cluttered desk

and my boss...
all these days at work, I managed to finish the given task within the time alloted for it, get with my boss whenever I got done with a task and talk to him abt the next. Since a week now, I have this parapernalia of things sitting on my desk. Some of which don't actually need to be on my desk, some of which are my completed tasks and need to be moved to someone's desk, some of which I still don't know about. He stops by this morning and says: looks like you are working really hard, appreciate it.
huh?I am actually a little more free than usual :).
keep your desk cluttered, it shows people you are busy?

checked your msgs?

What do you typically do as soon as you reach your office desk in the morning? One of my friends opened my eyes to this:check this one out

ray of hope

find a reason to smile today: mine is gas prices are going down. God! is this country turning me into a capitalist?

strange world

if women are really that bad drivers, why are auto insurance rates for women lower than for men?

last couple of weeks

to live a student life, managing to submit assignments next morning after starting work just the previous night, like now :), sleeping thru' classes, blogging inbetween writing proposals due :)

48 hours

and still going strong. Closed my eyes for 7 hours in the past.. :). Will plough through this week and get back. Next week looks worse. But hey! I graduate in another 3 weeks! Finally getting my school bag off my shoulders and looking at myself in the mirror, I seem very different from what I remember seeing 17 years ago.

now you know why

Here is my reason of interest in the Pope, Christianity et al:
Controveries

Pope Benedict XVI

A new Pope has been elected by the cardinals. After two disappointing black smoke, the people of Vatican rejoice their new leader. Pope Benedict XVI is a german and somehow at this point all I can think about is about WWII, the Jews and the Germans..and here is a german, to lead the entire community of Christians, a religious head to the millions of followers all around the world, a hope to many and a strength to the others. I read he is a strict defender of Catholic orthodoxy. Now would he appeal for unity among the entire mankind while being strictly orthodox. He has called modern trends Godless, how would he keep faith among his followers when they are bathed in mordern trends and technologies? It is sure going to be quite a task.

Another wish

Happy SriRama Navami

In the Hindu Sampradhaya, Astami and Navami are actually considered inauspicious days. So, it seems these two days went to Maha Vishnu and cried out their woes-"Everyone in this universe considers us inauspicious. No one wants to start any new venture or make a new investment on our days. We feel neglected and dejected. After all, we also signify some days in the calendar. Please help us, O Protector of the Universe". Maha Vishnu smiled and granted a boon to each of these two days. And guess what?The Supreme Lord was born in two of his most prominent avatars on these two days: Janmaashtami and Ramanavami. Indeed, he listens to our prayers.

ps:Astami and Navami actually mean the 8th and the 9th day since the Lord goes to war with the evil forces. I am not sure why they were considered inauspicious the first place. But my mom always tells me to remember not to do anything new on these two days.hmm..intriguing

learning experience

Neiman Marcus was an eye opener. A true learning experience..We met the top guys in the company, the VP of Operations, IT, Systems..All of them, very learned, very experienced. The one thing in life is very clear, one never stops learning. It just hit me that even for them to be talking those jargons, those fundaes..they need to learn, to read and comprehend. True to the saying: Genius is the capacity to say complicated things in simple words. It is a never ending run, like on a treadmill. Run to stay in place.

its 5.30 in the morning

and I am running around to go on a field trip, 5.30 on a friday morning!
I know it is not as bad as Ross's position, but hey, still it is 5.30 in the morning on a freaking friday!!!

as we sit idle

my roomie & another friend of mine are talking about their life, love, relationships.. I suddenly realize that there are flavors, even in love. There are strawberries, vanilla, french vanilla, lemon..well, I would write more but...
ps:my other roomie is seriously working on her project on Oracle.

Wishing you..

Iniya Tamizh Puthandu Nalvazthukkal!

awaiting eyes

The waiter showed her the table. She sat down and ordered his favorite cup of tea and looked out of the big french windows, awaiting him. The shy and coy girl that she was, she surprised herself when she started thinking about him..so much. He wasn't exactly her knight in shining armor, her prince charming. But she was falling in love with him, she could feel herself blush whenever she remembered the way it all started..
Three months ago, when she joined this company, she felt like a little fish in a large pool of sharks. She was shy, but not dumb. She met him during the official lunch. He was heading the team in the other project, pretty big, pretty successful. His confidence instantly won her. She noticed how he looked at her and through time how he touched her in his own small gestures, sending her signs. The magical mixture of confidence and timidity in a man so powerful was irresistable. And finally, they spoke both through words and through silence. It was too good to be true, although he wasn't exactly like what she had wanted, it seemed almost like a fairy tale.
Like it was to happen, the dream came to an end, she was woken up, pretty roughly, a little rudely. He was there, with another girl, laughing, playing. As she walked up to him, he gave a wide grin. But the smile faded away from his copine's face. She gave a friendly smile and pretended to be just leaving.
She clung to her dream, she couldn't live in her reality. He had promised he would come, to see her at the coffee house where it had all started, at the seat where they had talked endlessly about everything from politics to philosophy. She just sat there, awaiting him..looking at every person passing through the door, searching every face on the streets. He would come, he would walk through the door and smile as he sat down. He would order his favorite cup of tea and get right ahead with a controversial discussion, tease her or just tell her his days events. She would wait, no matter how long it took her. Her eyes, they aren't tired of waiting..not yet..

and then there are smiles..

Knowing that no matter how the wind blows, there are still some flowers whose scents just don't dissolve away in the wind.
I can't help but smile, inspite of being called nagging :)

of my box of samosas

Herez what my friend has to say about my dream proposal with a box of samosas:

"but i guess if i had a box of them.. i would just eat it too much trouble to invite somebody else to share it with u :p and then u complicate life"

Hahahaha, Hmm, how come I never thought about that? what can I say? Guys of these days are pretty smart. Again, my friend, remember, gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins.

untitled

actually here to do some work. I realize after about two months that I haven't been efficient (or rather as efficient as I could have been) since sometime now. Sitting at home and hoping to work some how doesn't happen to me. Isn't work like a never ending task. Just as I finish one on my 'to-do' list, I seem to keep adding couple more! Work smarter, not harder..now how can that be done?
like I said, need to get back. I am in my 'efficiency' mood.
happy working to the ppl in time zones sane enough to work!

respect for time

Just how many times have you been frustrated with people not keeping up their time? I noticed a problem of another kind, I find people not respecting my time. Or simply "I was busy, Sorry". Well, hello, I am too. Doesn't it become a lot more simpler if all of us realized that everyone around us is probably as busy as us and give them their time and respect for it?

whatz with google news?

Noticing too much of news from Xinhuanet(english). Commie it is!

oh, wow, what a weekend

It was a crazy one. Just before hitting my bed and waking up to a new work week, I reflect on this weekend. What can I say?Well,I cleared two very big questions in my life, ran through a bunch of other questions. Suddenly, I get this feeling that I am growing up :). Probably my brain is growing from that of a 20 year old to actually what I am now (yeah, like any woman, I can't tell you how old I am!). How long would this relevation last?Good question :)

king of torts

this is exciting, just a couple of weeks after I finished the book entitled the above, I find this on news.google.com. Is there a King of Torts or a bunch of tort lawyers making bundles of green on this deal?

and some days...

I have been trying to get my driver's licence since about a week now. I started out on a venture on Wednesday morning. We booked a car with a car rental agency and waited for them to come and pick us up early wednesday morning. As luck would have it, they "couldn't see" our reservation. After a good wait of about 1 hour, we got a ride to the rental agency and to our horror, she showed us a Grand AM(!) to drive. Consolation=you have to pay only for a compact...errr.little did she know how good I am at driving a car as small as a citroen itself! We vigorously shook our heads against taking that and offered to wait for sometime.
The wait delayed on another 20 mins after which she found us a Chevy Malibu, but somewhere else and offered to drive us to that spot to pick it up. Meanwhile, one of my smart friends called up the driving licence office and found out that there were no slots for test. Dejected, we came back home. A bright idea struck me and with the help of my friend, I managed to reach another licence office in `h the afternoon. After a good wait of 1.5 hours, milady licence testing officer showed up after lunch. To cut short the description of my test..I failed. Actually, that is the longest description that I can give about my exam. I am probably the fatest person to fail in the history of driving licence test takers! But hey, blame that lady. She doesn't even smile, For Heaven's sake! and she talks to me as though I am a convict who needs to be straightened! How else can a frightened soul perform then?
It took me 24 hours to pick up threads of life again and venture out on another tryst to get my licence. Well, this time the story is longer. We drove out further away, hoping to get as far as we took from grumpy, stern, unfriendly licence test officers. We landed in a quaint little town of Navasota. I was thrilled as the office seemed empty, it was a bright friday morning, early 8.00 a.m, coffee smelt fresh and everything was crisp and clear. My spirits arose at the thought of being able to go back home as a licensed driver. My cheerful spirit began to rub off on the workers in that officers. I had a very interesting conversation about the remedies for weak hair, natural conditioners and shampoos, mom's recipe for a healthy hair with a jolly, plump lady sitting at one of the counters. She was filled with awe at the extent to which women take hair care seriously in India. I couldn't stop myself and went on with the description of shoeflowers, hibiscus(well, they are the same, aren't they?), gooseberries, lime, tamarind, took trouble to explain shikakai and the whole kit of hair care to this lady. Time slowly ticked and reached 9.30. I was getting impatient as the office was supposed to open at 9.00, but continued to talk to this curious woman in that quiet town. 9.45, slowly the door opens, another beaming lady in bright colors. She is all smiles, well, she would be. Infact, she should have been laughing at a fool like me. The computers were down! No test that day at that Center! You think I should have called and then gone? No, the trick is that that office is open ONLY on Fridays and we have to come in for appointments. Now you think I don't live in the US itself!!! Hell, no! I live in Texas!
But guess what? My hair care lady wouldn't see me this disappointed in life. She quickly gives me directions to reach Bryan DPS, painfully detailing every little road en route. If only I could have said "I AM FROM THERE, LADY!!!!". Ok, breathe , breathe..calmed myself down and quickly rushed to the DPS at Bryan.
Now, you must know the reputation of this (in)famous DPS. NO ONE, I repeat , No One gets a licence at the first try. You simply CANNOT drive right the first time with this office. YOU are a "dangerous" driver and that is why your licence is refused..as many as 6 times(I am not kidding, please ask the resident of #53). If not for his driving skill, this guy deserves a licence atleast for his persistence. Okay, safe driving is important. Thatz why I agreed to go and give it a shot at Bryan. Waiting, waiting and suddenly I see my grumpy lady from the `h driving office!Oh, quick, hide me..dint work. She had issues with us driving in the same rental car. I gave up, I was in no mood of arguing with her. Well, I need to be benevolent. So, waited for my friend to take the test on that car..he could and don't even get me started on this one.
Wait, wait..he was calling. Oh?huh?are you serious?wait..coming. And guess what? Our battery was down..I was in splits by now. The state trooper pitied us and jump started our car. I am sure the car was chuckling its belly away..she behaved pretty well on the quick drive. Left her running and while I checked for another slot for myself with the agent. Oh, yeah right, I forgot to tell you, she just told me that even my friend can't take the test in this car, as it misbehaved in the first place. Hmm..well, let me alteast get to my presentation. I was totally amazed at how calm I was during the entire ordeal. I actually started humming some of my favorite tunes.
After my presentation, I thot I would give one more shot at this thing. #l offered me a ride, but she had another appointment first. Okay, wait wait..more wait and oh no, slight delay. We still wanted to make it..drove drove, oh no, wrong turn, but okay, still persistent. Reached the office 5 mins late..greeted with "sorry, you have missed your appointment. I have no other open slot for today." By now, I had forgotten that I could have gotten upset at such situations. I took it in as normal as you kow, this writing and said, "can I call on monday and come back?". "No, come to our office, check, you may have a slot".
And what do you think?I would go on monday?

first rays of dusk

After more than three months, I am seeing the rays of dusk. I am usually in a class and never get to see the sun set. I have always enjoyed dawn and dusk. The first few rays of sunlight as they softly touch every blade of grass. And come dusk, the entire sky is painted orange, red, yellow, all colors splashed across the sky. I would miss all this so much once I get to work. Well, yeah, that is my career, my profession, looking forward to doing some exciting work, learning, (et oui, le $ aussi), mais, how much do I have to give up for that?
hmm..wonder how one would learn to draw the line..or as joey says,would I go so far away that the line would be a dot? :)

times ahead..

The Vatican now seems much more powerful that it ever did to me before. The entire process of electing a new Pope seems to be the culmination of various agendas, two of the most powerful ones being Religion and Politics. Being a religious head for over a billion faithful followers, influencing world leaders and their decisions, bringing down certain types of governments, holding a stand even if it meant danger..all under the umbrella of faith and religion. It is difficult to imagine how the religious leader shoulders such conflicting responsibilities which requires measures which sometimes might be condemned and critized by their his own followers.
Although human beings perish, their acts are scarred throughout the face of this earth and one cannot run and hide from these. Pope John Paul II has mentioned about how the acts of Christians in the past against Jewish need repentance in the present. It scares me how we are going to look like 1000 years from now. Inspite of the mistakes of WWI and WWII, we still had the Gulf War and made another mistake of even bigger magnitude two years ago. Would we continue to make such mistakes?
It seems as though there is a destructive interference at the point where religion and politics meet. The roads to be walked down seem more challenging and difficult

capitalism and monopoly

I had an arguement with one of my friends some time ago about capitalism and monopolistic markets. My theory (though I am not sure if there are papers that would prove this theory) is that capitalism encourages monopoly. The look I recieved from him was that of a completely shaken learned soul giving me the feeling that I made the gravest of mistakes that I possibly can for this life.
Just my train of thoughts:
Capitalism -> minimum interference from the government. Markets are mostly laissez-faire and information is freely available(well, ideally). There are equal opportunities available to every player in the market. In the real world, if one closely look at the governments in such countries, they find them interefering little with the markets. Thereby, players begin to grow or consolidate into big players. Governments do not hold a big stake in even the big industries and the players eventually evolve into a market leader and a follower. Now, if the market leader is much bigger than its follower, we have a monopoly. Since Europe is socialistic (and communistic, in a few places) cannot see to stand this result of capitalistic society, Microsoft is having trouble in EU and paying nearly 500 million euros.
In effect, wouldn't a capitalistic society encourage monopoly?

emails

Ever written a mail to yourself?Telling your heart what your mind speaks, resolving the conflict between the two, laughing over a joke about yourself told by yourself,simply enjoying being you?

samosas or roses

Still giggling at my own comment that I would rather accept the proposal of a guy with a box of samosas than a bunch of roses!

Sadness

on the loss of one of the world's greatest men, a pontiff, a true hope to world peace. The Pope was a hope to this world, a bearer of the torch to humanity and his demise is indeed a great loss to mankind.

lost!

a great blog, thanks to the error in engineering(??).
grace de www.blogger.com, merci!