The B Chronicles No. 4

Long time since I last posted but there hasn't been anything much to say. In fact, there still isn't.

Started AS/400 training yesterday. Its an interesting technology and I sure hope its something useful to waste 12 whole working days on. The good thing about this course is that the instructor is an extremely chilled out guy who gives us our space and yet manages to teach. A very helpful chap, indeed!! Plus, there is lunch for 12 days in a 3 star hotel. Granted, its veg, but its still very tasty.

The others from ILP who are not from Bombay are slowly adjusting to life here. It is sometimes scary for them, but I am sure they will manage. The only thing that irritates me is that the North Indians have not left behind their pompous attitude back home. For them, the most striking feature of Bombay is the abundance of small cars. "Hamare yahan to Skoddda, Mersideees jaisi gaddiyan to jagah jagah dikhti hain. Yahan to ek bhi nahin dekhi!!!" Dudes, ever heard of a Porsche before? Aww....forget it, I wouldn't expect those guys to know!!!

The B Chronicles No. 3

Ah....finally!!! My company seems to have found something for me. I am supposed to start training for AS400 next Monday. Lets hope this leads to something concrete (pun intended ;-) !!! )

In the meanwhile, the MATC person deputed to look after our allocations somehow reminds me of one of our faculty at Bhubaneswar. The same helpful nature, the same perenially confused look, the same desire to accomplish n number of things in one go. Hey AM(from my company), you seem to have found yourself an apt partner in the company. How I wish you two worked together....it would be simply hilarious.

More about the training in the next post.

The B Chronicles No. 2

Went to SEEPZ today in search of the MATC guy. He told all of us to go to Akruti. There we spent the first half of the day reading newspapers, magazines, staring at planes taking off from the airport etc. Lunch time was fun. Met many Compsy guys from college. It seems even they have nothing to do. Good for RR and me. I mean its psychologically satisfying to see others not working. It kinda makes you feel less guilty about your lack of work!!

The latter part of the day was spent in playing TT. I have not played the game for almost 3 years. Got to shake off the rustiness. Some guys here play like real pros. It seems many ppl here have either no work or very little work to do.

Garam Masala - A Review

Two cool dudes, lots of chicks, exotic locales and Priyadarshan+Paresh Rawal. Sounds nice, doesn't it? That's why I went to watch the night show of Garam Masala on Friday.

Movie starts off well with a nice catchy song and some gorgeous phirangi babes. Of course, there are Akki and John for company (;-) at the girls!!). However, one thing strikes you right from the beginning. Where is the goddamn story??? All that we can figure out is that Akki is a photographer and John is his assistant. Their roles somehow get swapped and now Akki has ego problems. To top it all, he begins to date 3 airhostesses (or airheads?), with different palates, at the same time. Enter the grumpy cook (Paresh Rawal). Cook manages to piss off all 3 airheads with the wrong cuisines. A lot of confusing moments later, the movie ends.

Of all the actors, Akki stands out. He is now beginning to deliver comic scenes very effectively, and it sure is a pleasure to watch him. John Abraham looks genuinely confused in some scenes but, most of the time, he manages to put on a very convincing impression of a dumbfounded monkey, who has not seen a razor in his lifetime!!! Paresh Rawal is, expectedly, brilliant. But, one gets the feeling that he is wasted in this role. Rajpal Yadav again plays Rajpal Yadav (Ho Hum!!). We also have Rimi Sen and Asrani in "blink-and-you-will-miss-it" roles. What a waste!!!

Corny jokes are liberally spread throughout the movie. One certainly feels that the movie could have been handled in a better way, especially considering that there was Priyadarshan at the helm. But then, the movie has its plus points. It moves at quite a clip. Plus, you at least feel like laughing at the silly jokes. And then, there are the girls to ogle at!!! (Sorry, girls!! I am human!)

All in all, timepass, but no substance. A strict one-time watch. Definitely not a Hera-Pheri. One word of caution to all the kaamwali bais in Bombay. Your jobs are now threatened by the multi-tasking airhostesses of Mauritius!!! Aaargh!!!

The B Chronicles No. 1

Report to Bombay branch at xxxxxx address on 31st Oct, 2005, said the transfer letter. The "show" began at 0930 hrs sharp. Some 10 presentations, a veggie lunch and a couple o' cups of tea later, we were done. The difference?? I began to love my bed at home even more!!! Presentations by various depts and GLs of imp projects!!!!???? Couldn't they think of something better than that? Gimme a break!!!

After all this, we came to know that our allocations were not yet done. Wow, what a won-derrr-fullll day it was!!! The only silver lining?? We don't need to report until next Monday. Happy Diwali to me!!!!

Sumo Speaks from Bombay

Had a lot of problems trying to get connected to the net throughout this week. Conversion from Dial up to Tri Band. Looks like it'll be another week before I get a proper connection. And this time, I am really anxious coz I will be paying for it!!! ;-)

Had a pretty uneventful flight back to Bombay. That is uneventful, if you can ignore the fact that I almost slept over my lunch, spilled coffee over my pants and, as a grand finale, sat back nursing a throbbing nerve in my temple, just as the plane was about to land!!! Pretty commonplace for me, I must say.

Having reached here, the first thing I did was sleep. And then, I slept again, and then some more! Finally, when I decided that I had rested enough, it was Sunday. And what does one do on Sundays? Of course, SLEEP!!!! :-D

Had to report for work on Monday, but then, that comes in the B Chronicles. Until later, CIAO.