Blogging from WinWord

Blogging From WinWord

Hi,
        Just downloaded the blogger for word application and am trying it out now. I hope this cool little software should help me blogging continuously… after all, that’s not such a bad habit. Is it???

Luv
Joe

Darling! Darling! Darling!

Oh yeah,

she is the darling of my life! The one I was refering to, as the other one I love the most in this world. Presenting Tanya Jacqueline, alias Tanu.

Boy, by the time she came to this world, which is actually on January 2nd, she kept us waiting for almost 2 days. We were so very excited to think that she might be born on the New Year's day, which would have been good. But she missed that by a day only to make it better. Who will want to celebrate two functions on the same day! Why would she not want to have two new dresses at the beginning of every year.

I cant forget the excitement that we shared in our family by the time she was born. From then onwards, there was a new color added to my life. I loved my time spent with her. When she was a baby, she use to sleep on my C++ and Java books which supported her head from not falling sideways. The passion that I have towards her cant be expressed completely here. You should watch us live in action. :)
I love her the most!!!!!

She is now 3 years old! and she has already taken control as the most authoritative one in my family. Everybody has to give up when it comes to her. Whatever it is, her decision is the Final. It is always fun watching her giving orders to other people. But she is obedient when she has to be. Altogether, Cute girl!

Jaanu

This is Baby Inika, my SweetHeart's niece.

How cute she looks? She is the most lovable female in the world I feel. Well, along with yet another female. Thats Tanu. I always fall in love with kids. My god! They are so amazing. They have no fear. For me, they are the people who enjoy their reason of coming to this planet fully. I adore them a lot.

It has been a loooonnnnnnnngggggggggg time

Yupeee,

It has really been quite a long time since I have blogged. Actualy I started this blog with the thought that I should blog daily atleast. :) but look where i am now. Ok, I dont have any excuses for that. All that I did was I did not. :).

Then, all these time here is what i ve been doing. After joinign TEL, my time was good in bangalore. The project and the responsibilities that I held in TEL was all good. And suddenly I had an opportunit to with Samsung Electronics and this is where I am. Working for a project in Samsung Electronicz, Suwon, South Korea. Man, I shoudl tell you that this place is realy a heaven for the person who can adapt. Before flying people were giving me many onsite blues. I should say that I was a little bothered about that but I had many other issues to worry about that. Especially the shabby work that TEL Travel desk did for my travel. They ruined myy first time flying experience. They let me know of my flying date only 1 day before. Actually on monday, 25th sep, 2005 they called by afternoon and told me that I am flying on tuesday night 10:30 flight and the comedyy is that they were not having my passport stamped till that time. All teh information they had on that time was that my visa stampingn will be done in mumbai on tuesday and it will be sent by air cargo to bangalore. So, I had ddone some on the hurry packing(not well thought out though)... And when i was expecting to be travelling that night, on tuesday those great people called me and told that i am flying via mumbai as i had to collect my visa myself in the mumbai Chatrapthi Shivaji airport. My flight to mumbai was on 4:30 in the evening and they give me this information by 12:00 noon. How very good. my house is about 1:30 hours journey from the airport and I had to collect some certificates from my office. And everythign happened and I boarded my flight just in time. Thanks to my friends, Akbar, ganesh, parthi and prabhu who had been there getting me all the details about which counter to check in. I just got off my car and only had time to wave my hands off to these guys. I didnt even talk to them properly. thats kind of bad... and thats it... i flew to mumbai... bangkok.... taiwan......Seoul.

And this is where I am Suwon, a 40 mins travel from Seoul. Suwon is kind of an Industrial city of South korea. This is where Samsung Electronics is head quartered. Samsung's campus is HUGE. from the gate, it will take me about 10 mins from the gate to reach my work desk. I stayed very near to my office so, I didnt have much of an experience looking around suwon.. There should be a special about the people of South Korea. Man, they are damn helpful... I was worried about one issue before i came here. About how I am going to get along with these people. and before even I started thinking about that, I had already made some good number of friends here. Thanks to all my team members here. They are so very kind, helpful, affable. But there is one problem that people MIGHT face in south korea. language. These people are all great brains but their love towards their nation, country, their language and culture has somehow prevented from developing themselves a command over the English language. They do work whcih the whole world turns around to look, but in that busy schedule, they have avoided the importance of the command over the language. But you will certainly be lucky to come across some people who understand and speak english better. The good thing that i like in these people in teh shopping complexes, their love and commitment to their mother country. In india, all shopping complexes, even though hindi is their mother tongue, all sales person speaks in english to their customers as if they are not from India. Is it good or not is another topic of debate, which, I am not getting into.

I was lucky that all my team members are capable of coversing with english. If some of them are nto able to converse, the just dont keep quiet. They are just so keen to learn it and they are not ashamed of making mistakes which is really a good sign for learning. They will succeed one day. my wiishes to them all. And the koreans are really hardworking. I was amazed to know the fact that these people come in tot he office before 8:00am and go home after 10:00 pm. and the interesting part is that some of them have to travel more than 30 mins to reach their home. so, think of the time that they had to sleep and get back to fofcie. They are so casual to say that they sleep only 5 hours a day. I am really interested in knowing how far they can go like this. I ve been hearing from various people and other sources that a human needs atleast 7 hours of sleep everyday to keep their body functioning properly. how are these people managing? hmm, interesting...

I am trying some korean delicacies here to get the taste of their country. More of it in my next blog as this one is bloggged tooo much.. ;)

k, then later...

lolly

Its a different ball game

So, I have settled down in a CMMi Level 5 company as I had been expecting for a long time now. Actually a CMMi Level 5 company was not my target. but a good established concern. basically people should be able to understand to immediately identify the company you are working for. Still TATA Elxsi(the company I work for is not the Infosys of the world and the Wipros of the world. But still the name TATA has a reputation worldwide.

I might make you thinking that I go after fame. Certainly not. Its always a different ball game. There are standards set here and there are predefined procedures to work here. You might not have the liberty to work as a freelancer. Everything is pretty organised here and you get to know what it takes to organise and manage such huge projects that they handle.

Small startup companies have their advantages too. For example, it is only in a small startup company your learning range is wider and wider. You get exposure to all the stages. You are free to try out new things. You are free to research on anything you would like to. You get to know many thing being in a startup than in a MNC. This is my honest opinion. And the disadvantages that you have working for a small startup are not much, infact nothing if you are not seriously looking at the money aspect. Small startup MIGHT NOT (some companies do, like Skava Systems) pay you more. But you should accept the fact that the work you get there is above par.

When it comes to MNCs, you are basically hired on an as-needed basis. Your learning is very much narrowed down to the project that the company is currently interested in. But I should tell you that there are some exceptions in MNCs too, where they offer you great work culture and atmosphere.

I just sat for a discussion with our team and a discussion with a client. Thats when I was thinking how a similar project would be approached elsewhere. We go out to discuss to a separate discussion room, we have a white board, somebody goes in front and talks for a while, explains, and then everybody asks questions to him, THATS NOT EXACTLY WHAT I AM TRYING TO TELL YOU. There is something more more more more important than those silly things. The procedure that you have to follow. The decisions that are taken here are not always taken. And there is no adhoc plan on how to go about with the project. Everything is clearl charted out. The way to write out a proposal document, going through requirement specifications,.... In my previous company, it was all product. no service. We developed our own product coz of which we had to requirement specification doc or anything else. We just start off with an initial design of the product straight away and after approval from boss, we go about implementing. Here it takes much more than to start designing right away. You are also considering the cost aspects for the development. You also have to think about how the client would like to have so many resources in the project, since he is actually paying for each and every resource that is in the project. We have to convince the client about the need for a particular resource, if the client finds that as unnecessary. Lots of things, but you gotta appreciate the fact that, there are too many people to manage this. But for all thsoe people, it is up to them to mange it themselves. They dont think that somebody else will do it. They take the responsibilities on their shoulders. And thats a sure sign of success...

hmm, I was just thinking as i was blogging. how about adding some technical information which some ppl might find good. Infact, I myself will be one in that in the future. So, expect some technical stuff or atleast some useful stuff in this blog later.

for now,

time to go,

bye

Joe

Switched Job

So atlast after two years, two successfull, two wonderful years I have quit my company and joined a new company. And that was not the reason for me not blogging for all these days. It was sheer laziness and getting myself indulging in other activities that I did not blog. When I said other activities, they dont mean activities that are junk. some were such ofcourse. But I did get myself involved in some important ones too. Important ones like, my House Warming Ceremony. Man, it feels soo very good to have a home to cal your own. I did not actually construct this home to call it my own. but, as a token of my love towards my parents. I knew how much they wouuld have wanted to get themselves settled in a home, sweet home. they were not able to in the past. Coz, they had to take care of the expenses incurred by meee.. And I dont exactly consider this a way of repaying them. not at all... this is simply not enough to repay their love and kindness that they have shown towards me.... But still, its a small token of my love and gratitude to my parents. Now that I have moved them into a new home, I started chasing my dreams. jumping into a branded company.

My previous company Skava Systems, was a startup company. I was the first employee to join the company. Before me, there were two partners who had been running the company for almost two years alone... Right from day one I joined the company, it was exciting. I was introduced into a new world. infact a small world. Java for mobile phones and other handhelds: J2ME.

It was a Roller Coaster ride for two years since then. I was part of all the stages of the Software Development Life Cycle. The work there required me to put in late nights and extra hours at work and I happily did it. As far as I am learning something and doing something useful, I dont really mind how much time I spend working. I can even go on like this for days. well, until my bio clock allows me toooo, ofcourse..

Then, my team grew and we were a total of nine people(apart from those Big Two). When I had completed a year, I started looking out and infact got an offer from L&T Infotech, Mysore. But then, I had turned it down after a discussion with my bossie. I liked the way both my bosses reacted when I told them about the offer. I had them call me right from USA to India and discuss things. They wanted to know what prompted me for a change. They did and they matched my expectations in Skava itself. Then, I had told them that I ll stay with them for some more time. And then again I received some offers Which I had to put down again after discussing with them. But, once my house construction was over, I thought I had to make the move irrespective of whatever I get. And I did. My new company has a good brand name in the industry.

But I honestly feel, Skava was a better place to work in. Leave alone the difficulties I had to face and the problems that I had there, Skava Systems will always stand high on my wish list. I am sure one day they will grow to the magnitude of what my new company is today. But then, I would not be a part of it to celebrate its success from within the organisation. But I ll definitely celebrate the growth of Skava. Coz, I have a personal sentimental feeling towards Skava, as that was my first company. First company is equally my first love too. I owe to Skava Systems what I am today. And I am not afraid in saying so anywhere. I told this same sentence even in my interviews elsewhere. I am proud of being a part of, infact, having been a part of Skava Systems.

But fine, now its an all new place, all new people, all new policies, all new procedures, all new rules and altogether the environment and my work atmosphere had changed. The way I had to work also had to change.... I am maintaining work timings here,. Strictly 9 hours duty and not more than that. Atleast now, till I am assigned any huge responsbilities to shoulder. After having been assigned responsibilities, its totally different... Let me wait n see how it turns out to be...

Work Crunch

In one of my previous blogs, I shared some of my views about crunch time on work. Now, I come to know that I am not alone in this world of crunch time sufferers.

I came to know about this unhappy spouse of an employee of one of the world's leading Gaming company. EA - Electronic Arts. Ever played their Football game. Boy oh boy! its kind a realistic and very very addicting. You cant just take your mind off while playing the game. But, merely nobody would ever think of the pains the developers of the game had put into the wonderful product. The fun they had lost, the families that had suffered their absence, nobody would give these things a damn. But atleast find some time, to read this article in the link below.

This was written by a spouse of an emploee of EA. Also, if you have time, just look at the comments and response that this had received from the world over, not just from the gaming industry but from everyone....
EA_Spouse


The next time you ever happen to play a game, take some time apart from the fun you have had, to thik about the ppl involved in having provided you with that much of fun. But, please, dont just think of the creamy layer. like the CTOs CEOs of the company. You do not know their actual role in any project.. :)

Cheers
Joe

Responsibilities in Work

R E S P O N S I B I L I T I E S......

Have you ever shouldered some? Or have you ever thought you need to be given some responsibilities? Well, I do. Taking in responsibilities gives me some confidence and courage. The ounce of pride which will help you attain ur goal easily and quickly. No headweight stuffs.

But in the IT industry, many can come across who are just reluctant to be responsible. They are just freaky enuf to be DJs, VJs or street side romeos. But, nobody has a clue as to why they are into a software industry. And to many of our amazement, they occasionally do well in certain areas. Like, keeping them physically well and mentally alert all times. After all, they have nothign to worry about and so they can always be ready to take up anything new. but seriously, they just take up but dont carry them for long :). Kindly apologize me, if you are one such person.

When some responsibilities are handed over to you, it is either because the other person trusts you so much and think you are the right person to do this job or you are put under test and its ur duty to do well in this job. If you arent going to keep up to the expectations in the latter case, then you can soon expect to be shown the way out. But, in the former case, the effect is kinda depreciation. You dont loose anything all ofa sudden. But slowly, you are loosing your values. Slowly the other person will loose trust in you. Soon, you will find yourself without any job. Well, who trusts you to give you a job...

There are some freaks, who will never understand the seriousness and never even have a clue of what is expected of him. When something is told to them, they just claim themselves that they have all their life to complete their task. My God!!! How do the HR recruiters miss out on these qualities.? Years back, I had a colleague of mine, who just used the office as a mere browsing center. By that time, our boss was not there to keep an eye on that F*. (Well, I just mean to say Fool) We took the responsibility and had warned him of his performance quite a number of times. But he was reluctant. Then, there came the day when I had to ask him, infact, ask him strongly that I needed him to finish off his task in another couple of hours. I was really shocked when he just shouted back at me on top of his voice. Things went rough from then on.. The point I wanted to make here is, I still dont understand why ppl are ignorant towards the responsibilities vested on them.

Well, on the other hand, taking all responsibilities on ones shoulder isnt that good too. That could end up in a real fuss. Be ready to accept responsibilities and accept whatever comes your way and most importantly, give your best to keeping up to the expectation, no matter what it takes. Well i started this blog with a diff thing in mind and i had gone in a diff direction now. No probs. This is understandable because, nobody after working for more thatn 15 hours continuously, will be able to think as clear as he would have some 10 - 12 hrs back.

More on the next blog

Cheers
Joe

Spread the Aura of Happiness

Aura!! this word was of less importance to me until I happened to chat with one of my friend. Until then, I was able to identify the thing exactly. Everybody has a personal space of influence spread around them. Depending on each person they come in contact with, it may either be a master or a slave. Master / Slave is just terms to indicate the behaviour and nothing more than that. This aura is their influence among a group of ppl a person interacts with.

There are also stories which say, "Ppl with strong Aura can acquire other ppl's strengths. blah blah.." But the good guy, the "Aura of Happiness" is something which, everybody isn't gifte with. Even wondered of the people who always laugh around, giggling, smiling and always having fun......

Take some time to think about those ppl and watch them closely. Those selfless creatures exist in the world, to mainly encourage and enthusiase (ignore, if wrong) others. But, if looked closely, even they have their own sad stories and personal problems with which they can be feeling gloomy all day., But they dont live their life that way. Instead they keep it to themselves and just pass on the flowers of happiness to everybody they meet. I have wondered what they could get back in return. The answer I got was, Happiness, true happiness.

When you are happy, not only you are happy, but your environment and your colleagues and other of ur mates are alllll happy. soo happy that everybody will forget their personal grievances and live a happy life. Today, once my problems got fixed, I was just making fun for every other thing. And we were just firing on all guns without feeling tired at all. We were putting in extra hours without much of a trouble. When you crack out jokes, you will soon realise that you are not alone. soon, others will follow suit, and then the entire place is filled with fun n frolic.

wow, feels like heaven. really, happiness is what every heart in this world crave for. So, am going to try n make everybody cheerful as much as I can. I am a good one to try out. I am determined to try till I succeed.

With sheer determination.

Joe

Its sometimes better to take the easy way out

So, I now gotta believe in the fact, "Its a fresh new day each day.". Yesterday, I was terribly disappointed with the way things ended up. And I ended the day with nothing but resentment. But as my friend has in her email signature

"Life can be learnt backwards,
But it must be lived forward" - Kierkegard

How true!!!

Today, when I called up my boss to know about the issue, I soon learnt that she didnt even bothered about taking a look at the issue. She was busy looking at some other thing. But then, backed by all her years of experience, she was guiding me to do that and this, experiment and let her know of the result. We both tried (even today... but this time, the approach was totally different) several times and atlast, boy oh boy, she finished the issue with a simple question. "Why do you have to try n conserve too much when you have loads of stuff for the taking?"

I ll tell you what. that one question striked me very hard and with that i managed to finish the issue. Actually, I was optimizing the game to work in the weaker phones with restricted memory and other restrictions. But the particular phone, which was creating problems for me yesterday (my god, pls forgive me if I had blamed it badly yesterday. I am really sorry ;) ), had loads of memory, with which I dont have to do any optimizations. I just rolled back my code to its prev state without any optimizations and you should have seen my face light up like a 1000 watts bulb. I was very happy, a sense of relief suddenly filled me up and I am back to normalcy.
My boss summed it up with this sentence
"Its sometimes better to take the easy way out"

Yesterday, I said i have to wait to know whether that was a silly mistake or a valuable lesson to be learnt. Today, it has now proven to be a valuable lesson, a lesson, worth to be learnt in ones life. It is sometimes better to take the easy way out. sometimes, we find our mind very much preoccupied so that, we will just stay ignorant to think of the easier solutions. If we had just taken the time to think out of the box, we would have found that there wasnt any problem really existing...

So, Always, try to think out of the box... stay calm n think clearly. You may arrive at a solution, if one exists or atleast, you will realise that there is no problem for which you need to find a solution...

Cheers
Joe