My new orkut testimonial

Incidentally, I happened to receive a new testimonial. It was from my honeywell friend/colleague, Muthukumaran.

I had written a testimonial for him around 4 months back. One of my friends who visited his profile immediately asked, is it barter system? I really do not think so. But it is to the outside world. What can I do?

So the testimonial had an important point which I would like to highlight of blog about. My friend says, " I have a good sense of humor ". I agree with it, but at the same time I also disagree with it.

How?

I have a good sense of humor, only when my going is good. When my going gets tough, my sense of humor just vanishes. I tend to lose patience / temper, if not often, but atleast sometimes atleast. [Gimme a break guys, I am a human after all, I tend to make mistakes, lose patience. Its all in the game].

After reading the book by Robin Sharma 9 times, I still could not come up with a way where in I could exhibit, " Grace Under Pressure ". Forget, exhibiting " Humor under Pressure". Its totally difficult. The guy who does it is a " REAL DUDE ".

One of my key goals in the year 2009 would be to improve myself on this whole issue. I do tend to lose humor, patience, under pressure. I wish I could handle pressure in a better way. So that I can get more out of that situation as well.

PS: Why am I writing about this topic is, I recently lost patience, and it took me a little while to be back, doing what I love to do the most.

~~~~~
Cheers

100th post for the year 2008

Can't imagine about this one.. 100 posts for the year 2008.. In the month of December.. I openly admit 2008 has just gone by. God has been graceful in giving me loads of things. But I have not been up to the mark, when it comes to growing with age. It is something which I will take up seriously in the new year.

But 100 posts, when I look back, how on earth did I manage to write about 100 bakwaas topics. [I feel some of them are repeated , may be 5-6]. But overall nice feat... Pat on my back..

I had many takeaways' this year ...

--> cousin's marriage, met loads(mark my words) , loads of relatives.
--> new company, new colleagues.
--> different schedule altogether.(less travelling)
--> continued going to the gym for most part of the year.
--> went on a trip with my cousins to Ooty, which was the best of them all.
--> Read lots of books ( may be 12-15 overall, small in number, apart from technical ones)
--> Wrote loads of code in 2008.
--> Tried to learn lots of things in the last quarter of 2008. (have infact overburdened myself).
--> Got a little bit more health concious.
--> Kept blogging btw...
--> Found solace in loads of inspirational books and writing..
--> Last but not the least, laughed my heart out, many a number of times, more, than in 2007.

I have a list of things which I could not do or did moderately.. In other words.. somethings which I regret.

--> Not regularly listening to the radio. Lesser radio play during 2008.
--> Could not meet Nitin or Kranti many a times during the year 2008, for whatever may be the reasons.
--> Less books read... I need to read more..

I would like to thank god, for keeping me alive and kicking all through the year 2008.

One more thing worth mentioning:::
My first post for the year 2008 was a song by Simply Red::::

You make me feel brand new... Wow.. I dint notice till today. What an amazing song it is.
What a way to begin a new year blogging calendar.. Whacko !!!

~~ Cheers

Thank you for the music

I was listening to a song by ABBA today. ABBA happens to be one of my all time favorite bands. I think its a 4 piece outfit. I have grown listening to ABBA. Even as a child who dint know English correctly, I used to sing " Fernando ". (Aint that awesome).

I thought let me put a lyrics of a song which is so meaningful and also thanks something in the most beautiful way. I think this song is more than 24 yrs old.

The song is " Thank you for the music". The lyrics goes... [Incomplete though]

Im nothing special, in fact Im a bit of a bore
If I tell a joke, youve probably heard it before
But I have a talent, a wonderful thing
cause everyone listens when I start to sing
Im so grateful and proud
All I want is to sing it out loud

So I say
Thank you for the music, the songs Im singing
Thanks for all the joy theyre bringing
Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty
What would life be?
Without a song or a dance what are we?
So I say thank you for the music
For giving it to me

Songs, Music does bring a lot of joy to me, absolutely true. ABBA songs, all I can say is it just reminds me of the wonderful 80's. Aaaah.. Its so beautiful... (80's and my childhood days)

~~~~Cheers

Surprise Surprise; this december

Two days ago, I received a official mail saying, a new year gift is waiting for all the employees of the organization. And this would be a shirt (in case of gents).

So this is the December surprise. Not sure whether I am happy or not, I need to figure that out..


~~~ Cheers

Unfortunate incident

It just happened around a week back and I came to know about it today. Incidentally there was a snake bite, which happened close to my house, (same road I feel) around 8pm in the night.

Not sure venomous or non venomous, but one thing's for sure. There s this new apparent threat while walking in the dark. And considering power cuts do tend to happen, I better keep both my eyes open.

November Rain

Not much blogging in the month of November.

Well...literally littered around for the whole month reading a single book - Straight from the Gut, by Jack and what I can say is, I cant remember or recollect so many facts / figures / dates / people / companies that the book churns out. Its been difficult to digest. Thats the truth.

Not sure which book I will read next.

Well... I always admire the group pravsworld for their amazing work. They just pep me up everytime, with their wonderful inspirational emails.

Got this one a day before. I kept on wondering whether to agree with this or not.

" People know you by what you do".. I just kept on thinking..

Let me interpret this from professional perspective (by means of work/job).

If I lose my job, how will people know me?

I do not know the answer.. I feel, if I lose my job and incapable to find another job, I think most people would distance away from me. The only 2 places where I would be welcomed would be :
1. House.
2. Gym.

I think @ these two places people know me not by what I do.. Yes. At gym, no one knows whats my profession is (apart from the trainer)...

By the way let me stop being so negative and inconclusive about job security.. Its not gonna take me anywhere after all... Apart from this nothing much to post about...

Cheers...

Arvind's wedding...

On Nov 10 , 2008, I had been to Arvind's wedding. The wedding was rocking.. Arvind s a lucky guy. Here 's wishing him all the best..

The wedding was the prime thing. But apart from that, I did meet a lot of my Wipro and Target friends. The list was huge. 20 odd guys with whom I had worked with, meeting them after 7 or 8 odd months was kind of a good feeling.

Rare are such occasions.. But I was lucky to spot one of them and cash in.. Let me post a pic of me over there, in the coming days..

Cheers..

I am a relieved man today..

I made a comeback @ the gym today, almost a month after I had left going to the gym owing to some stupid reasons. Due to the power cuts, now I have to time my entry and exit to the gym properly.

Whatever may be the case, I can say, a donkey (issue) is off my back.. [Weird way of putting it.]

Whats so special about today? Generally I do plan such comebacks esp on Saturday. I do owe a lot, to Lord Shani, so thought Saturday is the best day.

Ahhhh... B'day bash @ workplace

It happened so, I celebrated my 25 yrs of existence, sometime during last month end. Generally I used to keep a low profile about my birthday, if not my age, at almost all my workplaces (4 workplaces to be more precise).

But for the last 3 years not many people knew when's my birthday. But this time @ Honeywell, the lid just blew off. Yes. On my birthday, in fact my name was put up on the display board at the reception. So this had to happen. I ended up cutting a cake.

Yes, I did cut a cake today, 4 November, but more than cutting the cake and eating it, I enjoyed something more, which happened in one of our meeting rooms. I was not the only one about to cut the cake, but Devender also. But the occasion/session had a special twist.

Mr Aneesh, my team member came up with the idea of writing Happy Birthday on the glass board in one of the meeting rooms. Along with it he sketched my friend and me. Me with my trademark mustache and hairdo.

It did not stop there, from there on he went ahead to sketch different stuffs which were characteristic of that person. Finally every other person in the meeting room, started drawing caricatures on the board. And also added a baseline / punchline to each caricature..
[ Mine - the punchline read - " I want to go home ". Along with it there was another pic which depicted a bed. It had a punchline " Relaxation Room "].

Awesome, sometimes you may be at the recieving end of a comedy/ gimmick, but it indeed feels great. [To know what other people really think of you].

It was just the right dose of fun. I will surely put up few pics of it, once I go to the office tomorrow.

PS ::: Thank you guys, it indeed was, very very very special...
PPS:: Thanks god, for keeping me alive and kicking for 25 years, not sure how many b'days will i celebrate in future... (keeping my fingers crossed.)

I am really bad at something.....

Its true.. I am really bad at something, which is an integral part of my day to day routine. That thing is " Googling ". Yes using search engine is an art in itself. Like the art of bike maintenance.

I am bad at both infact. I feel in todays world, a search engine can add lot of values to a programmer . Some of the stuff which have not been covered out in some of the best selling titles can be unearthed using a search engine.

I am really in a state of shock. I am unable to use google as a precision instrument in finding answers. Well, I am lucky, @ honeywell atleast, I have Mr Muthu who comes to my rescue time and again, showing the world or in fact me at least, " The Way to Google".

Yes googling for answers is an art in itself. Some people end up doing research on using Google, infact I am bad at it. I openly admit it. I have no clues how to better myself at it (as of now). But with little guidance from Muthu and a little Hands On, I feel I can better myself at it by early 2009. Let me see.

Conclusion::: What I can say is, " A person well versed with using a search engine, can see a solution to a problem and can bail himself out, when most others hang up their boots."

There are always two sides of the story. What Muthu has to say is " You better appreciate and use others code, or better get that thing ready in no time ( In other words, get expertise at it)."
That really sums it up. Its up to you to decide !!!

Found solace in a new book...

I turned pro in 2005 and ever since then I end up cribbing over and over again. Infact this cribbing about monetary and other issues has taken me to 3 different workplaces in less than 3 of turning a pro.

Looking at this, once my parents told me, " You are unfit for any industry, where ever you go you feel dissatisfied, about one thing or the other ".

This thing was hard to digest. The impact of this dialog haunts my mind even to this day and to be honest haunts my resume as well.

I am now reading the autobiography of Jack Welch, so kinda, found a solace in the book. The book churns up some great insights into GE in the 70's and 80's. ( may be even 90's I ve not read it completely as of now.. My Bad)

Conclusion : I now feel cribbing is not bad afterall.

Does the conclusion justify the post ??? : You have to read the book for yourself and find out how it justifies or coincides...

PS::: I forgot to mention a line which I read in FountainHead -> " Man's ego is the fountain head of human progress ". As of now I am not getting any clues , regarding how to infuse this great line into this post or into a new post. I will do that, may be someday later. Thanks Abhijit for reminding me...

My Lil Poem

Incidentally I happened to chat with one of my friends on GTALK. It was kind of boring chat session. I used to get the reply from that person a bit late, infact very very late.

So this is the small poem which I said to that person..

" U reply so late
i just cant wait
i feel like a bait
tats not my trait ".

I hope I get a reply soon henceforth from the other side..

My new acquisition...

Its been a rocking Sunday. I was upto a lot of things today. I did acquire something new. Yes, it is a 2X2 soft board. I always wanted to have a softboard in my room, may be since ages. So since these days, I was planning to have one in my about to be completed study room, I just went to one stationery store.

To my surprise he did have 2 flavors, 2X2 and a 3X3 one. I wanted to go for 3X3 piece. Each feet cost me Rs 75. But the 3X3 piece was kind a huuuuge one.. I thought I would buy it for my study room atop. For my current room, I just got a 2X2 one. Its about Rs 300.

Awesome. I am excited. Now its time to put into practice, some of the stuff which I read or will read from the book " Getting Things Done " by David Allen.

Also forgot to mention in my list of incompleted books. It also includes " GTD" by David Allen.

Cheers,

Felt like posting

I felt like writing something, but unfortunately I have nothing to write.

But since my last 3 or odd posts have something to say about the books which I have been reading, I thought let me make a list of books which I have left uncompleted after I started to read them. Here it goes. The list is not that long. But I feel like kicking myself, since I just could not complete them.

They are:
1. Tough times never last, tough people do. - Robert Schuller
2. Biography of Rahul Dravid. - Vedam Jaishankar
3. The Life of Pi. - Not remembering the author.
4. Inheritance of Loss. - Kiran Desai
5. Agatha Christie - Partners in Crime.
6. Getting Things Done - David Allen


Hopefully I finish reading the Art of Bike Maintenance before the book just runs out of my hand

A New " Book for the week."

Its true. I just picked up a new title to read. I have not finished reading " The Art of Bike maintenance ". I was looking out for a particular book as I mentioned in the previous posts. But could not find it. Looks like " The Strand Book Festival " is where I will be able to find it.

But instead of it, I brought another book, " Straight from the Gut" by Jack Welch.

Now I need to quickly finish reading the book#1, which I am finding little difficulty in.

Also I somehow landed with two DVD's for the weekend. " Dil Chahta Hai" which I watched today, with lots of breaks, and " Andaaz Apna Apna" which I will watch tomorrow hopefully.

Cheers,

A new book altogether...

I have completed reading the book, " The Case for India".

I have picked up a new book " Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance ". I am sure gonna take sometime before I finish this book. By the way this book dates back to 1974.

Hopefully my next book would be : " The Story of My Experiments with truth". I will surely write about it, if I get a copy this Saturday.

Cheers.

Excerpt from the book " The Case For India "

Disclaimer - The below mentioned content is an excerpt from the book " The Case For India " by Will Durant.

I have been reading the book " The Case for India " for a couple of days now.

There is some awesome writing about Mahatma Gandhi.

I better get going in my usual ways, I mean the software engineer way ie Copy Paste aka Ctrl C , Ctrl V.

So here it goes... Its dated to a few years before the book was written, may be early 1920's.

Its actually what Rabindranath Tagore said about Mahatma Gandhi:

" Content removed "

Sometimes reading books about India before 1947 just makes you feel so proud. Btw it also provides a much needed break from the so called " FALSE TECHNOLOGY " which we tend to live in and boast about.

Cheers,

I am reading a book

I have started reading a new book, " The Case for India ".. It was written in the year 1930. Looks like its a supercool book. But I am finding little difficulty in reading the same. Ask me why I will tell you..

I had an idea of finishing the book today itself by late evening, but found a good friend over the internet, so time just flew by chatting and chatting...

I just wanted to mention something about the books which I read. More often, I have found a liking towards book written during 1910, 1920, 1930's or even earlier, rather than the latter ones' of the century. I do like the recent ones'. But somehow I feel, I just adore the classics.

Here are few of them

--> Diary of Anne Frank
--> Gone With the Wind.
--> Agatha Christie books
--> FountainHead (not read completely though).
--> Sherlock Holmes adventures... (huge fan of it,, next to Diary of Anne Frank)

and many more..

As of now I am looking forward towards reading " The Story of My Experiments with Truth".

Cheers for now..

So many Visitors on the blog ???

Phew.. I am quite surprised.. So many visitors on my blog.. I have no clues what so ever..
I better remove one of the photos which I have posted over here.. I do not know.. Whats happening ??

Well.. I did try to edit one of the Wiki Pages, without an account. Hence IP might have got exposed. But how on the world, did they figure out my blog? Some one please tell me.. how??

Awesome Find !!!

I have two of the most wonderful pics, I have taken in recent times... These two pics depict something really wonderful..

You will be wondering.. " What are these pics about? what do they depict ?? ".. It literally depicts independence, being independent.

As you all know, my parents are constructing a house atop my current house. These pics are from that very house. All the plastering is through. I was lucky to find these pics as they were from the bathroom, which was not plastered but would be tiled.

Generally people who do plastering write up their names.(most commonly). I saw something, which literally left my eyes moist and btw I was moved.

First of all you can understand, people involved in construction work, I mean laborers, are either uneducated or partly educated. They might not even know when is Independence day. But a carving on wet cement like this..

Hats off man.. U guys really rock.. In some days, this area will make way for some tiles. So i thought I would capture them and put it on my blog.. So that I remind myself every year, year after year, Yes Independence day means a lot to me.

I also sadly have to say, some of my friends, did have a great time on Aug 15 and Oct 2. They did booze (drink) a lot and unarguably made lot of merry. (Some sad state of things to come... by the way)

So here I end this post, saying.. Happy Independence day.

India Rocks !! Indians Rule !!!