Isn't it ironic, don't you think?

It's like filling petrol in your car, to discover the petrol prices have slashed down the next day!
Its like getting a phone call from your boss when you are ready to leave for the day!
Its like fasting on your Birthday!
Its like running out of battery when your favorite song is about to play!

- This might surely sound like the song "Ironic" by Alanis Morissette...the way it goes:

A traffic jam when you're already late
A no-smoking sign on your cigarette break
It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife
It's meeting the man of your dreams
And then meeting his beautiful wife
And isn't it ironic...don't you think
A little too ironic...and, yeah, I really do think...

I have been having far too many "Ironic" moments at work and I am no more surprised why it happens to me always! Have you ever had a high-priority-customer-ticket to resolve exactly the same day when your project is about to go live??! Isn't it Ironic..don't you think?

KT Problems!

As a part of my job, many a times I am asked/required to provide a "knowledge transfer" to either a new joinee, or an old team mate who is new to the project. I have absolutely no issues in teaching somebody or even learning from someone. In fact i learn more while teaching, cos every new person has a new way of looking at things. I am usually open to a lot of questions and I am usually patient in answering them. Ok, I guess i made my point far more than clear that I can teach and I am patient enough for it, but there is a problem here and without further delay i would just get to the problem statement :)..So here it is..

Problem Statement 1: You are in a new team, you are little more experienced from the rest of the team, however the team is new to you. You are just trying to get a hang of things and the do's and dont's in the team. After about 6 months of self learning and lot of practical knowledge, you are suddenly found in this situation where: You are no longer new, the old team thinks you are doing something new (which is actually not) and you are supposed to give KT to the old team members on what you learnt from these 6 months! Weird isn't it? Weird but true!!

Problem Statement 2: You are again new, you are new the team and the team is new! you are learning things from scratch from some stranger 7 seas apart! And finally you are the one and only owner of the project, when suddenly, somebody is introduced in the project and you have to give a KT! Always happy to have helpers, you give all the KT you need to and take the help from him/her in return. This entire process happens once, twice and thrice. Fourth time you are like: Oh my God! when will this end??

Problem Statement 3: You have taken KT from an old team member, learnt almost everything from him/her and took over the project. After few months, you fall back on him/her for help in the project and the reply is "I have forgotten everything, give me a KT". What do you mean forgotten? If you are on fast for a month, do you forget to eat? Do you forget to pay your monthly bills? Do you forget your own mobile number cos you never dial it? GRR!

Problem Statement 4: Nobody is new here, everybody knows everything and is doing the same thing. you are just asking for "backup" when you wanna go out for a short vacation with your family and your manager comes and says. Please give KT so that your backup is not blocked due to your absence? @#!$@%#$

Last but not the least, Problem Statement 5: You have resigned from your current company and you are on notice period. After 2 weeks of torture you finally get a replacement and you are expected to transfer the knowledge in one week. You stay late, take shorter breaks, write pages and pages of wiki for your replacement and leave the company. After a week you find out your replacement has left!!!! WHAT A WASTE OF TIME and EFFORT!! GRRR!

Tumbling...

This was not my idea. My friend suddenly came to me and said "Lets do Project 365". At first, I had no clue what it meant! and then this is what his explanation was "Its a photoblog. You should take pics of the most significant event of the day, each day, and post it. The project goes on for a year and that's why it's project 365"

Well, interesting for sure, this project not only required me to have a decent camera with me all the time, but also the presence of mind to click a pic at that significant moment of the day! Moreover, post it on the same day! To add to it, I had a stream of questions on my mind before I could say a "Yes" or a "No" to him.
1. What if I don't have a decent camera?
2. What if I don't have net at home?
3. What if there is no significant moment on that day?
4. What if I am on a vacation and no access to technology?

And the quick answers to these were:
1. I have a blackberry with a decent camera, what more do I need..
2. Zimble, use office net :)
3. Take my own pic and post it ;) I am significant enough for myself :)
4. Who cares, post after you come back!

The final answer was "YES!" in CAPS and with a BIG GRIN! (don't imagine me doing that)

So, next day I created this new blog and promised my followers that there will be a post a day, sorry a photo-a-day in that space starting from TODAY!

Check it out: http://sak365.tumblr.com

Still wondering why the tumbler pic on the post? ;-)

Bugging you!

This video has been my favorite for years now. It reminds me of the "S" bay which I had in my previous company where all of us used to repeatedly watch this video whenever our khadoos boss is asking a zillion questions!

Thanks to mariya (yes its her again!! Gosh I am mentioning her name more often than my name!!) for finding this video for us. Salma, Sumanth, Solo-man and myself (The "S"bay in-mates) are very thankful to you :P

The bug in the video is damn cute and I still remember Salma and myself trying to sing like him...lol!

Enjoi it!

Driving the car is always easier than parking it!

They say "Getting a driving license is different from actually driving".

Initially I didn't understand this saying, until I started to drive! Well for me, getting the driving license was adventurous enough and i was confident to drive on the roads. But I guess, I was wrong. I have far too many occasions where I have managed to save myself or my car from damage (Mom, don't panic after reading this, cos I am much better at it now)

It was sometime in November 2007 when i got my own car(A year after i got my license). It was a 1999 Maruti 800 and I was the third owner. The reason i give this info is for you to understand that the very old car was gonna be driven by a very new driver! - ME :)

When the car came home, My dad was just too scared to give the car keys in my hands, he insisted i go for another round of classes before i actually drove the car myself. However, I managed to convince him for a few classes by a known driver.

The known driver finally turned up on one of the weekend and I could finally take charge of the car and control the steering myself. Well, it was not only the steering, but the clutch, the gear, the accelerator and the brakes too! As I sat on the driver's seat, there was a wave of nervousness running down my body and the only hope I had was the person sitting next to me - My teacher - The known Driver.We drove and drove and drove until we hit the Toll plaza on ECR and we decided to get back home. The drive was pretty smooth and I did pretty well in my first class. My teacher was already impressed and was recommending me to take the car out everyday!

We finally reached home and I was totally proud about myself! Now that the driving was impressive, my next chapter was the parking! I was supposed to park the car inside the house garage - which was slightly scary as the car park at home was pretty weird. I had to take a right and another right and then left in order to get to the parking slot! And to add complexity to the already complicated route, The second right was an elevation and the left was where the gate was. It might sound extremely simple to you, but for me it was no where close to it being simple.

With all the courage and skill, I took the first right peacefully, no engine noises, no tyres screeching no smoke, no clash. However, the second right required some knack cos it was an elevation. It needed a little acceleration, lot of clutch and quick brake when the car has to turn left. Mummy :( I was very cautious on the accelerator, but because of that my car refused to climb and my teacher kept signaling for more acceleration. Finally i left the clutch, jumped on to the accelerator, went zoom on top and forgot to break before turning left!!!

Result: Car was in the place where it had to be.

Car Status:
Right headlights were broken
Left bumper was smashed
Left headlight and indicator light shattered into pieces

People Status:
My mom's eyes couldn't believe what had just happened!
My driver was almost in the verge of laughing
My dad had a mixed feeling whether to scold the driver or me!
I was shocked and shivering to get out of the car!
The neighbors came running after hearing some loud screeches.

My driving status:
Though i got to drive the car, my dad, never let me park for almost a month after this incident. I would leave the car on the road until he came home and parked it himself!

Hence proved:
Getting a driving license is different from actually driving

Outsourced??

I saw this movie on Star movies, and i just did not seem to relate to it. This movie is about an American guy who comes to India to teach how to run a call center. So far so good, the only part which irritated me was the "exaggeration".

I simply don't understand why the non-Indian directors, making an Indian movie, always want to portray either one of the following:
1. Slums
2. Dirt
3. Crowd
4. Anything which spells "eeew!"

This American guy who is supposedly the "AVP of sales and order fulfillment" is dumber than the villagers. He eats whatever is offered to him (including ice golas), he sits wherever there is place, he talks to any stranger and he cannot differentiate between "Mac Donnells" and "McDonalds".

In reality, every visitor/tourist is given a huge list of "Do's and Dont's" before stepping into India. I don't have the complete list, but this is the preview:
1. Do not drink/eat anything which is not served in disposable material
2. Do not use tap water - Brush your teeth with bottled water
3. Do not eat any restaurant which is not star-rated!

Looks like this man had never read the list and finally blamed the ice golas he ate on the roadside for a "cramped" stomach!

I think the movie failed miserably in projecting the right picture about India and Indians and the way we work and live here. We did start the IT consulting firms in small rooms and then expanded to big campuses but not by building huts in the middle of no where and operate with borrowed electricity lines! The movie showcased a frustrated outsider who initially had an horrible experience and then finally fell in love with his co-worker and got back to his country with a bollywood ring tone-d mobile phone!

Gosh, so FILMY!

P.S. I am not a professional critique and this blog is not meant for writing movie reviews, this is my personal opinion written down in my blog!

Shopping!

Well, I think I already know what you are thinking after reading the title. If I know you well enough you’re saying one of these:

1. Sak! No! Not again!
2. GIRLS!! !!
3. There goes her husband's money
4. Gosh, how boring!
5. Give me a break!

100 points to you for choosing the right answer ;) but no matter what you think, It ain't gonna stop me shop :) Imagine how T.Nagar would look if nobody shopped! - I just did and instantly got this: "I am Legend" Movie's scene where the place is totally deserted. Imagine how the "Saravana Stores", "Kumaran Stores" and "G.R.Ts" would look with NO People around! - Gosh!

Anyways, I Wonder why people (Guys esp.) have a crooked face when we (Girls) talk about shopping. You know what??! If we didn’t shop, YOU wouldn't have got that lovely shirt in your closet and all you would be wearing is a crushed T-shirt for the 3rd time in the same week! So be thankful to us ladies for sparing that small amount from our pockets to make you look presentable!

Shopping and I have a unique relationship. I prefer shopping alone and not show the bill when I get back home ;) I am not very fussy when it comes to picking up stuff for me. I can blow up half my salary in a day by just going to "Shopper's stop" all by myself and get back home SATISFIED!

Sak! How do you manage to do that?

Zimble!- Whenever I set out to shop I make sure I have a list. I need to know what I want before I hit the mall. Also, I hate going to 10 shops and finally buy 1 saree from the first shop I visited. I mean, Why waste energy on the next 9 shops when u already spotted something you like in the first one? I feel sorry for the sales guy/girl in front of me who is patiently displaying all the dresses I wish to see and then tell him/her "Thanks, I will come back later" - TERRIBLE!!! My funda is simple - See it. Like it? Take it! I don’t care if it costs a penny less in the shop down the road! I am totally happy with what I got and the price I paid for it.

Besides shopping alone for myself, I totally enjoy giving company to somebody else. For some reason, I usually have confused people around me. They cannot help me shop, nor themselves! They just can't decide what they want and if its the right thing to buy. That's when I show up and rescue them - SO, need company?

Hope the shopping gyan has enlightened some poor souls in this universe! Good night!

Shhhh..it's a Secret...

Now this post is surely inspired by my cousin..No wonder why her blog shows up on "My Motivators" list. So here is one blog "inspired" from her post: "Can you keep a Secret? - It is how Anu Malik gets "Inspired" by every English pop song! LOL

So, Can I keep a secret??? ABZOLUTELLYY!!! I know far too many secrets about you before you realize it yourself ;). Don’t panic and call the cops, I am not gonna let it out in a public forum :-) for the very simple reason that, IT IS A SECRET..Duh!!! But, guess what, This post is gonna have few of my very own secrets ...and after this post, it’s gonna be known secrets ;)

1. I am scared of dogs! - This is a known secret to some of my friends who have seen me reacting to a dog around me!

2. My first crush was when I was in LKG!! - Don't ask me the name, cos I don't remember it either ;)

3. My favorite color became purple only after college; it used to be black before!

4. I DONT have any best friends. I have huge chunks of friends from every path of my life, but no one as my closest or best! I don’t have anybody to pick up the phone and vent out something which bothers me or excites me!

5. My original name was "Rubab" and was changed to "Sakina" as a dedication to my grand mom!

6. There were exactly 2 Bohri muslim guys I seriously liked before I got hooked on to Vishnu! Both of them had no interest in me...Thank GOD??!?? - Don't ask names again, both of them are supposedly married to somebody else ;-)

7. My sister gives me an inferiority complex. Though I love her the most, I have always been jealous of her. (More details in a later post)

That's it for now; I would like to keep the rest as secrets ;)

And the winner is....

After a month of hunt and analysis, this man made machine wins all the 4 hearts in the family...Surprisingly, it impressed the parents in no time and we got the green signal to go ahead and sign the 'Booking Form'. Now, anxiously waiting for it to arrive home. It is the Hyundai i20 :-)

Beauty Tip :)

Ever tried a facial which gets over in 5 mins and also gives good results??

A facial which does not need you to spend 1.5 hours in the parlour?

A facial which doesn't burn your pocket?

A facial which guarantees instant glow and no after effects?

A facial which is free of cost once a year?

A facial done by 10 of ur friends rather than some stranger in the parlor?

A facial which can be photographed and treasured?

A facial which is creamy and colorful?

A facial which can be done at work or home or friend's place?

A facial which gives the same effect irrespective of gender, color, skin type or size of your face?

Ok ok ok, these are the people who have gone through out-of-the-world-facial and have been proven to be brighter, cuter, smarter and cleaner after that;-)

Btw, I am not waiting for mine ;)