Acceptance Mode is when you have 1000 tasks to do and the capacity/time to do only 500. So you “accept” the simple fact that you are not going to be able to do 500.
Right now I am in Acceptance Mode. Aah… it is indeed very peaceful here 
Am wondering when all hell will break loose. Till then I will enjoy myself.
MPD: I have it. Maybe. Maybe not. No. I definitely have it.
No Uttarayan for me this time 
At least not in Ahmedabad. Lot of work to do and will be working most of the weekend. I would be very very miserable (right not I am just plain miserable) except for the fact that I am enjoying work.
Let’s call that the silver lining in my dark cloud Bye for now.
My Mexican counterpart taught me some Spanish! Thanks Juan
doh! - achis!
perfect - perfecto
good night - buenas noches
bye - adios
see you tomorrow - hasta mañana
see you on Tuesday - hasta el martes
thank you - gracias
hello - hola
Jeremy’s post titled 2007: Reduce, Focus, and Filtering My Inputs has got me thinking. He has very accurately described one of the biggest problems I face: Excess of information.
I love reading about stuff. That can be broken up into 2 parts: I love reading and I love stuff.
Reading has always been one of my all-time favourite activities. I simply love the act of reading; it is so soothing and so powerful. And all you need is a good book and a nice spot. Since childhood I have been a very voracious reader. I am the kid who, at a social function, you would find cooped up in the storeroom beside a stack of Reader’s Digests when all the other kids are playing some game. Yup, it’s that bad.
Coming to the second part I love stuff. I love knowing more about lots of things. Many of them are not related to my work or life, directly or indirectly. But I just love those things.
Unfortunately I have only finite time, energy and brain cycles. Less focused reading means less focus on things that really matter.
I am going to give some very serious thought to this issue. I think I know what I am going to do, and it is going to be quite similar to what Jeremy plans to do but I will think things out. Of course I will let you know.
Memphis: Whatcha doin’ there, boy?
Baby Mumble: [tap dancing] I’m happy, Pa!
Memphis: Whatcha doin’ with your feet?
Baby Mumble: [looks down] They’re happy, too!
What better way to spend a few hours on a weekend than to watch a cool cartoon film! I saw Happy Feet yesterday with a bunch of friends and had a rolling couple of hours of non-stop fun.
The movie is way too funny to be dissected so just get out there and go see it. This is a movie that I am definitely going to add to my home movie collection, when I get one that is.
I read up the Wikipedia entry on this movie and I was surprised to find that there are many true facts about penguins in the movie.
Here are a few interesting links for you:
A few more memorable quotes from Happy Feet
Ramón: Just a moment. I hear people wanting something… ME!
Baby Seymour: Don’t push me ’cause I am close to the edge. I’m trying not to lose my head.
Mumble: I’m being spontaneous!
Ramón: You did everything penguinly possible.
2006 was a very eventful year for me.
I finally managed to get a release from my project in January and moved to Delhi to work in the consulting arm of my company. I ended but being part of a very aggressive but nice team. I was the youngest in the term both in experience and in age and almost all my teammates acted as very effective mentors. My 2 bosses played a key role in giving me very interesting assignments to work on and that enhanced both my professional knowledge and my confidence.
Delhi took some time getting used to and to be frank I never actually started liking it much but it was an interesting experience nonetheless. Delhi is a very different ballgame from the cities I am familiar with (Ahmedabad, Pune and Mumbai). I did not find the average person that friendly. Commuting to office from Vasant Kunj to Parliament area was a perennial headache. The bus service is a total mess and it was a big PITA going to office everyday. Acquiring decent food was also a nuisance and I had to keep my fingers crossed for all the 3 meals in a day. I eventually managed to find some barely acceptable sources towards the end of my stay in Delhi.
I had excellent roommates though. I have always managed to find very good roommates and I hope my luck continues. The somewhat eccentric but helpful Karthik and the deceptively simple-looking Vinayak were both very different from me but we used to get along reasonably well, well… most of the time. Karthik’s geekiness and Vinayak’s knowledge of Indian politics and economics is some of the best I have ever seen. I often miss them.
Around September I was offered an opportunity to lead an application penetration testing team in Mumbai and I accepted it right away. Mumbai is more like Ahmedabad, much closer to home and much closer to other cities where my friends stay. And guess what, Mumbai also proved to be cheaper than Delhi.
In the time span of less than 2 years I got transferred for the 2nd time. Mumbai was by far the easiest to settle down in. By this time I had become somewhat of a professional nomad, so I just packed up all my stuff and hopped over to Mumbai. Mumbai is full of friends from almost all my circles. I readily got excellent roommates and a strategically located room when Murthy, my DA-IICT junior, asked me to join him. Jitu was my 2nd roommate. Murthy and I brainwashed Punit into becoming our 3th roommate. My current room is 5 mins walking distance from my office, 2 mins from an important bus stand and 10 mins from the station. It is bang in the middle of a residential area full of bachelors and therefore has all the support systems that a bachelor typically needs. My office also has an almost 24×7 canteen serving very good cheap food and thus my food problem was also solved A reliable source of reasonably-priced decent food supply is the first thing that a bachelor needs to be happy. And happy I am.
Most of my time at room is spent in reading (we have a mini-library that is very much growing), debating with roommates, listening to music, watching TV sometimes and cleaning the house. You read it right; we do clean the house from time to time. Till a few years ago I was your average bachelor for whom cleanliness was not a very high priority but a couple of years back my Mom’s genes suddenly lost their dormancy and asserted themselves. Of course I am nowhere near a cleanliness freak as my Mom but I pretty much am in the highest league when it comes to bachelors.
On the personal front things there were more downs than ups. The downs are really too personal and the ups are not worth talking about so no blogging about them. But suffice it to say that 2006 has taught me to be less dependent on others and not to take things for granted.
New Year’s eve was spent watching a movie (Happy Feet!) with friends, doing some minor shopping and setting up this blog
Aah, what is a New Year post without some resolutions?
Here are a few I am quite serious about:
And here are a few I am a little less serious about:
Ummmm… that’s about it. Happy New Year!
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