For the unhappy soul...

I took up the 100 Happy days challenge on facebook. I am on Day 57 and honestly, it feels fantastic.

This challenge showed me that no matter how irritating and frustrating life is sometimes, there are surely a few things in a day that can make you smile. Life isn't as tough and as complicated as we want to make it. Often, we are so overwhelmed by the problems that we cannot find strength to look for and implement the solutions. Sometimes, we fail to communicate, ask for help. There are times when we are just exhausted by the drama and the endless cycle of bullshit. It is definitely not the easiest time in the world.

That old phrase.. 'The grass is always greener on the other side'.. got me thinking once. If the other side feels that the grass on my side is green, then what in the world is stopping me from enjoying that! 

The philosophy kinda stuck. I decided to see what was green on my end. turns out.. quite a bit. 

Living in a beautiful city (Los Angeles - So much to see and explore).
Saving money for some excellent vacations. (East coast, Vegas, SF!)
Making new friends and learning so much about random things (Did you know that a chinese surname with 2 consonants implies that someone in their forefathers was like a celebrated genius!)
Learning that food is one of the best ways to know about a culture or a person.
Doing stuff alone, may be looked at weirdly sometimes.. but is oddly satisfying.
Realizing the importance of family and well, they understand your importance too
Understanding that boys, all over the world, are the same. Oblivious, Emotionally challenged.

So now, everyday is a choice for me. To brood on what I cannot control OR To accept it, not let it screw my head and show the damn world that I can handle my own shit very well.

2 months ago, I was sad, lonely, in a foreign country, struggling with personal and professional stuff.
I needed something to keep me going everyday. The challenge was just the beginning. I will recommend it to anyone who feels that they simply need something to look forward to everyday. 
It made me realize that I need to be brave and selfish for my own happiness. I am capable of that. And that, it is not a bad thing.

Silent Conversations

You’re a stranger, you stand so far

And our eyes meet in the corner of a bar

You look tempting and awfully good

The sort on whom girls continually brood

I like that drink in your hand

And your choice of song to the band

I notice you notice me some more

Those piercing eyes never seen before

A fleeting smile across that face

Adds so much more to that naughty gaze

A tilt of your head by my side

Or was it for the bitch beside? ;)

The band changes the track, just like our story

Our dates come back and we dance away to glory

And like the songs we dedicated to each other

This silent conversation remains in memories forever.

Nostalgia

It all comes to me in a sudden rush

Like waves that touch the rocks at the sea shore

Time moved on, and so did I

But memories stay longer than ever before

Those times when life seemed carefree

And the biggest worry was the pending homework

The days and the evenings were playing sport

And not the games people play at work

And being a rebel as a teenager

Friends were above what parents said

Learning and discovering what life is

Being an adult was all in the head

Come graduation, we knew it all

The world awaits us, is what we thought

Heart and confidence both took some beating

Anything and everything could be bought

No regrets in life is the best option

We did what was best and made us wiser

Mistakes are made by one and all

We pick ourselves after we fall wherever

Those tough times made us who we are

And a clear sky never makes a good pilot

Blocks were there to make life colourful

Black, white, red, blue and violet!!

Grey Area

I stand confused and bewildered

All day long I sat and wondered

How it all began is a story

How it will unfold now is a mystery

You are more special than someone else

You seem what I prayed for at wishing wells

Transcending on to an all new level

From earth to sky to a paradise heaven

My heart and my head seem still unconvinced

My 100% to you has a tiny wince

We’re not just friends, I know that too

This grey area gives me no clues

I want to buy more time and age

To check if its an oasis or mirage

To know you more and give this a chance

To look in your eyes without a second glance

I am sure of your friendship and affection

But the love is wandering in random directions

I wish the future I could see

Friendship or love, what are you worthy…

The Corporate Life from a Fresher's eyes

So I finally started working at Marsh India Insurance Brokers Pvt. Ltd.

1. Swanky location. (Like the building is sooopppeerrr HOT!)
2. Sophisticated technology employed at every step.
3. Completely 'professional' in terms of people and staff.
4. Work Phones (Blackberrys) to each employee.
5. Flexi timings and low hierarchy, amazingly open place.
6. Decent work. Not at all uninteresting. The least boring form of insurance :p
7. People seem good, helpful but keep to themselves.
8. Being an intern is fun and completely chillax! Do work and Have Fun!!
9. The coffee/tea/biscuits/toasts in the pantry are a life-saviour!!
10. I like it here. Somehow it fits and it fits well :) :)

Pssstt... the fact that they are paying me for working is AWESOME! :P

Second Love

Life is a bitch we all know

True colours people will eventually show

But love aint all that bad you see

So if you fail the first time, don't flee

You pray for another chance to love

You pray for another chance to be loved

And when the second love arrives

You pray for the love of all desires

The second time, you take more care,

No errors to happen, no details to spare

The chances of success are so much high

The doubts are laid to rest with a sigh

True love awaits you, give it a shot

The second time, maybe someone more hot! ;)

The first half wasn’t great, lets admit it!

Time for a better second half and living it

In this life, love deserves a second chance

We all learn from mistakes and thus enhance

Don’t disrespect the second chance given to you

Few people are lucky, this time, its you!

(Dedicated to the guy who wanted me to write positive and get that smile back on his face!)

Confessions of a Work-a-holic!

People who know me, well they know that i am a super work-a-holic! Even though my parents think otherwise, my friends and fellow classmates do think of me as one. I admit. I am a work-a-holic and proud of it. I party hard, i work harder! So here are some confessions of a work-a-holic which may sound a li'l weird to normal folks like u guys.

• Working gives us a high. When things are running smooth... oh boy, we really like it! and we would rather finish off as much as possible, so that the flow is maintained and used up. i mean, it makes us feel damn good when all things are getting done quick and smooth.
• When things are not going so smooth, its the challenges that entice us. We like to face a challenge and face it head on! I mean, let the challenge come and i shall deal with it! Again, it gives some kind of a high, working and overcoming an obstacle. It feels awesome.
• If work is not there, we can be lazy and/or relaxed. Hey, we're humans too.. Its just work comes higher up the order than chilling out!\
• Our levels of expectations are invariably high from the others (as in our team). Since we are putting in loads of energy and time, dude, i will expect some significant stuff from you too...
• Several times, work becomes a way to suppress unpleasant emotions. Like taking up a lot of work after a break-up or divorce. Just engrossing ourselves into it and thus delaying or postponing that confrontation with our own self. Its like a defense mechanism. We would rather work than think about something that hurts.
• We like to be appreciated for our efforts. (well, who doesn't! :P ) But since we put in a lot of efforts at work place, we feel happy when someone thanks us. and thats one of the rewards that we strive for.
• Our personal lives need a lot of compromise and understanding. the partner needs to be flexible and accept the crazy life that we live. Yeah, It Sucks!
• We may look for details or the big picture, but in the end its all about getting the work DONE!
• Sleep and work are inversely related.

There you go! From 1 work-a-holic to the world. This is what we are! Better learn to live with it! ;)

Advantage Knowlege

When i started preparing for CAT, I had barely interacted with a species called 'engineers'. And when i joined a coaching class for CAT training, little did i know that they would be integrated into my life to such a great extent.

Initially, i was sort of reluctant to be with them. In my batch (we were a non-engineers batch.... see they differentiated students on the basis of that!) there were barely any. But there was something about them. Confused, yet clear. Analytical and critical. Total vellas and still busy. So i interacted with a few. Became friends with some. They were so different from 'normal' people like me, who had done arts/science/commerce grad from a regular college. They spoke the semester language, they worried about projects and assignments submissions and every 6 months they had 'end sem', for which they supposedly studied. But they were a fun lot!! rather had-too-much-fun lot!! The kind of fun they had, was a li'l too much for us lesser mortals! (just kiddin.. to make the ones who are reading this, happy :P)

But they were competition!! So when i prepared myself to take the CAT, it was a serious GAME ONN!! It was Me vs. Engineers!! It was healthy competition though. I had a couple of engineer friends who helped me with math, me and another friend, helped them with verbal. But the damn CAT was clearly biased!! They always scored more than me... (Fine... both of them worked hard for it!) But the CAT made me look at engineers in a very different light. It was deuce till then. But they had Advantage Knowledge in CAT. I made a deuce again in GDs and PIs. Being a non-engineer and a quizzer acts as a great advantage there. its a unique thing. Infact I remember my group interview at S.P.Jain where the first 7 people in my group were engineers (within them 4 electronics and 2 comps!!)  and i was beaming when i gave them details of my profile!! :) :D

And now i am at Somaiya... Surrounded by engineers and here my Advantage Knowledge-cum-uniqueness factor (that i am a B.A. eco-stats, quizzer, proficient in french etc. etc.) comes in super-handy. My room mates are engineers, my class mates are engineers (85% of them are!), my friends are engineers and well, we get along perfectly normal. They have a different outlook about things; analytical more methodological and well... organized. And yeah... we would make a nice team!! :) So all (stupid!) past forgotten, i am friends with a lot of them, close friends with a few... and they are all AWESOME!!

Cheers to all the engineers in my life...

Special thanks to:
Rohan chinchwadkar
Mukul Hastak
Siddharth Shah
Nitish Seth
Shreya Bhattacharjee
Shivi Shrivastava
Jyotsna Shenoy
Vishal Thakkar
and several more....

U guys totally Rock!! :)

Oh! For the love of Exams...

This post actually comes in the middle of my mid semester exam. here i am in a hostel full of people who are just mugging their way to exams. I should've realised that even though i am in a professional management course, people here are the same fellows who've mugged their way all through exams in life. What gave me the right to expect people to understand and write stuff?!?!?!? I mean, they havent done it all life, why do they need to do it now...? Fair enough. valid question. why now..??

The answer i believe is that, you took this course up by choice... and when it is your choice, your 'doing-it-for-the-heck-of-it' attitude is just not what it ought to be. But they say that some subjects are of our choice, the others are not. But they all are instrumental to us learning how actually things happen in the real business world

Still, I would actualy peg that students dont make an effort to understand everything:
1. Teachers don't bring in a perspective where the student can relate to it.
2. Students want to stay focused, and just be good at whatever they are good at.
3. We've been groomed right from day one to 'study' things from an exam perspective only.

I wish, students could enjoy the life of being a student... Look at exams as if its 'just another thing' and not a 'do or die' thing... Exams were just an evaluation tool and not a memory meter.. And i wish, how everyone could just love studying.. the pleasure of knowing more about the subject, one is so fond of... the glory of that new bit of information acquired and what implications it had on the world.. the high of doing something of your own.. talking for hours and hours about it to people who exactly know its value... i mean, yeah... my notions would sound sooooo utopian, but that is what it is supposed to be now, isnt it...??

Wish, someday we'll like exams... alas.. doesn't seem so for my generation..!!

Mumbai Konachi?

On the glorious occasion of 50 years of 'Maharashtra'... I want people to have a look at this video and think for themselves. The question is 'to whom does Mumbai belong?' And why some politicians, who don't know one ounce of what it is to be a 'mumbaikar', claim to be the REAL 'sons of the soil'. Do they love the trains like we do, hell they don't even travel in them. Do they realize what is it to get a day off due to heavy rains...and then walk for kilometers to reach home. Everyone who loves Mumbai and works to keep this city going is a 'mumbaikar' and this city belongs to that person. No caste, creed, gender, race, regionalism can change that. Time to do some thinking. 

Mumbai Konachi?


Check out this link and i hope it answers some questions... it made me think and smile... hope it does that to you too...
Dedicated to anyone who loves Mumbai and the magical city itself.. 'MUMBAI'...
Aamchi Mumbai!!
Jai Maharashtra!!!
Jai Hind!!!!

Graphology & Perception

I have done 1 level of graphology and i can proudly say that it has taught me more about people than all my life combined. A lot of people dont, but i do firmly believe that a person's handwriting is a mirror of their personality.

After analysing more than 50 handwritings and a near 95% accuracy in interpretation, i can say that how much ever similar people's handwritings maybe, they're inherently different. its like millions of styles of every alphabet and stroke and then the permutation and combination between them!! Thats a lot!!

A lot of people (during the analysis) ask me... 'What does this mean? Good or bad??' To be honest, thats a very difficult question. For instance: Say something shows stubbornness. That person can use it both ways. He can be stubborn, in terms of not-adjusting with someone else. Not considering someone else's point of view. But that can also mean that the person has a strong determination. They'll stick to their motivations and goals till the end. They wont give up easily. Thats such a positive thing!! But i also add a note: Its how you use this to your advantage, which is important.
Its quite a skill to stop myself from analysing every handwriting and ever signature that i see. This science is so perceptive, you can know things about the other person, which they themselves did not know! Hell, you'll end up knowing yourself much better.

But what is important to note here that its all about perception. Its the way you use your trait/skill to your advantage, to give that extra edge over the world. When you know yourself, you know your strengths, weakness, capabilities and inabilities, trust me, you'll spend far less time analysing yourself and checking your arsenal. All you have to do then is graft a plan that suits you. Its all about how YOU percieve it!! Don't think of the world as black and white, its all grey!!