Bye Bye 2010.....U behaved like a good boy!

And here we are.....at the ending of yet another eventful year and the beginning of yet another pestering blog post.

It was an year to be remembered, an year to be rejoiced, and an year that brought along with it a bag of mixed emotions such as fulfilment, anxiety, achievement, confusion, happiness, sadness, "sadness for being still single"(believe me, that can really be counted as just one word, ask me how! :P) and laughter(Rajnikant jokes were a major contributor to this one).

The year started on a good note with the feeling of achievement and fulfilment; fulfilment of things i had been looking forward to since quite some time now. I had recently started learning guitar and bought myself a new one(and i still continue making people stuff cotton buds in their ears). The cherry on the cake was that i didn't borrow money from either my parents or my friends. It was something i "owned completely".
Then came our farewell party, where i got this opportunity to perform on stage with a couple of friends(yes it was my usual hip-hop and rap, and yes we sucked at it.....but i fulfilled my dream to go out there and entertain the crowds). Those 5 minutes of glory will always be registered in my cerebrum.

Next came in the long wait and anxiety. MBA was over but not over. Placement scenario at our college was pretty much like a shoe sale; you have plenty of stuff to pick up, but it doesn't match your taste and seldom do you get the right size for yourself. All banking and insurance companies found comfort in our campus, something not of my liking. I tried and failed a number of times in other companies. It was the learning of a lifetime. The shoe branded as "failure" had kicked me pretty hard in the rear end.
The funny thing about a "shoe sale" is that you try your level best to find the right fit and are lost amongst the crowd, but eventually you do happen to stumble upon something worthy. I had finally got a shoe of my liking and it was a good fit at the same time. Though somehow i knew this one won't last for long.....

Working at Matrix was fun. There were learnings i drew out from my short stint with the company: COLD CALLING is certainly a cold skill to learn. But once you get on with it, things really warm up. There were accolades i received from my team mates and bosses for the work i accomplished. Not much time had passed when i got this opportunity from Godfrey Phillips. Believe me, its not only the cigarettes that draw people, but also the companies that manufacture these death sticks. Since i joined GPI, life and along with it, me, are on the move 24/7. Though there are no cold calls here, but there are numerous other things to learn. And considering the fact that i am a somewhat "extra enthusiastic learner", full advantage of this opportunity is being grabbed by yours truly :).

Some Trivia: This year has seen a bombardment of Rajnikant jokes. It was pretty analogical to the the pepsi advert, with the exception that here we eat, drink and sleep rajnikant jokes. I myself must have set a personal record of sending the maximum rajni jokes as sms. Whatever phobia or fever it was, it surely was fun and certainly made me laugh my guts out at times. All respect to Rajni Ji(i hope he bestows his blessings upon GOD so that he can protect us).....YANNA RASCALAA.....MIND IT!!!!!

So now that i am a post graduate and working, my parents imagine their son sitting on the hot seat (hot sofa actually, with a creature named 'bride') in near future. They say all parents have that "dark side", i just saw it in my parents :P. There's still a lot more to be done and explored before making my way up to the 'guillotine of marriage'.

Quite contrary to my habit of breaking rules, i won't be breaking the tradition of making resolutions for the new year. Start working out again, keep learning guitar, add some value to myself(ooooo.....sounds pretty cool eh!), possess some gadgets on my wish list, meet the woman of my dreams(ah cmon, every guy has this one on his list at the onset of an year, although we never divulge it ;)) and last but not the least(and also the most important), making people around smile no matter what (even if it takes more rajnikant jokes :P).

With all that said, and making you waste your (not so) precious time on this post, here's wishing you and your family a very happy and prosperous new year.

Here we come 2011!!!!!


Keep Smiling :)


Gags ;)

Time to VENT IT OUT!!!!!

Alright, ok, don't be worried reading the title of this one. Those CAPS do not represent an infuriated "me". And no, i won't be abusing anybody in this "effort_to_make_u_stretch_your_lips_until_u_laugh". Its been a while since i scribbled something and there have been a number of "WOW's" in the meanwhile. Wanted to write since some time, but my busy schedule(yeah i know many of you would not be able to establish an analogy between me and the word "busy") made sure to keep me away from pen & paper(i mean keyboard and screen). But thats how it has been since past some days. Lets unwind it like a tangled landline phone's headset cable.

First of all warm wishes(oops, i just added to the already warm weather) to everyone from "the one and only" Gagandeep Rana(well actually a quick google search reveals 189000 results). Hope things are moving with a steady pace at your end. And if not so.....then what are you waiting for!!!!!

Life was moving at a not_so_steady pace for me after starting off my career with a campus placement. I was giving in my best shot and was being applauded as well for the same by my superiors. But somewhere inside it felt this is not what i've aspired to do. It was FMCG or FMCD where my heart lies. Nevertheless I just kept putting in my best efforts till the time my time arrived (pause.....i know that was one helluva performance.....i wont mind being nominated for the best melancholic role.....you can wipe off your tears before i continue).

It was a normal day and i was working in the office and pop! comes out something in the newspaper that causes my eyes to glare. There it was: Vacancies in the company of my dreams. I just took the resolve to make it through no matter what. Lets move ahead some days(here, you can visualise the same scene that runs thru a number of hindi movies where "the hero" takes up a challenge and burns midnight oil to learn "ABCD" and "1 to 10").
Finally the D-Day(Drama Day) arrived. There were a huge number of contestants for this beauty pea-gent. All the varieties had arrived. Short, tall(thats me), weird, handsome(thats me), blabbers, intelligent(thats me), and offcourse liers(thats actual me :P). It was a three-fold process much like a guillotine stopping three times before chopping off your Adams apple.
The interview lasted for around 45 minutes(i never knew it took so much time for the minutes hand to budge 45 times) and left water content in my body severely short of its normal quantity.
It was my day.....a day to be remembered, a day of fulfilling my dreams, a day when i got what i wanted, a day.....which was as usual as other days lasting 24 hours :P

Since the day I've joined, its been tours day-in day-out, with the best part that i am liking what i am doing. I am working with the industry i've dreamt of working with. An FMCG.....

Recently I went to the factory of my company where I saw the manufacturing process of "Death Stick"(popularly called a Cigarette). It surely is a process worth applauding. Taking a seed which doesn't have even a trace of tar or nicotine, nurture its plant in the right environment using the right inputs, plucking the leaves and processing them and ultimately reducing them into the most tiniest of bits which are then bundled into sticks. These sticks when lit enable its consumer to fulfil their aspirations and dreams, to feel superior and to overcome their lacunae.

Marketing.....isn't it wonderful!!!!!

Well, i guess thats all there is to this post. You have strained your grey cells enough to take them to the threshold of disappearing. I would not like to see that happen. So with that in mind I apply the brakes to this roller coaster. Thanks for letting me..........


.....VENT IT OUT!!!!! ;)


Keep Smiling and making people around you smile along :)


Signing Off

Gags

My First Pay-cheque

Greetings everybody!!!!!

Its been a long long time since I wrote something. My apologies for this procrastination. So meanwhile, a number of events took place since I last updated my blog: I became an MBA from a "pursuing MBA", winters became summers, my college shifted to an old building, the earth rotated 128 times(woah!), India crashed out of the T-20 world cup(cricket should always be there in any discussion, debate.....after all its a religion in India!!!!!......am i right cricket lovers???), I got placed and got my first ever pay-cheque. :P


MBA got over with the satisfaction that I managed to pull off some tasks I've been looking forward towards. Managed a scholarship for performing well in studies, started learning guitar(I've been wanting to do this since a long time), bought a new guitar for myself, and could perform on the stage(my usual punjabi rap) on the day of MBA farewell.

On the very last day of MBA, after the last exam got over(so no more peeking-->cheating-->whispering-->scolding-->avoiding-->peeking-->cheating-->whispering from now on) we celebrated scribble day. On this day we wrote(some deliberately, some forcibly) on each others' t-shirts what we thought(something good.....obviously) about them. Scribble Day was not only important from a "passing out" student's point of view but also as an economic point of view when around 300 students bought white t-shirts and markers to write on these t-shirts. Lets get more deep into this:

- Number of T-shirts bought: 300 (minimum, considering the fact that some also bought 2 t-shirts)
- Average cost of a plain white t-shirt: Rs. 100
- Average amount one person spent on a pen: Rs. 15

Amount spent on T-shirt: Rs. 30000
Amount Spent on pens: Rs. 4500

Total Amount spent = Rs. 35000 (approx.)

So that puts an end to our financial analysis(something to be noted here: I was awesomely terrible in finance during MBA days; I guess this inferiority complex, to some extent, made me perform this analysis...hehe :D). I won't be giving a speech on how many people could have been fed with that money. The need of the hour at that time was to cherish the time we had with our peers.....and we did so.


Life has taken a 90 degree turn since (our beloved)student life ended and professional life kick started. Student life had its own glamour, and so has this professional life.

With the advent of this new phase an altogether new persona has appeared over the usual gregarious college going student. Numbers did matter back then; numbers do matter now as well. We ran after numbers back then; we do so now. We were praised by our teachers on scoring good marks; we are praised by our bosses on achieving good numbers. Numbers have become increasingly important since we first met them in kindergarten.

Quite satisfying was the feeling of independence that I got after having the first look at my visiting card. There was a name and a designation mentioned on it. Nowhere was this feeling of being dependent on anyone. Wherever I go now, people know me by my name, by who I am, by what I am. A sense of responsibility has started setting in. I am the sole person responsible and answerable for my actions.

So, now there is a need to start doing some budget planning(OMG, finance again.....its all over my mind and life :O) about my first salary. The time has arrived to fulfil all my "boys toys" and gadget needs(a DSLR, a good smartphone, an ipod.....and many more.....yippeee!!!!!)

I hope I've not scared anyone with these (somewhat) serious talks. The usual weirdish_humourish_normalish talks would continue to tickle and make you giggle in my future posts.

Till the next time.


Signing Off

Gags (Now Employed) ;)

Quarter Life Crisis.........or is it?

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First of all, A Very Happy New Year!!!!!

Its Been a long time since I posted something. My 25^th birthday seems to be the perfect avenue to increase the post count to a number which can be arrived at by “square rooting” my current birthday number (yea yea, I am trying to showcase my mathematical skills.....you can envy me). So in a sense, this time when I make a slit in the birthday cake (chocolate truffle, please) I’ll be rejoicing upon my silver jubilee.

So what purpose does this post serve????? Well, this is yet another effort wherein I try and satiate the humour seeking urge of my readers by providing a tinge of observational humour. Lets see what this post has in store for you.................

I could relate the Pooja to mark this silver jubilee event with something. A PARTY!!!!! There was a gathering of people at my place to take part in the Pooja much like the gathering at a party. Punditji was reciting the mantras pretty much like the rap music played at such parties with all the rest trying to ape his rattling of mantras. Another such similarity and the most exciting part was the “bonfire”, with the only exception that this bonfire was lit-up inside the house!!!!! At the end the performer (Dear Punditji) was paid in cash for his performance and the “party” ended.

So, this birthday onwards a lot will be changing. Firstly, from now on whenever I register myself on a website, I’ll have to select an altogether different age bracket (the disliked “25-30 years”). Not only this, but on similar lines there will be a new option waiting to be marked on the retail store survey form.

Secondly, and the most irritating of ‘em all, the 25^th birthday brings along with it innumerable eyes staring at you and imagining you as a bride or groom (believe me or not, this really happens). The onset of 25^th year in our lives auto-activates the bride or groom beacon installed on us, making us visible on the “matchmaking radar” of various breeds of Auntis, Chaachis, Buaas, Maasis........all determined to make you sit on the electric chair.

This age has also been termed as that part of the life which comprises of the “Quarter Life Crisis”. This is so because during this age a person becomes independent in their life; start earning on their own; wants the elders geeks to consider their (supposedly expert) opinions and younger “kids” to respect them (which, in any case, they never do, lol). The “Crisis” word comes into the picture when any of these are not returned in adequate quantities by the other two groups. BANG! The car of aspirations takes a hit against the wall of self-esteem. The fourth block from bottom in the “Hierarchy of Needs” pyramid (calling attention of all my fellow MBAs.....) is predominant in this age.

Well, like all other bad omens, this can also be fended off pretty easily by making oneself realise that it is a phase that comes in every person’s life and is completely upto us to deal with it much like a daily chore. Don’t let things around affect you to an extent that it overwhelms your real self; be positive towards changes around you and try and adapt to such changes. It happens with everyone out there, you are no Martian among Earthlings, stop whining about things around yourself and look at the brighter side.

I read a line some days back and no matter how hard I try to veto my inner desire of using it again and again, I lose all the time. These were the words of the famous writer Chetan Bhagat: “In life, don’t be serious, be sincere”. Amazing! Isn’t it?

So by now even I have started showing the signs of “25-30” age bracket by bombarding you with all of my "Self-Gyan". The 25^th anniversary hangover you see. But no matter what all changes this silver jubilee brings about, I will never stop doing certain things: watching cartoons, laughing loudly without any full stops, expressing without hesitations and pestering my near n dear ones.

Signing Off

Gags (Since 1985 :P) ;)