Sunday, September 6, 2009

Seasons in the sun

Things were so different few years back. Back, when I am in school and Jr. College I always enjoyed rainy season. Friends, Wet school bags, Paper boats, playing with kids in the street, rainbows were all associated with rains.
Traffic jams, Pot holes, Stagnant Water, Viral Fevers and Cold n Cough are things that are associated with rains now. Have the things changed or have I grown up so much that I stopped enjoying rain.
There were so many evening, we (friends) enjoyed with out a penny in hand. Now all of us have money to spend but we don’t have time now.
Every morning was a fresh start. Excitement of going to school and meeting friends woke me up. Now the very idea of a going to work on a Monday morning puts me off.
There was only 1 channel, yet it was so entertaining. Now we have 400+ channels yet I don’t stop switching between channels to find something more entertaining.
Summers were so special with visits to grandparents place, swimming in ponds, eating raw mangoes with salt and chilly powder in the fields.
No 1 or 2 month holidays now. It’s just a leave here and there. Summers are no different now.
Hmmm…where are those days?

Thursday, September 3, 2009

CSR(Coperate Social Responsibility)

And finally we have started CSR team in organsation.
I havn't ever enjoyed anything more than being a part of this team. We kick started by organising a blood donation drive which was a huge sucess. In the process of planning for our next event I happened to meet somebody from CRY (Child Rights and You). I am quite impressed to know thier holistic approach. It works at a complete different level.
They don't runs Schools, hospitals and orphanages nor they separate deprived and abused children from thier homes to put them under cover. They deal with the root cause of the problem. Thier projects mobilise affected communities, and equip them to struggle for their own rights as well as their children’s rights, and secure them without outside intervention. Thus making them self sustainable . They efforts towards advocacy with government bodies in influencing policy framing and implementation has bought in many a result.
Look at these figures of just 2008 -09
Number of children covered through intervention 7,61,167
Villages & Slums Reached 6,702
100% enrolment in education programs (villages/slums) 1,197
100% child labour free villages/slums (up to 14 years) 481
No of children covered in health check up programs 63,936
No. of new children’s collectives formed or activated 1,634
No of children mainstreamed into Govt. primary schools 38,169
Govt. schools reactivated 1,376
If you are wondering these numbers are huge......then..let me tell you, there still lakhs and lakhs of children who are deprived of thier rights by thier own parents and society. Very sad.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

From Maverick College Life to Strict professional life

Here i am sitting in my office @ night… Thinking hard about life How it changed from a maverick collage life to strict professional life…...
How tiny pocket money changed to huge monthly paychecks but then why it gives lesss happiness….
How a few local denim jeans changed to new branded wardrobe but then why there are less people to use them
How a single plate of samosa changed to a full Pizza or burger But then why there is less hunger…..
Here i am sitting in my office @ night… Thinking hard about life How it changed…..
How a bike always in reserve changed to bike always on but then why there are less places to go on……
How a small coffee shop changed to cafe coffee day but then why its feels like shop is far away…..
How a limited prepaid card changed to postpaid package but then why there are less calls & more messages……
Here i am sitting in my office @ night… Thinking hard about life How it changed…...
How a general class journey changed to Flight journey But then why there are less vacations for enjoyment….
How a old assembled desktop changed to new branded laptop but then why there is less time to put it on……….
How a small bunch of friends changed to office mateBut then why we always feel lonely n miss those college frnz.….
Here i am sitting in my office @ night… Thinking hard about lifeHow it changed….. How it changed…….to Month Maturity and Roll Rates………..

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Top 10 Interview Mistakes

The best way to avoid the most common and dangerous interview mistakes is to think ahead and decide not to make them... Read on for a whistle-stop tour of the top ten interview clangers!
1. Lying Although it's tempting, it doesn't work. By all means gloss over the unflattering things. But out-right fibbing NEVER pays.
Mark Twain said: "If you tell the truth, you never have to remember anything." Think about it. They will catch you out later.
2. Slating your current company or boss Fed up with your current job and would give anything to leave because they've treated you badly? Your job interview is NOT the time to seek revenge. Bear in mind that the interviewer will be listening to your answers and thinking about what it would be like to work with you. Ask yourself: do you like working with people who constantly criticise others? Isn't it a bit wearing? The trouble is that the interviewer draws massive conclusions from your answers. So your throwaway comment about your boss or employer may be interpreted to be your "standard" way of thinking. It makes you look bad, not your employer.
3. Being Rude If you find you were accidentally rude, then apologise calmly and genuinely. Then leave it behind you and get on with the rest of the interview. If you dwell on it, it will affect your performance. What's "rude"? Well, that depends on your audience. As a rule of thumb, avoid cracking jokes about potentially sensitive topics and beware of being too "pally" with the interviewer: polite and friendly is enough. After all, you're not in the pub with them. So stay professional. Also bear in mind that everyone you meet could be involved in the selection process. So blanking the receptionist or talking down to the junior members of staff could cost you the job.
4. Complaining Ok, so your train journey might have been a nightmare and maybe you thought the tube would never arrive, or the tailbacks on the motorway were endless. But your interviewer doesn't want to know that! Complaining, even in jest, is not a recommended icebreaker. It may be completely harmless, or it might simply make the interviewer switch off. Don't let complaining set the tone for the interview!
5. Talking about people you don't get on with at work These days, it's common to be asked how you deal with conflict. Companies realise the importance of interpersonal relationships in the working environment. So if they ask you about difficult people or situations, make sure you hold back from character assassination and blaming others for problems because it won't do you any favours! If you accidentally do "break" this rule, apologise and explain what you "really" meant.
6. Not Being Prepared Re-read the relevant version of your CV and the job advert, just before the interview. You'd be surprised how many people can't remember what they wrote on their CV. And if you remember what type of person the job advert was looking for, it's easier to demonstrate that you have those qualities. Make sure you've brought with you anything you were asked for. It's fine to bring a note-pad and pen, but make sure they're tidy. It's even ok to bring notes with you; particularly if you have any questions you want to ask. It shows you're taking the job application seriously. Ill-prepared candidates rarely get job offers.
7. Appearing to be too nervous, or too confident If you appear too nervous they'll think you're not confident enough to do the job. However, appearing too confident will make them think you won't fit into the team. If interview nerves are an issue for you, it's worth getting practical help from a professional, such as an interview coach.
8. Making a weak first impression Unfortunately, no matter how hard the interviewer tries, a lot of "don't want to hire them" decisions are made in the first few minutes of contact. If you make a strong first impression, the interviewer will be more inclined to overlook "imperfections" in your answers.
9. Not having researched the company
As a general rule, the more famous the brand, the more they will expect you to have done your homework. Researching the company shows you're serious about the job.
10. Putting your foot in it and not noticing Yes, we know, you didn't mean to put your foot in it. But it doesn't really matter what you intended. What counts is how the other person reacts. So what can you do? Be prepared to simply say "sorry, that's not what I meant!" This requires you to actually be paying attention to the interviewer, rather than your own thoughts and feelings. Once you've apologised, leave it there, take a deep breath to help you relax and move on with the job interview.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Mail Merging numbers with decimals - MS Word

When using Excel spreadsheets in a mail merge process, you may run into difficulty formatting the fields that contain number values. Irrespective of number and decimal format you choose in excel, merged MS-word fields doesn't reflect the format and MS-Word does not provide a way for you to change how many decimal places are displayed when working with numbers.

Here is a easy solution:

To specify how many decimal places to display in your Word mail merge, you can use the Numeric Picture Field Switch (\#):
1. With the mail merge main document open, press Alt + F9 to view the field codes
2. The field code will look something like {MERGEFIELD “fieldname” }
3. Directly after the end quote around the field name type \# -- do not add spaces or quotes
4. Directly after the field switch you just entered, type 0.0x if you want to round the number to two decimal places, 0.00x if you want to round the number to three decimal places and so forth
5. Once you have added your field switch, press Alt + F9 to display the fields instead of the field codes
Your number will appear rounded to the decimal place you specify; if it does not display immediately, refresh the document by minimizing it to the toolbar and reopening. If the field value still does not display correctly, you may need to refresh the document again or close and re-open your document.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Kids - How wonderful

Couple of weeks back when some relatives visited my place we visited a temple (as a part of trip in the campus). My son, 4yrs old was with us. On our way he asked me 100 hundred questions as always. One of it was “what happened to these plants?” pointed his finger to small plant that withered in summer heat. I explained that as plants/trees don’t get enough water during summer, they are dyeing. When rains come there would be new plants again. He continued with his questions "why doesn't it rain now?", "when would it rain?" and I continued with my answers.
While at temple we all prayed and my little one started running from one corner to another. My mom called him and explained to him that this is a sacred place, you should rather pray.
He quickly did "Namaste" and started running again. My aunt stopped him and said "you should ask him (god) something". My little one did "Namaste" again and tried to run away.
My aunt asked him "what did u ask?” Everybody started making their guesses "chocolates?", "Toys?", "Ice creams", "New clothes". He promptly replied NO, I asked for water to these plants. Everybody laughed at him and teased him.
And when he came to me, I assured him that he is the best & kissed him. He started running around again.
For a moment when I thought about the whole thing, I released how wonder we are as humans when we are born. Somewhere down the line as we grew up we have unlearnt some nice things and learnt some wrong things. Kids (we were all too) are so unconditional in loving. They find joy in doing things. They imagine with out limits and forgive easily.
We grow ups need reasons to like somebody, we have rigid opinions about people, we are result oriented, and most of us have self imposed pressure of being better than others.I am still wondering how wonderful world would be if we haven’t unlearnt those nice things.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Lets Vote - Lets make a difference

With polls around the corner, here are few more details you should know

If you have registered yourshelves but havn't received the card(please wait till 15th Apr 09)...you can still vote. Check whether your name is there in the Voters' List. Login to http://ceoandhra.nic.in/Final_erolls_2009_II.html and submit Name of District, AssemblyName / House No and click search. If your name is there in the voter list, you will get the results. All you have to do is to carry the following documents along with you : http://ceoandhra.nic.in/GE_2009/Alternate%20Docs.pdf and Voter Id Card No (it would there in the site) .

You can find polling booth of your area details at: http://www.pollingbooth.in/
You can also check the same by sending an an SMS to 56677 in this format: CEO or HNO
You can find your constituency details at http://www.pollingbooth.in/ (enter your Voter Id Card No in the Voter Id Card field and click on
search.)

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

HR executive's Love Letter

Dearest Ms Juliet,

I am very happy to inform you that I have fallen in Love with you since the 14th of October (Sunday). With reference to the meeting held between us on the 27th of July at 1500 hrs, I would like to present myself as a prospective lover.

Our love affair would be on probation for a period of three months and depending on compatibility, would be made permanent. Of course, upon completion of probation, there will be continuous on the job training and performance appraisal schemes leading up to promotion from lover to spouse.

The expenses incurred for coffee and entertainment would initially be shared equally between us. Later, based on your performance, I might take up a larger share of the expenses. However I am broadminded enough to be taken care of, on your expense account.

I request you to kindly respond within 30 days of receiving this letter, failing which, this offer would be canceled without further notice and I shall be considering someone else. I would be happy, if you could forward this letter to your sister, if you do not wish to take up this offer.

Thanking you in anticipation,
Yours sincerely,
( HR Executive )

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Date's format when Mail Merging data from XL to Word

When you are mail merging dates from Excel to Word., the merge shows data in mm/dd/yy format irrespective of format you have in excel.

Here is the procedure to change the format of merged data in word:

Once finish the merge and put all the merge fields in, click on the date one you want to change so it is highlighted, then press Alt + F9 on the keyboard. This will display all the merge codes.

All you need to do is add some extra code to change the formatting.

Eg: your original table field is called 'Date', the merge field will currently be {MERGEFIELD "date"}

You need to add the following formatting data: \@"dd MMMM yyyy"

So your field will now look like this {MERGEFIELD "date" \@"dd MMMM yyyy"}

Press Alt + F9 again to revert to the field name view, then click onto the next step. You'll see your dates are now formatted in the long date format.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Poem

Apeom my husband wrote long back..

O, my heart bleeds for thee:

Your life has love, joy and peace, no more

And just a Zombie

Nothing else are thee;

A consequence of violent years of yore.

O, my heart bleeds for thee:

Tis all you have on terr-

Abhorence, Sorrow and the saffron shine O'dripping carcasses

And yet, your callous life on and on passes-

For 'tis your sons that err.

O, my heart bleeds for thee:

Alas, I cannot crush this violence

But, can only console-with the melodies from my heart's violins.

O terr, do you bear, as Hercules does to thee?

O, Sufferings, how eternal are they;

Killings, how brutal are they, O.

O, my heart bleeds for thee:

O, my heart bleeds for thee:

Monday, March 23, 2009

Impossible is Nothing

2 quotes on "Impossible"

Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's a opinion. It's a Dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is Temporary.

All great achviements are once considered impossible.

Friday, March 20, 2009

My Blog

2 years back....

I had lots of free time and I didn't know how to spend it. I had spent hours in the balcony and by window side getting lost in to the view of snow covered peaks, wondering how and what to do to spend time constructively. Then, We were living at an outpost, closer to a small village and away from a small town. There were no hobby centers or institutions to pursue anything. All I had was dial up Internet Connection and my husband’s old poster colors and a painting board. He used to paint in his academy days. His paintings were in art exhibition of NDA and in the dinning hall of his parent unit. He paints well enough, but hardly had time to teach me.
So I decided to learn painting on my own. I have picked up a big painting board. Probably of 3x2 foot in size. Searched few websites and few drawing books, noted few techniques and points and started painted. Choosing a picture and drawing the sketch was relatively very easy to me. I finished the drawing in couple of hours. Next day I started with oil colors and brushed. For 2 days I was engaged well enough as I was painting back grounds (without shading). After 2 days I had to wait for a week to fill in other colors as the back ground colors took lots of time to dry. Weather was bad and we had no sunshine for days together. I started getting bored and impatient again. And the frustration of being idle was building up in me. I browsed every day for hours together (as pages took several minutes to come up) looking for ideas I can pursue to pass time. I found many. I didn’t like few and couldn’t pursue the rest as raw materials, resources were not available.
I was checking mail once when I found a friend of mine posted his Blog. I liked the idea instantly. I was sure that it will be an outlet of thoughts of my idle brain. I took the help of this friend and successfully build the blog after a week's struggle.
Ever since, I have posted everything and anything that had amused me. This blog has been my personal diary of emotions and entertainment. It carried my ideas and opinions, likes and dislikes thoughts and emotions. I haven’t continued to paint for long but I am still blogging……….

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Dozen best logics

1. If time doesn't wait for you, don't worry!Just remove the damn battery from the clock and Enjoy life!

2. Expecting the world to treat u fairly coz u r a good person is likeexpecting the lion not to attack u coz u r a vegetarian.Think about it.

3. Beauty isn't measured by outer appearance and what clothes we wear,but what we are inside .. So, try going out naked tomorrow and see theadmiration!

4. Don't walk as if you rule the world,walk as if you don't care who rules the world!That's called Attitude…! Keep on rocking!

5. Every lady hopesthat her daughter will marry a better man than she didand is convinced that her son will never find a wife as good as his fatherdid!!!

6. He was a good man. He never smoked, drank had no affair.When he died, the insurance company refused the claim.They said, he who never lived, cannot die!

7. A man threw his wife in a pond of Crocodiles?He's now being harassed by the Animal Rights Activists for being cruel tothe Crocodiles!

8. So many options for suicide:Poison, sleeping pills, hanging,jumping from a building, lying on train tracks,but we chose Marriage, slow sure!

9. Only 20 percent boys have brains, rest has girlfriends!

10. All desirable things in life are eitherillegal, banned, expensive or married to someone else!

11. Laziness is our biggest enemy- Jawaharlal NehruWe should learn to love our enemies- Mahatma GandhiAb aap bataaye kiski sune bapu di ya chacha di??? (which one you choose?)

12. 10% of road accidents are due to drunken driving.Which makes it a logical statement that90% of accidents are due to driving without drinking!

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

An Ex-Wife's Revenge

She spent the first day packing her belongings into boxes, crates and suitcases.

On the second day, she had the movers come and collect her things.

On the third day, she sat down for the last time at their beautiful dining room table by candlelight, put on some soft background music and feasted on a pound of shrimp, a jar of caviar and a bottle of Chardonnay. When she had finished, she went into each and every room and deposited a few half-eaten shrimp dipped in caviar, into the hollow of the curtain rods.She then cleaned up the kitchen and left.

When the husband returned with his new girlfriend, all was bliss for the first few days. Then slowly, the house began to smell. They tried everything; cleaning, mopping and airing the place out. Vents were checked for dead rodents and carpets were steamed. Air Fresheners were hung everywhere. Exterminators were brought in to set off gas canisters, during which they had to move out for a few days, and in the end even paid to replace the expensive wool carpeting. Nothing worked. People stopped coming over to visit. Repairmen refused to work in the house. The maid quit. Finally, they could not take the stench any longer and decided to move.

A month later, even though they had cut their price in half, they could not find a buyer for their stinky house. Word got out and eventually even the local realtors refused to return their calls. Finally, they had to borrow a huge sum of money from the bank to purchase a new place. The ex-wife called the man and asked how things were going. He told her the saga of the rotting house. She listened politely and said that she missed her old home terribly, and would be willing to reduce her divorce settlement in exchange for getting the house back. Knowing his ex-wife had no idea how bad t he smell was, he agreed on a Price that was about 1/10th of what the house had been worth, but only if she were to sign the papers that very day. She agreed and within the hour his lawyers delivered the paperwork.

A week later the man and his girlfriend stood smiling as they watched the moving company pack everything to take to their new home.... ........including the curtain rods.

================

Heeeeeeeeehe If only all women could be that smart....we would have ruled the world

Monday, March 9, 2009

No Work at office - Try these

If you find it very boring in the office, here are some tips:
1. Form a detective agency to find out who is quitting next.

2. Make blank calls to your Boss.

3. Send mails from lotus notes (outlook)to your internet mail (and immediately get to the internet and see who reaches first, you or your mail?)and read them there, and note down the time they take to reach there.Then do vice versa.............!!

4. Rearrange the furniture, i.e. flick someone else's chair just to irritate him/her.

5. Count your fingers (and toes if you still get bored).

6. Watch other people changing their facial ex-pressions whileworking and try changing your ex-pressions also.

7. Try to stretch status meetings as longer as possible, just by asking silly doubts.

8. Make faces at strangers in office.

9. Have a two and hlaf hours lunch; it's a big social occasion.

10. Learn to whistle.

11. Revise last week's newspaper.

12. Hold "How fast my computer boots" competitions.

13. Practice aiming the coffee cup into the dustbin.

14. Compile "How to waste your day"

15. Pick up phone and dial non-existing nos.

16. Have work breaks in between tea.

17. Count maximum no of applications your computer can open at time(till it finally crashes).

18. For Win NT/95 users....Move things to Recycle bin and restore them.. Then repeat this process.

19. Look at someone & try to imagine how(s) he might have looked when(s) he was 5 years old.

20. After trying everything...when you are tried....Make use of the comfortable chair and table provided and take a nap.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Excellence

A German once visited a temple under construction where he saw a sculptormaking an idol of God. Suddenly he noticed a similar idol lying nearby.Surprised, he asked the sculptor, "Do you need two statues of the sameidol?" "No," said the sculptor without looking up, "We need only one, butthe first one got damaged at the last stage." The gentleman examined theidol and found no apparent damage. "Where is the damage?" he asked. "Thereis a scratch on the nose of the idol." said the sculptor, still busy withhis work. "Where are you going to install the idol?"The sculptor replied that it would be installed on a pillar twenty feethigh. "If the idol is that far, who is going to know that there is ascratch on the nose?" the gentleman asked. The sculptor stopped his work,looked up at the gentleman, smiled and said, "I will know it."The desire to excel is exclusive of the fact whether someone elseappreciates it or not. "Excellence" is a drive from inside, not outside.Excellence is not for someone else to notice but for your own satisfactionand efficiency...