UnPlUgGeD!!
Friday, April 1, 2011
Trek To Churdhar...
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
The Last Lecture
Well, those of you who are actually reading this thinking I’ve written about my last lecture, forget it! :P
That would NOT come anytime soon ;)
But ya…I read this Randy Pausch book quite some time back..and thought I’d write about it..but then that never happened ;)
Nonetheless, I’ve got hold of this book yet again and so would not miss the opportunity now. Would brief you about this MUST READ novel; before I pass this on to someone else J
Though I would personally insist on everyone reading this themselves but I can’t help giving an account of the gist of this ‘no.1 best seller’ novel. There are quite a few things that I learnt from this book and would certainly share those with you.
Randy Pausch, a professor at Carnegie Mellon was asked to deliver his last lecture since he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He had the option of either spending time with his wife and three young children or he could spend the limited time preparing for a lecture that he knew would be video-taped!
Very unlikely, he chooses the latter! He says:”I was trying to put myself in a bottle that would one day wash up on the beach for my children. If I were a painter, I would have painted for them. If I were a musician, I would have composed music. But I’m a lecturer. So I lectured.”
This book is basically an account of Randy’s fifty-three “lectures”. I’d quote a few things I just LOVED!! :D
“The brick walls are there for a reason. They’re not there to
keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.”“I watched Dr.Wolff use semantics to phrase whatever he could in a positive light. When we asked, “How long before I die?” he answered, ‘You probably have three to six months of good health” That reminded me of my time at Disney. Ask Disney World workers: “What time does the park close?” they’re supposed to answer: “The park is open until 8 p.m.”
“People are more important than things”
“The MOST formidable brick wall I ever came upon in my life was just five feet, six inches tall, and was absolutely beautiful. But it reduced me to tears, made me reevaluate my entire life and led me to call my father, in a helpless fit, to ask for guidance on how to scale it.
That brick wall was Jai, my wife.”
Once Jai hit one car with the other. The convertible got the worst of it but both the cars were running fine. Randy wasn’t angry at all but told her that they didn’t need to do repairs. They’d live with the dents. So he says:
“You appreciate the part of me that didn’t get angry because two “things” we own got hurt. But the flip side of that is my belief that you don’t repair things if they still do what they’re supposed to do. The cars still work. Let’s just drive them.”
“No matter how bad things are, you can always make things worse. At the same time, it is often within your power to make them better.”
‘There was one line in the film (Mr.Magorium’s Wonder Emporium), however, that remains with me. The apprentice tells the toymaker that he can’t die, he has to live. And he responds: “I already did that.” ‘
“As Jai was being rushed into surgery for an emergency C-section, she said to the doctor, “This is bad, isn’t it? I admired the doctor’s response. It was the perfect answer for our times:“If we were really in a panic, we wouldn’t have had you sign all the insurance forms, would we? We wouldn’t have taken that time.” The doctor had a point. I wondered how often she used her “hospital paper-work” riff to ease patients’ anxieties.”
“I really do feel I was able to pack a whole lot of life into the shortened lifespan I’ve been handed.
- Time must be explicitly managed, like money.
- You can always change your plan, but only if you have one.
- Ask yourself: Are you spending your time on the right things?
- Develop a good filing system.
- Rethink the telephone.
- Delegate
- Take a time out
Time is all you have. And you may find one day that you have less than you think.”
“Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.”
- Don’t complain, just work harder.
- Treat the disease, not the symptom
- Don’t obsess over what people think
- Look for the best in everybody
- Watch what they do, not what they say
- All you have is what you bring with you
- A bad apology is worse than no apology
- No job is beneath you
- Know where you are
- Never give up
- All you have to do is ask
“Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other. Go out and do for others what somebody did for you.”
“If I could give three words of advice, they would be” tell the truth.” If I got three more words, I’d add; “All the time.” My parents taught me hat “you’re only as good as you word,” and there’s no better way to say it.”
Hope you got to learn something from here! :)
P.S :You can also view the video at www.thelastlecture.com
Friday, January 21, 2011
Parents Wedding Anniversary!!
Happy Anniversary mom n dad! (i'm yet to wish you over phone :P how could you just sleep knowing its your anniversary day! aaaaaaaaaaannnn!!!)
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
The January Examinations.
We are given a “preparatory” leave to prepare for these exams but since that leave encompasses both the Christmas and New Year Celebrations, you can well understand how we “use” this leave!! J
We do prepare…but for Joy…loads of Masti and so much Fun!!!
At the start of the exams the usual question is: “kuch kiya/did you study anything??” :-P
It is ironic if I see the trend of the perception of these exams in all the three years…
For the first year junior members it’s THE MOST IMPORTANT thing!
Everyone aims or at least tries to aim for the prestigious Sumitomo Scholarship that is worth around 25 grand! And what makes it big is not just the amount but the fact that the one who gets it in the first year gets it for all the three years! J
For a second year junior member it’s somewhat important, they realize by the 2nd year the value of Jan test beyond Sumitomo, i.e. the internals!You screw your internals badly enough in the 1st year to realize that had there been just 2 or 3 more marks there in the internals you could have easily crossed the 70%(for scienceez) or 60%(for Artseez) in univs.
For 3rd years it’s a routine, the ones who are already placed are the ones least concerned…and by that time the ones who are not placed are as it is not concerned:-P They don’t even get to know when they come n go, as Pallavi says!
During Exams,everybody in the residence (i.e. hostel for a non-stephanian) is found in relationship with books: eating, drinking n sleeping with books! ;)
Hahahahahaha… the sight is soo amusing since none of us (leaving chem. Hons legends :P) studies before exams!!! You have people who are ready for jagraatas and that too soo many! J
Go around any time in the block…be it as late as 2 am or early morning 4 am…all lights are switched on! :D This is the wave I had mentioned earlier!
When I came as a Futcha(first year bachchas are called futchaas in D.U.), I often used to wonder..When do people study here? But you get to see that sight exclusively during exams! ;) It’s just that night before when everyone gears up and says, “Oh the exam is tomorrow indeed!!” :)
My experiences have been very different. As a first year, Jan Tests to me were important.I was another aspirant of Sumitomo Scholarship. In the preparatory leave, I went back home with a small bag of clothes n other stuff n a huge suitcase full with books. My mom was so shocked n asked why so many books? You could have got only those from which you would study and I well remember that I had promptly replied that aapko pta ni hai?? Mere “Jan Test” hai…. I gotta study them all! N trust me the time I had to return back to college that was the only suitcase that I dint have to pack, it was as it is: “untouched” :P
Well, this year I decided not to go back home to study, since I had my first year experience and knew well that “now” studying at home does NOT work at all!! I thought I’d stay in college and study but realized it early enough that that so does not work!! With no classes to attend in the day, I’d happily sleep till hunger pangs or Nature’s call intervened!
Then I thought if I go to my guardians place, at least I’ll have some shame and so would get up on time and get ready but Ahh!! That too did NOT work :P Instead, I used to wake up around 12 or 1pm with no scolding or guilt! Also, I got some amazing food along with so much of Television to see and what more, there was Wi-Fi at home J n how could I forget the dog? How could I study?? :P To add to it, had a dancing bash at the New Year J
Rest all is history! Exams went bad! They never go that great anyways… but this time I feel indifferent to the results.
Lets see what the final year holds for me...as of now I just feel that next year I’d be indifferent to the exams itself!
One resolution is that this time, come what may I’m not screwing my Christmas and New Year!!! I would go back home….without a single book and then come back after the celebrations and studyJ
As it is we start then only, what’s the whole point of not celebrating!! ;)
P.S: I guess all “hostel” students would agree with the last night preparations.
Elders say: “last minute studying never helps”. Now how to tell them that ONLY last minute study helps?? ;)
Also, I guess I forgot to mention that the Jan tests contribute to the 10 of the 25 marks we have for internals. The final university examination is for 75marks each.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
My INTERNSHIP
I still remember the day I had to pack my bags for EI, thinking that for the first time in my life I’d be working for a COMPANY I packed a couple of formal trousers and shirts. To my pleasure, EI was so informal!
It was fun working there and did not take me long to mix up with people, call them by their names (no sir/ma’am) and sit together to share lunch!
Thanks to Balu and Ashok bhaiya who made my stay so convenient. I had to just tell them and forget! J (possibly got everything I required!)
Thanks to Suchi for “Dinner” (in and out). I would have been more grateful had I not denied your “vodka” proposal.Her daughter,Ananya, has been the most affectionate hostess I’ve ever met!
Thanks to Elgar for taking a 100 questions from Kunal and me each day and patiently answering them one by one.(Jinee khush hui ;))
It was fun irritating Dinesh, the one who used to design/animate our questions. Whatever I wanted he would never do that correctly in the first instant; there was some or the other misunderstanding! :P
I got to learn enough from Anu, Sumita Jee, and Vidula. Thank you Kushal bhai for the yummy pakodhaas and Thanks Meghna for the idly sambar(that was too good + you did not let me pay :P)
Last and most importantly, thank you so very much Kunal! I would not have enjoyed as much as I did had you not been there! Also, thanks for the daily breakfasts and masti! Had a great time at your home! J Was fun knowing you and your philosophies on the “uneasy” bus ride! :P And you are CRAZY!! Insanely crazy!
I joined as an internee for Educational Initiatives(EI), Navi Mumbai Office on the 20th of May,2010.(http://www.ei-india.com/)
The best thing about the internship was the working part. I worked as much as any other person did; who had been working there for years! I basically worked as an educational specialist in the Mind Spark (MS) math team. Sp
They taught us all that we could possibly do in the Mind Spark(MS)
Oh! Did I tell you about MS?
Mindspark is a self-adaptive computer based programme that gives student the freedom to move at his own comfortable pace. It’s an interactive system where the difficulty rises with each correctly answered question. The system is able to identify the strong and weak concepts in a particular chapter and helps to understand those by means of “remedials.” Also the student can learn really well since he can go below and above his class level.
Yup! So I basically did vetting(that is finding out others mistakes. :P), made Q-types and pools(that is you decide on the sequence of questions and then make questions of same types in such a way that interests students.), made challenge questions, their hints and explanations, did data analysis(huge data!!!) and also worked on one remedial! J
Besides this we had lots of fun during our Ahmadabad Head Office visit where we had a formal introduction with all the members of EI. We were occupied all day meeting people and knowing about the different arms of the organization. Munching on the Junk was another pleasure J
We(me and Kunal) also did a CASE-STUDY PROJECT. We went to Gundecha Educational Academy where we interviewed students and made a report.This was pure FUN! Made me remember my school days! Also witnessed a MS session in progress.
It was Fun, Exciting, Challenging, Irritating, Shocking, Creative and a Feel-good experience!
Fun because it was my first time..was fun exploring the place
Exciting since i got to know all the ones associated to EI :)
Challenging as it took quite a time to understand and come down to the student-level, what works and doesnot work for them, writing hints in a way that is not too giving away..explaining them the CQ's in a way I thought they could best learn it!
Irritating as i would often sway back to my level and feel the question is way too easy..where as actually that was hard for the kids :P
Shocked I was when I viewed the students survey results.It was shocking to see how simple concepts like angles, area, and fractions are way to complex according to students.
Creative because we had to think of a way students would enjoy and learn! We came up with ideas which i hope will help EI in future.
Feel-Good since it's always nice to point mistakes of others! :D i enjoyed vetting the MOST! :)
To sum up: it was a memorable life experience! Never before was life so pleasant or at a few instances so unpleasant! :-D
Saturday, July 3, 2010
My stint with the LOCAL TRAINS
All throughout, I've had this horrible notion about "Local Trains" and so have been far away from it!
But, as soon as i reached Mumbai, the very first thing i faced was: local train! :P (thanks to my friend: Aashik)
well, local trains are a part and parcel of every Mumbaikar's life and so i too had to adapt it.(atleast for a month ;))
It was all well and fine till recently (i.e. on 19th June), I had a PROPER local train expeience
So, here it is for you: My two hours long Local Train journey from Belapur to Kandivali. :)
After the oh! so many advices from all the people who cared, I entered the "Ladies Compartment"(as it's thot to be safe) It din't take me long to realize the absurd position i was in! It was like 70 odd people(imagine the rush! all squeezed in a compartment), girls n ladies of all age groups staring at me!!
i dont know y? but it definitely made me think a zillion times what was wrong with me...was it my formal dressing? (dat was d 1st time in Mumbai dat i wore my formals ;My office was very informal!:P).. or was it my hair?? my shoes? I checked myslf again ..finding everything as it is alwayz..i managed controlling my "pissed off" feeling.
Had it been just one soul i'd have well-ignored but like all 70?? wtf!!
as it is..i cunt do much about it, managed squeezing as the 4th person on a 3-seater bench , took out my novel and focussed on it! :) (that took me away from the pissed off feeling i had been going through)
Now I did not really care... they stare or not, I was into my book- "The Last Lecture": will rief you about this must-read book in another post.
well... for the first time in my life i realized how much better it is to be stared by men than women; at least doesn't bug you!! :P
It is weird when *females* stare :( n maybe coz that's not that obvious!
Anywayz after almost an hours journey from belapur , i got off at Vadala, changed my train. I missed the Bandra train..and so had to take "ANDHERI" to get off at bandra that was like just 3 stations away from Vadala :)
i was happy..coz just 3 stations away...but was not happy for long!!!
omg!!! this andheri train....mad rush!!!!! there was a stampede...i dint move a step but was literally pushed to the door where until the train moved i swung like a pendulum resting on the centre pole..
After a couple of abuses(to which i was the sole listener) i struggled my way through the crowd... all the seats were booked..needles to menion! i quietly stood there..looking around!
i came across a bunch of funny advertisements..will surely share those with you (will upload the pixz soon..dont have them rite now)
Bengali Baba, Baba Sai
Love/ friendship, instant entertainment male/female both! Earn and fun-male/female friendship
failed first and second year? direct admssion to 3rd year..save your 2 years!
Hahahahahaha! had a hilarious time till Bandra!
I got down at Bandra and took the Borivali train..that was relatively less crowded n so I got a seat the very next station. :)
I took out the novel and started reading..to my pleasure i almost finished it by the time i reached Kandiwali! :)
To Sum up:
DISLIKES:
- Had to change too many trains..alot of botheration
- went through a stampede!
- was stared by a bunch of feMALES
- Kunal made me wait for 15 minutes :P (hope this addition here forces you to come on time the next day)
- I completed my Novel! yupee :)..so wanted to!!!
- enjoyed the photograpy..never heard abt such adds :P
- did my first ever local train shopping. got myself a white clutcher :P oops..sorry i forgot mentioning abt it before.. i bargained for the same clutcher at around 6 places in Colaba :P finally got it at My price! :D (infact got dat for just 5 rupees!! :P *local train jindabaad*)
Mumbai seems so much apni-apni types!! :) looking forward to more of it! :)
(will buy novels this saturday ;) )
PS: sorry for the late post! was devoid of internet :P :P lambiii judaiiiiiiii :(
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
I wonder y??
I try hard to be the mummy's good girl types :P..to get up on time for college..have proper breakfast, attend morning assembly and be dot on time for all my classes!! but Alas!! its a dream..which looks soo pretty residing dere in the thoughts only....
Is this mere laziness ??
I've had umpteen number of plans with my friends for a morning walk...but still till date cunt go for one! What is it??? is it my laziness?? or my poor time-management??
I've alwayz thought of starting to prepare for an exam the very day I get the syllabus but ahh!! It's just the night before..rather the "early" morning before the exam :P :P
My mom has to be literally after me to get my packing done..but still..nothing bothers me till the time i actually have to leave!! (then i get perplexed when i start remembering what ALL i'd forgotten! :P)
The heap of clothes that piles up the entire month and then that one day when you HAVE to sit down washing those :P :P gosh!!
There are plenty of such things.....which gets me to this same old situation!
I often used to wonder how i would get along with all this later in life..but it is now a part of my life! :D
*EVOLUTION OF IDEOLOGY*
School: #era gets her answer sheet.. 5 on 10!! era finds it hard to come to terms with such a poor performance#
College: #era gets her answer sheet..5 on 10!! not gud.. but since the entire class got somewhere around 5 Era tends to be as happy as she can be! :D#
I have observed this typical trait : we cheer ourselves up by knowing there are so many others with us as well! :)
This is College life for you my friends...you'll find it to be the best phase of your life!!! :)
It's not that we don't study..or we don't do things that are required to be done..it's just that everything is done at the last moment :P
it's easy for a swimmer to swim but it gets challenging for him to swim in the stormy weather! ;)
Realization:If it wasn't for the last minute, nothing would get done. :D