Why we work

We work... to pay for our sins!

The Tingling Charm

With time on hand and a blackberry for company

You just do not do it
When you don't feel like it
You just will look away
When you don't feel like it

Do that what you want
And not what you can
Do something different
And not what's the plan

Think of your self
Remember your dream
For no one else will
As selfish as this may seem

Always have a plan
Just don't stick to it
Do something different
Just go right for it

Life is not that long
Go chart some unknown path
In just toeing that straight line
Where is the tingling charm

Communicate

Picture Source: First Friday Book Synopsis
To misquote the late legendary Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke,

What we had was a failure to communicate.
Some women you just can't reach,
so we ended with what we had then.
Which is the way it would finish in the end.
Well, you get it.
And I don't like it any more than you...

Snakes & Ladders

Picture Source: AgileFAQs

Snakes and Ladders must have been invented by a philosopher
It truly is the best metaphor for life there is...

Will

If you can't do the time,
don't commit the crime

If you will the end,
you should will the means

Be Yourself

'Be true, Be yourself if that doesn't work, be someone else'

Sight

"I like what I see for I see what I like"
-max

Scenario Analysis

Best case
Dance like people are not watching
Love like it does not hurt
Work like you do not need money

Base case
Dance like people are watching
Love like it hurts
Work like you need money

Bear case
Dance like it hurts
Love like you need money
Work like people are watching

Worst case
Dance like you need the money
love like people are watching
work like it hurts

Think

Be not the Ostrich that buries her head in the sand and thinks its cant be seen
Be rather the Giraffe, who stretches her neck out to see things beyond the blinding green

-max

No escaping the Walk

"I don’t much care where... so long as I get SOMEWHERE," Alice said.
"Oh, you’re SURE to do that," said the Cat. It added "but only if you walk long enough."

Upto you

There are no magical fixes. It is ALL upto you. Get up off your ass, get out and start doing your work. And if you are scared of it being hard, realize that nothing in this world that is worth having comes easy.

The child in you

Today is Children's day in India, a legacy of Chacha Nehru. And on this day, I ponder about the lost child in all of us. The one that gets lost in the rat race of life. We grow from being a child to an adult only to be a child again. That is the circle of life.
Why do we let the child in us go away for a bit? Why do we not let him stay? Why do we race to achieve this transition? Let him stay, be a part of who we truly are. Why are we not phuduking [translation: jumping] around as kids with happiness, joy and gay abandon?
Yes, we need to be serious when we need to be. But, that is not the whole day. There is always time for him.
All work and no play will make Max [and everyone else] a dull boy.

Nanu tu akela hai

nanu, iss duniye mein tu akela hai
pal bhar ke liye saathi milenge
hasenge khelenge
aur phir chale jayenge

umeed pe duniya kaayam hai sahee
par umeed doosronki tujhpe hai
tu kissi se umeed na rakhna

jo tune umeed rakhi
mooh ke bal girega
jab tu ladkhadaate uthegaa
tere haath mein sirf tera daant hoga

nanu, iss duniye mein tu akela hai
koi tere saath naa hai

- Max ke Bhaiyaa

Max Comment
#1 - Understand the Bhavana :)
#2 - Nanu = Max

Crystal Ball

This is what I found today as my fortune for the coming month.
You will never need to worry about a steady income

True. Infact, I am amazed by the logical correctness of this fortune while being eons away from reality. :D
Given that I do not have an income, I do not need to worry about the steadiness.

Brilliant!

Lessons in Management

Today I learnt a few lessons in management... Some that I already knew!
Some that I did not.

1) One should never date at work.
2) One should never make the best of friends at work.
3) One should never tell the truth. At the same time, one should never lie!
4) One should never talk more than is required. Information should not be shared unless asked for.


May make sense... may not! Nevertheless, these are some important lessons...
After all... its all about the right mask!

max

The mind of an Indian Software professional

Way back in the 9th grade in Secondary School, my physics teacher talked about this strange phenomenon called the black hole. A black hole isn't exactly as it sounds to be. It isn't some man-hole that is dark and musty. It is a scientific phenomenon. A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing can escape, even light. Hence the name.
It is impossible to see a black hole directly because no light can escape from them; they are black. But scientists believe that there are good reasons to think they exist.
Round about the same time, my geography teacher talked about an abyss. An abyss is a bottomless gulf, pit, or chaos of the old cosmogonies. It may also mean an immeasurably deep gulf or great space. This is again a theoretical concept that is not a scientifically proven fact.
You may wonder as to whether the Goan air (and feni)has gotten to my head for talking about a black hole or an abyss, especially after that amazing vacation that i had during the x'mas - new year period. More on that later.
I intend to show and prove to you that these scientifically theoretical phenomena exist. And by now you must be pulling your hair out wondering what the link is between black holes, abyss and a software professional. Well, read on...

IT and ITES has boomed in a big way in India. It is suddenly the hot bed for Software programming. And everybody wants a piece of the pie. All the big names are here...in a BIG way!
It is a classic example of the Supply-Demand curve. There just aren't enough people to employ (I somehow find that hard to believe, but it must be true...) and in the bargain, the demand is pushed higher. So is the rate that is demanded. Some of the figures quoted as expected salaries are ridiculous (my friends in HR can bear testimony to that)...and guess what? More often than not, they get what they ask for!
My dad, a humble guy, often says "Greed is the undoing of a man (i guess he means women as well)". When things are going your way, book your profit and exit. For, things going your way can mean two things:
You are very lucky! In which case, it is not likely to last for long
You are moving in the wrong direction in a one-way! If so, it is only a matter of time before you are hit!
The moral of the story is NOT to rake in the moolah and switch companies. It is to NOT be greedy at all times.
It is a reasonable thing to expect the sky everytime. However, it must be backed up with either a beanstalk (Jack and the beanstalk) to touch the sky or a hell of an effort in terms of work.
At the end of the day, one should be able to answer in the affirmative to the question "Do I deserve it?". If you do deserve it and if you haven't got it, there is definitely a cause for concern. But, to expect the world each and every time is nothing short of an utopian philosophy. Only in a chimeric world would you expect to get sustained spikes in the salary that you draw. There is always a phase of consolidation.
The reason that I talk about this is that most of my IT professional brethren are NOT HAPPY! Period. And I am not talking about my current employer. I am talking about the Indian IT world in general. If they get a promotion, a decent salary hike (will not discuss percentages) or an onsite trip, they are happy for a few months...then the cribbing starts again. I dont say that all these are not important. They are THE most important things in life. But there is a time and place for everything.
The graph has to stabilise after a point. But guess what? People dont get this point. And in the search of the constant spike, they are never happy!
Always be ambitious! Always aim for the sky. But, dont have any expectations from life...You may not always get what you want...or what you deserve...Watch this space for more