What They Hate About Mumbai….

Suketu Mehta has written an outstanding book on Mumbai called Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found. He describes the life of Mumbai very well, and I guess part of that picture was painted around the atrocious events which took place in Mumbai this week.

He has written an editorial article this week, for the New York Times, which I would like to share with you all. Hope it gives you guys a better of why this event affects us Indians, and probably more specifically us Mumbaiites.

My people….

Before I go on a rant today…. I just got a shout out on the Zemanta blog… that is so cool! I am number 5 on the list….

Ok… so back to business….

We were at Heathrow airport yesterday to see off my mom’s Brother who is on his way for the Islamic pilgrimage called Hajj. Mom, Dad and myself, alongside my Grandma, Mom’s sister and hubby and the 2 kids of my uncle and aunt who are going away turned up at the airport. The check-in and stuff went ok, and we went to the top floor to the departures area, and we were waiting to say our good byes etc.

Now let me take this opportunity to introduce my people…. Indians… or more specifically Southeast Asians. Now, we as people have issues with the sense of where we are…. let me explain a little….

While we were waiting in the departure area (which is a very very long and wide area), our group at every point stood in the most ridiculous position without realisation that we may be inconveniencing others…. First we came out of the lift, and my aunts saw someone who they knew waiting just outside the lifts… so we ended up congregating and essentially blocking the path to the lifts…. it took some tourists shoving past and brushing shoulders to get our group to move….

Then we moved to another location while we waited for someone, and ended up standing in front of the entrance of the waiting area for people with accessibility problems…. again not the smartest plan…. but it wasn’t just us! There were other Asian families and individuals doing the very same thing….we eventually moved towards the departure gates, and since it was a big flight to Saudi, there were a ton of people there, a lot of whom who knew each other…. this couldn’t go too well…

In the end, other people were just slaloming around Asian groups, trying to avoid running into people. I really really wished sometimes the Southeast Asian community as a whole understood and considered etiquette and had that little sense of understanding of how they may be causing others trouble…..

I ofcourse was standing safely, on the side….

Trust me to….

Trust me to find something funny in a bad situation

Check out this link for reason number 831 on why computers will never take over humans….

Have a good weekend / Thanksgiving weekend!

R.I.P Mr Sk…..

Yesterday was a day of 2 halves…..

I left work in a decent mood because I was once again way on top of things than I expected.

I reached home and found my folks to be glued top the news because reports were coming through of explosions in the Indian city of Mumbai. For those who don’t know, both my mom and dad’s families are based in that city. As the news broke further of the events which were taking place, we were frantically contacting family down there to make sure everyone was OK.

A couple of hours later, when everyone was accounted for,  we received a phone call which kinda shocked us again. We found out that my ex-wingman* IK’s father suddenly collapsed of a heart attackand passed away in Canada.

IK’s mom was my mom’s best friend. Infact I grew up pretty much in my grandad’s house, and his stories of not wanting to go back his own house as a kid are legendary. What makes this event shocking is that IK lost his mom to cancer 9 1/2 years ago. He was 21 at that time. I know how hard it was for him to come to accept the loss of his mom, and move on. To this day when he speaks about he (which he doesn’t in public), you can hear his voice quiver.

The loss of his dad will be a great shock to him, I know this for a fact. His dad was his greatest advisor, and IK always looked to him for encouragement, advice, anything. Moreover, IK’s dad got remarried a few years ago, and he has a kid maybe 5-6 years old with IK’s step mom. I feel for them too…..

I havent yet spoken to IK…. and I dont know if I have the courage to speak to him….

I will have to muster some tonight I guess….

*ex-wingman because he is now married…. and also in Canada… which is a little far away from the UK.

Why is it that….

1. I can drive safely in driving rain on winding roads on the fast lanes of a busy highway, but be susceptible to accidents on simple roads in the middle of a quite suburb?
2. I can work on complex calculations and logics…. but not make a simple decision?
3. I can read a book on theories and improbabilities (The Black Swan) and totally get it, but struggle with practical concepts on fairly simple financial models?
4. I can cook something complex…. but can’t cook white rice?
5. I can help everyone else, but not help myself?

I have a chance to make a difference….

Yes… that’s right – I have a chance to make a difference…

Continuing with the seasonal theme, I received a gift yesterday…. I’m not sure if I really want it, but it may be a decent opportunity.

I mentioned a few posts ago about some useless people that I have come across recently. At work, there is an inefficient department who are absolutely misfiring at the moment. They are also currently managerless due to internal restructuring, and the new manager for the department joins next week. I was given the opportunity (without any choice really) to “manage” that department for a week. I think it’s more to do with ensuring that they don’t fall apart as opposed to any of my abilities.

I have one week to try and get things back on track before I can hand over to the new person. I think I definitely have my work cut out for sure…. but I know I can do it…. All together now – YES WE CAN! (any excuse )

That time of the year….

As we approach the final month of the calender year, the seasonal feeling is gripping the atmosphere. Christmas is round the corner for a lot of people, and so is the Islamic pilgrimage season of Hajj as well as the celebratory festival of Eid-ul-Adha. For me however, it is a touch different. It is the time of year when I get contacted by a man in a suit (a red one possibly) offering me fantastic gifts if I have been a good boy throughout the year. I ofcourse am talking of a headhunter.

So for the second year running I have been contacted by a head hunter offering a “lucrative” position. Last year was a very funny story! The recruiter (head hunter) called up the office, and somehow managed to get through to my director. He then proceeded to introduce himself (not knowing who he was speaking to) and let my Director know of his motives i.e. he was a head hunter and had an opening in a very large Financial Organisation. What a dumb ass (he didn’t confirm who he was speaking to)! My director obviously told him to go stick it where the sun doesn’t shine, and ofcourse, I was an innocent bystander.

Fast forward a year and things have changed a little. I am a little more mature as a person, and definitely achieving things at work with my work ethic. In the last year (and I will proceed to toot my horn, so if you can’t bear to listen – close your ears now!) I have been “promoted” twice, and I have essentially represented each area of my company and got a slap on the back for my work. Career wise it has been a fantastic year to be honest. So when a head hunter called the office looking for me, and I was out of the office – I think deja vu would be the seasonal flavour. However, this recruiter was clever enough to contact me using alternative details. Turns out that he is looking for someone for a role which is similar to my current role, for a way higher financial package (and by higher I mean about 25%!!). If all that sounded good – here is the kicker….. it’s for a company who is our direct competitor, the people who are always in the top 2 with us competing when we tender to prospective clients.

Now, as much as the opportunity delights me, I am really caught in 2 or 3 minds….

Pro – The role is similar to what I do now, in the industry which I want to be in and know about.

Pro – The financial and benefits package is outstanding.

Con – We are in a bad bad climate when it comes to jobs. Working in the financial industry is a tricky thing at the moment, and I would be highly exposed to redundancy if things went bottoms up.

Con – Working for a close and direct competitor could also bring up some tensions between my employers and colleagues and myself.

Con – The competitors are a much larger company but have a “smaller” market share compared to where I am now. So would an opportunity to work for a larger company but with possible less excitement appeal to me? I don’t quite know….

I guess before freaking out this much, I need to get through an interview with them But the fact that this opportunity has arisen (apparently I was recommended!) has got me up and a little excited, albeit prematurely…

Tune in again in the coming days to find out how it all goes!

The Matrix runs on Windows…..

My collegue G showed this to me… I am not the greatest fan of the Matrix, but even I found this funny…. Enjoy!

Drapes….

This is funny Picked it up from xkcd

The week that was…

I was at home all week (because I needed a short break before the end of the year…) and this was how it went…

1. Cooked and Indian dish (Chicken Jalfrezi) from scratch (I have made it using pre-prepared spices from the supermarket previously)…. It turned out GREAT!
2. Studied a little on Islamic Commercial Law – which is the first module of my Islamic Finance certification (The name is contentious I guess…. it is really about alternate methods of financing – ethical or socially responsible financing if you may)….
3. Realised that I have the Bourne trilogy and I haven’t yet watched it….
4. Watched the Bourne movies over a couple of days….
5. Turns out Bourne can come out of a smashed up car with a small cut and a limp, whereas the bad guy collapses and dies….. sounds like the script to an Indian movie!
6. Caught up with season 6 of Two and a Half men….
7. Watched a lot of Scrubs after ages and ages on Paramount Comedy…
8. Visited my old neighbours….
9. Caught up with friends…. and some gossip
10. Read almost 500 posts in my reader….. it’s been a while…
11. Caught up with sleep….
12. Made Lasagne from scratch…. it was wickedly tasty again!
13. Wondered how long it would take for me to grow a beard….
14. Took 20 minutes to shave off the week old beard – the worst shaving experience ever! (it was fairly thick!)… Thank god for this shaving cream from Lush which prevented any damage to my face!
15. Decided that it’s not worth going a week without shaving….
16. Joined a sport club / gym….
17. Played squash for the first time since June. My youngest brother beat me in one game with clever angle shots…. I won the match 3-1 (best of 5)…
18. Have a sore back as result of squash…
19. A friend tried to set me up with someone in London who in spoke text/sms language….
20. I plan to kick his ass when I see him (he is in Houston)…. I dnt gt ppl hu spk txt tlk… lol – WTF – CAN’T YOU SPEAK NORMAL WORDS  ?!!? For the record – I said an emphatic NO!
21. Found Zemanta to help me on my posts – t’is awesome!
22. Witnessed the first snow of the winter – always an awesome feeling*
23. Went to a new airport to pick my folks up. It’s about 50 miles from home….
24. Came back home and realised that dad left his briefcase with all important papers, camera and most importantly – chocolates for me on the trolley at the airport….
25. Drove at lightning speed back to the airport to recover the chocolates documents….
26. Found the bag, and returned home to a happy dad….
27. 200 miles in an afternoon later – sore back is a touch more sore….
28. I didn’t miss being at work one bit (the first time that this has happened)….
29. I didn’t expect to be this “busy” in my week off…. but I guess I occasionally need some Me time….
30. Looking forward to a busy 6 weeks of work…. before the end of the year!

Have a good week ahead you guys! Hope your week went well too!

* When I saw snow for the first time in my life (1998) – I ran out of my house into the garden with bare feet, wearing only a t-shirt and trackies…. the freezing cold weather didn’t hit me until a few minutes later as I stood barefeet in snow about a foot deep