Mark as Unread

I have found one nice way of making sure I do not miss out on e-mails that I have put on a back-burner, to be read and replied to later, whenever I get some free time. These days, I have started marking all such e-mails as "Unread". I turn them to "Read" only after I have read them, and replied to them if necessary. Working quite well for me..

Project Management…

Following are some points that I personally need to work on, as an individual developer and for my team in general:

1. Giving enough time for testing and code reviews
   
2. Handling delays to the project caused by external factors sooner – informing the client about it on time and getting an approval or confirmation from them – This is more than just sending an e-mail about the delay, need to be very sensitive to the cost factor when delays occur
   
3. Handling change requests in terms of cost change
   
4. Finding alternative methods / techniques to reduce the delays if possible
   

I realized that there is a lot of scope for improvement for me in these aspects. Sigh – why do mistakes and learning never ever stop?

What you “want to do”, and what you “can” do!

In the last one year, I must say I have done quite a few things that I was afraid of – there was a fear in my mind about whether I would be able to handle these situations, and even if I could, how good would I be at them. And now after having done those things, I can only say that all the fear, all the fright was just a fear of unknown.

And without sounding too pompous, I just want to say that I am happy I made those decisions, it was more of challenging myself, making myself get out of my comfort zone, taking on those opportunities head on – and then putting in my best to get it done. There is a long way to go still, but I think I am already on the right track.

There really are two things in professional life – things that you want to do, and things that you can do. And as I think about this more, I realize that in the initial years of your career at least – the "what you can do" things play an important role in making you realize your true potential. There is a long way before anyone can really say "oh, I have been there and done all that". Till that time, there will always be the "first times" and it is very crucial you do not become complacent, and you stretch your own limits almost every day of your job. Another thing I believe in, and my belief gets stronger as I become senior – it is sometimes necessary to grab work. Raise your hand; do not expect your managers or colleagues to do that for you. One of my senior colleagues had put it very nicely for me, when I had just joined my company – "Make sure your plate is always full". I will add a little more to it and say that – "Make sure your plate is always full, let the main course be of things that you like to do. But make sure your dessert is made of things that you do because you want to see what you "can" do".

Before you go ahead and make a list of things that you "like to do", and "want to do", be sure you have done ALL of it, before you narrow down your own options. For all you know – you will be very good at something that you were scared of. And trust me – the feeling of overcoming your fear, and succeeding at what you set out for is unmatched. Do those things for the thrill of experiencing that feeling – and you will find yourself smiling through your fears!

Lessons at work

1. Make sure you send out e-mails, make sure you keep all the concerned parties on the same page – when things go wrong, every person by nature will try to get out scot-free, pass the buck onto someone else – Do not give that chance to yourself and to others!
   
2. Keep your manager and your manager's manager in the loop ALWAYS. Irrespective of how menial or how small the matter is. Trust me – you never know what will snowball when.
   
3. Say NO to work that does not fall under your role or jurisdiction – it is almost stupid to do somebody else's job for goodwill, when you have other important / urgent things to do yourself.
   
4. It isn't about what you can do – it really is about what you want to do. That makes all the difference. All the things that you "have" to do will not give you the satisfaction at the end of the day – so while you do those tasks, also do something that makes you feel good about yourself.
5. Mistakes happen - make a note of the mistake you did, and remember not to repeat it. Make that mistake into experience. And move on. Don't lose your sleep over them.
6. Missed chances, opportunities that seemed interesting and promising not materializing - this is a part and parcel of professional life - you lose some, you win some. Just accept that.

No option

Tell yourself – defeat is not an option. And you will be fine most of the times!

If love is blind..

If love is blind, hatred is something that gives you an extra vision - almost like a third eye you do not really need...

Think about it - it is true. If you have loved someone and if you have hated someone (which I believe most of us must have done at some or the other point, in some or the other way), you will realize that hatred is far more consuming than love. Hatred makes you see things and read things that really are totally unnecessary, and though they might be true, they are just plain useless.

Think twice before you decide to hate someone - it is totally not worth it.

Specific random thought

Support, help, affection - comes from the most unexpected places and people. It is just about looking around, opening up and accepting people and letting them into your life...

"Balled" out

India defeated Pakistan in the 20-20 World Cup game and entered the Super eight! And how did they win? They won 3-0! Yup - I am talking about a cricket match here, not hockey.

Yesterday's match has a lot of firsts to its credit and I am sure more than anyone else Dhoni is going to remember it for his life - his first match as a Captain, first 20-20 World Cup, and first ever Ball Out in the history of cricket. And to top it all, a match between India and Pakistan. Indians couldn't have asked for more. The bow that Robin took after his direct hit said it all.

Finding time..Making time

Making time for things other than work - that is one thing I want to work towards. I have a couple of good friends here, but I have not met them in the last so many months now. We chat once in a while and tell each other "lets meet soon" and that "soon" never seems to come.

What are we doing? Why are we doing things that we are doing? Why do we start running in the rat race without even realizing we are in one? Shouldn't this stop at some point of time?

It should, it has to. And the most important thing is that we are not even doing as much as we should. Your manager tells you, you need to be better, and you actually agree! Which means, you have to work not just better, but "smarter". And what is "smarter"? Working smarter means understanding what is important and what is not, what is urgent and what is not, what can be delegated and what cannot be, and understanding "how to delegate" and how much to do yourself. In the end, it is all about being "smart"!

I am not sure right now how I am going to go about doing all this, but I have to reach that place, soon enough and fast enough.

Every woman should...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
enough money within her control to move outand rent a place of her own,
even if she never wants to or needs to...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
something perfect to wear if the employer,
or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ..
a youth she's content to leave behind....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to retelling it in her old age....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....
one friend who always makes her laugh...
and one who lets her cry...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....
a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a recipe for a meal,
that will make her guests feel honored...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to fall in love without losing herself..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to quit a job,
break up with a lover,
and confront a friend without ruining the friendship...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
when to try harder...
and WHEN TO WALK AWAY...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that she can't change the length of her calves, the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that her childhood may not have been perfect...but its over...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
what she would and wouldn't do for love or more...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to live alone... even if she doesn't like it...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW..
whom she can trust, whom she can't and why she shouldn't take it personally...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
where to go...
be it to her best friend's kitchen table...
or a charming inn in the woods...
when her soul needs soothing...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
what she can and can't accomplish in a day...a month...and a year...

Basics of Eye care

1. Use a good under eye gel - particularly for people who suffer from the problem of dark circles
2. Use sunscreen every day, one with SPF above or equal to 15 - I used to think that someone who sits in A/C rooms all day does not even have to care about sunscreens, but as my doctor said - applying a sunscreen will help even if you are sitting in front of the computer for a long period of time (Computer screen also gives out small amount of UV radiation, especially the CRT type of displays)
3. Get enough sleep and a sound sleep - well, ok - this depends a lot on your lifestyle, your job etc. etc.
4. Drink enough water - How much is enough? My doctor said about 2 litres of water!! (that definitely means I have to start using a bigger water bottle)
5. Cut down on caffeine and sodium - that means my dear coffee :( - The reason behind this is that caffeine and sodium promote water retention, causing puffy eyes
6. Take multi-vitamins and increase the intake of fruits and vegetables in your every day diet - preferrably one fruit every day
7. If your eyes feel very tired, apply tea bags, or cucumber slices, or cotton soaked in rose water, twice or thrice a week, for about 10 mins.

Some exercises for eyes:

1. If you have been starting at the monitor for a long time, don't close your eyes immediately (we tend to so many times). Look in infinity or at some distant object for some time and then close the eyes.
2. Move your eyes in all directions - up, down, right and left - and do this for 10 minutes, at least twice a day (find a place where people cannot see you :-))

These exercises help tighten the eye muscles, reducing the retention of toxins around your eyes.

p.s.: Tips - courtesy Kaya Skin Clinic

Back with... a Bi-cycle

I am back to cycling after a gap of almost 11 years. And I must say I am feeling good about it. Thanks to my brother, I am a proud owner of a brand new black cycle! Most importantly I have been using it for the last 2 weeks for a ride, either in the morning or in the evening, at least once in a day. Being an inherently lazy person when it comes to exercises of any form, I am finding cycling a lot better, enjoyable, faster and cheaper as compared to walking or jogging or aerobics or the boring gymming.

Yes, losing weight, keeping fit, saving petrol and reducing my contribution towards pollution are no doubt some of the expectations at the end of it all. But even before I see those results, I am already seeing one side effect - Thanks to my cycle rides, I know the slopes and potholes on the roads in my area far better today that what I knew a few days back. And yes, one more thing - I have learnt that the shock absorber is a very important piece of the machinery in your vehicles - appreciate its presence :)

Serendipitous find :)

http://www.sudhirsclasses.com/HTML/XII_MeritList.htm

- Search for "Rahalkar" or check out the 1996-1997 section :)

Other side of 27

I turned 27 a few months back.. And though it is said you should only look at the future and not look at the past - I have not been able to really stick to that. It hasn't been a day of sudden enlightenment - the feeling that you are a senior now kind of starts creeping in even before 27, especially in IT industry where the average age of people around you is not more than 30 and a place where an experience of 3 or 4 years matters and puts you in the bracket of people who are expected to take on more and "senior" responsibilities.

I have found myself looking back at the last 27 years of my life - and actually more so the last 6 years, years post my graduation, 6 years of job and being out on my own in a world apart from the safety and protection of home, school and college. Many times I have heard myself saying - "oh, you know, things were different back then when I joined the company", I have found myself catching up with my old college friend and remembering how it was 10 years back when we first met, and then saying to each other "oh, weren't we really stupid then?"..

Not that I do not do stupid things any more (oh I wish I stopped doing them), but words and sentences like "Experience is the best teacher" kind of start making sense. A lot of things your parents and elders said to you about a lot of things start seeming to be correct. And a lot of it is something you had ignored on purpose as a teenager. You look back and find yourself smiling on that stupid first crush, which never really went beyond those stupid smiles. You look back and find a lot of situations which you know you would handle differently now. You have your share of failures, some big, some small, most of them that will remain with you as reminders of things you perhaps did wrong. You realize your treasure chest of memories is quite big now, memories of friends and people you met and somewhere lost touch with along the way, memories of the academic successes, your first job experiences, memories that often make you smile and cry at the same time..

As one of my friend had said - as you grow, you become less and less flexible. It becomes that much more difficult to retrace the steps that brought you where you are and made you the kind of person you are. You have already been moulded by now, and you start accepting yourself the way you are. Those teenage tussles of coming to terms with people around you and yourself kind of die down. You emerge out of all that - with the knowledge of how and what you are and how much and what you want to achieve.

The best part of being on the other side though is that you know yourself far better, your own failures, your own successes, your pluses and your minuses. And you know from your first-hand experiences that things will go wrong sometimes and that every failure is not and does not have to be the end of anything. The best part is you learn to live and come to appreciate a lot of things that you did not care about earlier. As my friend said - you become calmer - I guess that is what is commonly referred to as "being mature" and "being grown-up".. Well, yes - people like me need to be on the other side of 27 to realize a lot of this!

Desperate times... Desperate measures

I normally go to office and come back home by a taxi... Today, as it was supposed to happen - I had nothing less than 50 EUR in cash, I had a card, but the taxi did not have a card machine, the taxi driver did not have change for 50 EUR (strange?... oh no, as it turns out, people here really do not carry cash!)...

The sequence of events, after I figured I had to get 12 EUR to pay to the taxi driver somehow:

1. I ask for change in a pharmacy shop, he does not have any
2. I see an Indian family entering their apartment - I rush to them with hope - but they also do not have more than 5 or 6 EUR in cash at home!
3. The taxi driver tells me to get into the car, we go in search of a shop where we can ask for change - we come back to the apartment, after going round in a circle - aha - no shop in the vicinity!
4. The taxi driver then drives me to a nearby ATM center - but as I tell him, it is no use. Highly unlikely that the ATM center is going to give me 10 EUR notes!
5. The taxi driver tells me to ask at the reception desk of a hotel :) I do that too - come out empty handed.. The receptionist also does not have change for 50 EUR.

As luck may have it, I see a guy outside the hotel door, talking to someone - and I recognize him as someone whom I have seen at Bridgestone, and have in fact exchanged a formal hi/hello with a few times.. The taxi driver has already started giving me dirty looks, he is so visibly pissed off with me (I am sure he was thinking - what kind of girl is this - carries so much of cash in her purse).

I take a chance, and blurt out my problem to that guy, he smiles at me (yes, he is obviously amused) - but he gives me the much needed 12 EUR... He says.... "I don't know your name, but I know your face.. So I am going to give the money to you :-)".. I smile back, it is a smile of relief.. I immediately hand over the money to the taxi driver and decide to walk back to my apartment... In fact, York and I (the good samaritan's name is York) walk back together (he also happens to live nearby), having a nice, light-hearted conversation along the way.

Interestingly, what started off as a frantic search for 12 EUR ended up very well, an experience and a meeting that I am sure going to remember for a long time to come!

Home for 6 weeks...

My favourite corner in the apartment...
Views from the balcony

Current favourite: Metro

Surprisingly, I have caught up on a lot of movies here in Brussels.. And the current favourite of mine has to be Metro... and all the songs in that movie.. Particularly - "Alvida" and "Hai tujhe bhi ijazat"...

There is a bigger plan for each one of us

At times, it is so relaxing and heartening to just say to yourself - "God has a bigger plan for me".. Try repeating that to yourself a couple of times, remind yourself again and again - the more you accept that as a truth, the easier and simpler things seem to be.. Small worries, tensions, some misgivings and misunderstandings seem to get smaller and smaller... till a point where you actually start seeing beyond a lot of petty, small issues that seem very big in the immediate short term...

Try that - it works. Think long term.

Justifications

Are justifications heard? Are they respected? Are they accepted?

I don't know - I wish I knew the answer. Many times, I have found myself in situations where I justify, I defend - myself, my actions, my thinking behind a certain action. It is almost always an attempt to make others see my point, to give reasons behind how what was interpreted was not intended. Unfortunately, many times, my intentions behind an action and people's interpretations of those actions have been so disparate; the difference has been surprising, sometimes shocking and at times plain disturbing.

The more I experience this, the more I realize that justifications / explanations / discussions / defending take you nowhere. Because, as my questions in the beginning indicate - I am not sure any of these are looked at in the right manner. They are not taken as an attempt to put across the point, instead they are looked upon as acceptance of something done wrong... How many times have you said to yourself..."aah... see, she is coming up with all these explanations, because she accepts her mistake.."?

Whether I get the answer or not, I know, I will again find myself in situations where I do that, where I defend, where I try to explain to put across my point - and whenever I do it, I will always tell myself - I am doing this, because, I have the right to an opinion and thinking as an individual, because I was right in my own way. The day the other person also thinks that way - it will be ok, the day he / she does not - I would have just given another "justification" - useless, and valueless.

You are what people make of you

For a very long time, and should I say till the time I was immature enough to believe that - I believed that it is only important for you to know that you are good, and be convinced about that. For a very long time, I believed that being a good human being, a good person, a good friend is the most important thing.

And then I realized that it is equally important that others feel that way about you! You may think very highly of yourself, you may tell yourself that you are good, but if others around you do not think that way - you are not. Period. Whether they are right or wrong, whether they misunderstand or misinterpret. Nothing much matters, except this - In a world, where you are not alone, you are what people around you make of you.

Some of the best things come in small packages

Taking a hot shower bath in a cold, chilly weather - heavenly
Sipping hot coffee on a cold, winter day
Eating kanda bhaji sitting next to the window, watching the rain falling outside
Catching your favourite movie on a TV channel, when you least expect it..
Reaching that point in a novel when you just can't keep it down
Seeing your code working :) (Ok, that is the techie in me)
Sunday afternoon siesta
Allowing yourself to indulge in a yummy piece of pastry...

I am inside the computer :)

Jui: aatya, where are you? Where are you talking from?
Arati: I am in Brussels, Jui...
Jui: aatya, are you inside the computer?
Arati: lol (cannot stop myself from laughing out loud) - No Jui, I am in Brussels
Jui: aatya, when will you come outside? I miss you...
Arati: (finally I give up and accept her theory :)) Yes, Jui.. I am inside the computer.. I will come outside on 6th July..


So folks, for the next 4 weeks, I am inside the computer :) See you when I am outside...

p.s. - Of course, all this conversation was in Marathi (This is the translated version :))

My niece...Jui

My niece - Jui - has been the topic of my blog some time back too... Why you ask? The reason is simple, I just love her so much :)

She is a funny 3 year old, with the sweetest smile, and with the most innocent and genuine laughter. She won the "Most Neat and Tidy Student" award at her school this year :). She is a total "aaji bai" as I call her, telling everyone in the house to not shout too much, and not to enter in the house with their shoes on, helping out her grandmother and her mother in the kitchen (yes, she does that, and does that very well, so much so, that there have been times when I have had to enter into the kitchen, not out of liking but out of shame :))..

She calls me aatya (that is Aunt in Marathi), and the word had never sounded sweeter before. She is the one who normally wakes me up in the morning, and I almost always tend to prolong my sleep so that she comes upstairs searching for me. Aatya for her is like her friend - and I so hope it remains that way always.

21st century kid that she is - I guess she has picked up talking on GTalk very easily.. yes, these days, we talk over Google Talk - which basically means I have to just shut up and listen to all her nursery rhymes that she rattles off one after the other. It is a long time from now that I get to meet her again - a real long period of 2 months, and I seem to be missing her already..

Come to think of it, there was a time in my life, when I had confessed to my mother that I cannot play with small kids! I just never understood what conversation to have with them :) Well, that was me back then, and this is me now - aatya to my lovely niece Jui.

Quote

Winners are too busy to be sad, too positive to be doubtful, too optimistic to be fearful and too determined to be defeated.

- Have you ever felt sad, doubted yourself and others, feared for something or felt defeated? If you have, don't. That is not what winners are supposed to be spending time on.

Taxi Drivers in Brussels

Taxi Driver 1: I met him twice coincidentally. The first time round I had asked him whether he knows any shopping center close by. Second time round, he remembered me and enquired whether I found it or not.

Taxi Driver 2: An old gentleman, seemed very knowledgable. For a change, could speak very good English. When I complimented him on that, he told he knows 4 languages, has worked in Agriculture Research. He knew about Mumbai, because a long time ago, he had a girlfriend from Mumbai!. We had a nice conversation for those 15 minutes, and while leaving he said philosophically, "nice meeting you. My grandfather always used to say - Trees do not meet, people meet!" :-)

Taxi Driver 3: He had no idea where Kleine Kloosterstraat is, he searched for a wrong road in his navigator. We ended up roaming around Brussels for 30 mins finding the location, which normally takes 10 mins from my apartment. The meter was shooting up with every passing minute - at the end it showed 30.5 EUR, that otherwise reads something like 12 or 13 EUR. While I was worrying about the unnecessary extra euros I will have to shell out, he tells me - "Don't worry. We will find the way. And don't worry about the extra money". And indeed he sticks to his word, and takes only 15 EUR from me. (well, a little more than usual, but much better than 30!)

Quote

We so easily believe what our heart wants to believe and so easily ignore what our mind knows.

My stock for the next few days/weeks?

Edelweiss, Bless my homeland forever

Edelweiss, edelweiss,
every morning you greet me.
Small and white,
clean and bright,
you look happy to meet me.
Blossom of snow, may you bloom and grow,
bloom and grow forever.
Edelweiss, edelweiss,
bless my homeland forever.

-- A sweet little song from Sound of Music, loved it when towards the end of the movie, the entire Von Trapp family sing this song, with all the love for their homeland, and the sorrow of having to leave it pouring out from every word of this song..

It has been a long day!

I am in Brussels since yesterday and man - did I have a long day or what? - with the sun refusing to set till almost 10:15 in the night. Couldn't believe there was good enough light till about 10.

Looks like I am in for some real "long days" in the coming few weeks :-)

My 10 commandments

1. Don't hang onto the past. Past soon becomes a baggage too heavy to carry.

2. Every day is a new day. Start with a clean slate, write / scribble / draw on it. At night see what you have on the slate, memorize it and simply erase it.

3. Try to the best of your abilities, be it in professional or personal life. After you are convinced you have tried everything from your side, stop. If you succeed - luck was on your side. If you fail - life is unfair anyway.

4. At any point in time, if I look back, I don't want to ever give myself a chance of saying "Arati - see, you failed because you did not try enough". Yes, I will fail, but I don't want to be the reason for that failure.

5. Don't expect your best friend to always understand you and be by your side. Understand and accept that people change, their priorities and preferences change.

6. Work on today and dream for future. Dreams always do not come true, but they give you the hope and energy for the next day.

7. Remember the carrot and the rabbit story - you are a rabbit, and it is your responsibility to show yourself a carrot now and then. Don't expect anybody else to do that for you. You may not get the carrot, but it is going to make the journey bearable.

8. Don't analyze the whats, whys and hows in your life too much. As the software engineers say - Don't get into an analysis paralysis situation. Post-mortems are done on dead people, and let it just remain that way.

9. Learn to say no, when you want to say no - and say it.

10. Above all, accept yourself, as you are. If you don't, nobody else will.

Sakhe ga saye

A very sweet and hopeful Marathi poem, heard it a few years back and loved it. It has remained with me since then.

"sakhe ga saye, gauya ata
anandachi gani ga...

atalya aata, piyuna taku
dolyatale pani ga...

panyavar tya eka navyacha,
phutel ankura ga...

visavayala eka navyane
milel maher ga...

tula ni mala daveel disha
ek swatahcha tara ga...

shodhun tyala, jinkuna gheu
khel ha sara ga.."

Update: And here is the song (in my voice :-P) http://arati.rahalkar.googlepages.com/sakhe.wav

Lizard fight!

Time - 11:30 pm, Location - My room, Saturday night, I am reading interesting stuff on the Net, reading blogs, some nice topic cooking up in my head, thinking about what to write next in my blog, songs going on in the background - in short, a nice, relaxing Saturday night in progress.

I take a small break and look around the room and I see a brown, big, fat lizard on one of the walls - looking at me - as if ready to jump from there directly on my laptop. Though I have studied biology till 12th and I know the mechanics behind how the lizards manage to crawl and remain stuck to the walls - I always have this fear in my mind that it will somehow lose the grasp and fall from the ceiling right on me!

I hate the sight of the lizards, forget living with one in my room. The small break I took obviously gets extended - with my eyes not leaving her, and following her wherever she goes. The lizard moves all around the place, not understanding that I have opened up the windows for her to leave! Finally, I use my safe, yet, dependable weapon - a real long stick to shoo it off in the right direction and after a fight of almost 15 mins - the lizard gets out of my room.

Phew - so much for a relaxing Saturday night! And just because that stupid lizard wasted my precious 15 minutes, I decided to waste another 15 writing this blog..

Meeting Bheemabai

I met our oldest maid servant today, very unexpectedly. She was with us from my birth till I was in 4th or 5th Std. I think. As far back as I can remember, she was my favourite then - I remember running behind her all the time.. Bheemabai to me, is a woman, who loved me a lot, who pampered me a lot, and someone whom I accompanied and helped when it came to washing utensils!

When I met her today in her small one room house, all those memories came flooding back..I wanted to talk to her, but all I could manage was a smile for some time.. I almost choked and I had to actually fight back tears... Perhaps it was because of seeing her as an old lady in an unimaginably small house or plainly out of the realization that so many years have passed since the last time I saw her. And even after all these years, the most amazing part was that the love I felt towards her when I met her today, was not one-sided - when she affectionately stroked my head and patted my back, it was like meeting my Bheemabai again - the way I remember her and the way I always want to remember her. When my mother asked her to drop by some time, she said.. "Yes, I will come for Arati's wedding!"

There are some relationships in our lives that just get formed, we hardly have a role to play in their formation. Small or large, they become a part of our lives and remain with us, in a small corner of our hearts. We don't nurture these relationships, we don't take any extra effort to make them special, to make sure these people do not forget us. But yet, they remain, intact, strong and safe, like bonds that never break. For some reason, they make me believe in the goodness of life and in the goodness of people.

Delegation

Read an article that talked about the following 7 levels of delegation:

1. "Wait and be told, or do exactly what I say" - this is the no-delegation-at-all approach.

2. "Look into this and tell me what you come up with" - this is asking for investigation and analysis but no recommendation

3. "Give me your recommendation, and other options with the pro's and con's of each. I'll let you know if you can go ahead." - Asks for analysis and recommendation, but you're going to check the thinking before deciding.

4. "Decide and let me know your decision. But wait for my go ahead." - you are signaling that your subordinate is trusted to judge the various options, but (s)he needs approval before taking action.

5. "Decide and let me know your decision. Go ahead unless I say stop." - At this level the other person is starting to control the action. This is a good timesaving increase in autonomy.

6. "Decide and take action, but let me know what you did." - Here we are saving more time. This approach allows for a quick reaction on your part if the decision made was a bad one.

7. "Decide and take action. You don't need to check with me." - At this level you are giving your subordinate the most freedom possible. It demonstrates a high level of confidence in them. Ensure you have good controls in place to flag any mistakes before they can become a major hassle.

I have always found delegation to be a tough thing to do, I think it is more of an art, that some people have inherently and some people need to learn over a period of time. Wondering which level I fall in. I seem to be prefering a combination of 2 and 3 - but then again - I am still learning the art!

From Doctors...

Robbie to Laura Castellano:

God's played a dirty trick on you. He gave you everything. Only probably He was so snowed by the result, He just forgot to add that final touch of confidence. Okay, so I wasn't the guy. It won't be easy but I will deal with it. I only hope that someday someone pounds a little sense into that gorgeous head of yours and makes you like yourself.

Rightly said...

Whoever said - "It is better to have loved and lost, than to have not loved at all", DID NOT love and lose!

:-) Saw this as a status message against someone's name in IM. Whoever said the line above, sure got it right!

Quote of the Day

Don't give up. Moses was once a basket case.

Hopeful Quote

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope. -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Is that always possible? And is that the right thing to do always? Doesn't this totally contradict with the principle of "letting go" in some cases?

Going back to college... As a guest lecturer :-)

Last week, I went back to my college after almost 4 long years... With a very special reason and intention - that of delivering a guest lecture on "Design Patterns" to the 4th year students! And wow - did that not feel great :-)

I had never imagined myself as a teacher or a lecturer for that matter. But like a few things that just happen without taking a lot of effort, this one fell into my lap too. The lecture went well, the students liked it hopefully :-) and I got back a small memento in return!. It felt good to go back to my old class-room as a teacher. I was almost tempted to take a roll call :-)

However small or big, important or not important, this one definitely qualifies to be in "proud moments" list for me :-)

Expectations

Expectations - you have them from everyone - from yourself, from your friends, from your colleagues, from your team-members, your manager, your maid, your parents, just about everyone whom you meet and know and interact with..

Expectations ranging from - "She should call me for lunch" to "He should call me up once in a while, why should I be the one to call always" to "They should wait for me to have a meeting" to "My manager should put a +ve performance note for me" to "My work should be appreciated" to "My niece should play with me without crying whenever I am home" to "My mother should always be there for me" to ....

Sometimes knowingly, sometimes unknowingly, before we even realize, we build up this pile of expectations from everyone... and at some point that pile becomes too heavy to carry... You then decide that you are not going to keep expectations from people... Not realizing that all you did was just add one more expectation from yourself to that pile!

One shot at writing a poem!

I really admire and envy people who can put down their thoughts in the form of poems and stories - that is such a great gift a person can get... I wish I could write poems, this is the one and only one I have been able to write :-) - my first and last shot at being even remotely creative...

I am trying to follow the SUN
Taking each day as it comes,
I wonder whether that would be fun
But seems like the right thing to be done..

The SUN does his job, no matter what..
Not withstanding the clouds that at times make him blot...
As the night falls and the MOON takes over,
The blazing SUN retreats and goes down under..
Only to rise and shine again the next day,
And bring fresh new hopes along the way.

The SUN, The MOON and the myriad different STARS
All share just one blue sky, without any wars
Each with its distinct significance, importance and place,
Co-exist in one big space.

All these STARS seem to tell me a lot,
Make me look within to see what I have got,
They tell me to believe what my heart says but my ears fail to hear,
That I want to be up there somehwere..
Unshakeable, resilient and strong like the Pole Star.

Some words I would rather do without!

I have heard people using some of these words in their colloquial every day English far too often. I have got irritated by these words each time I have heard them and today I am just trying to list them down. Some of them are probably very innocent, harmless words, but for some reason, I don't like them.

1. Words like "wanna" and "gonna" - You can be an American if you want to, but I don't like it being used. Period.

2. Awesome - Overly overused

3. Rocking, Lets rock - overused again! Kind of lost its meaning because of that..

4. Sexy - I fail to understand how anything and everything can be sexy, right from something like a design document to some restaurant to somebody's dress or to some real person. For a very long time actually, I thought only a "person" could be sexy!

5. Well - What does this word mean any way? Didn't it mean being "well" as in not being "sick". But the use of this word at the start of every sentence kind of makes me sick in fact. When a person starts his / her sentence with a "Well...", I start getting doubts. Is he serious, is he being sarcastic, is he not sure of what he is saying?. And at the end of such a sentence, I can almost never really judge that person's intention. Find its use very dubious.

Perhaps there are some more, will update this blog if I remember of any or worse than that come across them again in the coming days :-)

Copied poem, but nice...

One day you will see
That it all has finally come together.
What you have always wished for,
Has finally come to be.

You will look back
And laugh at what has passed
And you will ask yourself
"How did I get through all of that?"

Just never let go of hope,
And never quit dreaming,
And never let love depart from your life.

Quote of the Day - Original!

Don't feel stupid when you realize you are stupid. If you realize that you are stupid, you are not really stupid.

Things that make you cry...

Are things that you do from the heart,
Are things that you do with passion..
Most of the times putting in more than 100% from your side..

My belief got proved once again the other day when I saw one of the contestants of a talent-hunt show breaking down in front of the camera when she got eliminated..I don't want to get into the debate of whether it is real or whether it is done just for publicity sake, or even whether these moments should be captured on camera or not..

The funny part is: If you fail in such a task that is close to your heart - you get tears in your eyes because you failed in doing what you really wanted to do... If you succeed - you get tears in your eyes, and as they say - they are tears of joy, they are tears of finally seeing the results for which you strived really hard.

So next time, anything brings tears to your eyes - just know that it is not because you are a person who is weak at heart, it is just that whatever it is you did - you did with full passion and from the bottom of your heart..

Quick health check

If you start coming up with a personal password that includes the name of a person, know for sure that you are in love with that person..

If your passwords start containing the name of your current project, know that you are totally obsessed with it (read neck deep into it)..