the laughter to subside!!!

21 December 2011 just started here in Malaysia.....so now we have exactly 1 year left before the world comes to an end!!! Huhahaha!!!......Wait!!!!....which is the relevant time zone? 

Start of 21st December in Japan is still 20th December in Malaysia....start of 21st December in Malaysia is still 20th December in India.....Start of 21st December in India is still 20th December in United States...........how will we know? Damn It!!!! 

Summer of GF9

THOSE WERE THE BEST DAYS OF MY LIFE!!!....SUMMER OF GF9!!!

Two of my favorite GF9 memories:

• Dancing Witch. One day, I woke up to loud thumping sound coming from the living room. It was still pretty early in the morning, so I tried to ignore it. However, the thumping continued and got louder. Irritated, I got out of bed and rubbing my eyes, opened the door of my room....and I got the biggest scare of my life. A female figure, with her long hair open, was jumping in the living room!!! Being a person who has always been scared of ghosts, I saw my worst nightmare coming true. I almost shouted. Then I noticed that the witch was wearing a vest, shorts (which were pulled up to her chest) and strangely, she had a beard!!! It was Navneet Singh Gandhi, doing his morning PT!!!
• Milked!!! It was a Sunday. We had a lazy start to the day. At 10 am, all of us were sitting idly in one of the bedrooms. Some were sipping tea and Navneet was drinking milk. As usual, Bhaskar was still sleeping. He had returned in the morning after spending a night with a cyber cafe owner (he spent the night chatting online in a cyber cafe. What were you thinking??!!!). We talked for hours....our usual routine on Sundays. In the evening, we were doing the same thing....lots of discussions, gossips and tea (milk in Navneet's case). Then, everyone decided to have another round of tea. It must have been around 3-4 PM. Just when Sanjay Ji, our cook, started making tea, Bhaskar jumped from the bed and shouted....."dhoodh mat peena, maine subah ek billi ko uss bartan se doodh peete dekha tha!!!!" (Dont drink that milk, I saw a cat drinking milk from the pan in the morning!!!). You should have looked at the expression on Navneet's face, who was standing in a corner looking at the empty glass in his hands!!!! That has to be the funniest expression that I have ever seen!!! Apparently, Bhaskar had seen a cat drinking milk from the pan but he could not inform anyone since everyone was still asleep, when he walked in after his night-out. So, he removed the pan from the top shelf and put it in the shelf below that!!! We, foolish creatures, did not understand this obvious message and used the milk!!! That day I thanked god that I do not drink milk or tea!!! 

That's Banku aka Bangali (Anutosh Chatterjee) and Dedh Futiya (Vikash Kumar Singh)

Waiting for....................

Options

People always look for multiple options to choose from. You want to watch a movie, you need options. You want to buy a shirt, you look for options. But is having multiple options always better?

In some cases, when there are two options, people usually start treating one of them as the 'option of choice' and the other one has 'option to fall back upon'. In such cases, people put all their attention on the former and neglect the latter. All their energy goes into making the first option work. However, the second option remains at the back of their mind and they use it as a 'support' to try and make the first option even more attractive!!! But they do that without really assessing whether the fall back option is worth it or is it an option at all. People think that they will look at the second option if the first one does not work out. "If the first one does not work out, I have the other option with me".

More often than not, when we are spoilt for choice, we do not critically analyze all our options. And when the 'favorite' option does not work out, one moves to the other option without giving much thought to it. That is when people get into trouble. One should either assess all their options or have more than 2 options with them!!!

What was I thinking?

Just received the statement for my Maxis USB internet device. RM 100!!! That when I have hardly used it!!!

It is not their fault. That is the monthly rental that I signed up for. However, I am thinking why did I take the connection in the first place!!! I have a high-speed broadband connection at my home, I cannot use it on my Samsung Galaxy Tab outside home, I do not need it when I am in the office and most of the shops/eateries over here have free WiFi!!!

It was an emotional decision at the time when I came to know that the installation of the broadband connection will take some time. I thought that I must have internet connection to talk to my daughter. What I did not realize that I was entering into a 6 month contract!!! Now I hardly use the device so 600 Ringgits have gone down the drain.

Though now I prefer not to get into that calculation but I cannot avoid calculating that it is around INR 9600!!! :(

Crazy Day

Yesterday was a crazy day. I spent around 5 hours on calls!!! People may not realize it but talking can be extremely tiring and draining.

However, I am glad that the day was not too bad, especially because the call with the client went smoothly. Relieved.....now over to the next tension.

So now Ashok Dinda is going to Australia as a cover for Ishant Sharma. By any chance, is the Australian team selecting our bowlers?

Next Monday, my family would be here...so exactly 1 week left now!!! I am pretty excited about their arrival....however, at certain level, I am also thinking whether we should have waited. Ideally I would have waited but I started missing them way too much and needed some support as well. However, I am not sure whether from a long-term point of view, if this move has been made too soon. 

Anyways, we will worry about all that if and when we reach that stage.....for now, I am extremely happy that they are coming. Cant wait to hold and hug my daughter. 

Wish my parents could come too.

Big day today.....3-4 important meetings today, which can go either way!!! Keeping my fingers crossed. Health is still not on top. It is not that I am stressed about these meetings but something is indeed troubling me. 

Is it time?

Not feeling too well. Having a strange pricking pain on the left side of the chest. Its not sharp but discomforting. The pain is on the left side with occasional pain below the left underarm as well as on the left arm. Sometimes I get a feeling that my heart skipped a beat....and no, I am not in love :)

Don't know what is it all about.....but it is unusual. And with history of hypertension, I am feeling a little anxious about it. Being alone is not helping either.

Can't speak to anyone. Papa has not been keeping well, Ma will be worried about that. Roshni has too many things to worry about right now. So I thought I will share here. 

Honestly speaking, I just wanted to write all this down......just in case.

Plan gone wrong

Woke up in the morning with a brilliant idea that today I wont call my house maid, who is paid on an hourly basis. I thought that there is not much work so I can do it my myself and in the process.....save some money.

Stupid Stupid Plan.......hmmmph!!!!

Petronas....In Silver and Gold

The Express

Sports movies always inspire me. They generally have the theme of winning against all odds. 'The Express' is no different. It is an excellent movie and like most sports movies, it tells you that if you really work on it, you can achieve it. However, the movie also tells you that there are certain things that are beyond your control. Death.

This movie is based on the life of Ernie Davis, a champion who died at the age of 23. :(

Lost one of my constant companions today..... Some lucky bastard must have found it lying on a KL road :( 

I miss you my friend....

Project Management Tricks - I

• You go and take order from the customer
• Customer asks for 'Chicken Biryani'
• You tell the customer that the chicken biryani will come with 'something extra'!!!
• You come back to the kitchen and figure out that you do not have the ingredients for chicken biryani and no one knows what that 'something extra' means!!!
• You are confused and just then you notice a new chef entering the kitchen
• You tell the guy that now he has to cook chicken biryani with the ingredients available
• The guy looks at the ingredients and says that it will not be possible; he questions the thought process and says that 'we' should not have promised chicken biryani and we should have clearly defined that 'something extra'
• You agree with the new chef but promise him that you and your team will provide support; you tell him that he will get help from the kitchens of the other restaurants in the chain and you ask the new guy to 'lower' the client expectations!!!
• The new guy gets on with his task but notices that there is no support and some of the other kitchens in the restaurant chain and masters of screw up (and you acknowledge that)!!! 
• Moreover, the waiter is a little cranky about something. The waiter is friendly with the client but does not care about the 'team' that is supposed to cook the dish!!! The new guy asks for some support from the waiter and the waiter chews his ass off!!!
• The new chef comes to you and tells you that we need to change the approach. You do not agree. Then another manager, who is at par with you in the restaurant, suggests that the approach be changed. Then you agree. But you have wasted some time in making that decision
• You ask the new guy to confirm with the client that they want chicken biryani with chicken in it!!! 
• The customer is taken aback, recovers his composure in a while and confirms that he wants chicken biryani with chicken in it!!!
• All this is taking a while. The new guy is getting anxious and so are you. So you call the new guy and ask him why there is a delay. The new guy tells you that it is a clear case of over-promising (that happened before he joined the kitchen), which now requires a different approach and hence, there 'has to be' a delay in order to ensure that we move towards the corrective measures. He also asks that why is he being asked for the delay when everyone clearly knows how things are. 
• You agree but keep tell him that he needs to move quicker and lot of time has 'unnecessarily' been wasted
• The new guy is clueless about the state of affairs but comes up with a dish, which of course is not chicken biryani but is decent and can make the customer think that he is having something 'close' to chicken biryani
• You step in and ask the new guy to change the look of the dish so that the customer is 'clear' that he is not getting chicken biryani!!
• Ultimately, now what is on the plate is a dish that is not chicken biryani and is not something which is very appealing as well
• On top of that, you ask the new chef to shout it out that 'this is not chicken biryani', we need more time to cook chicken biryani but it is because the customer took time to confirm that they want chicken biryani with chicken in it!!! 
• All this while, you are also wondering whether you all can actually serve chicken biryani or not!!!
• Ultimately, you make the new guy go to the client, tell them that they were wrong in expecting chicken biryani, tell them that we may serve chicken biryani if we get more time but that will be on a 'best effort'  basis!!! The customer may or may not get chicken biryani in the end!!!
• Now that is what 'You' call client expectation management!!! Interestingly, some others in the trade call it lack of planning and management. The new chef has a right to term all this as 'ragging', lack of management', 'lack of processes' and 'lack of proper work environment'.
• Ultimately you may have a pissed off client but NOW, you have someone to blame.......... ahaaan!!! Ssssssssssmaaaart!!!   

Death anniversary of one of my heroes

Today is the death anniversary of one of my heroes, who said and I quote, 

"No Sir, I will not abandon my tank. My gun is still working and I will get these bastards!!!"

Thats 2nd Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal, who was honoured with the highest wartime gallantry medal, the Param Vir Chakra, posthumously.


A young boy, who became an inspiration for a billion.  

Simply Ignore Maadi!!!!

My boss told me a story today....

When he was working with a leading car manufacturer in India, he was once required to interview 10 dealership prospects in a day. Inspite of trying his best to be on schedule, every meeting shot the time. Ultimately, the last meeting started very late in the night.

Later, the candidate who was interviewed in the end was not selected due to some reasons. The candidate got pissed and wrote a mail to my boss's boss back then, saying that my boss came late, did not give adequate time and did not even have a proper discussion.

His boss asked him to prepare a response giving his point of view. He prepared the entire schedule for the day, why there was a delay, what time did he meet the last candidate, how much time did he spend with him and so on.

His boss read all that and laughed. He said that is not the way you respond to such mails. Eventually, they wrote back to the candidate saying "Thanks a lot for your interest in the dealership and thanks for taking time out to send us the feedback. We value your interest in the company and hope that we will work together in the future"

They never said or explained anything about the incident or the complain!!!! The incident died down!!!

Moral of the story...."Simply Ignore Maadi!!!!". 

I know I should have done the same. In fact, normally I would have done the same thing but I was too surprised/shocked by the turn of events!!!  

Nasty Nasty Nasty Day Today....Almost Lost My Cool!!!

कुछ चुनिन्दा बुरी यादों को किसी से जोड़ कर,

आप उससे दूर हो सकते हैं,

या फिर,

कुछ चुनिन्दा अच्छी यादों को किसी से जोड़ कर,

आप उससे जुडे रह सकते हैं....

मर्ज़ी आपकी है....ज़िन्दगी बड़ी छोटी है.....

Death anniversary of one of my heroes

Today is the death anniversary of one of my heroes, Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon, who was awarded the highest wartime gallantry medal, Param Vir Chakra, posthumously. Jai Hind!! Jai Jawan!!


http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/HEROISM/Sekhon.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirmal_Jit_Singh_Sekhon

Today is the day, when dressed in a PC Sorkar costume, I got hitched. 5 years already!!!! I had the costume but she had, and still has, the magic.  

I have always been fond of sweets. When I was a kid, which many believe I still am, I used to search all the cabinets and drawers looking for sweets. On 14th December 2006, I opened a drawer and found the sweetest thing.... that's you. My wife and my best friend.

Happy Anniversary!!!

5 Years of Togetherness

Ok, HTN is back to haunt me.....had to come back early from the office. Would not have been too bad had a deliverable not been staring into my face :(

I am starting to hate some of the poet types....Some of them keep saying controversial stuff, maintaining intentional ambiguity. Miyaan, hamaara shayraana andaaz aapko khaasa pasand nahi aayega.

Aankhon mein jalan....Seene mein toofan sa kyun hai

My days have become much longer. I wake up at 7 am.....get ready and reach office around 8:45 am. I leave office around 6:30 PM, buy stuff for dinner and reach home at 7:30 PM. I freshen up and then I typically work from home for a few hours. Later, I chat with my family on skype. I read (book/newspaper) before I go to bed. I usually have a tough time getting sleep. Before I know it, it becomes 1 am!!! That happens everyday.

Then I wake up the next day with burning eyes....do not know when was the last time that I slept properly.

(and for the record, I have intentionally swapped the words in the heading!!!) 

Ready?........Say 'Bhaaaeeein'......Click!!!

After several rounds of hit and trial with the tripod, we finally managed to click a decent one....everyone seemed ready....except the chief guest!!!

(Diwali 2011)

Fare Enough

Today, while talking to a colleague, I told him that my wife and daughter are joining me here in KL at the end of this month. When I told him that my daughter is around 4 months old, he asked who is coming with my wife. On learning that she will be travelling alone, he 'warned' me. He told me that I should go and bring them here. Travelling with a small kid wont be easy and wives 'do not forget'!!! He was talking with his own experience.

It scared me. How will I deal with my wife if she has a bad time handling our daughter? I immediately checked the fares.....INR 49,000 for my travel to Delhi and back!!! 

The fare gave me the confidence to deal with my wife :P

What a cricket match it was!!!! NZ won a thriller by 7 runs....and we are talking about a test match over here!!! Till lunch, it seemed that Australia would cruise to a win but what happened post lunch!!! 

BTW, Australia's recent performances call for a match fixing enquiry :P  

Missing my mom

Everyone loves a set of people - parents, spouse, girlfriend/boyfriend, children, siblings, friends etc. When you are away from them, you miss them. But do you miss everyone in the same manner? Or do you miss everyone whom you love at the same time? Not sure about that.

I have been away from my family and friends for a while now. I miss all of them but whom I miss at a particular time/moment differs. Or let me put it this way...I miss all of them but sometimes, I miss someone more than everyone else. More often that not, I miss my daughter. Sometimes my wife. Sometimes my father......and right now, I am missing my mother a lot...more than anyone else. I would like to be with her at this very moment. :(

I have become a cry-baby since I have come to Malaysia. Not that I actually cry but I get depressed pretty frequently as my miss being with my loved ones.

Overwhelmed!!!

There are times when you work in a team and there are times when you are supposed to play an individual contributor's role. That is fine as one has to be good at both. However, there are times when you are made to feel that you are working in a team but then you are made to play an individual contributor's role. That is when it starts to get frustrating. Hard work is not an issue....lack of clarity is.

Mis-Match

Just realized that there was a cricket match yesterday!!! This must be the first time since I started watching cricket that I have missed a match because I did not even know about it. This is what happens in another country; you miss the buzz :(

Though it is a pretty boring series. Flat tracks and useless opposition. Moreover, Sachin is not playing. But, I would have loved to watch yesterday's match since Manoj Tiwary and Irrfan Pathan were making a comeback (not that they are my favorite cricketers. Still I want them to do well as I strongly believe that they are extremely talented). 

I am glad both of them had a good outing.

Morning Morning Blues

Monday morning woke me up with a big to-do list....a lot of follow-ups, which would result in additions in the to-do list...and lots of work on the deliverable. 

People have been telling me that I should be careful about the laid back attitude over here. Till now, I have not experienced that here and in fact, most people have looked pretty professional to me. But, last week I had a bad experience with a global team and that too with people, who are generally perceived to be extremely hard-working and professional!!! It affected my plans and going forward, I must be more careful. 

I hope to see off this deliverable pretty soon. Do not want to screw my weekends and nights like this.

Most part of Saturday was spent in secondary research and slide-making. The plan is the same for the remaining part of Sunday. :(

Strange

Varun Aaron has declared himself unavailable for the Australian tour due to an injury and Vinay Kumar has been picked as the replacement!!! Till now, the theory was that pace is being preference and now they have selected a military medium pacer. Brilliant!!! It is just me or is the bowling looking weak to everyone. 

Irrfan Pathan would have been a better choice than Vinay Kumar. He is better in terms of pace, variation, experience and batting. The only aspect where he scores low is that he has not played an international match in a while. However, the point is that he is in form. Moreover, Vinay Kumar does not look like a test material to me at all. 

Army Kids

Copied from somewhere.....but it is so bloody true!!!!

YOU KNOW YOU ARE A PURE BREED FAUJI KID IF:

• You were born in a Military Hospital
• Half your toddler years were spent being looked after by Bhaiyas (no explanation here)
• You went to school either on Bhaiya's cycle or in a Shaktiman
• You know what a Shaktiman is. ( No! it isnt the TV serial about half man and half machine starring AB lookalike)
• Jeeps & Jongas dont excite you - they were your regular mode of transport!
• The only alternative to the Central School was the Army School .
• You always called Kendriya Vidyalaya Central School . Gosh even today that > sounds better!
• Your entire family could survive in one room temporary quarters with 25 trunks, wooden crates, the dog, the bedroll and two bhaiyas flitting around.
• The smell of Brasso & shoe polish was regular staple.
• Mess was not what you created in your room, it was where you went every Friday for the free "english" movie.
• The "English Movie" was very often a western and you couldn't follow a word! Sometimes you just went for the samosas and the local drink that they insisted was Cola.
• At the end of the month your dad had to pay for many pink slips showing how many samosas and local drinks that they insisted was Cola you had consumed. They never missed any!!!
• You attended many May Queen Balls before you knew what Miss India was.
• Your mother regularly got dressed, perfumed and disappeared for the Ladies Club.
• You knew towns like Mhow, Wellington, Deolali and Bhuj
• You weren't a millionaire but hey you had Swimming, Horse Riding, Squash, Tennis and Golf!!
• You thought the main reason to have a Golf Course was to have a Holi Bash.
• You can still take one quick look at the epaulets and figure out the rank.
• You discussed Wednesday's Chitrahaar in the Shaktiman.
• You can still recall the special & particular smell of the CSD canteen! A special prize for the correct concoction - mine is - it was a mix of Hamam Soap, Ponds Dreamflower Talc & Surf i think. In some corners it had overtures of Brooke Bond red Label as well.
• Your vacations were a package deal consisting of D-forms, Sharma Uncle Ka jonga and Army Mess ka kamra.