Day 13 & 14 – At Chennai on a training

Lunch at Murugan Idli Shop

Like last Saturday, this time also we went to this place for lunch. Food was amazing, especially the idlis and sweet pongal.

Watched Socha na tha for 6th time

Watched this movie on my laptop on Saturday afternoon. Amazing movie by Imtiaz Ali, where Abhay Deol and Ayesha Takia are both looking very innocent.

Besant Nagar beach

We planned to spend the evening at the Besant Nagar beach. However, due to our miscalculation of Sunset time and traffic, we reached when it was already dark. There were plenty of food stalls on the beach and the adjoining road, which reminded me of Juhu beach. We ate lot of junk stuff like mirchi bhajji, pizza, ice cream, etc.

(I am there in the 2nd pic   We are at a fast-food place called Vgan. Nice food here.)

The raw material for mirchi bhajji is stocked in a style…

This is not a search engine, but an ice-gola brand… and that too trademarked…

Lunch on Sunday

We had exactly the same lunch at Murugan Idli on Sunday as we had on Saturday. Yes, each and every item same, with filter coffee at the end..

Visit to Temple

We have this beautiful Jain temple (on G.N. Chetty Road) near our guest house. Visited this place in the evening – very nice place with grand marble structures.

Day 8 – At Chennai on a training

Start of the week

Week started well. The training was quite interesting, as it related to credit operations of a bank. I guess, it is a common tendency to feel comfortable in ‘known territory’.

We had an interesting Role-playing exercise in the training. Trainings are great when they have such interactive activities and games inbuilt.

No specific updates on food exploration today, as we went to Balaji Bhavan again.

A visit to temple

In the evening, we went to a Tirupati Balaji temple near Pondy Bazaar. The temple was wonderful, and the atmosphere was really spiritual.

Day 5 – At Chennai on a training

Auto-rickshaw chronicle continues

We have discovered a new model for hiring auto-rickshaws. That is, bulk booking of auto rickshaws. As we have a large group, we negotiate a combined price for 3-4 auto-rickshaws e.g. 100Rs. for 3 auto rickshaws instead of 40 each. One more thing we noticed was that irrespective of the actual practice, the minimum fare displayed on the autos was just Rs. 14.

For a change

We went for north indian food today for a change. Went to Dhaba express. It had a good veg buffet at a very reasonable price.

… and that was a group photo (I am missing though).

Day 3 – At Chennai on a training

Not much of updates today. The training was ok. We went to Shri Balaajee Bhavan for lunch. Food was great and the prices too were very  reasonable.

I had curd rice and filter coffee. Filter coffee is now a part of my staple diet

One more realization today: Not to make assumptions too fast… Initially on the basis of first day, we assumed that the entire training would go really slow. But now, it is going on very fast. I am not saying we should not make assumptions. All I am saying is that we should not base important decisions or actions on premature assumptions or logic that is not thought through well.

Day 1 – At Chennai on a training

I am at Chennai for 6-week office training. I thought I would try blogging something about it everyday. I am not sure whether this spirit would last even for a day more, but still, at least for Day 1, I am all motivated to pen down things.

Start of the day
Day started at an unearthly hour of 03:00 AM, which is just three hours after the scientific start of the day. Had to get up because we needed to catch the 5:55 flight. There are very few times when you can actually see your clock showing 3:00 am.

About the flight
If that wasn’t enough, we got the last row seat in the flight. The space available was even less than that in a BEST bus in Mumbai. Any way, we reached Chennai on time.

Skipping breakfast
Then, we had to rush to our Guest house to put our bags. Even though breakfast was available at the guest house, we thought it prudent to go for the training first, and then have breakfast there. However, nothing was available around. We finally found out a fruit vendor, and some of us had to do with fruits. I didn’t like the fruits, so dragged my survival further on chips and snack bar which I had in the flight.

Boredom + Exhaustion + Sleep deficit + Bad lunch = A really tiresome day
The training was boring. I know you would say that all trainings are usually boring. But then this one was even more boring from the rest. We ran short of a name placard, and hence I was the one who had to do without it. So used a bit of ‘innovation’ and made a placard out of the notepad page. Went out for lunch, but the only place we could find was not at all good. They just had Veg Pulav and Dal Fry as vegetarian options, and which we had to go with.

Finally back to my room
Had a nice hot shower and am penning down this blog…

A better way of doing things

Everyday we come across a lot of situations when we are supposed to solve problems, execute complicated assignments, finish complex tasks, etc. This is applicable on both work as well as personal front.

A very effective way to handle a such a complex task is to:
Start with what is required rather than what is possible.

As short as that!

Whenever we start seeing the task from the perspective of what is our current ability or what is the minimum that we can start doing, we lose track. We try to map the task with our current inclinations, and do only that part, which is the simplest and less cumbersome.

Giving an example:
John’s boss has asked him to collate some data from different sources and plot the final output in a presentation. John really detests the data collation part, as it is very difficult getting data from different people. Hence, his mind would drive him towards starting with the presentation part. He might create a format and make some place-holders for the final output. He would either not take up the data collation part, or would do it half-heartedly. Either way, he would end up not finishing his task in the given time.

A positive scenario in the above example would be:

• John lists down the data required.
• He puts name of the people against each of the data item needed.
• He calls up people, and if unsuccessful, calls up alternative contact people, or escalates, if needed. But he ensures that he receives the data.
• He complies the data.
• He places the data in the presentation in a suitable format.

You can apply this principle to some of your problems and see whether it works for you.

What they say v/s What they mean

There are certain quotes in IT industry used in daily course. I have just tried delayering the quote and looked to the underlying meaning…

What they say v/s What they mean

• “…but it was a good learning experience.”
  “All our hard efforts have gone waste… that proposal did not materialize.”
   
• “Our PM is a great person…”
  “Our PM does not have any clue about the project or deliverables… but plans parties and trips really well.”
   
• “I have reviewed the attachment…”
  “I think your attachment is an excel file and has black fonts…”
   
• “I will start your KT from tomorrow…”
  “I had been stuck up with this project since long, but seems that days of freedom are near… you are the next scapegoat.”
   
• “Ram was our outstanding achiever last month.”
  “Last month, we had to make Ram work 14 hours a day and even on Saturdays…”
   

Glossary: (For people who are not from IT industry)

PM: Project Manager

KT: Knowledge Transition

 

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are just in a lighter vein.