Wet feet

Random lines

2007-11-15T20:09:00.000-08:00

A is more or less a straight line
B is more like a spline or curved line.
A and B can be purely tangential and thats the closest to intersection between them.
A can only be extended along its axis.
B can extend across even the 4th dimension of time.
Which means B eventually intersects A at its own angle of inclination
B is free to move and continues to be extended as before along all its axis and then A is free to extend again
Probability that B intersects with several other similar splines is much higher.
For A to intersect with similar straight line is for a line directly opposite to it along the same axis but -ve direction
A can only try to shift along its vertical axis for intersecting its genre of lines.

Imbalance

2007-08-14T22:44:00.000-07:00

Casually browsing thro' Y! news and came across this photo. So its nature's fury with floods causing havoc? Well, each year Florida is sweeped with hurricanes and yet its one of the most popular destinations in the US. why this imbalance of power, money, struggle and what not?
Bcos some people made hay while the sun had shined? or should they be termed opportunistic?

So, thinking abt this imbalance & hence the scarcity of food,water,shelter and maybe even air, SETI (Search For Extra-terrestrial Intelligence) has always inspired me. What if someday we find life in another planet with abundance of all that is scarce today in Earth. Our galaxy is just a dot in millions of those that exist today. But has evolution ever been paralleled in another world? If so, we have been waiting for signals from them and of vain all these years. Found that there is something called as Fermi's paradox.

The Fermi paradox states:

"The size and age of the universe incline us to believe that many technologically advanced civilizations must exist. However, this belief seems logically inconsistent with our lack of observational evidence to support it. Either the initial assumption is incorrect and technologically advanced intelligent life is much rarer than we believe, our current observations are incomplete and we simply have not detected them yet, or our search methodologies are flawed and we are not searching for the correct indicators."

Maybe there exists life 1000's of light years away and struggling to contact us just as we are. And what if the scarcity of resources there is 10 fold to what we see in our world today? Can there be a big bang that erases current evolution and start from scratch? or maybe we are continuing to evolve to face these struggles and one fine day we learn to live w/o the bare essentials? Guess time alone has the answer to these...

By all means... MARRY!

2007-07-13T20:28:00.000-07:00

Got this as a fwd today. Thought it was from one of my colleagues but then saw the email id and its from my Manager!! was funny to read :D

I recently read that love is entirely a matter of chemistry.
That must be why my wife treats me like toxic waste.
David Bissonette

When a man steals your wife, there is no better revenge than to let him keep her.
Sacha Guitry

After marriage, husband and wife become two sides of a coin; they just can't face each other, but still they stay together.
Hemant Joshi

By all means marry. If you get a good wife, you'll be happy. If you get
a bad one, you'll become a philosopher.
Socrates

Woman inspires us to great things, and prevents us from achieving them.
Dumas

The great question... which I have not been able to answer... is, "What does a woman want?
Sigmund Freud

I had some words with my wife, and she had some paragraphs with me.
Anonymous

"Some people ask the secret of our long marriage. We take time to go to a restaurant two times a week. A little candlelight, dinner, soft music and dancing. She goes Tuesdays, I go Fridays."
Henny Youngman

"I don't worry about terrorism. I was married for two years."
Sam Kinison

"There's a way of transferring funds that is even faster than electronic banking. It's called marriage."
James Holt McGavran

"I've had bad luck with both my wives. The first one left me, and the second one didn't."
Patrick Murray

Two secrets to keep your marriage brimming
1. Whenever you're wrong, admit it,
2. Whenever you're right, shut up.
Nash

The most effective way to remember your wife's birthday is to forget it once...
Anonymous

You know what I did before I married? Anything I wanted to.
Henny Youngman

My wife and I were happy for twenty years. Then we met.
Rodney Dangerfield

A good wife always forgives her husband when she's wrong.
Milton Berle

Marriage is the only war where one sleeps with the enemy.
Anonymous

First Guy (proudly): "My wife's an angel!"
Second Guy: "You're lucky, mine's still alive."

Purely for laughter and not to provoke anyone..

Turn back the time

2007-06-05T19:47:00.000-07:00

Last 3 months just flew so fast. Few things that attributed to this -
1. Moved to a new team internally
2. Working on a multi-million dollar project (2 yr)
3. Been assigned Project Manager with a team of 4 (including myself, meaning I'll be held responsible for whatever goes right or wrong in the Project)
4. Gym'ing after work almost everyday, practically at the office from 9 to 9

First time on all of the above. Atleast one thing I have achieved so far is being able to get some shape to my body. Whats needed was a big time break that came back to back the last couple of weeks

An awesome trip to the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. 8 of us flew from different locations to Denver (amidst one missing the flight and reaching the rest the next day). Scenic drive up the mountains with snow topped was a delight to watch. The next day had the best part - a 2 1/2 hr rafting with level 3-4 in a nearby river. Almost fell during the gutsy ride but for the guy who sat in the front supporting me. This was followed by a ~ 2 hr marathon Mini-golf. Successfully won the 18 hole golf course amidst the heavy sledging by my fellow competitors towards the end. I was shocked it did have an impact! Celebrated the B'day of a friend who shares the same first first name with me. The last day was spent in Denver downtown. Well, the sad part was I missed the flight, had to stay overnight in a hotel and flew the next day. But that was ok considering the fact that I got a 400$ flight coupon from the airlines ;-)

The next fun part was a 3 hr A.R.Rahman concert in Oracle Arena (Golden State basketball court) in Oakland, CA on June 2nd. Thrilled to meet ARR for the first time. Song collection was decent though he couldve cut down on the # of hindi songs (a few from Taal were too boring). But, but, SIVAJI songs made up for everything. The songs that electrified the Audi

1. Rang de basanti songs
2. Secret of success - Boys
3. Athiradi, Sivaji theme

So there it ends a 2 weekend relish. So, back to work until the next long weekend..

YES

2007-03-03T19:09:00.000-08:00

Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged at the age of 23.

They gave up their lives for their dream of a free, democratic & secular India

And yet Indian society today is ravaged by the poison of FUNDAMENTALISM,COMMUNAL HATRED, INJUSTICE & CORRUPTION

Have we betrayed their sacrifice?

- "The Legend of Bhagat Singh"

Bhagat Singh is lost in history in not nearly reaching the hearts of millions as Gandhi. I cant blame Gandhianism just bcos I dont know much about it. (apart from the fact of non violence and non cooperation)

But why Bhagat Singh? Bcos His idealogies were more for the aggressive? On retrospection, How many had witnessed JallianWala Bagh massacre? People could not see through his eyes. Maybe there is an inner selfish motive behind all this?

Bhagat Singh is written in history as a very aggreesive and rebellious leader. He took the path of non-"non violence". Kissed death at 23. Would our ancestors want us in the path of Him? No way! He is buried in history. Delibrately!
And they were successful. I read about Gandhi all through history books. I read about Bhagat Singh as a chapter in my Tamil Non-detail book in my Secondary grade.

So, what am I trying to convey? Have a Bhagat Singh Jayanthi and declare national holiday? there were hundreds of His genre who made sacrifices. Remember Him in our heart. For me, He is a GOD. Pray Him. While Praying, remember the sacrifice He made.
His dream will no longer be one. To see them in reality is all He could ask for..

Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil me hein

Positive thinking

2007-02-03T12:43:00.000-08:00

When Edison was questioned if he ever grew tired trying and failing several times before he went on to invent lightbulb, he answered - "I haven't failed, I've found 10,000 ways that don't work"

TAG Heuer

2007-01-30T19:38:00.000-08:00

The blog title has nothing to do with the Swiss watch manufacturing giant. just for the heck of a name for this blog entry did I chose it. Anyways, as always Ram had me tagged yet again and I'm here answering 50Q.

1. Were you named after anyone?
my paternal & my maternal grandfathers.

2. Do you wish on stars?
Nope.

3. When did you last cry?
abt 3 weeks back from my India trip. More of a soft tear and not a "cry-cry" per say.

4. Do you like your handwriting?
Used to be good.I like my typing nowadays.

5. What is your favourite meat?
Depends on how its prepared.

6. What is your most embarrassing CD on your shelf?
None.

7. If you were another person, would YOU be friends with you?
Totally.

8.Are you a daredevil?
Nah.

9. How do you release anger?
console myself saying "wait for an opportunity to rebut and dont react now impulsively"

10. Where is your second home?
meaning Mamanar's home? dont know yet.

11. Do you trust others easily?
used to.

12. What was your favourite toy as a child?
Machine gun (Toy).

13. What class in school/college do you think is totally useless?
Had to take some courses just for the heck of requirements.

14. Do you use sarcasm a lot?
Never actually unless its a rebuttal as in qn9.

15. Have you ever been in a mosh pit?
Does Techofes count here?

16.What do you look for in a guy/gal?
Answer to Qn 21 in the negative

17. Would you bungee jump?
Sorry. I would think twice to jump from my bed..

18. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?
depends. if in a hurry, will not. But 99.99% will definitely untie.

19.what's your favourite ice cream?
Any BlackForest combination, fried bananas with Strawberry cream

20. What are your favourite colors?
Black, Blue, Brown, Cream.

21. What are your least favourite things?
Hypocricy, Bureaucracy, show off, people who manipulate others.

22. How many people do you have a crush on right now?
No comments

23. Who do you miss most right now?
My family

24. What are you listening to right now?
Watching 'Everybody loves Raymond' actually

25. If you were a crayon, what colour would you be?
Pink. dont know why but had a huge crush on this color in my childhood.

26. What is the weather like right now?
Late in the evening. getting a bit cold but no complaints as long as I am in CA.

27. Last person you talked to on the phone?
Ex roommate.

28. The "first" thing you notice about the opposite sex?
If she is infact too opposite to me (not necessarily saying I feel disposed)

29. Do you like the person who sent you this?
Ram is such a wonderful guy and I lie too much these days ;-)

30. How are you today?
Tired.

31. Favourite non alcoholic drink?
Mango Milk shake, Piña Colada.

32. Favourite alcoholic drink?
no clue. but might like something if at all I try a few someday

33. Natural hair colour?
Black.

34. Eye colour?
Black.

35. Wear contacts?
Nope.

36. Siblings?
2 elder sis.

37. Favourite month?
December

38.Favourite food?
Lots

39. Favourite day of the year?
December 31st

40. Have you ever been too shy to ask someone out?
I wish..

41. Scary movies or happy endings?
Scary movies as long as someone who's more scared than me sits by my side.
Happy ending as long as I like the movie. else I dont care abt the ending as I would've been to bed by then.

42. Summer or winter?
Definitely Summer.

43. Holi or Diwali?
Diwali.

44. Do you like your name?
yes.

45. What book/magazine are you reading?
Jan month's Reader's Digest

46. What's on your mouse pad?
No mouses in my home. I mean no PC's in my home

47. What did you watch on TV last night?
One silly hindi movie called "bhagam bhag"

48. Favourite Smell?
Depends on my mood

49. Have you ever regretted breaking up with someone?
Not Applicable. And if I do, I wouldnt want it to be regretable

50. Most tiresome thing you’ve ever experienced/done?
A 11 mile hike in Yosemite. fell off a small cliff and guys had to make a human chain to help me up.. ;-)

Sreenidhi Mangeshkar

2007-01-21T12:21:00.000-08:00

MVI_0204

Jungle girl

2007-01-19T17:54:00.000-08:00

Read this article today in Y! news where a 26 year old girl was found in the wilderness of a Cambodian jungle (with blackened skin and hair stretching down to her legs). She got lost in the jungle about 18 years back and is now finding it hard to adapt to normal life. When she is thirsty or hungry she points at her mouth. Her parents (who identified her by a big scar on her back from her childhood days) had to clothe her. She is able to say only three words- father, mother and stomach ache.

I've seen such things in movies but finding it hard to visualize in reality.

The worst part is that villagers from the hilltribe minority believe the girl is still possessed by evil spirits of the forest.

An equally disturbing program that I watched on Discovery times where a 22 yr old girl was executed in public in Iran per Islamic law. She was accused of having illicit relationship after marriage. Investigations later revealed that she was only 16 yrs old and was not married. The video of minutes b4 her execution in public disturbed me (couldnt believe someone was actually filming this). Could people be more uncouth than this?

Pongalo Pongal!

2007-01-15T18:33:00.000-08:00

Well, just back from my office and making plans to make pongal. Back home its already Maatu pongal.

Overcame all my sickness (flu) and home sickness from my India trip (well, almost!). 3 weeks of non-stop fun with my two beauty queens. End of the day when I re-call what I did the 3 weeks, its blurd b4 my eyes. It makes me want to relive the 3 weeks again every second by second.

Some milestones:
1. Met Sreenidhi (my kutty beauty) for the first time since her birth, after 2 1/2 yrs
2.Sree had her mottai done in my lap with absolutely no fuss. could actually see her relieved having waited for this moment for 2 1/2 yrs. might have felt like an eternity ;)
3. Got my visa stamped good for the next 3 yrs for multiple entry
4. Did not gain wt after all the food I ate.

Things I noticed:
1. Dressing sense in India has westernized a lot
2. Spending power has almost quadrapled
3. Traffic choked so much that I started choking
4. Driving in Chennai drives me crazy
5. Surya must be making crores of the ads and billboards he appears
6. Saravana Stores is here to rule

Things I missed:
1. Beach
2. Watching a movie in a theatre
3. Driving myself all alone (though I dread the thought)

There is always a next time for everything. and so I console myself. Pongalo Pongal!

Salinas to Singaara Chennai

2006-12-18T17:55:00.001-08:00

SFO -> HongKong -> Kuala Lumpur -> Chennai (Dec 13th)
Chennai -> S'pore -> HongKong -> SFO (Jan 3rd)

No blogs for now. Just enjoying the time. will carry the memories with me later..

First sight is really first 'sight'

2006-11-30T20:41:00.000-08:00

Was watching this program y'day in Discovery when a Prof from USC with a PhD in Anthropology was discussing about "Love at first sight". Very interesting discussion where close to 80% of men and only 54% of women believe in Love at first sight. She continued that "Love" at first sight is a misnomer and it actually is "Lust" at first sight.. Love at first sight is actually love at hindsight when the people who "fell" in love at first sight get married. i.e. "love" was mutual at first sight. But it really is very rare for 2 people to fall in love instantaneously and is usually one-sided it seems.

Important points to be noted from her:
What do men look for in a woman at first sight?
Ans: hip to waist ratio. (I remembered Vivek's joke in Dum Dum Dum and laughed ;)

What do women look for in men at first sight?
Ans: Symmetry. (body symmetry)

For men, its mostly physical attraction and for women its more emotional it seems..
Cant guys sense emotional attraction at first sight?!

Thavamaai Thavamirinthu

2006-11-15T22:45:00.000-08:00

Saw this news yesterday in yahoo news where a 9 yr old boy (a true Hero!) saved his mom's life and his two siblings.

check out the link

Got goosebumps when I saw this news clip

My Fav Songs

2006-11-07T20:56:00.000-08:00

Always wanted a blog for the lyrics/music I cherish! So here comes my buddy blog ;-)
myFavSongs

Will try to hyperlink the songs I post.

uff... or actually Oomph...

2006-10-30T19:30:00.000-08:00

3pm
Gym (office)
Ring Ring..
Me: dei, solra
S: dei, Don movie is playing in AMC.. kelambi va
Me: illa da.. 1 hr drive.. sema kadi
S: enna da periya drive, 7 pm show porom. nee kalambi va
Me: hmm.. seri will think abt it. u guys go ahead with ur plan. I'll join if possible

5.30pm
Home
Me calling S: dei, am starting now
S: ok ok. I'll be at home.

6.45pm
Starting to AMC
Me, S, N and Sh driving to AMC in Sh's car
Sh drives with the usual flair in 101-N to AMC
Just around the exit, Sh makes the wrong turn
Me watching in horror as I see a car approaching straight towards our car to my right(am sitting on the front right next to Sh - potential first impact)
Me: deiiiiiiiiiiii, car da.......
Both cars come to a grinding halt just inches apart
Me: *#$*^&^* just miss da.. (to myself)

7pm
AMC theatres
DON - HOUSE FULL blinks straight at me
Me: ok, lets get the 10.40 show tickets (frustrated)
S: Ok, I'll get it
Sh: me dropping off.

10.40pm:
Entering the theatre boldly with tickets in hand now looking for a balcony seat
Ended up getting the second row, center seats...
(Note: Its quite a big AMC theatre and much wider screen than Naz8 or IMC)
Me: Oh God.. am gonna get a neckache/eyeache (to myself)

10:50pm
Movie starts
Enters PC (Priyanka Chopra)
S:God is great! (to himself)
A few minutes/scenes later
Enters IK (Isha Koppikar)
Me: God is double great!! (again to myself, referring to PC and IK.)

2am
At home
Wide awake!!!!

Quote of the week

2006-10-18T18:59:00.000-07:00

Life is our teacher. Life communicates with us all the time and it is a lesson to see how life continuously have led me to the people I need to meet, to the situations I need to experience, and to the places I need to be. There has never been any real reason to worry since all small individual rivers are already on their way to the ocean, to the Whole. It is not about swimming, it is about relaxing and to float with the river in a basic trust that life already leads towards the sea of consciousness, towards the Whole.

-Swami Dhyan Giten
www.quoteland.com

Trillion has how many zero's?

2006-10-14T10:42:00.000-07:00

HSBC has been ranked #1 in the world in terms of Assets ($1.74 Trillion) and 5th largest organization in the world with 300K employees. Hopefully this link stays current for a while..

And realised that my former CEO earned $1.8M per year or $150K per month or $5K per day. lemme go back to sleep now. I need a good dream...

Tall = Smart

2006-09-12T08:14:00.000-07:00

Tall people are just smarter. check it out here

Maybe those researchers came across my profile ;-)

Relation-ships

2006-08-19T03:14:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm awake at 3 a.m. and not feeling sleepy. Do what? Listening to Shreya's "Munbe Vaa" and Rahman's "NY Nagaram" from J.O.K. Some of Rahman's best works in recent past exhibited. And thought of writing about the ship that sails through in our lives, the all complex and simple, the all oblivious and blatant, the all too conspicuous and perplexing one.. (can sound all that cliche'd but thats what being said it is the way it is)

So what makes this 'MAZE' never cease to amaze me? Personalities unlimited! Just being cognizant of these characters in others and then introspecting characteristic in oneself.

The way relationships are interwound among people with totally different idealogies or very similar traits is just worthwhile to note. How we all go for that one thing that eludes us, sometimes for a life time and sometimes for just seconds.. when what we wanted sits/stands/waves/jumps at us but we being totally oblivious to it. Some do take note of it and embrace with both arms. Some are just caught up too much into past and pain that TIME cannot erase...

So why do we get lost in the ship with directions to no-where thinking its now-here? I think its just human nature and perception of things. Some get too far lost, some take note of it before its too late and revert back and for some its just a way of "learn, check and proceed". This learning is where I believe most people are. Its upto what we do with what we learn that matters. get lost again? dude! Life is not too sweet to give us a second chance always! Sometimes to even get a single chance should be considered blessed enough.

So why do certain relationships elude us for ever? Maybe it wasnt meant to be there in the first place. If it were to be a sealing one, nothing can stop it. Of course, one cannot afford to think that things fall in place by itself and stay idle. But at the sametime a wild goose chase behind the ever eluding relationship is just futile most times.

I've heard that each of our life is a story that interweaves with another on acquaintance and becomes a new story by itself and so forth. You want to take it beyond a story? Its a choice. But remember, it needs to be a conscious choice. No room for "cross a bridge when one comes to it" attitude. If one falls for it, well its the all too familiar lost route..

I read this in one of my friend's profile and I coudn't agree more. For a qn which asks on what he learnt from past relationships, he mentions that if the Relationship was really worthwhile, there would be nothing "Past" about it and he would keep it "Present".

A judicious judgement on what needs to be "present (present within us)" and what needs to be "past (push past us)" is something one needs to Master. Well, life is so simple to figure it out.. yah right!

Governing Dynamics

2006-07-31T21:26:00.000-07:00

"The best results come when everyone in the group does what's good for themselves" - Adam Smith

"The best results come when everyone in the group does what's good for themselves AND THE GROUP" - John Nash

Nash explains the concept as follows: A Nash equilibrium is a set of strategies, one for each player, such that no player has incentive to unilaterally change his action. Players are in equilibrium if a change in strategies by any one of them would lead that player to earn less than if he remained with his current strategy. [Ref: Gametheory.net]

Lets take the same example as in the movie (a simpler yet strong explanation).
Governing Dynamics [Ref:www.haverford.edu].

So, as per Nash, each of them goes for the other girls so that they dont block each other's way. But when the scene is looked upon closely, nobody gets the blonde!

I was googling for to understand "Nash Equilibrium" with a better example when I stumbled upon the motive behind the scene. Nash starts the dialogue by saying "If we all go for the blonde, we block each other and not a single one of us is gonna get her", so John may be considered one of the players. He suggests that "no one goes for the blonde", but the visual shows only his four friends pairing up with the other women. Implying John plans to pair himself with the blonde!!

Again, something was not feeling right.. [keeping aside the fact that Nash wanted the blonde for himself]. When everyone in the group does what's best for himself and the group, nobody gets the blonde? Nash explains in the scene that if they all go for the blonde in the first shot, they cancel each other. And then when they go for the other girls, they give a cold shoulder as nobody wants to be Second choice. Precisely my point! So, when the girls do not like to be second choice, the guys are actually ready to settle for their second choice??

In any competition, nobody gets 100% satisfied for second choice even though they end up not losing much.

And I figured there actually is a hypothesis that a Nash equilibrium need not yield a "best result" for any of the players. Contrary to John's statement at the end of the scene, the theory of noncooperative games assumes that each player does what is "best for himself", regardless of what is best for "the group".

Maybe John Nash needs revision? or Maybe I'm just looking at the big picture?! well, who am I to question a GENIUS like John Nash!

Rosa....

2006-06-21T19:35:00.000-07:00

For those who haven't heard about Salinas (the place I work), it is the "Salad bowl" of America. Populated I would say roughly 75% by Mexican Immigrants and maybe 2% Indian (not the native American, but desi population who work one and only at HSBC) Immigrants. Carrots/Cabbage/Cauliflower fields.. you name it and its there. Right beside apartment complexes are these fields. An amazing mix of Rural/urban culture and a rude culture shock for many Americans from other parts of US. To that extent that there is no Air Conditioner in Salinas!!

Googled and figured out the total area is 49 sq. km. Compare it with Singara Chennai which has a total size of 1180 sq.km and 36th largest metropolitan area in the world!

One thing about Salinas is one can never get lost here. A total of 6 Exits for the entire city! But having said that, it has all the big shopping centers (Walmart,Best Buy,Target etc..) within its 19 mile area. Not to forget mentioning, Salinas is the one of most expensive and the most overpriced city to live in the US!!! Never believed it till I read this link a few months back.

Enough about Salinas... Maybe I need to be a columnist in "The Salinas Times" if and when such a newspaper starts here in par with NY Times ;-)

So wondering what it has to do with my Blog title? Well, I was in my Cafetaria the other day and was buying my usual Starbucks coffee to wake me up with all the Caffine. But then suddenly even b4 taking a sip of the black coffee, I was shook up by someone yelling "Rosaaaaaaaaaa.."

I was like, wait a minute... The last time I heard this name was in ManiRatnam's "Roja". And I was looking around for who is this girl/lady, maybe straight from Ambasamudram (Tirunelveli) ?!

And eh? was my expression.. to see my Cafetaria attender Rosa from Mexico greeting me with a Good Morning! (last name must be Sanchez or Ramirez). me and my imaginations... I thought to myself....

Run Forrest! Run!

2006-05-15T22:35:00.000-07:00

Saw the movie. I mean "The" movie. Not for the first time, but after a loooong time.

Tom Hanks at his best.. Lived the role rather than acting in it. An Oscar material anyday. Have watched a few of his movies now and I should say he's one of my all time favorites. Was searching for the dialogues in the movie (saw the movie with Closed Caption in my Dvd) and came across this link. Many thanks to a fellow Tom Hanks fan.

His dialogue delivery was all it mattered. Each and every dialogue was chiseled to perfection by Hanks. (he acts as a physically and mentally challenged person but feels no signs of it)

The movie revolves around not a simple,casual Love. We dont get to see or hear about this kind of love normally. A far serious love than ever conveyed in a movie...

The dialogues made me think a lot, if not the first time, like, "Stupid is as stupid does" when people ask him if he was stupid.

"Mamma always says, Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get"

"Sometimes I guess there just aren't enough rocks" when Jenny returns to her chidhood home and throws stones at it and gives up after a while (her father used to abuse her when she was a kid)

Mrs.Forrest: "I happen to believe you make your own destiny. You have to do the best with what God gave you"

The one that caught my attention the most was this one and prompted me to write this blog entry

I don't know if we each have a destiny, or if we're all just floatin' around accidental-like on a breeze. But I, I think maybe it's both, maybe both happening at the same time.

And I begin to think, maybe it's both?

A fine line

2006-05-01T23:01:00.000-07:00

Tring to decipher the difference.

Being down to Earth Vs Being Open about oneself

I have seen quite a number of people trying to be a simple down to earth person but their very tone shows they are just making it up. A few people in higher positions try to appear polite but again their tone sometimes is condescending and repels me off. But for the majority, from my little experience moving with Directors and CEO's in my work environments, they carry themselves so well that its hard to believe the chair they are in.

And I have seen these kinds of people who dont give a damn about what others think of them and just speak out what comes to their mind even at the expense of hurting others feelings. These types are actually not realising that they cannot afford to speak what comes to their mind b'cos the listener has feelings and each one is different by nature. And most of these people actually are good at heart and never mean to hurt others, just that they are a little less sensitive to reactions from others. Maybe an extrovert meets an introvert, and being an introvert myself I intrepret this way. Have to hear the other side of the story too!

ok, am beginning to digress.. So I carry myself trying to be simple and am caught in the line of demarkation between being open Vs being simple. And I'm beginning to realise that being open about oneself isnt helping the cause of being simple. Being open actually is making people intrepret and frame opinions about someone. The relationship then revolves around the same opinion unless and until the people in the picture get to know each other very well.

To be simple, one does have to be open to an extent. And one cannot afford to be open at the expense of making oneself a laughing stock!

But that fine line as to where it has to halt being open about oneself is a question thats unanswered...

Tag'ed

2006-04-27T18:55:00.000-07:00

Tag'ed by Ram

Name 10 of life's simple pleasures that you like the most and then pick 10 people to do the same (optional). Try to be original and creative and not to use the things someone else has already used.

First of all, being creative is one thing. Not to use things someone else has already used is a different thing and thirdly life's simple pleasures that I like the most is yet another.

If I'm creative, it might not be the pleasures that I like the most. The pleasures I like the most can definitely overlap with someone else which doesnt mean I'm not creative.

ok, Ram must be cursing me by now ;-)

lemme give it a shot

1. lying with my head down on my 3 yr old neice's lap (that was 4 1/2 yrs back, now she is almost 8. To my astonishment, she laid her head on mine for a minute. Not sure what ran in her little brain. It was just a few days b4 I left to the US and can never forget that day in my life)

2. Listening to songs that touch the soul, with my headphones on

3. Introspection of the things that happened then, as I hear the songs (fyi, I relate songs to time capsules)

4. A Ride in my bike along a beach side roadway or along dense trees with very little traffic around when the sky threatens to explode but never rains accompanied by a lot of breeze late in the evening

5. Guys/gal friends pulling my leg when I 'sight' a cute girl and the look on the girl's face as she recognizes me 'sight'ing her

6. Talking dirty (he he)

7. A short(!) Cruise to Caribbean or Hawaii

8. Getting to eat the best food of my choice at the very moment when I'm hungry

9. Moment of realization that I am about to do/say something that wouldve really hurt someone but hold myself at the very last, with regards to the other

10. Moment of realization when someone does/says something to help me with no ulterior motive

uff.. And my day is almost done!

Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal...

2006-04-09T17:20:00.000-07:00

First of all, a big sorry to those few souls who check my blog only to be disappointed that I havent scribbled anything the past 2 months.

Little Busy+ Big time Laziness+ Little confused in life = past 2 months

Little Busy:
Had my first real project moved to Production in March end and getting geared for another one in May!

Big time laziness:
I know am not alone here, but had God been a bit considerate to me in this, I wouldve been a different me today. Anyways, I am cognizant enough that I shouldnt blame God in this, but He is the creator of me and who else can I share the blame with? ;-)

Little confused in life:
A big question that has been answered in different forms at different times by different people in my life..

What does it mean to be close to someone?

Sharing thoughts?
Sharing joy?
Sharing pain?

I have been exposed to all three but in different forms at different times by different people. And I tend to reciprocate on all three given my tendency.

But does that mean anything at all to the other person? Maybe am just feeling close from my end!? Or maybe am just expecting too much out of life? And it is true to an extent, that pushes me to despair at times. I knew I was being very mercuric in the conclusions I make about someone. But I slowly am reaching a steady state for my own good. Still, I am being haunted if I'm right about the conclusions.

Why am I made a scapegoat to my own thoughts? These thoughts have kind of made me struggle with my Personal Relations with people and I cannot let this live for long. My thoughts and my deeds have also been tangent at times b'cos of this, on which I have started making amends.

So, I see going towards light at the end of the tunnel taking 20 steps ahead, just to be picked by an invisible hand that drops me 1o steps back, reminding me that I missed something on the way that I forgot to pickup.

In the process of writing this blog, I began to run across this:

Word "I" has been used 21 times
Word "me" has been used 7 times

May be this is leading me into something!? (make that 8)

H1B

2006-02-09T21:59:00.000-08:00

These 3 alpha numeric characters are part of my possession today! Received the package via UPS . The first thing I noticed on the package - "Emergency overnight delivery"

Countless Sleepless nights I have spent fearing the worst and then the quota for last yr exhausted on Aug 11th! I was helpless then... I was making huge plans when I started my job search in May 05. Get a job by August, go to India in December and stamp my H1B then. Dreamz Unlimited!

I read this quote once (huge fan of quoteland.com)

"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe."

-Anatole France

I acted/dreamt/planned/believed alright. What proportion?

dreams (a.k.a. wishful thinking) - 70%
Action + plan + belief = 30%

Fault lies right there.

I happened to read the book "The Magic of thinking big" where the author makes an excellent point. "People confuse belief with wishful thinking. You can't WISH away to move mountains. But you can move a mountain with BELIEF. When you believe I-can-do-it, the how-to-do-it develops!"

Its very easy to advise - "believe and you would achieve it". I tried it honestly. But didnt work very well either. Another retrospection - Persistence!

Persistence in believing is more important than believing itself...

Holds good to anything in life. I know I still havent seen my dreams come true but hey, I think I have taken some baby steps towards it.

Lets see, it is 02/09/2006 today. Exactly how many days/months/years it takes for me to reach my dream? Wish I knew the answer, but am not going to ponder on it now b'cos I know its futile at the moment. AND thats what makes life interesting too!

My first...

2006-02-06T23:39:00.000-08:00

Its been the end of the first month at my first full time job.Just seemed to be a never ending process a few weeks back.. I'm refering to my job hunt the past 7 months. To be honest, I started the process way late and missed the bus (1st quarter job hiring!!). I was pursuing an internship then with all hopes of clinching a full time job in the same company that never worked out. This hope actually was hampering my job search which I realised very late.

I kept getting calls from all those consulting companies in east coast but I wasnt ready for a consulting job. Those guys were just so annoying and give a damn about the job profile and skill set. All they needed was a resource to make money!

And finally got a few interviews which also included an agonising months' time to eventually be declined a job offer. By this time I was growing so desparate and kept losing hope day by day (with the H1B visas vanishing b4 my eyes!). While this was on, my Student work visa(OPT) got delayed in processing and had to spend a month at home with nothing to do. That period changed a lot in my approach for jobs. I decided that I should never face this situation again in my life.

My only solace was that the company where I was pursuing internship extended my stay with them. I began my job hunt in full swing with more vigor and got a couple of job offers in about a months' time.

I'm sure many of us have sailed the same boat and the agony of job search. I believe that sincere efforts coupled with a vision (not jus dreams, anybody can dream to move mountains but none believe it could be done) to succeed will fetch us our dreams in reality.

p.s. I dedicate this blog entry to all my friends who had been of tremendous support throughout the journey.

Posting 2 Posting

2006-01-03T22:37:00.000-08:00

So, days after my first posting I have my second posting lined up. I still am new to this blog world and have no clue as to how people might find my blog interesting enough to read it and post comments. Do I have to do some advertising for that? What the heck if people dont read it? Am listening to Rang De Basanti and scribbling (ok, typing) something that comes to my mind. May be someday I might get some comments on my blog. For that to happen, may be people would search for my name and find this blog? Unless one of my friends run across my blog and comment on this.

Am feeling so hungry now. Well, its 10.40 pacific time. No wonder..

My Wet feet

2005-12-21T15:14:00.000-08:00

Alrite, as how it was for all those professional(?) blog writers, this is my first attempt to write a blog. This, seriously folks, is to me like how I reflect myself in a mirror. I see myself in words and I hope to picture me through the blogs I intend to write. I have heard/read that the greatest achievement one could get is to understand oneself. I have taken the first step in my journey of several thousand miles.

I still am not sure if this is the best way to know about myself but when I put my thoughts onto words, few years down the line I realise either how wise or how dumb I was today....