Am I Livin' It Right ????

Confused.. Dazed.. Bored...

Those r the states that define me now a days... depending on
a. Its a weekday -- Dazed + Confused
b. Weekend -- Dazed + Confused + Bored

Life's been a drag ever since I landed back in India. Now don't I sound like a snobbish, phirang return, critical, is desh ka kuch nahi ho sakta Indian. Well I am nuthing like tht.

When you are used to having a group of friends around 24*7, and then suddenly find urself with everyone gone makes u fell so lonely. 4 plus yrs in the same org, makes you want to move on. But where to go? There are so many questions with no answers... So difficult to decide on what you want... coz i don't.. and don't know how to find out. Coz "I've read all the books but can't find the answer". What describes how I feel now a days may be the lines by John Mayer

"Coz I wonder sometimes about the outcome
Of a still verdictless life
Am I livin' it right ?? "

"So what so I gotta smile on,
Its hiding the quite superstitions in my head
Dont believe me... when I say I've got it down..."

"Everybody is just a stranger and thats the danger in going my own way
But i guess its the price I have to pay "
Still everything happens for a reason,
It's no reason not to ask myself, if I'm livin' it right?"

Well I guess it might be
"Quarter Life crisis or a stirring in my soul
Either way I wonder sometimes
Am I livin' it right ?"

Hypocrite or What ???

Wenger concerned English clubs are losing their soul

LONDON, (AFP) - Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger on Friday expressed his concerns about the number of foreign owners of Premiership clubs.

The Frenchman lined out a first XI in the Champions League on Wednesday without an British player in the line-up.

But he believes that something is being lost as a result of the takeover of top clubs by non-British owners.

"This trend (of foreign ownership) does worry me. Generally you want the clubs to be in control of their own destiny. If you suddenly have 20 foreign investors who buy 20 English clubs you are in danger," Wenger told Arsenal's magazine.

"The manager is foreign, the players are foreign, you need to draw a line. England doesn't control it any more.

"I feel the soul of football in this country is first granted by the owners of the clubs. Here, for example, at Arsenal I feel I am really at an English club.

"Traditionally the people who owned the clubs were first and foremost supporters. If that ceases to be the case then the clubs lose something."

Hypocrite or what ??? Guy who has half the French national team playing for him...saying this.. This is why Man Utd rules all.. They are no FrenchARSES, no LiverSPAINS....Promoting Home Grown English Talent :). When all clubs were running after big names across the globe Sir Alex decided to go for Mr Michael Carrick.

Glory Glory Man Utd...

Bye Orange County.

My last week in Orange County California had only 1 purpose..... FOOD. I ate thru 3 Mega Lunches and 2 huge Dinners in a span of 4 days. But it was fun. Although my stomach didn't feel the same way.

One of the things that I find most difficult, is saying Good-Byes to friends. And saying Byes to all the people at my client side, before returning was difficult and awkward. I made 3 really good friends - 1 Mexican, 1 Japanese and an Indian, and have been relatively successful in convincing them to visit India soon.

Since last sunday I am in NY at my sisters. it's hot and humid here, but NY has the buzz and life which no other city does. My 3rd visit to NY and I still havent got enugh of it. On my this trip to the US I was also able to visit places like San Dieo, Chicago, LA, Vegas and NY. But visiting and touring thru all these cities I realized one thing. No matter where you go, the best place in the world is wherever your friends are.

PS: The last line of the blog is from an ad i read somewhere during one of my tours of a city and I cudnt agree more with it.

Cheaters... Disgrace to Soccer !!!

Check this Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QSHB-AQZ1E&feature=Views&page=1&t=t&f=b

Portugal were a disgrace to fair play this World Cup. A team that didnt desereve to get the far it got in the competition. No doubt Ronaldo is one of the best young players around with great skills, but such behaviour is not expected and not pardonable from a player. I agree that all players do it, to some extent, but Portugal were worse than as Mr Siddhu wud put it "an Indian Cycle Stand".. there aint even a need to push one before they all come DIVING down....
And whats even shameful is that this team is being coached by a Brazillian, and it is hard to digest the fact that a Brazillian coach would stoop down to such tactics. Also when there is no need to, with such a taleneted side.

And Ironically Portigal got beat by a goal on penalty won by a classic piece of flop by Mr Henry. No doubt there was contact, but his theatrical act deserves a nomination in the Oscars :)..

Hmm well then may be not Ironical, may be Justice !!!

Vegas.. Here I come !!!

Inspired by my friend I decided to do it at the airport. Well its only a 1 hr flight from Orange County to Vegas so doing it on the plane was kindda difficult. Anyways waiting at the airport for the flight is quite boring. But the nice faces around sure makes it easier (The girl in orange is cute). One thing tht never stops to amaze me here is the amount of automation this country has. Basically giving the power to the consumer. I can check in sitting in my a/c office and can also print out my borading pass. how cool... I dont see no reason to believe tht such kind of automation is not possible in India. With such huge IT intellect tht India has it shud be as easy as snapping your fingers...I hope I see tht day soon. May be Indian software companies are way too profit driven going after the dollars and euros all the time. Hope some of them catch sense and do something for our land. I agree tht these projects will not bring in the big bucks but they r necessary.

So the quaterfinals of the world cup started today. I could only watch the 1st half of the Ger V Arg game. Now if someone asks me what do I miss the most of being inschool/college days. I think my answer wud be being able to bunk and take a day off anytime you want :).. Paapi peth ke liiye kya kya tyagna padta hai :(( .. My first world cup quaterfinal game miss since USA 94. The game was interesting. Argentina had loads of possesion but never had a really threatning attack. And then the lottery of penalties. But Jens Lehman proved his worth and vindicated his selection over Oliver Kahn. Hmm second world cup in a row the goalkeepers are keeping Germany in the cup. I can't wait to watch the matches tomorrow. Go England.. Go Brazil... I'll be watching these from my hotel room in Vegas :))

Tht Girl in orange was lookin at me. I turned..we had eye contact.. did she smile ??? ..

We have big plans for Vegas and I am hoping to win some bucks if not a million dollars :)... I promise if I win a million dollars I will donate some of it to some chaaritable institue. I hope tht brings me some luck. Murphy stay away. U have done enugh causing the fire in Grand Canyon and forcing us to drop that from the trip. Ok my flight has been announced gotta go.Bye girl in orange.. I see she is actually working on some Differential problems.. Cute girl with brains :)

Now I am writing the last part of this blog at the LAS airport waiting for my friend. Now guess what is the first thing that you see when you come out of the Airplane???......
.......
Slot machines.. these guys have put up slot machines at the Airport at the Gates... it doesnt stop to amaze you :) .... Well lemme go try my luck !! Pray for me !!!

PS: Now I have done it at 2 Airports :))

Vegas Baby !!!

England opens campaign with a Win.....

England played thier first WC match today against Paraguay. I had to wake up at 5:30 am to catch the match live. Now there arent many things that would make me wake up that early on a saturday or for that matter stay up late a night. But a Football match (that too with England in it), is worth all the effort :)). Being an England supporter it was a good result for us. We Won. But I would be the first to point out that this definetly wasn't a good performance by the team. They didn't gel together and were playing nervous at times. England definetly needs to play much better if they have to live upto the hopes of a football crazy nation and those of many others around the world. They looked content with the 1 goal lead and didn't push for the second one. At times it felt as if no one wanted to have the ball. The forward line for England doesn't look too promising. Crouch definetly isn't the answer. Also one player who needs to pull up is Ashley Cole, he made a lot of mistakes, which went unpunished against a not so skillful Paraguay side, but won't be the case against better opposition.

But not everything was negative for England... remember they did WIN. Joe Cole had a good game and showed why he is one of the looked out for upcoming attacking midfielder. Lampard got a a few good looks at the goal and was only denied by some good saves by the keeper. And Once again Beckham showed the world why he is the best crosser in the world (but he needs to get more involved, he was a non-factor in the second half). The biggest positive for England was that inspite of not performing well they still managed to squeeze a win, signs of a good team. Hopefully they only get better from here and with Rooney back soon would have a very realistic chance of going for the Cup.

Some Facts about the Match:

The 4th minute Goal was the second fastest for England in World Cup History.
The 8th minute taking off of the Goal Keeper was the fastest in World Cup History.
This is the first match in World Cup History with a 1-0 margin that was decided by an own goal.

Keep Cheering for England !!!

And yes before I forget.. Justine Henin Hardine won her 3rd French Open title today :) and I have an NBA Finals game 2 to catch tonight. Hoping the Dallas Mavs make it 2-0. The weekend so far has been good I hope it continues the same way :).

Need Vs Requirement

The topic of one of the IM sessions I had with my friends on the Chicago trip was "The Indian Software Industry". Well we were all trying to figure out what the future holds for the IT sector in India and how we can ensure it’s a rosy one. One of the points was that we have to move up the value chain :) (Doesn’t that sound so clichéd). Important is to know how can we do it. It did get me thinking and here's a point of view.

Till now we have been consumed with "Client Requirements" and fulfilling them on/before time. And in doing so making sure we provide them with the highest quality (minimum bugs/rework). Couple this with the low-cost and we have a winner. But the low-cost advantage is not going to stick with India for a long time to come. As the Indian economy grows stronger and the Rupee appreciates this would be less and less of a factor. Already organizations are exploring places like the South-Africa and Philippines, which in fact has prompted some of our IT-giants to open offices at these places. Wait till China catches up on English and then we would be scrambling for jobs as realized by the manufacturing industry in US.

I think we now need to move towards "Client Needs" and understand what exactly the business needs of our clients are and how we can help them fulfill those. This is how we may move from being a "Service Provider" meeting requirements to being a "Solution Provider" fulfilling business needs and helping business's stay competitive.

So next time you get some requirements don't just start on them blindly. Wait and ask yourself a couple of questions.

1. Why does he need this? Or does he really need this?
2. Is there a better way to implement the Business Need?

Try to understand the NEED....!!!