after many year of peace ( relative peace i.e. notwithstanding the intifada... the occasional suicide bombing or attacks in sinai ) the Middle East is on the boil again.. the immediate provocation being the seizure of 3 israeli soldiers by hamas and Hezbollah.. but what followed these seizes was unwarranted.. it was as if isreal wanted to play the part that these militant group (and its backers ) had decided for it.. a highly disproportionate use of its overwhelming strike force advantage.. and even carpet-bombing areas south of beruit and Gaza Strip.. this doesn't make sense.. isreal has previously released palestine/lebanese prisoners in exchange for captured soldiers/civilians.. so what was different this time.. i think geo-political situation outside of isreal decided the course of action this time.. i believe having a conservative George Bush at capitol hill.. and with the pro-jewish lobby in full force it has emboldened the Zionists to act in this way.. and there appears to be some sort of tacit approval in Bush administration on the heavy-handed tactics of isreal.. and maybe there is some wanton thoughts in washington to use this war as a excuse to target syria and iran ( the fabled 'axis-of-evil' ) but iran is not some banana republic under the sun that can be subdued easily... its a full fledged islamic state that has been rabidly anti-US for the quarter of century now.. it has been espousing the case for nuclear weapons for some time now.. and nobody knows the extent of its advancement there.. ( but with north korea also in picture you can never be sure that iran doesn't have them.. ) besides anarchy in iraq and afghanistan have given it a kind'of strategic depth that this shiite state hadn't had in centuries.. and this $70 a barrel oil has made it flush with funds that will help it buy weapons,men and even support.. so any covert or overt action on iran will be hugely disastrous for the whole world.. and its aftermath will result in a crescent of resurgent shitte areas from kabul to beruit ,more mujhaids and anger on the street.. unstable saudi arabia.. , forget Oil , forget GWOT ( another fabled acronym for 'Global War On Terror...) well you cannot fully comprehend the dangers of where this could go... i guess Al-Queda will be the only one smiling...
~Rock Around The Clock~
2000 Light Years Away From Sanity
so the blogs are back in town... well almost.. the guess the blogs had no reason to be banned in the first place.. even the discriminating ones.. nobody.. i mean NOBODY can stop this advance of technology.. the moment the blogs were banned.. site proxies (one even from pakistan.. ) were widely quoted as alternate ways to access those banned sites.. so the whole purpose ( even if we believe there was genuine one.. was lost in this maze of technology..) neither this banning was morally and ethically correct.. how different are then we from China which is even censuring the Google Search ( i can't imagine how Google/Yahoo agreed to this *bullshit*.. ) and this banning was the unlikelist of the goverment response's in lieu Mumbai blasts.. I think the blogs and bloggers played positive role in all the cases in the aftermath of the horrific bomb blasts in Mumbai
In my post Running With The Devil i had written about the current dismal state of affairs..
i guess the country's establishment priorities lies in which movie to ban,in
mindless quota politics,on iran.. et.al.. whereas the real issues lie somewhere
else.. somewhat sinister..
The goverment's decision made no sense.. in banning free,independent and
highly personal media like blogs ( agreed that there may be some sites that need to be singled out.. but then does this goverment has the means to enforce such censure.. ) and in any case banning these won't in any way improve the security situation and decrease the threat perception that this country faces.. this thinking of the establishment is a mere fallacy.. why doesn't the goverment shows such proactive approach towards closing down SIMI.. busting terror sleeper cells.. on curbing the bangladesh border.. but no.. the goverment could just muster enough strength to ban hapeless blogs..
.. for a change this time the goverment realised its mistake... and lifted the ban..
~Gimme Your Money Please~
In my post Running With The Devil i had written about the current dismal state of affairs..
i guess the country's establishment priorities lies in which movie to ban,in
mindless quota politics,on iran.. et.al.. whereas the real issues lie somewhere
else.. somewhat sinister..
The goverment's decision made no sense.. in banning free,independent and
highly personal media like blogs ( agreed that there may be some sites that need to be singled out.. but then does this goverment has the means to enforce such censure.. ) and in any case banning these won't in any way improve the security situation and decrease the threat perception that this country faces.. this thinking of the establishment is a mere fallacy.. why doesn't the goverment shows such proactive approach towards closing down SIMI.. busting terror sleeper cells.. on curbing the bangladesh border.. but no.. the goverment could just muster enough strength to ban hapeless blogs..
.. for a change this time the goverment realised its mistake... and lifted the ban..
~Gimme Your Money Please~
"Post Mortem" :: Episode 3 (Revised)
i started writing the concluding part of my trilogy ( on my two years in IT ) on friday but couldn't finish it off.. so i saved it to finish it later.. i had written on my state of mind.. which is not very great these days.. ( i think i had already written on it before.. ) but by sunday when i sat down again to finish this post.. the revised salary letters were out.. and my mood had changed.. it was not that bad as when i started writing it.. so i had to re-write the whole post.. but why should i be complaining... the new salary slips are above what i expected ( i think 'expected' is not the right word.. maybe 'feared' sounds better.. ) and much more what most in my team got ( they say money is a great 'leveller'.. i could not agree more.. ) now all my grouses against this company.. against this industry.. against the work.. seems to have all vanished.. ( for now.. ) i love this company ;-) lets see how long this supposed self-satisfaction lasts.. but i 'm always bewildered as to what self-satisfaction is.. or if there is such a thing called 'satisfaction'.. and how to make this all-important trade-off between monetary satisfaction and job/work satisfaction in these impressionable times... chalo i will be short.. i need to uncork the bottle to celebrate the occasion.. :) :)
~Down By The River~
~Down By The River~
"Post Mortem" :: Episode 2
this is the second installment in my continued trilogy on IT and my completing two years in IT ( two years.. OMG, in a single concern.. but we will take about it later.. ) this part mostly deals with 'How To Survive IT'...
In these initial moulding years in IT i have realised thats it not very difficult to do great in IT.. you don't need to be bright or genius to succeed.. all you need is to play your cards well.. really well .. and Boy i assure , and you will places..
These are some of the tenets for working and succeding in IT..
Create Bigger Impact : Try to create a bigger impact or impression than the thing actually deserves or warrants.. this will help you sell yourself better and create tremendous brand recall.. besides you get the much maligned 'Visibility' ...
Keep Everybody In Loop : Keep everybody that's remotely associated with the project in the 'to' and 'cc' list on mails.. and you will make sure you will rise fast.. after all everybody loves to be given importance.. and hundreds of mails in his mailbox.. besides marking a copy also acts as a safety valve if things go wrong..
Work Smart : Always work smarter and not harder.. if working harder could have achieved anything then the rickshaw-walla would have been earning more then these stressed out souls in IT.. try to keep the expectation low.. and try out performing those expectations.. i always believe in 'under-expectation and over-performance'...
The Boss is Always Right :Argue.. Fight.. Debate with your boss.. but in the end make sure that his swolled nerves have been mollified.. remember that 'The Boss is Always Right'... ALWAYS...
Love Metrics.. Love Processess.. Love Documentation : Love and follow your processes even if they all just mean bullshit.. love your excelsheets.. those ppt slides.. those endless meetings.. those mail-mail games.. those reviews stuff.. and document everything that you learn or google.. these documentation helps a LOT !! really... i mean it.. also keep everything in writing..
Always appear enthusiastic.. proactive.. initiative driven.. : this is where i fail and fail miserably :( Another one.. this may sound dirty.. but then it's a dirty world out here.. engage in regular sound-bites.. i 'm not saying flattery but well something like flattery.. just tell people things that they want to hear.. and you become a very close confidant..
Have An Exit Route :Always have an exit plan ready.. you never know when your boss.. or your boss's boss or the endless bosses we have could give a nice kick on your already out-of-shape bottom..
Use 'Right' words at 'Right' time : when you need to protect your turf.. be assertive.. when you need help.. be polite.. be good friends with the whole team.. you never know when you need somebody.. when not sure.. sound unsure.. when confident.. sound confident...
Never Sound Idiotic : Tell it frankly if you don't know something instead of shooting your mouth off.. it takes great pains to make an impression on these firangi client and one bad day can set you back by ages...
enough of preaching.. had i myself followed what i preach i guess things would have been different.. *sigh*...
something again on the lighter side.. got a link of wikimapia which is like Google Earth except that dehradun and small towns are pretty much detailed out in it... so using wikimapia me and my roomie found out our appartment in Noida and tagged it as jahan boss log rahete hai... :) :) OMG.. not content with this we found out the nearest bar where we frequent and tagged it as jahan boss log peete hai... :) :)
~A Horse With A Name~
In these initial moulding years in IT i have realised thats it not very difficult to do great in IT.. you don't need to be bright or genius to succeed.. all you need is to play your cards well.. really well .. and Boy i assure , and you will places..
These are some of the tenets for working and succeding in IT..
Create Bigger Impact : Try to create a bigger impact or impression than the thing actually deserves or warrants.. this will help you sell yourself better and create tremendous brand recall.. besides you get the much maligned 'Visibility' ...
Keep Everybody In Loop : Keep everybody that's remotely associated with the project in the 'to' and 'cc' list on mails.. and you will make sure you will rise fast.. after all everybody loves to be given importance.. and hundreds of mails in his mailbox.. besides marking a copy also acts as a safety valve if things go wrong..
Work Smart : Always work smarter and not harder.. if working harder could have achieved anything then the rickshaw-walla would have been earning more then these stressed out souls in IT.. try to keep the expectation low.. and try out performing those expectations.. i always believe in 'under-expectation and over-performance'...
The Boss is Always Right :Argue.. Fight.. Debate with your boss.. but in the end make sure that his swolled nerves have been mollified.. remember that 'The Boss is Always Right'... ALWAYS...
Love Metrics.. Love Processess.. Love Documentation : Love and follow your processes even if they all just mean bullshit.. love your excelsheets.. those ppt slides.. those endless meetings.. those mail-mail games.. those reviews stuff.. and document everything that you learn or google.. these documentation helps a LOT !! really... i mean it.. also keep everything in writing..
Always appear enthusiastic.. proactive.. initiative driven.. : this is where i fail and fail miserably :( Another one.. this may sound dirty.. but then it's a dirty world out here.. engage in regular sound-bites.. i 'm not saying flattery but well something like flattery.. just tell people things that they want to hear.. and you become a very close confidant..
Have An Exit Route :Always have an exit plan ready.. you never know when your boss.. or your boss's boss or the endless bosses we have could give a nice kick on your already out-of-shape bottom..
Use 'Right' words at 'Right' time : when you need to protect your turf.. be assertive.. when you need help.. be polite.. be good friends with the whole team.. you never know when you need somebody.. when not sure.. sound unsure.. when confident.. sound confident...
Never Sound Idiotic : Tell it frankly if you don't know something instead of shooting your mouth off.. it takes great pains to make an impression on these firangi client and one bad day can set you back by ages...
enough of preaching.. had i myself followed what i preach i guess things would have been different.. *sigh*...
something again on the lighter side.. got a link of wikimapia which is like Google Earth except that dehradun and small towns are pretty much detailed out in it... so using wikimapia me and my roomie found out our appartment in Noida and tagged it as jahan boss log rahete hai... :) :) OMG.. not content with this we found out the nearest bar where we frequent and tagged it as jahan boss log peete hai... :) :)
~A Horse With A Name~
"Post Mortem" :: Episode 1
today i completed two full years in this company as an employee.. and this being my first company.. and my first experiences with the pulls and pressures of IT.. therefore my reasoning may be skewed and tending to decieve general reasoning.. ( i love this company ;-) ) to mark these two years i 'm writing an introspective trilogy on my experiences within this IT.. this part dedicated to IT and outsourcing in general...
in these initial learning years in IT i have realised that all this buzz around outsourcing is deceiving.. its nothing else except plain 'labour arbitrage'.. its just not about Indian IT expertise.. nor about huge workforce.. it's just that work is being done at the costs that is fraction to what it could have been done in US and the cost of telecom and the ease of technology has made multi-locational facilities feasible for even mid-sized corporates.. but i 'm sceptic as to how long can indian engineer hold on to this cost advantage vis-a-vis US engineer.. the cost of an Indian Engineer rises 15%-20% average Y-O-Y whereas salaries there (US) rises measly.. besides there is this perpetual grouse over efficency.. so does outsourcing really help... i have my doubts.. i believe that the reason why corporations took to outsourcing in such a big way is that post tech-bust no company is willing to deploy huge funds to just write new piece of worthless software or implement new technologies ( that may or may suceed ).. much of the spending is just being done to maintain legacy systems ( Maintenance ).. or automate processess ( ERP Packages ) or move processes on to the Web ( application development ).. and this is where indian IT makes a killing just by the virtue that work is being shipped to india where salary is paltry.. but i think outsourcing doesn't save much.. atleast in fields like application development ( not talking about things like VLSI where savings is huge and India expertise is par excellence ) the efficency of indian workforce is way way less then US based engineer.. then this time-difference ( between India and U.S ) becomes a great bottleneck.. i also find great differences in the working attitudes of a US versus Indian Engineer for things like ownership ,creativity, efficency, resposibility and commitment.. (not to say that we don't have these.. but still the difference is there.. ) and finally the value that is being added is still being added by engineers sitting in silicon valley or san jose... its there that fine products ( killer-apps.. like iPod, Google, Ebay ) are being created..
chalo.. i better finish it off.. i wanted to write more .. and write better.. but feeling sleepy.. i guess the booze is getting the better of me ;-)
~Love Me Two Times~
in these initial learning years in IT i have realised that all this buzz around outsourcing is deceiving.. its nothing else except plain 'labour arbitrage'.. its just not about Indian IT expertise.. nor about huge workforce.. it's just that work is being done at the costs that is fraction to what it could have been done in US and the cost of telecom and the ease of technology has made multi-locational facilities feasible for even mid-sized corporates.. but i 'm sceptic as to how long can indian engineer hold on to this cost advantage vis-a-vis US engineer.. the cost of an Indian Engineer rises 15%-20% average Y-O-Y whereas salaries there (US) rises measly.. besides there is this perpetual grouse over efficency.. so does outsourcing really help... i have my doubts.. i believe that the reason why corporations took to outsourcing in such a big way is that post tech-bust no company is willing to deploy huge funds to just write new piece of worthless software or implement new technologies ( that may or may suceed ).. much of the spending is just being done to maintain legacy systems ( Maintenance ).. or automate processess ( ERP Packages ) or move processes on to the Web ( application development ).. and this is where indian IT makes a killing just by the virtue that work is being shipped to india where salary is paltry.. but i think outsourcing doesn't save much.. atleast in fields like application development ( not talking about things like VLSI where savings is huge and India expertise is par excellence ) the efficency of indian workforce is way way less then US based engineer.. then this time-difference ( between India and U.S ) becomes a great bottleneck.. i also find great differences in the working attitudes of a US versus Indian Engineer for things like ownership ,creativity, efficency, resposibility and commitment.. (not to say that we don't have these.. but still the difference is there.. ) and finally the value that is being added is still being added by engineers sitting in silicon valley or san jose... its there that fine products ( killer-apps.. like iPod, Google, Ebay ) are being created..
chalo.. i better finish it off.. i wanted to write more .. and write better.. but feeling sleepy.. i guess the booze is getting the better of me ;-)
~Love Me Two Times~
Of Men And Sheep
last week to watch the much-hyped germany v/s argentina clash we went to this famous chinese bar that is pretty near to our office and is among the 'watering hole' thats usually frequented by the software-wallas.. we reached early.. so as not to miss the comfortable seats.. much early before the match.. and sitting there with our usual 'who-said-this-&-who-did-that' office bullshit.. and on the table infront of each of us was a rectanglar piece of paper giving which year belong to which animal of the 'Chinese Calendar' ( this being a chinese restaurant...) and the brief description of significance of each animal.. i guess it made an interesting read.. Btw, i dont believe in astrology and sun-signs predictions.. but somehow and surprisingly the Chinese Zodiac was not way off the mark.. atleast in my case..
This is what is said in case of 'The Sheep' ( i being born in the year of sheep.. other luminaries to be born with sheep sign are muhammad ali & billie jean king... )
"This is most feminine sign of Chinese Zodiac. A person of sheep year is called good samaritan of the cycle.He is righteous,sincere and easily taken in by sob stories. known for his gentle and compassionate ways. he can easily forgive and be understanding about other faults. dislikes strick schedules and can not take too much discipline of criticism. "
hmmm... 'dislike strict schedules' that takes the cake... all my life i have never allowed deadlines to get the better of me.. even in IT.. i hate these timelines stuff.. righteous... somewhat true.. but telling you frankly morality hardly pays.. this week being the last to submit yearly medical bills & i haven't yet ( and i know everybody submits counterfeit bills.. but then the heart has reason that reason don't know.. ) 'good samaritan' hmmm.... i think yes.. atleast monetarily.. i have large amount of money loaned out.. :) gentle.. yes... sincere.. lemme think..hmmmm i guess this can be argued upon.. forgivingly... yet to forgive anybody.. i think nobody asks forgiveness these days.. but i 'm sure that chinese have got this one wrong 'easily taken in by sob stories'.. i am waiting to be fooled by somebody ( bandi-log only.. ) by telling me sobbing stories :) :)
~Blinded By The Light~
This is what is said in case of 'The Sheep' ( i being born in the year of sheep.. other luminaries to be born with sheep sign are muhammad ali & billie jean king... )
"This is most feminine sign of Chinese Zodiac. A person of sheep year is called good samaritan of the cycle.He is righteous,sincere and easily taken in by sob stories. known for his gentle and compassionate ways. he can easily forgive and be understanding about other faults. dislikes strick schedules and can not take too much discipline of criticism. "
hmmm... 'dislike strict schedules' that takes the cake... all my life i have never allowed deadlines to get the better of me.. even in IT.. i hate these timelines stuff.. righteous... somewhat true.. but telling you frankly morality hardly pays.. this week being the last to submit yearly medical bills & i haven't yet ( and i know everybody submits counterfeit bills.. but then the heart has reason that reason don't know.. ) 'good samaritan' hmmm.... i think yes.. atleast monetarily.. i have large amount of money loaned out.. :) gentle.. yes... sincere.. lemme think..hmmmm i guess this can be argued upon.. forgivingly... yet to forgive anybody.. i think nobody asks forgiveness these days.. but i 'm sure that chinese have got this one wrong 'easily taken in by sob stories'.. i am waiting to be fooled by somebody ( bandi-log only.. ) by telling me sobbing stories :) :)
~Blinded By The Light~
V For Visibility
Sometime back a movie called 'V for Vendetta' came... it talks about a dystopian world suffering with a one 'fatal flaw'.. there is something thats going on in our project these days.. and its called 'V for Visibility'... i tried looking up the meaning of visibilty and this is what i could salvage on WorldWeb.. "perceptible by the eye or obvious to the eye" ... 'Visibility' per se means creating a slow and sustained 'high voltage impact' over a period of time.. a sort of slow-witted moves that may look foolish prima-facie but increases your 'Brand-Recall' and leaves your opponents caught off-guard.. sample this a perfect example.. you have accomplished a task ( the task was pretty trivial.. ) , but you created quite an impression by doing it.. writing a long artistic mail.. and then marking the copy of that mail to every person that was even remotely connected to this task.. so in the first place you have created an impact ( If thats what we call 'Visibility'.. ) and secondly you have marginalized your colleagues.. even though the task was such that even a dumb-ass can accomplish it.. ( hmmm.. mind you, i don't claim that i am correct... as i have not have much experience in machinations of this tech world.. this being my first company.. and the first project.. ) I am of the opinion that if you are working and working good then one doesn't need to indulge in this gimmickry to prove his/her worth.. the WORK should do the talking instead of this endless rounds of MAILS.. and i think most U.S. engineers are able to distinguish between them.. and i guess if they don't then either you also indulge in this mindless crap or look for greener pastures..( I don't belive that if you worked sincerly then you need to prove that you were working.. its for all to see and judge.. )
~If 6 Was 9~
~If 6 Was 9~
Sunday Ruminations...
This is my third post on reservation.. but i have a feeling that the protests have hit the dead end.. ( Arjun Singh is such an @ss#ole ..) i sincerly hope the goverment realise its folly but i guess the stakes have been made so high that it will be a political 'harakiri' for goverment to now back down.. and there are now voices in this f***n goverment (sorry for being so impolite .. but i can' help ) of extending this to private sector too.. we are seeing a method in this madness.. the goverment now says that it will increase seats to compensate for loss in seats to general category (due to reservation.. ) this is absurd.. i dont think premier colleges have the bandwidth (in terms of infrastructure, teaching staff..) to afford such a seat raise.. already the teacher-student ratio is pathetic... it will only go more down.. but one thing that's bothering me is why the goverment is not going for a monetary-based quota instead of caste-based.. i don't think that even a single soul in this county would be against reservations where the seats the allocated on the families monetary condition.. every party.. every individual.. every student in this country will support such a move and it will be politically correct as well as electorally sound .. but why goverment does not have that kind'of nerve to go for it i don't understand.. maybe the officials in the higher echelons of the goverment ( mind you they are there becuase of reservations) do not wish to share the spoils of reservations with the really-backwards..
~For Those About To Rock ...We Salute You~
~For Those About To Rock ...We Salute You~
work-'karma' @ workplace
Does 'Living Karmic life' in Tech. Sector has any bearing or has 'Karma' as we generally know it, lost its relevance in these days of technology.. Karma as far i know is a cycle of 'cause and effect'... 'if you do good things, good things will happen to you - if you do bad things, bad things will happen to you'. is the simplest of definitions one can attach to Karma.. The effects of all deeds actively create present and future experiences, thus making one responsible for one's own life. The idea is that the beneficial or harmful effects one has on the world ( Read Software Industry here.. ) will return to oneself...
Of-late i have started doubting the existence of 'karmic life'... though i am a non-believer i still believe karma as an inherent principle of the universe( something like quantum physics..) without the intervention of any Supernatural Being. so eventually whatever you sow.. you are going to reap that.. however i have a feeling that this is being lost in this mad mad rat race thats evident in Tech. these days.. consider this...
Exhibit 1 : The 'show me the money' angle : you have just joined the organisation.. but you are willing to quit becuase the other company down the street is offering more...
Exhibit 2: The 'escapist' angle : you join the company.. the initial honeymoon period is over.. the going gets tough for you ,you quit the organisation.. for greener pastures..
Exhibit 3: The 'sleeping colleagues' angle : you are in a team.. and the team is full of people who don't work but still are complaining or bossing around..
Exhibit 4: The 'inner circle' angle : there are some born-politicians in the team who seem to be in good books of some whosoever and form the inner circle who is out there to kick your a** .
Exhibit 5: The 'why-not-me' angle : people who seem to be jealous that others have got the oppurtunity even though they were denied that & they are not willing to consider why it was denied to them...
Now the real question.. if these people are growing in profile/salary & oppurtunities so where is all this talk of 'Karma'. it seems that i have fooled myself sticking to the notion that someday some semblance of sanity will return and those who have made shortcuts will suffer.. but seriously i doubt if that will ever happen.. i don't mean to say that i am a kind'of ideal employee doing always right.. i have many shortcommings, i too have made mistakes but then i tried not to repeat them and learn from my experiences... but where is the incentive (or even recognition ) to excel.. i am caught in a situation where it doesn't matter if i work or not.. the results will always be same in the end.. (nothing at best.. ) as for money its important but then it's not paramount.. what's important is the need to 'deserve it' before you 'desire it'.. ditto for position & recognition.. i always thought that i made correct choices sticking to a job in past 2+ years.. but on second thoughts i am not so sure of the choices made.. on hindsight i feel whats more important is not the amount of work you do.. but how much 'high voltage' impact you make even if you have done/achieved nothing..
Maybe there is nothing of 'Karma' in software.. the mistakes of past never come to haunt you... instead these mistakes ( read job-hopping.. ) just makes your pay packet more and more fatter....
~Wish You Were Here~
Of-late i have started doubting the existence of 'karmic life'... though i am a non-believer i still believe karma as an inherent principle of the universe( something like quantum physics..) without the intervention of any Supernatural Being. so eventually whatever you sow.. you are going to reap that.. however i have a feeling that this is being lost in this mad mad rat race thats evident in Tech. these days.. consider this...
Exhibit 1 : The 'show me the money' angle : you have just joined the organisation.. but you are willing to quit becuase the other company down the street is offering more...
Exhibit 2: The 'escapist' angle : you join the company.. the initial honeymoon period is over.. the going gets tough for you ,you quit the organisation.. for greener pastures..
Exhibit 3: The 'sleeping colleagues' angle : you are in a team.. and the team is full of people who don't work but still are complaining or bossing around..
Exhibit 4: The 'inner circle' angle : there are some born-politicians in the team who seem to be in good books of some whosoever and form the inner circle who is out there to kick your a** .
Exhibit 5: The 'why-not-me' angle : people who seem to be jealous that others have got the oppurtunity even though they were denied that & they are not willing to consider why it was denied to them...
Now the real question.. if these people are growing in profile/salary & oppurtunities so where is all this talk of 'Karma'. it seems that i have fooled myself sticking to the notion that someday some semblance of sanity will return and those who have made shortcuts will suffer.. but seriously i doubt if that will ever happen.. i don't mean to say that i am a kind'of ideal employee doing always right.. i have many shortcommings, i too have made mistakes but then i tried not to repeat them and learn from my experiences... but where is the incentive (or even recognition ) to excel.. i am caught in a situation where it doesn't matter if i work or not.. the results will always be same in the end.. (nothing at best.. ) as for money its important but then it's not paramount.. what's important is the need to 'deserve it' before you 'desire it'.. ditto for position & recognition.. i always thought that i made correct choices sticking to a job in past 2+ years.. but on second thoughts i am not so sure of the choices made.. on hindsight i feel whats more important is not the amount of work you do.. but how much 'high voltage' impact you make even if you have done/achieved nothing..
Maybe there is nothing of 'Karma' in software.. the mistakes of past never come to haunt you... instead these mistakes ( read job-hopping.. ) just makes your pay packet more and more fatter....
~Wish You Were Here~
Symptom Of Our Times
Well i recieved this joke through a mail that correctly describes the days of our lives..
Manmohan Singh to Bush Jr. : We are sending Indians to the moon next year.
Bush Jr. : Wow! How Many?
Manmohan Singh : 100
25 - OBC
25 - SC
20 - ST
5 - Sports Persons
5 - Terrorist Affected
5 - Kashmiri Migrants
5 - Minorities
9 - Politicians
and if possible...
1 - Astronaut
Bush Jr. : Me too interested.. Maybe Osama is hiding there or WMD are hidden there..
The way things are going it looks like we would be having quotas in trains and planes as well.. possibly the pilot shouting that the plane will not move untill the reserved seats are full..
~Burning Down The House~
Manmohan Singh to Bush Jr. : We are sending Indians to the moon next year.
Bush Jr. : Wow! How Many?
Manmohan Singh : 100
25 - OBC
25 - SC
20 - ST
5 - Sports Persons
5 - Terrorist Affected
5 - Kashmiri Migrants
5 - Minorities
9 - Politicians
and if possible...
1 - Astronaut
Bush Jr. : Me too interested.. Maybe Osama is hiding there or WMD are hidden there..
The way things are going it looks like we would be having quotas in trains and planes as well.. possibly the pilot shouting that the plane will not move untill the reserved seats are full..
~Burning Down The House~
Sharp Left Turn Ahead
Hmmm... i usually don't write posts on politics.. but this has to be an exception... the assembly results in four states are out.. and there are no suprises as to who the real winners are.. Left parties undoubtedly.. the losers seems to be the ladies brigade (..Jaya and Mamata ...thank God !! ) the mainstream parties are nowhere in the reckoning.. and the left appear to be gaining strength with every elections.. that is surprising when you consider that we are in midst of a red-hot economy and record-breaking growth rates.. the left is not only continuing to hold on.. but it has found more recruits and reached out to newer areas for its 'hugger-mugger' policies... this trend of left revival is not only specific to india but is being seen worldwide.. all of americas except US and Canada has turned sharply left.. leaders like Hugo Chavez of Venezula have become the new poster boys of leftist ideology and student campuses... most of mainland and eastern europe is left-leaning now.. this is ironic.. there is no major total-communist territory left (China hmmm.. is part-communist and part-capitalist..).. no such great difficult times.. no wars.. no food scares.. and yet more and more people seems to be embracing it.. I think the world-wide behaviour is more of an aberration.. people experimenting with leftism politics as an alternative to centre and center-right politics.. but here in india their resurgent influence is plain good organizational support and lack of alternatives.. so what is rise of left bode for india.. futher slow reforms.. and no fuel hike in short term.. as Mr MS gets his acts together..
Btw.. Hail Capitalism .. i todya earned a tidy profit on Reliance Petroleum Listing.. :-))
~The Sounds Of Silence~
Btw.. Hail Capitalism .. i todya earned a tidy profit on Reliance Petroleum Listing.. :-))
~The Sounds Of Silence~
Realms of Unreason
i just finished filling my appraisal form.. another worthless exercise in name of processess .. i counted eight web pages of questions and answers before the final submit button.. i am sure the managers is not going to read this *bullshit*.. but anyways the page validation required that i fill all the fields of the questionnaire.. damn these questions.. just to give you some quick insight.. there was a personal enrichment page where one can specify the training programs that one wishes to take.. and it consisted of certain exotic titles like 'lateral thinking' and 'six thinking hats' (Boy, sounds interesting.. but i am fed up with my one thinking head.. what would i do of six.. ) then there were certain subjective things like.. 'Things the organization should do and should not do' ( ..the answer is as easy as the question .. pay your employees well.. i thought they would have figured this out by now.. ) also there was a list of smilyies (.. each face suggesting levels of your approaval or not..) for a huge list of questions.. same old questions and same old answers.. and to cap this all .. there was a question.. 'How many candidates did you refer to XXXXXX during the current review period' .. ( i suppose by referring candidates you are buying an insurance policy with the company.. ;-) ).. all this is a sham.. a big circus if you could call it.. i knew the questions ..and the answers and what i am going to say in the review meeting... and what my manager is going to say.. and what my salary hike will be... its all premeditated.. all planned out..
I guess the real battle is in the brain...
~Runnin' Down A Dream~
I guess the real battle is in the brain...
~Runnin' Down A Dream~
For What Its Worth
does loyalty pays in long run... or does sticking around for too long actually makes you little out of sync with the times and your abilities.. Big (company) v/s Startup.. Services v/s Products... these are some crucial questions i will be grappling this week.. my second appraisal form came up for filling.. will be doing it tommorrow.. so by next week (appraisal review meeting..) i guess i will be needing answers of the above very 'genuine' questions and some 'idiotic' ones also (sample this... where you see youself three years down.. not surely where i am today.. by the way me thinking of opening an aashram in tibet these days ;-) ) the grapevine has it that the salary hikes will be paltry this time.. (even in these Good Times.. Good Gosh !!!) so you must be thinking now the obvious question is... if the food/coffee machine in the other company down the street better than ours or not.. ( i always think money is a non-issue.. but again i may be wrong.. ) but you know what... situations and circumstances are hardly that crystal clear ever... one sunny morning another bin laden.. another building.. another cause .. same bust.. everything else ends up in smoke.. though i also don't believe that you should live in a relative comfort of your surrounding ( pigeonhole is the correct word.. ) i do not want to be taken for granted.. not even by myself.. nor by abilities questioned.. neither should i get so complacent that i reject or even maybe fear change.. but then i don't want to quit just for the heck of quitting.. defining *self-satisfaction* ( i doubt if there is such a thing.. ) is a tricky buisness i guess..
~I Heard it Through The Grapevine~
~I Heard it Through The Grapevine~
Living 'Rented' Lives
For the uninitiated.. i have been living in Noida, a upcoming suburb just outside New Delhi ( i don't know why they call it upcoming... there is hardly any empty strech of land left in Noida now ..) for the last two years in a rented appartment with my couple of friends who all happen to be in IT.. on one sunny summer day our meaningful ( ..or is it meaningless.. ) lives came in for a rude shock ..it was a typical sunday and i was pondering on virtues of bathing or not ( what else can be expected from software-wallas ;-) ).. when the phone rang.. a new number showed on the phone's display.. it was from the appartment's owner ( how come she manages to phone me everytime with a new number.. thats a mystery in itself.. ) and you know what.. i was expecting the call.. there had been rumours doing the rounds that all the bachelors in our housing-society will have to vacate their appartments within a month or two.. but i was not expecting this early.. after all we were kind'of ideal tenants ( tenants who always paid on time.. ) she told that she was serving us a months notice to vacate the flat. the immediate provocation being an unfortunate incident in which a call-center executive in our building jumped from his floor in the state of intoxication (some say he was killed.. and there is a girl angle also... ) after this alleged suicide which was widely covered in media ( ..these news channels-wallas highlight the trivialiest of issues that emanates out of Noida as all channels are based here.. you know convenience-journalism.. ) the society board members (.. retired and have nothing good to do.. other than fretting about where this young generation is going ..) decided to remove all the single-unfortunate-souls from the society (Boy, this is frivolous.. how can they do this.. i thought of filing a PIL, but then the workload on our courts came to my mind ;-) ) ..this bunch of society-oldies had been contemplating this for long and this suicide came as a flash in a pan for them... there had been incidents involving call-center employees in our housing-society but nothing as serious to warrant this... everywhere you have young people engaged in alcohol abuse, live-in relationships, verbal and physical abuse... but you don't shoot the messenger... i find no logic in the society-wallas decision and i guess there is no apparent logic just fool-hardy approach (..what if tommorow a married man jumps to his death.. ) ..if you have complaints against a set of people , why view all the with that same blighted approach.. who will tell them that IT is different from BPO.. on the hindsight.. i believe the BPO people are themselves to blame for their notorious reputation, but thats a seperate issue...
After three weeks plus..of inactivity.. sitting on the notice.. a sense of urgency finally overtook me.. only six days and still no house.. where will i keep my stuff .. my beloved and antique desktop or my better-half (My T.V.) i personally can live out of office..but i hope things would not get that bad.. besides i can pitch in with any of my office friends.. but thats the last option.. (Boy, i hate living in these rented flats.. i really do.. but i don't have a choice..) this realty boom has driven prices to levels where supposedly 'well-off people' (i consider myself among them...) have no hope left of owning a flat ..leave alone a house with a swimming pool.. i picked up the classified and phoned all the nearby property dealers.. err.. real-estate consultants i mean (.. property dealers sounds so down-market as if selling fish on street.. one agent told me.. wow !!) property dealers i guess is the biggest tribe in india these days.. i have heard that besides tax-free, the margins are also good .. i caught hold of a broker err.. real-estate consultants ..typical middle-man like always on phone.. with sunglasses and an attendant.. i told him my requirements and my budget and then this phone did all the talking.. dialing up one numbers after another.. in majority of cases nobody is willing to rent out to single-souls (.. i couldn't figure out why.. a new discrimination is being practised.. ) and never say you belong to BPO or anything thats remotely associated with call-center when looking out for a house ( ..typical witch-hunting i believe !) it has been two days of house-finding and yet to find a decent one.. the rents are exorbitant besides you have to take other considerations also.. powerback-up ( its uttar pradesh after all..) ..RO-water supply (the yamuna water tasts horrible..) security.. close to office/markets.. lot of factors to consider.. four days to go !! and all this pain due to one unfortunate soul who jumped to his death...!!
~A Change Is Gonna Come~
After three weeks plus..of inactivity.. sitting on the notice.. a sense of urgency finally overtook me.. only six days and still no house.. where will i keep my stuff .. my beloved and antique desktop or my better-half (My T.V.) i personally can live out of office..but i hope things would not get that bad.. besides i can pitch in with any of my office friends.. but thats the last option.. (Boy, i hate living in these rented flats.. i really do.. but i don't have a choice..) this realty boom has driven prices to levels where supposedly 'well-off people' (i consider myself among them...) have no hope left of owning a flat ..leave alone a house with a swimming pool.. i picked up the classified and phoned all the nearby property dealers.. err.. real-estate consultants i mean (.. property dealers sounds so down-market as if selling fish on street.. one agent told me.. wow !!) property dealers i guess is the biggest tribe in india these days.. i have heard that besides tax-free, the margins are also good .. i caught hold of a broker err.. real-estate consultants ..typical middle-man like always on phone.. with sunglasses and an attendant.. i told him my requirements and my budget and then this phone did all the talking.. dialing up one numbers after another.. in majority of cases nobody is willing to rent out to single-souls (.. i couldn't figure out why.. a new discrimination is being practised.. ) and never say you belong to BPO or anything thats remotely associated with call-center when looking out for a house ( ..typical witch-hunting i believe !) it has been two days of house-finding and yet to find a decent one.. the rents are exorbitant besides you have to take other considerations also.. powerback-up ( its uttar pradesh after all..) ..RO-water supply (the yamuna water tasts horrible..) security.. close to office/markets.. lot of factors to consider.. four days to go !! and all this pain due to one unfortunate soul who jumped to his death...!!
~A Change Is Gonna Come~
Dazed and Confused
"One who is unable to adjust to one's environment or circumstances or is considered to be disturbingly different from others." is how dictionary.com defines the term 'misfit'. Looks like we all belong to a league of 'misfits'.. a homogeneous set of people who are at odds with the impulses of our times.. are we becoming 'misfits','zombies' and 'monocultures' all at the same time... as for 'misfit'.. i don't think that i need to adjust to environment ( ...and what if the environment is at fault) or i am radically different from a typical youth out there on street.. yet i am different.. different from the normal face in this increasingly faceless crowd.. a 'misfit' yet not a 'MISFIT'.. i think we are a generation of lost souls that may believe that Pepsi is better than Coke or Levi is better than Lee or whatever.. is assertive and appears confident and earns well.. and yet when it comes to decisions that really matter we are found wanting.. A imperfect generation living in imperfect times... I am not sure why i am writing this but over the course of last week there has been three incidents that have again brought the confused nature of our lives...
Exhibit 1: After not so subtle signs that i am unhappy with the state of affairs at my workplace.. my manager called me up... sat down with pen and paper to make a list as to what can be done to improve employee satisfaction ( Boy, again a list .. these lists are deceptive .. they make things look easy when they are not...) he also said that marriage to Aishwary Rai was not on offer ( Wow !!, i love this company.. even Aishwary Rai is negotiable ) ..so how do we go about improving motivation at workplace .. i guess i don't know.. and i don't care anymore.. do i want more money? different work/project? onsite? and i am still clueless.. no damn answers... not sure of what i need or where my priorities lies.. *sigh*.. i guess the problem is choice..
Exhibit 2: Somebody in my extended family had a heart-break (.. i guess it was more than a heart-break, it was a case of broken marriage and broken promises ) ...The tragedy of the situation is nobody is willing to relent.. living on bloated egos and dried-up minds.. it seems everything these days have become so cosmetic.. disposable if you can say that.. decisions that really matter are made on impulses instead of rational thought and decisions that you may regret later.. but you know what.. even if the 'seemingly superficial' wounds heal .. the pain will be felt long time after.. why do we go about making wrong choices.. even when the margin of error in these not-so-normal-times is so small.. *sigh*.. A 'right here.. right now' solution for a 'right here.. right now' problem in the times of 'Make-Believe' will lead you NOWHERE...
Exhibit 3: me on a typical day .. in a typical goverment office for a typical goverment work... and yet the when you came out of the office.. the feeling was not that typical.. i felt being let down by myself.. i had to bribe an official to had some work done.. this was not the first time i had done this... yet the scale and canvas was much bigger this time.. and i don't feel anything great about it.. all my life i held such strong view on corruption.. and yet... i guess i also now belong to the 'sab chalta hai' brigade... *sigh*
~Jimi Hendrix in "All Along The Watchtower"~
"There's too much confusion, I can't get no relief.
Exhibit 1: After not so subtle signs that i am unhappy with the state of affairs at my workplace.. my manager called me up... sat down with pen and paper to make a list as to what can be done to improve employee satisfaction ( Boy, again a list .. these lists are deceptive .. they make things look easy when they are not...) he also said that marriage to Aishwary Rai was not on offer ( Wow !!, i love this company.. even Aishwary Rai is negotiable ) ..so how do we go about improving motivation at workplace .. i guess i don't know.. and i don't care anymore.. do i want more money? different work/project? onsite? and i am still clueless.. no damn answers... not sure of what i need or where my priorities lies.. *sigh*.. i guess the problem is choice..
Exhibit 2: Somebody in my extended family had a heart-break (.. i guess it was more than a heart-break, it was a case of broken marriage and broken promises ) ...The tragedy of the situation is nobody is willing to relent.. living on bloated egos and dried-up minds.. it seems everything these days have become so cosmetic.. disposable if you can say that.. decisions that really matter are made on impulses instead of rational thought and decisions that you may regret later.. but you know what.. even if the 'seemingly superficial' wounds heal .. the pain will be felt long time after.. why do we go about making wrong choices.. even when the margin of error in these not-so-normal-times is so small.. *sigh*.. A 'right here.. right now' solution for a 'right here.. right now' problem in the times of 'Make-Believe' will lead you NOWHERE...
Exhibit 3: me on a typical day .. in a typical goverment office for a typical goverment work... and yet the when you came out of the office.. the feeling was not that typical.. i felt being let down by myself.. i had to bribe an official to had some work done.. this was not the first time i had done this... yet the scale and canvas was much bigger this time.. and i don't feel anything great about it.. all my life i held such strong view on corruption.. and yet... i guess i also now belong to the 'sab chalta hai' brigade... *sigh*
~Jimi Hendrix in "All Along The Watchtower"~
"There's too much confusion, I can't get no relief.
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