My first car
Hi Dear,
Here I am again...
Above two lines are my starting signature from what one can see in my Daily Diary that I pen down weekly now nowadays (Ah..Aa what figure of speech this is? )
Perhaps, since I have started seeing my blog, I have started missing dates with dear diary (Guess this FOS now ? Have you ever seen Romantic personification like this before).
Sometimes while writing down my thoughts I feel such a high level of energy and joy. And sometimes even there is so much over-confidence about myself that I think had I not been writing programs probably cud've easily given those William Wordsworths and R. Frosts a run of yard or two for their money. Thats when my otherself has to come in the picture and calm me down (Probably this speaks of me having a dual personality to some extent, but that's just a lateral thinking).
BTW why the hell I am writing this dangerous word "I" so often these days that will make Norman Lewis feel short of all possible combinations and derivations of "ego".I know (again I :-O ) OK lets try like this, someone has rightly said that its better to know one's limitations, but isn't it even better to know one's potential rather? isn't it good to know where you can be after been known where you stand actually.
Anyways,again.have to improve on this going wayward from the topic in hand.See!!! the title wud make no sense to what you have read so far... I remember once there was an essay competition and the subject was "Mahatma Gandhi", and to my wonder than anyone else I won it amongst couple of hundred other better writers. Afterwards during formal acknowledging I asked the judge why me? even when I had not written anything significant (infact nothing) about Father of the Nation ? he later said he read only the last line in the essay which coincidently was about 'Bapu', (for a record it was "Jab apni hi dhun me aa kar tu jailo ka mehmaan ban gaya,Mutthi bhar haddi ka dhancha ek bada tufaan ban gaya..." wah wah, taaliya !!! ).
I do not dream often,but I think.
So what? we all think.But does all of us think laterally?. So after almost conquering the "mediocre" goals in the life (again why do we use such heavy words like life,world,God so often ?) so far, I turned towards next campaign. I always thought and knew that I will be having my own car one day.My decision about buying a car was possibly forced by some factors though.As we know Pune is famous for being notorious for more than a reason.Famous and notorious same time because of some P's that are attached with the Pune.Pune was once famous as Pensioner's Paradise, but is now known as the hell for the people crawling. Then if Pu. La has brought some accolades to the town then Pune is also notorious for being the one of the if not most Polluted cities.Yup, it was because of this pollution that I decided to buy a nice little car.I bought it yesterday and it is real nice little and spacious.And let me tell you, that I am now completely happy having gotten rid of the noise and pollution on the road while riding on a bike.there is also one thing unique about it, it is of latest design and a limited edition, and can accomodate only a single person.But the best deal is I won't have to leave away my Blue angel Pulsar.There are no wheels to it and, and hold on......you have to wear it on head.
Yup ! it is my new helmet.and it will be for the time sake a placeholder for my first car.
Congrats to me for this marriage of convenience.

So I finally..
I got my first real four wheeler,
bought it at 8 hundred and 50.
Ride it till my petrol consumed,
Me and some guys from the office wanted to go to a movie,
But Rishi left and SK is abroad.
shud 've known there's jam on the road.
But when I look back now
from the rear glass of my bike,
that traffic police seem to chase me.
And if I had a chance,
Always wanna be free.
Coz' I am back in summer of 2003 ;-)
These are sure the Best days of life !!!!

Going thru http://moneycontrol.com to see where our stock stand, I was just wondering how much stock I might have accumulated in my account of "Bank of God".
I had decided long long ago not to ask Him for anything in return after my daily prayers.And me being amongst the Believers (definitely not a convert though) thus must have created a Great pile of all those goodies in my Heavenly account so far. But the fact is He owes me absolutely nothing.

Because whenever :

I asked for strength and
God gave me difficulties to make me strong

I asked for wisdom and
God gave me problems to solve

I asked for prosperity and
God gave me brawn and brain to work

I asked for courage and
God gave me dangers to overcome

I asked for love and
God gave me troubled people to help

I asked for favours and
God gave me opportunities

I received nothing I wanted
I received everything I needed

My prayer has been answered

Change is the only constant thing in life. What is considered
to be good at one time, becomes a vice at other time. e.g.
travel to overseas was hated and people were boycott for it
(Recall how Mahatma Gandhi had to fight with his father for
going to England). Thus customes once considered to be good, do
not remain so-good later. Tennyson considers God is playing
with people and telling them how they were wrong earlier.

Poetry is the spontaneous process of the overflow of
powerful feelings : It takes origin from emotions,
recollected from tranquility.
- William Wordsworth

I got this text mail today, just forwarding...
A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on
it were able to swim to a small, desert like island. The two survivors, not
knowing what else to do, agreed that they had no other recourse but to pray
to God. However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to
divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.
The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man
saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land, and he was able to eat its
fruit. The other man's parcel of land remained barren.

After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife.
The next day, another ship was wrecked, and the only survivor was a woman
who swam to his side of the land. On the other side of the island, there was
nothing.

Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food. The next like
magic, all of these were given to him. However, the second man still had
nothing. Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife
would leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship docked at his side
of the island.

The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second
man on the island. He considered the other man unworthy to receive God's
blessings, since none of his prayers had been answered. As the ship was
about to leave, the first man heard a voice from heaven booming, "Why are
you leaving your companion on the island?"

"My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for them," the
first man answered. "His prayers were all unanswered and so he does not
deserve anything."

"You are mistaken!" the voice rebuked him. "He had only one prayer, which I
answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings."
"Tell me," the first man asked the voice, "What did he pray for that I
should owe him anything?"

"He prayed that all your prayers be answered."

For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but
those of another praying for us.

My prayer for you today is that all your prayers are answered.

Of that time...



Towards the roaring surf, our minds do drift,
The waves of the sea give our sprits a lift,
Above the world and beyond the sky, into the mystery of the ever-lsting
night...
We drift so far beyond this world the pains and gains seem an empty twirl
And far, far beyond the deepest reaches of our minds,
In the deep recess of time, looking for the truth, the honest mankind…
The hours fly, days go by, But nothing matters just you and I...
Free from the demands of the everyday, Safe in the harbor of our minds bay
We take this peace as it lay, a piece of our heaven a piece of our day


We go on like this hand in hand, towards the roaring surf the moist sand…
Not bound by money, not bound by time, just bound by love and a serene mind
The smile for long has not left my lips, my tears seem to have gone amiss
The pain and fear that I carried before, they are all lost along the shore…
The words unsaid can be so kind for we know now what’s on our mind.
Forever I hope our love does last, like flowing water we’d never be apart
But if so comes my day, when I on my death bed lay…
This would be the memory that lasts, this would be my golden past…

Funny Incident
Rishikesh is such a quick witted guy and equally prompt at making excuses.Take a look.
1. I remember during our training session after we had freshly joined in once he came late in the hall.The man incharge there (I knew him as the project manager afterwards) said "Man, you are late, its 10 past 10", Rishi says "I was struck in traffic", the man again asks "is that an excuse ??", now Rishi says "no, its fact...", the man just smiles and shows him the seat.
2. During a status meeting of our project in the company conference room after exchanging a few pleasantries the manager stopped and stared at Rishikesh. (Imagine the General inspecting the Guard of Honour in a military camp after a march past ceremony halts at Rishikesh ) and asks "So man, what is the status of our project, is it on track ? " Rishi promptly says "Yes ! Right on track !" (Imagine him as hammering a right leg and saluting him promptly as he answers), then whispering silently to the fellow cadet "but in negative direction..."

Every time I goto Balgandharv audi. I wonder what does "Natyam Bhinna Rucharjanesya bahudhapyekam samaaradhanam..." mean ???

Kishmish
Just read on JR's blog "When you cannot make up your mind which of two evenly balanced courses of action you should take - choose the bolder." :
That somehow brought me to my Kishmish theory...

There goes a wise saying....
"Never miss a kiss to every Miss in the party..."
- Sandy...
If one follows this, will achieve the most because:
KISS as you know stands for "Keep It Simple Stupid", which unfortunately we can never keep, coz' most of us are as straight and simple as a jalebi...
MISS stands for a Milestone In Street to Success.
Thus to reach to the station of success you can never afford to bypass the stop of simplicity.

Start
I wonder what the button at left bottom my screen would be called if had not been labeled as "Start" !!!

Hi there !
Here I am, again !!!
Want to compile few phrases today ( and this I will fight for a patent as it shall eventually go into the S/W Engg. curriculum ).
1. There is no personal life for a Software Engineer.
2. There shall be efforts and resources allocated for log writing in the project plan.
3. Add few more pipes in your "Parallel processing" (read in double quotes + Bold + Italic ) so that the time thus saved can be used to add few more pipes.Theoretically thus you have infinite time to accomodate any last minute spec changes, new features etc. into your projects.
So, this was Sandy (the pro) speaking from other side of the table typically in the status meeting of the project.But ask me and I can just wonder "why the hell are there only 24 hours in a Day".Why do we have to break down (deservedly though) every 10-12 hrs and goto bed again for same time.I always wonder at this greatest defect in The God's design of human program.Why didn't He then thought of this serious issue that may come at the customers site (i.e. life on the Earth) that his program hangs every 10 hrs for almost same amount of time thus reducing the thouroughput by half. Thus after taking a note of this problem, I have come with above probable solutions.Do you find more ???
It does not necessarily mean that I am on the slippage right now.Its just that, I think, I have too many things todo on my list and I have very little time to do.Though it may sound "Wow !!! finally Sandy has found his way" but I had been contemplating on few things that I know I shall take up parallely some day.Like for instance reading, writing (it was always there since last decade, come and I shall show you the heap of diaries and notes and poems that I wrote many of them though as raw as a kid's freeform drawing or as finished as an artist's rendering ), cooking (of late I want go beyond a cup of bournvita and atleast some venturing into Venky's or Maggi's instant stuff..)
Want to make another statement today... "So Start (doing things). Lets try as much as possible and pursue the instincts and be there where we always want to be !"
:-)

Don't ponder...

How many steps will it take to walk a mile?
How many seconds will it take to wait a while?
How many battles do we need for us to win?
How many Gods do we need to forgive our sins?

How many times must a man betray his faith?
How many times can a man control his hate?
When do we say that justice isn't fair??
How can we endure the burden that we bear?

Where is the youth who will dare?
Where can we find the people who really care?
Where can we find the road to success?
Is it in the north, south, east, or west?

How can I forgive others?
When they killed my peers?
Can you give help to those people in need?
After they have dropped you and you bleed?

Who are the people you can trust?
In this world, to fight is a must.
The world will continue to evolve,
Until those questions have been solved.

Where can I find true love?
That God had gave from above?
How many struggles do we need to make it through?
When do we say that a statement is false or true?

Feeling very apt to pick this up from PS's log....
>>Yikes!! I feel like telling myself loong time no see
>>Kya kare, I was(am still) buried under a "list of things to do" for the past few months(weeks)(??)
>>Anywayz I promise myself to keep in touch with this blog :)
>>[Currently MLTR is occupying the first (coveted (?)) spot in my music fav list
>>Blue Night is fabulous.]
Currently though I am giving ear to Shania Twain's 3G (Gonna Getcha Good !!) and Las Ketchup (Bryan Adams is for forever).Besides, riding on my Blue Angel (Blue Pulsar ; Definitely... fame :-) been latest passion especially last night's celebs were on the peak ; screamming Lagaan and Sachinnn all thru the Pune streets joining in with few thousand more riders was an utterly enthralling experience...

You Are The Sun
--to a friend.

Watching the world through a blacked-out window
You see no sun,
Yet people see light shining in your eyes,
You are the sun for others

Watching children play, wishing you were them,
You start to cry,
People see your child- like tears,
Yet nobody seems to care

Giving light to others,
You realize you’re alone
Your flame is burning brightly
Yet you still feel blind

But if you look deep into your heart, and open the window,
You realize,
You are the sun,
Your stars need your brightness,

And one day you will find the special star,
Which will add to your flame,
And you will burn brighter then ever,
Spreading joy and happiness for miles around.

Who packed my parachute
Once a jet plane during a combat mission was destroyed by a surface-to-air
missile. But the pilot ejected and parachuted into enemy hands (safely though).
He survived the ordeal in enemy prison. While in prison he cursed his colleagues who had left him alone in the midst of the war but later on this feeling gradually passed away with the grateful feeling. This feeling was one of his colleagues who used to pack his parachute. Had he not been there that day,
he thought he could not hardly see this day !!! This man was the same assistant whom he used
to think of a worthless employee in the military and since he was a minor cud be of any support during the real crunch time.
Don't u think every bit of this little story really reflects the very human nature and our life generally ?
We too need many kinds of parachutes when our plane is shot down over enemy territory
--- we need our physical parachute, mental parachute,
emotional parachute, and spiritual parachute.
we call on all these supports before reaching safety.

Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really
important. We may fail to say Hello, please, or thank you, congratulate
someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment,
or just do something nice for no reason.

As you go through this week, this month, this year, recognize people who
pack your parachute. I am sending you this as my way of thanking you for
your part in packing my parachute!!!

Thy sayth Live and Let (Live), Me say Give and Get... "

The mark of Champion.
Everyone loves to be a champion. But not everyone knows how to be one. In every endeavor we all say we’ll be THE NUMBER 1. But when asked how, we say, “I’ll use my lucky charm!”.

Most achievers will answer, “Luck has very little to do with it.” Being Number 1 takes much more than luck. It takes inspiration, persistence, and faith. Luck is a “nice-to-have.”

I had the privilege to surf thru' the speech of Tom Hopkins (been bitten by this B-School reading bug these days) that he had given at a Boot camp.Tom Hopkins is the world’s leading sales trainer and motivational speaker. He says that a professional adheres to 4 P's. I will share with you these four P's and if you have what it takes, I’ll be the first to congratulate you for being a champion.

1. PRE-PLAN : Set goals. Devise strategies. Set your course of action, with specific tasks and corresponding deadlines. The only way you can reach what for you is the Number 1 position is to have a clear picture of that top slot and whatever path leads to it.

Your plans must be realistic, though -- achievable. You can’t plan on being the country’s representative to the swimming Olympics if you’re 40 pounds overweight and the elimination is just a month away -- unless you starve, but that wouldn’t be a good idea. So, plan smart. Put your goals in writing to add commitment. Some planning takes a little time. It’s all right. A good plan is the first step up the ladder to Number 1.

2. PRACTICE : Now, with a good scheme in hand, your next step is to work on it. How? Practice, practice, practice. No one becomes a champion swimmer overnight. Not even ten overnights! It takes months of serious training, dedicated practice.

And what did Tom Hopkins say? “Practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect
practice makes perfect.” In other words, there’s no sense practicing
something that doesn’t work or that doesn’t lead you to success. If your swing is self-taught, and your batting average is so-so, you need professional help. Then, using the professional, correct, and proven techniques, you practice, practice, practice, until it becomes second nature.

3. PERFECT : This is something that goes beyond practice. This P is shooting for perfection. Some call it fine-tuning. After you’ve practiced long and hard to learn, understand, and rationalize the techniques and skills… after you’ve done it a hundred, a thousand times… after you’ve acquired “muscle memory” and you can actually do it with your eyes closed… it’s then time to cross the line to perfection. Do not stop practicing until the motion becomes flawless. Until you can do it flawlessly, every time.

Imagine the magicians who get away with card tricks using slight-of-hand. They start learning a trick in slow motion, and practice until they can perform it faster and smoother. And when they can do it flawlessly with their eyes closed, every time, they move on to perfecting the move until they become confident enough to...

4. PERFORM : This is the test. The moment that will tell you that you have succeeded. Everything you planned, practiced, and perfected, will find fulfillment during the performance. Show your mastery – your skill. Let other people marvel at your specialty. Make them appreciate your effort and excellence in the task you have chosen.

You step up to the plate, you come up the stage, or you face your client, and with full confidence and mastery of skill, you give it all you’ve got. Just as you’ve planned it, exactly as you’ve visualized it, you smoothly move from start to finish, and you deliver it flawlessly. The mark of a winner and true champion.

Many professionals push on to improve on their performance. Every performance becomes an opportunity to practice, and become even better – and be the take-off point for bigger tasks and loftier goals. A professional never ceases to enrich and refine himself. A professional always sees himself as a winner and a champion. And a winner is a winner and will continue to win because he’s a champion who doesn’t quit.

World cup Hamara !!!
And thus the countdown to WC finally coming to its cusp !!! By the time this twister wud get blown over the entire fraternity of Cricket freaks it will have definitely stamped its mark as a World cup that had embraced all the necessary masala in its conjunture.At least this is clear from the way the bulk N quantum has increased of this game which was mere a passtime of the Royal Colonizers.So much so that it has overwhelm the inventor of this game itself now.The game with prizemoney increasing with a digit with each version passing also deserves such a razzmatazz !!! And if had it been a concours of Adrenaline only then the Great stalwart of the sport today, The Maharaja of Kolkata, Mr Dalmiya (Prince being the SouravDa) wud'v be seen leading the pack.Hats off to Mr. D. for keeping the Indian tricolor flying high (even atleast off the field) allover the commonwealth.As for my bets inside the circle this time I am dead sure Tendlya gonna be the Mr. Sweeper of this tourney running home with all the accords and records at the cermonial stage.The LAGAAN relived ???
So lets ready to cheer up the men in blue !!!

Free as bird :
Recently at some leisure time on my weekends was just rubbing off some dust over my once passionately garnered heap of

documents. Though this is just my passtime activity to dig up thru my good old memoirs but I know 'twas more substantial than

any other hobby during those lonely summers of tutelage. Yes ! It was then that I came across a piece of paper, and again

that piece of used to be the prime target , like the zenith, beyond which I could hardly think of then and it beared those

BOLD artistically written "University Of Pune, Bachelor of............"
I can imagine you saying this is not that "Bachelor of...", but one thing is clear it has since then certainly given

me a new identity...Till then I was used to be called as sonu,Sandy,Schwarzenegger,stallone,and what not but now there is

this one more tag that is shining bright on my chest like a pendant on some war hero.
I know we all come alone empty hands go alike, but then you know human beings being social brutes have to have

someone for company, for sometime at least or the whole.So that brings me to the conclusion of being absolutely right in

hanging around with the guys (and I mean GUYS for the time being) and that we call us guys Babblers (these are seven birds that are known to be

hanging around together and hence also called "Sat-Bhai", typical to some "Animal Planet" hint :-) ).So whats wrong in that,

if someone has coined this phrase which makes Birds known to be flocking together.But as always, this poor bird (Me, whoelese

?)had yet another experience which made him feel like being stuck in some gold cage.This was the last day of last year and I

was virtually on the seventh heaven trying to be the first person to ring in the new year by doing what I can the best on such ocassions

(screaming LAGAAN to signify yet another bash and dance party at some equally,vocally babbling venue) But after calling at

almost couple of dozen places got the same reply: "stags not allowed" / "couples only"! Huh, so what !!! (I said to myself)

.But the questions still ponders me as to why no country for the people of Palestine, no food for the starving Somalis, No

tree to the migrating birds, and "Couples only "signs for the BACHELORS ???.Trying to find the answer at one of fav. places :

behind the closed doors of my cluster infront of this monitor,where sun never sets and thats where I find true solace (other

places being being HER lap, and... about which lets talk later) I get that this is still my Summer of 69 and definitely I

would always wanna be here, what if ther is no more some mama's porche...

This Blogger template seems to have eaten up earlier posts. Now even after republishing them I could not see them in the archive... Subak... Subak...
Now I can feel how those film buffs must be taking the loss of nitrate based pre 1950 era films at FTII....

TITLE: Think good thoughts
AIM: What we think dictates who we become
OBJECT: Sandpaper

[Begin by chatting with the kids about sandpaper, its uses etc - use the following questions to guide the discussion]
What do you think this is? [sandpaper]
What's it used for? [making things smooth]
What would happen if I sanded the wall [take off the paint]

That's right. Sandpaper is a very useful tool. It can be used to make wood beautifully smooth - like the table there. A beautiful piece of furniture.

Sandpaper can also be used to make things rough. If I were to take a piece of rough sandpaper and rub the wall here - it would take of the paint and put scratches in the wall.

The Bible says our thoughts are like sandpaper.
Now the tell the tale : "Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts."

The thoughts we think are like he sandpaper - good thoughts, thinking like God wants us to think can make us beautiful and smooth. Bad thoughts can scratch and damage us.

What is the second point of the code? [clean]
What does it mean? [clean in body, MIND and speech]

This week, and every week think about the sandpaper. Think about what you are thinking about. Your life is shaped by your thoughts.

Think abt it :-) BFN.....

Thinking :
Thinking is greater than reading / writing.
One who stops thinking stops living.
Pursue your thoughts , till these come to you as the FACTS. Because every bit of thought, right / wrong , that comes to your mind has some conclusive side of it. If these thoughts are right, becomes Universal Acceptance, if not are replaced by their counterparts.
Every great HERO in the history has become so, by his/ her thoughts if not by actions. Probably these heroes are the ones who have had such successful pursuit to their thoughts. And this must be called nothing but the "Discovery of truth"...
...as was done by the "Mahatma", the hero himself, or take for that matter the "Gautam" who might have had the same experience under the Bodhi tree.