Saturday, July 28, 2007

coz there's an incidence in a coincidence.

yesterday was a great day. for one we actualy got out of training on the weekend. i pity the other groups, that havent been able to do. there is sometimes power in small numbers. neway that was enough to lift my spirits. but what made it nicer was meeting a friend that i hadnt met since high school. it was so surreal. i mean of all the places to meet them i met them in times square.(and ive been cribbing about the fact that i cant walk there anymore) and while we were having the "omigod is it really you" moment her sisters were taping the whole thing. made me a little self concious but it was really nice and later on when i met up other friends for dinner, my excitement hadnt worn off.

it really is a small world.

yesterdays highlights included finally eating at a french restaurant. im a bit disappointed that the menu wasnt in french. how unauthentic at that. but the fact that it had weird enough items on the menu, liver mousse, gapazalo (sp!). it was enough to redeem itself. im not so much an experimenter on these things, but my friend who had it really liked the "weird" dishes.

the movie of the week now, chucky and larry. seriously pathetic movie. its not funny. the humor is really crude. and i cant understand how girls would fall for adam sandler who is supposed to be a "ladies man". in other news, the theatre we went to watch is in time square and it had black out. there was no one to guide us out, i mean sure there are exit signs, but it could have caused a major stampede. and then later on many of us were exiting via the escalators rather than the stairs. coz we didnt want to be alone in the dark if the light in the stairway went out. i was really scared that anymoment now someone is going to fall from behind and its going to cause a stampede. im shocked that such a popular place is leeking of safety hazards.

dont watch this movie. only rent it if you love the sitcom guy.

Read more...

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

coz theres a b in business and blogging.

ok so ive decided to start a new blog on the markets, the world economies basically anything i read. This is in no way a recommendation for any asset class(stock picking etc etc). this is really my opinion and sort of like a consolodiation of the information i read so that i understand what im reading and can relate. from time to time i will think outloud and possibly track some stocks and that doesnt mean im endorsing them or am giving recommendation or that i know of any company/bank that is endorsing it. it is solely my opinion. and its more wrong often than right. and im still learning. that being said, i welcome others opinions and advices.

http://laeconomie.blogspot.com

Read more...

Sunday, July 22, 2007

coz ive got one hand in my pocket..and the other one's giving out peace signs.


so the movie of the week is "pardner" or "partner". however you want to spell it. it has to be one of the dumbest movies ive seen all year. and though im not really in a position to be passing judgement,[ but then again im not really forcing millions to watch me]. neway, i have to say salman khan is looking pudgy as hell. either he is overtly happy (katrina kaif) or overtly depressed (aishwarya rai's wedding). either way its bad for him.

govinda is i guess govinda and though he is really trying hard, i dont think its working. the last part i actually fell asleep. ok so hte movie review from what i remember, its a really bad copy of hitch. salman khan is supposedly the all knowing of what women want and is grooming govinda so that he gets katrina. is it just me or is this a match made in bad movies.

i dont want to even get started on lara duttas role. or the lack there of it. rajpal yadav as the "chota don" is funny in parts. katrina kaif is really pretty but doesnt have much to say.

in other news, mini golf is not recognized as much as it should be. it has to be one of the most fun outdoorsy events that i have ever tried. i guess im much more appreciative now of mini golf after having been part of a team that was building one from scratch. isnt that normal though, we value things only when we've actually struggled for it.

Read more...

Friday, July 20, 2007

are we teamwork-challenged?

the last three days feel as i have been on apprentice. we were fifteen teams and were involved in building infrastructure for children's camp.

its always interesting to see how pple are in stressful times. there are some who are unhelpful from the word go. but then there are some who become a bit selfish when the deadline approaches. each his own, i guess. and then there are some, who do well during crunch time. they make a decision and make the best of it. and the end product is well worth it.

so that basically sums up the ice breaker tiring knees scratched feet blistered humid but overall fun teamwork event. the sad part though is children have grown up so much and have been exposed to greater and nicer things and its hard to impress them. its almost like asking someone to settle for snickers bar when they can have a godiva chocolate. (i actually prefer the former..haha) ok perhaps not hte greatest analogy. but there were times where we severely criticized for our work by the children of the camp, even though we had put our heart in it and were so convinced that they would love it. and then there were times where some kids appreciated it and couldnt wait to use all the new projects and were eager to do so.

i guess life is about keeping the majority happy.

Read more...

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

"btw you, whose cell phone is ringing. you're fired." - CEO of my Bank during a presentation when his phone, which was with the secretary, was ringing.

so we had another round of orientation (for the umpteenth time), where we are supposed to meet fellow colleagues from diff depts and different countries. get to know them, learn what they do, enrich ourselves and all that jazz.

this seems all very nice and dandy in paper, but sadly it is far far from it. coz you tend to stick to your own crowd and i think there is nothing more intimidating then going into a roomful of penguins (black coats, white shirts) and not know anyone. ive renamed bankers as penguins, please forgive me sisters (the original penguins)(i.e nuns (my jokes only make sense to me) and if you got this joke, congratulations you are now part of the small percentile that gets my lame sense of humor).

yea, so like i was saying its quite intimidating to go into a roomful of budding bankers and find them clustered in their groups of twos and threes and fours..etc.

one of the first lessons i learnt at business school is to attack the simpler problem. i.e approach the twos rather than the group of sevens, eights etc.


so like an avid student of principle, i do just that.

and this is the conversation that follows (please bear in mind, this is just my shallow opinion, and this steorotype is in no way or form the biblical truth.)

random wannabee desi dude (rwdd) and random abcd dude (rad) talking. i go upto them.
so i can introduce myself.

me: hello, hi my name is H.
rwdd: hi im X
rad: hi im rad.

and then they go back to their conversation, completely ignoring me.

WTF.


ok lets try again...

me : Hi, Im H.
random guy : Hi, Im random guy
me: Ok, so umm..random guy you work out of the London office huh
random guy: yea, you?
me: New york..umm so you work in Y group (group that makes more money than any other group) yea?
random guy: yea, you?
me: Z group (group that doesnt make as much).
random guy: *losing interest now eyes wandering*



WTDF (D is for double)


and the only thing going through my brain, *i can crush you with my thumb* (quote from friends)

one of my biggest problem is usually with other desis. i find desis as a species very competitive and in general dont really have that solidarity type thing that you would see with say the japanese or the chinese. where they actually seek each other out and behave like their long lost relatives. whereas desis, especially girls will eye you so differently. if you have a desi in your team, he probably will try to talk to everyone else but you. i dont understand that. and it really annoys me. cant you just be normal. and why why why do you have a british accent when you have not even touched british soil and have just been recruited to work there recently. please explain this phenomena. i once met a desi who lived in Mumbai all her life, who actually called britain their motherland. okayyy.

moving on.

i shouldnt say that all of them do it, but at least most of the ones ive met at these networking events pretend so much. and as much as i like to stereotype, i hate being stereotyped myself. the bank got a consultant to teach us how to network. other than the inane activities of asking your neighbours dumb questions about them, it also permeated the fact that society and people always have this need to pigeon hole you.

either you are an extrovert or introvert, either democratic or republican, either leader or follower, either black or white, either bully or nerd. i dont get this.

there are sometimes where you might want to lead, other times youd like to follow the herd. some days you dont want to talk to anyone and some days you dont shutup. i dont understand this need to categorize pple. but this isnt a perfect world and the imperfect world needs to categorize for it all to make sense. not to you. but to make sense to others.

neway tomm i have this teamwork event, it almos tmakes me feel like im on the apprentice or something, without the boardroom and donald trump. wish me luck. hope i dont get fired.

Read more...

Thursday, July 12, 2007

coz my inner geek hearts dilbert, and coz there is philosophy in comics.


"i have this theory that everyone has their quota of happiness. Once it runs out, you die" - Scott Adams, Dilbert Comics.

I think Im sort of agreeing with Scott Adams, although Im not too sure if hes being sarcastic or he really means it. not being too morbid, but it sort of makes sense. if u can in fact control your emotions you will lead a more stable life.. i know it sounds weird, coz everyone says you should see the bright side and try and be happy most of the time..but longevity of life is more about how often you are in your natural state.

in emergency situations, its usually the calm who take the lead, who have the ability to think quickly and make the right decision. on the trading floor, its those who can control the feeling of overconfidence and greed or the floaty happy feeling or those who can control the anger, the depression of losing money/self esteem. its those who are the ones who last longer.

Read more...

Sunday, July 08, 2007

movie of the week: my best friend's wedding. (i know little late. but it was on tbs)

and i think my favorite part of the movie is when actually (there are two) when julia roberts confesses that shes done bad and shes the worst there is.

Julianne Potter: I'm pond scum. Well, lower actually. I'm like the fungus that feeds on pond scum.
Michael O'Neill: Lower. The pus that infects the mucus that cruds up the fungus that feeds on the pond scum....On the other hand, thank you for loving me that much, that way. It's pretty flattering.
Julianne Potter: Except it makes me fungus

LOL. Touching.

Then there was the last scene where the newly weds are leaving and he leaves without saying good bye to Julia Roberts(Julianne), and shes a little sad that she cant say goodbye. and then just like that he returns and hugs her and says bye..

awwww...

Read more...

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

waqt hi shayad khuda hai..

havent blogged for a while mainly coz Im walking to work and have plenty of time to think about things happening around that i just dont feel the need to pen them down. anyway we went to watch knocked up and althought i had a lot of reservations about watching it, since im not really a fan of american crude humor. most of the jokes i dont get. but iwas so wrong, the movie yes is a bit crude but is still quite entertaining and a lot of the situations in the movie are true.

anyway the basic storyline two opposites meet. the girl ends up having a baby which she wants to keep and then the two opposites though totally different from each other are now forced to take a go at actually building a relationship for the sake of the baby.

later on when we were dissecting the movie, i started thinking is there too much emphasis on finding "the perfect" things in another. i.e the same compatibility, the same level of humor, the same culture, the same language, the same or higher level of education, the same religion, same family enviornment and in some cases the same "tribe" even. i.e we are looking for our own carbon copies in another.
is it stupid to do this coz ultimately it doesnt really matter. if you are a nice person it will work out, no matter how different as chalk and cheese you are. ( i never get this chalk-cheese analogy, but since its become a takya kalam i will use it)

as another friend goes through another breakup. and that too for no apparent reason. no fights, no nothing. just simply a decision not to be together. i then wonder how much the above reasoning holds. of course theres always the aftereffects where he later thinks whether the decision was correct and mulls over it and is depressed over the decision he himself made.

human relationships are quite complicated. and there is always never a clear and cut answer. its like trying to answer a long answer question in 3 lines.

i recently decided that i would do everything i always want to do in my year or so here in new york. coz never know where life takes you. so i decided to volunteer at the cancer hospital in my neighbourhood. which ive always wanted to do. its not as glamourized as they show in ER or Grey's anatomy. in fact, far from it.

hospitals always give me a mixed feeling. since in some ways ive grown up around hospitals and a visit to the hospital when i was growing up meant my sister would get me food from the hospital cafeteria (which i really found delicious). yes, im so weird. and then there are some really sad memories at the hospital too. i know i cant base everything on one visit, but mostly the pple visiting looked tired and depressed. and it makes me think like many a times do we only realize a person's worth only after they are gone or when we are beginning to lose them.

Read more...

  © Blogger templates Psi by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP