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Fears, undesirable.
Passions, insurmountable.
Ambitions, never-ending.
Jealousy, a part of life.
Faith, enormous.
Greed, nothing wrong with it.
Honesty, a necessary evil.
Challenges, unlimited.
Hope, sometimes.
MBA, a welcomed change.
Love, incomprehensible.
Support, more than ever.
Soul searching, existential.
Past, it’s all here.
Present, yes.
Future, who knows.
Life, good, I think.
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Please stop coining these random-words that better describe how-companies-compete as opposed to what-people-want. People’s needs are not half as complicated as the numerous words mentioned above. So, what do people need? Human Being 101: Human beings are social animals. That results in their need for “Communication & Connection”. This is not a new need for humans but it surely has heightened in the last few years. It is this need that is the driver of various innovations in the recent past (or vice versa?). People want to be able to share their thoughts, work and life. The need for thought-sharing lead to the online tool development such as facebook, twitter (please don’t ask me about it, I don’t get this one), blogs and what not. The need for work-sharing lead to productivity tools such as word, excel, document-sharing mechanisms et al for information worker. The need for life-sharing lead to emails, flickr, games and so on. And obviously there is some extent of overlap in all categories. To top it all, people want to be able to do it anytime. Anywhere. This, is new. I don’t know if this need drove innovation, or innovation drove this need. But either way, that’s where the heart of the matter lies. Human Being 201: When it comes to creating things, people can very well create complex things. But when it comes to using things, people want it simple. Be it an object, a process or “names”. People prefer it simple. So again, we do not need a gazillion names for something that solves the same problem and achieves the same result. Stop trying to fool us with these buzz words and get to the point already. This statement does oversimplify the problem at hand, but it does not treat the consumer as a puppet in this fierce competitive world of manufacturers and producers. Give me one thing that I can use to talk, read, write, find-my-way and entertain myself. Then it doesn't matter who calls it what, but it’s just my "digital friend". Hmmm... am I coining another word right here? Well, the point is to make things simple for all, and not confuse people by changing either the first 4 letters in a word, or the last 4. That simply feels like someone is trying to exploit me. That said, no matter who the industry players are, and who gets a win in coining the most long-lasting-fancy words, people who will win in this game in the long run - are the end-users. Now that sounds better, doesn't it? Yayy to that!
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I had an awesome trip to Europe in the second half of March 2009. I went to Munich and Zurich on an MBA Study Tour. That partly explains why I love my MBA. I started by knowing very few people on the tour, and ended up making a couple of super great friends on the trip. I define that as success. I visited companies/organizations like BMW, UBS, Polaroid, ABB, Allianz Stadium, Ministry of Bavaria and such. I *LAUVE* Munich, and like Zurich. We visited the Dachau concentration camp in Germany. It is quite a heartbreaking and a grounding experience to visit the camp. Did you know that Hugo Boss was the first company to design Hitler's army's uniform? Did you know that water for 15 people could cost 120 CHF? Anyway, the climax of the trip was perfect with a visit to the Alps. The trip was above and beyond my expectations and I absolutely loved it. Some thing that makes me wonder, other than life, is popularity of products such as Swiss bags, Timbuk2 bags, North Face jackets and some other things that are slipping my mind. I would love to study how they were marketed and what made them so successful. There are two kinds of people in this world (talk about oversimplification): one kind that believes that everything happens for a reason and there is only so much you can control; and the other that believes that everything is in your control and it all depends on the choices you make. I am not sure which category I belong to. Probably the first. Although I would like to believe I belong in the second category. I am toying with the idea of writing something, like a novel, or something. But I have been told my writing is pretty bad. So I may work on it a little bit before I take this toyed-idea seriously! Oh btw, while I search for the meaning of life, I am also looking for a summer internship in my spare time!  Tags: germany, life, munich, random, study tour, switzerland, zurich
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…write more often about my MBA et al. Everyone had warned me of the lifestyle I was about to get into starting September 2008. But I guess the only way I learn is by doing and not by listening to other people.
I should not be complaining though, because I love it. Every minute of it. Almost. I am learning coursework I never imagined myself learning. I never thought I was a Finance person, but I surprised myself with my liking towards the subject. I enjoyed learning about Microeconomics and Marketing too. My favorite coursework has been Strategy and the dude who taught the subject is my favorite Professor so far :). One thing that is common amongst all the Professors at Foster is that they have a great sense of humor. It almost seems like a prerequisite to be a Professor at this University. I have also met a lot of new and different kind of people. Pretty unlike the people I met at Microsoft. It has been fun, interesting, educating and sometimes frustrating trying to work/play with them. Oh well.
The real question to ask is. How did I find time to write this today? The answer is that I didn’t. I should be doing my Accounting or Finance HW right now. But I ‘bailed out’ on it. Isn’t that what most people are doing anyway :)? The next week and half are going to be super intense as I plough through my final exams. I will leave for a study tour to Munich/Zurich in the week after next and will come back by EOM. Coolness!
On a side note, I am writing this note sitting in the library while a part of me is feeling guilty about not doing the assignment. And I just saw this classmate of mine, a very frail and petite guy with a *massive* backpack on his shoulders. I am almost sure that’s how I look from far, not the frail bit. And it is not a pretty picture.
Anyway, I am almost rediscovering myself in many ways as I go through this program. I didn’t know I could be so passionate about things I believed in. I guess I just did things my way so far and didn’t need to do a lot of convincing. Now that I am working in this weird setup of MBA teams, I have a lot of convincing to do. I sometimes find myself run out of patience sometimes, but I am learning. And hopefully I am growing. That’s what this experience is all about. I also didn’t know I totally dig humor and automatically get attracted to people with a good sense of humor. And I didn’t realize I was so in love with my sleep, still. I am an insomniac who loves her sleep. Aah, the want of that unachievable target…follows me in one form or the other. But who is complaining.
It is hard to explain in such few words, but this MBA is one of the best things I have done in my life. Even though I complain about being so busy, I love being this busy. I like to keep my mind engaged, overtime in this case. And I almost recommend this as a therapy to everyone.
I haven’t written a poem in a very long time (long before I started MBA, so that’s not the reason). I hope that part of me strikes back someday!
Tags: life, mba, want
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First of all, this was a complete surprise to me. Until 2 days before the departure date, I did not even know that we were going somewhere. And then I knew that we were going someplace ‘beachy’, but that was about it. At the airport of course, the boarding pass revealed the suspense to me and made me a happy person. I had been speculating Mexico and Hawaii, but I definitely did not imagine Jamaica! Living in the Northwest, it definitely meant a rather long trip, but I slept through it. I was itching to get access to Wikipedia so that I could read more about the place I was about to land in. But I was looking at one week of no internet and no laptop. I must say I was secretly happy about that too. Two stop-over, three flights and 12 hours later we landed at the Montego Bay airport in Jamaica. The entire airport had wall posting of two resorts – “Sandals” and “Couples”. I wondered if we were going to stay at one of these resorts. The place we stayed at was Ocho Rios Sandals resort. It is about a 2 hour bus ride (that the resort arranged for us) from the airport to the resort and it was exhausting. But it was such a pleasant change to move from a cold-Seattle to a pleasant-Jamaica. The bus route was really scenic and made me nostalgic with slight Indian resemblance to the place – driving on the left side of the road, people just walking on the main roads like it is their father’s property, stray animals, signs in Km/Hour, road side stalls for refreshments, and much more. At the resort, we did nothing for the first two days. Normally I am pretty uptight, especially on vacations, and like to have an agenda of what we are going to do on everyday and like to plan it all out. So this was a first. I hadn’t slept so much in the last 3 months and sleep never felt better. It is an all inclusive resort, which means that we didn’t pay for any meals, drinks or activities in the resort while using those services, because it is included in the initial package cost. It gives you a weird illusion that you are getting things for free, while clearly you paid through the nose for it! So anyway, the first two days was only sleeping, eating, drinking, sleeping by the pool, sleeping in the pool, eating a lot of fries and desert (in addition to the meals), and some more sleeping. Then I finally reverted a little bit to the uptight-me and booked 3 activities for the next 3 days. We climbed up the Dunn’s river falls. Yes we climbed up the falls, on the rocks, in the water. I was very apprehensive but managed pretty well. We did horseback riding in the ocean. I was quite thrilled but kept feeling that I am going to fall off the horse. My horse’s name was “Reload” and he was a pretty hyper (in my opinion) horse and wanted to race, tailgate, and jump quite a bit. But overall, these horses were very well trained and new exactly what to do! I LAUVED the experience. We did zip-lining, which seemed pretty scary in the beginning, but is so safe that is was unfair to complain at all. We sailed in what I consider a very rough ocean. Screaming is my natural reaction in such situations and I was pretty much screaming the whole time, providing free entertainment to our sailor. They also had a lot of activities like rock climbing, clubbing, and game shows throughout the day. Last couple of days we spent in more relaxing and nothingness, and travelling. Needless to say, I completely indulged in sleeping, eating fries and cakes and pastries. The one thing that did strike me about the place was the extremely friendly people. I cannot emphasize it more, but coming from the Northwest, it felt like such a HUGE change. It in fact reminded me of India. The people at the resort were so friendly and fostered a family like culture amongst the employees. Everyone who worked there seemed like a happy person, probably because of the working culture endorsed at the resort and the relationships they share with each other. Simply amazing! And a very good business model, if I may add! Coming back to the snowy continent wasn’t easy. We missed our connecting flight to Philadelphia at the Charlotte airport because of super long immigration lines, and in turn were put on standby for a direct flight to Seattle. It was a huge risk, and according to their assessment based on the previous week, there was a 99.9% chance of us not making it through. But miracles happen, and 30 minutes later we were Seattle bound. Most of the US at this time is hit by the snow storm, delayed and canceled flights and it was shocking that we made it back home on the same day, and got all our baggage on time! We had to drive back from the airport on snow covered roads and we even skid once. But in the end, we made it back home – safe and sound. I can go on and on about snow in Seattle, our incapability to deal with, and the paralysis that it causes to this part of the country. Not fun. But that’s a whole new story and deserves it own real estate. For now, I am still basking in the happiness of the extreme relaxation and excessive calories this vacation got for me :). And I have nothing to complain about! Current Mood: Snowy
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I can’t figure out where to start. By expressing my disgust, or apprehension, or concern, or helplessness? Or by preaching high-flying morals that those idiots won’t ever understand. The account is so overwhelming and consuming that I am completely lost. All I know is that: - It is an extremely well planned (for months) heinous act.
- Those terrorists are young kids.
- The victims are hundreds of innocent people (Indians and foreigners).
- It has scarred people for life.
- It is much worse than bomb blasts because these monsters are standing in front of the people and shooting them.
- This is unlike any other act of terrorism we have seen in India so far.
- These devils wanted a lot of publicity and they got it.
- They don’t want any ransom, so we don’t know what they want.
- They are looking for American and British people, but we don’t know why.
- There are external forces behind this attack, but we don’t know who.
- After 24 hours of when the act started, we are still hearing gun shots in the background.
- Police, army, navy, reporters, citizens and escaped victims have been some of the bravest people in coming to the first line of defense and we are proud of them.
- My country is scrambling to put the missing pieces together, while a lot of them are still trying to stop the act.
- Someone trained those young kids to shoot innocent people in the name of religion. Such acts make me hate religion of any kind. Religion is the root of all evils. We have rather not have one, than have something that guides us sometimes, and misguides some the rest of the times.
- All I know is that my heart is beating fast. It almost skips a beat every time I start watching the news coverage. This will hurt not just the people (of India and other countries), but the economies (of India and the world) and the perception of India across the world (stock market, business, tourism, sports, politics, everything). Those son of b****** need to understand that killing doesn’t help. There are other ways to get attention. People who taught them to kill are not the people to learn from. Chaos is not the way to be.
- 26/11 will mark a black day in the history of India.
- No place, no country, no race and no socio-economic segment is safe.
We can seal the airports and the buildings in the name of protection. But what is the next step now? Seal the city, or an entire country. Create another million rules for protection? As Swami Vivekanand said, ‘a large number of rules in a society make the society dead’. And that’s where we are headed. But it hurts me to end my thoughts like this. I applaud and thank the citizens (across the world) who are still trying to think straight and positive amidst this commotion. Thank you for all the prayers and support. We need it. To mankind! I hope it survives. Tags: 26/11, bombay, mumbai, terrorism
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