I have a big problem with the interview mechanishm here in US. You guys take what I say seriously! Well... that is not a common thing to say... I do want to be taken seriously at least when not in interviews.
My problem is there is no in-depth probing. The very reason I am in that interview is because I want that job. I am going to lie and cheat to get that job. (dont tell me others don't) and of course I am going to tell you this is my dream job, ever since I was two and mommy has been changing diapers I have been thinking about this industry and the only thing that makes my life worth living is to create more spreadsheets and presentations for you.
I am surprised the interviewers are not laughing out loud when they come to this part.
What's even worse is when you lost a job because you didn't say the right thing and of course that is why I started writing this blog in the first place. Did I not get the job because I am stupid enough to not even get the standard drill about passion right?
Monday, October 23, 2006
Frida
Watched a movie some two or three weeks back.. the very fact that I still want to talk about it (or blog about it ) speaks about the impression the movie the made on me.
The movie is frida... a Latin American movie. Very diffferent from the holywood pieces we get to see. They do not dumb it down to make it easy on you. The lead character is a painter and the pictures she draws become a very important part of story telling.
True to a Latino movie, there is enough sex... the first love scene is very refreshing and leaves a strong impression even weeks after. The female lead and her boy friend are 'stealing' sex in the girl's parents house. The dominant sound is the two of them trying to stop the other person from making any sounds and shusshing each other.
The innocence in that stolen moment is totally preserved. That scene does not make you feel guilty and it does not broadcast lust or passion. The predominant feeling is that of exploration and the thrill in doing things without getting caught than about passion or any kind of higher feelings. There is always a thrill and satisfaction in stolen moments. This scene captures that moment well and its success is because it makes you realize that thrill is the primary emotion in this scene and not any other emotion associated with sex.
Brings back a lot of memories from those younger days...
The movie is frida... a Latin American movie. Very diffferent from the holywood pieces we get to see. They do not dumb it down to make it easy on you. The lead character is a painter and the pictures she draws become a very important part of story telling.
True to a Latino movie, there is enough sex... the first love scene is very refreshing and leaves a strong impression even weeks after. The female lead and her boy friend are 'stealing' sex in the girl's parents house. The dominant sound is the two of them trying to stop the other person from making any sounds and shusshing each other.
The innocence in that stolen moment is totally preserved. That scene does not make you feel guilty and it does not broadcast lust or passion. The predominant feeling is that of exploration and the thrill in doing things without getting caught than about passion or any kind of higher feelings. There is always a thrill and satisfaction in stolen moments. This scene captures that moment well and its success is because it makes you realize that thrill is the primary emotion in this scene and not any other emotion associated with sex.
Brings back a lot of memories from those younger days...
That was clever...
Spent the weekend with some friends and was having some real fun.... IHOP breakfast, wine, chicken and Seinfeld... you know what I mean right??
Got some great quotes ... trying to capture them for posterity here
"Irrespective of how old I get, I will always be younger than you"
On a national marine science institute "Oh they study for sea food festivals!"
On a disclaimer board in Fort Mason that said "This place is built for war and not safety - so please watch your step" - "Dude! if you are building a place for war you better make it safe... the only reason I am in a fort during a war is to be safe"
If you are with the right company ... you don't really have to try hard to be funny or for that matter try hard to be anything.
Got some great quotes ... trying to capture them for posterity here
"Irrespective of how old I get, I will always be younger than you"
On a national marine science institute "Oh they study for sea food festivals!"
On a disclaimer board in Fort Mason that said "This place is built for war and not safety - so please watch your step" - "Dude! if you are building a place for war you better make it safe... the only reason I am in a fort during a war is to be safe"
If you are with the right company ... you don't really have to try hard to be funny or for that matter try hard to be anything.
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Stock options - do they work?... or more precisely can it make THEM work?
I was in another corporoate presenation. This time it does not even matter who the company is. My eyes were glazing over and I was thinking fondly of more pleasurable experiences like a dentist visit or a long que to use the restroom.
The guy in the podium starts talking about how even the receptionist in his office has a stock option and every time she picks up the phone she knows her action will make her richer... OBJETION MY LORD!!!! That's pure Baloney and let me explain how.
Let us assume, I had some Google stocks (God, I wish I did!). Will that make me go to a google every time I want to search some thing? Well... thats a bad example. I search for even the undergarments I can't find, in google and I am pretty sure their next beta version will handle the undergarment issue as well.
Let us take another example - How about if I hold some GM stocks, will I go out and buy GM cars or trucks, so that the company will benefit and so I can benefit also.
I guess the question is when does stock options have meaning and value - my contention is, it is only when one owns a sufficiently higher fraction and when one's action can affect the company directly.
A receptionist picking up a phone will not qualify under both counts. So, OBJECTION SUSTAINED !!!!
The guy in the podium starts talking about how even the receptionist in his office has a stock option and every time she picks up the phone she knows her action will make her richer... OBJETION MY LORD!!!! That's pure Baloney and let me explain how.
Let us assume, I had some Google stocks (God, I wish I did!). Will that make me go to a google every time I want to search some thing? Well... thats a bad example. I search for even the undergarments I can't find, in google and I am pretty sure their next beta version will handle the undergarment issue as well.
Let us take another example - How about if I hold some GM stocks, will I go out and buy GM cars or trucks, so that the company will benefit and so I can benefit also.
I guess the question is when does stock options have meaning and value - my contention is, it is only when one owns a sufficiently higher fraction and when one's action can affect the company directly.
A receptionist picking up a phone will not qualify under both counts. So, OBJECTION SUSTAINED !!!!
Friday, September 29, 2006
Ethics ... are'nt we all on track for being the next Enron?
Was listening to Anil Menon from IBM giving a lecture about his life's lessons. When he was talking about ethics in the business world today, he said the guys from Enron did not start their day thinking they were going to swindle the stock holders. The mistakes just add up. Problem with the Enron culture was that it condoned small ethical mistakes and they just added up. Mr. Menon actually challenged the audience to show how many had totally true resumes.
I owe up. My resume is a homogeneous mixture (that is the language you pick up if you are married to a chemcial engineer) of truth, half truth, half lies and blatant never-even-heard-of-it-but-will-add-it-in-my-resume lies. I do not have the courage to take it out of my resume because I know everyone else has them too and don't want to be penalized for my ethical awakening. (Reminded of a friend who took TCS' interview test without cheating and failed. All the 400+ people, who cleared it cheated.)
I am pretty sure I won't have another chance to correct that. I have to live by my lies. Can add to the lies but can't undo a past lie. (Pretty sure the computer folks have a name for this, like ROM, SROM RRAM, PROM, PERFORM or whatever...)
Of course they will add up and by the time I am fifty I would have added up more of them than stock options. Is this not what happened in the Enrons too? - That you have to live by your lies and there is an escalation of commitment.
Reminded of a good old tamil proverb "oru poiyai maraikka onpathu poi solli..."
I owe up. My resume is a homogeneous mixture (that is the language you pick up if you are married to a chemcial engineer) of truth, half truth, half lies and blatant never-even-heard-of-it-but-will-add-it-in-my-resume lies. I do not have the courage to take it out of my resume because I know everyone else has them too and don't want to be penalized for my ethical awakening. (Reminded of a friend who took TCS' interview test without cheating and failed. All the 400+ people, who cleared it cheated.)
I am pretty sure I won't have another chance to correct that. I have to live by my lies. Can add to the lies but can't undo a past lie. (Pretty sure the computer folks have a name for this, like ROM, SROM RRAM, PROM, PERFORM or whatever...)
Of course they will add up and by the time I am fifty I would have added up more of them than stock options. Is this not what happened in the Enrons too? - That you have to live by your lies and there is an escalation of commitment.
Reminded of a good old tamil proverb "oru poiyai maraikka onpathu poi solli..."
Why do we translate old to good?
Was at a presentation of Johnson & Johnson and of course, with in the first two slides came their credo.
For those of you does not what the J&J credo is - I sentence you to be deepfried in J&J baby oil 'ennai kopparai' - here is a crash course on their credo. The credo is like a mission statement for J&J and was written 130 years back by the founder. It is famous for putting their customers - doctors, nurses and patients - before shareholder.
This presenter was talking about how every action they have taken in the last 130 years ties back to the credo and that it has not changed at all. Don't get me wrong, I admire J&J as a company but I can't help thinking is it good bad to follow somethin for 130 years and more so because it is 130 years old and unchanged? Can you live by a document that was written a century back. Has not the world changed since then?
Sure we live by a lot of documents that are written a lonnnnng time back! US Constitution, ten commandments or Baghavat Gita. I do agree the people who wrote them had a lot of wisdom but should we not give to the genearations that came by since then, a chance.
what if the people who wrote them were conditioned by their biases. For workplace discrimination claims in US, 'a communist party member' is still a legal defense. (remnants from the McCarthy era). I am pretty sure a lot of Indians think the founding fathers were wrong about religion based civil codes, reservation systems or property rights in Kashmir.
How do we correct these? I dont want to correct every document that is more than ten years old. But I would be comfortable knowing there is a mechanism to correct this and that historic errors do not have to accumulate and carry over.
Post Script: To J&J's credit they did revisit their credo at least once. They included fathers as one of their customer groups - when talking about baby care - because men's involvement in baby care has become more active since it was written.
For those of you does not what the J&J credo is - I sentence you to be deepfried in J&J baby oil 'ennai kopparai' - here is a crash course on their credo. The credo is like a mission statement for J&J and was written 130 years back by the founder. It is famous for putting their customers - doctors, nurses and patients - before shareholder.
This presenter was talking about how every action they have taken in the last 130 years ties back to the credo and that it has not changed at all. Don't get me wrong, I admire J&J as a company but I can't help thinking is it good bad to follow somethin for 130 years and more so because it is 130 years old and unchanged? Can you live by a document that was written a century back. Has not the world changed since then?
Sure we live by a lot of documents that are written a lonnnnng time back! US Constitution, ten commandments or Baghavat Gita. I do agree the people who wrote them had a lot of wisdom but should we not give to the genearations that came by since then, a chance.
what if the people who wrote them were conditioned by their biases. For workplace discrimination claims in US, 'a communist party member' is still a legal defense. (remnants from the McCarthy era). I am pretty sure a lot of Indians think the founding fathers were wrong about religion based civil codes, reservation systems or property rights in Kashmir.
How do we correct these? I dont want to correct every document that is more than ten years old. But I would be comfortable knowing there is a mechanism to correct this and that historic errors do not have to accumulate and carry over.
Post Script: To J&J's credit they did revisit their credo at least once. They included fathers as one of their customer groups - when talking about baby care - because men's involvement in baby care has become more active since it was written.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
What's up with the name?
I have bitten the bait finally... have started blogging... at least planning to ...
For those of you wondering , 'what's up with the title anyway? I am pretty sure people like Sai are thinking what does he mean 'dick of fire'? or others like Mahesh - my Brother in law - are thinking anything Malayalam is my domain and how can he use a mallu name.
I take a lot of inspiration from Bharathiyar. His dream was to discover an 'embryo of fire - aghini kunju' to burn up everything he does not like in the world and dance the final dance of destruction. My intention is not to burn up the world, or even parts of it. but I do like to throw a small fire ball once in a while... at the least it can illuminate some things ... things that bother me... things that made me wince and things that made me think... or things that made me smile.
As I wrote in one of my kavithai's a long time back...
... 'It's not a guy's thing to cry
but my pen's got no gender
and I like the luxury to cry
and laugh thru my pen...'
Loking forward to the journey
For those of you wondering , 'what's up with the title anyway? I am pretty sure people like Sai are thinking what does he mean 'dick of fire'? or others like Mahesh - my Brother in law - are thinking anything Malayalam is my domain and how can he use a mallu name.
I take a lot of inspiration from Bharathiyar. His dream was to discover an 'embryo of fire - aghini kunju' to burn up everything he does not like in the world and dance the final dance of destruction. My intention is not to burn up the world, or even parts of it. but I do like to throw a small fire ball once in a while... at the least it can illuminate some things ... things that bother me... things that made me wince and things that made me think... or things that made me smile.
As I wrote in one of my kavithai's a long time back...
... 'It's not a guy's thing to cry
but my pen's got no gender
and I like the luxury to cry
and laugh thru my pen...'
Loking forward to the journey
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