Thursday, September 10, 2009

Change...yet another one

Hi All,

Its been a while that I have written anything. Actually I was just pure lazy, those who know me would vet it.

During this span of no posts on my blog, there have been a lot of changes in my life majorly on a professional front.

I quit my earlier job and joined a law firm. No, no not immediately but after a break of around 20 days....yesss 20 days :). Though I planned a trip to Leh on a Royal Enfield, it couldn't materialize due to various reasons.

However, I did travel rather made two short trips. One trip was very spontaneous. In the process of planning a trip to Bangalore to meet my friends me and my friend Mohan made a plan to visit Kasauli. Those who don't know Kasauli is a small hill station near Shimla.

It was more of a weekend get away. It turned out to be a very relaxing trip. We (Me, Mohan and my cousine Dhruv) just sat in the balcony amidst clouds, eat good food and sipped JD.

My second trip was to Jodhpur. I went to my college in Jodhpur to attend the convocation...yes finally we had our convocation.

However, the main motive to attend the convocation was to meet all of my batch mates and ahh wat a wonderful time I had. Stayed in the same hostel, same floor and the same room. Nostalgia was all over me and den the night of get together. The time I had in Jodhpur can't be explained in words.

Finally, I came back and joined my new office and life now seems to going back on the grinding track.

I spent the remaining days shifting my house, setting it up and chilling out eating home cooked food.

All in all the break I took in between jobs was refreshing and I am once again full of energy. All what is left to be seen is till when does it last....

Till den

adios

Sam

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

change...

Hi All,

In my last post I wrote that I have taken a decision and I shall write about it when it materializes.

It has!!! But what is that decision. The decision is to change my existing job.

I work in a consultancy. One year down the line advising clients via a highly caveat(ed) document, I realized that this is not what I want to do in my life.

In my existing workplace, I am expected not to think like a lawyer in many ways...well after spending 5 years in law school, how can I (or anyone for that matter) do it. Thus I decided to change my job and move to a more law oriented place. A place which would recognize the fact that at the end of the day I am a lawyer and would expect me to be a lawyer.

In the interim of my last post and this post I was busy applying to few places and giving interviews. I have been offered a job by a very reputed law firm in India based in Delhi and I decided to take it up.

Its a different issue that the people in my current workplace are not letting me go.

Well another reason which motivated me to shift is that I want to diversify. In the initial years of my career I don't want to limit myself to a very niche field of law.

Yeah I know that this is an era of specialization and jazz and I don't deny the fact. My only point is that only after exploring different things can I decide the area of law where I would like to specialize.

Someone within the firm told me that the most successful people which he has met in his life just stumbled upon the work in which they are now successful. The short point which he wanted to make was that to diversify and then decide the area of specialization is bullshit!!

I disagree.... I think all those people upon stumbling over that particular area never tried to do what they actually wanted to do. I don't want to do that. I want to in control of my career and life. I can't accept that just because I stumbled upon something, I should continue to do that.

I hope you guys agree with what I think...

If you do...or even if you don't ....

let me know your views...

Looking forward...

sam

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

ages

Hi All,

I know that ages have passed since I have written anything on my blog... I don't have a solid and valid reason for it... I have been lazy, bored, loaded with work and all that jazz...

So that now I am sitting in office piled with work, I decided that I should take out sometime and write.

Life has been just OK. I have made some decisions in the recent past about which I shall write when they materialize.

One more thing which I have learned is that no matter where you work you are bound to get screwed...except if you are lucky enough to be working in 'google'.

Nearly half an year has passed and I also completed one year in my current job.. time just flew. I didn't realize that I have spent such a long time in this organization. Good for me, better for them!!! :P

Right now I am looking at the menu for today's lunch in office and what they have to office is this:

Rasamisha Chana Masala,
Kathal Masala
Paneer Lababdar
Greek Salad
Butter Milk
Roti & Rice

but knowing the quality of food, no matter what they write, it has to be bad. So I decided not to have lunch. Its better to drink coffee and me merry than eat sad tasting food and feel sleepy after that..!

When I started writing this Blog I wanted to update it very frequently (read everyday) however, owing to lot of things, I couldn't... apologies for that... but wtf its my space, I decide what and when to write...

I have recently fallen in love....yes... in love... but not with a human... with a phone.. ie Blackberry Bold... that phone is awesome... has a very niche and corporate feel...that is next on my 'to buy' list... obviously after vegetables, fruits, toiletries etc etc...

If you remember, i have a plant kept on my desk. Over a span of one year, I have seen that plant grow. Old leaf die, new ones come, then they die and the newer ones grow... its amazing how just a plant explains life so easily ie its all about change, nothing remains people come and go and this shall go on!

Anyways... if you feel that this post was very disjointed and unrelated...well it was!!

till i write a non-disjointed (or whatever the correct word is)

later
sam

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

confused!!!

Life is strange. It has unique ways of making one realize that you are nothing more than a pawn and I am intrigued by the ways it achieves its purpose.

Sometimes, life seems to be the most beautiful thing in the world and as soon as you start taking it for granted, it reverts back.

Its funny in a very twisted way that how at one point of time, whatever found to be written in books which are very conveniently stacked and sold in expensive book stores, seems to be true, looks very fake, untrue and situational at some other time.

You might be wondering why am I writing all this. Maybe, because as I am growing older (yes I am!!) I am realizing all this and learning life the hard way or maybe I just want to be philosophical.

Its capability to change your views, opinions and shake the complete ‘you’ is amazing. What I have come to realize is that no one can live life on his own terms. Those who claim to do that are just following the path life has shown them, unconsciously. The ones who are conscious of the fact that they are living life the way life wants them to, don’t claim so too!!

Is everyone selfish, do all the acts motivated by subtle benefit which a person seeks to reap in present or in future? I think they are, if not then you are wrong.!!!

adios

sam

Thursday, February 19, 2009

King of Good Times!!!

Hi All,

This post is dedicated to the one of the best time of my life and also to the people who made it possible.

Ever heard about the 3 musketeers??? Yes??? Read on to find out about the 3 err 4 musketeers that walked the roads of Namma Bangaluru!!

Starting:

Ped aka Mohan


Gow aka Gowri


Erico aka Erica

And

And

Bugger aka Sameer

Wondering who they are?? These are the people who made the best time possible. My X (very sadly so) Colleagues in the company situated in Bangalore where I interned. Lets call this place the ‘Secret Society of the Wall Street’ (SSWS)…

I post will flow back in time ie from my second term to the first term in SSWS. I met Gow towards the end of my first term in GS and Ped & Erico at the start of my second term.

Though I had heard about them thorough my sources before I joined back for my second term. I was looking forward to meet them, but I had no clue what was in store for me.

We all got together in the LEGEN…wait for it… DARY New Year's party hosted by the ‘Corporate Services’ department of the SSWS. Surprisingly, none of us was sure whether we would be attending the party, but we did and for good.


We came close during those amazing 4 hours of complete fun at the party. The party, for everyone's information, was based on the 70s theme.


Post the party there was no looking back. We guys started hanging out together and spent some of the awesomeEST time together. The memory of those events are still fresh in my mind.

The Pyramid

Pyramid is a ‘food court’ adjacent to the SSWS’s office. Pyramid and the places around it became our usual hang out point. I still remember the 3 hours of ‘short’ break we all took. And what a time it was!!! Thinking about it automatically brings a smile on my face. We discussed about some of the ‘assorted’ characters in the team we were working in and we laughed our ass off..!! The snowman, the *** couple (we all know who) splashing water at each other!! Wow!! I wish I could relive that time once again..!

Donut Baker

Most of our trips after the office hours were spontaneous (read not planned). So was the trip which, I think, was initialized due to my quest for the ‘Rubik’s Cube’, which I never finished ... lol… no..not because I could not... but because I thought its made for the lesser mortals to prove there intelligence :P

After purchasing the Cube we landed at The Donut Baker. AND we hogged on Donuts as if there was no tomorrow. Those were the best donuts I had ever eaten. The reason for which, I think, was not the chef but the company of the 4 musketeers.


Firangi Pani

Firangi Pani is a pub in Bangalore and as you all would have guessed till now, we crash landed there too. Only to scream, laugh, dance and crash at Jyoti’s place. Jyoti is another legendary character, whom I would be discussing in my next post.

Firangi Pani was great fun, each one in the pub was looking at us and thinking ‘are these guys crazy??’ but there we were, not concerned about anyone. High on life and of course booze..:P

After Jyoti’s place, Ped and me started our trip back home and as expected we got lost. At 2 am in the night, we were lost in ‘Old Bangalore’. We drove from one ‘circle’ to another ‘circle’ and we were crying for help but…not a soul!! Finally we found a loner who redirected us to another ‘circle’ and we finally reached home with all the sweet memories to remember.

Group Chat

During my term in SSWS, Ped had to visit the SSWS regional headquarters for 3 months to get some ‘secret’ training and the group of 4 musketeers got reduced to 3.. :( .

But we were determined! So we started the group chat sessions. It used to be great fun to chat with the 3 musketeers sitting beside each other and the 4th one in London :) . And the saga of the chat continued.

People… the aforementioned events are only few amongst those which are still fresh in my memory. There are many more! But for the sake of time and constraint of space I am not putting everything down.

Erico, Gow, Ped please feel free to add on to it. This post is dedicated to you all.

Sadly the times have changed and may be things are not the same now. My internship ended. I graduated and joined some other company. The remaining 3 musketeers are still with the SSWS.

But I wish it does become the same as it was… :) Love you all!!!

I shall keep writing more about the 'good times' I had in SSWS…

till then

adios

sam

Sunday, February 15, 2009

!!!

Hi All,

This post is the result of my latest fit of introspection. For the past few days I have been introspecting about my life, its purpose and the expectations I had with it.

When I passed out of college, I had a rather Utopian view of the world and how it works. Irrespective of the horror stories which were narrated to me by my senior about how the life is all about work, how everyone has lost touch, how nothing is the same, I forced myself to believe that things would be better this way. I won’t let myself succumb to the pressure of life and rather the ‘corporate way of life’.

Now here I am, 9 months since I left Room 110, Ameer Ali Halls, National Law University, NH 64, Mandore, Jodhpur – 342004, introspecting and ruminating about everything I forced myself to believe while leaving college. Have I been successful in not succumbing to the pressures of the ‘corporate world’. Maybe for the first time ever, I would admit…NO I AM NOT SUCCESSFUL!! I miserably failed….. !!!

Maybe more than everyone else. The life seems to be revolving around office, work, appraisals, memos and mails. Life is routine, the excitements in life have reduced to exploring a new expensive restaurant or trying a new scotch.

I ended up realizing that I don’t want these excitements. For me exploring a new way to eat raw Maggi and tasting the local made ‘AC Sexy’ was much more pleasurable than what I am doing right now.

Those friends with whom I used to spend the major part of my day, now weeks go by and we don’t even get to talk once.

NO, I am not against working, I enjoy what I do. What I am against or rather what I fail to understand is, why do we end up sacrificing what we once cherished the most? Why can’t we live the same way and yet work the way we are doing right now?

I don’t have an answer to these questions!!! Do you??????

adios
sam

Thursday, January 29, 2009

My Rendezvous with SLEEP!!

Hi All,

In this post I plan to venture into an area, where each of you has treaded. I am writing about it because I think I have a very close and personal relationship with sleep.

Some days back I was talking to a very close friend of mine and we were discussing how much I used to sleep in college. While discussing the same we realized, how sleep can give you different experiences on different days, situations etc.

Therefore, in this post I will try to describe different variants of sleep which I have experienced over a period of time. But please note that the this post contains only my experiences, the opinions may differ.

Opportunity Cost Sleep (‘OC Sleep’)

The best experience of sleep is OC Sleep. To experience this kind of sleep one needs to be courageous, fearless, ready to take up challenges etc etc in short OC Sleep is not for a weak hearted persons. I say so because to enjoy OC Sleep there is a lot of sacrifice which is needed. One would need to sacrifice the studies, attendance, morning sun, breakfast etc etc. In other words all that is sacrificed is the opportunity cost for enjoying the OC sleep.

Further, a person must be courageous to face the consequences of enjoying the OC Sleep. The most common side effect is that the person goes short on attendance.

Therefore, the strong hearted people, enjoy the OC sleep.


Sunday/ Holiday Sleep

As the name suggests, Holiday sleep is enjoyed during Sundays/ holidays, when you know that you are free to sleep.

Though every kind of sleep is a bliss, however, holiday sleep is not the best one in the list. In my experience, holiday sleep gets forced after a point of time.

I remember sleeping till 2- 4 pm on Sundays in college. The latter part of the sleep used to be forced because my conscience forced me to sleep till late hours. Why?? Because Miss. Conscience used to tell me that when you can sleep which the others are sitting in classes, you ought to sleep when no one is stopping you to sleep.

So I agreed…

Tactical Sleep

This kind of sleep needs a lot of tactic, practice and precision for obvious reasons. There are lot of dangers attached with this kind of sleep because you undertake the task of sleeping in the presence of the predators ie teachers.

You got it right!! This is the sleep which is executed during a class when the teacher is teaching.

There are different variants of tactical sleep viz sleep with the eyes open, while writing/ scribbling, while hiding from the teacher etc.

It is only because of the complexity of methods, that the executor of tactical sleep needs a lot of practice.

The sense of achievement for those moments is better than winning an Oscar.

Car Sleep

Now!! This sleep is a recent discovery. FYI my office is in Gurgaon and I live in Noida. Accordingly, it takes 1.5 – 2 hours to reach office.

For obvious reasons my frequency and time of sleep has drastically reduced but my love for it hasn’t. Thus, I sleep in the car. And trust me, it very nice.

So much so that I am still not aware of the exact route to my office because I end up sleeping in the car everyday.

Train Sleep

This sleep is enjoyed in the train. I personally love to sleep in the train. It feels like you are in a cradle, that slow motion puts me off to sleep pretty soon.

Another enjoyable experience..

So guys, these were the major verities of sleep I have experience, but this is not the end. There are many more kinds of sleep but writing about them will make this post too long. To name a few they are Flight Sleep, TV Sleep, Office Sleep, Drunk Sleep etc.

Hope you got an insight into my love and varied experience of SLEEP. Happy sleeping…

Will write more…

Till den

adios

sam

Sunday, January 11, 2009

2008 review

2008 has gone by quietly and 2009 has arrived with new aspirations, hopes and surprises. At this juncture I fell that it is imperative to review the year 2008 for my own self.

The year started nicely, I was interning in Goldman Sachs and I was interviewed for a job there. I was nearly sure that I will get thru. That place has been really nice to me, in parts though.

In the later month (Feb - March) I was informed that the position for which I was interviewed has been scrapped by the head office. 2008 didn’t treat me really well during that period.

Feb – May, my life revolved around college, recruitment, managing short attendance, sleeping, partying and getting nostalgic about 5 years of my college life (May 2008, I graduated from National Law University, Jodhpur). Till march I saw everybody around me giving interviews and getting recruited, but somehow I wasn’t really worried about the recruitment, I somehow knew that something good would happen. Therefore, I kept myself busy with the above.

By the end of March I got recruited by Ernst & Young. Once again a personal Endeavor. Obviously, after the recruitment rest of the term in college was much more relaxed and fun.

April and May were spent in catching up with lot of things…. Life was taking a full circle, so much so that the last end term was on 3rd May, 2008 (Saturday) and NLU, Jodhpur entrance exam was on 3rd May, 2003 (Saturday).

May 6th I left college forever, it was a weird feeling, a feeling of nostalgia, excitement, sadness etc etc… I didn’t get time to relax after that, I joined work on 12th of May and since then life has been hectic…very very hectic.

Six months just went by in no time within this time I settled in a totally new environment of my company, learned a totally different area of law, shifted my house from Lucknow to Noida..... all in all started a new life!!

On a personal front too year 2008 was a roller coaster....Dec – Feb I was in Bangalore but it was a nice time spent with friends ETC. Feb – March was kinda tough and it taught me a lot of things in its own way and for its own reasons.

After that once again the life seemed smooth and then I started work and the things changed again… but it seemed that my priorities and meaning of life changed a bit…

Thus, from the above, I would construe that life in the year 2008 was exciting, unexpected, fun and filled with all the feelings which anyone could feel… I would always look back in 2008 for some choicest and cherished memories and forward to 2009 for hope!!

Till I write more..

adios
sam