Perception

The word perception comes from the latin word percepio - meaning "receiving collecting, apprehension with the mind of sensing". The other day i was in a party surrounded by my close friends, during the conversation i tried to recall an old colleague of ours, and i said "Guyz do you remember John ?", as my friends were responding, an unsual sense of understanding started to descend, a simple question like this can lead to such a interesting thought process was something i never imagined,

Jane responded "Oh the quiet one ?"
Samantha queried "Hmm the fair one ?"
Jack quipped "Ah the one with great forward defensive stroke !?"
Adrian inquired "One who always preffered TAZO tea over any other brand ?"
"The romantic guy ?"
"The loner ??"
"The one who had hots for Jemma ?"......

I said, "Guys guys !, all of you may be correct and may be wrong at the same time, he could be the same John or a different person we are talking about" , however i came to realise that say if he is the same person that all of us are describing, how everybody has a very different perception of him and at times at stark contrasts too !, i feel inorder to say some one "the quiet type" one must have attempted to have a conversation more than once ! and to say "the fair one" means they never walked up to the person at all ! but still everybody has a image of this person John, and this image is a strong one.

Its a natural tendency of human beings to correlate and juxtapose different scenarios to come to a conclusion and all of this happens automatically at the subconscious, but i feel if i really want to see what a statue at the centre of the crossroads looks like , i would have to take a walk around it, and not just view it from the road i am standing on, so one should always try to get a more comprehensive picture because it not just helps you understand a person better it also helps you learn so many new facets of his life. Spending time with some one is a important tool i guess, esp with those who you feel are important in your life, always put yourselves in different situations, some life will throw at you and you wouldnt have a choice but to be in them :) , some you should create of your own :) to know how he/she reacts or more importantly how you thought you would have reacted to this new situation. It will be fun ! and i hope your perception about me has evolved ? :)

Agree to Disagree ?

The art of disagreeing, ...... ...... .. The art of disagreeing ???, when did nodding your head sideways became an art ? Amusing it might be , but its true. Do you know people at times get into arguments just for the heck of it, they may not be backing a serious issue which is close to their heart but still they like to get into conversations which lead to more than just altercations. Why do they do that ?, in most cases its the ego that "ecomes" between the man and his self image. So the party involved in the heated argument is more concerned by the fact "How can i go wrong ?" "How can he/she find any mistake in my argument ?" "I know his pedigree, he doesnt have the right to be right! " :) .. we lose the focus on the topic at hand, though we may be right by arguing "for" our argument but still we need to consider the following if we need to evolve and grow more mature in our daily public dealings.

The person in front who has dared to come up against your "opinion" is NOT an empty TIN CAN and nor is he representing any company who sells any of those EMPTY TIN CANS. Why am i suggesting you take such a drastic view ? because like you even a TIN CAN needs R:E:S:P:E:C:T. and i would like you to give him some by NOT considering him a .. a TIN CAN. well ofcourse he can be the tin can you have always liked to play mental games with ... but .. but .. if you hold this stand of giving some respect to the individual you will see "where is he coming from" . He may be wrong but you need to know what premise did he based his "wrong" conclusion upon. Because if you probe with a few encouraging questions you will eventually know the premise of his "logical deduction" , how will that help ? One it helps by reducing the tension in the air, Two you give him respect by taking active interest in his "thought process", three if you now still feel that the premise on which he has based his conclusion is at fault, i would recommend you to attack the premise, and by attack i mean ask him to strengthen his foundation in accordance to you "still probing questions " For example if you dont like ascending ordered list of things, dont push your new list in his face instead go like "what do you think one stands to gain by having a ascending ordered list ?".
Most people if you feel were on a "wrong side" of an argument give away at this test, and now convincing them about your version of the argument is more automatic in nature, and no blood is spilled, the swords are not drawn. :)

Chess - Every move counts

Chess - a fascinating game, has many vivid moves each having their own individual charm, which shows the players wits and brilliance. More than that, it teaches how team work wins the day, how each peice has its own individuality and personality, how it can be made to contribute if it is positioned at a vantage point, all pieces have their limitations too, but when they are orchestrated by a Master, they drum up a harmony .. unmatched.

To me chess represents Life. Life includes our work place and personal space at home. Lets discuss teams at our work place first, and try to formulate the team leaders action plans, much of them can be derived from chess! Its of utmost importance to realise that on a chess board there just cannot be 32 Queens !!. There will be pawns ( half of them :) ) , they are there because they are part of the system, and they are supposed to serve a purpose, a team leads job is determine that purpose. You as a team leader or a person with authority should realise this fact and learn to place this pawn at a place from where he / she supports the whole team in the best way possible. So dont crib and discard the team members who dont seem to be shining stars and have limited imagination.
Then have a look at your rooks bishops and knights.. Know that they have an individual style of working -- as a team lead respect that.. Give them "that space" where they feel free to practice their art. Also note and appreciate the fact that in all probability there will be only one queen in your team :). Use him/her discretely :) be aware of his capacity and also audacity at times. Every time your queen makes a move do keep a margin for his proclivity for exaggeration too.
Doesnt chess teaches us that. We can have wonderful results from a team which does infact consist of all "types" of members, the catch is that the team lead needs to know individual strengths and weaknesses.
What would chess teach me in my personal space at home. It teaches me to have foresight and REALISE that every single CORRECT move that i make today, inches me closer to the final win. Chess inspires me to think that yes indeed its important to win the battles the skirmishes.. if you want to win the WAR. Chess teaches me caution and to be a paranoid to some degree , i never find anything wrong in questioning your own decisions, this doesnt make you a fickle. It helps you improve your original decision. Who said you made a master piece in one stroke ? It takes lot of information , research , opinions, soul searching in order to make a very important decision. So do all that and more if required. A well researched decision will see you travel farther than one taken in haste. Chess also teaches me that you have to pay for what decisions you make, you wholly solely are responsible for the consequences, so.. for example .watch out before you let that scathing sarcastic remark about that person. Words are like Arrows which once out cannot be retrieved.
So that was my check and mate for you. :)

Pedigree

Nah.. i am not rambling about dog food supplements :P . i have always felt that its helpful to have your reputation walk in front of you, the better it is .. more fair is the chance of making a positive impression, when i say some one is of a good pedigree it usually means that x y z is from a particular community of the elite or "best of the best" brand ;) , it could be a niche group of programmers at google or bunch of scientists at DRDO, something which sets them apart.... however .. as i put it.. a good pedigree will help you get a standing ovation when you walk down to the starting line of a 100 m dash... but how you run depends on how you trained your self" :). So always strive to build a niche for yourself, be authoritative in something.... it could be gardening or compiler design.. anything you feel you have a genuine interest.. try to make a passion out of it... trust me it will help...

why ...

Have you ever been in this situation ... on a friday evening you return to your apartment, tired from work but elated at times as you did a good job... again .. you walk upto your first floor apartments window and turn the blinds, the room is filled with the lights up on the street.. you didnt care to switch on the light.. you just felt to absorb the dark quietness the room has to offer unlike the clamour in the meeting room.. you separate the blinds a bit with your fore finger and thumb and peek out as if you have been hiding..... were you .. ? You feel rested as cars rush on with their passengers.. some returning home... some going to work their shifts... You ponder and you ask... Why.. why do i feel that something is missing... why is it that i am not smiling at myself.... why do i have a smirk to offer when people wish me .. Hi..!!. Why dont i have the enthusiasm that i used to , why am i getting dumber, why am i becoming risk averse as i am increasing in age, why .... and why dont i finish that book "First Things First" , time to close the blinds and switch open the switch...................... Need to focus on things important in life.. and not those which are urgent....

H1B and everything about it.

I did some research on H1B and i thought i would share it with anybody stumbling accross this page.

H1B is not for you if :-

You like the "desi chai" of the nukkad around your office.
Want to get to know every pulse of what India is upto.
You are a social animal and like getting along with other members of your khandan on diwali and holi and the odd nephews birthday.
If you have a working wife and she is willing to leave her work for few years, ( she cant work if she is on H4 visa with you )
You adore your parents so much that you cant leave them on their own when sunset is around the corner in their lives.
If you cannot tolerate the slightest of racial discrimination, i mean even the rowing eyes which raised eyebrows.
If you dont want to be an "indentured worker".

H1B is for you.
If you wish to make quick buck and have the discipline to go back to India to utilize the quick buck.
If you want to settle in US, have kids and think you have done a great job by having them here and saying they are american citizens now.
You really love the squeaky clean airports and great highways of US.


So you decide...
some links which will help you.
http://www.zazona.com/ShameH1B/H1BFAQs.htm#WhatisH-1B
http://www.indusladies.com/forums/h4-visa/151-h4-wife-things-to-do.html


Dont get all negative on the H1B thing, but do enough research on it before you jump boat, and bottom line if you think like me ie if you think you want to make some big money real quickly and dont want to setlle in US and you think you have the discipline to go back to India then do the following.
sit down with your spouse or alone, and have a figure in Rs that this much i want to save during my stay in US, dont talk about the duration, just the figure that you think you will be happy with. Then negotiate your salary to start with and jump on the bandwagon, if i would be you i will not get greedy for Green Card coz i dont want to settle here right... So dont think too much about jumping jobs. go ahead find another contracting firm who will pay you more and help you reach the goal u have in mind. As soon as you make that figure i would suggest time to pack up. Time to go to dear India :)

think about it. !

First Post

I know i have come on to this "blogging scene" quite late ... but hey i realised its high time i save some of these brain waves i keep getting. Also i was looking for a place where i can save my searches urls etc without keeping separate accounts for them... wat am i doing... no one should be reading this right why would any body care to ..... thats what i think.. oh well....