For Alex, The Rock

I am thinking…I haven’t started work on my apps tonight …Seriously I often think about how I am missing out spending time with my mom, my dog and my home because of work.

I said…so far, so good, so what.

I want wine, woman, books, dogs, cottage in the hills, piano lessons and a 200 year old Japanese katana.

I wish I could write prose like Nabokov and poetry like Neruda.

I miss my father.

I hear the long whistle of the train.

I wonder at life, the universe and everything else.

I regret George W. Bush.

I am the Master of my fate, the Captain of my soul. So help me, God.

I dance...I do? Nah, not my style. I like watching friends dance, though.

I sing on my bike on the long and winding road.

I cry…no, I don’t.

I am not Elvis Presley, but my hair thinks it is.

I write stuff vaguely resembling poetry.

I confuse, he confuses, they confuse, we confuse, it confuses. Merci Beaucoup.

I need my family.

I should visit Europe.

I (don’t) finish water in bottles. A strange and useful habit. On long nights, on long waits, on long roads that go on and on and on.

Waking in the winter wonderland...

Today is one of those lovely days...it has been raining with a steady "kssssssssssssshhhhhhh" sound since I woke up at 6am...and serious slanting rain, splattering into your face when you stand in the balcony...all the world is grey and green and there is no horizon; just a misty sky that becomes a dark green earth...and I just had to whisper "Mother earth, you look beautiful today".

Now lets hope that office doesnt screw it up!

The View–1 more reason not to leave Kerala (PART 2)

The view from my flat-What at seemed a quiet evening soon became a furious fire…


First signs





Fury




Finale




Embers




Misty Grey & Green Morning After.



Amen and Thank You.

The View–1 more reason not to leave Kerala (PART 1)

The view from my office window.
I can gaze at hours at this serene meditation centre and come away feeling refreshed. When it rains, the pigeons cluck around and after reaching a quick consensus huddle under the eaves. When it doesn’t, bigger males patiently follow roaming females who lead them round and round in circles. Sounds familiar? ;-)



The view as I enter office (a.k.a. “I AM watching”)
Four churches within walking distance and the smell of frankincense and wax wafting through the air every time I come near office. Considering that I spend almost 10-12 hours every day at work , the fact I can drop into a quiet church for a few silent minutes whenever I feel like is a small perk which gives me severe happiness.



The view from my conference room
Students, parties, villagers, women–everybody comes to the Marine Drive to protest, march and create general mayhem. Nothing like a view with barricades, banners and a bunch of cops to break a dull coffee filled meeting. Note the barricades on the wrong road; on seeing the barricade, the students took a quick diversion to the opposite road and the startled police quickly followed suit. Student activism - Malaise? Menace? Must? Great arguments never end in Kerala–they just take a different route.



The view from the boss room
It helps that one has a decent boss. It really really helps that the decent boss has a room with a decent view and decent appetite-a stock of Hersheys and Oreos for those mind-crunching brainstorming sessions. From cruise ships to breaking thunderstorms to oil tankers to noisy tourists to fishermen in catamarans to funny birds with bright green wings, I never get tired of this view. At night the glitter of the harbour, the swaying of the giant cranes and the steady drizzle of the rain make for a wonderful end to the day. Corner room, here I come.

Chicago GSB @ Bangalore

Attended the Chicago GSB reception at Bangalore yesterday. Along with approx. 100 other talented, extraordinary Indians who all want to make it to the Windy City. Amen.

The presentation moved on a semi-formal note; Kurt Olsen (?) the Adcom head introduced himself and a couple of alums and went on to explain about the school.

Main points touted about the school were:
 70 Nobel Prize winners as faculty (tempted to ask how many of them teach but desisted)
 Chicago has the 2nd highest no of Fortune 500 offices next to the Big Apple.
 If you are going to do your 2nd MBA, you need to clearly explain Why.
 Alumni network is very strong and quite dedicated (is what one would assume based on the ppt)
 All the alumni present there had worked for quite some time in the US before applying for Chicago.
 Being in a top school is like getting invited to the dance; what you do at the “recruiting” dance is upto you.
 New Hyde Park centre which is like a giant glass lobby in the middle of the Univ.
 Guaranteed loan without cosignors available for international students.
 TOEFL can be waived for good English speakers.
 Other arbitrary points adding up to saying that you need to spend approx. 50 lakhs for 2 years.

Alumni
 “Cool dude” looking alumni casually mentioned “Started a company in 2000; sold it in 2003; started and operating my 2nd company”…and audience is like “oooooohhh” Am like “Me, I do that every week”.
 Another squeaky voiced current student explained how he is “discovering himself” and learning to do all kinds of dancing over there. Expensive classes, these $100,000 dollar dancing classes.
 Another s/ware techie alum explained how he had come out of the US and was working with HP out of B’lore. Bugger got irritated about how the audience wasn’t sticking to the question format

Grub
 Looked appetizing but I missed it since the bus to Cochin was at 9pm.

Conclusion
 Chicago was in my original list of schools for 1st round applications. Now decision stands firm.