Mother's Day Special

There's something special about some of the casual conversations we have that transforms them into lifelong memories. Had one such conversation in the flight back to the city this week.

Me (Requesting the Air-hostess [A-H] after observing that the passenger in the aisle seat is fast asleep): Could you please do me a favor?
A-H: Sure!
Me: My mom is at the back of the plane on seat 19-*. Could you please check on her, just to make sure she's fine? We could not get adjoining seats due to last minute itinerary changes.
A-H: Sure, I'll be right back!
Me: [Patiently waiting]
A-H: Oh yeah! She's fine and all settled in there. Oh BTW, I must say....I didn't know, and couldn't believe. Your mom is very beautiful!
Me:  Thanks! [donning a big smile]

Finding motivation ...

I've been in this mode several times in the past. This article, however, has made me re-think what to do if I land in that mode again in the future. Some of the views expressed in this article are contradictory to what most people (including me) believe in.

Start small. Really small. If you are having a hard time getting started, it may be because you’re thinking too big.

If you find inspiration and want to do a goal, don’t start right away. Many of us will get excited and want to start today. That’s a mistake. Set a date in the future — a week or two, or even a month — and make that your Start Date. Mark it on the calendar. Get excited about that date. Make it the most important date in your life. In the meantime, start writing out a plan. And do some of the steps below. Because by delaying your start, you are building anticipation, and increasing your focus and energy for your goal.

It’s probably the most common mistake that people make: they try to take on too much, try to accomplish too many goals at once. You cannot maintain energy and focus (the two most important things in accomplishing a goal) if you are trying to do two or more goals at once. It’s not possible — I’ve tried it many times. You have to choose one goal, for now, and focus on it completely. I know, that’s hard. Still, I speak from experience. You can always do your other goals when you’ve accomplished your One Goal.

Commit publicly: Now, you don’t have to commit to your goal in your daily newspaper, but you can do it with friends and family and co-workers, and you can do it on your blog if you have one. And hold yourself accountable — don’t just commit once, but commit to giving progress updates to everyone every week or so.

Get support. It’s hard to accomplish something alone.

Sounds interesting? Read it here.

A Sea Change

"A Sea Change"...that's probably the best way to describe my life in 2009. As we all bid adieu to this wonderful year, there are a couple of things to be noted.

Some important things I have learned/experienced/heard/read over the course of 8-10 months (which btw, is the essence of my blog "Things that matter"). These things are important to formulate thoughts and build solid foundations for 2010.

NOTE: I do not claim to be an expert on these things, nor do I believe I have learned them. I do, however, would like to learn these things asap.

* Appreciate the good things that happen to you, however small they are. There are people who don't even get food to eat and a place to sleep. You are way too lucky to be dissatisfied.

* More good things will happen, but only if you appreciate the ones that have already happened. It's all about understanding the value - the value of the gift called life.

* Be humble about your achievements. Not just because it's a good quality to have. But because there are people who fail, and when you brag, they are the ones who feel the most. It's just a matter of time before they work hard and win. So, stop bragging and be humble about your achievements. You are just another person in the universe doing something for your own good. There's no big deal in it.

* Never forget the people who have helped you. Go an extra mile to express your feelings towards them, never hesitate to thank them enough.

* Be polite in your dealings. You will meet several kinds of people in your life. Some people will point out your mistakes even after 8-9 months. That's Ok. You were wrong, that will never change. If you are wrong, accept it and move on.

* Be social. Loneliness is a killer. If you are not a party animal, there are hundreds of people like you everywhere ;). Get in touch with them. Your time is too precious to be spent in loneliness.

* Some people will be jealous of your achievements. That's ok. That can hurt you only if you are not sure why you have been successful (if at all). If you know, it doesn't matter.

* Living miles away from your family and friends does have its toll on your life. Life's full of compromises. It's all about making choices. There is no guarantee that your choices will always be right.

Okay, enough of the serious stuff/ramblings. Time to make the most of what I've got, and make a sincere effort to achieve things that I haven't. At the same time, it's time to realize that life isn't just about achievements. There's something more to it. It's time to explore "that" dimension of life.

It's time to work harder.

Cheers for 2010.

happy for [them] :-)

gonna miss [them] though.

but the happiness out-weighs anything else :) :D


[]==Personal. no questions, please.

I have started Tweeting

here's the link to my Twitter Homepage

Breakdowns happen.....

........the question is, how can we change them into a Breakthrough....

All good things.......

........come to an end. n so do Vacations. Can't help. :-|

don't be serious, be sincere

something i must learn and assimilate ! ASAP!

I just read about Chetan Bhagats' Speech at Symbi on one of my favorite blogs/groups - Protocols.
I must say... I have learned a lot from that post.
Some of the very important points from that speech >>
"Life is one of those races in nursery school. Where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same with life, where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die."

"About nurturing the spark - don't take life seriously. One of my yoga teachers used to make students laugh during classes. One student asked him if these jokes would take away something from the yoga practice. The teacher said - don't be serious, be sincere."


"Life is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? It's ok, bunk a few classes, goof up a few interviews, fall in love. We are people, not programmed devices."

"three things - reasonable goals, balance and not taking it too seriously that will nurture the spark. However, there are four storms in life that will threaten to completely put out the flame. These must be guarded against. These are disappointment, frustration, unfairness and loneliness of purpose."

Aadhantari

A wonderful composition.... a soothing backdrop of music and a true to the heart voice!
A must-see video; especially for all Indian students in the US.
Hats off to the composer and the narrator! great job..
>>

100 days in the US

So, what did we (me n my roomies) do to celebrate this occasion?. Well, we cooked some Pav Bhaji. As if that wasn't enough, we followed that up with ice-cream.

Its a fact that Life teaches u lessons. Indeed, Very important ones!
What I found interesting is... the observation that it can teach you *many* of them together; that too, in a very small amount of time. This is precisely what has happened with me in the first hundred days here. There have been some wonderful experiences as well as some harsh ones. But going through all that was.. and still is, surely worthwhile!
I have noticed one thing. We all live in some sort of a cocoon. That's where we set up our own world. That's where we feel safe and protected. That's where we think what we are! may-be good.. may-be bad. Many of our skills, our abilities, our behavior are determined by and confined to this cocoon. The real test is whether you are able to be "yourself" outside this cocoon.
Its a matter of time which will really tell you whether you were successful in being "yourself"; but for that.. you need to step out of your world - your self-created, and virtual (non-existent in reality) cocoon. This is really the essence of what I feel being here, as a student. Now whether I succeed being "myself" here or I don't - is a different story. But in just 100 days, I know myself better. Both in terms of my strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, I feel that taking this test is surely one of the best decisions I have made in life.

"There are always three speeches, for every one u actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish u gave"-Dale Carnegie

Such a wonderful quote, I must say !
Time n again... i hv realized that speaking in front of a large group of people...and making presentations(technical/general)... giving a speech ...have never been easy.
Personally, I have seen myself evolve a lot in all the aforementioned categories.
As students or "just-in" professionals, we hardly get any opportunity to "speak-up" at places where ur voice matters. But out of the little opportunities I have had, I have miserably lost almost all of 'em. But there's a lot of change.
I have certainly realized that the fear of facing the world and making a speech in front of people emanates from the fact that you are not confident enough.
The confidence required is built over time. Its a long process. It requires in-depth knowledge about what you are trying to speak about OR the confidence that whatever little knowledge u have about the topic u are speaking about; is more than sufficient.
I vaguely remember, the last time I had such an opportunity was when I was explaining a group of under-grad students; the importance of the under-grad final year project. I completely messed up. I used some catchy-words toooo many times. To the point that the 2 minute talk sounded boring even to me.
The idea was good. Intent was pure. Approach was correct. But the means were wrong.
There was another instance when I was asked to introduce myself in front of a LOT of "good/great" people. I don't say I was that bad. I introduced myself properly. My voice was just a bit shaky though. But when it comes to communication, I would want to see myself to scale-up to perfection. Cause without effective communication, I don't think one can survive in this competitive world.
Now talking about the evolution: Last month I has a presentation in class. I had decided not to use those "catchy words" again. Keep it simple!
And... it went really well. I was satisfied that I had put forth my idea in an effective manner.
These little things give a lot of satisfaction. I have realized that I like technical presentations. I like to see people express their ideas and I like to do the same.
I wonder when I will get to speak next about something interesting in front of a large audience.
But what da heck.... m ready! & if I falter - I 'll try again. Bring it on.
:)

things that matter....and most of them are now ..far ..far away ...

so here i am ... in the US of A...
just wanted to note down a few things out of the million ones i miss a lot...
this is not the senti types blog where i note down all my friends and family members names....and ..all the "things that matter" ...etc etc ...oh pls.... come on... its obvious that i miss all of them sooo much ...

what i want to note down here ....are a few interesting things that i never thought played such a important role in my day to day life...
car/bike : its just been a couple of days here ... i ve been walking a lot. sometimes i get a feeling... y cant i just take the keys and ride off to the nearest bus stop or grocery or pizza place.
food : its soo damn expensive here ...
i never really cared while ordering a cuppa coffee in CCD/barista back in India ...
but here ... one automatically becomes so conscious even b4 entering a Starbucks. To avoid temptation, we decided not to enter one ;-)
so ...heres what i miss... Vaishali Rupali Amrapali Relax Ambrosia CCD Barista Sujata-Mastani ZKs Mc Donalds CPK Food Court Big Bazzaar Live kitchen and last but not the least Kalyan Bhel ;-) obviously ...how can i forget that ? :-P
some other things : my Guitar ... yeah ...i know that i hardly used to play my guitar when in India ... but just the realization that it was there ...right in my room ....was just great !
my bed...my PC... etc etc ...the list goes on and on ...
now before this post becomes one (of the many) boring post(s) ...(or has it become one already ? :p ) i guess i should post it right away and stop adding things to it.

Now ... Thats Shopping!! ;-)

:-P
trust me ...
I m very bad at shopping ...
I bargain for the things I really dont want to buy. Effectively, I end up getting a good bargain and then decide against buying it! hehehe...
On the other hand ... if I like something...i just jump on it...! buy it without even thinking of asking for a better price ;-)
well.. thats me ! and thats y I need someone to accompany me while shopping...always... :-S
infact... thats y i hardly ever go shopping... ;-)
but this time around it was quite different. I "just had to" shop. It was inevitable. Moreover, a friend agreed to accompany me.
Thanks to the end of season sale happenin' everywhere, I got a fair price on almost everything. (30% to 50% off everywhere...now u know what a "fair price" according to me is!)
Some things were quite amusing. I m ignorant of so many things. I had to buy a suit and could not try out a Tie :-(
I came home and then did a bit of google(damn! i m succha typical software guy :-S ) and found this How to tie a Tie ..quite useful! The website has very detailed diagrams of how to tie a Tie in different styles. I could not actually try it ...cause I forgot to buy the Tie that day :-P ...but thats another story ..hehe ;-)

Yesterday was indeed a very touching day ....

After working with the company for a significant amount of time and becoming a part of its family, I bid adieu to my colleagues as i decided to move on and go for higher studies.
I met a lot of people. We exchanged greetings and good wishes.

I realized that i 've been very lucky to have known such a lot of good people.
I strongly believe that an organisations biggest asset are the people who work there.
And that is why I also believe that.. come what may, the company will succeed.
I saw & learned a lot of things here, apart from the technical stuff. The indomitable fighting spirit, hard work, use of intellect to tackle some extremely difficult problems, confidence that even though we may be small but we can do wonders and the very important point of not to forget to "have fun" while we take up the challenges that life has to offer.( Lets see how I actually make use and implement what i 've seen and learnt here :-) )
As I physically move out of the company, I will still continue to be a part of its extended family and wish a lot of good things for it.
Thats what i call....a true start-up experience :-) ...and i hope there are many more to come :-)

Worli Sea face

Probably.... the best thing about visiting the American Consulate @ Worli...
saw atleast 8-10 BMWs ... 3-4 Camrys ...1 Audi ...a real treat to the eyes... :-)
Worli Sea face is one of the hottest beach-front properties in Asia-Pac. ... with real estate rates ranging from 50k to 1 Lac per sq. ft.!!!!
no wonder y celebs like Gavaskar, most politicians, babus , ...Ambanis... have their abode in this area.
its hot, humid, polluted, crowded...but still ....Mumbai rocks ...big-time!

Reason often makes mistakes, but conscience never does !

So, here we are !
Finally a post after a loonGG lonG time.... (actually it hardly matters , cause nobody reads my blogs :-P)
I had decided not to post new blogs cause i was really busy for the last few days.
But then, I had compelling reasons to post this !

It was a really fine Sunday! I was having a nice drive on the Camp streets. There was hardly any traffic cause most of the shops in Camp are closed on Sundays. Had put on some good "Akon" Music and was having a nice chat with a friend who was accompanying me.
Just as we drove past the East street entrance, BanG!! there was a huge sound and a solid jerk.
When we regained our senses, we realized that a car had rammed into our car from behind.
I was literally shocked to see that there was hardly any traffic around. I could not imagine how bad a driver can be to be so careless and fail to have control over his car in such normal driving conditions!
We got off the car and examined the damage(cause after all this would have been the background/intensity of our reaction).
Luckily, there was a minor dent near the lock and the rear glass was just fine!
I then turned around to see probably the world's most stupid driver.
He was in his 40's and had stuffed in more than 6 kids in his car. He immediately apologized and accepted his mistake. (No big Deal! He had to !)
His reasons >> well...one of the kids misbehaved and he was distracted and did not realize when he lost control.
Quite acceptable. No issues here. Happens.
But what he said later was cheap. He proudly said that he is the owner of a huge "chiwda" brand in the city and revealed that he is a big businessman. And assured that he's ready to pay all the compensation for removing the dent.
Dude....if u are the owner of a "chiwda" brand so whattt ?? If you think money can cover all your misdeeds then you are totally out of your mind!
But who will tell him! why will he listen ! and how would he understand!!
The next , he asked us to show the bill and come to his shop to take the money. I was like ...What the hell....! i said .... u r the one who has made the mistake....you must call me and enquire about the bill ....and U should come to pay the money ....cause U are responsible for this.
I dont think that would be much useful though.
The worst thing that he did according to me is the fact that he said >>
"I am the owner of a big business (in short ...he said "I am rich") and i m ready to compensate for this by giving money" .............in front of his Kids!!
What will his kids learn?.
They just got their lesson >> "their own dad used money to hide/cover his mistakes"....
I wonder why wont they try to do the same when they grow up?

But I have promises to keep And Miles to go before I Sleep!

One of my friends referred to this poem while we had a little chat....
I searched for it on Google(needless to say that i found it? Its "Google" afterall!)

... and i just loved it ... specially the last para!

Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

--Robert Frost

Trip to Walchandnagar..

Finally a personal post ... had been a li'll busy @work ... but now its time to catch up :)
We had a looonnG drive a couple of days back to Walchandnagar - A small industrial hub in a remotely secluded place about 130km from Pune.
Even though the primary intention was to eat some authentic "Hurda" directly @ the farms, we had a lot of fun along the way ...
A perfect blend of modern industrialization and close proximity to the nature is surely a rare occurence.
Needless to say I enjoyed every bit of the 10 hour trip.
Foll. >>Pics

..

Mere Desh ki dharti

A Huge "Private" Garden

Why Me? (Nice Read!)

I got this in a forwarded e-mail....
i never expected that fwd'ed mails can be so good....infact most of us treat them as junk ...
but this one's surely a jewel ....

ONE PARAGRAPH THAT EXPLAINS LIFE!

Arthur Ashe, the legendary Wimbledon player was dying of AIDS which he got due to infected blood he received during a heart surgery in 1983.
From world over, he received letters from his fans, one of which
conveyed: "Why does GOD have to select you for such a bad disease"?
To this Arthur Ashe replied:
"The world over -- 50 million children start playing tennis, 5 million learn to play tennis, 500,000 learn professional tennis, 50,000 come to the circuit, 5000 reach the grand slam, 50 reach Wimbledon, 4 to semi final, 2 to the finals, when I was holding a cup I never asked GOD 'Why me?'.
And today in pain I should not be asking GOD 'Why me?' "

"Happiness keeps you Sweet,
Trials keep you Strong,
Sorrow keeps you Human,
Failure keeps you humble and Success keeps you glowing, but only Faith & Attitude Keeps you going...



Too good :-) isn't it?

National "Do Not Disturb/Call" Registry (NDNC)

"The National Do Not Call Registry (NDNC Registry) is setup to curb the Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC), which is any telecommunications service message, which is transmitted for the purpose of informing about or soliciting or promoting any commercial transaction in relation to goods, investments or services which a subscriber opts not to receive."

Well ... i dont think so !
have u seen those huge trucks on highways proudly displaying a flashy text on the front "National Permit or N.P." ??
well the NDNC is left with nothing more than a similar license! National Calling Permit :-p

i heard a lot of people complaining about disgusting calls even after registering their no.s in the NDNC. If no action is taken against the culprits.....they 'll feel that NDNC is just another defunct government initiative.... and they will start calling more than ever before...

Just 20 days after my cell phone number found its way in the NDNC .... i started getting calls yet again ! and guess from whom? my service provider - Airtel !
(same old ... free ringtones...caller tunes...wallpapers... and What Not!~ )
Actually, the service providers have a moral responsibilty of enforcing the NDNC ....and they are the ones who are making every effort to make it sound nothing more than a "serious" - joke :-p

I decided to raise my voice against this .... and found these details.
As per the details .... i called up 121 - the Airtel customer support centre and explained them the whole problem.
After coming to know that the complaint is against Airtel only ! .... the customer care exec. put my call on hold ...never to answer again ;-)
As anybody would guess.... i called them up again ....this time... the reply was smart....all they said is "you need to register ur no. in the NDNC again ! "
(P.S.: I had received an official SMS from Airtel that my no. was included in the NDNC about a month ago! And i still have the SMS with the Reference No.!)

I wonder what the MTV's sizzling Mia has to say (in her too-much-americanized accent)about her favourite "Airtel" now?

:-P