Life drags on....

I am finally fluent in Guitar..... first public performance in December... I'd love you to want me and Hotel California!!!!

Hotel California!!!! i know sounds crazy... but I am only playing the standing chords.... three other guitarists would dish out the rythms and lead parts......

Salsa is going on well... shifting from My Salsa World to Rocky Poonawalla.... let see how this guy turns out.......

Been home for most part of the week...... life can get boring without office.....

Had a fantastic trip to Goa.... putting it under another post....

Rejoice the 60 year old....

The whole world has been charmed by the Indian Charisma.....

Almost all major websites have showcased India's Sixty years.... in their own subtle ways....

Listing a few links:

http://server1.msn.co.in/sp07/indiaat60/architecture.asp

http://in.specials.yahoo.com/independence-day/index.html

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/id07default.cms

http://www.expressindia.com/i-day/

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article2851536.ece

And last but not the least:

Viva La Salsa..........

Joined the salsa classes at Solaris... Kalyani Nagar..... My Salsa World... thats what they are called......

Attracted in part by the fact that it was started by an "SBS Oxford Alum".

Met a new friend.... Shruti..... she was nice.... married... happily......

Anyways... its been more than 4 weeks since i danced and it was nice to be back in groove.. even though at the beginers level...... was fun....

Also, na... no more updates.....

Happy Birthday to Me!!!!

Well its my birthday today... and you all can wish me.... actually no one did... Paromita, Shilpi, Neetu, they did'nt even remember... worse... Paromita called me for some other reason and did not wish... for a moment I thought she was calling to wish me.......

Life can be lonely at times.....

Essays.................

Against what anyone might say… I firmly believe that essays are boon for the weak and bane for the strong….

Essays give you the unique opportunity to portray a couple of incidences…. which means you just need to delve into your recent life… last two years or so maybe…. List out all you feel important and select….

For someone with a weak profile….. this is relatively easy….. not much to do… its only how to portray the right message thru them…… not easy my Friend!!!!!

As for someone with a strong profile….. so many incidences….the thought process can get muddled just deciding which might be the right incidence…… more work.... mor confusion... very difficult!!!!!

Apart from this.. .there is only so much you can say in essays… and that’s all you should have… anything more.. you are torn between what to say…. Where to say…… a fine balance needs to be maintained between quality and quantity……

Now for step 1:

List out all you want the adcom to know…. Now filter out between “Raw Facts” and “Views/Opinions”…..mention the facts in other parts of the applications… you have the Resume….Extra-Curricular Activities…..Professional Experience…. And may be the optional essay……

Now for how you feel….your views on what you have done….your opinions… put them in the essays… that is the reason why the adcom put the essays in the first place…..

Step 2:

Essays should achieve three main objectives:

Telling the adcom what they want to know
Telling the adcom what you want them to know
Differentiating you from other candidates……

Its easy to understand what the adcom wants… they mention it on the website… “What we look for”…. “Preparing a successful application”…. “Evaluation Criteria”……

Telling the above in your own language is more important….tell them what you learned…why you did it…. Not what you did…..

Step 3:

There’s no step 3… you spend all your time on step 2 and submit the essays!!!! :)

On a side note…. I might leave you wondering what exactly a strong/weak profile means…… or on some other part…. Do let me know in case you disagree….. time to start a conversation……

Home Sweet Home.....

Have been at home for the last three days......

I get the feeling that I have just lazed around doing nothing much, yet every now and then Mom comes up with something she wanted me to do.... and as only i can do it properly... she waited for me to visit......

Life is a bliss...... you laze around and yet your parents think that you do the things best......

Crazy world.... makes you realise how important your family is.....

What have I done!!!!

Well.... as i started blogging late... pretty pretty late.... decided to post all major incidences.....

Born in Pune, Brought up in Surat..... did my engineering from KITS, Ramtek - Nagpur University.... this was the boring part till it lasted... now it feels surreal... would do anything to get one more day back......

Started working for Reliance Infocomm in Gujarat.... the job took me to Keshod, Jamnagar, Porbadar, Junagadh, Jetpur, Rajkot, Morbi, Gandhidham, Ahemdabad, Mumbai, Baroda, Surat and Bhuj..... I was travelling half the time..... with my boss blasting me the rest half.... Reliance made me realise that getting a paysilp was the worst thing to happen..... 120 colleagues in Gujarat acquiesced....

Moved to HDFC... based in Gandhidham......

Joined Avaya, and there has been no looking back.... here was an organisation belived in all the principles of ethical management.... a TATA history meant that most of my colleagues had been around for 10 years or more.... apparently TATA employees never leave their companies... atleast in the good old days.......

Somewhere in between decided to go for an MBA and gave gmat... got a 730... good omen... gave TOEFL.... got a 293 on CBT... great going.....

More updates in coming days.... have decided to blog regularly now.....

2000 and going strong.......

Took my 2000th snap today.... DSC M2 has been an amazing companion... highly versatile, easy to use and cause of envy for almost everyone around......

Uploading the pic...... yuppie my 2000th!!!!!!

MSEB Rocks!!!!

Its been more that 24 hours since MSEB switched off the power in our area.....

More than six hours of total darkness....... Good thing Toshiba Laptops have long battery life!!!!!

MBArocks!!!!

Made a new friend over the BW forums.....

Kind of like him as we share the same thoughts....You have been great help Carlos.... hope someday you visit this page and read this comment....

till then..........

Passing Thoughts!!!!

Sunil and Sagar ended their sting in AGCL today........

I was amazed at the sombre feelings that clouded my final interactions with both of them....

Never happend before.... when I left Reliance and HDFC... not even when I left College... that was one place where I made friendships I cherish even today!!!!

However this melancholy did manifest when I started for Pune.... leaving Bangalore behind.....

Is that as we grow old we tend to hold on to things that surround us... even if we are moving towards something much better?

Or is it just me? I have been all by myself.. all alone too long!!!!!

I think its the latter...... every time I moved, I have carried only memories... and don't want to do it any longer......

Anyways... now I am the only one left in the team... I was part of a team... My TEAM!!! the best team.... now its all me... no one to ask what I am upto.....

Lets see what life has in store for me???

A lethargic year later..........

Back after almost one year later.......

I suddenly remembered i had started this blog.... actually I had saved my first post in a word file on the laptop. I had all but forgotten about it.......... then i suddenly found it and wondered why i had written it....

then started searching for this blog and after many unsuccessful attempts at logging in.... managed to recover it......

so here goes my first official entry:

Alas…… I managed….

Been wanting to blog myself for a long time now…… ran out of time….. all the time……

A poorly garnished sizzler and a chocolate shake got me started……

Extra Currics.............

Bought three new books today!!!

Six Thinking Hats - Ed De Bono,
The Mckinsey Way - Ethan Rasiel(who???)
To Kill A Mocking Bird - Harper Lee.......

I was intrigued by the first and third for a long time... however had a list of books to finish before taking these up..... the Mck Way simply attracted me... might turn out to be a good read before my MBA....

Also.... guitar playing not going good... not at all... i simply cannot bend my fingers that much.... still working on Music theory... understanding the intervals and stuff.....

Might join Tanushree's salsa classes at Don Bosco, Kalyaninagar.... saw her and liked the style....

Realised that I had been learning stuff that was 30 years old... liked that too... was simple and graceful....

More updates as they happen.......

Mochte Ich Guitarre Spielen?

Got my very own Guitar.... Tristar... fiber body.... shades of brown on black... wood laminate finish... pardon the description....

Also bought adjuncts like strings and a Cherub Automatic Guitar Tuner.... hope thats what it is called.... WST - 550G...

All vetted by my Guru.. .Stephen Dass!!!

Result: Less affluent by 4 grand... but excited... feel its worth it...

Oxford Beckons.....

Received a mail from Sally Webb confirming my acceptance to Said Business School.

Need to weigh the pros and cons of the offer...... funding, reputation, long term plans... etc.....

Excited at the prospect of experiencing the 800-year-old idiosyncrasy first hand....