Friday, December 26, 2008

The week that was..(infy experience)

This is just my first week experience at Infosys training centre Mysore. There is no criticism or  comparison. Simple incidents that followed during the week.


I ran my hand into the cover frantically. Bull!Where is my offer letter? My mother frowned at my carelessness and the security guard showed signs of restlessness. 

Day 1, 7 p.m. at Infosys gate

 

Shivers ran down my spine- fear or anticipation or just the weather, I couldn't find out.Ah!my offer letter,photo proof were identified and only I was allowed through the gate due to security measures. My sister was disappointed. I dragged the suitcase by the wheel.The sound echoed through the whole campus. “Okies!”, I looked at the suitcase “this is not working”. I ended up carrying it to the vehicle. I took a glance before I got into the vehicle and fell in love with the place in an instant. Inside the cab, I realized I was the only one in salwar and only one from south. In two minutes, we landed in front of the reception (which gave a 3 star effect) where I had to open all my bags for inspection and get keys to the room. I,being number crazy, looked at the building and room number first .”Good sign”. All our bags were again loaded into another vehicle and we were driven to our blocks.My room was in the ground floor.

Knock ! knock!.No reply. Knock knock!No reply.Little irritated and was about to knock again when I noticed the switch for bell.Argh!

As soon as the door opened, I gave the blank look that I was famous for. So did the person in the room. My roommate!!I have never stayed outside (excluding camps,friends place et al) and she was my first ever roomie. I said a hi,shook hands, placed my luggage and left the room in two minutes (probably shocked her).

I called up one of my best friends who has been there for several months.

"Come to FC 1",he said.

Here I am-a poor soul who has no sense of direction and he expects me to come to some place that sounded like a Morse code.

"What is that? More important, Where is that?"

He handed over the phone to his friend which proved to be of no effect too. So, I walked to the place asking directions in every ten steps. 

Oh!!FC 1 meant food court one!!

The place was amazing and even more delighting was the menu. I have never seen so much variety in my life. While eating, besti tried to explain every building which I tried even harder to grasp.

After looking at my monotonous nod,he decided to show the place rather.

We first went to the GEC (global education centre) which beat White house hands down (not that I have seen the white house but you do get the point ,right?)

I gaped at the ceiling design. "id cardu............................%$^&&*%%&*&%?" (the words are censored because I didnt understand a word of what the security said.It was their native language). I realized I didnt have a ID card and tried in my best of tamil + hindi + english words to explain that I had checked in only then.The security was courteous enough to let me in.

I was gaping even at the classrooms and also made mental note of the last row hoping I would land there someday.I was introduced to some students who were very busy studying.It kind of scared me.



View of my building

We left to the respective rooms(again I did my ten step asking thing) and I got to know more of my roomie and also the room. My roomie was (and is ) very sweet and patient enough to put up with me.The room had excellent facilities which promised to make me more lazy.I partially unpacked and hit bed.

Day 2

After experimenting things at the bathroom(which was equally big like the room), I ran to meet my college mates  the very next day.We went in search of something called the "Mutliplex". It took me fifteen minutes to realise what I was seeing-a theatre!! I think I had the most innovative and craziest opinion about the place.I found it delicious!!After submitting some documents and collecting coloured tags(some tried exchanging tag colours but when "ethical issues " were discussed,everyone returned them).The interiors reminded me of my favourite theatre here and I did a twenty minutes scanning of the crowd. It was colourful and diversified.If you consider yourself young and in the right mind,you would know what I mean. The induction programme was exciting because every time volunteers were called for,some twenty hands shot up. I ,typical observer (or thats what I call myself), just enjoyed listening and watching the whole thing. 

It was during the lunch time that I discovered what harm an ID card could do. The card had tasted the sambar and rasam.Some formal checking and filling forms were done and we left for the day.

At dinner time, my besti suggested cycling back to the rooms. It was only after that did I realise the number of muscles I had in my legs.The whole place has slopes and cycling along these proved the most difficult part.My heart beat faster and I grasped for air every now and then (thanks to six months of sitting at home and lazing).


The delicious multiplex

Day 3

The longest day of the week where all formalities started only after 6 p.m. We filled forms of bank account,service agreement and so on. By the time it ended,I could sign a paper even in my sleep.The class was half exciting and half boring. I almost slept through the second half of the session.

The most happening thing of the day was the DJ night.I couldnt find company to the dinner and went alone when I heard loud music. The place was flashy and adrenaline pumping(ok, I made it sound like car racing but that is how it was).The ambience was full of energy and people dancing their heads off. Around 150 people crowded in 150 metre space. Here, I found all my classmates and we didnt risk  dancing and spoiling the amphi theatre (that is what it is called though it didnt resemble anything to that of roman architecture). i stayed there for a long time and decided to shake a leg some day.


The DJ night


Day 4

The induction this day was awesome. Handled by two ladies, I enjoyed every bit of it. A large number of role plays and total entertainment.

In the evening we went to Laundromat (or simply Laundry) and waited for whole one and half hours for the clothes to get washed.

After this, we went roaming about the place and were still excited about everything.

The campus had every sport you could think of- basket ball,hockey, cricket,football, race track,volley ball, tennis, badminton, table tennis. You name it ,they have it.


Basket Ball



The Origami building with the race track


Day 5

We wrote some English test and the classes got over in few hours. I tried my hand at TT (was decent I guess). The whole of my college gang went to FC5 which was another architectural amazement and food was excellent too.


Food court 5

We had the weekend off and I returned home.


The things that I noticed during the week:

1) Being in the campus tames you. They dont compel rules on you but you tend to listen because of the peer group.

2) In the evening or free hours,you are allowed to try out any weird combination of dressing.Nobody bothers, nobody cares.

3) There are too many opportunities but no time.

4) The nights are the busiest time of the day (esp at GEC)

5) You eat a lot yet manage to lose weight ;)

6) The facilities make you even lazier than what you were at home

All in all, Mysore campus is one brilliant place with lot to learn and enjoy.

P.S.; My friends challenged me-if I say the same after two months of stay;there could be two possibilities. Either I got admissions for higher studies and have planned to leave in between the training or I am simply insane.


Thursday, December 11, 2008

Brick Bats

I am in love with the smileys :)  They are adorable  and convey a lot if you analyse them closely.When someone sends across a smiley,you always imagine the "expression" the person gives.It is like "a picture conveys thousand words". It is also an indication for ending a conversation.A couple of straight smileys means that the other person is bugged or bored and it ends right there. Adding to all that facts, smileys are even cuter than the real facial expressions :D!! *grin grin*

The reason I use lot of smileys . It is simple. I exploited , I used them in every text message and most of my mails,chats and blogs.

All was well until I read a mail in which some researchers from some country in some lab decided to make a research on the smileys:(.Are people that jobless? According to them,people who use smileys frequently are considered flirtatious and want attention all the time.

I may not know who I am  but at least to some extent, whom I am not (confusing? that is the whole point).I ignored the research as baseless and useless. 

The problem started.It was like this;every time I used a smiley,I had second thoughts.However I tried to ignore,the mailed flashed before my eyes. To add to my woes, my sister also mentioned reading something on the same lines somewhere. That is when I started using lot of *cough cough*,*grin grin* and *ahem ahem* s.

In spite of all this,I simply couldn't stop using smileys but I often wonder if all this is what is called human psychology. Why ponder into things that are unnecessary and followed by large mass. Consider people start researching  about eating habits and claim if a person gulps food in a go ,he is considered intelligent??!!

Sigh!!However hard we try to ignore all the "research based " issues,it lingers in our minds whenever we perform the act.

Curses curses!! :( :( :(

P.S. ; I named the post as "brick bats" because I liked it.Hope some researcher in Iceland hasn't got any problems with it.Hello!!Haven't they got their "entire country devolving" problem to solve??



Friday, December 5, 2008

Missing Musing

"Something was missing", I said, poking the slice of pizza for the hundredth time which could have thrown a couple of swear words provided it had a mouth. "Hmmm..something..."

"Whats the problem with the movie?It was good!!" , said my friend without even glancing at me.

It was late afternoon and my friend,sister and I were just back from watching the latest tamil flick "Vaarnam Aiyaram".The movie portrayed the role of a father in the life of a son-deliberately sentimental and over dosage of romance and after sympathising with each other and by tradition we were at the hotel(Incase you are wondering what the tradition is-it is always hotel after movie).

The actor surya was fabulous(err..i am not praising his looks or his physique).He brought out the difference between different roles-school boy,youth,army guy and old father.The entire credit to him.In spite of all this,I felt something was missing in the movie.Something that was blocked in my head and was stubborn to show up.

"I think there was no chemistry between Sameera and surya",my sister offered.

"Hmmm..No..not that.Something was wrong in the father son relationship and I cant find out what", I replied grabbing the pizza with my hands abandoning the manners of eating it with knife and fork.The knife simply didn't cut the pizza.

"Nah!!You are tasteless!!The relationship seemed perfect.He did the two roles very well", my friend opposed."Maybe...

She stopped when the waiter placed a huge bowl of block forest ice cream on the table. All of us reached out for the ice cream.

"Some parts seemed missing.Guess initially it was a long movie.", sister claimed as she placed the tips for the waiter.

"Maybe,in the movie,dad smoked too much while son didn't?" ,I said suddenly when we were in the bus. Both of them gave such a look that i took to my heels and wandered to buy the ticket from the conductor.

"Will you stop giving that "I-am-thinking" look??Its scary!!", yelled my sister when we got down.

"You dont understand.It is like a jig saw puzzle-everything in place expect a single piece and I have no clue where or how to place it"

"Dialogue!!", yapped my friend and both of them clapped.

Even all that insult didnt stop me from wondering and thinking about it again and again.Both of them didn't understand that my head would split into two if I didnt find it. Was the father role too much??-no.Was the son too good?-no. Was the daughter given no role?-apparently yes but that wasnt the missing part.Something was missing..missing..missing..

"Will you forget it??Please!!",my sister pleaded as we were outside our place.

"Hmmmm..."

Dad opened the door.

"Appa,you are here?We thought you were in the office.",I said, quite shocked.

"Oh!!Where did you girls go?!? !Movie?!?! What time was the show?!?Why are you both so late?? Cant you call if you knew you were going to be late",he yelled at top pf his voice,took a deep breathe "Listen, you still havent gone to the bank!!It closes by 5!!Was the movie so important??Cant you both prioritize things in life??

My sister looked at him with her best "I-am-sorry" expression. I smiled.Now I knew what was missing in the movie.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Understanding inflation the historic way;)

THE PLAN 

The map of Kurukshetra lay open on the table. The only source of light in the room was from the zero watt bulb that was swinging slightly over the five heads that were pondering over the map. 

“This”, Arjuna moved forward “is going to be the venue for the war”. He circled the place with his fingers. 

“Hmmm..That is Harayana. Is the place affordable?” asked Bhima scratching his chin. “The price of land is high”.

 “That is very true, but Nakulan and Sahadev have agreed to part their money for this purpose”. 

“Why only them? Why not all of us?” asked Draupadi with an accusation tone. She was clad in simple salwar kameez .Draupadi was the only wife of the Pandavas or “Kissi Se Kam Nahi Hum Paanch(KKNHP)” as they call themselves which is an adaptation and an idea inspired from the Ekta Kapoor serials. It was not meant to be Polyandry but done out of desperate measures as the Shaadi.com showed Draupadi to be highly paid in an IT industry and each of them could not afford  to waste money on the marriage halls and food individually.

But all the excellent planning backfired as IT industry was not doing good leaving the entire family to worry on the basic necessity. 

“Because they are the only ones in the medical field and it is the only profession that seems to be least affected by the recession”, explained Arjuna. Nakulan and Sahadev nodded in agreement.

 “Is this war really necessary?” asked the wise Yudhistra. 

“Of course!! If we do well, that is slap well, Lait Modi has agreed to take us for the next IPL with Deepika Padukone as our promoter and Cheerleaders from France.” said Bhima. 

“Really??”,asked Yudhistra innocently. 

“Duh no!!I was just kidding. The war is just for dignity purposes and I am very sure that the Kauravas are in same dilemma as us. We are just 5 in number but them?!! Even the 99 couldn’t afford an eye operation for their father. It’s a national crisis.” 

“Let’s quit this Kurukshetra place and call for a war at the beach”, put forth Draupadi. 

“Brilliant idea!!” exclaimed Yudhistra ,It is  almost priceless and we can buy Bhajjis for lunch and dinner.” 

“Lunch and dinner??” Sahadev moved forward to get a better look at Yudhistra, “How long is this war? Not just a day?” 

“Hmmm..true.Lets not have it for 18 days. Let us make it just one day. Ok, finally the place is at the beach and the war is for a day. That is decided then.” 

“Will they agree on all that?” offered Sahadev 

“They would definitely agree with all the terms. The understanding is mutual. I am hungry. What is for lunch now? I smell Biriyani” 

“Biriyani?? Are you out of your mind? Do you have any clue about the prices of vegetables and cereals?! , yelled Draupadi and the Pandavas acted like they were busy looking at the map. 

“These men have no clue about what is happening around…..” Draupadi left the room grumbling to herself. 

“Now for the arms and facilities needed. How many swords do we need? Do we need to recruit any more people or manage the whole thing ourselves?”, asked Arjuna as he jotted down everything that was being discussed. 

“Oh oh..swords of steel?? Highly impossible”,said Yudhihstra. “And don’t worry about their strength. I heard that 50% of them have shifted to UK for work. Another 20% are very desperate to do their higher in some foreign country. 10 % are under fed and cannot fight and another 10% have gone to negotiate the nuke deal. That is only 10% who are left or just 10 people and I think we can very well manage them.” 

“Drat!! Karna is with them”,said Bhima. 

“So what?” 

“Don’t you realize he has the Kavacha Kundala of gold? Just imagine the amount of gold he has!! And considering the gold prices now, it is a bumper prize.”,moaned Bhima. 

“Is it possible to drag him to our side? We can lure him.Tell him that we have quotas for positions in the war and make him chief of army”, offered Nakulan. 

“Chief of army with just 5 of us here?! I don’t think that is necessary. He is a generous guy, so, would have parted away money for everyone’s education. His gold won’t be a great threat to us”. 

“High prices and low income is getting on our nerves. There must be some way to fight this war, otherwise we wont go down in history as the great Pandavas but as the people who fought the inflation.” 

Everyone agreed with Arjuna. 

“Arjuna,I think it is high time you dismissed your chauffeur Krishna.We cant afford to have him anymore.We cant afford the car in the first place. The amount I paid for the petrol and Krishna for last two years is four times the value of the car.” explained Sakadhev. 

“Oh!!I will miss my sarathy . If I sell my car,how do we go to the war? It would be pathetic if  we walked.” 

“No worries.I am planning to get the Nano car.”, assured Nakula.

The occupants of the room smiled at each other.The room was silent again. 

Everyone was startled when Yudishtra suddenly stood from his chair. 

“Hey!!I have an idea.An idea how this war can be fought.And here it is………………’ 

“Great idea Yudhi!!Well done!!Somebody pass on your mobile please.I will tell this to Kauravas.They are bound to agree”,said Arjuna excitedly. 

Each looked away. 

“No balance” said Nakulan.“Validity over” said Sahadev.”I left it in my room” said Yudhistra. 

“Chill Chill!!I have Virgin mobile.You can have mine”.Bhima passed on his mobile and Arjuna explained the plan to Duryodhana. 

 D  DAY 

14,410!! Come on Arjuna!!You can do better than that!! 

“Oh my god!! Karna is on 15,820!!” 

“Arjuna!!the left key.. the left key!!ahhhh…fast fast” 

The war happened.Yes,it happened.Not on real ground but on Orkut online games.

 

The price of the war –internet charges were to be paid by the losing team.

 

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Extravagance

Our colony never missed out an occasion.Be it children's day or Independence day (aree..valentine's day bhi..) and Diwali was no exception. There were huge surprises like game stalls,chaat, dinner, crackers and so on.

The game stalls were put up by the members and very innovative. After food,we hit the lawns where the Tambola event took place.(Drat!!I hate these luck based games.But that didn't stop my sister and me buying couple of tickets.).After having a miserable time watching other people get huge amounts right under our noses,we waited for the cracker show which was supposed to be the highlight of the evening.

Whhhhhhhhoooossshhhh..flew rockets in different directions and displayed the finest scenes.Many crackers and rockets were let to burst that I began to realise that the Chinese Olympics' opening ceremony was far  less spectacular than this.At first,it was exciting and couple of guys shouted for every cracker that went up.After half an hour so,they were drained out but continued to watch.

We thought the show was over when they unfurled something that seemed like a thousand wala but was styled as rockets.Only when it was lit did we realise that it was a hundred rockets which were to burst simultaneously one after the other. The cracker went on and on like never ending shallow seas(ok,I exhibit poetic skills to show how irritating it was). After waiting for ages, I realised I couldnt see my neighbour as the whole lawn was covered with smoke.

The nation is in financial crisis but there are people who seemed least affected.The thousand wala thing cost around 3 lakhs (more than my expected annual income :( ) and the result was smoke,pollution and wastage of money for the 30 minutes pleasure of audience. 

It would have better if some under privileged children were allowed to spectate this or the money was used for something else. 

It would have been wise if people knew and cared for the environment.

It would have been worthy if sweets or clothes were distributed among the poor.

It would have been considerate if only games and less crackers were used.

It would have been better if I had voiced my opinion there rather than writing a blog like this :( .



Thursday, October 16, 2008

Meow meow

"See,3 lakh applicants for CAT this year".

She turned towards me and gave a lazy look.

"But as the probabilty goes,only 50% would be serious which brings the count down to 1,50,000", I said and looked if she was still interested.There were no signs of irritation and I continued.

"In that,first attempt and beginners who don't know how to go about it are 50%.So,its 75,000 of competitors."

"Mock takers are even less-35,000 in TIME,20,000 in IMS and 10,000 in CL and other institutes.Moreover people doing dual mocks are to be counted.Eventually,around 40,000 are mock takers."

"In that 10,000 would be employed full time or with heavy work load which means they cant cope up and this leaves us with 30,000 people"

"Lets say around 10,000 of them are GRE and GMAT takers.Yes,there are people who do that and place foreign degree as their first priority which now brings the CAT people to 20,000."

"In that 20,000,I could be better than say, 25% of them which now makes my competition as 15,000."

"A 98 percentile which might get me an IIM call or SP jain or MDI means I need to be in top 300.I know atleast 10 people personally who will make it to the IIMs,another 20 through forums.So,say roughly around 40 people.So,260 left are my real competition."

Considering the skills or even language or luck,lets say 80 are behind me.Now its just 180.Hmmm..possible na??" I asked with earnest.

She took a deep breathe. "What was your Data Interpretation mark in last mock??Did you manage to clear the cut off atleast ?",she asked.

I looked at the book that lay in front of me.Some things are better untold.


Friday, September 26, 2008

How to write answers in AU exam?

Very often I wonder what have I gained in 4 years of my college life (apart from the kgs) ?
 
Technical knowledge? Hmmmm..
Practical?  Huh?

Ah!To write effectively.Yup.Bingo!!
Now,I am a very creative writer.

So,in this post,I am to explain "How to write well in AU exam".

Lets take an example: 

Question: What are logic gates?

Answer: A circuit that uses binary inputs  to perform a logical function.

Before you start,chew on this.
Rules:
1) Never stop an answer in a single or double line.
2)Let adjectives and adverbs be your strong point.Master them before your first semester.
3)Implement longer sentences.
4)The most vital point.Carry colour pens-the more you use them,better the scores.


Remember to sit for a longer time in the hall.Not that you are going to score more but it will definitely scare the peers.

To proceed with the writing part:

Answer: A circuit that uses binary inputs  to perform a logical function.

1) When you have no clue at all
(or asked for 2 marks)

 Logic gate,as the name suggests,is a gate of logic.Since it is logical to use it,it is also known as logic gates.The gate or electronic circuit (as we are electronics engineers we tend to use more of electronics) that has the ability to perform the logic using the logical functions on the electronic circuits is widely known as (also known as ) logic gates.

2) When you have partial idea:
(or asked for 4 or 6 marks)

2) (a) ..Oh yeah!Forgot to mention.If possible ,try to write in points and use all Roman numerals and alphabets available.Stick on to Indian alphabets ,otherwise they could be mistaken for formulae.

so,here it goes again.

2) (a) Logic gates (double underline)

Draw diagram

*It is the basic element.The most fundamental element that make the electronic circuits.The vital part of all digital system.
*It is a gate.
*It uses logical functions
*It uses and implements logical functions on gates
*It can be used in electronics.
*It is used to perform a logical function.

2 (b) Another way of creative writing
(or asked for 16 marks)

*What are logic gates :(double underline and double space)
Draw diagram

They are gates used in circuits.
They are logical gates using logic.

 * What are gates?(double underline and double space)
Draw diagram (same but horizontal view)
They allow inputs.
They provide output.

*What is logic(double underline and double space)
Draw diagram(same but vertical view)
The circuit that uses logical functions.
They are used in electronics.

*Why are they used?(double underline and double space)
no idea
Staff did not teach
I did not listen
I am stupid
I am subs

* When are they used(double underline and double space)
Whenever anyone wants to use it.
When people are bored.

*Advantages of logic gates(double underline ans space)
It is relatively simple
It is compact
It is compatible
It is easy
It can be used with everything

* Disadvantages:(double underline and space)
It is not relatively simple
It is not compact
It is not compatible
It is not easy
It cannot be used with everything.

Conclusion (Double underline and space)
They are gates used in circuits.
They are logical gates using logic.

3) When you know the answer

This situation never arises.If it does,it does not appear in the paper or it is considered out of syllabus.

 
Now you know what to write.
Write legibly.
Use as much as words as possible.
Drag sentences.
Colour the paper.

People benefited from above post can leave comments below.
The comments will be used in the book to be published.


At 35 - Replying to a post from 10 years ago

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