Two little boys, ages 8 and 10, are excessively mischievous. They are always getting into trouble and their parents know all about it. If any mischief occurs in their town, the two boys are probably involved.
The boys mother heard that a preacher in town had been successful in disciplining children, so she asked if he would speak with her boys. The preacher agreed, but he asked to see them individually.So the mother sent the 8 year old first, in the morning, with the older boy to
see the preacher in the afternoon.
The preacher, a huge man with a booming voice, sat the younger boy down and asked him sternly, Do you know where God is, son?
The boy's mouth dropped open, but he made no response, sitting there wide-eyed with his mouth hanging open.
So the preacher repeated the question in an even sterner tone, Where is God??
Again, the boy made no attempt to answer. The preacher raised his voice even more and shook his finger in the boy's face and bellowed, Where is God??
The boy screamed , ran directly home and dove into his closet, slamming the door behind him. When his older brother found him in the closet, he asked, what happened?
The younger brother, gasping f or breath, replied, We are in BIG trouble this time.
(I just LOVE reading next line again and again)
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GOD is missing, and they think we did it!
21.12.06
8.12.06
Driving in INDIA.
This hilarious article was written by a Dutchman who spent two years in Bangalore, India, as a visiting expert. A little long article but worth reading it!!!
Driving in Bangalore / India For the benefit of every Tom, Dick and Harry visiting India and daring to drive on Indian roads, I am offering a few hints for survival. They are applicable to every place in India except Bihar, where life outside a vehicle is only marginally safer.
Indian road rules broadly operate within the domain of karma where you do your best, and leave the results to your insurance company. The hints are as follows: Do we drive on the left or right of the road? The answer is "both". Basically you start on the left of the road, unless it is occupied. In that case, go to the right, unless that is also occupied. Then proceed by occupying the next available gap, as in chess. Just trust your instincts, ascertain the direction, and proceed. Adherence to road rules leads to much misery and occasional fatality. Most drivers don't drive, but just aim their vehicles in the generally intended direction.
Don't you get discouraged or underestimate yourself except for a belief in reincarnation; the other drivers are not in any better position. Don't stop at pedestrian crossings just because some fool wants to cross the road. You may do so only if you enjoy being bumped in the back.
Pedestrians have been strictly instructed to cross only when traffic is moving slowly or has come to a dead stop because some minister is in town. Still some idiot may try to wade across, but then, let us not talk ill of the dead.
Blowing your horn is not a sign of protest as in some countries. We horn to express joy, resentment, frustration, romance and bare lust (two brisk blasts),or just mobilize a dozing cow in the middle of the bazaar. Keep informative books in the glove compartment. You may read them during traffic jams, while awaiting the chief minister's motorcade, or waiting for the rainwater to recede when over ground traffic meets underground drainage.
Occasionally you might see what looks like a UFO with blinking colored lights and weird sounds emanating from within. This is an illuminated bus, full of happy pilgrims singing bhajans. These pilgrims go at breakneck speed, seeking contact with the Almighty, often meeting with success.
Auto Rickshaw (Baby Taxi): The result of a collision between a rickshaw and an automobile, this three-wheeled vehicle works on an external combustion engine that runs on a mixture of kerosene oil and creosote. This triangular vehicle carries iron rods, gas cylinders or passengers three times its weight and dimension, at an unspecified fare. After careful geometric calculations, children are folded and packed into these auto rickshaws until some children in the periphery are not in contact with the vehicle at all. Then their school bags are pushed into the microscopic gaps all round so those minor collisions with other vehicles on the road cause no permanent damage. Of course, the peripheral children are charged half the fare and also learn Newton's laws of motion enroute to school. Auto-rickshaw drivers follow the road rules depicted in the film Ben Hur, and are licensed to irritate.
Mopeds: The moped looks like an oil tin on wheels and makes noise like an electric shaver. It runs 30 miles on a teaspoon of petrol and travels at break-bottom speed. As the sides of the road are too rough for a ride, the moped drivers tend to drive in the middle of the road; they would rather drive under heavier vehicles instead of around them and are often "mopped" off the tarmac.
Leaning Tower of Passes: Most bus passengers are given free passes and during rush hours, there is absolute mayhem. There are passengers hanging off other passengers, who in turn hang off the railings and the overloaded bus leans dangerously, defying laws of gravity but obeying laws of surface tension. As drivers get paid for overload (so many Rupees per kg of passenger), no questions are ever asked. Steer clear of these buses by a width of three passengers.
One-way Street: These boards are put up by traffic people to add jest in their otherwise drab lives. Don't stick to the literal meaning and proceed in one direction. In metaphysical terms, it means that you cannot proceed in two directions at once. So drive as you like, in reverse throughout, if you are the fussy type. Least I sound hypercritical; I must add a positive point also. Rash and fast driving in residential areas has been prevented by providing a "speed breaker"; two for each house. This mound, incidentally, covers the water and drainage pipes for that residence and is left untarred for easy identification by the corporation authorities, should they want to recover the pipe for year-end accounting.
Night driving on Indian roads can be an exhilarating experience for those with the mental make up of Genghis Khan. In a way, it is like playing Russian roulette, because you do not know who amongst the drivers is loaded. What looks like premature dawn on the horizon turns out to be a truck attempting a speed record. On encountering it, just pull partly into the field adjoining the road until the phenomenon passes.
Our roads do not have shoulders, but occasional boulders. Do not blink your lights expecting reciprocation. The only dim thing in the truck is the driver, and with the peg of illicit arrack (alcohol) he has had at the last stop, his total cerebral functions add up to little more than a naught. Truck drivers are the James Bonds of India, and are licensed to kill. Often you may encounter a single powerful beam of light about six feet above the ground. This is not a super motorbike, but a truck approaching you with a single light on, usually the left one. It could be the right one, but never get too close to investigate. You may prove your point posthumously.
Happy Driving!!
Driving in Bangalore / India For the benefit of every Tom, Dick and Harry visiting India and daring to drive on Indian roads, I am offering a few hints for survival. They are applicable to every place in India except Bihar, where life outside a vehicle is only marginally safer.
Indian road rules broadly operate within the domain of karma where you do your best, and leave the results to your insurance company. The hints are as follows: Do we drive on the left or right of the road? The answer is "both". Basically you start on the left of the road, unless it is occupied. In that case, go to the right, unless that is also occupied. Then proceed by occupying the next available gap, as in chess. Just trust your instincts, ascertain the direction, and proceed. Adherence to road rules leads to much misery and occasional fatality. Most drivers don't drive, but just aim their vehicles in the generally intended direction.
Don't you get discouraged or underestimate yourself except for a belief in reincarnation; the other drivers are not in any better position. Don't stop at pedestrian crossings just because some fool wants to cross the road. You may do so only if you enjoy being bumped in the back.
Pedestrians have been strictly instructed to cross only when traffic is moving slowly or has come to a dead stop because some minister is in town. Still some idiot may try to wade across, but then, let us not talk ill of the dead.
Blowing your horn is not a sign of protest as in some countries. We horn to express joy, resentment, frustration, romance and bare lust (two brisk blasts),or just mobilize a dozing cow in the middle of the bazaar. Keep informative books in the glove compartment. You may read them during traffic jams, while awaiting the chief minister's motorcade, or waiting for the rainwater to recede when over ground traffic meets underground drainage.
Occasionally you might see what looks like a UFO with blinking colored lights and weird sounds emanating from within. This is an illuminated bus, full of happy pilgrims singing bhajans. These pilgrims go at breakneck speed, seeking contact with the Almighty, often meeting with success.
Auto Rickshaw (Baby Taxi): The result of a collision between a rickshaw and an automobile, this three-wheeled vehicle works on an external combustion engine that runs on a mixture of kerosene oil and creosote. This triangular vehicle carries iron rods, gas cylinders or passengers three times its weight and dimension, at an unspecified fare. After careful geometric calculations, children are folded and packed into these auto rickshaws until some children in the periphery are not in contact with the vehicle at all. Then their school bags are pushed into the microscopic gaps all round so those minor collisions with other vehicles on the road cause no permanent damage. Of course, the peripheral children are charged half the fare and also learn Newton's laws of motion enroute to school. Auto-rickshaw drivers follow the road rules depicted in the film Ben Hur, and are licensed to irritate.
Mopeds: The moped looks like an oil tin on wheels and makes noise like an electric shaver. It runs 30 miles on a teaspoon of petrol and travels at break-bottom speed. As the sides of the road are too rough for a ride, the moped drivers tend to drive in the middle of the road; they would rather drive under heavier vehicles instead of around them and are often "mopped" off the tarmac.
Leaning Tower of Passes: Most bus passengers are given free passes and during rush hours, there is absolute mayhem. There are passengers hanging off other passengers, who in turn hang off the railings and the overloaded bus leans dangerously, defying laws of gravity but obeying laws of surface tension. As drivers get paid for overload (so many Rupees per kg of passenger), no questions are ever asked. Steer clear of these buses by a width of three passengers.
One-way Street: These boards are put up by traffic people to add jest in their otherwise drab lives. Don't stick to the literal meaning and proceed in one direction. In metaphysical terms, it means that you cannot proceed in two directions at once. So drive as you like, in reverse throughout, if you are the fussy type. Least I sound hypercritical; I must add a positive point also. Rash and fast driving in residential areas has been prevented by providing a "speed breaker"; two for each house. This mound, incidentally, covers the water and drainage pipes for that residence and is left untarred for easy identification by the corporation authorities, should they want to recover the pipe for year-end accounting.
Night driving on Indian roads can be an exhilarating experience for those with the mental make up of Genghis Khan. In a way, it is like playing Russian roulette, because you do not know who amongst the drivers is loaded. What looks like premature dawn on the horizon turns out to be a truck attempting a speed record. On encountering it, just pull partly into the field adjoining the road until the phenomenon passes.
Our roads do not have shoulders, but occasional boulders. Do not blink your lights expecting reciprocation. The only dim thing in the truck is the driver, and with the peg of illicit arrack (alcohol) he has had at the last stop, his total cerebral functions add up to little more than a naught. Truck drivers are the James Bonds of India, and are licensed to kill. Often you may encounter a single powerful beam of light about six feet above the ground. This is not a super motorbike, but a truck approaching you with a single light on, usually the left one. It could be the right one, but never get too close to investigate. You may prove your point posthumously.
Happy Driving!!
29.11.06
My Day Today - 29th Nov 2006
After lunch to kill the slumber which had surrounded me, I thought I will go out & finish some house hold tasks.
Basically there were two big things to finish….
A BESCOM bill which was supposed to be wrong, I had to get it corrected & pay it & other one was BSNL bill, I had to pay the 3 month dues, and then request BSNL to disconnect the broadband as we had taken the Airtel connection.
I started with BESCOM, on the web I found a contact number for my zone & rang them up.
The guy asked me to come to one office, he gave me full address, I reached there after some 5 lefts & 5 rights from indiranagar 100 feet road, and realized that if I had come from airport road side, I would have reached pretty quickly.
Anyway, I reached the office which was told to me, and the guy had taken his lunch break, he was supposed to be back by 230 PM, I looked at my watch and it was 130 PM only, a precious one hour, I thought I will finish the BSNL task.
BSNL task is some thing like this, the broadband comes with the landline connection, because on non payment the landline & broadband both are disconnected.
Now because the outstanding is more than 1000 bucks, they accept only Draft, funny isn’t it?
Why they don’t take cash? Might be it is too much to handle…. Why they don’t take a cheque? Because once our check had bounced & they don’t have faith in us (I mean in checks issued by us) any more…..
So one more task for KK, get the DD done, I walked in ICICI branch, CMH road, indiranagar, printed the coupon and waited for my turn.
The environment in a private organization is much more soothing than govt organization like BESCOM & BSNL….
About 10 customers before me but I did not mind waiting, did I ever tell u that I wish to work for ICICI one day, only problem is they don’t pay enough, but work is really challenging.
My turn came & also a surprise, they guy at the counter told me that because they are no salary credits in this account, DD issue is not free any more.
I had a choice to chuck this DD form & go to Citibank @ MG road, because my salary goes there nowadays, but I realized I had no money in that account J
Had to pay 84 Rs for getting a stupid DD issued.
But I was happy to know this privilege given to salary accounts. I thought when I will take the customer account session next time, I will quote this example and felt happy.
Anyway 84 rs is what less than a quid (pound J).
So I took the DD and went to BSNL office near BDA complex on old madras road & stood in the queue to pay the bill, cash queue was long but DD queue was pretty small, I felt good.
There were two people at the counter, a lady in the age on 50s, looking pretty efficient, and a guy little more older and looking really slow in what he was supposed to be doing. Accidentally I had to interact with him only. He had severe eye problem but was not wearing glasses. Some how he managed to read my bill & accepted the payment. He came up with another surprise that, current bill’s due date was yesterday so I have to pay another 19 Rs, I asked how I can make the payment, he said in cash, but I had to go and stand in the cash queue now, hmmm…. 4250 Rs paid by DD in a minute & I took 7-8 minutes to reach the counter to pay rest 19 rs.
Anyway, I was happy that this long pending task was about to get concluded, not really.
BSNL server hanged in the middle, it did not respond to the HOT keys, techis inside could not kill the session & so on….
Lady at the counter waited, hit few keys several times, and then surrendered.
I suggest “ma’am press escape and come out of the session…” generally these people get irritated by these comments, luckily this lady did not…
She said it does not work…. She started counting all the notes she had received for the day, about 100 notes of 500 each, some 50 notes of 100 each, some 10-15 notes of 50 each…. She counted them, twice, but the server was not in a mood to respond, people behind me started panicking as if I had done some crime…..
“Try now – I have killed your session” a techi lady shouted to the lady at cash counter & ya, the server was alive and kicking now.
I paid 19 Rs, thanked the lady and kept 1 rupee coin safe in my wallet…. And was about to take my bike out and got a pat on the back…
Parking fee please….. the one rupee coin was bewafaa, it took the other one rupee coin along with it…..
I headed to the BESCOM office expecting the officer to be back, on the way withdrew 1000 bucks from citi ATM, machine laughed at me at told, u r left with 84 rs & I wont give u any thing more…….
I met the officer, and he told me the bill was correct, we had not paid nov, oct & sept bill as well.
I was not quite sure, so asked him if we had made the payment earlier, what will happen. He said that can be adjusted in the future bills.
I came out & thought I will pay this bill online from citi website, but this guy had told me it takes 10 days, so I chucked the idea and thought of paying it off.
I was looking for a payment counter & saw a machine, I had used a similar machine long back in kormangala when me, sharma & chetan used to stay together.
Scan the bill, click ok, insert the notes, machine is hungry, it pulls the notes as it will eat them all.
On the display it keeps telling how much u have inserted, I mean the notes…..
Bill was 888 & I paid 900.
Thought I will go back to office now, but remembered that I had to request for BSNL broadband disconnection after paying all the dues.as I had paid the dues & had all the docs / receipts with me, thought I will finish this off…
I went and met the commercial officer, he suggested that I talk to accounts guy & get it confirmed that I have made the payments. Weird isn’t it?
Cant u check it in some of your online system? Anyway I just followed what he said & met a guy in accounts.
He scribbled on my application of disconnection that every thing is paid….
I brought it back to the commericial officer, he read the entire application and told me that I had written few lines which are not required, I was afraid that he will ask me to write it again fortunately he did not.
He suggested that by tomorrow Broadband disconnection orders will be out, and phone will start working by evening itself.
Well done KK….
Basically there were two big things to finish….
A BESCOM bill which was supposed to be wrong, I had to get it corrected & pay it & other one was BSNL bill, I had to pay the 3 month dues, and then request BSNL to disconnect the broadband as we had taken the Airtel connection.
I started with BESCOM, on the web I found a contact number for my zone & rang them up.
The guy asked me to come to one office, he gave me full address, I reached there after some 5 lefts & 5 rights from indiranagar 100 feet road, and realized that if I had come from airport road side, I would have reached pretty quickly.
Anyway, I reached the office which was told to me, and the guy had taken his lunch break, he was supposed to be back by 230 PM, I looked at my watch and it was 130 PM only, a precious one hour, I thought I will finish the BSNL task.
BSNL task is some thing like this, the broadband comes with the landline connection, because on non payment the landline & broadband both are disconnected.
Now because the outstanding is more than 1000 bucks, they accept only Draft, funny isn’t it?
Why they don’t take cash? Might be it is too much to handle…. Why they don’t take a cheque? Because once our check had bounced & they don’t have faith in us (I mean in checks issued by us) any more…..
So one more task for KK, get the DD done, I walked in ICICI branch, CMH road, indiranagar, printed the coupon and waited for my turn.
The environment in a private organization is much more soothing than govt organization like BESCOM & BSNL….
About 10 customers before me but I did not mind waiting, did I ever tell u that I wish to work for ICICI one day, only problem is they don’t pay enough, but work is really challenging.
My turn came & also a surprise, they guy at the counter told me that because they are no salary credits in this account, DD issue is not free any more.
I had a choice to chuck this DD form & go to Citibank @ MG road, because my salary goes there nowadays, but I realized I had no money in that account J
Had to pay 84 Rs for getting a stupid DD issued.
But I was happy to know this privilege given to salary accounts. I thought when I will take the customer account session next time, I will quote this example and felt happy.
Anyway 84 rs is what less than a quid (pound J).
So I took the DD and went to BSNL office near BDA complex on old madras road & stood in the queue to pay the bill, cash queue was long but DD queue was pretty small, I felt good.
There were two people at the counter, a lady in the age on 50s, looking pretty efficient, and a guy little more older and looking really slow in what he was supposed to be doing. Accidentally I had to interact with him only. He had severe eye problem but was not wearing glasses. Some how he managed to read my bill & accepted the payment. He came up with another surprise that, current bill’s due date was yesterday so I have to pay another 19 Rs, I asked how I can make the payment, he said in cash, but I had to go and stand in the cash queue now, hmmm…. 4250 Rs paid by DD in a minute & I took 7-8 minutes to reach the counter to pay rest 19 rs.
Anyway, I was happy that this long pending task was about to get concluded, not really.
BSNL server hanged in the middle, it did not respond to the HOT keys, techis inside could not kill the session & so on….
Lady at the counter waited, hit few keys several times, and then surrendered.
I suggest “ma’am press escape and come out of the session…” generally these people get irritated by these comments, luckily this lady did not…
She said it does not work…. She started counting all the notes she had received for the day, about 100 notes of 500 each, some 50 notes of 100 each, some 10-15 notes of 50 each…. She counted them, twice, but the server was not in a mood to respond, people behind me started panicking as if I had done some crime…..
“Try now – I have killed your session” a techi lady shouted to the lady at cash counter & ya, the server was alive and kicking now.
I paid 19 Rs, thanked the lady and kept 1 rupee coin safe in my wallet…. And was about to take my bike out and got a pat on the back…
Parking fee please….. the one rupee coin was bewafaa, it took the other one rupee coin along with it…..
I headed to the BESCOM office expecting the officer to be back, on the way withdrew 1000 bucks from citi ATM, machine laughed at me at told, u r left with 84 rs & I wont give u any thing more…….
I met the officer, and he told me the bill was correct, we had not paid nov, oct & sept bill as well.
I was not quite sure, so asked him if we had made the payment earlier, what will happen. He said that can be adjusted in the future bills.
I came out & thought I will pay this bill online from citi website, but this guy had told me it takes 10 days, so I chucked the idea and thought of paying it off.
I was looking for a payment counter & saw a machine, I had used a similar machine long back in kormangala when me, sharma & chetan used to stay together.
Scan the bill, click ok, insert the notes, machine is hungry, it pulls the notes as it will eat them all.
On the display it keeps telling how much u have inserted, I mean the notes…..
Bill was 888 & I paid 900.
Thought I will go back to office now, but remembered that I had to request for BSNL broadband disconnection after paying all the dues.as I had paid the dues & had all the docs / receipts with me, thought I will finish this off…
I went and met the commercial officer, he suggested that I talk to accounts guy & get it confirmed that I have made the payments. Weird isn’t it?
Cant u check it in some of your online system? Anyway I just followed what he said & met a guy in accounts.
He scribbled on my application of disconnection that every thing is paid….
I brought it back to the commericial officer, he read the entire application and told me that I had written few lines which are not required, I was afraid that he will ask me to write it again fortunately he did not.
He suggested that by tomorrow Broadband disconnection orders will be out, and phone will start working by evening itself.
Well done KK….
14.10.06
Frankfurt am Main.....
2:30 PM, 30th September 2006.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
First time when I came out of Frankfurt airport, and took to a Taxi to my Hotel, one sticker in the car grabbed my attention, it said, FRANKFURT am Main.
I was wondering what does that mean???
And I happened to talk about that to one of the Taxi drivers in the city, this guy was basically from Kashmir, INDIA and he is driving this taxi for last 15 years.
He told me, “Frankfurt means Frankfurt”, I was happy listening to it as I had got it right J
“am Main means on the bank of river Main…” he revealed, “And Main u should read as Mine.. ”
Hmmm, that’s nice. But why somebody will say Frankfurt, the one on the bank of river Main?
He had an answer. “Actually there is not only one Frankfurt, there are 4 Frankfurts in Germany.
This is the biggest one; other famous one is called Frankfurt ODA, which is on the border of Poland, and there are two more small towns with the same name but nobody even knows about them.”
I was enlightened.
After that when ever I got a chance, I asked people in Frankfurt about am Main. Almost every one knew the meaning, but most of them did not know that there are 4 Frankfurts.
One guy told me, this is the Main Frankfurt & the other one is Frankfurt Oda.
I am yet to validate that actually how many of them exist!
and about the picture, the red & blue circle represent East & West Germany coming together, it is located very near to Messe, location where all fairs happen in Frankfurt.
30.9.06
PUT THE GLASS DOWN TODAY !!!
Once, a professor began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it. He held it up for all to see; asked the students,"How much do you think this glass weighs?"
"50gms!?"..."100gms!"..."125gms" the students answered."I really don't know unless I weigh it" said the professor, "but, my question is What would happen if I held it up like this for a few minutes?""Nothing" the students said."OK, what would happen if I held it up like this for an hour?" the professor asked.
"Your arm would begin to ache" said one of the students.
"You're right, now what would happen if I held it for a day?""Your arm could go numb, you might have severe muscle stress & paralysis"?"have to go to hospital for sure"? ventured another student; all the students laughed."Very good! But during all this, did the weight of the glass change?" asked the professor. "No" replied the students"Then what caused the arm ache; the muscle stress? Instead what should I do?" The students were puzzled."Put the glass down!" said one of the students.
"Exactly!" said the professor "Life's problems are something like this. Hold them for a few minutes in your head; they seem OK. Think of them for a long time; they begin to ache. Hold them even longer; they begin to paralyze you. You will not be able to do anything. It's important to think of the challenges (problems) in your life, but EVEN MORE IMPORTANT to 'put them down' at the end of every day before you go to sleep. That way, you are not stressed, you wake up every day fresh; strong ; can handle any issue, any challenge that comes your way! " Remember?"PUT THE GLASS DOWN TODAY! That's life!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "
23.9.06
21.9.06
A street in Frankfurt on a leisurely Saturday - 16th sept 2006 (Play the video below.)
| I am in Frankfurt Currently, came here on 10th Sept 2006, will be here for one more week. its a business trip, i am working here for citigroup, who are going live on our software - Numero UNO - FLEXCUBE this month end. I was roaming around near HauptBahnof (Haupt - Main, Bahnof - Railway station) yesterday & i shot this video. ambience was really full of life & happiness in air.... KK. | |
Put a shark in your tank and then see how far you can go..."
The Japanese have always loved fresh fish. But the waters close to Japan have not held many fish for decades. So to feed the Japanese population, fishing boats got bigger and went farther than ever.
The farther the fishermen went, the longer it took to bring in the fish. If the return trip took more than a few days, the fish were not fresh. The Japanese did not like the taste. To solve this problem, fishing companies installed freezers on their boats. They would catch the fish and freeze them at sea. Freezers allowed the boats to go farther and stay longer. However, the Japanese could taste the difference between fresh and frozen and they did not like frozen fish.
The frozen fish brought lower price.So fishing companies installed fish tanks. They would catch the fish and stuff them in the tanks, fin to fin. After a little thrashing around, the fish stopped moving. They were tired and dull, but alive. Unfortunately, the Japanese could still taste the difference. Because the fish did not move for days, they lost their fresh-fish taste. The Japanese preferred the lively taste of fresh fish, not sluggish fish.
So how did Japanese fishing companies solve this problem? How do they manage to get fresh-tasting fish to Japan?To keep the fish tasting fresh, Japanese fishing companies still put the fish in the tanks. But now they add a small shark to each tank. The shark eats a few fish, but most of the fish arrive in a very lively state. The fish are challenged.
As soon as you reach your goals, such as finding a wonderful mate, starting a successful company, paying off your debts or whatever, you might lose your passion. You don't need to work so hard so you relax. Like the Japanese fish problem, the best solution is simple. L. Ron Hubbard observed it in the early 1950's. "Man thrives, oddly enough, only in the presence of a challenging environment."The Benefits of a Challenge: The more intelligent, persistent and competent you are, the more you enjoy a good problem. If your challenges are the correct size, and if you are steadily conquering those challenges, you are happy. You think of your challenges and get energized. You are excited to try new solutions. You have fun. You are alive!
Recommendations: Instead of avoiding challenges jump into them. Beat the heck out of them. Enjoy the game. If your challenges are too large or too numerous, do not give up. Failing makes you tired. Instead, reorganize. Find more determination, more knowledge, more help. Don't create success and lie in it. You have resources, skills and abilities to make a difference. Put a shark in your tank and see how far you can really go!Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are.
The farther the fishermen went, the longer it took to bring in the fish. If the return trip took more than a few days, the fish were not fresh. The Japanese did not like the taste. To solve this problem, fishing companies installed freezers on their boats. They would catch the fish and freeze them at sea. Freezers allowed the boats to go farther and stay longer. However, the Japanese could taste the difference between fresh and frozen and they did not like frozen fish.
The frozen fish brought lower price.So fishing companies installed fish tanks. They would catch the fish and stuff them in the tanks, fin to fin. After a little thrashing around, the fish stopped moving. They were tired and dull, but alive. Unfortunately, the Japanese could still taste the difference. Because the fish did not move for days, they lost their fresh-fish taste. The Japanese preferred the lively taste of fresh fish, not sluggish fish.
So how did Japanese fishing companies solve this problem? How do they manage to get fresh-tasting fish to Japan?To keep the fish tasting fresh, Japanese fishing companies still put the fish in the tanks. But now they add a small shark to each tank. The shark eats a few fish, but most of the fish arrive in a very lively state. The fish are challenged.
As soon as you reach your goals, such as finding a wonderful mate, starting a successful company, paying off your debts or whatever, you might lose your passion. You don't need to work so hard so you relax. Like the Japanese fish problem, the best solution is simple. L. Ron Hubbard observed it in the early 1950's. "Man thrives, oddly enough, only in the presence of a challenging environment."The Benefits of a Challenge: The more intelligent, persistent and competent you are, the more you enjoy a good problem. If your challenges are the correct size, and if you are steadily conquering those challenges, you are happy. You think of your challenges and get energized. You are excited to try new solutions. You have fun. You are alive!
Recommendations: Instead of avoiding challenges jump into them. Beat the heck out of them. Enjoy the game. If your challenges are too large or too numerous, do not give up. Failing makes you tired. Instead, reorganize. Find more determination, more knowledge, more help. Don't create success and lie in it. You have resources, skills and abilities to make a difference. Put a shark in your tank and see how far you can really go!Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are.
20.9.06
Opera house where no Opera happenz..Centre of Frankfurt am Main
This Opera house is very near to the Citigroup's building where i work.
every day when i come out of the underground, first thing i see is this amazing building.
i think this building is clicked thousand times every day.
even i clicked it couple of times.
it might look like a historical monumnet, but actually it is a replica.
the actual building was flattened in WW2 like many other buildings. but Germans have put their best efforts to replicate many of those buildings.
as the name suggests, it looks like you can see some opera performing here, but unfortunately that is not the case.
day time, you can go in & have a cup of coffee as there are some shops inside but honestly i have not ventured yet.
more about frankfurt in next post..
12.8.06
Attitude, after all, is everything.
Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"
He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"
Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."
"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.
"Yes it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good or bad mood. The bottom line : It's your choice how you live life."
I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business.
We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination.
The robbers panicked and shot him.
Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center.
After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.
I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?"
I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place.
"The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live."
"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.
Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, 'He's a dead man.' I knew I needed to take action."
"What did you do?" I asked.
"Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes,' I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!' Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."
Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.
Attitude, after all, is everything.
He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"
Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."
"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.
"Yes it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good or bad mood. The bottom line : It's your choice how you live life."
I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business.
We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination.
The robbers panicked and shot him.
Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center.
After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.
I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?"
I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place.
"The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live."
"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.
Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, 'He's a dead man.' I knew I needed to take action."
"What did you do?" I asked.
"Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes,' I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!' Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."
Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.
Attitude, after all, is everything.
10.8.06
Come to East Ham.. Come Home…
Come to East Ham.. Come Home…
I feel like settled now, but I miss so many things…. I miss my Fiancée the most, I miss all the time spent with her, I miss the eating out sprees at Punjabi, village, and other restaurants, I miss the booze and Dace @ TAIKA, I miss my gang back in Bangalore, I miss my office – the I-FLEX park & my colleagues, I miss Hindi movies, I miss my CAR, I miss the music system in my Car & sprees of drive on inner ring road with Himesh Reshmiya’ songs, I miss long chats over phone with my family @ my Hometown, Hanuman Garh in Rajasthan.
So u might ask me back, are you happy then? I will say, “Not really”.
I was never like this during my previous trips abroad, because I never had this intimacy with Bangalore and what all it has given to me… But ya, it is destiny and I have to accept it & at least give it a try to enjoy it.
Till now it last 3-4 weeks, I have familiarized myself fully to the area where I live, its Island garden in Docklands. Canary Wharf is the centre of activity near us, it is hub of all the financial institutions and because so many people work here, even the real estate market has picked up well. People like to stay close to where they work so you find areas surrounding Canary Wharf full of residential areas. We guys at I-FLEX are spread in this area, some towards Stratford, (Canary wharf is in the middle) some towards Lewisham. All there are stops on DLR train.
Next thing which come to our Desi mind is to find out places where Indians / Asians are concentrated, LONDON has quite a few of them, East Ham, Southall, Wembley and some more…. I am gonna talk about East Ham in this post.
East Ham is the closest place where we can go and feel at home, it is dominated by south Indian community, you also find Pakistanis, Bangladeshis & Nigerians a lot here. You reach there you need to take jubilee line from Canary wharf and get down at west Ham & change over to Hammersmith & city line or District line and it goes straight to East Ham.
The minute you come out, you see south Indian faces, shops, grocery stores, money transfer agencies… I went there & fell in love with the place, I go there primarily to do voice chat with frenz, you get INTERNET access – 50 pence per hour, it is a bliss. I like eating the south Indians meals too. Barber shop is another attraction – get your hair cut in 5 quids where any where else it is whooping 10-15 quids.
Last time when we went there, it was my roomie’s birthday and he wanted to offer prayers to lord murugan, East Ham has two temples too, Murugan temple is more famous. Inside the temple you cant make out you are in LONDON, the statues looks like the ones in Indian temples so is the priest and the devotees….
For all others like Chinese folks or locals it’s a cheap trip to INDIA so you can find them there mainly for an eating binge. We have planned this week outing again to East Ham. A friend is hosting a lunch there. And I am really happy about it, the shop where we plan to eat is called CHENNAI DOSA.
9.8.06
Bhatner Durg....
To break the monotony (too much of LONDON in my posts...) i delve in my old pics and these are the ones which are very close to my heart...
These are remains of Bhatner Durg @ Hanumangarh... my home town. (click on the image to see more pics...)
Durg means Fort, this fort has significant history attached to it, Taimur the muslim king mentioned in his autobiography "Taimure Shirki" that this fort was one among the tough ones to conquer...
whatever the history says, for us this was a perfect time pass place...
lot of my class mates at school including CP used to go there to drink beer and ........ No No.. i wont tell u. that is confidential. ask CP. He might tell u.
17.7.06
Landed in LONDON - 12th July 2006
London keeps calling me....i remember when i was a kid, i bought a poster of tower bridge and pasted on a wall in my home..did not know i will walk on this bridge so many times... will click so many pictures... and will look at it and feel good.....
All the previous trips were official ones and i was working for INFOSYS at that time.
All trips were short term, once for SBI LONDON, i stayed at east cryodon at that time and worked at Bank station.
Second time i came to work for Zurich Bank, i came just for 3-4 days, had a small presentation for a day in LONDON, then 3 days product overview in Swindon. It went well and got lot of appreciation by the client...
Third visit came my way because Zurich bank folks wanted me to come over for the training, this time it was for a longer tenor of about 30 days, training was split in two locations, ISLE of MANN (a small island between UK & IRELAND) & Swindon. and in the middle we got 4 holidays which me and Amol (my colleague from INFOSYS) utilized to explore Bath and LONDON.
During this trip we came to Greenwich to see the GMT line… we took the DLR train, new addition to the complex network of underground trains, DLR – the Dockland light railway is pretty unique… it runs above ground & some places underground and the most important thing is, it runs without a driver…. Rather I should say, it can run without a driver but generally there is one person always there from DLR team to see if every thing is fine, this person mainly controls the door opening of the train at the stations.
We strolled in Canary wharf, got amazed looking at tall buildings of HSBC, Citibank & Bank of America… never knew one day I will come again, sit here and work for one of them.
This time I have come as an IFLEX employee, consultant for Citibank…
More about LONDON in the next post..
27.2.06
Happy Birthday KK...
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21st Feb, 2006.
26 years back this day a monster came into existence.. who still roars.
ya you are right... its me...
a friend of mine couriered an amzing cake to my place, topping was a pic of mine in Greece made of australian sugar.
Also i bought my first CAR today, a RED ZEN LXI....
had a small booze spree @ Tamarind, Kormangala with frenz.
Sun rise @ Nandi Hills.
18th feb, saturday night, few freaks at my place planned to go to Nandi Hills at night.
i was not game but did not have a choice as every one else was not in a mood to drop the idea..
finally a gang of five, on three bikes started for nandi at 12, reached there at 3AM, came to know that doors will open at 6...
Ami gave an idea for camp fire, obviuosly without camp, i hunted for dry leaves, wood etc, CP helped with his match box and we succeeded... it was chill that night coz nandi hills at a good altitude, sitting near fire was cozy, every one was sleepy... but we had to wait...
Finally we entered at 6, 630 AM we experienced one among the best Sun rises of our lives.
Entry for February 18, 2006
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