Christmas!!!

Its Christmas and this reminds me of so many things...

1) Santa and his gifts

2) The color Red

3) Christmas Carols

4) The midnight Mass

5) Freshly baked cakes and cookies

6) The crib

7) Well decorated Christmas tree

8) Greetings

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Pseudo name

I recollect those initial days of my first job when I was supporting a leading Internet Service Provider in the United States. I had to choose a pseudo name as the Americans find it difficult to pronounce the typical Indian names. I wanted to choose a name that begins with "I" so that it would create a strong association with me. I had a liking for the name "Irene" and I think it was because of my then favorite '1996 Miss World Irene Skliva'. When I first heard her name, it caught my attention and I had my own "traits" assigned to it. Confidence, attitude and elegance were those. I must say I had a tough time educating people about the pronunciation of this name as well. I did not want to be addressed as 'Irin' or 'Ileen' and one has to roll their 'R's so well so that it sounds like "Ireene" and on an average I had to correct 7/10 customers on the right pronunciation. They wouldnt have had a tough time calling my actual name indeed.

I remember those funny days when my friends had composed a background music that copied the then famous kollywood collections whenever I started the opening script introducing me as "Irene".

Me: Thank you for choose XYZ Internet Services.
My name is Ireene...(background chorus: repeats it with tan tan tan tan....with their invisible musical       instruments)

'I*****' would'nt have been that tough but 'Irene' definitely made an impact!

Relaxing weekend!!!

Even after the hectic week at work, my friends and I had the close up smiles on our face. We werent approached by the toothpaste company for the ads though. The day had arrived for our long planned trip to one of the most beautiful beaches in Karnataka. Doesnt that justify our excitement to take a break from the city and have a relaxing weekend near the sea?

My friends had been to this place a couple of times before and I was looking forward for it this time. Finally, we were heading to the Kudle beach in Gokarna. We chose this beach over others in the town because of less crowd, cleanliness and it was'nt commercialised. We started our journey on friday eve and this place being 453kms from bangalore, we spent 12 hours in travel. Most of the travellers in the bus fell sick because of the twists and turns the driver took (curse the hairpin bends). After the long journey, we reached the town and had to bargain with the auto drivers to take us to the beach which was 6kms away from there for 150 bucks. It was really pleasant to see greenery everywhere.

The rickshaw dropped us in the drop point and we had to climb down the rocks to reach the beach. It wasn't all that bad. My generous friends carried the additional luggage of mine and guided me with the directions. After all, they were the experts. From a distant view, we saw the beautiful view of the Kudle beach. For a minute it looked like the sea was welcoming us with a bright smile when we saw the glittering sun rays on the sea. I am being so dramatic.

We then rested for a while in the hotel we had booked in advance. There wasnt really much to do and that's what we wanted. Its a place to relax and get the authentic kerala massages done. We figured out a decent cafe from the entire lot and tried different delicacies. Should try the sea food and Kudle Cake. We came across some interesting dessert names like "Say Hi to the King", and " Say Hi to the Queen". We did not really get what that meant and I wonder what was the thought process behind this naming convention.

We had a good meal and started yapping for sometime. We went for a stroll in the shore and parallely kept the photo sessions going. Watching the sunset on a beach is one of the beautiful things and our photographer captured some nice shots. By 6.30 it was dark and we sat by the beach listening to some good music. We had found a DJ in the group. After dinner, we again started walking by the shore and watched the firangs sing and play the tabla.

I forgot to mention about Gopal, whom we met there. He was so attracted to us, dont know why. He was looking into our eyes and it conveyed something. He was keen to sit on our laps. Oh, naughty one, Gopal. He wanted the fish we had and was trying to communicate that to us and probably because his vocal cords were damaged he could not "Meow" it. Well, yea, Gopal was the cat.

The next day morning we took a dip in the water, played for sometime. It was fun. Was not tired of posing even in the middle of the sea. By noon we checked out of the hotel and got back to the cafe where we had to kill few hours. We spent our time reading the horoscope from the day's newspaper which was so funny. By evening we packed our bags and headed back to the town. I tried to pick something from the market in the rememberance of the place and visit but did not find anything authentic.

I thought I did not get anything from the place, but then after returning I realized I had got a terrible TAN. Worth remembering!!!

My dream job

Someone asked me what my dream job would be...

As a kid, I had always known only 3 main professions: Doctor, Engineer and Laywer. Those days we never really heard people talk about anything beyond those three streams. When I was at school, the professional white coat caught my attention and I thought one day I should be a doctor.

As I grew, the computer revolution that took place changed my thought of becoming a doctor and I visualized myself many a times in the best of western formals, working on an classy notebook in a neat cabin.I had to re-think about my career. I wanted to become a computer engineer.

The day finally came when I graduated from college as a Computer engineer but I knew in due course that coding was'nt my cup of tea. Damn it!!!

What next after graduation? Of course a job, that's wat I wanted. I thought I was good at communication and never had the interest in learning the programming techniques nor was good at it. That left me with an option to join the BPO segment in a reputed MNC. Why would I turn the offer down. I chose the support field and found it to be interesting for a while. Then, I had nightmares of the verbatim open scripts, sleepless nights, lead the life of a US citizen in India and of course with the Indian Salary. Cheap labor, you see...The support job no more interested me.

I had to re-think about my career and I thought I have to get into an interesting job in which I could build my career. This time I experimented in the analytics field. My recruiters thought I had some common sense and thats the key to getting a job in this segment of the industry. Hurray, so from the support field, I switched my career to Business analytics. I think I am quite content in this field as of now to earn my bread and butter but is this my so called "DREAM JOB"? Not Really.

I have a passion towards travelling and my dream job would be to be a part of the "Travel and Living" crew. I would love to explore places, meet new people, learn their culture, try new cuisines, adapt to new environments etc.... Being practical, I know this would come true only in my DREAMS for whatever reasons.

No wonder this is my DREAM job :)

The importance of Change

I must have brought the "change". 

"Change can't be given to you everytime,

 U only must bring the change" 

Great line said by...........

. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
.  
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
.

CHANDRAPPAN 

(  KSRTC  Bus Conductor -KERALA ) 

I realized the importance of "Change" today as I had to walk 2kms  just because I did not have the "Change" :(

The "PG" degree in Bangalore

I seriously should consider myself in taking up the role of a PG consultant. I am not talking about the Post Graduate degree but the Paying Guest accomodations in Bangalore. Almost in every single lane you might come across atleast one hostel/PG. Not to forget the advertisements in majority of the trees found in the city. (Am sure the trees bearing those advertisements woould have shed enough tears for hanging the dead skin of their ancestors on them)

So, what is this PG strategy all about?

Objective:
The best way to become affluent. Trust me, it is one of the best options to try.

Requirement: 
Funds (initial investment) to lease/rent/purchase a room/flat/house.
For beginners, the locality should not really matter and the intermediates should look out for some attractive places in the city.
The experts dont really need an advice as they are truly the motivators.

Process:
1. Convert a flat to accomodate tenants in the master rooms, halls, kitchen. Thanks for sparing the bathrooms.
2. Fit in as many Kareena Kapoor cots (Well, referring to the Size Zero cots) as possible in a room and if a room has the capability to accomodate 2 persons (leaving them with just some space to stand in the room) then add bunkers to double the headcount sample size. Am glad we dont get bunkers 3+ or more. Maybe there might be a demand for it in the near future.
3. Add a curtain or fix a cardboard/plywood door to the tinier kitchen space and call it to be a single room and charge a lump sum. The privacy factor has been smartly utilized.
4. For those who dont mind the privacy thingy are given the option to make themselves at home in the hall.
5. Provide pathetic food so as to cut down on the expenditure for food. Simple logic.
6. An alternative for 5 is to provide a gas connection and let the inmates to cook. Still better than the   previous one. Cost cutting. Its not just the work place that reminds us of this term.
7. Include some well known landmarks in the ads no matter even if it miles away from the actual location. The intent is to attract the ones who are concerned about the vicinity.

Skillsets Required:
Excellent acting skills to endorse the product and make false promises.
Patience.

PS: Dedicated to the population who suffered/suffers in the terrible PGs.

CRUSH

There are so many things that she wants to tell him but she just goes numb the moment she sees him and the IVR(Involuntary response to the stimuli) stops her from catching his glance which she would have been wanting to all day long.

Her day can never get better without seeing him.

His smile makes her smile.

He looks the best no matter if he is clean shaven or not.

His presence would make her feel so conscious that she would not concentrate on whatever she does and would try to figure out the best possible ways to strike a conversation.

It is so crazy that even the mention of his name would bring a smile to her which she'll try to suppress so that people dont notice it.

She would be more eager to see if he has got a new profile picture added on the social networking site.

His voice is so magical that she tries to eavesdrop into every single word he utters.

The day she accidently manages to share a smile or strike a little conversation, its an achievement.

Maybe this is what is called the "CRUSH".....
Unspoken words!!! Unrevealed Chemistry!!! Unnoticed things!!!

The experience in BR Hills

My team had planned for an outing to the K.Gudi wilderness camp in the BR Hills. I love travelling so it is very obvious that I was excited about it. It is the first time that I had been to a wilderness camp. The place is 226Km  from Bangalore. We hired a kwalis and started the journey at 6.30 on friday morning. Its really pleasant to see the pollution free bangalore in the early morning with less traffic. Considering the fact that I hadnt slept the previous night, I kind of found it bit difficult to keep myself awake which basically meant that I was less enthusiastic due to fatigue.

At around 8ish we had to halt for breakfast, so we stopped by a local restaurant. We ordered for "Thatte Idlis" which was served with butter on top. I had never had this variety of Idlis before and I would say it is a must to try in Karnataka.

After the relishing breakfast we resumed the journey. I indulged myself for a while in the discussion the group had and then dozed off for some time. We reached the Jungle lodges and resort at 12PM where we had booked the accomodation for loghuts. The place welcomed us with a hug from the cool breeze, the gushing sound of the streams, the tiny birds singing a welcome song. The hillstation was very beautiful with greenery everywhere.

We had a surprise cake cutting for one of our collegues whose birthday we missed in our busy schedule. Then we were escorted to the loghuts we had booked and they were gorgeous. Anytime, a simpler set up looks great that the jazziness used. After some refreshment we played "Uno" which none of us knew properly and everyone had their own rules but it was fun. While we were engrossed in admiring the beauty of the beautiful forest, we encountered some deers, wild boars near our huts. It is quite natural that everyone takes their cameras and keep clicking the snaps of the wildlife.

The lunch was awaiting us at 1PM and it was quite okay. The safari was schedule for 4PM and we had a couple of hours to pass and we thought of taking a stroll. We came across a tree house and tried climbing on it and click snaps of each other, then came across some hammocks and again clicked pics here and there.

The time for the much awaited safari came and I wanted to take the last seat for whatever reasons. We were all set to encounter the wild life and as per the instruction we had to maintain silence throughout and not disturb the wildlife. Keeping that in mind we were talking to each other in sign language. We came across few tuskers, deers which included the sambhar deer(I could recollect this from the Geography text books), spotted deer, barking deer, bisons, mangoose...I was very much interested in seeing some carnivores however was unsuccessful. It was deers and deers everywhere and they were the center of attraction as everyone were busy clicking their pictures.

It was close to 2 hours and still our expectation to encounter a leopard/tiger kept increasing and all of a sudden the guide gets a call from the camp folks saying that a leopard was found near the closeby school. With high hopes we were searching for him all over in the freezing cold and it was drizzling as well. Almost all of us were numb and were struck to the seats and did not move a bit. Even then my only concern was what if a leopard jumps from a tree and gets into the jeep. That was quite possible but we did not have an answer. Well, I got the answer myself ( If something is destined to happen it will ;-)) After all the hungama of searching for the leopard, we had to head back finally without seeing him. Tough luck Leopard. You missed us.

We then headed back to our accomodation and assembled in one of the huts for some chit chat. We had some interesting conversation and had to have dinner bit early as there would not be lights after 10PM. Can you imagine being let in a jungle in the creeping dark with no lights and the animals happily roaming around near the tents and cottages. The experience was really good though.

Finally we had our dinner and saw some wild boars near the kitchen. We wondered if those were really the wild boars or its a spoof because there were roaming everywhere and we decided to call them as Pigs instead. Post dinner our conversation continued and then we had to get some sleep.

The next day early in the morning, we were woken by the sound of the mynas and I gotta say that it was the most beautiful thing to see in the morning. The forest was covered with mist all over and it was cold yet not so cold. After admiring the beautiful nature we played the card game while 2 of our collegues went to the safari again hoping to see the leopard and it was bad luck again for them. We then had breakfast and decided to head back to Bangalore.

The trip was tiring and I could sense World War 2 happening in my head while we were returning. I managed to take a small nap and finally reached Bangalore in the evening. Overall, it was a wonderful experience!!!

Best time to visit: November to January
For more details visit: http://www.indiatravelite.com/jungleriverlodges/kgudiinbrhills.htm
Accomodation: http://www.junglelodges.com/index.php/resorts/kgudi

After a long break....

Its a known fact that I am very good at planning but poor at implementation. A couple of years back I thought blogging would be interesting and created an account for myself but knowing the kind of person I am, it is not surprising that I did not continue it in full swing. I am hoping that this time I'll able to start writing and share ideas.

Good day!!!