The Project is in Red!

Due to client confidentiality reasons, I am not allowed to talk about my project and its awfully pitiful situation to anyone other than the few people in the project who have no idea how to turn it green from red. So, here is a little Dilbert to help you understand my pitiful situation!! (Click on the link for a sharper image)



Boss (grinning) to Client : Don't worry. We are in a great position!
Turning to Me : Do you have any clue how to fix Bug # 1012?


Disclaimer: This is just an exaggerated joke Ive made out of my project - a little way to let out my frustration :) I like the people I work with and highly respect their knowledge and capabilities.

A New Beginning

Ok! This is not about getting back to blogging. From (multiple) past experiences I realize that I cannot trust my own commitment to blog regularly :) I am scared to even say that I will try my best :P

Neway, this new beginning I am talking about is all the post graduation stuff happening in my life. Shifted to Charlotte, NC into a new apartment with an old friend from Duke. Though sharing an apartment with a friend, splitting grocery bills and cooking together is much like the way things were while I was a student at Duke, some things are different. No classes or studies to begin with! Yaaay ... I do kinda miss all the rush that comes with late night meetings, all nighter reports, assignments and stuff. Anyway, I am sure I wont miss any of these things once my job gets into high gear :(
So, I was saying how it was different living in Charlotte as a working professional and not as a student. You start thinking about actually spending a little money on 'nice to haves'. A cot and a bed and a couch and a dining table :) Living with bare minimums is not particularly exciting I figured. So, My roomie and I are both making our first salary wish lists :) Stuff we want to spend on ... Stuff we want to buy to (I still can't believe I am saying this) FURNISH the apartment.

So, though it is just my 3rd day at my new job, I am already looking forward to that pay check :)

New job! Thats another thing I have been really looking forward to. I am working in a company called Sogeti USA. It is a company that belongs to the CapGemini group with over 40+ years of experience in the IT industry. and my profile is that of a consultant. I am a consultant :P Yeah .. the whole things has not sunk in yet. I just keeping flaunting about my title a lot these days. I've always wanted to be a consultant you see. Well, I hope it takes at least a couple of weeks for reality to set in.

For now, (in these 3 days i.e.) - love the office, love the job, love my new laptop and love the people here. I hope my opinion on all these only gets better with time.

The other new things I've been doing lately is - going to the swimming pool at my apartment complex, which I find extremely relaxing and fun; Reading - I joined the public library in Charlotte and love there huge collection of all kinds of literature and CDs; Plus, looking at rekindling other 'I have always wanted to learn/do this' things.

Cheers to A New Beginning!!

Anything but that!

I was feeling terribly bored for most of last week. Just the routine - the usual assignments, meetings, the hoolah about job strategies, H1-B, why Duke MEM is such a horrible course and accusing a couple of so called 'marketers' for tricking them into taking an admission (and pay 15 lakhs!! - Silly fellows!! No doubt they got tricked...)

Anyway, now that the frustration is out, I am trying to stay aloof from all these people and their discussions for some time... This meaningless chatter is really draining me out! I remember the interesting and fun discussions I used to have with my friend circle in Mumbai. Whether it was discussing movies & masti with the barasingha, vedanta with Arvind, leadership and management with Seshu or some impossible (for me :) ) math problem with Deepan - they were intelectually challenging. It stimulated my brain and kept me fresh, energetic and asking for more!

I am either not engaging with the right kind of people here (thanks to my introvert, asocial being!) or I am a weird misfit here!!

My brain seemed to have started rusting. I was getting more and more frustrated by the day. I had to do something about this... I immediately went to the nearest library, picked up a couple of interesting books on perspective and business strategy! That will keep me going for a while.

Also, I am consciously engaging myself in some of these things I 'love' to do and am 'passionate' about.

Music: I listen to lot more music these days and believe it or not, I am learning a few songs too :) Maybe I'l record a few on karaoke and upload here (who needs a headache? :) )

Art: I used to sketch and paint a lot previously. I have done some craft work too. I realized how much I was missing by not running a piece of charcoal on paper during a recent MEM seminar. It was a now-routine 'required' seminar without any concrete topic or direction. I lost interest within the first 15 minutes of it. I started sketching something on the back of my notebook and at the end of the hour was a pretty neat landscape. I have now decided to do a little bit of art sometimes.

Photography: I was always fond of photography. And, I have always wanted a good camera. Just this week I was considering whether to buy a digital camera this black friday (Thankgiving weekend shopping at huuuge discounts). I might not buy one, but I have been borrowing some of my good friends' cameras to click pictures. Just today, on my walk back home with my friend Jean, I clicked pictures of whatever is remaining of this Fall season. I have a hunch that some of them have come out pretty well. I will post these pictures too once Jean sends them over to me.

Movies: It is my latest craze! Especially Tamil and Telugu movies. Unlike what I thought before, I do like and am able to relate well with Telugu movies. Previously, I used to find most Telugu movies cheap and embarrassing to watch. But I was wrong. I have a strong Andhra brought up and connection even though I have never stayed or studied in my 'home state'. So, I catch a good movie quite often these days. And believe it or not, I am more up-to-date about Tollywood (Telugu Film Industry) than my folks back home. I give them movie suggestions too.

Language: And from all this "I have re-discovered my cultural roots" thingy stems the new found interest in my mother tongue. I am learning to read and write faster and better. It is so much fun!! I hope to write my mom a letter in Telugu one day :)

Reading: I read a lot more than now-a-days. Totally lost interest from Novels. But, I read company success stories, business & management books, business magazines, etc. Call me a nerd if you wish, but it is really exciting to read how Google tactfully managed VC investments during its early days, how BCG's perspectives changed the world of business strategy and how 3M transformed from a mining company to one of innovation and creativity.

Now that is a handful, isn't it?

PS: Did I mention that my exams are beginning next week? I guess I should add studying to the list too :P

Cheers !!

Sitting on the tall three legged chair with a glass in your hand and sipping (or should I say gulping) away to glory is the beginning of the definition of fun and a common party scene here. This is not it. Things get dirty and unpleasant as the hours pass by and more and more empty glasses accumulate on the table. Oh ya and not to forget the 'soul touching' meaningful music that engulfs the people making them loose themselves!

Nothing against the people who like such parties or the parties itself, but the tone I use here is because I tried to picture myself enjoying myself in a booze-parties and try to get into the 'circles'. I took a brave step towards it by accepting an invitation to one such party with lots of coke to my rescue.
Didn't work out! This is not my kind of a thing.

I guess I am happy being the old fashioned (LS) kind that I am with a glass of orange juice, some 'nerdy' book to give me company and melodious Ilayiraja music.