Return Of The Rajma...

Nothing can be more torturous for a true-blue hardcore Punjabi than a dish of ill-cooked Rajma shoved down his throat. And that is exactly what has been happening since I joined MDI. To put it in Gordon's words, 20 kilos of Rajma in 10 mths!

Make no mistake, I am a Rajma freak. So much so that when at home Rajma was my agony aunt. If nothing at home is worth my while, ask mom to warm the Rajma stock in the freezer.
But 10 mths of mess Rajma shook my belief in it. Did not even have them when I came home for 8 days in December end.

Finally gave in and had it for dinner a few days back. In one word- AWESOME. Brought back old memories...of ghar ka khaana, the lil timepass fights wid mom and the constant bickerings wid dad. But like all good things come to an end, so is this too...in 25 days. And then back to the same old bland, tasteless boiled Rajma-10 kilos of it :)

A Strike...Finally!

Okies...

Finally managed to strike a deal. Talking about my summer project here!

It involves meeting the heads of the Centres for Innovation in various companies or the CEO's/CIO's etc..basically anyone who is in sync with the conditions existing in the industry he is operating in and plans for the future. The aim is to see how scientific is the process of Innovation and whether my organization has a role to play with respect to the tools and methodologies developed by them.

Got this after a lotta hassles...first had to fight with the HR who
gave me a googling project. Tried explaining how it was a waste of my time and their money. Not that they cared about either of them! And then, when I got this, had a tougher time convincing them why I need to shift to Mumbai and how Mumbai would be better simply because my guide is based outta Mumbai. Oh and by the way-the dame who approved my shift to Mumbai resigned the very next day :D GOD bless her!

Coming back to the project, I had to get appointments...though the one in TCS was arranged, I was asked to rough it out and get the rest on my own. 'Use the phone, send e-mail do whatever...' The condescending look on my face (well, I am an MBA, my assistants would be gettin me appointments, why the heck should I get em on my own) enticed this response from my guide : " Ronnie, if ever you happen to start your own consultancy, this is what you would be doing. It would do you a world of good if you can shrug off your attitude and come of the high horse you are riding on since your claim to fame is zilch."

This of course invoked the choicest English/Hindi/Punjabi/MDI expletives targetted at him and muttered under breath.

So there I was- all of 23 years and a few months making frantic calls to people of the level of CEO's, CIO's etc trying to explain who I am, what am I doing and what do I need from them...a few million calls later and trillions of e-mails, finally I have it...my first own appointment with a Director of an Innovation cell. Me superstitious so won't reveal the name of the firm till i meet em :)

Don't know whether I will be able to do justice to these guys-after all their claim to film aint zilch :D But as of now, euphoria has taken over...2 confirmed and a few more scheduled for late next week that need to be reconfirmed.

Finally I have got a taste of what business is and what selling
yourself is all about. Have managed to come down a bit from the "high horse" that I was riding :D Not completely cos then that would make me a completely different person :)

Lack of ideas

As I write this post, I am sincerely out of ideas. Have no clue as to what am I gonna write here. Maybe it has to do with the general lack of enthusiasm around me.

Been almost a year since I left home. And stepped into hostel life for the first time. The 10 odd months I have spent in a hostel have been great to say the least. Probably thats what has spoilt me.

The absolute freedom-sleepin at odd hours, boozing whenever the mood is in...spending time doing absolutely nothin in a sprawling 40 acre campus...all of it has taken a toll on my pshyche.
Not used to discipline anymore-detest rules all the more. And of course, the vocabulary enrichment that is a part of the process :)

More than all this prolly what is pulling me down even more is the fact that another 10 months and thats it. No more of student life, back to the corporate world and dog-eat-dog mentality. Not that it doesn't exist here, but heck, at least my circa of friends isn't like that. Come to think of it, actually missing their weirdness...some of em esp Cheetah and Monty are downright funny. The tussle between me and Monts is silly most of the times but then its times like these that I guess I am gonna cherish all life long...

Moombhaii

Me back! Home.

Been away for 10 months-not counting the 8 day long stupid little thing in late December. This time it is for a good month and a half.

What's changed? Nothing. Just my perspective. Having lived in Delhi, I suddenly find this city much much better. Better people, better transport, better freak-out joints...most importantly, a city with a heart.

Oh yeah, talking about change-finally got a summer project a monthy into summers. "Change Management and Innovation" is the name. Sounds like loads and loads of gyaan even though my mentor promises me otherwise. Let's hope he is right.

And the other major change- Oven Fresh has gone pure veg! Discovered this yesterday when I decided to be generous and take Mom out to lunch. Mom loved it-hardcore veggie-pure me survived on an itsy-bitsy sandwich. But looking at the positive side-someone had promised me a treat there: now that aint gonna happen!

Really excited about being here...and lets hope I have a great time. Need it after the month long stint in Delhi