Friday, July 31, 2009

Life in Hyderabad

I'm writing this post from a train, meaning that I don't have anything in particular to say. Its an hour long journey & I need something to do & so, here we are. I'm returning from a visit to my colleague's new house which is in the outskirts of Hyderabad. Even my office is located in the outskirts but at the opposite end of Hyderabad. To further delay this already long journey, the trains over here seem to get caught in traffic a lot though they aren't that frequent. Its anyway better than the chaotic traffic on the roads here. Chennai's roads may be more congested & Mumbai's roads may be more jammed but I have never seen such anarchy on the roads anywhere.


Having said that, I would like to confess that I would love to travel in this city. Anarchy in driving is something that a guy like me would enjoy unless I was in a hurry. But that is not why I love riding in this city. The magic word is climate. People here may not realize but they have an awesome climate throughout the day. Coming from Chennai, I know how it sweats while on a public transport; I know how hot it is while sitting on a bike at a signal. Over here though, the sun is hidden for the most part of the day; there is no sweat; there is but frequent drizzle. It doesn't exactly feel like a hill-station but it reminds you of the ones you have been to. A climate like this can actually change a person. It might not change you spiritually but it will change the way you look at things. Like what you ask? Well, unlike ever before in my life, I fancy a daily walk over here. On that bomb-shell, I sign off coz my station is here.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Still writing notes..

Now that I have settled into the lifestyle of an office-goer, a lot has changed. Though my office is just like a friend's house, working as if I'm doing an assignment with my friend isn't giving results. Its no more a close set of friends with the same mindset & objectives. I believed that my four years in a competitive gaming team would have taught me about working in a team.

But I realize now that, as a gaming team, we never focused on set objectives. Our only objective was to do our best. But in an office, it is very different. Its not about doing our best. Its about getting the work done. For that, we need clear set of objectives, a process to reach that objective & finally, documentation of everything to make sure that everyone (including us) understands what is happening.

In an office, an idea in the mind is worth nothing when those working with you aren't aware of it or don't understand it. This makes more sense especially in a creative or managerial job. Since I'm in a managerial position currently, I'm beginning to understand not just the need for such documents but also the purpose that each document should serve. Never thought I would come to such an opinion, haha!

Monday, July 20, 2009

B'Day Treat

As I said in my previous post, I received my first substantial salary recently and it was also my birthday. To top it off, I visited Chennai and so, it was obvious that I had to treat my team. I don't think I need to explain more. I'm sure you could imagine what would've happened. If you have any trouble visualizing the scenario, here are some pictures to help you out.

From left to right: me, Bharath, Karthik, Ashwin, Vijay, Riaz and Raja


The Heavy-weights

The average eaters

The innocent and the naughty..

Sadly, I couldn't reach Ganesh anna. Praveen decided to assemble his 10 newly bought computers instead of joining us. Siva had to take care of Praveen's cafe. Together, these people constitute my gaming team, 'Guardians'.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

My B'Day!

I think it was my first ever B'Day away from home. Apart from that, yesterday was a superb day. Lots of 'firsts' on my B'Day. For the first time ever, I have rent a room along with my friends and we shifted to the room yesterday. I drove a car to & fro for work (yet another first). My friends here bought a custom made cake (so far cake-cutting has been restricted to college). And to top all this, I received my biggest ever sal, 10k.. :D Now that, is a day to remember.. Enjoy the pics..

Instead of B'Day bumps, they decided to embarrass me by making me wear that stupid hat. That is Ravi in the background.


Near the cherry it says 'Guitar Hero'.. O_o


Money, haha!


Finally, went to sleep in our new home..


Finally, a video of the cake cutting.. The one decorating me is Majid (Neo) and the venue is our office.. :p