well, some personal ego-stroking first:
- Someone posted on our class message board today that there was a picture of some of our classmates in today's Boston Globe and also that I was in the picture (see link below).
So it's not exactly how you want to be pictured in a newspaper. I caught some flak for not having my name card displayed ("you too cool for name cards?"). But we digress. The article has some quotes from some of my classmates about how what's happenin' on Wall Street is going to affect recruiting etc. And we all do look bored/concerned in that picture. In our defense it was 6-8 pm non-class seminar on "Buy-Side state of affairs". And it was a long day.
But it is not a flattering picture, that's for sure.
kondum picture in the Boston Globe
- Today was another long day at school. As part of our first semester, we have a course called "Communication for Managers". Apparently the perception is that Sloan grads dont come out of school as polished so this course. Today we had a 2h session in which my group had to give two separate impromptu speeches in front of the group. The topics are revealed 30 sec before you talk. So it is real impromptu. I liked it. I have no problem getting in front of people to speak but what I am trying to improve is thinking when I speak so that I can modify my presentation as we go along.
- I am participating in a "Stock Pitch" competition this weekend at school. My team, three strong, has to go in front of an audience and pitch our analysis of a stock that they chose for us (Dick Sporting Goods). The top 2 teams will get to represent Sloan at other contests. I am new at this but if I want a career in Investment Management this is how the interview process is going to be, so I better get used to and get good at this. We started prepping for this. Let's see how it turns out.
-My friend Sara visited Boston this weekend and we hung out on Saturday eve. It was great to spend time with her.
-Some of my teammates are calling this week "Hell Week". We have 5 HWs due, 3 presentations, and two company visits. The recruitment madness begins officially this week with Goldman Sachs visiting first on Wednesday. I am not looking forward to wearing a suit. But I have to. dang!
-I am happy to report that amidst all this madness I am keeping to my gym schedule and playing squash twice a week. And the squash is intense and am loving it. Disappointingly my eating habits have gone down the drain. We have free lunch every day and there is pizza or burritos. Not healthy. Add beer to the mix in the evenings! I started drinking at noon on Saturday and Sunday. And had 2 beers today. ahhhh, you gotto love school!
-Dont know if any of you know or heard about Long Term Capital Management (LTCM). LTCM was the superstar hedge fund run by former Salomon Brothers and MIT/Harvard Nobel Prize winning economists in the mid 90S. They returned 400% cummulative in 4 years and then went on to bring Wall Street to it's knees in 1998. Before this month, that was the biggest catastrophe in the past 20 years. Anyway, last wednesday one of the big players from LTCM (Eric Rosenfeld) was at Sloan addressing us. It was cool to listen to this guy speak. He and LTCM are the subject of a cool book called "When Genius Fails" which every Finance person has read. I had read before coming to Sloan and it was great to hear this guy speak in person.
He had great insights into trading and what needs to be done in today's markets.
Allrite kids, I have a 8:30 am Accounting class tomm.
later
Monday, September 29, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Jeeezaaaz, so much happenin'!
Where to start? I would not be exaggerating if I said we just went through a pretty freakin' HISTORIC week in the world of finance. Some are calling it a pivotal point in the history of finance. Remains to be seen. Here is what has been happenin':
-There are no more pure US Investment Banks. Just read that statement again. Wow!
-Oil went up $25 today alone (before settling down). Gold is back in the 900s and the US$ took a whooping. All in all a crazy day in the markets.
-It was a holiday today at MIT. Why you ask? "Anti-Suicide day". Yup that's right. Earlier this decade some undergrad kids could not take the stress of the first year and hence solved the problem by jumping off the roofs. So the school decided to issue pass/fail in the first year for undergrads. And have more than one 3 day weekend every month. So the holiday. I'll take it.
-Last week was fun. Andrew Lo (fin prof at Sloan) had a trading competition for interested Sloan students on Friday. You can form teams from your class and trade with each other using a Sloan designed interface. They were trying to create a market using all of us to demonstrate how things work. My team was pretty good. We turned $10000 into $31,500 and ended up 7th. The team that came first had $35,000. We should won it but I made a mistake at the very beginning that cost us more than 10K. I placed a "Market Buy" instead of "Limit Buy" that ended up screwing us. Oh well, atleast it was a good experience. There are some sharp kids in my class.
-Our Econ prof is not exactly helping me considering that my Econ is weak. I think my Macro-Econ is pretty solid but Micro is weak. And we have Micro-Econ this semester. Our guy is pretty smart (I hear he is under 30 and a prof of econ at MIT which is not too shabby). Luckily some of my team members are good with Econ.
-I keep meeting interesting people in class everyday. There is this kid from Brazil whose dad owns an energy company and just won a contract to supply wind energy in Brazil for the first time. This kid and his brother (a Sloan Alum) are going to run the wind farm! How cool is that? I am trying to organize a trek to Brazil to visit the farm. Nothing like visiting a new technology firm and see it from the time it is starting.
-I have to make a serious decision on whether to worry about grades or not give a hoot. Like for example this week, we have this great conference called "Emerging Technologies Conference" at MIT which is going to bring some pretty freakin' cool innovators in different sectors to campus. Of course the talks I want to go to clash with my class schedule. I am like, screw it, why should I care about grades. I am here to learn not fill my GPA. Let's see what I end up doing.
Here is the link to EmTech, lots of great talks
http://www.technologyreview.com/emtech/08/schedule.aspx
-My decision on career choice post-Sloan is still pending. I am still talking to different people in the areas that I am targetting and have decided to give myself 2 more weeks to decide.
-On the ironic side, we have the artists formerly known as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Merril Lynch coming to campus in 10 days for recruiting informationals. I am signed up for them but what do you think the odds are that they will be canceled.
-On another cool side, I am part of the organization committee for the MIT Energy Night to be held on October 10 at the MIT Museum. I have been put in charge of picking cool renewable energy outdoor displays. I have been given freedom to pick whatever I think is appropriate. So far there has been interest from GM to display their Chevy Volt and from Honda for their FCX. Both dont use any gas. I am trying to get a solar panel display as well. Should be fun.
-oh yeah, we are partying quite a bit as well. I am spending money like it's nobody's business! I need to get hold of my expenses.
-There are no more pure US Investment Banks. Just read that statement again. Wow!
-Oil went up $25 today alone (before settling down). Gold is back in the 900s and the US$ took a whooping. All in all a crazy day in the markets.
-It was a holiday today at MIT. Why you ask? "Anti-Suicide day". Yup that's right. Earlier this decade some undergrad kids could not take the stress of the first year and hence solved the problem by jumping off the roofs. So the school decided to issue pass/fail in the first year for undergrads. And have more than one 3 day weekend every month. So the holiday. I'll take it.
-Last week was fun. Andrew Lo (fin prof at Sloan) had a trading competition for interested Sloan students on Friday. You can form teams from your class and trade with each other using a Sloan designed interface. They were trying to create a market using all of us to demonstrate how things work. My team was pretty good. We turned $10000 into $31,500 and ended up 7th. The team that came first had $35,000. We should won it but I made a mistake at the very beginning that cost us more than 10K. I placed a "Market Buy" instead of "Limit Buy" that ended up screwing us. Oh well, atleast it was a good experience. There are some sharp kids in my class.
-Our Econ prof is not exactly helping me considering that my Econ is weak. I think my Macro-Econ is pretty solid but Micro is weak. And we have Micro-Econ this semester. Our guy is pretty smart (I hear he is under 30 and a prof of econ at MIT which is not too shabby). Luckily some of my team members are good with Econ.
-I keep meeting interesting people in class everyday. There is this kid from Brazil whose dad owns an energy company and just won a contract to supply wind energy in Brazil for the first time. This kid and his brother (a Sloan Alum) are going to run the wind farm! How cool is that? I am trying to organize a trek to Brazil to visit the farm. Nothing like visiting a new technology firm and see it from the time it is starting.
-I have to make a serious decision on whether to worry about grades or not give a hoot. Like for example this week, we have this great conference called "Emerging Technologies Conference" at MIT which is going to bring some pretty freakin' cool innovators in different sectors to campus. Of course the talks I want to go to clash with my class schedule. I am like, screw it, why should I care about grades. I am here to learn not fill my GPA. Let's see what I end up doing.
Here is the link to EmTech, lots of great talks
http://www.technologyreview.com/emtech/08/schedule.aspx
-My decision on career choice post-Sloan is still pending. I am still talking to different people in the areas that I am targetting and have decided to give myself 2 more weeks to decide.
-On the ironic side, we have the artists formerly known as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Merril Lynch coming to campus in 10 days for recruiting informationals. I am signed up for them but what do you think the odds are that they will be canceled.
-On another cool side, I am part of the organization committee for the MIT Energy Night to be held on October 10 at the MIT Museum. I have been put in charge of picking cool renewable energy outdoor displays. I have been given freedom to pick whatever I think is appropriate. So far there has been interest from GM to display their Chevy Volt and from Honda for their FCX. Both dont use any gas. I am trying to get a solar panel display as well. Should be fun.
-oh yeah, we are partying quite a bit as well. I am spending money like it's nobody's business! I need to get hold of my expenses.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Decision Time
It's kinda ironic that a momentous day in the US Financial Markets coincides with a tough career decision for me post-Sloan. It is easy to say that what happened this weekend led me to this so called fork in the road but it is not true at all.
We had a whole day last Friday of career workshops (mentioned briefly in my earlier post) and I went and sat in on two sessions: Investment Management and Investment Banking. And I have to say Investment Management looked and sounded very good. Investment Banking did too. One thing I did not attend was the Venture Capital/Private Equity session. Subsequently I talked to two of my classmates (pretty knowledgeable ones) and I got great feedback as to why I have a great shot at getting into a Venture Capital firm.
So Friday brought a lot of confusion and self-introspection. I brooded over this all weekend and talked to folks in various areas. It all boils down to what I want from a job right after my MBA. That simple. And the answer is quite simple actually. Transferable skills set that can someday help me run a business.
And that is how I've arrived at this fork in the road: what to concentrate on for internship recruiting starting next month. (a) Trading desk position, (b) Venture Capital, or (c) Investment Management. I can't try to recruit for all three since it is highly time intensive and not productive. I need to basically drop one of the three and what is it going to be.
I am going to start sitting down with people who have careers in all three and try to get relevant information out of them this week. And then decide. Will be an interesting week.
We had a whole day last Friday of career workshops (mentioned briefly in my earlier post) and I went and sat in on two sessions: Investment Management and Investment Banking. And I have to say Investment Management looked and sounded very good. Investment Banking did too. One thing I did not attend was the Venture Capital/Private Equity session. Subsequently I talked to two of my classmates (pretty knowledgeable ones) and I got great feedback as to why I have a great shot at getting into a Venture Capital firm.
So Friday brought a lot of confusion and self-introspection. I brooded over this all weekend and talked to folks in various areas. It all boils down to what I want from a job right after my MBA. That simple. And the answer is quite simple actually. Transferable skills set that can someday help me run a business.
And that is how I've arrived at this fork in the road: what to concentrate on for internship recruiting starting next month. (a) Trading desk position, (b) Venture Capital, or (c) Investment Management. I can't try to recruit for all three since it is highly time intensive and not productive. I need to basically drop one of the three and what is it going to be.
I am going to start sitting down with people who have careers in all three and try to get relevant information out of them this week. And then decide. Will be an interesting week.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Death of the Investment bank?
Like VS Naipaul claimed 10 years ago that the Novel as we know is dead, the same can probably be said for Investment Banks on Wall Street starting today.
I obviously have not followed the financial markets for long but even with my limited knowledge what is transpiring today (Lehman talks of Bankruptcy and Merril Lynch bought over by BofA and AIG in deep trouble) seems to be historic. And if you listen to some pundits on CNBC they are calling that Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley better go find buyers next week else they are in trouble as well.
What this means for us B school students interested in careers in Banking is not clear at this point but the prospects can't be that great. The market is going to be flooded with people who lost their jobs from this carnage and banks will perceivably cut down or be more prudent in hiring from here on for the short-term.
I am interested in hearing from one of our Finance Professors (who is a superstar in that area) about the impact of this on the markets and the state of the economy in the next few months. I think I will sit in an extra class tomm just to hear him speak about this.
I knew something was not right when I got a call from a trader at a big European Investment Bank last night. This friend had earlier asked me to come over and spend a day on the trading floor anytime I wanted. But he called last night to let me know that apparently no one other than employees are now allowed on the trading floor considering the state of the markets now. He told me to wait until October or November. This was before I had heard of the Lehman and Merril mess. Who knows how things are going to be after this.
I expected the dollar to have a mini-crash this evening but it is holding up reasonably ok. Maybe Monday will bring more bad news.
Interesting times!
I obviously have not followed the financial markets for long but even with my limited knowledge what is transpiring today (Lehman talks of Bankruptcy and Merril Lynch bought over by BofA and AIG in deep trouble) seems to be historic. And if you listen to some pundits on CNBC they are calling that Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley better go find buyers next week else they are in trouble as well.
What this means for us B school students interested in careers in Banking is not clear at this point but the prospects can't be that great. The market is going to be flooded with people who lost their jobs from this carnage and banks will perceivably cut down or be more prudent in hiring from here on for the short-term.
I am interested in hearing from one of our Finance Professors (who is a superstar in that area) about the impact of this on the markets and the state of the economy in the next few months. I think I will sit in an extra class tomm just to hear him speak about this.
I knew something was not right when I got a call from a trader at a big European Investment Bank last night. This friend had earlier asked me to come over and spend a day on the trading floor anytime I wanted. But he called last night to let me know that apparently no one other than employees are now allowed on the trading floor considering the state of the markets now. He told me to wait until October or November. This was before I had heard of the Lehman and Merril mess. Who knows how things are going to be after this.
I expected the dollar to have a mini-crash this evening but it is holding up reasonably ok. Maybe Monday will bring more bad news.
Interesting times!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
It's all true
I heard a lot of stories from kids who got into business school about how it is all about time management. And me being the ever cynical guy did not buy any of it. Well, I humbly have to eat it now. There is no other way to put it. I've not had time to breathe in the past 5 weeks or so. I am hoping I get better with managing my time soon 'cause in addition to the avalanche of activities we have now companies start visiting Sloan campus on October 1 (Goldman as they should is the first firm on campus).
So briefly an update on what has been happenin' since I left Philly on Aug 3:
-The Move: We got stuck on the road for 4h in CT. Got in at 1 am and stayed up until 5am unloading stuff from our UHaul. And our apt was not exactly clean when we walked in. Took us 2 IKEA visits, 10 visits to Target, and 4 visits to Staples to settle in with furniture.
-House-warming party: We had a BBQ party at our apartment in the middle of August. And 150 kids from our class showed up. We somehow fit everyone in the tiny drive way and our apt. Cleaning up afterwards took a while.
-Roommates: Both my roommates are cool. We have had no issues yet. And I dont foresee us not getting along into the future. Both of them are OCD like I am and reasonably clean. And very laid-back.
-Classmates: Interesting bunch. I love it that they are very laid-back and grounded. Most of them atleast. We have one former Hedge Fund owner, one student who is a descendent of one of the premier automotive families of the world, and a host of interesting characters. We also have those kids who like to hear themselves talk in class. Seems like we can't avoid them anywhere.
-Orientation week: This was the highlight of the first four weeks of school. I usually can't stand team-building exercises but what they made us do during this one day of orientation was great. They took us to this outdoor center and made us go through a bunch of exercises. We had to build a real raft and paddle to the middle of a lake from scratch, climb up a 50 ft rope, and a host of great events. They were introspective and fun.
-Classes: I have 6 courses. I am enjoying finance but our ocean (the whole class is divided into groups of 70. each group is called an ocean) does not have the best finance prof at Sloan. Our accounting prof is great. I find two courses boring: Organizational process and Communication. Although parts of communication class are fun. This past week I had to go in front of the class and sell them an idea-I had 10 min to prepare. And then they asses you in front of the whole class. I am reasonably ok with impromptu speeches but would like to get better and smoother.
-Extra-curricular activies: There is no shortage of these. I am starting a Squash Club at Sloan and have a small group that plays regularly already. I am active in the Energy Club and the Sales and Trading club. oh yeah, I have been drinking almost every single day since mid-August. (Except today).
-HWs: I hate homeworks and we have a lot of them already. I was indoors all day last Saturday reading and preparing for class.
-Recruiting: I made a trip to NYC to meet a friend who is a trader at a big Ibank. He invited to come and spend a day on the trading floor with him. I was dense and did not do it after talking to some of my classmates who warned me about going to recruit this early. I should not have listened to them. oh well.
-Confused: Yeah I thought I was set on what career I wanted to pursue before coming to Sloan but we just had a career day and it left me all confused. Now I want to pursue Investment Management, Investment Banking, and Venture Capital. Not good. I need to narrow my choice soon.
-Scooter: I love it that I am using my scooter everyday here. And guess what there are hundreds of scooter users in Boston.
allrite, I need to get to bed. Have to get up early on Sunday and plan for next week. How exciting!
So briefly an update on what has been happenin' since I left Philly on Aug 3:
-The Move: We got stuck on the road for 4h in CT. Got in at 1 am and stayed up until 5am unloading stuff from our UHaul. And our apt was not exactly clean when we walked in. Took us 2 IKEA visits, 10 visits to Target, and 4 visits to Staples to settle in with furniture.
-House-warming party: We had a BBQ party at our apartment in the middle of August. And 150 kids from our class showed up. We somehow fit everyone in the tiny drive way and our apt. Cleaning up afterwards took a while.
-Roommates: Both my roommates are cool. We have had no issues yet. And I dont foresee us not getting along into the future. Both of them are OCD like I am and reasonably clean. And very laid-back.
-Classmates: Interesting bunch. I love it that they are very laid-back and grounded. Most of them atleast. We have one former Hedge Fund owner, one student who is a descendent of one of the premier automotive families of the world, and a host of interesting characters. We also have those kids who like to hear themselves talk in class. Seems like we can't avoid them anywhere.
-Orientation week: This was the highlight of the first four weeks of school. I usually can't stand team-building exercises but what they made us do during this one day of orientation was great. They took us to this outdoor center and made us go through a bunch of exercises. We had to build a real raft and paddle to the middle of a lake from scratch, climb up a 50 ft rope, and a host of great events. They were introspective and fun.
-Classes: I have 6 courses. I am enjoying finance but our ocean (the whole class is divided into groups of 70. each group is called an ocean) does not have the best finance prof at Sloan. Our accounting prof is great. I find two courses boring: Organizational process and Communication. Although parts of communication class are fun. This past week I had to go in front of the class and sell them an idea-I had 10 min to prepare. And then they asses you in front of the whole class. I am reasonably ok with impromptu speeches but would like to get better and smoother.
-Extra-curricular activies: There is no shortage of these. I am starting a Squash Club at Sloan and have a small group that plays regularly already. I am active in the Energy Club and the Sales and Trading club. oh yeah, I have been drinking almost every single day since mid-August. (Except today).
-HWs: I hate homeworks and we have a lot of them already. I was indoors all day last Saturday reading and preparing for class.
-Recruiting: I made a trip to NYC to meet a friend who is a trader at a big Ibank. He invited to come and spend a day on the trading floor with him. I was dense and did not do it after talking to some of my classmates who warned me about going to recruit this early. I should not have listened to them. oh well.
-Confused: Yeah I thought I was set on what career I wanted to pursue before coming to Sloan but we just had a career day and it left me all confused. Now I want to pursue Investment Management, Investment Banking, and Venture Capital. Not good. I need to narrow my choice soon.
-Scooter: I love it that I am using my scooter everyday here. And guess what there are hundreds of scooter users in Boston.
allrite, I need to get to bed. Have to get up early on Sunday and plan for next week. How exciting!
Friday, August 1, 2008
An Ode to Philly and my Philly Crew
So this is my last weekend in Philly. And today was my last day at work (it got a little emotional today). I thought I would write an Ode to Philly. I am going to write what I will miss and what I will not miss in Philly. I will also write what comes to mind first (with no editing) so that it is not PC or anything. Here goes:
I will miss
-Hanging out at the Urban Saloon at 3 in the afternoon during March Madness
-Kevin frothing at the mouth when discussing politics
-Devil's Alley
-Having "distribution of wealth" arguments with Robert on the train.
-Playing squash on Wednesdays with Sara and on Tuesdays with Sean
-The walk from the Ritz's to home after a movie
-Bullying my friends into taking Jaeger shots for no reason
-Eating duck rolls and beer marinated Mussels at Monk's
-As much as I hate to admit it, DiBruno brothers (yes, even though they are expensive)
-Hanging out at Rangoon with Kasturi and TJ
-Murphy and his ever positive demeanor
-Marisa's southern coolness, Kelly's humor, and Dana's not replying to my emails.
-The Cantina in South Philly
-The rude hair 'stylists' at the ChopShop (ok they were rude but it was a $10 haircut!)
-The Sterling and their semi-rude staff (the building I live in)
-The Eye Candy at the PSC (my gym) in the evenings (c'mon it was not too bad)
-Running by the Schuykill (sp?) in the summer
-The BYOB culture
-Paul at Working Class Cycles (even though I know he fleeces me for repairing my scooter every single time. It's a hard-knock life being a scooter/bike repair guy these days.)
-Brunches at Le Creperie. Especially those times when Mrs. Doo had one too many glasses of wine and started revealing details about her sex life.
-Being close enough to visit my sister, nephew, and BIL every other week.
-Marcus's flakiness
-SzTH (my fav restaurant in Chinatown)
-The alpha doggy Wharton kids
-Hanging out at Kevin and Caroline's deck even though it's freezing
-Discussing politics for real with Kevin and for fun with Robert
-The unsocializing part of Kevin's group of friends (no names please!)
Allrite that's all I can think of today. Let me end this positively which means nothing about things I will not miss in Philly (I am being PC after all aren't I?).
I will miss
-Hanging out at the Urban Saloon at 3 in the afternoon during March Madness
-Kevin frothing at the mouth when discussing politics
-Devil's Alley
-Having "distribution of wealth" arguments with Robert on the train.
-Playing squash on Wednesdays with Sara and on Tuesdays with Sean
-The walk from the Ritz's to home after a movie
-Bullying my friends into taking Jaeger shots for no reason
-Eating duck rolls and beer marinated Mussels at Monk's
-As much as I hate to admit it, DiBruno brothers (yes, even though they are expensive)
-Hanging out at Rangoon with Kasturi and TJ
-Murphy and his ever positive demeanor
-Marisa's southern coolness, Kelly's humor, and Dana's not replying to my emails.
-The Cantina in South Philly
-The rude hair 'stylists' at the ChopShop (ok they were rude but it was a $10 haircut!)
-The Sterling and their semi-rude staff (the building I live in)
-The Eye Candy at the PSC (my gym) in the evenings (c'mon it was not too bad)
-Running by the Schuykill (sp?) in the summer
-The BYOB culture
-Paul at Working Class Cycles (even though I know he fleeces me for repairing my scooter every single time. It's a hard-knock life being a scooter/bike repair guy these days.)
-Brunches at Le Creperie. Especially those times when Mrs. Doo had one too many glasses of wine and started revealing details about her sex life.
-Being close enough to visit my sister, nephew, and BIL every other week.
-Marcus's flakiness
-SzTH (my fav restaurant in Chinatown)
-The alpha doggy Wharton kids
-Hanging out at Kevin and Caroline's deck even though it's freezing
-Discussing politics for real with Kevin and for fun with Robert
-The unsocializing part of Kevin's group of friends (no names please!)
Allrite that's all I can think of today. Let me end this positively which means nothing about things I will not miss in Philly (I am being PC after all aren't I?).
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Me no Have Internet!
So I changed my gym/running routine to the mornings about a month ago. Now I update my Podcasts every morning so that I can listen to them in the gym/while running. (Bloomberg/BBC/PIMCO are my favorites so far). The other day there was this woman on a BBC Podcast who was talking about her experiment with avoiding email and the internet for one whole day at her workplace (she is a journalist for FT and BBC). Needless to say she could not get much done, in fact she used the phrase “…I felt like a waste of space without these technologies”. I, my usual critical self, smirked about this and dismissed it as typical journalist BS. Little did I know that the very next day I would end up being in a similar position at work.
So I show up at work the following morning and read an email (email worked) claiming that due to some equipment damage from an overnight storm we will not have access to the internet until late in the afternoon.
This is how I spent my day internet-less at work:
9:25 AM: (hey, I am quitting soon. I can come to work whenever I like!) Logged onto Novell email service. Mildly annoyed to find out that web access will not be available until the afternoon. Hmm….I tell myself this can’t be that bad right?
9:26 AM: Give up and call Help Desk to find out what the HECK is going on?! Randy, the IT manager, calmly answers the phone and tells me that they expect to be up and running by 1 pm. Waiting for a new part apparently.
9:27 AM: “I can do this, I can do this. Focus man, what the hell is wrong with you!”
9:27 AM (30 sec later): Clicked on Internet Explorer (yes, I am web browser illiterate) to check if the IT guys are lying about the access. They were NOT.
9:28 AM: Someone comes into my office to talk about work related stuff. Seizing this chance for ‘distraction’ I engage in extended conversation (mostly of the unnecessary kind) about a project. This takes me away from my office (yippie!) and into the plant and labs. See how time flies when you love what you are doing! I am back at my desk after 30 min.
10 AM: The initial paranoia having passed, I now do not even have the urge to look at my iPhone. Like a smoker who has maneuvered the first couple of days after quitting successfully I feel energized now to go internet-free for the rest of the day.
10:05 AM: Discover that I have yet to clear quite a few things in my office in preparation for my departure. Nothing like a little house-keeping to pass time at work. I discover that I used to use this rag of a bag as my shoulder bag for work. It was hidden in one of the file cabinets. Well, I could use that to carry some things back to my apt on my scooter. Loaded up my paychecks from the past 3 years in that bag. Found quite a few receipts from my work trips to London in my desk. And tickets to museums and places I visited in Ireland and Hungary. Gotto keep those. Threw the rest of the stuff away.
11:15 AM: Ooooh that was exhausting! Time for lunch. In my defense, I do eat an early lunch. Decided to take my scooter to Trader Joes and get their “Chicken w/black bean” Wrap. Has anyone tried it? It’s good and only $4. Those marketing freaks! Just as you are about to navigate the aisles they strategically position products to entice you! I spot this “Grain 8 Crisps” which promise a whole 20g of grain in a 100g pack (pack size is 2 times your small chips pack). I know how this is going to end up. I buy these sort of things promising myself that I would spread that pack out for 3 days. Of course in 2-3 hrs the entire pack disappears. Despite all this I buy the pack to ‘supplement’ by Wrap. Why? Well, on the aisle it says “Supplement this with a pack of chips for a hearty meal”. Hey, you gotto obey the Aisle Gods!
11:40 AM: Arrive back at the office. Start eating my wrap. Usually this is the time when I browse (ok, most of the time but this time is almost always reserved for web browsing). Putting up a brave front I decide to not even look at my iPhone. I read work material instead while eating. Spot a couple of mistakes in a presentation due to be sent out to Japan and correct it. Did you have any doubts? The “Crisps” pack is half empty within 15 min. What is with snacks that have Salt? Addictive!
12:10 PM: “Should I call IT to check?” The urge returns! It quickly passes as well.
12:11 PM: I discover that I have 368 emails that I have not opened. Uh uh 368! To be fair though, a majority of those are chain emails at work where people are replying to each other to point out worthless minutiae. I postpone looking at them until the next day. If any of them is that important they will call me no?
12:15 PM: Someone from work steps into my office about a project. This was legit. I needed to take care of this. I spent the next hour and 45 minutes solving this in the plant.
(I do work you know!)
2 PM: Upon returning to my office, I spot loads and loads of paper on my two desks. I had been collecting them for the past 2 years. They were neatly arranged mind you. Was lazy to shred them. Never a better time for shredding!
2:05 PM: Has anyone used the shredder extensively before? Well, let me tell you, the crisp sound of metal cutting against the soft paper, as pleasant as it can get on the ears. Seriously. I spent the next 45 min at the shredder. I had to stop ‘cause the bag filled up and I had no idea how to remove and put a new bag. I decided to shred the rest the next day.
3 PM: Only an hour and 15 min to go.
3:05 PM: My boss steps into my office. We discuss some work details. And then he talks to me about this guy who they were interviewing (on that very day) for a position in my group (kinda my replacement). I asked him about the candidate’s presentation and personal interview. My boss had yet to interview him but he thought the presentation was allrite. He also mentioned that the candidate’s English was not that great. Suddenly my previous boss, who just finished interviewing the candidate, steps into my office and tells my boss to ask the candidate his GPA (not mentioned on his resume apparently). In my opinion that is not a good sign. If you are impressed with the person who you are interviewing you don’t care about his/her GPA. Especially my former boss, he is cool. He must not have like this candidate dude. My boss asks me my preference for going away drinks. I tell him that I didn’t have any.
3:45 PM: Hunger pang! I hit up the vending machine for some Oreos. Not satisfied I re-open my “Crispies” bag and almost finish it. So much for spreading it for 3 days.
4 PM: At this point I am proud with myself that I’ve not had the urge to web browse on my iPhone. Not so bad then huh! Attended to some random work stuff and got ready to leave.
4:15 PM: Emboldened by this day I tell myself that I will not browse the web even at home tonite. This can’t be that bad right?
Of course as it had to be, there was a huge storm that evening and my train was stuck at the station for 2h. I had to cave in and listen to my friend Robert in the train to check the weather (we were thinking about driving our scooters into the city). So I caved in! But not a bad day at all w/o the internet.
So I show up at work the following morning and read an email (email worked) claiming that due to some equipment damage from an overnight storm we will not have access to the internet until late in the afternoon.
This is how I spent my day internet-less at work:
9:25 AM: (hey, I am quitting soon. I can come to work whenever I like!) Logged onto Novell email service. Mildly annoyed to find out that web access will not be available until the afternoon. Hmm….I tell myself this can’t be that bad right?
9:26 AM: Give up and call Help Desk to find out what the HECK is going on?! Randy, the IT manager, calmly answers the phone and tells me that they expect to be up and running by 1 pm. Waiting for a new part apparently.
9:27 AM: “I can do this, I can do this. Focus man, what the hell is wrong with you!”
9:27 AM (30 sec later): Clicked on Internet Explorer (yes, I am web browser illiterate) to check if the IT guys are lying about the access. They were NOT.
9:28 AM: Someone comes into my office to talk about work related stuff. Seizing this chance for ‘distraction’ I engage in extended conversation (mostly of the unnecessary kind) about a project. This takes me away from my office (yippie!) and into the plant and labs. See how time flies when you love what you are doing! I am back at my desk after 30 min.
10 AM: The initial paranoia having passed, I now do not even have the urge to look at my iPhone. Like a smoker who has maneuvered the first couple of days after quitting successfully I feel energized now to go internet-free for the rest of the day.
10:05 AM: Discover that I have yet to clear quite a few things in my office in preparation for my departure. Nothing like a little house-keeping to pass time at work. I discover that I used to use this rag of a bag as my shoulder bag for work. It was hidden in one of the file cabinets. Well, I could use that to carry some things back to my apt on my scooter. Loaded up my paychecks from the past 3 years in that bag. Found quite a few receipts from my work trips to London in my desk. And tickets to museums and places I visited in Ireland and Hungary. Gotto keep those. Threw the rest of the stuff away.
11:15 AM: Ooooh that was exhausting! Time for lunch. In my defense, I do eat an early lunch. Decided to take my scooter to Trader Joes and get their “Chicken w/black bean” Wrap. Has anyone tried it? It’s good and only $4. Those marketing freaks! Just as you are about to navigate the aisles they strategically position products to entice you! I spot this “Grain 8 Crisps” which promise a whole 20g of grain in a 100g pack (pack size is 2 times your small chips pack). I know how this is going to end up. I buy these sort of things promising myself that I would spread that pack out for 3 days. Of course in 2-3 hrs the entire pack disappears. Despite all this I buy the pack to ‘supplement’ by Wrap. Why? Well, on the aisle it says “Supplement this with a pack of chips for a hearty meal”. Hey, you gotto obey the Aisle Gods!
11:40 AM: Arrive back at the office. Start eating my wrap. Usually this is the time when I browse (ok, most of the time but this time is almost always reserved for web browsing). Putting up a brave front I decide to not even look at my iPhone. I read work material instead while eating. Spot a couple of mistakes in a presentation due to be sent out to Japan and correct it. Did you have any doubts? The “Crisps” pack is half empty within 15 min. What is with snacks that have Salt? Addictive!
12:10 PM: “Should I call IT to check?” The urge returns! It quickly passes as well.
12:11 PM: I discover that I have 368 emails that I have not opened. Uh uh 368! To be fair though, a majority of those are chain emails at work where people are replying to each other to point out worthless minutiae. I postpone looking at them until the next day. If any of them is that important they will call me no?
12:15 PM: Someone from work steps into my office about a project. This was legit. I needed to take care of this. I spent the next hour and 45 minutes solving this in the plant.
(I do work you know!)
2 PM: Upon returning to my office, I spot loads and loads of paper on my two desks. I had been collecting them for the past 2 years. They were neatly arranged mind you. Was lazy to shred them. Never a better time for shredding!
2:05 PM: Has anyone used the shredder extensively before? Well, let me tell you, the crisp sound of metal cutting against the soft paper, as pleasant as it can get on the ears. Seriously. I spent the next 45 min at the shredder. I had to stop ‘cause the bag filled up and I had no idea how to remove and put a new bag. I decided to shred the rest the next day.
3 PM: Only an hour and 15 min to go.
3:05 PM: My boss steps into my office. We discuss some work details. And then he talks to me about this guy who they were interviewing (on that very day) for a position in my group (kinda my replacement). I asked him about the candidate’s presentation and personal interview. My boss had yet to interview him but he thought the presentation was allrite. He also mentioned that the candidate’s English was not that great. Suddenly my previous boss, who just finished interviewing the candidate, steps into my office and tells my boss to ask the candidate his GPA (not mentioned on his resume apparently). In my opinion that is not a good sign. If you are impressed with the person who you are interviewing you don’t care about his/her GPA. Especially my former boss, he is cool. He must not have like this candidate dude. My boss asks me my preference for going away drinks. I tell him that I didn’t have any.
3:45 PM: Hunger pang! I hit up the vending machine for some Oreos. Not satisfied I re-open my “Crispies” bag and almost finish it. So much for spreading it for 3 days.
4 PM: At this point I am proud with myself that I’ve not had the urge to web browse on my iPhone. Not so bad then huh! Attended to some random work stuff and got ready to leave.
4:15 PM: Emboldened by this day I tell myself that I will not browse the web even at home tonite. This can’t be that bad right?
Of course as it had to be, there was a huge storm that evening and my train was stuck at the station for 2h. I had to cave in and listen to my friend Robert in the train to check the weather (we were thinking about driving our scooters into the city). So I caved in! But not a bad day at all w/o the internet.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Some Clothing Etiquette Please!
A couple of months ago I was at the Philly airport on my way to spend a holiday weekend with buddies in Texas when I noticed something. If you board your flight from Terminal A in PHL you cross paths with passengers arriving and departing from/to International destinations. As I got out of the security check maze in Terminal A I noticed a British family, Mom, Dad, and three teenage daughters, walk by. And all of them, yeah ALL of them, had powder blue sweatshirts and sweatpants on. To add to the fashion parade they had thrown on some bling bling as well. Ok, I am not exactly a fashion connoisseur or the fashion police but that right there is so not cool. I don’t care what your reasons are, traveling cross continental swathed in two pieces of clothing they use to make your bathroom towels is the ultimate i-don’t-give-two-hoots for society statement. You maybe be a Rebel but please find other ways to express that feeling will ya?
Anyway, that got me thinking, what clothing is an absolute no-no in public? (people can wear whatever they want or nothing at all in private but in public, please have some consideration for fellow human beings.).
Here is a list that comes to mind:
-First of course is sweatpants/sweatshirts. Guys and girls, PLEASE, I beg of you, at least thrown on a T-shirt and jeans, how much effort does that take huh. I don’t care how comfortable they are, sweatpants/shirts in public places is the biggest no-no.
-T shirts women wear that say “Da Bomb”, “Too Hot to Handle”, “Cutie” or any other variation that tries to convey the same meaning. Really? So you expect us to go, “let’s see here, I am not really sure if this girl is hot/cute or not, so let me see what her t-shirt says, OK, it says she is. That seals it, she is totally hot, what was I thinking, I should have looked at her T shirt first, duh”.
-Dudes wearing clothing one size (sometimes two sizes) too small. Yeah we all know you spend copious amounts of time in the gym pumping iron (and consuming what have you) and want to show off the fruits of your labor but PLEASE. There are other avenues to show off your prowess, body-building competitions or playing baseball come to mind.
-Fur coats. Especially the ladies. Enough said.
-Speedos. This one time my friend and I were standing in the buffet line at a picnic near a lake and this dude walks upto the line and starts helping himself to food. In a Speedo! He then proceeded to scratch himself. Should I go on? Guys, please spare us the sight of your package while we are trying to eat some food. Stay in the pool/water if you have to wear Speedos.
-Leopard/Tiger skin clothing or accessories. I’ve never understood why women like to wear these. Are they trying to convey a secret message by wearing these? Cave people used to wear them eons ago ‘cause that’s the best they could do then. Civilization has moved along ladies. Can’t y’all too?
-Uber short ‘shorts’. Not sure if any of you have an idea as to what I am talking about here. You know I noticed this one girl the other day wearing these shorts that are basically ‘knickers’ as the British would call it. Jeezaz! Could you leave something for our imagination please!
-This is a borderline no-no for me personally. Girls jeans with no pockets in the rear. So not cool.
-This one’s technically not clothing but I have a problem nevertheless. The David Beckham Mohawk type hairstyle. Dudes, REALLY? that hairstyle is so 10 years ago. Put that half liter of gel to better use will ya?
Anyway, that got me thinking, what clothing is an absolute no-no in public? (people can wear whatever they want or nothing at all in private but in public, please have some consideration for fellow human beings.).
Here is a list that comes to mind:
-First of course is sweatpants/sweatshirts. Guys and girls, PLEASE, I beg of you, at least thrown on a T-shirt and jeans, how much effort does that take huh. I don’t care how comfortable they are, sweatpants/shirts in public places is the biggest no-no.
-T shirts women wear that say “Da Bomb”, “Too Hot to Handle”, “Cutie” or any other variation that tries to convey the same meaning. Really? So you expect us to go, “let’s see here, I am not really sure if this girl is hot/cute or not, so let me see what her t-shirt says, OK, it says she is. That seals it, she is totally hot, what was I thinking, I should have looked at her T shirt first, duh”.
-Dudes wearing clothing one size (sometimes two sizes) too small. Yeah we all know you spend copious amounts of time in the gym pumping iron (and consuming what have you) and want to show off the fruits of your labor but PLEASE. There are other avenues to show off your prowess, body-building competitions or playing baseball come to mind.
-Fur coats. Especially the ladies. Enough said.
-Speedos. This one time my friend and I were standing in the buffet line at a picnic near a lake and this dude walks upto the line and starts helping himself to food. In a Speedo! He then proceeded to scratch himself. Should I go on? Guys, please spare us the sight of your package while we are trying to eat some food. Stay in the pool/water if you have to wear Speedos.
-Leopard/Tiger skin clothing or accessories. I’ve never understood why women like to wear these. Are they trying to convey a secret message by wearing these? Cave people used to wear them eons ago ‘cause that’s the best they could do then. Civilization has moved along ladies. Can’t y’all too?
-Uber short ‘shorts’. Not sure if any of you have an idea as to what I am talking about here. You know I noticed this one girl the other day wearing these shorts that are basically ‘knickers’ as the British would call it. Jeezaz! Could you leave something for our imagination please!
-This is a borderline no-no for me personally. Girls jeans with no pockets in the rear. So not cool.
-This one’s technically not clothing but I have a problem nevertheless. The David Beckham Mohawk type hairstyle. Dudes, REALLY? that hairstyle is so 10 years ago. Put that half liter of gel to better use will ya?
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Healthcare Costs, yeah that topic again!
Do any of you know how the costs are distributed when you make a visit to your favorite (I mean PCP) physician? Would you hazard a guess as to what the absolute minimum cost is when you make a physician visit (besides the co-pay that is)? Has someone ever tried to find out what these costs are prior to or after you make a visit?
The answer to my last question for most people would be a “NO” I am assuming. Why? Let me tell you why. As long as the visit is for something not too serious (surgery or any invasive procedure) most often the doctor or the person at the front desk of the hospital would have told you: “don’t worry about it your insurance will pay for it”. And you move on since it does not concern you. I’ve done that a couple of times myself so I know the situation. Well, maybe we should all have cared to find out how exactly we are getting charged. Why do I think so? Let me tell you why I think so (by the way, I love replying to a “Why do I think so?” using the Let me tell you. Soooo old school movies! But I digress). Two examples:
Example 1:
Y’all remember my posting (more like a rant) on my visit to my PCP to get the required vaccines from a few weeks ago? Well well, apparently that saga needed a different ending. So, I got a snail mail from the MIT medical office earlier this week informing me that I still needed to get another vaccine or furnish results to a test in order for them to approve my policy. Both my doctor and I had forgotten to read that on the MIT medical list of required vaccines that I needed TWO of MMR were required not one . She in her haste (and me in my enraged state) had missed it.
So I ended up calling my hospital to get those test results. Of course, I go through the usual call transfer cycle from one department to another with no solution in sight. And I was about to break my phone at work. I finally got hold of a lady in the lab and told her that I needed the results. She of course checked and told me that she can’t release them to me unless the doctor approves it (for crying out loud these are not pregnancy tests!). And so I find out that my doctor has left the Hospital. Left? No reason was given. I had to apparently leave a voice mail with the nurses and they would respond when they could. Should I tell you how I was feeling at that moment?
I calmed down and called the billing department of the hospital to find out how much they had charged for my last two visits and to see if I had any room within my insurance limit to get another shot. The lady in billing told me that they had charged a total of $450 for my two visits. I am like, “what?” I had 2 vaccines and a test done for chris’ sakes! I then asked her to detail the costs for my two trips to the doctor. Get this, apparently there is a fixed cost associated with a visit regardless of what you are in for. This at my hospital was $25 for admin fee + $80 for hospital fee + my co-pay. So I am effectively paying $105-130 just for stepping in the door. What for exactly? Well of course they give you a laundry list of reasons: insurance to cover this, costs to cover for keeping your records, and what have you. I know that there has to be a fixed cost that needs to cover basic operations but this seemed ridiculous. My test cost $80 and vaccines cost me another $80.
So if you are keeping track, the actual cost for my visits (cost of vaccines and tests) turns out to be 30% of what the hospital ended up charging the insurance company. 70% overhead is an absolute rip-off if you think about it. Where do I start in assessing the outrageousness (is that a word?) of this cost basis. Can somebody please tell me how this is justifiable?
Example 2:
I scheduled my last dental visit 2 weeks ago at my regular dentist. Earlier this year they told me that I needed a deep clean which they said would be done in two visits. I had them done in March but they had not billed me yet. Anyway, I had specifically told the doctor that I would go ahead with them only if it was absolutely necessary since my insurance had a yearly cap for dental visits and costs. The doctor assured me that it would be within the limits and asked me not to worry about it.
When I asked for a cost detail the doctor gave me the list. It clearly was above the limit. When I asked the doctor told me: “This is normal”. The dentists apparently send an exaggerated bill to the insurance company. The insurance company looks at it then pays whatever it deems appropriate (which varies from 50 to 80% of the amount charged). The remaining money is expected to be paid by the customer. So when the bill came I called and talked to the doctor that I will not make ANY payment since I had specifically indicated my concern prior to the procedure. The doctor, to my surprise, waived the amount that the bill said I owed. Note that this had happened twice before. So I asked the doctor if they can so easily let that amount go unpaid why charge higher to begin with. Imagine the shock when I heard his response. Apparently this is a game that they play with the insurance companies: they charge more than they should, knowing fully well that the insurance company will only pay a % of the amount asked. In the end that % payment covers the amount they actually want. I hung up perplexed and a tad bit disgusted. But then a thought occurred to me, what about the unsuspecting patients who pay whatever amount is listed on the bill eventually sent to them by the dentist’s office. Vow. I hope everyone checks their medical bills before they pay.
Lessons from this: always enquire about your medical costs and the US Healthcare system needs to be fixed.
PS: oh, how did my vaccine sage end? Well, I ended up getting another vaccine but got charged less since I found out that you can request a nurse’s visit which does not require you to pay for the admin costs. Again, this because I was anal and insisted on finding out more.
The answer to my last question for most people would be a “NO” I am assuming. Why? Let me tell you why. As long as the visit is for something not too serious (surgery or any invasive procedure) most often the doctor or the person at the front desk of the hospital would have told you: “don’t worry about it your insurance will pay for it”. And you move on since it does not concern you. I’ve done that a couple of times myself so I know the situation. Well, maybe we should all have cared to find out how exactly we are getting charged. Why do I think so? Let me tell you why I think so (by the way, I love replying to a “Why do I think so?” using the Let me tell you
Example 1:
Y’all remember my posting (more like a rant) on my visit to my PCP to get the required vaccines from a few weeks ago? Well well, apparently that saga needed a different ending. So, I got a snail mail from the MIT medical office earlier this week informing me that I still needed to get another vaccine or furnish results to a test in order for them to approve my policy. Both my doctor and I had forgotten to read that on the MIT medical list of required vaccines that I needed TWO of MMR were required not one . She in her haste (and me in my enraged state) had missed it.
So I ended up calling my hospital to get those test results. Of course, I go through the usual call transfer cycle from one department to another with no solution in sight. And I was about to break my phone at work. I finally got hold of a lady in the lab and told her that I needed the results. She of course checked and told me that she can’t release them to me unless the doctor approves it (for crying out loud these are not pregnancy tests!). And so I find out that my doctor has left the Hospital. Left? No reason was given. I had to apparently leave a voice mail with the nurses and they would respond when they could. Should I tell you how I was feeling at that moment?
I calmed down and called the billing department of the hospital to find out how much they had charged for my last two visits and to see if I had any room within my insurance limit to get another shot. The lady in billing told me that they had charged a total of $450 for my two visits. I am like, “what?” I had 2 vaccines and a test done for chris’ sakes! I then asked her to detail the costs for my two trips to the doctor. Get this, apparently there is a fixed cost associated with a visit regardless of what you are in for. This at my hospital was $25 for admin fee + $80 for hospital fee + my co-pay. So I am effectively paying $105-130 just for stepping in the door. What for exactly? Well of course they give you a laundry list of reasons: insurance to cover this, costs to cover for keeping your records, and what have you. I know that there has to be a fixed cost that needs to cover basic operations but this seemed ridiculous. My test cost $80 and vaccines cost me another $80.
So if you are keeping track, the actual cost for my visits (cost of vaccines and tests) turns out to be 30% of what the hospital ended up charging the insurance company. 70% overhead is an absolute rip-off if you think about it. Where do I start in assessing the outrageousness (is that a word?) of this cost basis. Can somebody please tell me how this is justifiable?
Example 2:
I scheduled my last dental visit 2 weeks ago at my regular dentist. Earlier this year they told me that I needed a deep clean which they said would be done in two visits. I had them done in March but they had not billed me yet. Anyway, I had specifically told the doctor that I would go ahead with them only if it was absolutely necessary since my insurance had a yearly cap for dental visits and costs. The doctor assured me that it would be within the limits and asked me not to worry about it.
When I asked for a cost detail the doctor gave me the list. It clearly was above the limit. When I asked the doctor told me: “This is normal”. The dentists apparently send an exaggerated bill to the insurance company. The insurance company looks at it then pays whatever it deems appropriate (which varies from 50 to 80% of the amount charged). The remaining money is expected to be paid by the customer. So when the bill came I called and talked to the doctor that I will not make ANY payment since I had specifically indicated my concern prior to the procedure. The doctor, to my surprise, waived the amount that the bill said I owed. Note that this had happened twice before. So I asked the doctor if they can so easily let that amount go unpaid why charge higher to begin with. Imagine the shock when I heard his response. Apparently this is a game that they play with the insurance companies: they charge more than they should, knowing fully well that the insurance company will only pay a % of the amount asked. In the end that % payment covers the amount they actually want. I hung up perplexed and a tad bit disgusted. But then a thought occurred to me, what about the unsuspecting patients who pay whatever amount is listed on the bill eventually sent to them by the dentist’s office. Vow. I hope everyone checks their medical bills before they pay.
Lessons from this: always enquire about your medical costs and the US Healthcare system needs to be fixed.
PS: oh, how did my vaccine sage end? Well, I ended up getting another vaccine but got charged less since I found out that you can request a nurse’s visit which does not require you to pay for the admin costs. Again, this because I was anal and insisted on finding out more.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Replay - Part II
ok, this is the last one of my flashbacks. This is the travel log for Day 2 of my UK-Ireland trip from Oct 2006.
Key words from the log: Dali, Big Ben, Westminster, London Eye, Princess Di, etc.
http://www.esnips.com/web/UKTrip2006-Day2a
New column on current events this weekend. Promise!
Key words from the log: Dali, Big Ben, Westminster, London Eye, Princess Di, etc.
http://www.esnips.com/web/UKTrip2006-Day2a
New column on current events this weekend. Promise!
Friday, June 20, 2008
oh yeah, I am one of those
you know how TV stations, newspapers, websites, and blogs once in a while recycle some of their old stuff, well as much as dont want to be one of those, I have no choice. Have not thought of anything new to write, so will recycle some of my old stuff for you readers.
I went on a UK-Ireland trip in Oct 2006 and kept a travel log. Some of you may have read it (i had sent it out via email) but I've not posted it on the blog ever. So here goes:
Day 1 in London
(click on the link below and scroll down to the "File" section and click on the pdf link. yeah it is tedious but blogger.com does not let you post files for some reason, morons!)
http://www.esnips.com/web/UKTrip2006-Day1/
I went on a UK-Ireland trip in Oct 2006 and kept a travel log. Some of you may have read it (i had sent it out via email) but I've not posted it on the blog ever. So here goes:
Day 1 in London
(click on the link below and scroll down to the "File" section and click on the pdf link. yeah it is tedious but blogger.com does not let you post files for some reason, morons!)
http://www.esnips.com/web/UKTrip2006-Day1/
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Healthcare slap in the face!
It's true that things do not hit you in the face until you face the issue firsthand. I've known for some time that the US Healthcare system is riddled with so much bureaucracy that not only is it driving up prices for the common person but also it makes socialist bureacracy seem tame.
So, I needed to 4 vaccinations before I head to school as the state of MA requires every student to be immunized against certain conditions. I already did this when I came to the US as a grad student in 1995 but I had either lost the paperwork or in one case you need to get immunized every 5 years or so.
So what did I do? I called my insurance people and asked them if this is covered and the lady on the phone said that yes I was covered as long as the entire cost of the process was under $300 per year. Fair enough I thought.
-I placed a call to my PCP and took an appointment for 8:15 am on a Monday. I did not want to miss too much time from work.
-I show up at 8 am, sign-in at the front desk (on a computer by myself no less, yeah this place is fancy), wait once for some one to call me. My name is called and I go to a desk where I am asked the usual info and asked to shell out my co-pay. The lady then asks me to go wait in another area
until someone else would call me.
-Of course by the time someone comes to call me it is 8:30. F**k!! Why the heck do they appointments then? This is like waiting for the cable guy, "Someone will show up between 8 and 11 am". I dont understand what is the purpose of taking an appointment at a precise time when it means jacksh*t.
-anyway, a nurse takes me into a room and takes my temperature, blood pressure, weight, and height and asks me to go wait in another room for the doctor (i've never understood this serial waiting process).
-Of course by the time the doctor shows up it's close to 9 am. I tell her that my insurance covers $300 for all the vaccines so let me know if all the vaccinations will be covered by this. She obviously does not know and asks me to ask technicians when they give me the shots.
-She also mentions that they could draw blood from me and test that in the lab and if the results are ok I dont have to take 2 of the 4 vaccinations. I said ok.
-So copious amounts of blood is drawn (seriously they took like a litre of blood from me, jeeez!), a shot is given (hurt like crap for 2 days by the way), and some sort of another shot is injected in my forearm.
-I am asked to come back on Wednesday to show the nurses the thing in my forearm and if that's negative I am good for one of the 4 vaccines. The lab results for the other two would be mailed to me as soon as they are out and if they are negative.
-I go back on Wednesday and get the one vaccine taken care of.
-Then I get a call from my doctor who says that the lab tests came back ambivalent for two of the tests and one came back positive. Ambivalent meant that she had to ask them to be re-tested at another lab (which meant more $$ and I was getting irritated) or I could just come back again and get the shots. I told her that I would rather come back and get the shots.
-So I make an appt for Monday which mind you is exactly 7 days later to my first visit.
-I go through the motions on Monday as I sign-in and go the first waiting area. Mind you by now I am POd that I've had to take time off from work. The girl at the second desk asks me for another co-pay. I go "What?!" I was just here last Monday and am here to take care of that per my doctor. She goes, "Sir, this is policy every time you come back you have to co-pay". I was having none of that, "That does not make any sense to me". And she goes, "Sir, your insurance will pay for the visit dont worry you just have to pay your co-pay". Now I am getting more POd. This is how they are artificially driving up prices and making healthcare unaffordable. It did not make any sense for me to pay for co-pay twice especially since I was coming back to finish a procedure. She finally said, "You can talk to the doctor about this". Damn yes I will!
-The poor nurse who then came to get me from the waiting area had no idea what mood I was in. As she took me into a room to get the usual measurements, I went ballistic on her. "I was here 7 days ago, do you think I have contracted some strange disease in that period or grown 2 inches". For crying out loud, people need to use common sense in situations. I dont give a rat's a*s if its policy. It's following rules to the book is what drives prices in healthcare up.
-By the time the doctor came to see me I was raging mad! I lit into her as soon as she came in. She had an intern with her (who was a 2nd year student). Both of them looked scared after I finished speaking. The doctor's voice quivered as she spoke back. I wanted her to cancel all the tests and just give me the shots. She had ordered the tests despite me telling her not to, standard policy apparently (that friggin' term again!).
-She seemed genuinely pained on hearing me shout about the situation. She apologized for everything and told me that she will run right away and try to cancel the tests (which she managed to later). I talked to her about the co-pay and she apologetically said that it was policy (that term again!). I lectured her on that a bit (I was getting used to this!). What this did in effect was that she became nervous and told me that I did not need one of the shots and she couls sign saying that I did not need that (I told her that I remember getting that shot 2 times before).
-In 15 min I calmed down and apologized to her (and the intern) for yelling at them. They both mumbled something about them understanding. I am sure they went back and cursed the heck out me later. Who knows they did some voodoo stuff on my X-ray!
Bottom line, some basic reasoning needs to be factored into the healthcare system in this country. Redundant procedures are one of the main reasons that lead to rises in healthcare costs and these need to be reigned in. I need to get more info about this. I read that one of my future classmates is all about changing the healthcare system. Let's see how that goes.
So, I needed to 4 vaccinations before I head to school as the state of MA requires every student to be immunized against certain conditions. I already did this when I came to the US as a grad student in 1995 but I had either lost the paperwork or in one case you need to get immunized every 5 years or so.
So what did I do? I called my insurance people and asked them if this is covered and the lady on the phone said that yes I was covered as long as the entire cost of the process was under $300 per year. Fair enough I thought.
-I placed a call to my PCP and took an appointment for 8:15 am on a Monday. I did not want to miss too much time from work.
-I show up at 8 am, sign-in at the front desk (on a computer by myself no less, yeah this place is fancy), wait once for some one to call me. My name is called and I go to a desk where I am asked the usual info and asked to shell out my co-pay. The lady then asks me to go wait in another area
until someone else would call me.
-Of course by the time someone comes to call me it is 8:30. F**k!! Why the heck do they appointments then? This is like waiting for the cable guy, "Someone will show up between 8 and 11 am". I dont understand what is the purpose of taking an appointment at a precise time when it means jacksh*t.
-anyway, a nurse takes me into a room and takes my temperature, blood pressure, weight, and height and asks me to go wait in another room for the doctor (i've never understood this serial waiting process).
-Of course by the time the doctor shows up it's close to 9 am. I tell her that my insurance covers $300 for all the vaccines so let me know if all the vaccinations will be covered by this. She obviously does not know and asks me to ask technicians when they give me the shots.
-She also mentions that they could draw blood from me and test that in the lab and if the results are ok I dont have to take 2 of the 4 vaccinations. I said ok.
-So copious amounts of blood is drawn (seriously they took like a litre of blood from me, jeeez!), a shot is given (hurt like crap for 2 days by the way), and some sort of another shot is injected in my forearm.
-I am asked to come back on Wednesday to show the nurses the thing in my forearm and if that's negative I am good for one of the 4 vaccines. The lab results for the other two would be mailed to me as soon as they are out and if they are negative.
-I go back on Wednesday and get the one vaccine taken care of.
-Then I get a call from my doctor who says that the lab tests came back ambivalent for two of the tests and one came back positive. Ambivalent meant that she had to ask them to be re-tested at another lab (which meant more $$ and I was getting irritated) or I could just come back again and get the shots. I told her that I would rather come back and get the shots.
-So I make an appt for Monday which mind you is exactly 7 days later to my first visit.
-I go through the motions on Monday as I sign-in and go the first waiting area. Mind you by now I am POd that I've had to take time off from work. The girl at the second desk asks me for another co-pay. I go "What?!" I was just here last Monday and am here to take care of that per my doctor. She goes, "Sir, this is policy every time you come back you have to co-pay". I was having none of that, "That does not make any sense to me". And she goes, "Sir, your insurance will pay for the visit dont worry you just have to pay your co-pay". Now I am getting more POd. This is how they are artificially driving up prices and making healthcare unaffordable. It did not make any sense for me to pay for co-pay twice especially since I was coming back to finish a procedure. She finally said, "You can talk to the doctor about this". Damn yes I will!
-The poor nurse who then came to get me from the waiting area had no idea what mood I was in. As she took me into a room to get the usual measurements, I went ballistic on her. "I was here 7 days ago, do you think I have contracted some strange disease in that period or grown 2 inches". For crying out loud, people need to use common sense in situations. I dont give a rat's a*s if its policy. It's following rules to the book is what drives prices in healthcare up.
-By the time the doctor came to see me I was raging mad! I lit into her as soon as she came in. She had an intern with her (who was a 2nd year student). Both of them looked scared after I finished speaking. The doctor's voice quivered as she spoke back. I wanted her to cancel all the tests and just give me the shots. She had ordered the tests despite me telling her not to, standard policy apparently (that friggin' term again!).
-She seemed genuinely pained on hearing me shout about the situation. She apologized for everything and told me that she will run right away and try to cancel the tests (which she managed to later). I talked to her about the co-pay and she apologetically said that it was policy (that term again!). I lectured her on that a bit (I was getting used to this!). What this did in effect was that she became nervous and told me that I did not need one of the shots and she couls sign saying that I did not need that (I told her that I remember getting that shot 2 times before).
-In 15 min I calmed down and apologized to her (and the intern) for yelling at them. They both mumbled something about them understanding. I am sure they went back and cursed the heck out me later. Who knows they did some voodoo stuff on my X-ray!
Bottom line, some basic reasoning needs to be factored into the healthcare system in this country. Redundant procedures are one of the main reasons that lead to rises in healthcare costs and these need to be reigned in. I need to get more info about this. I read that one of my future classmates is all about changing the healthcare system. Let's see how that goes.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Happenings...
so what's been happening lately people? Well with me, here it is:
-So my boss tells me this week that apperently my official title and grade for the last 2 years has actually been "Technical Program Manager". I am like "waaaat?". U see my business card says "Technical Applications Specialist". I guess in effect I dont give a rats a**e about this now. I was in fact running 2 programs so it was obvious to others but on the card. Besides Program Managers do not have anyone reporting to them directly. It's one of those magical Matrix organizations. I (and other program managers) had to get about 60 or so people internally to do stuff for us although we did not do their performance reviews. Was definitely interesting. Bottom line, the actual title will hopefully look good on my new resume that I will make up for B school recruiting.
-Saw two movies last weekend. "Indiana Jones: The Crystall Skull" and "Harold and Kumar II". The IJones movies was allrite. The ending was disappointing. Shia LeBoeuf (whose earlier work in "The Battle of Shaker Heights" and "A guide to Recognizing your Saints" was fantastic) as the kid of IJones was ok. Harold and Kumar on the other hand was funny. They pulled it off.
-I am throat deep in paperwork for school these days. I've had to apply for my Soc Sec card, send a letter to Selective Service for leaving me out of the armed forces (if you apply for a fed loan you need this), I have to get 4 vaccinations (my arm's gonna hurt like sh*t on Monday), Private Loans, fill out rental agreements, signup for exit interviews at work, post on Craigslist to sublet my place for August. Been a long week!
-I also did a prelim budget for school. And man, it's gonna be freakin' tight! Besides the fixed monthly expenses, I will have about $800 for Food and drinks and travel per month. I guess it's hitting me now that I'm going to be a student soon! My future roommates and I talked about this and one of them has come up with a 'strategy' for saving money in school. Here is his 'strategy':
-Buy loads of Red Wine bottles now and store up for the whole semester
-No taking a date to dinner outside on the first date. Cook at home
-On second or third dates, take the girl to someplace where we dont have to pay but still dont let her know we are cheap! Like a Zoo or a free museum exhibit (I've done the latter already!).
-Watched a little of the NBA playoffs this week. My rant from a few years ago is still valid about the Detroit Pistons. Whoever the next coach is (you better believe it that Flip's gonna get fired) should get into his team's mindset that the offense will flow through Rasheed. The Celtics look very shaky. My prediction for the final: Lakers in 5 (or 6 at most).
-Euro 2008 football (or soccer to you ignoramuses out there) starts next weekend (June 7). I am excited. Was in France the last time this happenned. Good times, good times! Unfortunately the games start at 12 noon or at 2:45 in the afternoon. I hope my workplace let's me slip out during lunch for some of the games (they did that for the World Cup in 2006). My prediction: France Vs Spain in the Final. France Wins!
That's all for now
-So my boss tells me this week that apperently my official title and grade for the last 2 years has actually been "Technical Program Manager". I am like "waaaat?". U see my business card says "Technical Applications Specialist". I guess in effect I dont give a rats a**e about this now. I was in fact running 2 programs so it was obvious to others but on the card. Besides Program Managers do not have anyone reporting to them directly. It's one of those magical Matrix organizations. I (and other program managers) had to get about 60 or so people internally to do stuff for us although we did not do their performance reviews. Was definitely interesting. Bottom line, the actual title will hopefully look good on my new resume that I will make up for B school recruiting.
-Saw two movies last weekend. "Indiana Jones: The Crystall Skull" and "Harold and Kumar II". The IJones movies was allrite. The ending was disappointing. Shia LeBoeuf (whose earlier work in "The Battle of Shaker Heights" and "A guide to Recognizing your Saints" was fantastic) as the kid of IJones was ok. Harold and Kumar on the other hand was funny. They pulled it off.
-I am throat deep in paperwork for school these days. I've had to apply for my Soc Sec card, send a letter to Selective Service for leaving me out of the armed forces (if you apply for a fed loan you need this), I have to get 4 vaccinations (my arm's gonna hurt like sh*t on Monday), Private Loans, fill out rental agreements, signup for exit interviews at work, post on Craigslist to sublet my place for August. Been a long week!
-I also did a prelim budget for school. And man, it's gonna be freakin' tight! Besides the fixed monthly expenses, I will have about $800 for Food and drinks and travel per month. I guess it's hitting me now that I'm going to be a student soon! My future roommates and I talked about this and one of them has come up with a 'strategy' for saving money in school. Here is his 'strategy':
-Buy loads of Red Wine bottles now and store up for the whole semester
-No taking a date to dinner outside on the first date. Cook at home
-On second or third dates, take the girl to someplace where we dont have to pay but still dont let her know we are cheap! Like a Zoo or a free museum exhibit (I've done the latter already!).
-Watched a little of the NBA playoffs this week. My rant from a few years ago is still valid about the Detroit Pistons. Whoever the next coach is (you better believe it that Flip's gonna get fired) should get into his team's mindset that the offense will flow through Rasheed. The Celtics look very shaky. My prediction for the final: Lakers in 5 (or 6 at most).
-Euro 2008 football (or soccer to you ignoramuses out there) starts next weekend (June 7). I am excited. Was in France the last time this happenned. Good times, good times! Unfortunately the games start at 12 noon or at 2:45 in the afternoon. I hope my workplace let's me slip out during lunch for some of the games (they did that for the World Cup in 2006). My prediction: France Vs Spain in the Final. France Wins!
That's all for now
Sunday, May 25, 2008
State of the Portfolio, Remember the Portfoliio?
Can't remember the last time I checked in on my portfolio (was it in December or January?). Anyway, time for a review of how my picks are doing:
-COP: +1.4% since July 2007
-E: +7.2% since July 2007
-CHK: +44.1% since July 2007 (sweeeeeet!)
-CCJ: -19% since July 2007 (not so sweet)
-PAL:-36.7% since July 2007 (ouch!)
Overall, -2% since July 2007. Meanwhile, S&P500 is -11% for the same period. Not too shabby.
Just when I was trying to gloat about my CHK (natural gas) pick, PAL kills me! And CCJ as well. You would think any precious metal related company would be doing really well. Have you seen the price of Platinum recently? That's the reason I dont understand the performance of PAL. I passingly read some report that said that there is a supply deficit of Pd next year. So keeping PAL may not be a bad deal.
CCJ on the other hand is a Uranium company. Not sure why they are not doing well too. There is room for alternative energy PLUS CCJ has given out dividends of 5 cents three times and 6 cents one time since July 2007-that's four dividends in less than a year. And still it's down?
On the other hand, look at CHK (natural gas). Nothing extra-ordinary has happened to them in the last year or so. Four times dividends of 7 cents each have been given out. The 2007 annual report was very good but 1Q of 2008 was terrible. But still there is upward movement this year. Why? Let me tell you why. Energy sector momentum. People, like sheep, are buying anything to do with Oil and Natural Gas. I can't find any other reason.
By the way has anyone checked the type of dividends that Oil companies are paying these days. $1.25 for E (3 times the past year) and 47 cents for COP (3 times the past year). I have no comment.
So, I will post my last update of this portfolio in July 2008. Then it's all real time baby!
By the way, I opened a FX (currency trading) account this past week. Real time! I've started with a $250 account. I hope to concentrate on trading the spread between USD and JPY and USD and EURO. I am excited about this! Let's see how it turns out.
-COP: +1.4% since July 2007
-E: +7.2% since July 2007
-CHK: +44.1% since July 2007 (sweeeeeet!)
-CCJ: -19% since July 2007 (not so sweet)
-PAL:-36.7% since July 2007 (ouch!)
Overall, -2% since July 2007. Meanwhile, S&P500 is -11% for the same period. Not too shabby.
Just when I was trying to gloat about my CHK (natural gas) pick, PAL kills me! And CCJ as well. You would think any precious metal related company would be doing really well. Have you seen the price of Platinum recently? That's the reason I dont understand the performance of PAL. I passingly read some report that said that there is a supply deficit of Pd next year. So keeping PAL may not be a bad deal.
CCJ on the other hand is a Uranium company. Not sure why they are not doing well too. There is room for alternative energy PLUS CCJ has given out dividends of 5 cents three times and 6 cents one time since July 2007-that's four dividends in less than a year. And still it's down?
On the other hand, look at CHK (natural gas). Nothing extra-ordinary has happened to them in the last year or so. Four times dividends of 7 cents each have been given out. The 2007 annual report was very good but 1Q of 2008 was terrible. But still there is upward movement this year. Why? Let me tell you why. Energy sector momentum. People, like sheep, are buying anything to do with Oil and Natural Gas. I can't find any other reason.
By the way has anyone checked the type of dividends that Oil companies are paying these days. $1.25 for E (3 times the past year) and 47 cents for COP (3 times the past year). I have no comment.
So, I will post my last update of this portfolio in July 2008. Then it's all real time baby!
By the way, I opened a FX (currency trading) account this past week. Real time! I've started with a $250 account. I hope to concentrate on trading the spread between USD and JPY and USD and EURO. I am excited about this! Let's see how it turns out.
Inside HillDawg's Mind - May 24 2008
So, the following quotes (or some variation of them) have been attributed to have originated from Hillary Clinton in the past 2 weeks or so:
-“…I have shown to have the support of hardworking whites…”
-“…If you consider the democratic primary based on electoral votes then I have the clear majority…”
-“….If the Democratic primaries would have been based on winner take-all then I would have been the clear winner….”
-“…the popular vote should be considered since it is important to take people’s will into consideration…”
-“…considering what happened to RFK in 1968, I can’t understand why so many people want to me to step aside…”
I am not going into the analysis of these statements like so many of the so-called experts in the print media and the talking heads on TV have. To me all of these indicate one simple feeling: Desperation. She (and her coterie) is willing to say anything to stay in the race. This is not what I want to write about. What I want to examine is what exactly is going on in HillDawg’s mind right now. Here are a few possibilities and my takes:
-I want to stay in until August so that my rival’s campaign pays my $20 M debt. My take on this: not very likely. If she wants the debt to be cleared she can begin behind the scenes negotiation NOW and be taken care of. I am sure B Rack and his campaign would be ok with this considering they are doing so stellar with fund-raising. No need for her to prolong this until August just for money.
-I want to make B Rack a better candidate for the General Election by putting him through this process beforehand. My take: Bullsh*t! Not sure how you are helping a candidate by repeatedly mentioning that he can’t carry an important party base publicly and that too at every opp she gets. I think her decision to stay in until Indiana and N Carolina was a valid one. You could probably even justify staying in for WV and KY. I agree that by staying in she made B Rack a better candidate since he faced a couple of political crisis situations. But this reason is not valid anymore esp now.
-I want to leverage my good showing in the primary into seeking a senior and powerful Democratic party post (Senate Majority Leader/Powerbroker in future elections). My take: somewhat likely. Face it, she has won more primary votes than anyone in history except B Rack. More and more people seem to be coming out of the woodwork so to speak to support her-the media pays attention to the fact that B Rack is attracting young people but forgotten in this is the fact that HillDawg seems to be bringing in more women and others who would not vote otherwise. With her impressive showing in most states she can lay claim to the most powerful role in the party outside the Presidency (if B Rack does win it that is).
-I want to use this to get on B Rack’s tkt as a VEEP. My take: not likely. I just don’t see alpha dog personalities like HillDawg (or her husband) wanting to play second fiddle at any position. People like her always want to be in control. If you don’t think so, read a bit about her background. She has been laying the groundwork for a political career since she was 18 for crying out loud. Yeah she played second fiddle to Billy boy for 8 years (+8 more in AK) but she was setting things up. Plus the way she tried to influence public policy in the Clinton administration is already in the folklore. These type of people (and I don’t mean that in a bad way) can’t see themselves taking orders from others unless absolutely necessary. But then again, what do I know. Come August She might be holding B Rack’s hands in public showing her love.
-I want to stroke my ego. My take: likely. I don’t see any other logical explanation for her behavior (of course logic and politics are an oxymoron). One example of this. Apparently on the nite that she lost NC and barely won IN she was conducting an interview with the press corps on her flight when suddenly Blackberrys of her campaign staff starting blowing up. Apparently Tim Russert of NBC had just declared B Rack the winner of the primary or something final like that on NBC. So what does HillDawg do? She right away calls an impromptu meeting of her staff and without seeking any advice tells everyone: “We are going on until the last primary, no question”. Just like that she made the decision. Not sure if that was made out of spite for the rest of the world that has not agreed with her or an ego driven decision to show to the rest of the world that she will not listen to anyone. I don’t see any other evidence but the the latter reason.
How all this will affect the Democratic Party and the General Election remains to be seen.
-“…I have shown to have the support of hardworking whites…”
-“…If you consider the democratic primary based on electoral votes then I have the clear majority…”
-“….If the Democratic primaries would have been based on winner take-all then I would have been the clear winner….”
-“…the popular vote should be considered since it is important to take people’s will into consideration…”
-“…considering what happened to RFK in 1968, I can’t understand why so many people want to me to step aside…”
I am not going into the analysis of these statements like so many of the so-called experts in the print media and the talking heads on TV have. To me all of these indicate one simple feeling: Desperation. She (and her coterie) is willing to say anything to stay in the race. This is not what I want to write about. What I want to examine is what exactly is going on in HillDawg’s mind right now. Here are a few possibilities and my takes:
-I want to stay in until August so that my rival’s campaign pays my $20 M debt. My take on this: not very likely. If she wants the debt to be cleared she can begin behind the scenes negotiation NOW and be taken care of. I am sure B Rack and his campaign would be ok with this considering they are doing so stellar with fund-raising. No need for her to prolong this until August just for money.
-I want to make B Rack a better candidate for the General Election by putting him through this process beforehand. My take: Bullsh*t! Not sure how you are helping a candidate by repeatedly mentioning that he can’t carry an important party base publicly and that too at every opp she gets. I think her decision to stay in until Indiana and N Carolina was a valid one. You could probably even justify staying in for WV and KY. I agree that by staying in she made B Rack a better candidate since he faced a couple of political crisis situations. But this reason is not valid anymore esp now.
-I want to leverage my good showing in the primary into seeking a senior and powerful Democratic party post (Senate Majority Leader/Powerbroker in future elections). My take: somewhat likely. Face it, she has won more primary votes than anyone in history except B Rack. More and more people seem to be coming out of the woodwork so to speak to support her-the media pays attention to the fact that B Rack is attracting young people but forgotten in this is the fact that HillDawg seems to be bringing in more women and others who would not vote otherwise. With her impressive showing in most states she can lay claim to the most powerful role in the party outside the Presidency (if B Rack does win it that is).
-I want to use this to get on B Rack’s tkt as a VEEP. My take: not likely. I just don’t see alpha dog personalities like HillDawg (or her husband) wanting to play second fiddle at any position. People like her always want to be in control. If you don’t think so, read a bit about her background. She has been laying the groundwork for a political career since she was 18 for crying out loud. Yeah she played second fiddle to Billy boy for 8 years (+8 more in AK) but she was setting things up. Plus the way she tried to influence public policy in the Clinton administration is already in the folklore. These type of people (and I don’t mean that in a bad way) can’t see themselves taking orders from others unless absolutely necessary. But then again, what do I know. Come August She might be holding B Rack’s hands in public showing her love.
-I want to stroke my ego. My take: likely. I don’t see any other logical explanation for her behavior (of course logic and politics are an oxymoron). One example of this. Apparently on the nite that she lost NC and barely won IN she was conducting an interview with the press corps on her flight when suddenly Blackberrys of her campaign staff starting blowing up. Apparently Tim Russert of NBC had just declared B Rack the winner of the primary or something final like that on NBC. So what does HillDawg do? She right away calls an impromptu meeting of her staff and without seeking any advice tells everyone: “We are going on until the last primary, no question”. Just like that she made the decision. Not sure if that was made out of spite for the rest of the world that has not agreed with her or an ego driven decision to show to the rest of the world that she will not listen to anyone. I don’t see any other evidence but the the latter reason.
How all this will affect the Democratic Party and the General Election remains to be seen.
Monday, May 19, 2008
No no people!
-how about a 2nd Red Sox no-hitter in 2 years!
-how about a young pitcher farmraised doing it?
-how about an athlete who survived cancer doing it?
-how about a 21 year old kid who was roughly 2 years ago lying in bed not knowing if he would ever live doing this?
-how about a quiet no frills sportsman doing this?
-how about the first Red Sox lefty in 50 years doing this?
-how about that?
-how about a young pitcher farmraised doing it?
-how about an athlete who survived cancer doing it?
-how about a 21 year old kid who was roughly 2 years ago lying in bed not knowing if he would ever live doing this?
-how about a quiet no frills sportsman doing this?
-how about the first Red Sox lefty in 50 years doing this?
-how about that?
No going back now!
yeah I know, it's been a while since I posted. I fell sick on the flight back from India and it has taken me a good part of 2 weeks to return to normal. Lesson: Dont go running when you have a high fever and can't breathe and when you are weak. Anyway, back to normal now (almost).
so, I told my boss today about my career plans. and it seemed to have gone rather well with him(so far atleast).
-He was genuinely interested in the application process, the cost of the education, and my career choice.
-He mentioned that I am welcome to work here if interested after school-in a different division and role obviously.
-He appreciated the 10 week notice (July 31st is my last work day).
-He seemed to be pleased that I was going to attend MIT. Mentioned it 2-3 times.
-He also said, "Congratulations! And now let me go panic about hiring a replacement!"
-He then went talked to his boss.
-Apparently his boss took it coolly (is that a word?).
-His boss apparently told him that he was expecting me to make a move to the corporate division of the company at some point. But they did not expect me to do this this soon. So not exactly surprised apparently.
-They are cool with me working here until July 31.
-I just saw an email from my boss to the HR dept informing them that I have decided to leave and that July 31 is my last day here.
so no going back now! Set in stone more or less.
so, I told my boss today about my career plans. and it seemed to have gone rather well with him(so far atleast).
-He was genuinely interested in the application process, the cost of the education, and my career choice.
-He mentioned that I am welcome to work here if interested after school-in a different division and role obviously.
-He appreciated the 10 week notice (July 31st is my last work day).
-He seemed to be pleased that I was going to attend MIT. Mentioned it 2-3 times.
-He also said, "Congratulations! And now let me go panic about hiring a replacement!"
-He then went talked to his boss.
-Apparently his boss took it coolly (is that a word?).
-His boss apparently told him that he was expecting me to make a move to the corporate division of the company at some point. But they did not expect me to do this this soon. So not exactly surprised apparently.
-They are cool with me working here until July 31.
-I just saw an email from my boss to the HR dept informing them that I have decided to leave and that July 31 is my last day here.
so no going back now! Set in stone more or less.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
4 days, 5 nites, and a New Tolerance Level - Part IV of IV
Anantapur-to-my grandparents’s place
-After going through the 7hr long journey from Bangalore I was looking forward to a normal incident-free car ride to my grandparent’s village from Anantapur. Well, when the poo hitteth the roof it hitteth more than once!
-We drove about 120 KM incident free with the a/c purring away when suddenly our car driver decided to get adventurous and navigate a heavily flooded part of the road by driving right through about 1 feet of water. Well, our rental car had a relative low road to car floor tolerance and voila the car stalled right in the middle of the water pool!
-Dang it! Two consecutive days of travel adventures were not what I had in mind in the middle of an Indian summer. Our car driver seemed shaken, more worried about what his owner would say about this rather than worry about our situation. I guess to each his own.
-When he turned the ignition there was nothing, so I knew it was a serious problem. He would not listen to me and was confident that if someone could pull the car out of the ditch and give it a push it would start. Off he went and recruited a passing mini-truck and convinced the driver to tow the car backwards out of the ditch.
-Mind you this is in the middle of a main thoroughfare road and we are by now a spectacle for all the locals to watch, comment, and laugh. The car got pulled out of the ditch rather adventurously after which I asked my mom, sister, and aunt to get out and wait in a nearby store. I then went along with the driver and we recruited a couple of bystanders to give the car and push backwards first and then forward to start the car.
-I was bitching internally as my new sandals were ankle deep in muddly water! Well, no choice. After a couple of attempts it was clear that the car needed serious repairs.
-I went back to where I had left my mom and others and in the interim a bystander had started chatting with my mom and by the time I walked back to them he told me that there were rental vehicles, heavy duty landrover types even, not far away. This is one thing about India that is special, people are always willing to help out random strangers. Maybe this is the case in other places as well but I find it refreshing that people actually approach YOU when YOU are in trouble even if YOU don’t make the first attempt.
-We successfully then negotiated a new rental vehicle contract and off we went. Of course we went in a non-air conditioned vehicle. This part of the journey would last 2+ hrs under a scorching Sun. My little nephew cheerful through most part of the trip finally gave up at the end. It was brave of him to withstand it so far anyway.
-By the time we reached our grandparents village and offloaded I was in no shape to even talk to anyone. The thing with heat combined with dust and humidity is it saps you! I did not even have the energy to shower or wash my face.
- I had slept 2h in the last 48h and traveled 15h in hot metal boxes with dust blowing from all directions in 110C temperatures.
-I have to say though, seeing my grandparents’s place, the place where we hung out all summers when we were children, was a bit of a relief. I took my nephew on a little walk to the lush green grass fields. He did not stop being transfixed at the sight of a cow and goats grazing in the fields. A bit of my energy returned.
-Of course there was no power when we got to the village. Regular scheduled daily outage apparently. Which made me wonder how the Indian government is going to deal with the never ending purchase of air-conditioned units everywhere. Where would they get the power from-historically India had always been short of the power it needed to run smoothly. Anyway, back to my situation, I just laid out in the open under the trees in the village and dozed off.
-I remember being awoken for dinner at some time, and I sleepily ate (cant remember what) and quickly went back to sleep.
-The next morning was better as we had all recovered. I chatted away with my grandmother and grandfather and uncle and aunt. It felt good to be seeing them. My grandparents (mom’s side) cant travel due to health issues so to see them happy when we went to see them was good. It is always cool to speak to my grandfather as he is one person who is absolutely in his own world. In a cute way. For example, when I was leaving to the US for grad school (I was 20-21 yrs old mind you) he had asked me how I would manage on my own. “Are you not going to be scared by yourself?”. It was so cute I had to laugh out. He was not doing well but recently had recovered. It was good to chat with them. My aunt prepared my fav meal and it was a great time.
-My dad’s family is also from the same village and in fact they used to live a stone’s throw away from my mom’s family. What used to be a relatively large area of four homes lined next to each other and that used to house 16 kids is now crumbly and un-occupied except for one person. Everyone had moved away or passed away and it was a disturbing sight to see. My sister, aunt, and I walked through what we can call ‘ruins’ and felt sad about it. Plush green agricultural land lied unused and destroyed as there is no one to take care of it now. We could only sigh and reminisce the good times from our childhood. My aunt who was born in one of those homes and had grown up there told me that at one time people wondered if these four homes were large enough to hold all the families that were supposed to spring forth. Well, I guess not.
-We left early that morning on another car to catch a flight back to Hyderabad. And luckily the car-ride was un-eventful. We returned to Hyderabad at 6pm the same day. I had managed to survive what turned out to be an interesting 4 days and 5 nites.
-After going through the 7hr long journey from Bangalore I was looking forward to a normal incident-free car ride to my grandparent’s village from Anantapur. Well, when the poo hitteth the roof it hitteth more than once!
-We drove about 120 KM incident free with the a/c purring away when suddenly our car driver decided to get adventurous and navigate a heavily flooded part of the road by driving right through about 1 feet of water. Well, our rental car had a relative low road to car floor tolerance and voila the car stalled right in the middle of the water pool!
-Dang it! Two consecutive days of travel adventures were not what I had in mind in the middle of an Indian summer. Our car driver seemed shaken, more worried about what his owner would say about this rather than worry about our situation. I guess to each his own.
-When he turned the ignition there was nothing, so I knew it was a serious problem. He would not listen to me and was confident that if someone could pull the car out of the ditch and give it a push it would start. Off he went and recruited a passing mini-truck and convinced the driver to tow the car backwards out of the ditch.
-Mind you this is in the middle of a main thoroughfare road and we are by now a spectacle for all the locals to watch, comment, and laugh. The car got pulled out of the ditch rather adventurously after which I asked my mom, sister, and aunt to get out and wait in a nearby store. I then went along with the driver and we recruited a couple of bystanders to give the car and push backwards first and then forward to start the car.
-I was bitching internally as my new sandals were ankle deep in muddly water! Well, no choice. After a couple of attempts it was clear that the car needed serious repairs.
-I went back to where I had left my mom and others and in the interim a bystander had started chatting with my mom and by the time I walked back to them he told me that there were rental vehicles, heavy duty landrover types even, not far away. This is one thing about India that is special, people are always willing to help out random strangers. Maybe this is the case in other places as well but I find it refreshing that people actually approach YOU when YOU are in trouble even if YOU don’t make the first attempt.
-We successfully then negotiated a new rental vehicle contract and off we went. Of course we went in a non-air conditioned vehicle. This part of the journey would last 2+ hrs under a scorching Sun. My little nephew cheerful through most part of the trip finally gave up at the end. It was brave of him to withstand it so far anyway.
-By the time we reached our grandparents village and offloaded I was in no shape to even talk to anyone. The thing with heat combined with dust and humidity is it saps you! I did not even have the energy to shower or wash my face.
- I had slept 2h in the last 48h and traveled 15h in hot metal boxes with dust blowing from all directions in 110C temperatures.
-I have to say though, seeing my grandparents’s place, the place where we hung out all summers when we were children, was a bit of a relief. I took my nephew on a little walk to the lush green grass fields. He did not stop being transfixed at the sight of a cow and goats grazing in the fields. A bit of my energy returned.
-Of course there was no power when we got to the village. Regular scheduled daily outage apparently. Which made me wonder how the Indian government is going to deal with the never ending purchase of air-conditioned units everywhere. Where would they get the power from-historically India had always been short of the power it needed to run smoothly. Anyway, back to my situation, I just laid out in the open under the trees in the village and dozed off.
-I remember being awoken for dinner at some time, and I sleepily ate (cant remember what) and quickly went back to sleep.
-The next morning was better as we had all recovered. I chatted away with my grandmother and grandfather and uncle and aunt. It felt good to be seeing them. My grandparents (mom’s side) cant travel due to health issues so to see them happy when we went to see them was good. It is always cool to speak to my grandfather as he is one person who is absolutely in his own world. In a cute way. For example, when I was leaving to the US for grad school (I was 20-21 yrs old mind you) he had asked me how I would manage on my own. “Are you not going to be scared by yourself?”. It was so cute I had to laugh out. He was not doing well but recently had recovered. It was good to chat with them. My aunt prepared my fav meal and it was a great time.
-My dad’s family is also from the same village and in fact they used to live a stone’s throw away from my mom’s family. What used to be a relatively large area of four homes lined next to each other and that used to house 16 kids is now crumbly and un-occupied except for one person. Everyone had moved away or passed away and it was a disturbing sight to see. My sister, aunt, and I walked through what we can call ‘ruins’ and felt sad about it. Plush green agricultural land lied unused and destroyed as there is no one to take care of it now. We could only sigh and reminisce the good times from our childhood. My aunt who was born in one of those homes and had grown up there told me that at one time people wondered if these four homes were large enough to hold all the families that were supposed to spring forth. Well, I guess not.
-We left early that morning on another car to catch a flight back to Hyderabad. And luckily the car-ride was un-eventful. We returned to Hyderabad at 6pm the same day. I had managed to survive what turned out to be an interesting 4 days and 5 nites.
4 days, 5 nites, and a New Tolerance Level - Part III of IV
Bangalore-to-Anantapur and Anantapur
-I should have listened to my cousin and waited for an air-conditioned bus to take me from Bangalore to Anantapur in the evening. But no, I had to get stupid and envision romanticism on a regular bus ride in the teeth of summer (my bud was right about my IQ I guess).
-So off I went on what is usually a 4h ride on the bus to Anantapur in a regular bus which had no a/c and almost metallic seats.
-Let’s just say it was an interesting experience being on a 7 h bus ride from 1 in the afternoon until 8 pm in 110F temperatures with no air-conditioning. By the time the bus came to Anantapur I was so sapped that I had no energy to even talk to anyone. Adding to this, there was a power cut as I got out of the bus making it difficult to see who had come to pick me up.
-I hustled to a motel, showered, and changed quickly as I was already late for my cousin’s wedding reception.
-The exasperation of the bus ride disappeared immediately as I met my little cousins and uncles and aunts at the reception. I enjoy hanging out with my little cousins who are in the 16-24 yr age group with razor sharp sense of humor. We hung out at the reception hall for a bit and headed to my cousin’s place for a nite of playing cards. This is always exciting! We had to stay awake until 4 am in the morning as the actual wedding ceremony would take place at that time due to it being an auspicious time. And lo went the card playing and giggling.
-We survived the nite and managed to head back to the wedding hall in time for the wedding. There were very few people left-only immediate family (which is a relative word in my family) and it went off well.
-We scrambled back and managed 2h of sleep. Soon after my mom, sister, little nephew, my aunt, and I were headed off to my grandparents’s village in rural AP in an air-conditioned car. All in all it was a good time at the wedding.
-Another disturbing trend I noticed in Anantapur, which is a reasonably large town, is the lack of public infrastructure. It seemed like there was no change at the central bus station or train station in the last 15 years or so. It was very discouraging. I kept hearing that the local politicians were preventing the improvement of roads, and other public infrastructure whenever one side proposed to go ahead with it. Why? Well, because the other side believed that if the roads and other items were improved the people would give all the credit to the political party which proposed it thus making it difficult for the opposition party to come back to power!
-I should have listened to my cousin and waited for an air-conditioned bus to take me from Bangalore to Anantapur in the evening. But no, I had to get stupid and envision romanticism on a regular bus ride in the teeth of summer (my bud was right about my IQ I guess).
-So off I went on what is usually a 4h ride on the bus to Anantapur in a regular bus which had no a/c and almost metallic seats.
-Let’s just say it was an interesting experience being on a 7 h bus ride from 1 in the afternoon until 8 pm in 110F temperatures with no air-conditioning. By the time the bus came to Anantapur I was so sapped that I had no energy to even talk to anyone. Adding to this, there was a power cut as I got out of the bus making it difficult to see who had come to pick me up.
-I hustled to a motel, showered, and changed quickly as I was already late for my cousin’s wedding reception.
-The exasperation of the bus ride disappeared immediately as I met my little cousins and uncles and aunts at the reception. I enjoy hanging out with my little cousins who are in the 16-24 yr age group with razor sharp sense of humor. We hung out at the reception hall for a bit and headed to my cousin’s place for a nite of playing cards. This is always exciting! We had to stay awake until 4 am in the morning as the actual wedding ceremony would take place at that time due to it being an auspicious time. And lo went the card playing and giggling.
-We survived the nite and managed to head back to the wedding hall in time for the wedding. There were very few people left-only immediate family (which is a relative word in my family) and it went off well.
-We scrambled back and managed 2h of sleep. Soon after my mom, sister, little nephew, my aunt, and I were headed off to my grandparents’s village in rural AP in an air-conditioned car. All in all it was a good time at the wedding.
-Another disturbing trend I noticed in Anantapur, which is a reasonably large town, is the lack of public infrastructure. It seemed like there was no change at the central bus station or train station in the last 15 years or so. It was very discouraging. I kept hearing that the local politicians were preventing the improvement of roads, and other public infrastructure whenever one side proposed to go ahead with it. Why? Well, because the other side believed that if the roads and other items were improved the people would give all the credit to the political party which proposed it thus making it difficult for the opposition party to come back to power!
4 days, 5 nites, and a New Tolerance Level - Part II of IV
Bangalore
-I flew into Bangalore from Bombay to spend 3-4 hours meeting my cousin and my uncle and aunt before I took a bus to a town in AP where another cousin of mine was getting married.
-The cousin who lives in Bangalore is one of the few kids from our family who decided to quit his day job and follow his entrepreneurial dreams a couple of years ago. He along with his undergrad buddies started a venture based on a rather simple idea. Obviously the conservative parents and family members did not appreciate this bold decision but it is paying off already. They now employ 80 strong and are looking for an exit strategy of an IPO within the next 6 months. They are about to break even and have another round of VC money setup. My cousin is the CTO. Impressive kid.
-TV stations and newspapers have already done bits about them. Naturally he has become a source of pride for his parents and our grandparents.
-He seems to be planning for his next phase already. Apparently he wants to go to B school once his firm is on its own and move onto the area of developing public infrastructure in India. Excellent idea like always from him! I gave him a few suggestions, not that he needs any, on things about B school etc.-I spent too few hours in Bangalore to notice on the goings on but one thing I remember is the Majestic Bus station- it seemed the same as it was since I was in undergrad (which was about 13 years ago!)
-I flew into Bangalore from Bombay to spend 3-4 hours meeting my cousin and my uncle and aunt before I took a bus to a town in AP where another cousin of mine was getting married.
-The cousin who lives in Bangalore is one of the few kids from our family who decided to quit his day job and follow his entrepreneurial dreams a couple of years ago. He along with his undergrad buddies started a venture based on a rather simple idea. Obviously the conservative parents and family members did not appreciate this bold decision but it is paying off already. They now employ 80 strong and are looking for an exit strategy of an IPO within the next 6 months. They are about to break even and have another round of VC money setup. My cousin is the CTO. Impressive kid.
-TV stations and newspapers have already done bits about them. Naturally he has become a source of pride for his parents and our grandparents.
-He seems to be planning for his next phase already. Apparently he wants to go to B school once his firm is on its own and move onto the area of developing public infrastructure in India. Excellent idea like always from him! I gave him a few suggestions, not that he needs any, on things about B school etc.-I spent too few hours in Bangalore to notice on the goings on but one thing I remember is the Majestic Bus station- it seemed the same as it was since I was in undergrad (which was about 13 years ago!)
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