I miss Seattle... my life there and everything else about the place. I have lived there close to 6 years in the last decade. After Kerala, this is the longest I've lived anywhere. It really is a home away from home for me. After living away from my parents for so long, my friends are my family now. And I had a handful of really good friends in Seattle - people who knew me well, who were there for me if I ever needed help, who would be there to rejoice in my happiness, who would come and just sit with me when I am sad and dont want to talk. All the things that family would do. I miss the Wii Battles (which I always lost), the parties, the potlucks, the BBQs, the shopping... And most of all, I miss the two cutest and most adorable kids I have ever known. I miss the evenings and weekends I spent with them. I miss their silly squabbles to catch our attention. I miss those naughty smiles, those tiny little hands pulling me around... and I miss their mommy too. I don't think my own sister would have taken such good care of me, if I had one.
Why do I keep going through this whole cycle of starting over? I dont think I can take too many more of this. Its bad enough that I am away from my parents and missing them terribly. I hate feeling like I am somewhere and my heart is elsewhere. High time I learned how to maintain boundaries!!
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
FamiliarITy
Disclaimer: This post is based solely on my observations as an IT services professional for the last decade. Your point of view might be different. Deal with it!!
Familiarity breeds contempt, says the adage. In an ever competitive world of consulting, outsourcing & services industry, familiarity breeds a lot more than just contempt.
In most IT services companies, the client relationship managers take up the dual responsibility of sales too. To stay ahead in the rat race, you always have a new strategy or solution. Assuming you have a great product or service to sell, the deal clincher is how you market it. This is one place where familiarity is a foe. If your client has known you for years and have seen you in action, he/she would know your limits by now. They have seen your negotiation tactics, they know how far you would go, and what your breaking point is. There is no element of surprise. There is limited room for negotiation and as a result, lesser profit margin.
The biggest complaint you hear from couples who have been married for ages is that their spouse takes them for granted. Same applies to a client relationship too. In long client engagements, you start getting treated as one of their own! There are definitely advantages to this. But it has disadvantages too. The bar is being raised constantly. Your client might have employees who have worked with them for half a century and knows everything inside out. You cannot keep the same people around for that long. The career paths and the company direction of IT & consulting firms is different from their end customer.
To get your foot in at a new client, you might have agreed to some aggressive timelines and billing rates. But if you were not proactive enough to set the expectation that this is a one time deal to prove your proficiency, you are in big trouble, Negotiations & changes of billing rates and SLAs are difficult with long term clients. If your star performer is being billed at $x an hour, you can increase that $x to some extend based on market conditions or what not. But there is only so far you can push without straining the relationship. The same person could be positioned at a different client location at a higher rate.
Last but not the least: you snooze, you lose! Business trends and technology is changing at a blinding pace. Unless you work in different environments with varying management styles and problem statements, you lose your competitive edge. You tend to practice & preach the client's way of doing things just because you haven't explored any other options. This not only hampers your career, your client is also losing out on any thought leadership from you.
So I guess the best adage for today is "Variety is the spice of life!"
Familiarity breeds contempt, says the adage. In an ever competitive world of consulting, outsourcing & services industry, familiarity breeds a lot more than just contempt.
In most IT services companies, the client relationship managers take up the dual responsibility of sales too. To stay ahead in the rat race, you always have a new strategy or solution. Assuming you have a great product or service to sell, the deal clincher is how you market it. This is one place where familiarity is a foe. If your client has known you for years and have seen you in action, he/she would know your limits by now. They have seen your negotiation tactics, they know how far you would go, and what your breaking point is. There is no element of surprise. There is limited room for negotiation and as a result, lesser profit margin.
The biggest complaint you hear from couples who have been married for ages is that their spouse takes them for granted. Same applies to a client relationship too. In long client engagements, you start getting treated as one of their own! There are definitely advantages to this. But it has disadvantages too. The bar is being raised constantly. Your client might have employees who have worked with them for half a century and knows everything inside out. You cannot keep the same people around for that long. The career paths and the company direction of IT & consulting firms is different from their end customer.
To get your foot in at a new client, you might have agreed to some aggressive timelines and billing rates. But if you were not proactive enough to set the expectation that this is a one time deal to prove your proficiency, you are in big trouble, Negotiations & changes of billing rates and SLAs are difficult with long term clients. If your star performer is being billed at $x an hour, you can increase that $x to some extend based on market conditions or what not. But there is only so far you can push without straining the relationship. The same person could be positioned at a different client location at a higher rate.
Last but not the least: you snooze, you lose! Business trends and technology is changing at a blinding pace. Unless you work in different environments with varying management styles and problem statements, you lose your competitive edge. You tend to practice & preach the client's way of doing things just because you haven't explored any other options. This not only hampers your career, your client is also losing out on any thought leadership from you.
So I guess the best adage for today is "Variety is the spice of life!"
Thursday, July 02, 2009
OK to be Gay in India
In a landmark judgment, the Delhi High Court legalized gay sex among consenting adults. This repeals part of section 377 of Indian Penal Code on grounds of violation of fundamental rights. India is finally upholding the part of our constitution that says "The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth." In its 105 page judgment, the bench noted that "It cannot be forgotten that discrimination is antithesis of equality."
I am sure there are going to be repercussions from political and religious stalwarts. In fact, the Catholic Church in Kerala was quick to point out that "Legalizing gay sex will open up the society to some sort of sexual anarchy. Perhaps Indian culture is being eroded by the western promiscuous culture." I can't wait to hear what the Hindu extremists and the Muslim fanatics have to say about all this.
For a country that still upholds a lot of conservative beliefs, this is a giant leap. The legal aspect of same-sex relationship is taken care. But the social stigma associated to it will take a lot more time to disintegrate. Even though monumental, this is just the first step. There are still issues of marriage, adoption, legal status as dependents, inheritance, etc which needs to be figured out for same sex couples. After all, California is still fighting Prop 8!
I am sure there are going to be repercussions from political and religious stalwarts. In fact, the Catholic Church in Kerala was quick to point out that "Legalizing gay sex will open up the society to some sort of sexual anarchy. Perhaps Indian culture is being eroded by the western promiscuous culture." I can't wait to hear what the Hindu extremists and the Muslim fanatics have to say about all this.
For a country that still upholds a lot of conservative beliefs, this is a giant leap. The legal aspect of same-sex relationship is taken care. But the social stigma associated to it will take a lot more time to disintegrate. Even though monumental, this is just the first step. There are still issues of marriage, adoption, legal status as dependents, inheritance, etc which needs to be figured out for same sex couples. After all, California is still fighting Prop 8!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Happy Birthday!
1998: Turned 21 on Mother's Day. I remember the day clearly. It was my last year of Engineering. I already had a job offer and I was to start at the job end of that year. I was going to be away from home and on my own for the first time in my life. Every year, my parents used to throw my a birthday party and the guests always were the same - Sreedevi and Peelu... sometimes Indu & Nisha too. But this year was different... there were boys ;) Just a couple of friends from college but it was a big deal for me and a new worry for my parents. But I had a blast. It was a birthday filled with a lot of hopes... Hopes for an exciting future - looking forward to a career, independence, new experiences, responsibility, love and eventually a family and a home - a turning point in life. I remember joking that day about my kids being able to celebrate my birthday and Mother's Day on the same day once in a few years.
2009: 11 years later, another birthday on Mother's Day. 11 years back, I imagined that I would be able to celebrate Mother's Day with my kids by now... It feels like I am once again waiting for life to take another turn. Some of the aspirations from 11 years back have come true... I have a decent career; I make a good living. I am independent. I had my share of new experiences. There was love... but there was loss too. There is a house... but it is not a home yet. Over the last 2-3 years, I feel like a hamster running in a wheel... It is the same routine over and over... And I am waiting for life to begin again... But while I am running in circles in that wheel, time is slipping by. I know that life doesnt happen... I need to make it happen. But I seem to have lost the will to live... I still have dreams and hopes and desires... but I have given up trying to realize them.
I feel like I am asleep and my wake up alarm is a lullaby and so I just keep sleeping.
Happy Birthday to me! And on this day, my advice to self is "Memento Mori!"
2009: 11 years later, another birthday on Mother's Day. 11 years back, I imagined that I would be able to celebrate Mother's Day with my kids by now... It feels like I am once again waiting for life to take another turn. Some of the aspirations from 11 years back have come true... I have a decent career; I make a good living. I am independent. I had my share of new experiences. There was love... but there was loss too. There is a house... but it is not a home yet. Over the last 2-3 years, I feel like a hamster running in a wheel... It is the same routine over and over... And I am waiting for life to begin again... But while I am running in circles in that wheel, time is slipping by. I know that life doesnt happen... I need to make it happen. But I seem to have lost the will to live... I still have dreams and hopes and desires... but I have given up trying to realize them.
I feel like I am asleep and my wake up alarm is a lullaby and so I just keep sleeping.
Happy Birthday to me! And on this day, my advice to self is "Memento Mori!"
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Forgot to pray? There is an app for that
This is the age of apps. Not a single day passes without me seeing the Apple iPhone ad claiming there is an app for just about anything. If you are a believer, I assume you pray everyday. Do you have days where you are running late for work and forgot to mumble the everyday prayer before rushing out of your house? And have you spend that entire day attributing any small thing that goes wrong to the forgotten prayer?
Well, say goodbye to forgotten prayers. There is an app for that! Well, not an app but a subscription service. Information Age Prayer has a paid service available that uses computers with text-to-speech capability to incant your prayers each day. Even if you forget, your computer will remember to pray on your behalf.
You can pick the religion you belong to. If the religion you follow is not currently listed on the site, you can always e-mail them suggestions to include the religion! But in the meanwhile, you can pick an "Unaffiliated" prayer! Just like you car, you can either have a DX version at a low cost or pay more to get an LX version. And in this f***ed up economy, you can even pray for financial stability at a discounted rate of $3.95 a month. Oh, but if God does not seem to be answering your prayers, the website has a no refund policy!
Seriously?! If you dont remember to pray, then you dont really believe in God that much. You will remember God when you need something. And daily you keep praying just in case He/She is listening and decides to penalize people who dont pray everyday. So the prayer is either because of a selfish need or fear of retribution. If you believe in the all mighty and powerful God, how can you think that he will be pleased with you automating the prayer?
Coming to think of it, this is not much different from how things used to be. Growing up, my mom used to tag me along to the temple. On a regular basis, we had the DX version of the prayer where the priest mumbles our prayer along with a bunch of others. But once a while, we'll have the LX version where the priest is exclusively praying for us! Only difference is that during those days, we actually turned up at the temple and stuck around to ensure that the prayer is being delivered.
Well, say goodbye to forgotten prayers. There is an app for that! Well, not an app but a subscription service. Information Age Prayer has a paid service available that uses computers with text-to-speech capability to incant your prayers each day. Even if you forget, your computer will remember to pray on your behalf.
You can pick the religion you belong to. If the religion you follow is not currently listed on the site, you can always e-mail them suggestions to include the religion! But in the meanwhile, you can pick an "Unaffiliated" prayer! Just like you car, you can either have a DX version at a low cost or pay more to get an LX version. And in this f***ed up economy, you can even pray for financial stability at a discounted rate of $3.95 a month. Oh, but if God does not seem to be answering your prayers, the website has a no refund policy!
Seriously?! If you dont remember to pray, then you dont really believe in God that much. You will remember God when you need something. And daily you keep praying just in case He/She is listening and decides to penalize people who dont pray everyday. So the prayer is either because of a selfish need or fear of retribution. If you believe in the all mighty and powerful God, how can you think that he will be pleased with you automating the prayer?
Coming to think of it, this is not much different from how things used to be. Growing up, my mom used to tag me along to the temple. On a regular basis, we had the DX version of the prayer where the priest mumbles our prayer along with a bunch of others. But once a while, we'll have the LX version where the priest is exclusively praying for us! Only difference is that during those days, we actually turned up at the temple and stuck around to ensure that the prayer is being delivered.
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