Long time, no see.

It's been a painfully long time since I updated this blog (now, almost every blog post of mine begins with something similar). Have been quite stressed lately. At a time I am executing the best project ever of my career, some bureaucratic affairs are trying to throw me off balance. Of the most offensive has been my appraisal. It was quite shameful the way it was done and really exposed the process for what it was - devious, flawed and obscure. The idea that the appraisal can closed without the employee actually being informed is quite scandalous. I can only surmise that powers that be are not aware of this anamoly in the process. No inputs of the employee are captured on the discussion.

I wonder why I - the biggest fan of processes - am always at the receiving end of such screw ups. It always makes me yearn for Infosys. With Accenture, there was an excuse - there operations in India had not matured yet, and again, the major problems I faced were during the exit process. I don't know a single reason, why a company would want to make it easy and simple for an employee to quit. But my current employer can have no such excuses.

My expectation is that things would work as planned (without minimal intervention from me or my managers). But the reality is that, you have to keep parading yourself and get yourself in everyone's face to be noticed and considered. I am not good at it (its not a virtue, just a personality trait). I wait and wait for people to do the right thing, but they don't and THEN, when I act, they say, "Oh well!, why didn't you tell me before?". It's immensely frustating as it makes you the guilty person and a trouble maker.

Another hiccup - My MBA because of loan, visa (and also personal issues) will need to be postponed to next year. There was too much of chaos anyway, so made sense to take away one variable of the function. I will be old, old, old, but the time I complete it (probably, too senile to make sense of the acads). But que sera sera!

But otherwise, things have been great. Project's been good, am having fun with regular footer and baddy games.

Just hope the babus relent! My life would be peace!

Have I got news for you?

What the fuck is wrong with Google News. I have found it generally unsatisfactory in displaying the most popular news items. The grouping is a bit wishy washy. And 50% of the news on the main page are not really newsworthy.

Anyway, this takes the cake. An article from 2006 about Being Cyrus is unearthed and put up as a link on Google News. Why munna.

BTW, I know its not right to put unrelated stuff together, but its been some awesome couple of days. (label - personal extra curricular). Have been playing badminton almost 4 days a week now. Today, it was not on, but went playing footer. These English guys really know how to play the game, and its always fun learning (still) and playing the world's most favorite game. I hope the silver streak continues. Touch wood.

Two movies

Motorcycle diaries is a great road movie. The movie is less about the political education of Ernesto Guevera and more about the fun the two friends -Ernesto and Alberto have, during their South America trip. The movie is infused with loads of humor, while the grim problems faced by the people of South America are shown in palatable snapshots. That's what makes the movie less heavy. The camerawork is great and so is the acting. Loved the film.

Prestige reminds you why Christopher Nolan is a great director. He goes back to his distinctive style of film-making (quick cuts, non-linear story telling, shocking twists, portentous music) after Batman Begins. He puts the rehashed double role trick to magnificient use. The acting is top notch, though Scarlett Johansson is wasted. The casting of Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman in their respective roles is inspired. They suits their roles perfectly. I love the way Bale uses his strong immobile jaw to sharpen his understatedness. May be not on purpose, but it works.

Mahatma vs Gandhi

Mahatma vs Gandhi released this week. Read the reviews (DNA, HT, TOI) and I am sure, for many of the Indians, it will provide a great insight the utter turmoil and sadness that prevailed in Gandhi's domestic life.

I saw the Marathi play - Gandhi Virudh Gandhi and got to see the real father of a dysfunctional family for the first time. Just like Gandhi's humor and eccentric traits, this one also seems to have been sweeped below the PC carpet.

Anyway, my main grouse is really that none of these high-brow reviews mention this Marathi play as the source for the dramatization. Feroz Khan just trasported the material onto the Hindi stage and now the film and thus made it available to a wider audience.

If there is any credit due, it should be first to Ajit Dalvi and Chandrakant Kulkarni.

Mace - She would have said

On the highway of my life, there is a big pile-up. The traffic is on a standstill. There is a mountain of metal. People are hurt.
Sometimes you just want to reach the destination fast. Hell, you even know journey-is-important blah blah, but sometimes, things just get stuck, like constipation or something.
Its a time when my employer is trying to build another Channel Tunnel through my ass. And my bank has not debited my salary almost 4 days after month end. And I have just enough money to book the sidewalk spot to beg for the weekend. Its been a literally ass to mouth existence. Fuck the bloody what!
And my wife. Well, she ran away to Bombay, because I had no money. Here, I am.. All alone, sleeping on the floor, drowning in self-pity, typing away on a borrowed laptop.
Fuck the bloody what!

P.S. Correction - Wife didn't run away, though you are sure to think otherwise.