Quote from a fortune cookie in my office cafeteria:
"People who are late are often happier than those who have to wait for them".

Seems like the premise around which the interesting concept of "Indian Standard Time" is built.This doesnt refer to a time zone.It refers to a state of being. When someone tells me that they will meet at 6:00 PM , I know that I wont see the person till 7:00..and no explanation offered/required. It may be very odd for someone unaccustomed to this culture [and sometimes annoying for people accustomed to it too...], but thats the way it goes.

This habit is changing. and its for the better I feel.Take for example , a North Indian Wedding. The marriage vows will be exchanged somewhere during the early hours of the day. I mean 1:00 AM !! . Now the brides family waits for the groom to show up in a traditional procession called the "baraat". The wedding/reception commences when a baraat arrives. The wedding invite may say that the baraat will arrive at 8:00 Pm..but that can mean that the grrom may show up at even 9:00 or 10:00 PM..Imagine the frustration caused to the brides dad [He swallows it as it is a part of tradition], and the hunger pangs consuming the guests :)

Why is that we have this tendency to keep up with the Joneses. [Now dont lie to me that you have never ever had this feeling. Oh..you may be Swami Vivekananda.] Anyways, I was having this discussion with the Mrs. about this. Why should I have a better car than my neighbor. Or maybe a better salary..Why cant one just be content with his 60 inch Plasma TV, with a 1000+ channel cable, high speed wireless internet access [working off a neighbors feed will make it doubly sweet :)]and a fully loaded Honda Civic [See..I dont want that BMW].

To cut a long story short..I do get those feelings sometimes..but I try to curb them..not supress them, mind you. Just to take a step back, look around and then pat oneself on the back.Udybaby, you have done well..:) Inspite of coming from a country like India, and staying in a city like Mumbai, it is easy to lose sight of the perspective. I guess it is important to be content with what one has and to improve oneself if one becomes dissatisfied [But wait..doesnt that mean I just compared myself to someone?Or does it mean I compared my possessions to something new on the market? So I guess if it is the 2nd one, then I wouldnt be trying to keep up with the Joneses in the truest sense..Anyways..]

Pet Peeve: Guys [or gals for that matter] who acquire an American accent within 2-3 years of coming to the States. It becomes hilarious when you have a local Indian accent [Punjabi/Maharashtrian/Gujarati ..whichever] combined with the newly-acquired American accent and a poor vaocabulary..
I can understand people who have been staying here for decades acquiring the accent. That is natural. But 2-3 years..Give me a break people..Its just so not happening.Talking about accents..India is rich with them..The south indians feel that they have the best vocab in the country..Sorry..you may have the best vocab, only if the other person can get pastyour accent..

Being a native maharashtrian, it would be unfair to leave them out here :).
"I lost my pain in the train" ..before you jump to conclusions about a magical train in India [coupled with the snake charmers ;)], the person probably just meant that he lost his "pen" in the train..

Disclaimer: Some of my best friends are South Indians..So if any one of you is reading this [I doubt that], you know me :)

Still wondering what to do on the july 4th weekend..

Dubey pointed a funny thing on the website for the VNIT hostel.

"Students are not allowed to keep weapons including NANCHAKOO etc. in their possession in the hostel."

Hmm..makes me wonder..Too much of Bruce Lee perhaps !! :))

I work with an amazing set of people..Amazing, not for their brilliance or creativity, but for being some of the most dense people who have held this job.

I think it was in the "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" that a species builds the greatest computer to calculate the Ultimate Answer to Life. After 7.5 million years it comes back with the answer "42".

"Forty-two!" yelled Loonquawl. "Is that all you've got to show for seven and a half million years' work?"
"I checked it very thoroughly," said the computer, "and that quite definitely is the answer. I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you've never actually known what the question is."

I think I am that computer in some ways.. I may be a bit slow but the other one is definitely in the dark ;)

or maybe look at Alice in this Dilbert strip here. Perfectly describes the situation..

This is purely a rant post.
My project just moved across management teams. One of the member who has joined as a result has become a real pain in the a**. He has this annoying habit of adding the word "thingy" at the end of just about every sentence.
Lets go for the lunch thingy.
Lets write the email thingy.
Lets complete the document thingy.
Lets have the meeting thingy.

I just feel like kicking him in his thingy thingy ..

thats it..

Was in Boston this weekend. Met a lot of friends after a very long time. T, Swapnil, Pal, Gohil..

T made excellent Idlis. I admire the guy for his cooking skills apart from other qualities..

The Greyhound ride from NY to Boston [7 PM till 12 PM] was extremely tiring..I gues thats because we were seated right besides the toilet at the back :)
Me an Dubey purchased a mango smoothie at a stop. I was able to finish the drink, but dubey was half way through when the sleep gods struck. He dropped the half finished smoothie, right at the toilet door step. It looked like the toilet was overflowing. Scared a few few passangers seated nearby :)))

Wondering what to do about the long weekend coming up. Most probably will drive down somewhere..Cheasapeake bay perhaps..Lets see.

I have to now start thinking very seriously abt completing the applications for the various schools..

May drop in at IKEA over the next week or so to furnish the house a bit more..

Oh..and saw Van Helsing again in Boston..I like these kind of movies..

Saw the The English Patient again after a long time...This time with my wife..
It was as good as ever..

I am trying out the new Performancing plugin for Firefox..
Seems pretty cool..Easier for me to blog from work ..hehehehe

Was in Stamford over the weekend..Nice little place..A person could really enjoy staying there..
But my friend , dubeyji has just shifted in , and has no ACon, not even a table fan to circulate the air..And boy was it hot this weekend.

Summers finally here.

And my good friend 'T' :) got engaged a week back..So we will be in Boston next weekend to celebrate..Busy weekends lately..too much fun :) ...Well there can never be too much fun..


Update: The damn plugin doesnt work..Humph...back to the old way..now probs..

I must say that the get-together with Alan, Mickey,Manny,Rodney, Bimal and Dubey was just great fun !! I guess we were meeting up after more than 2 years.No one seemed to have changed at all..Same old jolly bunch..There were so many things to catch up on and so many things to remember too :)) It even funnier when everyone is slightly high, even if it is just wine :)

Completed a whirlwind tour of NY with Medha moushi..It was tiring but fun..I guess we covered every major landmark in the city :)

I hope to see a Hindi movie tonite..Will let you know if I like it..

"Never become indispensable..You wont get promoted" ..I think thats true..
I would like to add, that you may never get a vacation for the rest of your life, and you probably will end up being unhappy with your job.
Wow!!..just seemed like I described my job :)
Actually, I am at a project which has undergone a lot of team and management changes. And I am unfortunately in a position , where I am the only surviving member of the original team..Hence I end up doing almost everything while the rest of the team plays catch up.

Well..what can I say..I am working towards changing that situation..Will know in a few months..

Saw Memoirs of a Geisha a few days back..Umm..Its a good movie..Not a spectacular one though..Anyone following Hindi films will be kind of reminded of Umrao Jaan. That was an excellent film.

Have you ever noticed that drinking a whole bottle of Iced Tea leaves you with a taste of ..well.. tea leaves..Duh..But I find it akes me more thirsty than ever before..Must be the damn sugar in the drinks.

I am going to over to meet some old colleagues and friends over at Salaam Bombay tonite..looking forward to it..the food and the company as well :)

Saw Match Point by Woody Allen...
Good movie.
Scarlett Johansenn is a good actress [See her in Lost in Translation]..

My aunt, Medha Moushi, is going back to India tomm..So we get to spend a day with her in NY during her stopover from Cleveland to Mumbai..Should be fun..

Just got back from a 12-hour GreyHound ride from Cleveland..
Got a strange buzz in my head..

Got the official GMAT score card..scored a 5.0 on the AWA...
Pretty happy with that..

Saw taxi 9211. I liked the movie...Got to see some Mumbai too :)

Oh how I miss the parathas at Khasiyat...Mmm..

Dubey was in town this weekend. Lots of fun..
Went to a friends wedding party last night. Had so much wine after a long time..:)
and great food..
I have to now start seriously on the B-School apps and visits.
I'll try to lose some weight before visiting these schools :D

TOEFL still remains scheduled for 15th July..

And by the way, thats Dubey with the shades on and your truly in Maine.

GMAT -- 730 !!!!

WooHooo!!!
Done with the GMAT today. Scored a 730.

Read all about my GMAT experience here.

Saw X-Men III 2 days back..and Fanaa too..Fanaa was strictly OK..No great shakes.
X-Men was awesome..

Waiting for the shuttle to transport me from the office back to my place..

4 days to GMAT..Actually looking forward to it..
I guess it is the that urge to do better in ones life that finally stokes the fire within..
Work has been hectic as usual, but the rewards in terms of satisfaction and happiness have been decreasing ...for the last year I guess :)

A good friend of mine landed up in Stamford from India last week. So I am sure we will meet up more often now. We were roommates in New York back in 2002, and then in 2004. He was also present at my wedding in Detroit..Fun guy to be around :)..

Its been almost 6 months since I purchased my piece of land in the madhouse called Bombay..Worth all my savings and my wifes savings too :) and then some ..
I have always felt that purchasing that 1st home is a defining moment..breaking from the bachelor lifestyle..someplace to call my own..(apart from my parents home ofcourse :D)

Still stuck with those allergy symptoms..runny nose , sneezing..Hmm..has never happened before to me..

Oohhh..and the Indian stock markets crashed..Damn..My first year of investing..and. well..Atleast didnt have too much to lose, so not that bad..Lost around 20% in a couple of days..

My Vegas trip from earlier in the month is haunting me..I feel like I was born for that life..Not the Gambling or the topless shows :D..I mean the waking up late and doing nothing kind of life..
The chopper ride in the grand canyon was amazing..real fun..But Hoover dam was a let down..More like a manufactured tourist spot complete with a cafeteria, than anything else..

Where the hell is that shuttle...

Taking a day off from my GMAT studies..Not feeling too well..must be the high pollen count this year..
My wife tells me that no one anyways reads what I write, except her..So why dont I just tell her all of this, instead of blogging it.. :)

Saw an amazingly funny movie last night - Crimen Perfecto - "The Perfect Crime"..

I have been making full use of my NetFlix acct...catching up on old Peter Sellers and David Lean movies..Zhivago, Bridge on the river Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia...

I am all set for my GMAT on the 19th of June. Though I plan to advance the date by a couple of weeks. I feel that I have prepared well enough and am actually bored of reading the same material over and over again :-)

I am facing a bit of trouble in sentence correction..but nothing serious..and also dont have the time to really learn the grammar behind it all..

So really have only 2 weeks to go...and then...prepare for TOEFL..This is pretty ridiculous...but then I guess the univs wont have any other way of determining if a student can actually understand English..

And saw Da Vinci Code last night..Hmm...OK..its actually well made..a bit heavy on the dialogues, but thats to be expected.. Really looking forward to X-Men III.....now that'll be fun..

fire up the boiler again

Wow!...getting back to this after a very long time..Will try to be more regular from now on..
Exciting times going on right now...making an attempt this year to get into an MBA school..
GMAT due in a month..the TOEFL in 2.. and then start the application process...
Meanwhile, I'll take it as it comes,and keep you guys updated too :)

Shillong in 2001

It was my first trip to the North-East section of India. And frankly, I didnt know what to expect..Though I have been allover India, courtsey my dad, it was a part of India i had never been to.
I know it might sound very unfair, but whenever anyone who has grown up in Western parts thinks of India, somehow these north-eastern states never come to mind. And the funny thing is that these have some of the most stunning views you'll see anywhere in the world..
Situated in the Himalayas, I always wanted to visit the north-east. I used to hear stories from my dad, of his visit to Assam in the 70s'.
I finally got the opportunity in 2001. I had to travel from Mumbai to Shillong. I could have taken a train till Guwahati, but that would take 4 days!!..Flying out was a necessity rather than an option :-)..So spending an entire months salary, I flew out to Calcutta and then onwards to Guwahati...My first reaction was that I had landed at a bus stop in a village.!!!
The airport is really small and situated amongst fields [I think rice...I'm not sure..]..It was really humid, even compare to Mumbai..but WOW...amazingly beautiful...I visited the Kamakhya temple...Then took a helicopter to Shillong !!! [Its cheaper than taking a taxi..]
The helipad in shillong happened to be near our house in Upper Shillong [Long Nyer..]..
I was thrilled to be there..The house [a bungalow] was at the top of a hill...and a really beautiful campus to boot.
Everymorning, my mom used to wake me up to see the clouds rolling through the house!!
We went to visit Gangtok and Darjeeling..[but thats for another day..right!!]

It was the best 2 weeks I have spent on vacation anywhere...I will definitely pack in another visit...

The return to Mumbai was a an rude awakening...back to the concrete jungle ...

here we go!!!

just realized it much harder to blog than it seems...my fountain of plenty just went dry...HELP!!!
but then i guess, thats what this is all about...writing what you feel...so here goes nothing..
Hope this will be the start of something good..I'll try to keep it simple..just some life experiences and the occassional musings...