Time Management and blah

I thought that I would have loads of time to write blog posts, once the internship starts. I have been proved wrong. Well, not exactly. I do have time, but I don't know how it just flies off!
I have been reading this book, Getting Things Done and I must say, it is great. If you want to get things done by yourself, then this is the book. If  you want to organize all your stuff etc, this would be a good start.
With the added responsibilities in my life, this is helping me.

Now all that apart , I wonder if this is how life would be once you start working in an office.
I have no clue how 4 months have passed already. But I am glad that I have some significant memories to take back. :)
I have been reading Steve Job's book and it just never ends!
Super Freakonomics was awesome! The facts and the way they were presented. Amazing.
The Zahir was a soul healer. The zig zag way? No comments.
That was 3 book reviews in short. :P
Also, here  is a fun event with the Engineering team :D
P.S: This is one thing crossed off my "inbox".

Engineers go for a field visit

So we went to Bijapur. 520 kms from here. 6 of us. The boring part ends here.
It was such an insightful trip. We split into 2 teams each having a Kannada speaker. Yes, it was me for one group!

We met 2 users. One of them stays ~45 kms away in a tiny village. Just 4 "houses" around theirs. We received such a warm welcome. As soon as we sat down, after washing our legs, the mother placed her 3 months old baby in my lap. Wow! Never did I hold such a small baby. She was wearing a new frock as "doctors" from Bengaluru were visiting them. They offered us some lemons and made poha.

The whole feeling can't be explained in mere words. The looks on their face, the happiness, the gratitude can never be forgotten. It is a feeling which one should experience. The whole visit has strengthened my resolve to contribute to the society. To work for the bottom of the pyramid. They shared their feelings and the connection we made, would last forever.

Good old Embrace diaries. 

Not a pessimist

After coming to Bangalore, I started to miss insti facilities. The free roads, internet, hostel and even mess!
That is when I realised, I would miss Bangalore when I go back to Chennai. I have decided to make use of this opportunity to the core.
I have joined swimming. I have tried running on one way roads. I have tried running on athletics track. I am trying to cook and looks like I am getting better at it. I have tried bowling and loved it, thanks to my classmates!
I fall short of words as I try to describe the place where I am working. It is purely awesome. I have met a lot of people and everyday is such a good learning experience. I think this deserves a new blog post.

In these moments, life tends to remind us, it is a bed of roses with thorns thrown here and there. It is in these moments we must step back and look at the bigger picture. Remind ourselves that good and bad times just follow each other. I have learnt to tell myself that there will bad days. That I need to learn how to deal with them. And yes, this isn't pessimism.

P.S: I want to say more. But some messages are better left for the others to think and reflect.

Goals for 2013

Goals, or rather things I want to do. Not resolutions as such, which tend to increase stress levels. 
I am going to keep in mind the hyped up placements, preparation, CAT, TA work, courses etc. This time it is going to be a lot about balance, spending time in activities which I love, and yes, a break from the innumerable series that I watch. Well, not a complete stop to the series. That would be insane. 
I am pretty excited about going to Bengaluru for 6 months. Maybe I can refine the way I speak Kannada. I have heard a lot about the place, would like to explore and visit a few places. (@wingies-plan the weekends!) 
I plan to run 500 km, that comes to like 10km per week, which is generous. Without the injury, I managed to do 20k in some weeks. (Only run, not run walk)
I want to read 15 books. Reading Challenge 2013. Just like last year. This time I will write the reviews. Coming to writing, around 40 blog posts would be my target. 
I want to volunteer for an NGO, hit the gym, relearn swimming(I know there is no such thing, but yes), lose the fear of riding a bicycle on the main road(gives me heart attacks!).
I hope I can accomplish them. The regular stuff is always there, grow as a person, try not to bother about simple things, minimise expectations(from everyone, everything)

Another year nears an end

2012 nears an end. Pretty happy with how the year went.
Saarang was fun with friends. I had lot of time as I was not a coordinator this year. I participated in some competitions(Face Painting!)
Then came the placement treats from seniors, some still pending. The most awesome Summer Internship as a Teaching Assistant followed. My article about the awesome internship was put up in The Fifth Estate here.

Once the sem started, we guys were unable to believe that we were The Fourth Years! Ah, so many treats, dinners, "Choreo Nite", much awaited domino's one plus one offers and the list goes on.
I tried Hapkido classes for 2 weeks. Packed that as I could not give time to running. I signed up on www.dailymile.com. Logged 176 kilometres till date. Got high on running several times(yes!). That was one awesome feeling!  And then, overtraining led to an injury. That got me pretty low. I was depressed often. Also, as the sem began,  Preeti and I started conducting training runs on Saturday mornings. We organised 3 5k races in addition to the innumerable saturday runs throughout the semester which got so many people into running. I also helped her and the Chennai Runners in organising The Wipro Chennai Marathon. They are awesome,down to earth, studmax achievers! We would be expanding the activities of insti runners club even more in the coming semesters.

The reading challenge was something which I took up in September end. 11/15 books done. Inspiring books I came across.
Some people were inspired by me. That feeling was great. 
There were some issues in my personal life which tormented me and I broke down many times. But they ended up making me a stronger person. I think they are meant to do that. I ran 10k in TWCM, thanks to the injury which miraculously vanished a day before the race.
And then the placements of my batchmates. They rocked! Those few days for sure gave me jitters about the next December.
It was an eventful year. Happiness and tears, highs and lows, surprises and letdowns had their share. But that's how life is right?

Reading Challenge 2012

Challenges! I try to challenge myself every now and then to keep myself occupied.
I came across Reading Challenge 2012 in September. Although pretty late, I signed for it. 12 books by December end. I am halfway through already. I am currently reading autobiographies or books mostly related to sports. They never cease to inspire me.
The following are the books I have read so far:
Open(Andre Agassi)
It's not about the bike, Every second counts (Lance Armstrong)
Turning points (APJ)
The white tiger (Arvind Adiga)
What I talk about when I talk about running (Harki Murakami)
http://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/508159

I will be heading to Amdavad for 1 month, the early morning after TWCM!.
Hoping to complete the challenge in December.

P.S: Currently, I am in awe of Anu Vaidyanathan and Ann Trason.
Also, Happy Diwali! Have a joyous, bright, Crackerfree Diwali :)

A small effort

As cyclone Nilam(however it is pronounced) hits South India, we were plunged into darkness for almost an hour. And that is when the cribbing began. We crib about our pending work, about how cold it is, about the mess it has created and so on.
The thought of 14 hour power cuts in so many slums left me disturbed. These people live in messy areas all their lives. Well, they might have got used to it. The cold?  The cyclone? Were they prepared? Is it right on our part to sit and crib while enjoying the luxuries of life?
We need to realise our responsibility. 
I feel I am what I am today because of what the society has given me. I feel it is my duty to give back to the society in how many ever ways I can, however small they might be. 
Buy a meal to the old lady on the footpath or give one of your t shirts to that guy near the bus stop. Smile at people or just ask if they need help. Teach a kid something. Well, if you can't come up with ideas, there are hundreds of NGOs waiting for help. Volunteer. Let us be pro active.

Clueless

Cross roads. Confusion. Clueless. It feels like I am still waiting to know where I am headed to. This surely does draw a lot of frowns from many people.
There are so many things on my mind. I feel that there are many people who are definitely better engineers than me. I want to do something for the society. Not necessarily right now. But that is how I want to be known to the world. I have had people telling me that I can earn money and give a part of it as charity. That somehow does not gel with me.
I have this feeling that I can survive with lesser money. But then, I do want to enjoy luxuries of life.
Conflicts.
At this point, I am just hoping that I would do what I really want to do and not be in the lot that does things for the sake of doing them. Luckily I am blessed with highly understanding parents and close bunch of motivating friends.
Life goes on..