It has long been my desire to drive one of the better innovations of man...the car...I was happy to start with a modest Maruthi 800 and obtained a licence as early (!) as last December...It was months after the 'Test' that I was behind the steering again...My mother took a brave decision to come along with me for a short drive...Ignition went on well...First gear...full clutch, half clutch, accelerator, this mirror , that mirror...there seemed to be whole lot of simultaneous actions...(multi-tasking??!) Just when I thought I had completed all these, the engine gave up...I looked at my mom...She seemed as patient as ever...'Never mind..try again...'
Feeling encouraged, I gave it another shot....This time everything worked...and the car inched forward...Relief...! There was a sudden violent jerk and the engine gave up..again...! Puzzling...I thought! 'You let go of the clutch too soon...' Wisdom! I gave a stupid smile and started the process again...Things were much rosier this time...First gear, wonderful start and it was time for the second gear...! We were on the road now...'Keep the steering steady' my mom said, frantically signalling....'Yes ma..dont worry...' I said and cautiously stepped on the accelerator...'DONT do that...keep the speed at 20...' There was a slight tinge of exasperation in her voice...all of a sudden, a guy on a cycle sprung out of nowhere....'BRAKKKKKEEEE' The pitch had increased considerably now...I could hear my heart beat...faster by many times...
'Ok..go straight...' Keep it straight..I kept telling myself...I spotted a fishcart going right ahead of me...Attempting an overtake, I swerved a bit...I expected my mom to say something...When I stole a glance at her, she was sitting with her eyes tightly closed and her hands on her head...as if she was about to witness a cruel manslaughter...!! It was too late when I realized the reason for her action...The rear of the fishcart had made a dirty scratch...and the car now seemed headed straight towards a lamp post...My mom pulled the hand brake and and steered us out of danger...!!!
'You need to take more classes...' my mom said...that was putting it way too lightly...'I'll end up becoming hypertensive if I go with her before she gets more training...!' I heard her say, as she narrated the incident to my dad....
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Missing the Action
It must be some kind of Murphy's laws at play! When the whole nation was praying for rain in Bangalore, the sun shone brightly and the Australians cruised to a victory...And when it looked like India might just pull it off this time, it rained in...Chennai!!! I've nearly forgotten what it means when it 'rains in Chennai'...I vaguely remember a week-long holiday due to a cyclone when I was in primary school...And the times when our school bus was caught in the flooded subway and we had to waddle across to reach home...!!
Missing 'rain in Chennai'...dearly!
Still..'Match Abandoned' seemed unfair!...The optimistic in me said, the series would have ended (!!) had India lost...! After all one can never trust these guys!...It was around 2 in the morning when a friend messaged 'Veerappan shot dead'....Disgusted at the disturbance, I messaged back..'Are you drunk?!' and switched off the mobile!! But I couldnt get the thought out of my head...I woke up early, to have a look at the newspaper...Sure enough, 'Veerappan shot dead' made the headlines...I couldnt help wondering what major ripples this would have caused in Chennai...All news channels would be talking about it...There might have been a couple of villagers saying how they were terrorized...and of course, the STF junta on their 'heroic deed'!!! Well...mebbe thats just missing the TV !!! I wanted to hear what the uncle downstairs thought of it..Being a staunch supporter of the ruling party, he would have lauded the efforts of the CM...and I surely missed the discussion my parents and grandpa had on all such important issues...!!! Everyone who came home or called would air their views...and with inputs from all the 'news-hungry' channels, the discussion would rage on....
Missing all the action...surely!
Missing 'rain in Chennai'...dearly!
Still..'Match Abandoned' seemed unfair!...The optimistic in me said, the series would have ended (!!) had India lost...! After all one can never trust these guys!...It was around 2 in the morning when a friend messaged 'Veerappan shot dead'....Disgusted at the disturbance, I messaged back..'Are you drunk?!' and switched off the mobile!! But I couldnt get the thought out of my head...I woke up early, to have a look at the newspaper...Sure enough, 'Veerappan shot dead' made the headlines...I couldnt help wondering what major ripples this would have caused in Chennai...All news channels would be talking about it...There might have been a couple of villagers saying how they were terrorized...and of course, the STF junta on their 'heroic deed'!!! Well...mebbe thats just missing the TV !!! I wanted to hear what the uncle downstairs thought of it..Being a staunch supporter of the ruling party, he would have lauded the efforts of the CM...and I surely missed the discussion my parents and grandpa had on all such important issues...!!! Everyone who came home or called would air their views...and with inputs from all the 'news-hungry' channels, the discussion would rage on....
Missing all the action...surely!
A ringtone!
I never realized the advantages of having a nasty and irritating ring tone for my mobile...The incident that brought about this realization happened on Monday morning. Just as I walked in, a team member cautioned..'Be careful, ur MAN(ager!!)was here till 11 last night...Surely, some problem!'...I had just finished my first round of checking mails, when the phone rang...Good thing these are caller-ID phones, I thought..It was my MAN...and I didnt pick it up..I thought I'd be ready for whatever it was after a cup of coffee...and I went to get one...The phone rang again...it seemed to ring more hurriedly this time...May be there is a direct relation between the speed of punching numbers and the frequency of the ring tone!! (Bad Logic!)..Summoning all the courage I could muster, I picked up it up!...'Hello, What's happening with that thing?'..and so on....The voice at the other end was determined to do all the speaking and as the pitch rose, I shifted the earpiece away from my ear...! crazy MAN...what can I do if the system crashed because of a 'fatal hardware error'...,the hardware helpdesk junta had been completely oblivious to my situation and hadnt come to have a look even after a whole day of complaining! These things seemed to be quite beyond my control! I decided it wasnt my mistake and MAN just cannot scream at me...After all, am NOT an employee (yet!)....The barrage now seemed endless...
On a sudden brainwave,I grabbed my cell phone and let it play the nagging ringtone I had set to irritate my friends...I brought the phone closer to the earpiece so that the MAN could also hear it!!! He responded...'Are you getting a call?'...I was about to say, 'Yes..it's my mom..' but as something struck (wow! a day of brainwaves!) I said 'It's another intern's cell and she isnt here....' It was totally irritating...! It seemed to frustrate him all the more...A sure case of hypertension and BP, I thought!... He couldnt carry the conversation any further and hung up after the usual 'We'll discuss this later!'..and I couldnt bear the ring tone even that long!!!!
On a sudden brainwave,I grabbed my cell phone and let it play the nagging ringtone I had set to irritate my friends...I brought the phone closer to the earpiece so that the MAN could also hear it!!! He responded...'Are you getting a call?'...I was about to say, 'Yes..it's my mom..' but as something struck (wow! a day of brainwaves!) I said 'It's another intern's cell and she isnt here....' It was totally irritating...! It seemed to frustrate him all the more...A sure case of hypertension and BP, I thought!... He couldnt carry the conversation any further and hung up after the usual 'We'll discuss this later!'..and I couldnt bear the ring tone even that long!!!!
Thursday, October 07, 2004
A match...
Have a laugh!
As such I was feeling a little depressed that day...It worsened after a ragging session (read meeting with guide!)..What a man..I thought...Does he work or not?! He spent some 2hrs boring details into my head..(I even made a polite request to grab a cup of coffee...just to indicate that am getting tired of the whole thing!)After lunch, the argumentative comments on my previous blog gave little respite...One learned and enlightened soul initiated it and another followed suit...! Just when I started thinking about all that the two had written, the phone rang. 'Hello' a familiar voice said,' We have a TT match in another 10 mins..Care to join.??' I jumped at the opportunity...
I couldnt recollect the last match I played...was it the one I played sometime in 11th or 12th at the stuffy 'Silver Jubilee Hall' of our school ?!Well.. there were a couple of matches in the common room...but not 'real' ones..!
The match started off..and I quickly figured out that my opponent was even less comfortable with the bat than me! It all went on well...and it looked like I'd win easily...great serves..(well..it's relative..)The score was 18-16 in my favour...A few careless, overconfident 'would-be-smashes' landed in the next table to bring up the score to a 18-all...Then..a voice called '18-All..' Acting impulsively,I turned to look at the chap...Hmm..looks good..I thought...and I missed a shot...'This is not going to work..Better concentrate..' I told myslef and netted a serve! Oh my god..am NOT going to lose...Then came another shot..sprinting a couple of times over the net and landing after two bounces...
I was looking at the new referee!
After the match, I tried to spot the handsome referee, who seemed to have vanished into the crowd...He appeared all of a sudden with a cup of coffee and said..'you played well..''Thanks',I said...keeping my face as serious as possible...'Your friend could have fought in the other match..' referring to the mixed doubles we splooched...'May be..',I said....'Ok! nice meeting you..have to meet my girl friend now...!' 'oh ya..nice meeting you too..' I said and packed my bags and left...
Depression....again...!
As such I was feeling a little depressed that day...It worsened after a ragging session (read meeting with guide!)..What a man..I thought...Does he work or not?! He spent some 2hrs boring details into my head..(I even made a polite request to grab a cup of coffee...just to indicate that am getting tired of the whole thing!)After lunch, the argumentative comments on my previous blog gave little respite...One learned and enlightened soul initiated it and another followed suit...! Just when I started thinking about all that the two had written, the phone rang. 'Hello' a familiar voice said,' We have a TT match in another 10 mins..Care to join.??' I jumped at the opportunity...
I couldnt recollect the last match I played...was it the one I played sometime in 11th or 12th at the stuffy 'Silver Jubilee Hall' of our school ?!Well.. there were a couple of matches in the common room...but not 'real' ones..!
The match started off..and I quickly figured out that my opponent was even less comfortable with the bat than me! It all went on well...and it looked like I'd win easily...great serves..(well..it's relative..)The score was 18-16 in my favour...A few careless, overconfident 'would-be-smashes' landed in the next table to bring up the score to a 18-all...Then..a voice called '18-All..' Acting impulsively,I turned to look at the chap...Hmm..looks good..I thought...and I missed a shot...'This is not going to work..Better concentrate..' I told myslef and netted a serve! Oh my god..am NOT going to lose...Then came another shot..sprinting a couple of times over the net and landing after two bounces...
I was looking at the new referee!
After the match, I tried to spot the handsome referee, who seemed to have vanished into the crowd...He appeared all of a sudden with a cup of coffee and said..'you played well..''Thanks',I said...keeping my face as serious as possible...'Your friend could have fought in the other match..' referring to the mixed doubles we splooched...'May be..',I said....'Ok! nice meeting you..have to meet my girl friend now...!' 'oh ya..nice meeting you too..' I said and packed my bags and left...
Depression....again...!
'Intern'al Wisdom!
Life as an Intern...(it sounds better that way..!)has made me a lot wiser...Some examples...
1.The manager always talks more but understands little..!
2.If the manager can spend over 2hrs talking to interns like me, he probably has no team of his own!
3.Never call your manager over phone to find out if you can meet him...He will most likely be in an 'important meeting'...! always prefer surprise landings (who is checking on whom now..!!)
4.The tried and tested method of ls/dir -ing REALLY works!
5.Company policies should always be kept in mind...Never tell anyone what your 'confidential' project is about...(It's quite a different thing that you don't know much about it yourself!)
6.Whenever asked to explain what you have been doing, dont do the mistake of answering in a single sentence...Go on and on and on...about how you started the system, how you had to 'double-check' and 'cross-check' all details (that shows how systematic you are!!!) and all other things that you think should have gone into that one day's work making it seem that you were working on it 'sincerely' since the time you last met your manager!
7.(B)log files really help! (he!he!)
8.Be a sport...The manager doesnt really mean to hurt you...It's just that he is in foul mood because he had a nasty fight with his wife!
9.Try not to leave office before 8.p.m..After all where else can you sit in peace, listen to songs and browse the net..all free of cost..!!?
10.Call up your manager now and then and ask strange, esoteric doubts. He was never involved in your project and never will be...so no thoughts on this...all that he'll do is..'Read up a bit more on that'...and you can spend the whole week on 'reading' and 'more reading'!
11.If your project involves dumb coding, life has never been easier...just tell your mentor that you are 'debugging'!
12.Presentations have to carefully handled...Act SMART...but dont overdo it!
1.The manager always talks more but understands little..!
2.If the manager can spend over 2hrs talking to interns like me, he probably has no team of his own!
3.Never call your manager over phone to find out if you can meet him...He will most likely be in an 'important meeting'...! always prefer surprise landings (who is checking on whom now..!!)
4.The tried and tested method of ls/dir -ing REALLY works!
5.Company policies should always be kept in mind...Never tell anyone what your 'confidential' project is about...(It's quite a different thing that you don't know much about it yourself!)
6.Whenever asked to explain what you have been doing, dont do the mistake of answering in a single sentence...Go on and on and on...about how you started the system, how you had to 'double-check' and 'cross-check' all details (that shows how systematic you are!!!) and all other things that you think should have gone into that one day's work making it seem that you were working on it 'sincerely' since the time you last met your manager!
7.(B)log files really help! (he!he!)
8.Be a sport...The manager doesnt really mean to hurt you...It's just that he is in foul mood because he had a nasty fight with his wife!
9.Try not to leave office before 8.p.m..After all where else can you sit in peace, listen to songs and browse the net..all free of cost..!!?
10.Call up your manager now and then and ask strange, esoteric doubts. He was never involved in your project and never will be...so no thoughts on this...all that he'll do is..'Read up a bit more on that'...and you can spend the whole week on 'reading' and 'more reading'!
11.If your project involves dumb coding, life has never been easier...just tell your mentor that you are 'debugging'!
12.Presentations have to carefully handled...Act SMART...but dont overdo it!
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Then and now.!
Generations to come will scarce believe that such
a one as this walked the earth in flesh and blood.
-Albert Einstein about Gandhi
On October 2nd, I read a wonderful article on Gandhi and watched a movie depicting Kamaraj's life...Undoubtedly, both made me think! Looking at the newspapers, I couldnt help but notice the really huge, ever widening gap between statesmen of yesteryears and the politicians now! The idea of 'service to the nation' has been diluted over the years. It's more of 'self-service' than 'selfless service'....
There is an insatiable quest for power that overrides all other factors. Party ideals no longer play a major role. Politicians today are better known for their brawn power than the brain power....
Where is all this leading to?! Things can be changed only with a revival of true democracy. It calls for greater involvement by people from all strata of the society...Politicians need to be made more accountable...Rowdyism and politics have to separated...We need civilised and educated politicians to lead the country....
It just cannot go on like this....!
a one as this walked the earth in flesh and blood.
-Albert Einstein about Gandhi
On October 2nd, I read a wonderful article on Gandhi and watched a movie depicting Kamaraj's life...Undoubtedly, both made me think! Looking at the newspapers, I couldnt help but notice the really huge, ever widening gap between statesmen of yesteryears and the politicians now! The idea of 'service to the nation' has been diluted over the years. It's more of 'self-service' than 'selfless service'....
There is an insatiable quest for power that overrides all other factors. Party ideals no longer play a major role. Politicians today are better known for their brawn power than the brain power....
Where is all this leading to?! Things can be changed only with a revival of true democracy. It calls for greater involvement by people from all strata of the society...Politicians need to be made more accountable...Rowdyism and politics have to separated...We need civilised and educated politicians to lead the country....
It just cannot go on like this....!
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