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March 6th, 2008
12:05 pm - Sakhalin Diary
Came to Sakhalin a month ago and still am here. Boredom got better of me and forced me to write this blog. Many people in India don’t know about Sakhalin and most of those who do can't either pronounce it or spell it correctly. So to provide you info about the place, the place is part of Russia and its largest island. Infact on map if you see just above Japan, you can see a long island which is Sakhalin. Russia is a huge country and it may sound funny but it took us longer to fly to Sakhalin from Moscow than to Moscow from India. To be more precise about my location, I'm in Yuzhno which is also the capital of Sakhalin.
The place is extremely cold with temperatures fluctuating between 0 to –15, which is much better compared to the extreme winter here where mercury can drop 30-40 degree below 0.
After a month of grueling schedule I suddenly find myself without any work as we are in the process of winding up the things. At normal times I would welcome this break from work but not here. The work is only pastime for me here. Going out is not really an option if you consider the fact that not many people here know English, which makes the whole process of conversation with locals very cumbersome, laborious and hilarious at times.
People back in India have tried motivating me to explore the place but I also don't enjoy walking here as it’s too tiring maneuvering my way through traffic and most of times keeping myself from slipping thanks to slippery pavements. So I have many near-falls in a day even with the utmost precautions I display while walking.
Then there is another issue, which applies more to me than my colleagues. That is static electricity that my body generates in abundance. As a result anything metal, which I touch, turns into a livewire and my reaction to the shock is a bit extreme to go unnoticed by people. I use handkerchief all the time while holding handrails or opening the doors. However it gives others impression as if I’m a perennial hypochondriac who is too afraid of getting affected by germs.
Apart from the work, the only other thing, which I look forward to, is the Indian restaurant here. The food is good here though a bit expensive (will come to that later). However it more than makes up for the small unappetizing lunch, which is dished out everyday with a few honorable exceptions.
Coming to cost of living, it is another factor, which prohibits me from tapping into whatever of party animal is left within me. The living here for me is completely on a subsistence basis with everything here being on the higher side of price scale.
Despite all my pent-up frustration from being stuck here, I really can’t complain. It was good to experience the culture in this part of the world and this has actually helped me get rid of some prejudices which I held against Russians before I came to this place.
Good things about the place?? Well if you are a bachelor, there is a good news for you. Not only the place is full of natural beauty but majority of the population (you know whom I'm referring to) is also aesthetically very pleasing.
Those who are adventure seekers, skiing is a good option to enjoy the weekends. I still don't know the difference between skiing and snowboarding (never tried to find out either). Last but not the least, if you are a nature lover, you can go out to the outskirts and enjoy the view which is characterized by the beautiful landscapes punctuated with thickly forested mountains. I've heard that summer which starts in June, is a good time for camping. Also can't deny the sheer thrill of watching, from the aeroplane, the vast stretch of sea completely frozen over when I arrived here.
Overall, if one is really determined, one can enjoy the place. :)
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August 19th, 2006
05:39 pm - Cool Bakool
Cool will more often than not baffle you with his bullshit than dazzle you with his brilliance... Another gem from Cool’s stable:
Yesterday we were having an unintended discussion on South Indian actresses (One of the Cool’s favorite topics)... Cool was usually bragging about the “hot babes” in Tollywood... I made a quick rebuttal by reminding him that those babes come from other parts of the country having flopped in Bollywood and therefore he can’t claim that South Indian actresses have suddenly gotten slimmer, fairer and hotter…. Cool always unrelenting came back with another statement carefully disguised as a fact saying that all the girls who come from Tamil Brahmin community are extremely attractive and will give all Bipasa’s and Aishwayra’s of this world a run for their money....
I asked him to prove it...He thought for a few moments and came up with “Trisha”, the cute actress from Tamil Cinema... “She is a Tamil Brahmin”, he said... I asked him to tell a few more names to validate his point… Cool once again paused for a while before solemnly advising that one is enough and now we can generalize it or something to that effect.... I was simply awestruck by Cool’s statistical jugglery ...
And you don’t need to remind him that he needs a decent sample size to base his theory on…. He has an answer to that also…. He says that if your population size is very small in the first place you don’t need a sample size at all... I’d definitely agree with this...
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/frogs/happy.gif) amused
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July 10th, 2006
June 16th, 2006
07:24 pm - My carelessness..
Sometimes I’m really surprised at my ability to lose the things in rapid succession. Last week I lost so many things that I’ve lost count. These days people react with a visible tinge of shock and disappointment on their faces when I tell them I didn’t lose a single thing in the previous week.
First a guy from IT administration department came and offered to reformat my comp as the comp I was working on was a developer’s PC and only thing I’ve developed over last one year is a bald patch on my head. So it was decided that my computer needed to be reformatted. After reformatting the guy left without telling me that I’d lose my desktop files after rebooting. I just imagined that files would be there as all the PCs are connected to each other (which is not always the case). Reformatting also made sure that all the cookies got deleted from my machine. I’d to strain every nerve in my brain to guess the password to my blog page. Then I lost the key to my desk cabinet which has all my important stuff including a couple of tea bag packets which I use during tea breaks in the office and some shells I bought from Vizag. Later I had to pay Rs 150/- to get my cabinet opened.
I followed it up brilliantly by leaving my bag behind in the company bus. I didn’t know it till I took the evening bus the same day. Worst thing about losing your stuff in the bus is that you know exactly where you left it and you still can’t go back to retrieve it as the bus is gone.
I don’t know if it is a good idea to let people think that something is wrong with me and that I can never have enough of insanity but one thing I know for sure is that of late my carelessness has started to hurt me. I’ve stopped enjoying it the way I used to. Monetary loss apart, now I live in the constant fear that I might lose the house key, my mobile, my debit card, my smart card, the things my day-to-day life depends on. The more I take care of things, the more I lose them and every loss results in the more frustration and an ugly feeling that I failed again.
I think the only way out of this mess is every time I lose anything I should punish myself the way Silas did in “The Da Vinci Code”. Would someone please remind me to do that ? L
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/frogs/sad.gif) sad
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June 14th, 2006
May 15th, 2006
02:34 pm
( Cool Bakool )
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/frogs/angry.gif) bitchy
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May 10th, 2006
08:55 am
( MBA analysis )
Current Mood: amused
Current Music: Chand Sifarish
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May 9th, 2006
01:52 pm - If only..
Sometimes I wonder how things are interconnected to an amazing degree..
If I say Padma, our maid (more on her later)was responsible for my almost losing the mobile (read "Not again") I might see more of my clothes getting spoiled by the lady. But read through the following chain of events and you might just believe me.
Event1- Sunday three of us (Anirudh, Karan and me) decide to go to Forum. Karan wants to give himself a bath and bathroom is occupied by Padma so he tells us to carry on. Before we can leave our maid leaves and bathroom is there to be used. So Karan does the needful and we all leave to Forum.
Event2- There Karan suggests that we’ll go to play pool. So we go there and Richard also joins us.
Event3- Three hours of pool and snooker (which included an unexpected match winning break of 13 from Karan in Snooker) and I’m dead tired. I’ve a splitting headache and lots of work to do… I finish all my work by 11:00 pm and go to sleep.
Event-4 Next morning I wake up early , tired and craving for more sleep.. Whole day my head is aching and my condition is worsening.
Event-5 I decide to take a nap in the bus to get some relief and rest you know..
So Padma leaving the house just in time for Karan to bathe himself led to events 2, 3,4 and 5
A PJ to round off this dissertation.
What will Padma become after dying?
Answer- A Mer-maid
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/frogs/blank.gif) blank
Current Music: Chand Sifarish
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09:26 am - Not again :(
"No matter how much you learn from your mistakes, history always repeats itself"
-Hemant
I'm not really sure if you know how I lost my previous mobile (that again is quite a story) but this one is interesting nonetheless…
Yesterday after a three-hour long meeting I was sincerely planning to go home… However some work prevented from executing an early escape…. Another two hours at my desk made life miserable and unbearable for me…. That’s when I decided to call it a day…. Just to make sure that I didn’t die of the headache* I decided to take a nap in the bus… I was sitting (sorry, lying) in the back seat of the bus and suddenly I realized my mobile was missing… Apparently it had slipped out of my pocket and fell down through the gap between seat and the backrest…. I retrieved it in quick time and kept it in the other pocket feeling very good at my alertness… I got down from the bus at my stop and I had barely taken a step forward before I realized (once again) that my mobile was missing (once again)… (It fell out of the other pocket also as I had rolled over to the other side while sleeping)...
Even before I could shout for the bus to stop it had rolled along…. It took me 5 seconds to realize (yes one more time) that running after the bus will only provide the crowd a good entertainment so I pulled an auto over and told him to go after the red bus…. Autowalla against his nature set a decent chase and followed my directions (which were borne out of some fantastic guess work) dutifully and to the hilt... After some expert maneuvering (and my able guidance) through the traffic the auto guy drew level with the red bus…. I jumped out of the auto and came back in pretty quick time telling the guy that we had been chasing the wrong bus… We had lost the actual bus in the traffic and so we rightly decided to give up the chase....I told Autowalla to take me back to Electronic City so that I could do something about my mobile.... He charged me some 300/- (It wasn’t more than 120 bucks, I’m sure.) for the ride..
10 miutes later, I called my mobile and the driver answered…
Next morning I got my mobile back.. I gave driver 200/- as “Inaam”.. In a nutshell I paid some 500/- for a 10 minute nap..
*Ek to “head ek” usme bhi “headache”- Courtesy Sunil Pal (Laughter Challenge Fame) doing a Nana Patekar..
Current Location: why do you want to know?
Current Mood: ecstatic
Current Music: Chand Sifarish
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09:19 am - Chennai Diary..
Chennai Diary
This was long overdue. Anyway better late than never!!! (Couldn’t think of a better phrase..)
Last to last weekend Karan and Anirudh planned a trip to Chennai and I thought I’d also tag along...... Spending three days at home without some one around (My maid also hadn’t showed up for long) is impossible (at least for me)..... The main purpose of my visit was to see a plastic surgeon at Apolo Hospital...... Ideally I’d love to have plastic surgery all over my face but this time my hair were top on the priority list. We set off on Friday evening and came back Monday morning. ....Some of the main highlights of the tour were-
1- I bought a 2 litre water bottle and first thing I did after that was throw the cap in the dustbin.... Now why I did that is still a mystery but it caused a fair deal of inconvenience to both my flat mates who had to hold the bottle upright for sometime......
2- Anirudh came up with a peach of idea on how to handle the cap-less bottle..... He suggested to Karan that they could throw the bottle out of the window once the bus was in motion (in an AC bus???).... I guess Anirudh is way too used to the Wipro buses....
3- Saturday we saw “Daran Jaroori Hai”. Movie turned out to be a horrible experience...... Not that Movie was bad but it was Karan’s college mate Mehul who turned in a very special performance sitting right next to me..... I had to sit through all the six stories (in the movie) with inquisitive interludes from this stocky chap who had both his forefingers pressed to his ears (Needless to say he was scared).
4- Frustrated with Chennai heat, Anirudh and I decided to book an AC hotel..... After two hours of searching around at night we found a decent hotel... Whole next day we stayed in, watching TV and sleeping. The hotel visit was the only high point of our trip which was mercilessly spent playing pool and bowling...
5- Bowling- Read Karan’s entry... I’m sure he would have mentioned about it.
6- Am I missing something else here? Hair Transplant!!! You got to see me for that hehehe.............
Current Location: My workstation
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/frogs/awake.gif) awake
Current Music: Chand Sifarish
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March 20th, 2006
12:41 pm
Yesterday I was watching this show on channel V called “V IQ”…. In this show, a female anchor goes around some place asking simple questions to people…
The show is different from the other “fun on the run” shows, as it doesn’t make fun of the people… It’s the people who unwittingly end up making fun of themselves with all the possible ingenious answers they come up with..... Sample this...
# Question-1
Host- What is the difference between invention and discovery?
Respondent 1 (speaking very slowly)- An invention is something you invent and discovery is something you discover...(smiles then..)
Respondent 2- Discovery is done by a group of people…blah..blah..blahh... while invention.. .blah..blah
Respondent 3 (solemnly declares)- when you invent something then you discover…..
Respondent 4 - In discovery you discover people and places while in invention you invent something….(mumbles some more)..
Respondent 5 (looking confused) - I don’t know…(chuckles).
Respondent 6- I can’t exactly remember but I feel ....blah…discovery ...blah… invention..blah..
Respondent 7 (after a long pause)- In discovery you discover something.. blah..blah..invention...
Respondent 8.... ( She gave the right answer)...
# Question- 2
Host- what is the difference between Oscars and academy awards?
Respondent 1 (trying to look intelligent)- I guess academy awards are given for academic performances..
Can’t recollect the other responses but they were equally brilliant.
Current Mood: amused
Current Music: NA
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March 15th, 2006
11:22 am - Consultancy is cool.
IT Consultancy is one of the best jobs to do.... Being a consultant gives you a sense of being some-body as opposed to any other job where you are just doing what your boss tells you to.... As a consultant, sometimes you tell your boss as to what can be done and what else can be done..... This generally means more work for people who are not consultants.
Now there are a few ground rules which one should keep in mind while undertaking any consultancy work...
- Revisit strategy (go back to international business and strategic management books).... Remember when you talk about strategy people tend to forget the trivial details.
- Remember all the big words like roadmap, information silos, process optimization, process standardization, process inefficiencies, process reengineering, process synergy, business intelligence, end to end implementation, improved visibility, partners collaboration, cost of ownership, pain areas, stovepipes, workflow integration, business objectives, Information Lifecycle Management etc. If you are a careful observer you’ll realize that most of the words start with process....
- Try to set up a meeting for every small discussion.... Meetings give you a lot of visibility and people passing by meeting rooms can actually see you writing something on the whiteboard and you need not turn back to capture their admiring glances... Moreover the more meetings you have the less time you have for actual work... Always be last in the meeting and always rush in pretending you left something really urgent to attend the meeting...
- While in meetings this is how you should proceed.... 1- introduce everyone (even if they know each other)..... 2- Give them a long-winded summary of what you discussed in the last meeting and then ask everyone if they have any questions. .....This is a very good strategy as there would invariably be some enlightened souls who would love to raise some “pertinent” questions.... Grab the opportunity and drown their queries in the big words mentioned in the second rule. After you are done you’ll have just 10 minutes to decide the agenda for the next meeting...
- Make sure you have a very good command over one or two topics even though they are not exactly related to the actual stuff. Digress every now and then to include them in the discussions.... For example whenever anyone talks about steel supply chain, bring in RFID emphasizing the way it’s revolutionizing the retail sector in US.
- You should be very good at rephrasing and paraphrasing, as you’ll run out of content (or lack of it) after first meeting. This technique will last you 10 more meetings before people stop showing up....
- Always come out of the meeting room smiling as if you know something others don’t... From my experience it makes people think that you are upto something really great..
- Make a lot of reports and PPTs. ..Make sure that every slide in the PPT has at least one pie or bar chart... Always include org structure of the company you are providing consultancy to.... Believe me it looks very impressive..
- Try to involve as many people as possible and then slowly slip out after taking all the credit through the myriad PPTs and reports you sent to the top management... Idea is don’t wait till implementation as you’ll be stuck with cleaning up your own mess....
- Always give a lot of recommendations (at least 10) hoping that something might click...
- Always add challenges (at least 10) after you have given recommendations. They provide you with some breathing space in case none of the recommendations make sense to the client...
Current Mood: awake
Current Music: rang barse
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January 4th, 2006
11:15 am - Ten most famous cricket events in 2005..
Finally Ive decided to come out of my hibernation and make a contribution to LJ.
I'll start with cricket. Looking back at the last year, ten most famous events in cricket world which come to my mind are (Not exactly in the same order)-
1- Sachin scoring his 35the century.
2- England beating Australia in Ashes (That includes Flintoff's escapades).
3- Saurav Ganguly being dropped from the National side.
4- India beating Srilanka 6-1 (or was it 5-1 ?) at home.
5- New Zealand setting a world record chase (332/8) Against Australia.
6- Shane Warne going past 600 wickets in Test Cricket.
7- Brian Lara overtaking Alan Border in Test Cricket.
8- Chappel's mail to BCCI.
9- Bangladesh beating Australia in a one day international game.
10-World XI playing Australia and getting beaten comprehensively.
You can rate these entries or add your own and rate them also.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/frogs/tired.gif) bored
Current Music: ek main aur ek tu hai...
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July 6th, 2005
July 5th, 2005
09:11 am
( IAS bug bites me... )
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/frogs/thoughtful.gif) nostalgic
Current Music: chhod aaye hum woh galiyan....
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June 30th, 2005
01:43 pm - I'm pathetic...
Its 1 :10 pm... Richard and I have just finished our lunch.. I’m sitting in my chair thinking where my next assignment is going to come from… Suddenly I realize that my mobile phone is missing… I search my workplace frenetically (behind the computer, inside the cabinet, my pockets, everywhere) but to no avail. I make a dash for canteen cursing myself. Canteen is swarming with people. “Here I’ll lose even myself”, I mutter. I go to the table where we had our lunch. "Have you seen my mobile", I ask the people lunching there with a suspecting glare... They also return the glare flashing their own mobiles... Before leaving the place I have a close look at their mobiles. I also ask waiters but they also have their own mobiles..... I’m exasperated at my carelessness..... “Why don’t u ring your mobile?” , a concerned fellow suggested. “But how?”, I ask nervously smiling at him... The guy quickly slips his cellphone into his pocket.
Now I’m thinking very fast... There is only one person in my office who will allow me to ring my mobile from his... I get back to my desk, crestfallen. Thankfully that guy is at his place for a change... I take his mobile and dial my number... First attempt- number is engaged…. “I lost it”, I’m crying…. Second attempt- yahoo!! I can hear the ring….. Wait a minute! Is this my handkerchief, which is vibrating, or is it my wallet ? Or is it something sandwiched between the two… Idiot!! That’s my mobile... Before I returned to my computer, I couldn’t help but notice a few people smiling...
Current Mood: depressed
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12:11 pm - I'm good
Look at my expreince and Richard thought I only tightened nuts and bolts in my previous company..
Experience includes completion, stimulation, production and testing of oil wells in offshore under well-services group, management of day-to-day operations on oil rigs, liaisoning with the operational business group teams of client and oilfield service providers to schedule concurrent operations. Was the main interface with clients HQ for operational planning and well data reporting. Technical advisor to operational teams involved in logging, coiled tubing operations and duel completions. Independently handled drain hole completions in horizontally drilled wells under Enhanced Oil Recovery Programs
Current Mood: nostalgic
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June 29th, 2005
03:10 pm
( Extreme self actualization )
Current Mood: contemplative
Current Music: kabhi kabhi mere dil me....
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01:19 pm
( Now some PJ.. )
Current Mood: lethargic
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09:16 am - Aaya naya UJALA!!
( Aaya naya Ujala )
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/frogs/dirty.gif) dirty
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hemantk's journal