Musings

Summer Ball 2007

2007-05-30T17:35:00.000-04:00

Whole night summer ball at the historic Château de Fontainebleau. More pictures here.

E8 Section Party

2007-04-28T07:50:00.000-04:00

My Insead section just after the P2 exam. Ready for some good ol' fashioned drinking session.

Virginia Tech

2007-04-18T16:44:00.000-04:00

Breaks my heart thinking of the classrooms, where I have spent so much time, stained with the blood of the innocents.

A part of all of us, who have walked carelessly down the drill field, seen the beauty of the setting sun on the Burruss hall and spent carefree times on the steps of Norris hall, has died in those moments of insanity.

P1 break

2007-03-09T11:40:00.000-05:00

First period ended yesterday - 5 exams in 3 days. However much I tried, I couldn't get myself phyced up about the exams. Consequently, slept (without worries) a bit too much and ate even more. I'm already feeling the effects of the second on my stomach. Hopefully wont have to pay for the first when the results come out (fingers crossed). Anyway, let bygones be bygones. :)
Yesterday made a day trip to Paris. Spent a lot of time in Notre Dame and Latin court. The day was beautiful so managed to get some (what I think are) nice pictures.
The next period starts in 3 days ....

First month at INSEAD

2007-02-19T16:26:00.000-05:00

What I have learned?
Whoever decided that 24 hrs in a day is enough should be sent to INSEAD.

Everyone who has not heard from me, yes, I am alive and here is the proof.

Milton Friedman - RIP

2006-11-17T13:15:00.000-05:00

Milton Friedman was one of the foremost thinkers of the last century. Strangely his death has caused only fleeting mentions in the American media and hardly anything outside. Here is a man whose ideas on free markets have had more impact on the world economy than any other person's in the last 25 years. The tremendous growth in China, India and in other emerging countries was unleashed only after their economies were reformed and liberalized, which forms the core of Milton’s ideas.

A fearless crusader, he took it upon himself to propagate the value of free markets not just to make nations wealthier but also to spread a right that is intrinsically so human - the right to make our own destiny.

Places I once called home

2006-10-27T04:27:00.000-04:00

Thought it might be cool to document all the places where I have lived at in the last six years.

Terrace View, Blacksburg, VA: (Aug 2000 – June 2003)

Lived in three different houses in the same apartment complex.
Lasting memories:

My daily struggle to catch the 8 am bus in the middle of the snow season.
Roanoke star
Drives to the Mountain Lake in the middle of the winter nights.

Oakton park, Vienna, VA: (June 2003 – September 2004)

My first experience living in a city (ok ok suburb of a big city)
Beautiful top floor apartment overlooking a well manicured lawn and an urban forest.
Lasting memories:

M’s weekly trips from Blacksburg and the ensuing confusion on whether to pick her up from the north or the south side of Vienna station.
5 hour struggle in 45F to set up the satellite dish in time for the 1st one day match of the India-Pakistan cricket series.
Snotty management
Craaaaazy DC traffic
Cicada invasion!

River Place, Arlington, VA: (September 2004 – February 2005)

My first property.
Amazing location – Next to the Arlington National cemetery and within walking distance of the Potomac River and all the DC monuments.
Lasting memories:

Walking on the fresh green banks of the Potomac in late spring
Lazy weekend afternoons spent shopping/eating/reading in Georgetown
Biking in the National Mall area
Smithsonian and the National gallery of arts
Kayaking in the Potomac
Metro rides

Harbor Heights, Seattle, WA: (March 2005 – September 2006)

My second property.
In Belltown, arguably the most happening place in the Seattle area – certainly the most convenient place to get back to after a night of parting in the downtown.
Lasting memories:

Morning sunshine coming through the western wall of windows
Sunsets from the building terrace
Pike place market and the Seattle shopping district
Time spent working on my MBA applications at the Uptown Espresso
Weekend jogs at the Myrtle Edwards Park

My favorite Sunday morning album

2006-10-22T17:43:00.000-04:00

Woke up tired again on Sunday morning. On days like these I know exactly what to listen to. Makes my day always - probably because I connect with the songs at a deeper level. Check it out . :D

War on .... ahm .... so who are they?

2006-10-19T03:56:00.000-04:00

This scares me the most.

Free markets and freedom

2006-10-17T16:27:00.000-04:00

Next time someone complains about the evils of a free economy and justifies the need for the state to interfere, ask them to see this interview first. Milton does a brilliant job of linking free markets with the individual freedom.

Selfishness after all is a basic human trait and we’ll never live a perfectly egalitarian society. So why not give everyone, instead of a few in the government, the power to make decisions that impact the whole society. This is the essence of Milton’s argument.

(Source: India Uncut)

How to say voiture in French?

2006-10-13T03:19:00.000-04:00

Abhishek: ‘voe-chur’

French Teacher: No. Its ‘vai-toor’

Abhishek: ‘vai-chur’?

French Teacher: No, its not 'via-chur'. It ‘vai-toor’

Abhishek (confused): ‘vaai-choor’?

French Teacher: No! Its not ‘choor’ its ‘toor’. Say ‘toor toor’!

Abhishek (frustrated): “chur chur”

French Teacher (agitated): Why are you saying “chur”? Its ‘toor’. Put you tongue down and keep your lips stretched!!

Abhishek (embarrassed): “vai-toor”?

French Teacher: Yes! That’s correct 'Abhi-chek'.

Abhishek: Its ‘Abhi-shek’

French Teacher: Yes, yes, ‘Abhi-chek’

Abhishek: No it’s not ‘Abhi-check’, its ‘Abhi-shek’.

French Teacher (confused): ‘Abhi-chheck’?

Abhishek: No! Don’t say ‘-check’ its ‘-shek’. Pull your tongue up and stretch your mouth wide!!

French Teacher (a bit nervous): ‘Abhi-shhek’?

Abhishek (condescending): Yeah, although you don’t have to stretch ‘shh’ so much.

French Teacher (relieved): Ok, got it. Thanks ‘Abhi-shhek’

**Abhishek feeling good**

Last night

2006-09-29T02:47:00.000-04:00

Tonight will be my last night at my Belltown condo. I really enjoyed living in this place for the last one and half years - will definitely miss it. Strangely enough this move has been symbolic of a lot of changes in my life recently. Will move to a new place tomorrow, to a new country in the months following, and hopefully, to newer opportunities in the years ahead. It’s not a walk in the park though. As any economist will tell you there is an opportunity cost associated all the choices we make in life. Choosing a new future often involves giving up something from the past. But most people find it difficult to trust a new future because until you unconditionally submit to it, future always is and will remain a "stranger". No wonder, good or bad (real or imagined), people would rather cling on to their pasts and drag it into their future because past after all is their "own".

As for me, this has never been a contest - I love "strangers" in my life.

Life at amazon.com

2006-09-28T08:03:00.000-04:00

... can really suck sometimes. The distribution centers in Europe are currently down and they are missing almost 5K shipments per hour (major bleeding). I have been fire-fighting whole night. As is always the case, more than the technical problem it’s reassuring people from all over the world that our teams are 200% focused (100% each for day and night) on their issue, is what makes the job difficult. Thankfully I just had to talk with folks in London, Frankfort, Glasgow and Seattle tonight. At least we spoke the same language. (Tokyo is the worst and China is in the pipeline)

Although, I do see light at the end of the tunnel – I leave my job in a month :)

Love and Sorrow

2006-09-23T16:19:00.000-04:00

Sometimes you love with nothing but hope, sometimes you cry with everything but tears. In the end that’s all there is. Love and its duty; sorrow and its pain.
-Shantaram

Imagine

2006-09-17T18:42:00.000-04:00

Read this, probably by Douglas Adams, a long time back and saw it again today. Keeps getting more true with time.

"Imagine a puddle waking up one morning and thinking, 'This is an interesting world I find myself in, an interesting hole I find myself in, fits me rather neatly, doesn't it? In fact it fits me staggeringly well, must have been made to have me in it!' This is such a powerful idea that as the sun rises in the sky and the air heats up and as, gradually, the puddle gets smaller and smaller, it's still frantically hanging on to the notion that everything's going to be alright, because this world was meant to have him in it, was built to have him in it; so the moment he disappears catches him rather by surprise. I think this may be something we need to be on the watch out for."

Packing

2006-09-16T14:41:00.000-04:00

I HATE PACKING !!

93 blast: Memon family found guilty

2006-09-12T13:34:00.000-04:00

Court has delivered it verdict; 3 brothers are found guilty and in all probability they will cool their heels behind bars for the rest of their lives. What a waste!
All it takes is an individual's moment of insanity to wreck the course of so many lives. Those who died probably were the luckier once, the once that are left behind continue to face the reality of the sorrow everyday. And haven't the perpetrators inflicted the greatest pain on themselves? The guilty will pay their dues but their children will continue to endure a life of shame long after the parents are wiped out of the history.

Good and bad deeds are part of everyone’s life, but behind every act lays a motive which often is overlooked. The problem with the criminal justice system is that it tries to determine how much crime is there in a wrong and not the other way around. Justice is done when both the defendant and the plaintiff are satisfied with the outcome. So will justice be ever done in this case? Probably not. For a guilty, it’s easier to find solace when he owes to a wrong committed with a wrong intention. But for these guys the path to salvation will be the steepest, for they genuinely believe that there’s was a just cause. Sure enough, as they see everything around them fall apart they will realize the futility of it all. And won’t that be their greatest punishment?

Of being happy in Seattle

2006-08-27T20:20:00.000-04:00

Seattle often gets a lot of rap for its its dull and wet weather but when the sun does shine on this city, its one of the best places to be at. Yesterday was one such day. As it often happens during the summer weekends, I got up lazily in the morning but was immediately dumb stuck by the brilliant sunshine permeating through my living room's western wall of windows. The whole bay was shimmering with hundreds of large and small boats, reflecting back every bit of sun rays falling on it. Since I didn't have any plan for the day, I decided to take advantage of the wonderful weather outside. It was 12:30 in the afternoon, and I was already at Pike place market. By far, Pike place market is the number 1 tourist attraction of Seattle. There are numbers shops in the market selling just about everything, from sea-food and flowers, to Chinese goods and mummy replicas. But for me the real joy of Pike place market are the numerous restaurants selling delights from all over the world. The best of Greek and Mediterranean cuisine at Turkish delight, french tarts and cakes at La Panair, English breakfast at the Crumpet shop and out of the this world clam chowder at Pike place chowder and piroshkis of Piroshki Piroshkis. Picking what to eat is always difficult, but more often than not I walk straight to "BEECHER'S HANDMADE CHEESE". Nothing, absolutely nothing, comes close to the grilled smoked turkey sandwich and macaroni that these guys make. The salty melted cheese and smoked turkey slices when slowly chewed with warm and hard crust of rye bread, relaxes your mind, body and soul like no other thing in this world. And the macaroni! ugh, its just sinful! I can fly to Seattle from anywhere in this world just for lunch at Beecher's; once you try it, you will too.

Felling blessed after I ate to my hearts content, I, again as I usually do, turned left on Pike street and walked east towards the shopping district between 3rd and 6th avenue. I have been to some of the best malls in DC and New York, but the experience of walking on street with the biggest of brands all around you, right on the street, is something very different. Its as if you are not caged inside a mall but the mall itself has opened itself up and taken over 10 city blocks. Instead of small and suffocating stores, each of these stores here have enough space for a soccer field. And the brands, from Urban Outfitters, Gap and Nordstorm to specialty boutiques like Betsy Johnson and Isadora's Antique Clothing, they got it all. My personal favorite is Nordstorm rack. If you want best quality shoes at the most reasonable price, this is the place for you. Beware though, the sheer variety of choices can be disorienting; at this store patience is a virtue that all of us shoppers can use some more of.

At 2:30pm, the sun was beating down hard and I was not particularly keen on shopping anything, so I walked into Border's, both escape from the heat and check out the recent titles. None of my trips to shopping district are finished without spending an hour or two at Border's or Barns & Nobles. It strange but I feel the most secure and clam when I surrounded by the smell of new books .... more on it someday later.

I started my way back north on 4th Ave and stopped at 4th and wall for a cup of coffee at Uptown Espresso. Everyone knows Seattle is famous for its coffee and big coffee companies like Starbucks, Tullys and Seattle Coffee. But for me no other store epitomizes Seattle and coffee as much as Uptown Espresso. The baristas here are laid back and always look into your eyes while taking order. There is no regimented number writing, punching keys on the computer or howling your name when the coffee is ready. Here there is just one person who takes your order and makes coffee before serving the next person in line. Although crowded, the patrons - residents of nearby apartments (and not "my ass is on fire office goers") are patient and look relaxed. I have literally spent hundreds of hours at Uptown Espresso and know the "regulars" very well. There is that dentistry student who is always with his text book, the lady with her dog who sits in the corner, the Mexican guy with his chess set and the tall and lanky white man who is learning Chinese. Sometimes I talk to them but most times we show our acquaintance by slight nudge of head or parting of lips. The place also has unwritten rules on how and where to sit. If you don't have a computer with you don't sit on tables along the wall because that's where the plug points are - leave the table open for someone who might have a computer. If there are not enough tables don't sit on one where someone is reading intently - he/she might be disturbed, pick one where the person is just drinking coffee, they might be interested in a conversation. Also if you have few people along with you, take the bigger tables on the right side instead of moving tables on the left side. There are no pretensions here; the carpet is old but always clean, the furniture is ordinary but designed with comfort in mind and space is well lit and opens up completely for warm summer days. Some of my best memories of Seattle will be of those winter afternoons at Uptown when I sat right in the corner next to the window reading newspaper and drinking coffee with warm sunlight blushing my cheeks.

The time now was about 5 pm. I reached home, called a few friends and relaxed for some time. At 5:30 pm, still full of energy, I changed into athletic wear and went for jog at Myrtle Edwards Park. It amazes me how few Seattleites know of this wonderful park. Sitting right between Belltown and lower queen ann, this park runs along the water, and with Mt. Rainer and Olympic mountains in the background, offers some of the most stunning views of the city. If seeing all the natural and man-made beauty around you doesn't make you feel happy that you are alive, nothing else will.

I reached back home at 7:30 pm and after a quick shower and few phone calls, I was ready for dinner. The venue was a Spanish restaurant, Peso's at Queen Anne. This place is considered as one of the best "pick-up" spots in the city and the moment you enter the restaurant (and bar) you will understand why. But my interest was just in food and was quite happy with their specialty - "carne asada". I was back home at 10:15pm but the night was just getting started in the city. By 11:00 pm, couple of friends and I were already on the Baltic room dance floor surrounded by the sea of human mass, gyrating to the latest of bollywood and bhangra beats. After an hour of hip shaking, leg throwing, neck jerking, stomping on other people's foot and getting stomped on, I truly became one with 500 other people that had packed that 15x20 sq feet dance floor. I could sense every muscle of my body twitching, but the tremendous energy of the crowd and 4 whiskey sours kept me going. Finally, at 12:30am , completely drenched in sweat (not all if it was mine), I was just about ready to call it a night but no clubbing night is really over without a sugar shot at Dilettante. The creme brule gave me enough sugar to change my mind at 1:30am and we found ourselves at Neighbours. Ok now all you worried folks out there, yes, neighbors is the most famous gay and lesbian club in Seattle, but don't worry I am as straight as an arrow. What is less known about neighbors is that its the best dance club in Seattle, the absolute best. More than half of the people that come to Neighbous are actually straight and its this mix of gays and non gays, which makes it such an interesting place. From bhangra, the switch to 80's disco and rock-n-roll was instant, and once again I was in midst of sea of humanity undulating between reality and fantasy. By 3am I was barely able to dance and truly had enough. We stumbled out of neighbors and after some pointless wandering on the street, finally manged to locate our car and drove back home.

At 3:30am, as I lay in my bed thinking of the day gone by, I couldn't help wonder about what really makes life fulfilling. Sure, everyone loves fame and fortune, success in professional life, going place and having everything, but does it really make one happy? I have everything that I can ask for and yet its not what I have that makes me happy. The simple joys of life, of taking a moment to appreciate the beauty around us, of going beyond our inhibitions and experiencing the unknown, of looking into a stranger's eyes and not shirking away, of meeting familiar faces and connecting with their lives, of living life in that moment to its fullest, is what really makes the days of our lives truly memorable. I don't know what the future holds for me, but I know that no matter where I am I just have look within myself to find happiness. And isn't this realization that keeps us going as we face life and its glorious uncertainties.

Pre-reading blues

2006-08-26T02:14:00.000-04:00

09:27 PM - Essentials of Accounting - Page 77
09:29 PM - Thirsty! Need some water
09:31 PM - Turned on the radio
09:32 PM - Changed the channel
09:33 PM - Yeah! Essentials of Accounting - Page 77
09:35 PM - Phone call
09:50 PM - Ok, now a bit serious. Essentials of Accounting - Page 77
09:51 PM - Oh! Forgot, had to make a call
10:13 PM - Stupid radio. Changed the channel once more.
10:15 PM - eke! This radio thing is not working - Turned the CD player on.
10:17 PM - hmm! Whats that noise outside?
10:29 PM - It was nothing. Few drunks having fun.
10:30 PM - Hungry, haven't had dinner yet!
10:42 PM - (After dinner) Yeah! Feel'in much better - Essentials of Accounting - Page 77
10:44 PM - ugh! Feel'in sleepy
10:45 PM - Need a warm drink
10:51 PM - Yup, I feel really focussed now! Essentials of Accounting - Page 77
10:55 PM - (After reading the same line 10 times) hmm ... "I should take it easy, its been a tough week."
.......................................................................
08:17 AM - Essentials of Accounting - Page 77

Moving to France!

2006-08-17T21:48:00.000-04:00

Yeah, big news! In few months will be moving to France to join INSEAD's MBA program. To say that I am excited will be an understatement. I am literally floating in the air.

The school is quite renowned and is called business school for the world; and why not, students from more than 83 countries will be in my own class. But academics apart, this should be an interesting experience. INSEAD is situated in the picturesque river side town of Fontainebleau just 40 KM (yes kilometers :-) from Paris. And then there will be opportunities to study both in Singapore (which I am planning to) and Wharton (not planning). I am hoping to stay in one of those amazing Cheatues next to the forest, which is frequently the venue for the famous INSEAD parties. But I wonder how much of it will I be able to enjoy? This will an intense one year program with 2 months of summer internship, and in between there will be "study" tours to such far away places like Cambodia, Chile and India (yey!). I have also heard about alumni events in French Riviera, job fairs in London and New York, graduation parties in Paris, and .... Oh! I am dreaming again. I wonder why I never think about the crazy 100hr work weeks, which incidentally INSEAD is more famous for ... Sigh!

But the move itself will be anything but easy. First of all I have to wind up my life in USA - sell house, car, furniture, turn in my resignation, say goodbyes (this will be most difficult) then fly to India and hopefully do some traveling, and towards the end of December fly back to France.

Although intentional, this will be a big change. Few months ago, when I started applying to the business schools, I was very confident that this is what’s next for me. But now that business school is suddenly a reality I am slowly realizing what a big change it will be. Going back to a poor student's life will be just one of the challenges. Moving all the way to France brings whole set of other issues - understating new country, learning a new language, customs and experiencing the famous French snobbishness. But this is what I signed up for when I sent in my INSEAD application.

The next couple of months in USA are completely booked. My condo just came on market today. Check out the pictures, the place looks absolutely fabulous. The photographer did a really good job :). Hopefully this will close soon and I will be able to wipe my hands of one more (fingers crossed) successful investment. After that will probably fly to San Francisco to get the French visa ... damm! I hate my Indian passport; no country would let me in without having me go through the painful visa application process.

Anyway, one good thing I did was to give away my TV and DVD player to a friend. Instead of wasting time watching Comdey Central, I am actually doing something more useful, or am I? Huh!

Right (?) to Information

2006-03-13T13:30:00.000-05:00

Its amazing how even the most well intentioned laws can become such a dilemma in India. What's humbling is that the poorest of the poor are already availing this right to information but non existent delivery system runs the risk of adding this right to the long list of other laws which look like a dream on paper but have had no impact on people's lives.
The great Indian conundrum continues to frustrate and infuriate, and yet it continues to inspire. Oh! I just love my country :-).

Reality

2006-03-06T05:29:00.000-05:00

City as they say – never sleeps; neither can I tonight. As I stare out of the window, I can see my face reflected back in the mirror, illuminated by the pure white and surprisingly warm monitor light. Even at this odd hour life just keeps going on. A homeless man trying to curl into the smallest of the nooks, hoping to warm himself with his own body heat, a tireless road light turning from green to yellow to red even though there are hardly any cars to obey it and the shimmering lights of ferries beyond, floating carelessly on a dark deep bay filled with the salty fridget waters from the north. There are stories everywhere, inside each of those windows shielded with blinds trying to hide love, shame, passion, determination, fear and betrayal. As the night will give way to the morning, these stories will emerge out of the dreams and nightmares and step into the reality of a new day yet continue as if the night never really happened. I will see that caring mother, who keenly watches her young son climb into the school bus. I wonder “Why don’t I ever see that boy’s father? Does he not live with them? Is the mother happy and the son secure?” And there will be that furniture shop owner, who washes the pavement clean every morning hoping to make a more inviting entrance. “I have never seen a customer in that shop. It must be making losses. Why waste time washing dirt off the pavement instead of improving the furniture selection? May be he is better suited to do something else than selling furniture.” As I spread my gaze across the city, I realize, for every reality there is a story. Story initiated with bits of reality and completed by my own fantasy. “Then what is their reality?” I question myself. A humbling realization that I may never know makes the story, eventually and invariably, the reality. A disturbing thought occurs, “If all my actions are in response to the imaginations of my mind, then what is being alive and aware?”

Staring straight into my reflection in the window, I can sense it staring back with the same inquisitive eyes. “What is my reality?” it’s asking.

2006-02-24T22:55:00.000-05:00

You know I have been struggling with my technology career ... Hmmm.....

Does it still bother you?

2006-02-22T01:49:00.000-05:00

Manu Sharma who allegedly (yeah right) murdered Jessica Lal in 1999 was acquitted by the court today.
One more instance of rich and famous manipulating the system to get away with the most heinous of crimes. It just pains my heart to see this happen again and again and again. Is our system so spineless to not even stand a fighting chance against these sophisticated thugs. That fellow shot that young model at point blank range and now he is getting away scott free. Today when I read it in the news, my immediate reaction was to be cynical. But no, I dont want to cynical anymore. India can never be a land of our dreams if privileged few continue to be above and beyond the arms of law. When was the last time a politition was convicted or a stock market scamster brought to justice? Its instances like these that do more damage to people's trust in the system than anything else.
Outraged and frustrated, I sent an email to Bharat Uday Mission. Not sure if anything will happen but just couldn't pass it as another news headline which will be stale in a day.
I hope somewhere an Indian Elliot Spitzer is reading this blog. (Since only two people read this blog, I hope you know that its YOU I am talking about)

Giving back an earful

2006-02-13T18:43:00.000-05:00

From the recent India-Pak cricket match. At least for this cop, the thaw in the relations between the two countries has not brought any peace J.

Rang De Basanti

2006-02-12T02:21:00.000-05:00

Saw RDB this evening. Liked it but I must confess it was a bit of a let down mainly because of all the hype surrounding the film. Dont get me wrong its a good movie but its just not able to shrug off the "Bollywood movie" tag. Cinematography and the technical aspects of the film are pure brilliance but the screenplay was loose. Not compelling enough, felt something was amiss. Perhaps a bit elitist (pinkospeak). These bunch of kids had everything going for them and the sudden turn in their thought process was a bit far fetched. Also not sure if the film really represents today's youth, especially the once who dont live in big cities, dont have access to flashy cars and who have more worries in life than deciding where should they party next. I think there are few people still left in India who fall in that category, right ? Didnt see them in the movie at all.
Anyway the larger issue the film is trying to address is - How do you create a revolution in India ? Take over the Akashwani Bhawan and fill the air waves with revolutionary thoughts ...hmm ... is that what he said ? No. He said become a conscious citizen, join army, get into IAS and participate in the political process of the country. Cynic in me is screaming "BOOOOOOORRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNGGGGGG!" but thankfully I am not a cynic. I believe. This is the way forward for India and in a lot of ways its already happening. Everyone now I then I read incredible things common men and women of country are already doing to empower themselves and those around them. The problem here is institutionalizing this empowerment. For all its quirkiness, the current goverment did promulgate the "Right to Information" bill, which if implemented in letter and spirit has the power to bring accountability into the system like never before. Access to information and the right to use it to demand justice can institutionalize the kind of revolution the film talks about.
Bottomline -We have a long way to before this happens. Even the film had to be specially screened for clearance by guess whom ? Indian Defence Minister!

Endless Wait

2006-01-31T03:29:00.000-05:00

Didn't go for workout even today. The wait is excruciating, cant seem to concentrate on anything. Staring out of my window, I have seen the Bainbride ferry go by 10 times already this evening. Next couple of weeks will continue to be very difficult, at least I will learn the complete evening schedule by then.
Trying to keep busy in any way possible. Read about Greenblatt's Magic Formula for Investment in his new book. Its a good idea, although there is nothing innovative here. Everyone knows: Buy High yield and with good ROI companies, but no one knows what the future yield or ROI will be. Backfitting strategies into past performance makes any strategy look good. But how do you stretegize when you don't have numbers? Greenblatt gives you the numbers but there are a lot of retailers at the top of his ranking, who can go bust overnight. How do you know then that by going for heigher yield you are not buying more risk ? You still have to do your research says the fine print. For most people like me the transaction cost itself will eat away a big percentage of gains. Thank you Sir! I will stick with my own little index fund strategy. On the other hand may be I should give it a try, at the very least it will keep my mind occupied. Naah! its too costly an indulgence just to distract myself, counting ferries go back and forth is much cheaper. :)
Damn the test match is also not going anywhere. When push comes to shove Team India is the first to chicken out. Bunch of bozos.

Fart Flair

2006-01-27T13:58:00.000-05:00

Next time I go under the knife, I will be very very careful.

Children of heaven

2006-01-27T01:58:00.000-05:00

OMG! I love children’s films, but this one is special. Remember the warmth that fills your heart when you see a couple exchanging an unexpected kiss or a stunning valley that opens right in front just after you take one last turn to reach the mountain’s summit – this movie is 1.5 hrs of just that feeling. The innocence, love and untiring efforts of the young brother and sister to make best of the situation will melt the coldest of hearts. How can a country which produces films like this ever mean harm to anyone? If were Bush, I would give you your nuclear toys Iran! (Ugh ..its probably the bottle of wine I had with the movie that’s I saying this.)
No seriously, this is wonderful movie. The young girl’s lost shoes sets up the plot and create a situation where the brother and sister have to secretly share a pair of shoes because they know that their parents can’t afford another one. The struggle of main character ‘Ali’, the brother in this film, reminds me of ‘Chaipu’ of ‘Salaam Bombay’ because they both are desperately fighting odds to achieve something. For Chaipu, it’s the train ticket to go back to his mother in village while for Ali it’s the pair of shoes he wants for his sister. At the end both don’t get what they wanted, but while ‘Salaam Bombay’ breaks your heart, ‘Children of heaven’ fills you with hope and a promise for the future.
Majid Majidi, the director, did end the movie ‘Jo Jeeta Wahi Sikandar’ way, but herein lays the beauty of the screenplay. Even after winning, Ali did loose and yet in a lot of ways he did win. Go see the movie to know what I mean. :-)

Blue

2006-01-19T03:41:00.000-05:00

Krzysztof Kieslowski is regarded as one of the leading film makers of our time and after watching Blue, the first part of his trilogy ‘Trois couleurs’ (Three Colors), I understand why. The theme of the movie is Liberty - from personal sorrows and painful past - which is poignantly depicted in the life of Julie as she struggles to recover from the death of her husband and young daughter in a car accident. After her failed attempt to commit suicide, Julie starts afresh in a new environment leading an anonymous life. But past (her husband was a famous composer) keeps knocking on her door again and again. The unfinished compositions and the pregnant mistress of her husband pull her back into a life she desperately was running away from. In this process she discovers affection and a new cause which eventually gives her freedom to chart a different course from her past.

Juliette Binoche powerfully brings out the raw emotions of Julie, often relying on nothing more than deep melancholy eyes and unnerving silence. Kieslowski is a master of using music instead of dialogs (there are very few of them) in moving the story forwards. Some of the scenes, especially the one in which Julie hears her husband’s music while swimming, are absolutely hair raising. The delicate screenplay and soul touching photography truly make this movie stand apart. One of the better once I have seen in a long time.

2005-05-06T02:15:00.000-04:00

Frozen Potomac from my apartment in DC

2005-05-03T01:19:00.000-04:00

One more shot

Whoever said fundamentalist cant make good economists ?

2005-02-23T14:00:00.000-05:00

http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=42274
The Paki finance minister is secretly wishing that more actresses follow Meera. With so much "talent" in Pakistan, its only a matter of time before thier economic woes are taken care by the revenue generated by these fines.

Farewell Food, no Thought

2005-02-01T13:31:00.000-05:00

I am in the process of moving out of DC to start a new job. Since my current company is on a week long cruise this week I decided to quit last week itself. I know, I should I have quit after the cruise but these damned ethics came in the way. Life will be so much more simple without them.
As I announced my resignation, I knew people would be taken aback. I expected a few handshakes and goodbyes, but what I got was 8 farewell parties in the last 6 days. Physically it was very tough, my gastric juices and stomach have never been subject such rigorous tests. It was only a matter of time before they revolted thus increasing the number of bathroom visits.
May be, by acknowledging my sins I will be condoned and the extra layer of fat around my stomach will magically vanish. So here is what happened in the last few days

Date : Jan 25 2005 (Lunch)
Group : Few RADG (Racist Asian Dinner Group) members
Venue : California Pizza Kitchen
Agenda: Update on the latest of the racial slurs.

Date : Jan 26 2005 (Lunch)
Group : Java Team
Venue : On the borders
Agenda: Hedging bets on my returning back to Appian

Date : Jan 26 2005 (Dinner)
Group : Appian open all Dinner
Venue : Bailyes Pub & Grill
Agenda: Farewell sugar talk

Date : Jan 27 2005 (Dinner)
Group : DC Desi (non ABCD)
Venue : PF Changs
Agenda: Celebrating birth of one more ABCD of the Group

Date : Jan 28 2005 (Lunch)
Group : NON RADG (Racist Asian Dinner Group) members. Some pseudo Asians were also present
Venue : Tachibana
Agenda: How to make the perfect Maki Sushi

Date : Jan 29 2005 (Dinner)
Group : College buddies
Venue : Heritage India
Agenda: Keep the rumor mills running

Date : Jan 30 2005 (Dinner)
Group : Couple one on one
Venue : Charcoal kabob
Agenda: Investigating Indian culinary influence on everything edible in this world.

Date : Jan 31 2005 (Dinner)
Group : Couple one on one
Venue : Gua-Rapo
Agenda: Liberals - free for all

Four stages of work

2004-12-23T13:23:00.000-05:00

My friend and I were talking about our work at lunch today. He told me about a grid that he has come up with to clearly define 4 stages of the work. This is what the grid looks like.

*Four stages of work*
	Trying hard	Not trying hard
Making swift progress	Jamming	Cruising
Making slow progress	Grinding	Slacking

Most people are stuck in the 4th quadrant where they are neither trying hard nor making swift progress. My initial assessment was that the most productive quadrant is Jamming but you can’t sustain trying hard for a long period of time. The key is to be in Cruising quadrant. It’s much better for your endurance. The only problem is that it’s very easy to slip from Cruising to Slacking. The other paradox is that if you try hard not to go from cruising to slacking, you might risk getting into Jamming. The key is to make a healthy balance between not trying too hard and still being focused. It’s really difficult to that especially so many interesting things going in the workspace. Some of them are shown below

Conflict Resolution Is this really a release blocker bug ??

Enthusiasm of your colleagues

Your own desires to find your inner self

Cruise Bio

2004-12-22T17:05:00.000-05:00

Each year my company goes on a weeklong cruise trip to the Caribbean - Mexico (or Alaska if the HR Manager is really pissed at us). Before the trip all employees are asked to prepare short bios about themselves. These bios are compiled into a small book, which is distributed among the employees as a memento of the trip. Here is my bio for this year’s trip.

Name: Abhishek Agrawal.

Birth city:
Etawah, UP - India. It is an overgrown village of a half a million people in the middle of nowhere

Prone to:
Frequent spells of selective amnesia

Convicted of:
2 speeding tickets and 1 for jumping a red light (and also for trying to drive through the wall). Oh yeah, once reprimanded for stealing 2 year olds ice cream.

Claim to fame:
$3000 phone bill

Talents:
Still trying to find one

Dreams of:
Making a product so efficient that customers don’t even need to buy it.

Believes:
Life is an angry bull and you are a stupid matador. You stand in its path, grab the bull by its horn and try to bring it down. The bull hurls you in the air and you land with the control of a helicopter with no gas. Even though your body is badly scratched and there is blood dripping down your face you don’t give up. You stand up once again and charge back towards the bull. The result is no different this time. You keep fighting until you are tired, exhausted and your motivation becomes that of a wet noodle. Beaten to submission you don’t know where to go and what to do. You loose all hope and THEN you make the decision of your life, YOU MARRY IT!

PIO unveiled

2004-12-16T01:01:00.000-05:00

For people who missed the BPO wave - "Be ready for the new one!"

Extreme Programming:

2004-09-25T22:39:00.000-04:00

Almost everyone who has ever been a part of a software development team has experienced a sense of anger, frustration and helplessness at how things just get out of control. Unlike manufacturing, software development process grants each person the potential to completely wreck the product cycle with an unwitting minutest intervention. Is this a person or a process problem? Why do software development projects fail? How can we alter the process of development to make it less sensitive to the actions of the people involved in it?

Appian sponsored Java Users Group (AJUG) decided to find answers to these questions by looking at the alternate software development methodologies. We started with looking into details of Extreme programming first proposed by Kent Beck. His book, "Extreme Programming Explained" is broadly divided into three parts The Problem, The Solution and The Implementation, each of which is about 50 pages. On a Saturday afternoon it will take you less 3 hours to go through the whole book.

Kent recommends paradigm shift in software development process. The emphasis is on designing little, implementing, testing and repeating the process as fast as possible. This is completely antagonistic with the most technology teams emphasis on designing early and thoroughly. The book strongly recommends use of XP methodologies like pair programming, unit and functional testing, which definitely have a lot of positive points. Kent also provides a rather simple yet remarkable way of cost benefit analysis of adding a new feature during the various stages of product life cycle. Unfortunately in one and half pages the idea is bit under sold but then this is not a book about pricing software.

One of the most intriguing ideas put forth is the concept of common ownership of code. Most technology projects have core of their architecture closely guarded under the watchful eyes of their most senior programmers. Kent makes a strong case for allowing every member on the team to make any change they deem necessary to any part of the system. At first this seems completely illogical and fraught with risks, but he explains that with pair programming, automated testing and refactoring its not as perilous as one would wonder. The left liberal in me is convinced but the pragmatic one tells me that the risk involved are highly dependent on the ability of every member of the team to understand the architecture and also on the quality of the automated tests. Weakness in any of the two can end in some disastrous consequences. I have spent sleepless nights (not quite) thinking about this, but I am still not convinced. Common ownership is highly depend on the XP methodologies and cant be put to practice unless other XP stuff is working very well for the team.

Overall this book is worth every penny of its value. You might not agree with any of its ideas, but it does provide some fresh insights on tackling problems we face on a daily basis. Its not a fast paced suspense thriller - DaVinci code, but its closest to that in the world software engineering. I will specially recommend it to the people who are disturbed by the chaos and confusion surrounding development of software products and are looking for more repeatable and predictable processes.

I do agree with the Kent about this -- Embrace change!

Strategy and Strategic Planning: (Henry Mintzberg)

2004-05-19T22:46:00.000-04:00

I really like Henry's work in strategy and planning. These are the excerpts of some intersting points he made in an article I read recently.

Most successful strategies are visions not plans.
Strategy making process - capturing what managers learn from personal experience and experiences of others and the hard data from market research, and synthesizing that learning into a vision of the direction that the business should persue.
Does not involve formanl techniques.
Planning represents calulating style of managment and not commiting style of mangment.
Learning plays the most crucial role in the development of novel startegies.
Business unit managers should take full and effective charge of strategy making process.
Planners: Ask the right question ? Dont try to find out the right answer.
Strategy making process should not and cannt be formalized. Formalization hinders creative thought process, which is the the most essential part of Strategy making.

"Location" - Clusters and Competition: Michael Porter

2004-04-29T18:03:00.000-04:00

Michael's take on Locations. This is definitely interesting. May be companies competing in close affinity is not that bad afterall.

Clusters suggests that much of the competitive advantage lies outside a given company or even outside its industry, residing instead in the locations of its business units. eg: Odds of building a world class mutual fund company are much higher in Boston than in any other location or a textile related companies in North Carolina (although I would rather move them to China).Clusters attract foreign investments. (You can build world class facilities, but without presence of conducive clusters its difficult to attract industries. This explains why efforts by governments to divert industries to specific locations has failed so often -- Butibori in Nagpur)