Thoughts while sitting down and waiting for a shuttle bus..

Disclaimer: This was written a month or so ago and was stuck in my phone.. thought I should put it up as a reminder to ‘take time to smell the roses’.. :)

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1) There’s a pleasant breeze blowing..

2) I can hear the beautiful sound of birds

3) There’s the pleasant thought of some fun hard court football coming up..

Sitting down and doing nothing n a fine sunday.. There are a few worrying items in life as always but that’s for later.. now for some football..

* I write this as this wait for the bus is in stark contrast to all other times when I am generally running late for a class/writing an email/listening to a book/wondering about what’s going to happen with my fyp and the like..

Nice to do something difference once a while..

Tribute to the Sparkz Team..

Top Row – From Left:

Magdeline: To an incredible execution person. She was our person for high-stress jobs like the logistic movement of all finale participants and the slotting of audition performers

Wei Han: The funny guy. Very smart and made it despite being sick.. source of humor in so many many meetings!

Chan Way: Humility and sweetness personified. If there was ever an errand we did not want to run, Chan Way would willingly volunteer..

Chandni: To a person who survived a tough test in these past months with a great attitude and strong character.

Shakthi: Very smart, caring and disciplined. We decided to call her ‘stress free’ Shakthi so as to remind her that it’s important to let go of worry once a while.. :)

Liang Zhu: To the ‘ice man’.. a cool dude who is unfazed under all pressure. Expecting big things in the day ahead from our man, Liang Zhu..

Look down(starting from the right) :)

Payodh: Another ‘ice man’. Our stage manager and most recent entrant to our team. Payodh was exceptional in the value he added in just 2 days alone that he made it to the honors role. Great guy!

Shweta: Survived the last few days ‘commando training’. So passionate about her ideas, open about her feelings and expression – Shweta was great to have on the way – a sibling of sorts. :)

Ramees a.k.a Superman: And what a superman he would have been. He was saving us with no x-ray vision! Incredible attention to detail, stunning organization skills – Ramees is a gem in every sense. Our next objective is that he begins to put this into use for some much needed monetary gain..

EB : Elayabharath Elango by day, EB by night. ;) Our publicity genius.. so calm and cool that he was trusted to handle the entire IT of the event entirely. And what a great job he’s done over the past few months. He’s been indispensable!

Valerie: Lucky are those who are Val’s friends. Immensely caring and dependable. It was almost a joke that whenever we needed an important job done and we didn’t know who was in-charge, we had to just say ‘Valerie’ and she’d nod and get it done. I miss having her around!

Bottom Row – Extreme Right

Nishanth: I have known Nishanth for 3 years and he never ceases to amaze me. Incredibly smart with anything that involves technology and algorithms. Wonderful with handling tough situations and most importantly, a person who fills the room with his geek humor and laughter..

Bottom Row – Extremely Left

Tejasvi: Chop chop queen. Was the brain behind all logistics. That dependable engine hardly ever stops for a rest. Very caring, sweet, very humorous with wise cracks and just extremely extremely dependable..

Center

That would be me.. :)

The whirlwind that was the past week..

So much happened.. and there were so many learnings as a result.. Here is a glimpse

1) We had an explosive 2nd briefing for our finalists on Wednesday. Suddenly, with 1 day to go for the dry run, mid terms and un-cancellable labs came up all over the place. I was particularly open about my feelings (can be harsh if you aren’t used to me) and while one claimed to feel ‘attacked’, I stood by being transparent about how we were feeling about the surprise.

The good news is that things calmed down in a bit and things went as per control in the last 2 days. It was explosive nevertheless..

2) Our team sat working over-night and ended up watching the Man Utd vs AC Milan game. It was a real bonding experience.. We had LOTS of fun. Ramees (Superman) amazed us with his eye for detail and by taking care of us like we would be taken care of by our own Mom’s..

3) The next day was the day of the dry run. We just realized the magnitude of the problem that lay ahead. An all nighter was beckoning..

4) And what an all nighter it was.. with lots of singing aloud, a frenetic game of football in the lounge and lots of fun pulling Ramees’ leg. It was a night that would not be forgotten in a long long time..

Bonding happens not when we work, but when we de-stress after work. It’s a big learning never to miss out social outings with colleagues, work-mates. That’s when the bonding really happens..

5) Tired as we were, the time before the show went as per plan. We had lots of fun discussing the night before and we were caught in the activity..

6) Aand the show came – we had lots of drama from a judge who was hell-bent on abusing us. One teammate had already been nearly reduced to tears trying to give her directions in the afternoon. I took over..

And she was very disrespectful because I didn’t give her the district code. I didn’t feel she had to turn up if she didn’t feel so.. ‘Respect’ was after all our top value at Sparkz. And she took to abusing me and Ramy, the wonderful OAR events head.. and didn’t turn up eventually. Some things are just for the best..

I also learnt that its much harder to live by your values.. than it is possibly to fight for them..

7) The show wasn’t what I would have ideally liked it to be – let me admit. I had visualized perfection. It wasn’t perfect for sure – there were lots of small blips.. but having said that, I would be over-ly critical if I said it wasn’t damn good. The very fact that we got 10 different kinds of performers together and put them on a stage without blips was quite the achievement..

It was nice to get positive feedback from everyone who attended. We had given them their money’s worth..

8) My team had given the show their all and it showed. There was a lot of heart in it.. we had all tried. The show was what it was thanks to their effort.. they were absolutely fantastic..

I respect triers.. I have never been the smartest person around but I do not particularly like giving up.. :)

9) After the show, it was family time.. and time with Mom itself was a learning experience..

I am blessed to have my Mom around..

10) We had delicious Chilli crab at ECP for dinner on Saturday with friends. It was a lovely evening by the sea.. a good celebration.

11) I completely lost my cool at a PGP guard who was being disrespectful in her behavior to my Mom when were talking late in the night at the blocks in PGP. She claimed it was against the rules to have visitors and having lived here 4 years and seen 3 sets of guards come and go.. I knew she was bluffing.

At one point, I just completely lost it. It’s the first time that has happened in a few years.. but I learnt a lot.

Firstly, it’s completely ok to lose your call when people deserve it.(The Alex Ferguson philosophy). She was being irrational and got quite a wake up call. Anyway, he superiors settled the issue..

12) Emails about Sparkz came pouring in. I guess I was left with a bitter-sweet feeling thanks to the judge incident and the blips I spotted. I truly realized the meaning behind – ‘Happiness does not mean everything is perfect, it means we have decided to look beyond the imperfections’

13) We had a lovely short de-brief after the event. It was great to hear what the team had to say about each other.

14) I was shocked at the amount of flak our emcees took during the event. Especially Adela, who had to sportingly take some rather unpleasant comments. I was saddened further that it came from the Indian section of the crowd..

Many don’t understand what it takes to go on stage and keep an audience of 300 awake. If you want proof of how difficult that is, ask a lecturer!

15) United beat Fulham 3-0. And Dimitar Berbatov.. what a player!!

16) I read Football365 way too much.. they always do 16 conclusions. And apparently, so do I..

25 pieces of work advice..

Thanks to a ‘very young’ uncle Rajesh.. :)

1. Always take time out to talk to juniors and guide them – remember someone spent time with you to guide you too
2. Answer all calls or return the calls if you were busy and make sure you take time out to reply to all mails as soon as possible
3. Build long lasting relationships right from your doorman all the way to the top and even contacts outside – keep in touch with them as and when you can
4. Make sure you have fun doing your job (self motivate yourself) and treat everyday as fun so others watch you and your energy and they too start having fun doing their work
5. Surround yourself with good people with a positive attitude
6. Observe everything – most of all pay ATTENTION and LISTEN when others speak
7. Take timeout at the end of every day to assess yourself and also to see whether you have achieved your goals you had set out to for that day
8. Plan ahead – make sure you have in sight what and where would you want to be in 5 years and so on
9. Keep some time out EVERYDAY day for your personal work and passions too.
10. Dont hesitate in making mistakes – only then will you learn and not repeat them
11. Stand up and ask if you dont know or didnt understand something
12. Be honest and let people remember you for your honesty, integrity and the straightforwardness in the way you approach and deal with everything and also TELL THE TRUTH even if it hurts.
13. Always think before you talk
14. Constantly update your self with matters happening in your field of work and also with matters happening around the world – its a boon to know a little about everything atleast, for a good conversation – read on diverse topics whenever you can
15. Never burn your bridges
16. Always dress smart and according to the occassion – be classy in choosing your wardrobe (dont cringe on it), the best perfumes and everday deos and the right footwear
17. Manage different sets of friends and acquaintances circle – you need to have different sets of friends and acquaintances which will help you to a balanced personal life and also give you different perspectives to thinking and life
18. Honour your commitments and if you have given your word stick to it – come what may
19. Never Bullshit
20. Maintain a steady mix of official and personal pleasures
21. AND also keep an eye out for the winning horse in the system – maybe you can piggy ride on him / her later
22. Help others, be it anyone, even within your support staff (talk to them once in a while make an effort to understand them and their lives, remember they are the soldiers) and upwards – only when it is required and you are completely sure its the right time and they need help
23. Keep your mobile in silent mode when at a meeting and return all the calls post that
24. Refuse to let your mind grow old
25. Laugh a lot and make others laugh too if you can!!