enjoy your evening... 1:30 PM 30 November 2008

Hi,

The Mumbai seige is over, the defence forces killed the terrorists...some terrorists are still open at large... though the incidents in Mumbai have been taken care of... people have died... the heores have laid their life... the Defence minister has tendered his resignation...lets see what happens now... those who did it should be crushed COMPLETELY...Nevertheless, in midst of the eventful week... the title to this post mark the words of my senior...

My mother had gone to visit her sister... I planned to spend the weekend with friends but as you know my luck as it is... the evening on Friday took a drastic turn....at 8:00 PM on Friday night while I was STILL in office...I got an urgent query which had to be replied on Friday itself... it was a major restructuring query... we (the tax team, which on Friday at 8:00 PM consisted of only 2 of my seniors and myself... it was impossible to restructure the deal the very same day because it needed lot of thinking and planning...

I was asked to think over it, make a proposed structure and discuss... so I did... I made a structure and then discussed it with my senior at 11:OO PM on Friday night... the structure was approved and I was told that the same needs to be discussed on Monday morning with the Partner. So by implication I had to prepare the document by Monday morning... consisting the proposed structure of the transaction and all the indirect tax implication... and at the end of the conversation my senior said "now forget about the work and enjoy you evening...".
I smiled, said 'Thank you!!' and thought... I planned to have a relaxed and evenful weekend and here I was...a big task on my head which needs to be finished by Monday morning...

I decided no to spoil my weekend ...so I didn't... my cousine came along with me to my house and we woke up late on Saturday morning, watched a movie in the afternoon and then my friends joined us in the evening...and we chatted till 3:00 AM, went to Kumsum at Nizamudin Railway Station to have some grub, came back at 5:00 AM and slept..

I woke up only sometime back...

After a very very long time I relaxed and detoxed myself during the weekend... I am HAPPY..!!

But I will now have to work throughout the day to complete the task...which I am hopefull that I would be able to finish

adios
sam

Different...11:40 PM, 27 November 2008

I am speechless...agitated...angry...sad...shocked and DIFFERENT...

Yes, I am diffent after the Mumbai attack...my attitude, emotions and viewpoint in respect of lot of things have changed...

The day wasn't good...I was following the news... at home and in office...

I am not in a position to write much...

May God bless the souls of all those who have lost their lives...

sam

mumbai attack

I have only one thing to say...

BLOODY TERRORISTS GO DIE SOMEWHERE.....BASTARDS!!!!

Bob..

Hi,

Today I want to share some of my dissonant thoughts with you. Yesterday...the day was smooth except for some questions which kept bothering me in the later part of the evening.

Lot of people must have written about what I am going to share…but I want to do it again… don’t know why…

An incident triggered some thoughts in my mind and I marveled on the human ability to embrace so many personalities within himself (lets call that human ‘Bob’ for ease of reference). It is amazing to see how Bob can behave differently in different situations/ state of minds and with different people.

I was wondering…whether Bob does it on purpose? Or Whether Bob’s personality naturally changes in a particular situations? Or Whether Bob lets his guards down in a particular situation?...How can Bob manage to accommodate so many personality within himself… I marvel…

Someone might say that Bob might do it on purpose or the change might be natural and ultimately it depends from person to person… if such is the case then my question is that why does it happen that some do it on purpose and for some it’s a natural change.

Bob might seem the most happy person in the morning but in the evening he might reveal his deepest sorrows… why would Bob do that… is it because the society demands it or because Bob wants it… I wonder… and I don’t have an answer to these questions…

These thoughts force me to believe that the first impression is not the last impression…

Also, I kept wondering throughout the evening… why isn’t anyone’s life perfect… I haven’t met any person with a perfect life with no incompleteness…Bob might not share or talk about it … but there would always be something which would be missing from his life… is it nature’s way of letting everyone realize that there is always something to gain…or is it a method to make people realize the importance of achieve something or .. is it the vacuum which enables you to differentiate between happiness and sadness…I don’t know what the reason is…

I might not even be making any sense to you… but I have these questions in my mind to which I don’t have an answer…

And with these questions…I start yet another day of my life… with the memories of the past and expectations for the future…

adios
sam

long day and best dinner,,,,

Hi,

The time is 12:03 AM and I am on my bed about to sleep... but before going off to sleep I thought that you must know about the best meal which I had in this month... but before that... a little bit about my day...

The day was hectic... suddenly while writing my last post I got 3-4 mails which had to be urgently replied to...so the whole day went by in preparing the responses... and then as my fate would have it...another mail at 7 pm... with deadline of tomorrow morning... so I was in office till 9:30 pm completing the task....

In the mean time... someone said that my website is a 'showoff'... and I am still wondering... by what standards is it a 'showoff'?... maybe I don’t realize that it is... but even if it... I don't care. In any case...I would request you to please let me know if my website or any part of this blog is a 'showoff'...

I left office at 9:30 pm and reached home at 11:00 Pm... on my way back I saw a guy selling peanuts (moongfali)... so I bought em and came home...

Mom had made "khichdi" for dinner… for those who don't know... its a very simple preparation of rice and lentils...very simple but tastes awesome and its very lite also... she had freshly made it so it was hot... I ate "khicdi"... had a hot 'microwaved' ladoo and then some very tasty peanuts....

ahhh....I am well fed and in the bed...all warm and cozy... nothing like it after a long day at work...thanks mom!!!

Ok!! Now I am going off to sleep... and yeah tomorrow I will tell you about my 2 latest acquisitions (not ‘assets’... one of friend found the word ‘assets’ very amusing for some reason)

till then...

good night...

adios
sam

"Drive Carefully - We Need Taxpayers!"

Hi,

I see this line everyday printed on the coffee mug kept on my table...

I wonder....does this line imply that the tax payers should drive carefully so that they could pay taxes to the government and keep fueling the economy or... does it imply that the tax payers should drive carefully so that they could hire and pay consultants like us for an advise to pay less taxes to the government...

Tricky question with several interpretations... do let me know in case you have any views on it...
…
…
…
Its Monday morning and like any other person I am also suffering from Monday morning blues. Especially after a relaxed weekend there is nothing exciting to look forward to…. and it takes some effort to start working... the only saving grace is that MAYBE I like what I do…

The weekend was fun... as you must have read...I spent most of the time designing my website and figuring out which server could host my website and not charge me anything... I wasn't in a mood to shell out any money to host the website... Also, I did not want the host to put ads on the website... after a long search I found one with no ads, free of cost and easy to use... therefore I uploaded my website… (http://sameerj.hostrator.com)

After the website was hosted I instructed my domain registrar (http://www.rediff.com) to forward everyone who enters my domain (http://sameerj.com) to the host (http://sameerj.hostrator.com) ... and there I was with my own website... it feels good!! :)

Apart from working on my website....I slept, visited my relatives, watched TV and attended a wedding on sunday evening... I also made a plan to do a road trip in January to the Himalayas or Leh (hope it works out)

Today I reached late to my office... a new cab was allotted to us the driver did not know the way to my house...so he got late... and thus I got late...

And now as I write this post... the mails keep pouring in my mailbox... expressing their urgency to be attended to immediately ... I think I should get to work...

More about the day later…

Have a nice day!!!

till then...

adios
sam

website...

yayy!!!

after 2 days and one night of efforts....my website http://sameerj.com is up and running...

its very preliminary with only 3 pages...but thats the best I could do in this short span of time...

I will try to add more pages over the weekend

you can now visit my blog through the website...

please do let me know your feedback and suggestions (if any)

later...

adios
sam

3 Am...

Hi,

Its 3 Am and I am still awake... trying to troubleshoot some issue in putting up my website and making it up and running...

My major day (saturday) was spent in designing my website...once done I tried to find out a free 'hosting server'. Though I found one... its not really working properly... I'll fix it in the morning..

Oh yeah...I also watched 'Dostana' tonight...I liked the movie... though the movie does not have any story... its still is fun...the songs are good... no application of mind...so all in all a good time pass.... AND for all the guys who haven't watched it... go watch the movie...Priyanka Chopra is looking HOT..!! Also....I could make out from the talks amongst the girls around me that even John is looking $##%#...so go watch it..

So thats it for the day... i did only 2 things...designed my website and watched a movie...I had to share some thoughts too...but I am too tired to do that right now...so maybe tomorrow...

till then..

adios
sam

the week

Hi,

I am back again to give you an update on how did the week in office go…

My day in office is about to come to an end and so is the professional week. The time is 8:00 PM and I am sitting and trying to fill the missing ‘Time Sheets’…. a process everyone working here needs to follow... I will have to specify how many hours I spent working on each client and developing business (that’s the technical term for ‘sitting vella’)…

This week was relatively lite…

Monday was a usual day at work….. making memos…telling clients on how to mend the law and save on taxes… yes guys…that’s what I do…advise on how to save tax and also how much to pay….

Tuesday…I was at a client’s place in Noida… I had to assist the audit team in there analysis of the export benefits taken by the client…. I was in there office till 4 PM reviewing documents and visiting random websites and passing time…. I reached home by 5 PM and then spent the day relaxing….

Wednesday… I had to attend a mandatory training on Business Etiquette(s) (Its Etiquette and not Etiquettes) … they teach us how to behave, talk, walk, dine, drink, and even crack jokes when in a formal meeting with a client or senior…. The tutor did a great job and it was an interesting coaching…. Though because of the recessions the training was conducted in office instead of a 5 Start Hotel…. Nevertheless…. I had to leave the training in between to attend to something important…

Thursday… I was again back to office and the day was kind of relaxed… I started writing my blog on Thursday ie yesterday….. left office at 9 PM and reached home at 10:30 PM… 1 hour 30 mins of drive back home is a good time to catch-up with people on the phone… so I utilized the time and called some of my friends whom I hadn’t talked in ages…

Friday (today)… also…I did not get a chance to strain my grey cells… I finished up some small pending tasks… and as I said… no plan materialized… but I am still not loosing hope… will call some of my friends and see if they are free and if we can meet for sometime…

In about half an hour I will leave office… and then find out where does the night takes me…

Will write some more tomorrow….till then..

adios
sam

some random thoughts...

Hey all,

Good Morning!! It’s a bright sunny morning indeed…

I walked into my office after having 2 cups of hot tea at a ‘Dhaba’ near my office… that guy makes amazing tea…

A random thought….Why do people get so touchy about small things in life? I never could understand that…. Some people fail to look at the big picture… these are those people who might say that ‘no one is perfect’ and when it comes to accepting those imperfections they fail to acknowledge them.

My experience of life in a relatively short span of 23 years says that life is sweet or sour because of people around us… and the people around us are not perfect (of course)… we should understand that fact and start acknowledging that fact. There is no point getting worked up by getting touchy about small things and interpreting small acts/ omissions by people.

Trust me if you can ignore the imperfections… life would be much simpler..

I am saying this because some people who are close to me fail to reconcile to the above theory… though I don’t blame them for it because I think that this attitude is part of THEIR imperfections which I have reconciled to…but I do certainly hope that they understand this.

Though I may be wrong, but my only argument is , if you will pull yourself away from everyone because of their imperfections…who will you live with?

Anyways, the above discourse is a result of a small incident which happened this morning.

…..
…..
…..

I watered the ‘money plant’ on my table just now. It feels nice!! I think this small plant on my table emits some positive vibes which I can feel. The admin department in my office removed it from my table and I had to fight with them to get it back and I succeeded. Its amazing to see a living thing grow slowly in front of your eyes…
….
….
….

Its Friday today, and I am making plans for the evening, but I somehow know that they will not succeed. I will either get work or someone will back out… kismat…

And. I am now thinking of my college life…. Which I try to refrain from thinking as it makes me nostalgic….the life used to be so simple… no one had urgent meetings to attend… project submissions used to get delayed… no importance of class tests (at least for me)… and therefore those late night trips to the ‘chamunda dhabas’ and birthday celebrations at ‘Mehranghar Fort’. After starting work I realized that no problem in college was as serious as we face in the open world…


This picture was taken on the night of one of my floor mate’s birthday at ‘Mehranghar Fort’ in Jodhpur. What an amazing night it was….

I think I should stop discussing college… or this post will get long… (as if it already isn’t)

Enough of my random thoughts…

More later…

adios…
sam

domain name

Hey...i am back to give you all a quick update..... I am planning to get a domain name and link this blog to it....so everyone (if interested) would be able to access though my domain name...
thats it for now...
adios...
sam

hi..

Hi All,

If you are visiting my blog, in all probabilities you would be knowing me...hence I do not see a reason to introduce myself. In case you don’t…leave a comment and I shall do the needful in my next post…

For a long time in the past I have been avidly visiting and reading some of my friends' blogs...and was thinking why do they actually need to write and let everyone read it and form an opinion about them/ their post?... what is the use of expressing one's opinion and feelings on the web?.... why to make there personal spaces public....?

But now here I am...writing one myself...

Now the reasons of me deciding to write a blog are many....

Firstly, the boredom... since I have joined the job, my life has become very routine.... wake up at 7am...get ready...take the cab at 8am....drive f50 kms....cross 3 states (UP, Delhi and Haryana) to reach office at 9:30 am.... start work and keep working till late....again drive for 50 kms and reach home by 1-2 am and sleep... monday to friday...the same routine without any change. I got bored of this routine and wanted to bring some change in it.... hence the decision to write a blog.

Secondly, majority of my friends have moved to Mumbai and the remaining who are in Delhi are also busy in their routine life... therefore, there is no one to share the ups and downs of daily life... we don't get to meet very often and there is not much time to talk on phone.... so i decided to start writing a blog and share my daily life with you through this blog (if you choose to visit my blog often and read what i write, though i don't care much).

Thirdly, writing a blog would give me a reason to go online from home and utilize the 128 kbps broadband connection which I got installed at my home in the very first week of me shiting there.... (a lame reason though)

And fourthly, over the period of time I realized that writing a blog is a vent to one’s thoughts and a medium to let others (friends and strangers inclusive) read it... it gives a sense of sharing.... therefore….

So now you know the reasons why I decided to write this blog...

By the way... for those who don't know.... I work in a consultancy and I work in the tax department specializing in indirect taxes in relation to real estate, defense, government, power, infrastructure and blah blah blah...sounds interesting.... sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't....

Right now I am sitting in my office...the time is 12.32 PM everyone is working around me ...someone is talking to a client on the phone... lot of flowers kept on the adjacent desk (it was my colleague’s birthday yesterday), a small money plant on my table (which I water every second day), some books and my laptop in front of me…. And I am thinking what to write in the memorandum need to prepare by this evening.

However, I am writing this blog because I have enough time to finish it....

You must be wondering that if I have time to finish the memorandum...why don't I finish it now and go home early....the answer to the query is because I have a call in the evening, so no matter what I will have to stay till late to take the call.

Anyways, I think I should now finish the memo and go out to have some nice ‘parathas’ in the bright sunny weather…reminds me of ‘Chamunda’…..

Well, on that note....I bid adeu...and would certainly try to continue writing...and keep you updated....

adios...
sam