In search of myself...

This course called Finite Element Analysis (FEA) in the third semester of my M.Tech programme at IIT Madras has brought turmoil into an otherwise peacefully advancing season. A little thought into it has yielded the following results. This does not have to do anything with the professor or anyone else concerned with the course. It is only sheer incompetence on my part that has produced such magnanimous returns. The professor was always helpful to students and was very sincere with the course, quite on the contrary to what I was. Advantages of having done the course: 1. Mastered the Greek alphabet. 2. Killed enough time during the third semester. 3. Admired the "babes" that attended class. 4. Learnt how to use 'printf', 'scanf', 'if - else' and 'for' loops in C. 5. Interacted with my own classmates for more time. 6. Another blog in my list. Disadvantages of the choice: 1. Spoilt one good course that I could have opted...

The feeling, I am happy has vanished into probably the same place where it came from (read previous post). All credit to two of my good friends. Today's progress with studies was bad too and I wanted one good kick on the butt. I turned to my best friend, my dad. All he said was this :" You have done it before. You can do it again. Your conscience is telling you to study and your mind wants to do exactly the opposite. So, the apathy or the fear, (who cares now what it was) is purely because of your conscience being controlled by your mind. The solution is simple - leave the mind to the conscience. Thats all. There is none equal to you." What he said is tough to implement. But the simplicity of the reason has brought a sea of relief with it and I am in pretty high spirits now. The second is Prakash, my good friend from Chennai, currently employed at Bangalore. He had sent me a mail this morning, enquiring how things were with me. I vented out all my ill-feelings and probabl...

In two days from now, I will probably be writing the last examination in my life. The exam has fallen on a day before the campus placements are supposed to begin and the completion of A5 thesis submission by a good friend of mine (the last from my batch of friends studying at IIT) seems to have deserted me in the war-front. A feeling of insecurity has crept in from thin air and it is putting butterflies into my stomach like never before. The day doesn't seem to pass and nothing of what I am studying is getting into my head. The future seems to be filled with nihility and I am helplessly being sucked into unwanted thoughts. What trait of mine is giving rise to this is unclear. I have been petrified by examinations in the past. This one seems to be different from all of them for I am still not able to differentiate if it is fear or apathy. God save the examination ahead!!!

Visit http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070032045&ch=11/9/2007%208:21:00%20AM For those who cannot access this link, this is an article on how people at a few BPOs "celebrated" Deepavali at work. Those who worked on Deepavali got double pay. And the BPOs actually decided to work as their American and European clientele wanted business as usual. 'Customer Delight' is the word. Would they do the same during Christmas too? A big NO! Christmas is 'THEIR' festival. But isn't it a matter of business? To a majority of Europeans and Americans, nothing is more important than their holidays. There are organizations that shut down operations for about a week during Christmas. Is there, then, anything wrong in asking for business in India during 'OUR' festival? My opinion - NO! Why? Because businessmen are born to make mincemeat of every employee under them. Then whose fault, if any, is it? You guessed it right - the employees who...

I worked with Messrs. Audco India Ltd. prior to my decision to continue my masters and I am reminded of one incident there that had left me open mouthed for a while. This took place a day after I joined. One of the rules in my letter of appointment as Engineer Trainee read, "No leave shall be permitted during the period of training (six bloody months!) whatsoever, unless availed under unavoidable circumstances. I needed to take leave for my Driving Test to get my Driving licence and had to take the third day from joining, off. I approached my product head and explained the situation. This reply of his kept me thinking for the entire day - "Anand, go to SSR of PSD and tell him you have been put under NRV. He will decide if this is CL or LOP". Blistering Barnacles!!! What do I make out from that? I approached a senior with this outrageous statement and he deciphered it for me. "Anand, go to Sowrirajan (SSR was how he was known) of People's Support Department (PSD)...

"PPTs" at IITM stands for pre-placement talks, besides notoriously pointing to useless presentations in Power Point that students here make with expertise, to compensate for loss of marks in the quizzes (periodical tests). This blog is on a pre-placement talk that I had to attend skipping cricket practice for the only reason that I need a job in future to play cricket as well! Messrs. GE had come for the PPT and it all began at 4.45 pm in a hall filled to capacity as this organization is known for mass recruitment. To ease boredom off the relatively long presentation, the representatives had conjured up a few questions to be put to an audience, I am sure, that was eagerly waiting to look only at the slide carrying the package offered. Anyone who gave the right answer would get a cap. I got a cap too! But what was different? I had only heard a part of the question (it wasn't a visual) amidst my slumber - "Which car is it?"Someone from the audience yelled out a na...