Why do females get what they want for gifts while men get what the females want to gift?
A burning question in my mind. The females get perfumes, cards, accessories, all those pink and lavender stuff they need (they think) while men get shirts (n+1 th, come on! we can do with max 3, 4 shirts and that's too much), cards (!!), men's perfumes (Deo is ok, but perfumes are yuck)....such stuff. No man except a few metrosexuals lurking around need such stuff. Why don't anybody gift trousers to a man? Every man needs that and all he is given is shirts and some more shirts. And what about razors! They get blunt easily with everyday use and they are always needed.Why can't they be given as gifts? Socks! Don't we ever need them, like a thousand pairs! To me razors, socks,jeans, coffee powder (yes!!) make the most thoughtful gifts. Ofcourse I don't mind the occasional iPod or a metal CD. :-)
* - I like Ace of Base for their smooth sound. They make for very good light listening.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Fools rush in *
We were in the Chicago auto show last weekend, touted as the biggest one in the US. Wait, I am getting ahead of me. Here by "we", I meant me, my room-mate P, my friend from Ohio G and G's friend V. We having drooled over Ferrari, taken snaps with Golf then were roaming amidst the Lexus and Bentley cars area. It was more than an hour since we were in. And we had completed inspecting, around 5 percent of the cars on show, by then. Everybody know of certain objects that when had a mere look at, make one forget his friends who would be with him. Everybody would also agree that cars are one among them, those unlisted objects mentioned as a class.
There we were ogling at those cars oblivious to everything else. So it was sometime before, we realised that V was no longer with us. After that it was with difficulty that we went around watching cars having had to keep one eye for that lost guy. Ofcourse the part about keeping one eye for that guy, we didn't do it very well. So we in haste wound up our tour, had a team meeting (!), decided that we should go separate ways in search of Mr.V and come back and wait for another meeting in fromt of the Bridgestone stall. Meet again, we did, but without Mr.V. Then a casual look at my mobile told me that V has been trying to contact me. My friends P and G were mildly irritated at me (because they were only mildly interested in the search for V) for not listening to my mobile.
Cutting a long search short, we finally found our lost guy. But he was holding a bag bursting at its seams. I politely enquired whether he had managed to get hold of one of the car engines on display. That was not to be. It was full of only pamphlets and brochures. That's what we thought until he pulled out one tee shirt out of it. The tee shirt had the auto show's logo emblazoned on it. And our lad said he got it for free! That was it.
We forgot all the tiredness in our legs. Suddenly fresh energy flowed through every tired muscle and sinew of our bodies. Hearing the words "tee shirt for free" had that effect. We asked him the stall which gave them away. It was located in a remote corner far away from us, obeying Murphy's law. Undaunted, we all set on our quest for that tee shirt dragging that guy with us. There were two stalls having the t shirts on display. I rushed in one, asking for, actually demanding for that tee shirt. The salesperson told that we have to apply for a credit card to get one! Our heads turned in slow motion towards our wise guy standing behind holding the tee shirt. When we asked him whether he did apply for that credit card to get that tee shirt, he replied nonchalantly that the store people asked to put down some details for giving the tee shirt and he had done just that. Mr.V had'nt even realized he was applying for a credit card when he filled up the form for the tee shirt! We started kidding him a bit, just to get the jealousy out of our system.
The kicker came in last. Walking together later, suddenly something dawned on me. I turned towards V and asked how come he filled up for the credit card form when he didn't have a SSN number. The guy, casual as ever, replied that he just skipped that field. So much for the stall scrutinising the applications! Seemed the guy's been smart after all!
* - I dig the UB40 cover than the Elvis' one.
There we were ogling at those cars oblivious to everything else. So it was sometime before, we realised that V was no longer with us. After that it was with difficulty that we went around watching cars having had to keep one eye for that lost guy. Ofcourse the part about keeping one eye for that guy, we didn't do it very well. So we in haste wound up our tour, had a team meeting (!), decided that we should go separate ways in search of Mr.V and come back and wait for another meeting in fromt of the Bridgestone stall. Meet again, we did, but without Mr.V. Then a casual look at my mobile told me that V has been trying to contact me. My friends P and G were mildly irritated at me (because they were only mildly interested in the search for V) for not listening to my mobile.
Cutting a long search short, we finally found our lost guy. But he was holding a bag bursting at its seams. I politely enquired whether he had managed to get hold of one of the car engines on display. That was not to be. It was full of only pamphlets and brochures. That's what we thought until he pulled out one tee shirt out of it. The tee shirt had the auto show's logo emblazoned on it. And our lad said he got it for free! That was it.
We forgot all the tiredness in our legs. Suddenly fresh energy flowed through every tired muscle and sinew of our bodies. Hearing the words "tee shirt for free" had that effect. We asked him the stall which gave them away. It was located in a remote corner far away from us, obeying Murphy's law. Undaunted, we all set on our quest for that tee shirt dragging that guy with us. There were two stalls having the t shirts on display. I rushed in one, asking for, actually demanding for that tee shirt. The salesperson told that we have to apply for a credit card to get one! Our heads turned in slow motion towards our wise guy standing behind holding the tee shirt. When we asked him whether he did apply for that credit card to get that tee shirt, he replied nonchalantly that the store people asked to put down some details for giving the tee shirt and he had done just that. Mr.V had'nt even realized he was applying for a credit card when he filled up the form for the tee shirt! We started kidding him a bit, just to get the jealousy out of our system.
The kicker came in last. Walking together later, suddenly something dawned on me. I turned towards V and asked how come he filled up for the credit card form when he didn't have a SSN number. The guy, casual as ever, replied that he just skipped that field. So much for the stall scrutinising the applications! Seemed the guy's been smart after all!
* - I dig the UB40 cover than the Elvis' one.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Paradise City *
Last week, an accident happened to me.
It is thursday, a very cold and wet thursday. Sleet has been predicted for the evening and everyone is driving slowly. I am very cautious as ever. Since it's the route I take daily and the traffic is smooth, I lean back and enjoy the drive listening to the music. I am crossing a traffic light. Just one more traffic light and I'd be home. Suddenly there is a thud. My car is hit from behind. I stopping the car then and there, take my time to get down. And then I saw a big vehicle and a really young driver behind. She, in her teens, quivers and asks me whether everything is all right. I reply yes, eventhough I was in a daze. Seeing her state of tension, I just point her the damage to my car and exchange phone numbers and let her go.
I manage to drive the car home and call my friend immediately. First thing he asks, "Where are you?"
"Back at home"
"You shouldn't have let the girl go. You should've dialled 911 then and there. Let's see what we can do"
He comes to my place, and then in my "shaken but not stirred" car we go to the cops. They say that we need to bring the perpetrator too, to get the police report that I need for insurance.
We call the driver's father. We just inform that my car was hit on by her daughter not yet asking him to come down to the cops. We learn that he is a doctor.He asks to wait at a store front nearby, for him.We drive there and wait. And he comes there immediately after.
He takes one look at me. Figures me as one new to the city.
Pointing at the damage, he starts, "This looks like an old damage to me"
I shocked, say, "This happened just now"
He: "No way it could have been my vehicle that hit yours"
Me: Speechless, give an angry and shocked look.
We very reasonably ask him to call his daughter and verify the identity of the car, for I made her note down my car number too.He does that. The girl must have vouched for me. He asks her to talk later and cuts the call.
He continues, "I am here since before you were born. I can haul you up in jail for trying to cheat me".
An argument ensues. My friend intervenes here and takes all of us inside the store as it's freezing cold in the open. There that doctor tries some more brow-beating.
"I need to see that you are the owner of the car"
I show my documents.
" I need to see your passport. I can put you in jail for this"
I enraged, staring him down, say, " That I'd very much prefer. Let's go to the cops. There we will decide".
My friend sends me away on a pretext and starts drivelling the fact that I happen to be the victim. The fact that we are ready for the cops and not scared calls the father's bluff.
Then he gives his game away and admits that he doesn't want insurance to come into the picture. Eventhough he doesn't say, we know, and he knows that we know, that his girl is not legally qualified to drive.
And a lot happens after. The doctor haggles for the settlement, even offering a discount for his medical services as a payback, which we politely refuse. I am yet to receive the money, but have received a very good lesson. Never ever allow a person to leave the scene of an accident.
"If we were the ones to hit another car, would we have behaved in a similar manner?", I bemuse to my friend much later. He says the decent thing is to settle the damage. But people do stoop to such levels, I figure.
* - Guns'n'Roses were belting out this song for me, at the time I got rear-ended.
It is thursday, a very cold and wet thursday. Sleet has been predicted for the evening and everyone is driving slowly. I am very cautious as ever. Since it's the route I take daily and the traffic is smooth, I lean back and enjoy the drive listening to the music. I am crossing a traffic light. Just one more traffic light and I'd be home. Suddenly there is a thud. My car is hit from behind. I stopping the car then and there, take my time to get down. And then I saw a big vehicle and a really young driver behind. She, in her teens, quivers and asks me whether everything is all right. I reply yes, eventhough I was in a daze. Seeing her state of tension, I just point her the damage to my car and exchange phone numbers and let her go.
I manage to drive the car home and call my friend immediately. First thing he asks, "Where are you?"
"Back at home"
"You shouldn't have let the girl go. You should've dialled 911 then and there. Let's see what we can do"
He comes to my place, and then in my "shaken but not stirred" car we go to the cops. They say that we need to bring the perpetrator too, to get the police report that I need for insurance.
We call the driver's father. We just inform that my car was hit on by her daughter not yet asking him to come down to the cops. We learn that he is a doctor.He asks to wait at a store front nearby, for him.We drive there and wait. And he comes there immediately after.
He takes one look at me. Figures me as one new to the city.
Pointing at the damage, he starts, "This looks like an old damage to me"
I shocked, say, "This happened just now"
He: "No way it could have been my vehicle that hit yours"
Me: Speechless, give an angry and shocked look.
We very reasonably ask him to call his daughter and verify the identity of the car, for I made her note down my car number too.He does that. The girl must have vouched for me. He asks her to talk later and cuts the call.
He continues, "I am here since before you were born. I can haul you up in jail for trying to cheat me".
An argument ensues. My friend intervenes here and takes all of us inside the store as it's freezing cold in the open. There that doctor tries some more brow-beating.
"I need to see that you are the owner of the car"
I show my documents.
" I need to see your passport. I can put you in jail for this"
I enraged, staring him down, say, " That I'd very much prefer. Let's go to the cops. There we will decide".
My friend sends me away on a pretext and starts drivelling the fact that I happen to be the victim. The fact that we are ready for the cops and not scared calls the father's bluff.
Then he gives his game away and admits that he doesn't want insurance to come into the picture. Eventhough he doesn't say, we know, and he knows that we know, that his girl is not legally qualified to drive.
And a lot happens after. The doctor haggles for the settlement, even offering a discount for his medical services as a payback, which we politely refuse. I am yet to receive the money, but have received a very good lesson. Never ever allow a person to leave the scene of an accident.
"If we were the ones to hit another car, would we have behaved in a similar manner?", I bemuse to my friend much later. He says the decent thing is to settle the damage. But people do stoop to such levels, I figure.
* - Guns'n'Roses were belting out this song for me, at the time I got rear-ended.
Monday, February 20, 2006
Rock you like a hurricane *
The Chicago auto show
Can't have enough of this!
The crowd
Sexy!!
Fundoo!
Cool looks!!
Hunk with a tank!! :-)
Hmmm...a car I would like to own!
I rest my case!!
* - Scorpions
Can't have enough of this!
The crowd
Sexy!!
Fundoo!
Cool looks!!
Hunk with a tank!! :-)
Hmmm...a car I would like to own!I rest my case!!
* - Scorpions
Friday, February 10, 2006
Let it be
You step on a thorn. It embeds itself. After some efforts, you remove it. But still there's a niggling for quite some time.
I have the feeling now, for the past 6 days. I read an article in our local paper. A guy dies in a traffic accident. He all of 21 years. His mother plants a cross by the road as a memorial. There being creeps among humans, the memorial gets stolen. And for the past seven months somebody's removing all the memorials the grieving mom places. The reporter further talked to her and brought her anguish. And what she said refuses to go away from me, still.
“You never get over the loss. There is always that hole in my heart. Having a child is like having your heart walking outside of your body.”
The full article
I have the feeling now, for the past 6 days. I read an article in our local paper. A guy dies in a traffic accident. He all of 21 years. His mother plants a cross by the road as a memorial. There being creeps among humans, the memorial gets stolen. And for the past seven months somebody's removing all the memorials the grieving mom places. The reporter further talked to her and brought her anguish. And what she said refuses to go away from me, still.
“You never get over the loss. There is always that hole in my heart. Having a child is like having your heart walking outside of your body.”
The full article
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Letterbomb
I came across this site Snapshirts , recommended by another blogger. You type in your blog url and they create a collage of words culled from your blog. You can even get it printed into a T-shirt, it seems. Go check out.
* The title is from the song by Green Day in their album, American Idiot.
* The title is from the song by Green Day in their album, American Idiot.
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Don't ask me why
Today at office, there is a technical environment issue, and we could not work for some time. That means some rare idle time. Rare? Yes, frequently we have free time, but idle time is rare.
So wondering what to do, I get an idea. Why not count my managers? Yeah, just like they do at the census. I start framing the rules (that much idle time).
The rules for the managers to be counted are, first I should be reporting to them directly. Second only line managers are counted.
Here's my list:
1.Team lead: She is the client manager whom my team reports to. She looks after all the day to day work I do. She should be looking into the data, but she is more interested in the metadata. They go to make the ppts, right? But a nice person.
2.Project lead: This is the MS Access guy. He is a freelancing contractor, out to justify his position. His responsibilities are the timelines, deadlines and dependencies. He gets himself interested in the actual work that is being done, without being qualified/empowered to do so. A micro manager, a dilbertian classic.
3.Resource lead: While my manager #1 is from the client, this manager is from my employer. She approves my time sheets, leave and gets feedback on me from the clients. A macro-manager, good one.
4.Offshore lead: He is my manager who conducts the appraisal, decides on the rating, promotion and consequently the hike.
5.Matrix manager: He is the guy whom I should be copying my reports. He is to participate in me-management, and is to have a say on everything that #4 does. It's not far removed from line management, in theory.
6.Informal manager: This person, asks a lot of questions, replicates what i do to see what I say I get, is what it is, and constantly looks over my shoulder and does a lot of back seat driving. This person, part of the client team, is not accountable but takes all the credits ensuring I don't get any updates as well as limelight.
Oh my God! The count is already six.Six people for one. That's too many cooks and I am the broth.
Please somebody reading this hurry up, run and close down those IIMs. Shutter them down. I have a cousin and friends out there, but I don't mind. There are too many of their species roaming about.
P.S: 1.The intelligent IIM grads reading this will argue that I am not the only guy reporting to all those people. On this my take is that it's still a many to many relationship. :-)
2. For my managers who may chance upon this post, it's all in a lighter vein. I am trying my hand at humour. Please do not mistake this as my opinion. :-)
3. The title, one may know, is from a song by Billy Joel. Here onwards, I'll find titles for posts in songs I like, and from artists I favour. So all you out there, you'll get an idea of how my taste runs. This would help you in choosing a birthday gift next month for me (Hint! Hint!). For further important details like my address to send it to, mail me. :-)
P.P.S: Free time is when your load is a bit less and you feel like going for a coffee, take a leak and answering personal mails. Idle time is when you've done all that and still left with some time and some problem that inhibits work. :-))
So wondering what to do, I get an idea. Why not count my managers? Yeah, just like they do at the census. I start framing the rules (that much idle time).
The rules for the managers to be counted are, first I should be reporting to them directly. Second only line managers are counted.
Here's my list:
1.Team lead: She is the client manager whom my team reports to. She looks after all the day to day work I do. She should be looking into the data, but she is more interested in the metadata. They go to make the ppts, right? But a nice person.
2.Project lead: This is the MS Access guy. He is a freelancing contractor, out to justify his position. His responsibilities are the timelines, deadlines and dependencies. He gets himself interested in the actual work that is being done, without being qualified/empowered to do so. A micro manager, a dilbertian classic.
3.Resource lead: While my manager #1 is from the client, this manager is from my employer. She approves my time sheets, leave and gets feedback on me from the clients. A macro-manager, good one.
4.Offshore lead: He is my manager who conducts the appraisal, decides on the rating, promotion and consequently the hike.
5.Matrix manager: He is the guy whom I should be copying my reports. He is to participate in me-management, and is to have a say on everything that #4 does. It's not far removed from line management, in theory.
6.Informal manager: This person, asks a lot of questions, replicates what i do to see what I say I get, is what it is, and constantly looks over my shoulder and does a lot of back seat driving. This person, part of the client team, is not accountable but takes all the credits ensuring I don't get any updates as well as limelight.
Oh my God! The count is already six.Six people for one. That's too many cooks and I am the broth.
Please somebody reading this hurry up, run and close down those IIMs. Shutter them down. I have a cousin and friends out there, but I don't mind. There are too many of their species roaming about.
P.S: 1.The intelligent IIM grads reading this will argue that I am not the only guy reporting to all those people. On this my take is that it's still a many to many relationship. :-)
2. For my managers who may chance upon this post, it's all in a lighter vein. I am trying my hand at humour. Please do not mistake this as my opinion. :-)
3. The title, one may know, is from a song by Billy Joel. Here onwards, I'll find titles for posts in songs I like, and from artists I favour. So all you out there, you'll get an idea of how my taste runs. This would help you in choosing a birthday gift next month for me (Hint! Hint!). For further important details like my address to send it to, mail me. :-)
P.P.S: Free time is when your load is a bit less and you feel like going for a coffee, take a leak and answering personal mails. Idle time is when you've done all that and still left with some time and some problem that inhibits work. :-))
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Mine my mind
Hurtling through life
An express train, I am
Passengers are the people
Who board on the way
They stay in my mind
Seldom they alight
Their trains may end too.
They would still be in mine
Compartments, I am made of
And they are made of me
Always ever increasing
Rarely do they fuse off
People in one, wonder 'bout the other
Some know not. Too much to bother
For netherly dark, everything else is
Nary a light, all sigh and hiss
And some try to pass through
The aisle doors of my mind
Amusing it is,While I idly watch
The attempts of my friends
Through the eyes of my mind
For I am the train
Maybe a stray one or two
I'd like them to visit all through
But it's all in vain
They don't know the depth of the train
Some do realise, they who hearken
what that's beyond their eye
They haven't been there, though
Still, perceptive they being
For them it isn't too hard
Seeing through, the ornate lard
Some coaches do carry
Roaches and rodents as quarry
Memories of many an event
Which have me still in torment
For those who are in here still,
You won't find rhythm in my verse
B'cos journey is rough and tumble
All tense and terse
Never a dance or a prance
Grey and black, do my mind fill
The train never laughs
For the terrain is tough
It's all grunts and squeals
Careening through the turf
I am Alice's train
I don't know where I go
Rolling on the track
Running in my brain
Journey knows not its end
Not even what lies around the bend
Now it may be coasting
Smooth may seem the trip; but
It had its share of roasting
In downs that've wrenched the gut
All along as the train whistles
One thing deep inside rankles
The passengers who threw out
This passenger of a train
From the train of their brain
Why, Oh Why?
Mine my mind
It may reveal its gems
Or it'll throw up its bilge
But never mind!
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