Surprise Surprise !!!

Some friends are truly a blessing and quite happy to have known few of them. It was Birthday time and did plan up to turn up and give a surprise @ 12. Came in to office quite early than usual and was able to make it to the weekly meeting too !!! ...

my work timings are difficult to judge, my ex-PM Suri had given up on me. He never knew if I was coming to office in evening or at night. He just mailed me in case he did want to reach me :). Though the shift timings are from 3pm to 11pm or 11pm to 7am and i usually ended up coming in at 5pm to 2am or 9pm to 6am. I just got used to it and folks around me too :) ....Yes, working in support project :(

Having thought about leaving early, i ended up coming in before 4pm and attended the meeting too. It was pretty long but there was something else that delayed me in starting my work when I realized that my last date in project has been extended, promised to client (not sure which Mother ka promise they took !) that I will be continuing in this project for next 15 days... for a moment, I could see my mom calling up my PM and giving them a piece of her mind ! (she has been lately putting up an Oscar winning performance of Durga from Karan Arjun movie !... "Mere bete aayenge!" ... more than 6 months since bro & I have met up and we had a family reunion)...

To my surprise my vacation was not cancelled, I was just needed to provide consulting services and this extension ensured my emailid stayed active along with server access. This was due to apparent discussion of my PM with MamB & MaC yesterday which ended up quite dramatically !!! ..

The second surprise of the day was my application for a Bangalore project getting approved and I needed to speak to a delivery manager and discuss about the project details and kind of client interview I can expect. The project is for a Financial company and it would be good to get selected in case they are using any Automation tools like QTP. It would be good boost to my career to shift to Finance domain with some automation experience but yes, personally I would miss Hyd..miss you dear!.. so fond memories !

The work started at 6pm and it was more of investigating than consulting. If I ended up working with these circus clowns for another month, I will end up being the greatest Dad in the world. My level of patience will increase ten folds and I won't care a damn if my kid is shouting on top of his lungs, crying till your ears starts bleeding, or even peeing on you (my well trained kid will not pee on me :P).... When you are learning to start riding a bike, the first things you need to know where the breaks, clutch and gears are... the High-Low beam light switches are not important !!!. It was going beyond my patience limits - after investigating and providing them with inputs it take some balls to ignore me and trying to further investigate !!! ..and on my behalf, its not my ego that is coming in between here but the seriousness of this issue and a long list of pending issues and work. Further investigating is good and i will definitely appreciate going beyond what i could investigate, provided you had nothing more to do... there are another 10 issues left pending while we go on digging deeper into black hole !!! .... and after all this ..its gets escalated to engineering team ... take that for your efforts !!! --|--

During all this melodrama I was informed about the plan to reach my friend's house at 12 and joined in the game. It was 4 of us initially and Rado going in for cake, Basanti/Me for flowers and Kau with her dramatic entry/acts... Had a curd rice dinner (stomach upset since few days, quite possible due to insomnia !) and till 10pm seemed like everything was going as per plan. We gathered at 11:50pm near the house and later showed correctly at 12 !!.. and Yes...that was a pleasant SURPRISE !!! .. The look on their faces was just purrfect ! .. Happy B'day , cake cutting , eating, chit chats, gossips, jokes (Dharamji has a good sense of humor !).. will surely miss them in Hyderabad - they are the only inspiration i get to get married... perfect lovebirds !

yeah, quite a Surprise Surprise Surprise day ! ... and remarkably all were sweet, pleasant and memorable...

God gave a gift to the world when you were born—
a person who loves, who cares,
who sees a person’s need and fills it,
who encourages and lifts people up,
who spends energy on others
rather than herself,
someone who touches each life she enters,
and makes a difference in the world,
because ripples of kindness flow outward
as each person you have touched, touches others.
Your birthday deserves to be a national holiday,
because you are a special treasure
for all that you’ve done.
May the love you have shown to others
return to you, multiplied.
I wish you the happiest of birthdays,
and many, many more,
so that others have time to appreciate you
as much as I do.Happy Birthday !!!

I Dreamed a Dream

Back from watching INCEPTION and all i can think about is Dreams...

I dream a lot and after watching this movie it feels like i can be quite susceptible in future (in case i turn into Tata's or Ambani :P). Not sure if I could classify my dreams as envisioning the future or reliving past moments but I do dream a lot. I have built castles, hunted for living, fought like a king, robbery, delivering a speech, writing semester exams (I seriously suffer from exam phobia) survived dinosaur attacks, led a life like in LOST, had a romantic dinner, made love too :P & what not !!! ...the list is endless.

One of the truths I learnt today after watching Inception is "there is no start for a dream", you never know when the Dream started, you always know when you are half way down the movie nearing the climax - about to jump of a cliff, hanging upside down, about to make a kill or even reaching orgasm..... and yet most of the time you wake up and just don't remember a thing !

Yet, there are few situations that happen in real life and in those moments, my mind goes blank and I begin to realize I had envisioned this earlier !... These instances make me realize that you can get what you wish for or what you think !!, GOD, sometimes might think this is your prayer/wish and just grant it... the only part of the movie OSO i liked

"itni shiddat se maine tumhe paane ki koshish ki hai ki har zarre ne mujhe tumse milane ki koshish ki hai....kehte hai agar kisi cheez ko dil se chaaho toh poori kaynath tumhein usse milane ki koshish mein lag jaati hai.."

Robin Sharma did said that it was quite important what your last thought was when you are going to sleep as this is the same thought with which you may start dreaming and also might wake up with the same. Subconsciously your mind might just process the entire script which might get played anytime or any moment ! ............Yet, I can't so sell my Ferrari, I can just try to think positive and hope things remain positive. Thoughts make up your life and its turns out lot better if I end up thinking positive !

One of the biggest reasons why I sometimes get a Deja vu moment is the minimalistic details of the scene which seem to have been envisioned earlier. If I was casted in the movie(Inception), I would have been playing the role of the Architect. Each of my dreams are so well constructed to the minute details that I sometimes wonder where I get these creative visionary ideas from ! and all i hope is I can implement these ideas in real life than in dream world.....

And there are times, when I wished I could sleep well like rest of the crowd like Anjum who said that she never gets dreams. Is it possible that someone never gets a dream and they have a sound sleep !... Is Dreaming a gift or a curse ? ... not sure why someone have the luxury of dreaming (I day dream too !! :( ...) while rest of the crowd seem to be enjoying their sleep!!!

Yaaawn... let me get back to my dreams... I Dream a dream....

I Dreamed a Dream by Susan Boyle - loved this song, for some reason this video makes me quite emotional !..nice song..

Lazy Weekend....

The weekend started quite late, couldn't sleep well...weird dreams which couldn't be recollected... woke up with a heavy head, it felt like a huge rock placed on my head... drowsiness prevailed.. not sure what happened, was quite surprised to see so many missed calls :( ... might have been quite a scary dream to engage me so much that i couldn't hear the phone rings ! (i haven't yet watched Inception yet !!!...scheduled for tomorrow !).

The easiest for me to get out of slumber is to talk to dear one's. It seems so magical that no matter how low you are, all you got to do is dial a number and get recharged ! .... Mobile Phone is one of best inventions of Mankind !

a walk around Novotel should have cleared my mind but, the pathetic rains continued...tried to go out for a ride as soon as it felt it wouldn't rain anymore but no luck. it continued to follow me till i broke down and returned home !

Had "planned" to study for sometime but instead ended up watching Nagarjuna's KEDI movie, it was an average movie...somethings on the lines of Catch me if you can but with a Telugu flavor !.. forgot to call the cook and ended up eat Egg Uttapams and slept again !

Its 3am now!..not sure what woke me up..probably the last week's Night shift timetable is still on. Felt happy though on seeing few SMS, it feels good to receive a message, it makes you feel happy that someone remembers you :)

Happiness is something which i seem to grab from thin air. Mails, Messages, Photos, Videos, or even just memories (moments again!).. just recollecting them brings a smile on the face. while this may sound Optimistic but quite sometimes i end up being a Pessimistic Ass, questioning anything irrelevant or even a minuscule detail ! and usually i do get beaten up on being such an ass.

well, time to hit the bed again...lets end this dull weekend and begin a fresh one tomorrow ! ..

Dear Lord..NO RAINS PLEASE !!!

Just One!

One song can spark a moment,

One flower can wake the dream

One tree can start a forest,

One bird can herald spring.

One smile begins a friendship,

One handclasp lifts a soul.

One star can guide a ship at sea,

One word can frame the goal

One vote can change a nation,

One sunbeam lights a room

One candle wipes out darkness,

One laugh will conquer gloom.

One step must start each journey.

One word must start each prayer.

One hope will raise our spirits,

One touch can show you care.

One voice can speak with wisdom,

One heart can know what's true,

One life can make a difference,

You see, it's up to you!

Zindagi ka Safar!

Zindagi Ka Safar Hai Ye Kaisa Safar,

Koi Samjha Nahin Koi Jaana Nahin,

Hai Ye Kaisi Dagar Chalte Hain Sab Magar, 

Koi Samjha Nahin Koi Jaana Nahin,

my last night shift here in my project ... can't believe it has been more than a year i have been running in shifts... Today was the day i worried long before and yet I have moved on. It may not have been as successful or a planned one! .. well, it never is... but the ride has been joyous....

it was a decision which I took after much deliberation, thinking, sleepless nights and here i am having gone through it almost successfully. Things never go planned for me, in fact its always the opposite. I just gotta stop planning !!!

plan was:

• never to get into support, i ended up in one!
• never to work from offshore, ended up working for more than a year!
• never wanted my Visa to expire, ended up losing it now!
• never wanted to get into any relationships, ended up; rather almost drowned in one!
• never felt anyone was worth my friendship considering a bunch of As****s i met, now have a family of friends,
• never felt i could trust anyone more than myself, i have friends for life !
• never thought someone could love/care me more, feel blessed to have found them!

and now, another 5 days being part of this family... it was a right decision and probably destined one! ... Whatever happens happens for a reason :-), let the reason be life, friendship or love ! who cares !!!

i carry your heart with me by E. E. Cummings

i carry your heart with me, i carry it in my heart

i am never without it, anywhere i go you go,my dear;

and whatever is done by only me is your doing,my darling,

i fear no fate,for you are my fate,my sweet,

i want no world,for beautiful you are my world,my true

and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

here is the root of the root and

the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;

which grows higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide,

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart,i carry it in my heart,

a very happy weekend to all :)

Moments in Conversations!

if someone asked me what my favorite hobby was ...i would say "talking!" .. i seem to go on and on and on........ to such an extent that I need to charge by cellphone daily !... when not talking to anyone I find myself in conversations with inner self... this is not something that was developed overnight but been this way from childhood ! .. have been reprimanded several times in school, colleges for a chit chatting smiling face :)

when you talk about moments that you remember... these conversations are remembered. The moments that bring a smile to your face, re-energize you to move ahead, come out of sulking mood... being a superman though i wish to take someone out of space, i would just make them sit on top of plane and talk , talk and talk... and sometimes remain silent.

Its quite an wonderful moment to remain silent with your loved ones, friends..just staring at the sky and sink in with no thoughts running around... there are many such moments, timeless classics which cannot be shared but something that always brings a smile and helps me getup whenever i am down... i just love those....

but will these go on well with my wife ? ...

• She would be happy to learn that one of those moments were on hill top when we were amidst the clouds of coorg but not happy when some other moments were just private not worth a discussion ?
• Is marriage some kind of open heart surgery that you need to pull up your socks and tell "Everything" from school to work ?
• In return do i expect her to tell me everything ? .. NO.. nothing that does not affect the life ahead ... (some psycho was mad about her then yes.. details please !!!, i don't want to be killed :P)

Soooooooo confused...btw, the Chat conversation with my friend helped but got me confused too...

Can i just be left alone for few hours in a day just to be with myself ! ... Silence is so wonderful !!!

jiyo or jeene do....

Dil Cheez kya hai aap meri jaan leejiye !

Dil Cheez kya hai aap meri jaan leejiye !... these lines are immortal and some truly deserve it... there are times when you just feel the time could stand still and you could control each moment as it passed by! ...

Yeh jaate hue lamhoon zara tehro zara tehro ..

main bhi chalta hoon, zara unse milta hoon...

ek baar dilse unse kahoon..to chaloon...

yeah.. Moments... today is dedicated to moments.. those moments which went by , which will be remembered for rest of life...

Today, i just wished...i could be superman..to just take you to sky along with me, far away from this crowd... just spend some moments ... your presence is all it takes...

there were things that went wrong today, made me sulk... quite heartening to have learnt that the elusive H1B US VISA stands invalid from today... no more US dreams rather US plans, the dreams have been quashed long back...

but yet, something that keep you going are the moments... things happen for a reason, things happened for a reason... though, how far we may be , we are still under the same sky !

Tumhari is ada ka kya jawab du,
apne dost ko kya uphar du,
koi accha sa phool hota to mali se mangvata,
jo khud gulab hai usko kya gulab du…

Ankho ko jab kisi se shikayat ho jati hai,

Dil ko jab dhadkne ki izazat ho jati hai..!

kaise bhul jay kisi ki yaado ko yuhi,

jab kisi ko kisi ki adat ho jati hai..!

Na kabhi chupaya ki pyar kitna hai,

na kabhi bataya ki dard kitna hai..!

hume aur ek us khuda ko malum hai,

hume aapse milne ka kitna intezar kitne hai..!

Destiny ! - believe it but don't depend on it !

Had a good sleep…though was quite worried about Trish’s health… it didn’t sounded good last evening so was hoping she had recovered well. Was quite relieved to the happy energizing voice again!.. as such no plans were laid for today other than a humongous pile of clothes – 10 pants were lying idle for past 1 year and had to be washed as they accumulated lot of dust lying idle ! … I started it early but the washing ate up my entire evening..

Zaroorat hai ! .. sakt zaroorat hai ..ek kalavati ki jo khaana banaaye or kapde bhi dooye.. (rest of the work I can do !).. I hate washing !

Something got into me and I applied for the Bangalore Testing opening, not sure if it will get approved by my manager … let’s wait & watch !

It was good to reach office early … learnt about SQL Mirroring from our Sheik, was careful not to stand on his nerve and not to ask Stupid questions like last time ! (what is a cube :P)… KJ was as usual drowned in work and did not have much time for chit chat or listen to my bakar L ..but I did bring the chocolate as promised, which I should have on my b’day (silly me to forget that!)

Clock strikes 1am and we have the entire SD in mixed emotions.. appraisal letters were announced, some got promoted, some got hikes.. some got both, some got something.. and some almost nothing! … some were happy but stayed less exited…some were ok and some didn’t get anything & were frustrated !.. one of the points in my 1 Min Manager article was on one of the expectations from an organization from its employees..

Peer Performance:

An Associate should realize that their benefits or experience in the organization are likely to differ from other associates. One should not expect that everyone’s tenure and growth in the company to be alike and in fact, appreciate the fact that there are likely to be differences on each associate is treated in the company.

If you aren’t satisfied with your hike or rating or appreciation..then move on and prove yourself … I know it’s quite easy to say that (considering I am here in this system for more than 6 years !!!)… Jealousy doesn’t take you anywhere ! … no matter how much you slog it out, it’s not necessary that you will get appreciated for it, it is either because you haven’t advertised it properly or it is not worth appreciation in first place or you just ain’t lucky yet ! … the latter seems right in most occasions but right advertisement is key to success… Go Hutch .. follow the Pug, then the Zoozoo ..and now apparently a parrot (coming soon) !!, the right advertisement in right place is the key …. I still remember to have visited rly station in the morning to pick up someone to find Hutch advts all over Bangalore roads with beautiful smiling faces.. I was won over !!! but still I belong to Airtel !

But Dil kya kare…its quite heartening to see unworthy one’s travelling in Merc while you are footboarding on Bus !!.. Destiny does exists but you just can’t sit idle and await.. go do something and atleast be proud of what you did.. appreciation and worthiness gets proved in the long run.. MC seem frustrated, though it may seem that no of experience behind MC is less but the mind does work faster than her Age !!!

Bhagwan ke wahan der hai.. ander nahi !!!... kaam karo phal ki pariktsha mat kar..kya pata tumhe ek phal nahi poora crate hi mil jaaye !!!

going home now... have to sleep tight and get some work done later... luv u all :)

Expectations of an Organization & its Employees

Organization’s Expectations:

• Commitment:

An associate should be 100% committed to their work assigned and should strive to achieve more than the responsibilities assigned to them. They should be willing to do “whatever it takes” to make the project succeed.

• Customer Satisfaction:

Apart from fulfilling customer’s needs, associates should try to be more proactive and provide out-of-box ideas/solutions to their customers. Customer satisfaction should be always to put achieve more than the intended targets.

• Goals & Targets:

Each associate should set a goal for themselves, a goal for their team. These goals must be announced within their team and each individual should make every effort to achieve these goals.

• Growth:

Each associate should not limit themselves to mere team member role but try to sell their work to the customers and try to get in as much revenue/business opportunities to their company. Any ray of light visible should be communicated to their managers and acted upon to pursue with the customer to increase their scope of work

• Communication:

An associate should be communicative and express their thoughts, share their concerns and provide feedback to their managers, peers. Any suggestions, ideas that increase productivity or customer delight or concerns which can cause negative trend should be immediately discussed with their managers.

• Placing Team before individual:

Associates should always work as a team and ignore personality differences , avoid ego clashes and place team before themselves. At any moment, an associate should always think that they represent the entire organization and they represent the company’s face to the outside world.

• Peer Performance:

An Associate should realize that their benefits or experience in the organization are likely to differ from other associates. One should not expect that everyone’s tenure and growth in the company to be alike and in fact, appreciate the fact that there are likely to be differences on each associate is treated in the company.

• Mentoring:

Each associate should mentor fellow associates and share their experiences/knowledge gathered over a period of time. The knowledge sharing need to be restricted to a technical competency!

• Society Contribution:

Wealth creation is incomplete unless it contributes to the improvement of society. The Social responsibilities are what the company should or might do to tackle and solve problems of the society. Associates should actively participate in CSR activities.

Associate’s Expectations:

• Career Roadmap:

A roadmap should be defined for each associate and tracked on a quarterly basis. These roadmaps should be created keeping in mind the associate’s interest of work, knowledge & skill level and current scope of work in their respective projects.

• Meetings:

A bi-weekly interaction between a manager and his team, a monthly interaction with a HR and his unit and Quarterly interaction with the unit head would make the employees feel as a part of the unit and bind them together.

• Communications:

Effective communication channels should be established wherein the changes in the Project, team, Unit or Organization are immediately communicated to the team. There should be monthly mailers from the Unit directors which should detail out on how the unit is performing (good or bad) and how an employee as an individual could strive forward to achieve the unit’s goals.

• Feedback Sessions:

An associate’s career progress should be taken up on a quarterly basis and the performance reviews should be conducted every 6 months. Performance improvement should be process rather than being an annual event.

• Performance Reviews:

The performance reviews and ratings should be transparent. The parameters defined to judge an associate as a Star performer should be same for all associates. These parameters should be defined before the process starts and discussed during the Appraisal process.

• Surveys:

Associate satisfaction Survey’s should be conducted periodically to access their satisfactions level in their current project, feedback on their Manager’s and how they feel about the company progress

• Survey Results Action Plans:

Action plans should be created and tracked for each of the parameters which the associates have set low scores. These Action plans should be targeted at increasing the scores for these parameters for the next quarter. It should also have appropriate milestones with approximate Date of completion and Owner for each action item.

• Praise / Pat on Back:

An associate should be appreciated for their efforts on their job done well. Praise should not be something only being reserved for high performers or outstanding candidates and must be given to all worthy associates.

• Trainings:

To develop their skills to a full potential, sufficient trainings should be provided to the Associates. Associates feel confident about their abilities if they are provided with sufficient trainings to hone their skills. It also makes them feel that the organization cares for their professional growth and intend to secure their future.

• Customer Satisfaction:

Managers should ensure that they have a fortnightly meeting with their teams and a weekly status meeting/call with the team lead or a team representative to find out about the team’s progress and communicate customer’s feedback to the team members.

• Peer & Manager Feedback System:

We should have Peer & Manager level feedback system when judging employees for Appraisals/Promotions. An anonymous feedback should be collected from peers & manager about an associate’s role. Since an associate spends his maximum time with the team, the team would provide accurate and unbiased opinion about his performance as well as behavioral attitudes.

Where there is a WILL... there's ALWAYS a way ! ..

Rehman sings and I wake up … one of my fav ringtones of my cell and glad to always hear and pick up… it was 10am and though I planned to get up early and had set up 3 alarms ..none of them could help me go back to sleep…

Wake up at 11am and little later informed that Appraisal letters are out… yes, it was official.. I work for Peanuts !! ..

That’s when I decide to go ahead and write the exam I wanted to write from past few months and also preparing since couple of months.. 2 hours and I had 120 questions to revise… and the determination was amazing… all done by 3pm, took an appointment at NIIT to write the exam.

2 hours later…. Was overjoyed and happy and there was sudden surge of blood across all my veins.. 925/1000 is quite a good score !! ..i am a certified DBA now.. Yipee ! … it was kinda my bad to not inform that I was going to write this exam in first place but I had my own reasons.. I have a terrible exam phobia so did not want to let it out first...what If I had failed !!!

Sooooooo tired...yet some phone conversations can keep you going.. Its like plugging yourself to a wall charger and getting charged .. The battery meter keeps on rising and there is no max / upper charging limit.. It wasn't the usual conversation though, felt something was missing but not conveyed… I felt disappointed , little worried and took this out on mom as usual … she is worried about cousin's trip to bangalore which I feel can be ignored and need not take burden out.. Chill out mom ! … we have so many other things to worry about.. My marriage ???

Came in late to office and now bored… so booooooooooored….Another day ends…. Yet I have so much to talk … I might seem like a stone heart but quite the opposite inside, seeing your loved ones not well , not telling what is wrong...sometimes worries me…. Hope all is well :) and continues to be joyous ...