Writing to me has always been personal. Before the whole blogging genre came into picture, I considered myself a personal writer i.e., I wrote to myself. This was something I used to do at least every alternate day. But, as time slid through the slit of life, I found myself increasingly conscious of myself. Altogether, I stopped writing using pen and paper. Then, in the late teens, when blogging was the “In thing”, I created my 1st blog and typed in my teen frustrations coupled with a desperate attempt to save myself from the farce that was life. I always wanted to become a rebel but I was never one. I always wanted to be the outrageous guy in the class who went by the motto, “My way or the highway” courtesy a lot of Telugu and Tamil movies. Alas, as I pointed out, I was not quick with my “right brain”. My logical self sprang me back to reality and took me thru the drone of IIT prep, engineering and subsequently working in an Indian MNC. I do confess that I had intermittent bouts of self realization and came back to blogging but it never lasted for more than a week.

Its 2012 and the beginning of another exciting and eventful year of my life. This might even be the busiest year of my life since 2001-2002. I have made a come back to the blogging community but it sure wasn’t with a bang. I still have so much to learn about writing, about expressing my life in words and simply the art of english. But, I do need a vent or rather an opportunity to share snippets of my life with myself (and maybe some bored folks who stumbled upon my blog by mistake). So here I am furiously typing away on my keyboard, the so called “musings of a pragmatic preacher”. Here’s to a new lease of life (read it as Google hits) for my blog.

Adios!

I couldn’t think of a better word than this. It is cliched and also a bit unimaginative but it does suit the mood. It has been a little over 30 months that I started blogging. Its like this love-hate relationship which is sort of like a necessary evil. This time also I am not sure how long I will be able to sustain this random musings. Only time will tell. A lot has happened since my last post. To summarize:

1) Now I am back in India

2) Couldn’t qualify to Dartmouth University

3) Gave my GMAT- twice.

4) Applied to Duke, UNC, ISB and NUS. Got rejected from all these schools. Even though I got thru 2 US B schools, funding became an issue.

5) Reapplied to ISB the next year and applied to SP Jain PGPM program. Got accepted to both programs.

6) Getting married to my long time girlfriend. (In another 2 days :-) )

7) Booked my honeymoon tickets to Thailand.

8) Learnt Spanish albeit I need to work harder.

That’s the list in brief. The initial euphoria regarding ISB has kinda settled in and now I am reading the FB postings of my class group (ISB Class of 2013). They are an incredible bunch and boy, everyone is indeed a superman/superwoman with his/her own superpowers.

Until the next post

Adios

There are many people who don’t like me, personally and professionally. Why? Well, I might have done some things to really piss them off. Or maybe they have some kind of inferiority complex, I don’t know. But what I do know is that life is too short to be thinking about these issues. I pissed off some person, Big deal. Why can’t people put aside their differences and let go. Maybe it is their ego that says “Come on you wuss! Don’t leave him with that. He is asking for more”. Well, believe me I have some really strange people in my life (who are not in their twenties but well in the late forties) do such weird things. They are like children from whom their favorite toy has been snatched away. Suckers!!

Seems like I’ll have to follow this damn tide for a few more months. I have been considering some really serious career-change options lately. I mean, I know where I am going to head in the next 10 years of my life if I continue this present job. And I really don’t like the direction. Hence the career change. I am thinking of some options and will update you once I figure out exactly what to do with them.

And one of the last things I need to mention is that I would like to congratulate Miss. G on her arrival on the blogosphere. Keep going babes!!

Adios!

This is my first blog entry ever, so pardon me if it makes less sense.

As I don’t do much of reading and now that we are at the completion of the first quarter of this year, I thought why not I share with you guys my experience of the year 2009 so far.

My year started out with a fairly slow and a rough start. To those of you who have known me for quite a few years now…I had had another fairly bad attempt to CAT last year…Hmmm so the whole of January and February went cribbing over “Why me??” But then eventually I got over it. In effect to that, I screwed all other possibilities on purpose…Well that’s just typical ME.

Some good things happened too..In this duration I moved to a new place, which I called “My dream house”. It’s a spacious freshly painted 3 BHK with two huge balconies…Wow I love this place. Whole of February went setting up the house, buying new furniture, decorating and, as I said as the days passed by, things got better.

March is my most favourite month. My birthday is on March 19th…so week before and after my b’day, I am in my best moods. It’s one of my most special days. This March though, brought with it “A pleasant shock”….Recession has hit far and wide, it dint leave me either…My project got scrapped…Which I would call “A blessing in disguise”. So I got rid of my project by end of March…looking forward for a fresh start career wise.

Then came April..The STAR month this year so far…I met the love of my life after almost 18 months…Long time eh?? It felt longer than a lifetime. He came and made me fall in love with him all over again…Thank you so much for that :) Well, that was not all, some unavoidable circumstances have now forced me and my roomies to let go of the apartment I stay in.

So May brings with it  a new flavour in my life, a new project, a new place and new experiences.

Life can’t get any better…I am looking forward to enjoying rest of the year. I have made some important decisions for my life, and some resolutions to keep. Wishing things only go from better to good to best, for me and everyone around.

Cheers!

G

I am in my room right now. It is nearing 8:00 PM and it is Saturday. I am feeling bored. I am typically not the guy who feels like this. I am always involved in some activity or the other. But, today my brain refuses to concentrate on anything. Why? I do not know. I guess it’s just one of those days. Today, I saw a home theater system. Its from Bose. I was very tempted to buy it. But, I got better off my impulsive shopping. But getting the entire system for $450 is indeed a great deal. I will buy it before I leave the states. 

Recently I have been thinking a lot. As Zach Braff says in his movie Garden State ”I have this theory that your body goes through puberty  in its teens, and the mind goes through puberty in your twenties”. That is exactly how I feel. I am still trying to figure out if this is the right career for me. I am still thinking about my spiritual identity. I am still not able to come to a consensus if I still want to pursue my studies or not. I am pondering over my self all over. Its like I am doing a SWOT analysis on myself. My G says too much of introspection kills a person. Well, I think she is right. It definitely does. But I think that if you don’t figure out yourself completely, if you don’t find a rationality for your existence, if you are not sure as to what you are going to do, it is even more harmful to a person. 

I mean I definitely know a lot of things now than what I knew one year ago. I am challenging the system and its dogmas. I am trying not to be a hypocrite. I am trying out ways to be a better person (because I know I still need to be one). I have done a lot of terrible things throughout the course of my life. I do regret some of those. I want to say “Sorry man!”. But, I don’t say it. I know that its not going make much of a difference in the other person’s life. It may bring a little respite to his/her heart but other than that I know it ain’t gonna do anything. One of the best things that the human beings possess is forgetfulness. People forget and they are supposed to be like that. It is for the best of their interests.

I think that every person goes thru this “quarter life crisis”. We only become wiser with time. I hope to find some answers to these questions, soon. Apart from that I am still practicing my guitar, writing stuff, reading books, studying a technical subject and traveling. My life is okay but not good. But it will be in due time. 

That’s it for now. I will now leave you with this wonderful song from John Mayer “Your body is a Wonderland”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJNE31Ndme0

Enjoy

To put it in the words of  Jack Dann, “For me, writing is exploration; and most of the time, I’m surprised where the journey takes me.”

Adios!

Now, speaking of other things, presently reading two books, “In spite of Gods: The rise of modern India” and “The Definitive Drucker”. These are two really good non-fiction books. 

I also resumed playing Guitar. Even though its still amateurish, I think I’m improving on it. 

Apart from these silly things, I don’t have anything special happening in my life.

Until then

Adios!

Coffee is my favorite drug. I don’t do crack and I don’t do pot. I don’t smoke either. The only way in which I can get a high is by drinking a hot cup of coffee. A simple aromatic infusion of vegetable matter has enough power to conquer your entire day (it depends from person to person).

I drink coffee 2 times a day. The wonderful aroma of unadulterated coffee powder is really undescribable. It is said that people who drink coffee are boisterous, intelligent and hardheaded. Well, it is partially true in my case. My mom and dad drink coffee atleast thrice a day. Me being a typical south indian simply share the genes. My affinity for coffee grew during my intermediate exams. Those long study hours, although a pain in the butt, presented an opportunity to savor the very fine drink. Slowly, this grew as a habbit. It grew to such an extent that my ideal day would be to wake up early, jog for 30 mins, come home, take the morning newspaper and go thru it as if you have all the time in the world with a hot cup of filtered coffee in your hand. That feeling is simply magical.

Even now, after 8 years, I drink coffee with the same yearning as I did in the beginning. It makes my mind quicker (this fact has been proven scientifically) and more agile. And 1 thing that I really don’t like is Decaf. I mean its like taking all the pleasure out of it. To quote Bob Irwin, “Decaffeinated coffee is kind of like kissing your sister.”. I just don’t understand how and why people drink it. But hey, that’s just me. I simply don’t like it.

So people, my advice is pure and simple

“Drink coffee and feel the bliss”.

Adios!

Reality check is the best tool that everyone has. Once you make your resolutions, ask yourself what would it really take to achieve them. Does it mean longer hours away from family, or lesser focus on your studies/job or dedicating more time on weekdays and such kind of questions. Go to the bottom of the situation and live it. It is only after that you would have a better idea about yourself and your goal. Making goals is like drawing up a strategy, but execution is tactics-much difficult than strategy.

So, I decided that I would do a lot of thinking on this year’s resolutions and come up with some kind of action plan that gives meaning to my priorites. I really want to make the best of my 2009 and I will leave no stone unturned to achieve this. 

I would like to signoff by quoting John Milton:

“A mind not to be changed by place or time, the mind is its own place, and in itself can make a Heaven of Hell and a hell of Heaven”

I am just another blogger trying to type down my last post for the year. My laziness always got the better of me.Its been almost 2 months since my last entry. Anyways, year 2008 in brief:

1) January- March- I don’t remember

2) April- Came to US for the first time in my life and loved every moment of it (almost every moment)

3) June- Went to the 1st big city in US: Chicago. Absolutely loved the city and ambience.

4) August- Bought my 1st car: ’99 Toyota Camry

5) November-Finally went to the city that never sleeps: New York city

As you can see, after living for approximately 8760 hours, I have done just 5 (nope its just 4)  happening things of my life. Isn’t that bad? It is. Shouldn’t everyone be living their life in the  “Kal Ho Na Ho” way? Well, not everyone is SRK or Priety Zinta. But guys, this is what set me thinking. For year 2009, my goal would be to double my “happening moments” of my life. More like a hypereccentric Jim Carrey in “Yes man”.

Hmm, honestly I feel like a jerk at the end of the year. Choosing your mind over your heart is indeed a very difficult thing to do. And I have faced that dilemma in this year. And I chose to go with my mind. But boy, I ain’t happy.

Year 2008 has taught a lot, personally and professionally. Hope I’ll continue the same in this new year. Until then Happy New Year to all.

- Adi