Fleeting impressions...

I spent the last week or so in the Northern region of India...Delhi, Jaipur and Gurgaon to be precise. Didnt have enough time to enjoy all the charms of the region, but i did get a few fleeting glimpses into the area...here goes in disjointed phrases

Delhi- Superb roads, pleasant weather, reasonable prepaid cabs, traffic jams at peak hour, bad autos, awesome metro, loads of history, confusing rountanas, lookalike roads, pending further exploration, weird people, good food, gol gappa at chandni chowk, shopping in ansals, late nights, dancing, more dancing, more late nights, pretty cool friends, all in all an awesome time

Gurgaon - Tracts of rural area between urban patches, cycle rickshaws, DLF, Malls, More malls, PVR, The Holiday, good food at Chawrie Bizarre, bad connectivity, partially livable, need a car, good friends

Jaipur - Weird connectivity - Only through bikaner house, camel carts, the best tourism showcase in india in Chowki Dani, Must-do for all, Lacquer jewellery, gems, jootis, shopping, food at chowki dhani, hospitality at chowki dhani, i just cant get over that place, pretty neat food, weddings, city palace, amber fort, 100gm quilts, multani mitti saris, food at LMB, Bad airport, late flights, wanna go back:)

All-in-all,i think ive had a superb time, just a taste of the place, but thats left me wanting more. Now suffering perils of overdosing on wedding food, alien water and gol gappas. My stomach needs some well deserved rest...

Deep thoughts...

I had a very typical me conversation with a friend recently which made me think (a rare occurence and a life threatening one as such strenuous activity may likely kill the two surviving brain cells of mine)

Me: ...Dont understand anything u said...
Friend: Supposing there are X and Y, and you are good friends with person X. And dont really care abt person Y. Supposing person X kills person Z. You will be more accepting towards that scenario rather than if person Y killed Z
Me: What if i like Person Z more than person X...
Friend: Even then. You will be more accepting because X is your friend.
Me: But i have a logical question. If person X kills person Z, how can person Y kill Z as well. You cant kill a dead person, you know...
(I imaging said friend must have been driven up the wall with my flippancy)

But flippancy aside, this conversation got me thinking (yeah - the dreaded word again...One brain cell gasping for breath already).

Its all about relationships and perception. I should use the word equation, to be more apt. Coz you have equations at the work place, and relationships outside it. And my thought centred around work and the workplace. I noticed that whenever i have a "mentor", "buddy", "great dude" equation with someone, i tend to overlook their obvious unprofessional conduct at times. The exact same mistake or one of a lesser intensity committed by a person with who i share a more "duh" "uncool" "who cares about him" "what an idiot" equation, i treat like it is the biggest mistake since Bush (Sr and Jr) attacked Iraq. And i do consider that a HUGE mistake. Rather like most of the marks i score on my exams (there comes flippancy again...)

So whats so deep about all this? Nothing. I knew this even before this conversation happened. But i realised something more. In case a positive equation has turned, or is turning, negative, then i go all out to nitpick and ensure that i completely turn against the person. At least mentally. Not the greatest thing to do. But there it is. And i refuse to accept that its only me. Im pretty sure, the rate at which someone comes crashing down from a pedestral is far higher than the rate at which they got there. And more importantly, once the fall starts, it is the viewer who pushes the idol down faster.

That brings us to rebuilding: resurrecting equations which have turned sour vis-a-vis relationships that started sour is far more difficult. After all in the latter case, there is no way to go but up. And in the former case, well, disillusionment is the hardest phase of any equation to get over...

Well so much for deep thoughts. Lets go back to flippancy...
wonder why it is that when i pack my stuff, my cleanser always leaks, but my toner stays intact...

The good ol' island life...

Salamat Pagi...

The first thing i hear from every person in this country. And of course the giggles. They giggle for everything. I think we should rename this country Gigolasia rather than Indonesia. Apparently its the most corrupt country in the world. But in the past three years (Touch Wood) i havent really had to face anything personally in my short trips here...

This is my first trip to Jakarta though. My three day jaunt in 2004 doesnt qualify. This time around i understood much more of this country which is so similar to India. I understand now what "island time" is. A concept i had read in every book that mentioned hawaii, fiji or bali. After three years, i finally understand it. Most of these guys dont hurry. They have no place to reach or no reason to be the first ones there. ALl this means 1.5 hour lunches, discussions on indian population, Shah Rukh Khan and loads of shopping.

That brings me to the next thing about this country. The most consumerist country i have seen. After including Singapore and Dubai. As a friend here says, people either are in office, or in malls.
Every conceivable brand has a presence. Its an expensive country. Newspapers cost Rp5000, which translates to Rs.10/- or 60cents. And if u convert 120 USD, u are a millionaire. Such is the exchange rate here.

What else...I dont stay in Jakarta. Stay in a place called Bekasi which is in the neighbouring province , travel to another area called Cikarang. Its an industrial area with huge industrial estates. And my driver here tells me that Bajaj and TVS are starting motor bike factories.

Indians are pretty few and far between here, as is Indian food. Vegetarian food is next to non-existent. Cap Cai (pronounced Chap Chai) and Gado-Gado are veg things u can get...

I like this country though. Coz its friendly. Coz its liberal despite being the largest Islamic nation in the world. Coz all my favorite stores are here. Coz the roads are smooth. Coz its island life...Coz im away from the usual grind. This place always makes me stop and think whether im a loner after all...or is it that i dont need the same people around me all the time. Coz i think i enjoy myself most when im travelling alone. Not that i like being alone in the country where i am. I just prefer the company of locals rather than finding "one of our own". Am sure that if i was travelling with someone from office, or home, i wouldnt have seen half the places ive seen in this country. Or eaten half the things ive eaten as well... Something to ponder about..

Reactions...

“First it was weapons of mass destruction. Then when there were none, it was that we had to find Saddam. We did that, but then it was that we had to put him on trial,” said Spc. Thomas Sheck, 25, who is on his second tour in Iraq. “So now, what will be the next story they tell us to keep us over here?”

Beautiful chartered accountants wanted...

I get these arbit mails based on some old cv of mine on some jobsite...The latest one took me by surprise...read on (With my comments in bold of course)

"An upcoming Chartered Accountant firm is looking for a Chartered Accountant on a fees-sharing basis. The selected candidate will have the opprotunity to grow as a Partner in the firm later, depending on the merit. They ae looking for a beautiful female Chartered Accountant (very fair colour) with excellent personality, communication skills etc.. She shall be operating from her home and the client places at their cities. The candidate may have to travel to nearby palces occassionaly {DUH - Is this a job ad or a matrimonial one}

She will be required to carry out the Accounting , Auditing and Company Secretarial Work of the client Companies and also liason with the Banks and Auditors of the Company. She shall be familiar with Talley Accounting package, a little bit of Taxation, and good computer skills. {I can see where the beauty can be useful...wonder wot liasoning is required}

The candidate may also have to handle various Finance onsulting related assignments for the client companies.

The candidate shall be extermely beautiful,very fair in colour and look, comfortable with modern dressing styles and broadminded with modern lifestyle, with excellent Communication skills and Computer skills. She shall be willing to work late hours as and when required. {Me thinks this advt was put up by one lecherous old man who wanted a babe to "partner" him...a la "Mona Darling" ishtyle}

Requirements
..............

• ...The candidate shall be extermely beautiful, with excellent Communication skills and Computer skills
  {while we are at that, why dont we define her features, bust size, hip size, waist size as well}

And in case you dont believe me...check it out urself...

http://in.jobstreet.com/jobs/2006/12/default/60/1254941.htm?fr=L

Do you think i can sue them for being sexist and asking for unrelated qualifications for a CA...besides a beautiful CA is a paradox:)

All hail google

First it was google the search engine
......then came desktop search
...then came gmail
...then came google talk
...then google talk on gmail
...Picassa...Orkut...U tube...the list is endless

...But what i like best today is my google homepage. I have every useful tool imaginable put on it...My google homepage is more organized than my office desk is, or my whole life is...Kinda sorta looks like this

I actually added stuff to "timepass" and for "useful tools" like time zone converter, currency converter and all the useful things u need but can never see in one page.

Jeez...does google have an openeing for a useless consult who knows nothing, but can project like she knows everything??? ill work for peanuts, if its google (not adwords though - i have to be a bit picky here)

:) Im lou-ing it!!!

The story of my life...

A new day dawns...All of 26 n counting...

SpiceJet flight delayed...835 AM flight delayed to 10 AM

BSNL , Tata Indicom and Kingfisher WIFI in airport dont work. Damn these tall claims and false promises. Kinda like the rest of the ppl in my life.

SpiceJet (new addition to My HAL - Hated Airline List) takes off. No cookies served this time. Useless ppl.

My neighbours on board: curly head and elbow-scratcher. Ever noticed how small things are irritating??? My neighbour # 2 scratched his elbow through out the flight. Gawd....

My Neighbour # 1 of the curly hair which probably was louse infested kept sleeping with his head drooping onto my shoulder.

And in the midst of this, i start pondering my life with three not so universal questions...

Question No 1: What is the HCF between Movies, Paani Puri and Egypt?
Answer: There are only two people in the whole world whom i can spontaenously ask to go out for these . And both would typically say yes...Sadly ones in Dilli and one is in Mumbai. And sadder is the fact that in 26 years, i have only 2 people who i dare ask this question to...

Question No 2: What is my career lifecycle...
Answer No 2: I can do this alphabetically...

• AAA:Always Amazingly Active
• BBB: Bored Bloody Brainlessly
• CCC: Checking Career Choices
• DDD: Desperate, Dejected delinquents
• EEE Employment escape exit

Question No 3: When would i ever be loyal to an airline

Answer No 3: When the TATAs start an airline company, as long as its customer service department has no one from Tata Indicom

The irony of this is...

What happened post Disembarkation from the airplane

Event 1: SMS from colleague "TATAs to pick up 10% in SpiceJet"

Event 2: Step into office to figure out that im definitely in stage BBB, considering CCC and mostly will graduate into DDD real quick

Event 3: Delhi pal is too away from me to ask for Pani puri, movie or egypt. Mumbai pal is ditto

Now i know why i hate my life on Day 1, Year 26 of this life called Mine....