Pardon me for not completing the Germany experience... Been very busy lately.. Nah.. u guessed it right.. I am lazy...
Anyways i want to write abt the last few weeks which as always have been crazily hectic, interesting and a brought me new experiences.
The summer internship at ITC has so far been one of the better things to happen to me. I have learnt so much by just being there at the work place. I have made my share of mistakes but i got lucky and had an extremely frank and straight forwrd guide. She is an awesome lady and has given so many valuable inputs that I can't think of having had a better mgr than her. She points out my mistakes immediately and I really appreciate. Of course, there are times when she just leaves me speechless with the battery of gyaan ( She just speaks non-stop once she starts). But it is rich learning, something i wont get so easily.
And it is fun to be with her and the ABM. There's plenty of humor and exchange of ideas. And i guess it couldn't have been different. You don't expect the BM and ABM of a Candy brand to be serious ppl. :)
As for me, well, I am enjoying my stint here. Loads of learning. My approach to things has gone a sea change... I think twice b4 using words like "most", "almost", "majority"... everything has to be numbers. Now it is 50%, 60%, 10, 20 .... so on.
My level of comfort with excel has increased many-fold. I can't more stress the importance of being comfortable with excel to do well in an internship.
Market visits and interactions with salesmen and other ppl in the system has been a great experience too. You understand how easily a plan that looks perfect on paper and the meeting room, falls apart when applied in the field. Some of the ppl at the bottom of the hierarchy throw up insights that even experienced folks can't tell u abt.
So I have learnt to listen all the time. Something new and interesting keeps cropping up.
As the internship enters its final stages I hope i can end on a high and feel satisfied with my work.
Okay.. now i am bored.. i have a report to prepare soon... bahot likhna hain wahaan.
Later.
About Me
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
Trip to Germany
It was a dream and it's now a reality.. an awesome experience in Germany that might open up so many new things for me personally.
I was caught up with the pending work at college and hence the delay in posting my experience at Germany...
So here it goes..
The preparation
From warm clothes, to a new business suit, to exciting ties to running around for visa, to checking out the profiles of fellow participants, to packing all the stuff in the small suitcase of mine, to getting to the airport safe and sound.... The trip to Germany was a roller coaster even before it began!
I finally got hold of my visa on 5th January and was then all set to leave for Germany except for the warm clothes part. I realised that i was underprepared for the cold weather there what with the temperature touching - 20 deg celsius 2 days before i arrived in Germany.
Although i had already planned 3-4 layers of clothes i wasnt convinced that it was enough. Finally settled on a jacket that i tot was keeping me fairly warm.
Had about 5 layers of clothing on me when i left from the hostel :) More because i could not fit them in my suitcase than the cold!
The flight was comfortable and dint feel too long as i spent most time sleeping... We started 30 mins late and so had to hurry at the Frankfurt airport from where i had a connecting flight to Berlin.
Frankfurt Airport
I had thought about Frankfurt airport and was looking fwd to see one of the busiest airports in the world. busy it was and it was huge too... Without proper guidance it wasnt too difficult to get lost over there... I dint get lost though, was well in time to make it to my flight to berlin. I was the only Indian on the flight... and the weather was chilly to the core as i realised from the brief time i spent in the open while boarding the flight.. It was -5 deg celsius!!
Arrival at Berlin
Two sweet looking ladies were at the airport to welcome the participants... The special treatment had begun already. Sat in a huge SUV on my way to the hotel. I was accompanied by two other indians who incidentally were on the same flight as me. there was an american student as well. Had a brief introduction with them on the way to the hotel.
We stayed at nH Hotels AlexanderPlatz. The arrangements, needless to say were excellent. Each of us got a phone for use during our stay in Germany, chocolates and warm clothes. It was 12 noon by the time i settled in my room.. And ya, I had the entire room to myself :)
First Lunch at Berlin
I was pretty hungry by the time i got ready and hurried to the restaurant for lunch. Dint find much veggy stuff and had to settle on one of the only 2 veg dishes on menu. It was the most expensive lunch i ever had, and i m sure i wouldnt pay a pie for it in India :( ... But then, I dint have a choice, did I.
Post lunch i went back to my room. Was planning to sleep when i got a call from Deepak, another participant at the event. he was on the same floor as me. I went to meet him. he turned out to be a very good company and we discussed much abt our respective MBAs and lives in India and UK (Deepak was studying at manchester).
By the time i got back to room to catch some sleep, the time for the first get together had come. I quickly pulled myself out of bed and got ready for it.
The setting for the evening was amazing. Most participants had arrived by the time i reached. I quickly met my team members, Prasanna, Michael, jason and Gurkan(who arrived later) .. it was our first meeting and it felt good to see someone in flesh after i had interacted with online for so long. As it turned out, we struck off a good rapport from the beginning.
We also interacted with the other participants which had a lot of Indians in them. There were ppl from 12 different nationalities and it was a truly international setting. And yeah, i must mention the excellent setting of the place. The theme of the design was yellow, going by the Yellow color that defines DPWN... and it looked impressive.
After the initial welcome, we were left to have our dinner and continue interacting with each other and employees of DHL. As expected, the conversations lasted well into the night and the excitement among the participants was palpable.
When we finally broke for the day, we knew most of each other well and were having fun already. the next day was reserved for berlin's tour and the visit to the German Foreign office, which was something i was looking fwd to.
I settled into my bed and instantly fell asleep. I guess the travel and the entire excitement of the evening finally exhausted me. Day two had much in store for us all... Will write abt it in the next post.. till then adios!
I was caught up with the pending work at college and hence the delay in posting my experience at Germany...
So here it goes..
The preparation
From warm clothes, to a new business suit, to exciting ties to running around for visa, to checking out the profiles of fellow participants, to packing all the stuff in the small suitcase of mine, to getting to the airport safe and sound.... The trip to Germany was a roller coaster even before it began!
I finally got hold of my visa on 5th January and was then all set to leave for Germany except for the warm clothes part. I realised that i was underprepared for the cold weather there what with the temperature touching - 20 deg celsius 2 days before i arrived in Germany.
Although i had already planned 3-4 layers of clothes i wasnt convinced that it was enough. Finally settled on a jacket that i tot was keeping me fairly warm.
Had about 5 layers of clothing on me when i left from the hostel :) More because i could not fit them in my suitcase than the cold!
The flight was comfortable and dint feel too long as i spent most time sleeping... We started 30 mins late and so had to hurry at the Frankfurt airport from where i had a connecting flight to Berlin.
Frankfurt Airport
I had thought about Frankfurt airport and was looking fwd to see one of the busiest airports in the world. busy it was and it was huge too... Without proper guidance it wasnt too difficult to get lost over there... I dint get lost though, was well in time to make it to my flight to berlin. I was the only Indian on the flight... and the weather was chilly to the core as i realised from the brief time i spent in the open while boarding the flight.. It was -5 deg celsius!!
Arrival at Berlin
Two sweet looking ladies were at the airport to welcome the participants... The special treatment had begun already. Sat in a huge SUV on my way to the hotel. I was accompanied by two other indians who incidentally were on the same flight as me. there was an american student as well. Had a brief introduction with them on the way to the hotel.
We stayed at nH Hotels AlexanderPlatz. The arrangements, needless to say were excellent. Each of us got a phone for use during our stay in Germany, chocolates and warm clothes. It was 12 noon by the time i settled in my room.. And ya, I had the entire room to myself :)
First Lunch at Berlin
I was pretty hungry by the time i got ready and hurried to the restaurant for lunch. Dint find much veggy stuff and had to settle on one of the only 2 veg dishes on menu. It was the most expensive lunch i ever had, and i m sure i wouldnt pay a pie for it in India :( ... But then, I dint have a choice, did I.
Post lunch i went back to my room. Was planning to sleep when i got a call from Deepak, another participant at the event. he was on the same floor as me. I went to meet him. he turned out to be a very good company and we discussed much abt our respective MBAs and lives in India and UK (Deepak was studying at manchester).
By the time i got back to room to catch some sleep, the time for the first get together had come. I quickly pulled myself out of bed and got ready for it.
The setting for the evening was amazing. Most participants had arrived by the time i reached. I quickly met my team members, Prasanna, Michael, jason and Gurkan(who arrived later) .. it was our first meeting and it felt good to see someone in flesh after i had interacted with online for so long. As it turned out, we struck off a good rapport from the beginning.
We also interacted with the other participants which had a lot of Indians in them. There were ppl from 12 different nationalities and it was a truly international setting. And yeah, i must mention the excellent setting of the place. The theme of the design was yellow, going by the Yellow color that defines DPWN... and it looked impressive.
After the initial welcome, we were left to have our dinner and continue interacting with each other and employees of DHL. As expected, the conversations lasted well into the night and the excitement among the participants was palpable.
When we finally broke for the day, we knew most of each other well and were having fun already. the next day was reserved for berlin's tour and the visit to the German Foreign office, which was something i was looking fwd to.
I settled into my bed and instantly fell asleep. I guess the travel and the entire excitement of the evening finally exhausted me. Day two had much in store for us all... Will write abt it in the next post.. till then adios!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
A revelation
Today's FM exam turned out to be an eye opener and confidence booster in many ways.. i can stil read and understand the written word.. over the last few weeks i thought i had totally lost that ability. but today was different. Although i wasnt prepared completely, i could atleast answer those questions which i had read abt staying up the whole of last night...
Last night i tried out a tea + cup noodles + granita one after the other at ccd... yash was giving me company.. with a soar throat to go with i was certain it was an experiment that wasnt going to be too much fun.. And that's how it was... Spent the whole night wondering if i was actually going to puke or something else... The walk back to the room threw up some rather interesting one liners between me and yash.. Yash tried convincing me that i was suffering from lack of affection... And the way he put it i felt like a puppy who wasnt pampered since a very long time!!!
But then maybe i was feeling that way... he just put it into words in a moment of 'creative genius'.
The best one of course was the one which almost created a middle of the night discussion out of nothing...
Yash offered a one line summary of what i was trying to say... err rather wasnt trying to say...
And as fate had it, varun heard him say that n then there was the obvious curiosity around what exactly he meant... n some more heavy duty statements flew around until i decided to slip into my room and pay attention to FM.
It doesnt matter if ppl dont pay attention to u, you must pay attention to yourself.
Last night i tried out a tea + cup noodles + granita one after the other at ccd... yash was giving me company.. with a soar throat to go with i was certain it was an experiment that wasnt going to be too much fun.. And that's how it was... Spent the whole night wondering if i was actually going to puke or something else... The walk back to the room threw up some rather interesting one liners between me and yash.. Yash tried convincing me that i was suffering from lack of affection... And the way he put it i felt like a puppy who wasnt pampered since a very long time!!!
But then maybe i was feeling that way... he just put it into words in a moment of 'creative genius'.
The best one of course was the one which almost created a middle of the night discussion out of nothing...
Yash offered a one line summary of what i was trying to say... err rather wasnt trying to say...
And as fate had it, varun heard him say that n then there was the obvious curiosity around what exactly he meant... n some more heavy duty statements flew around until i decided to slip into my room and pay attention to FM.
It doesnt matter if ppl dont pay attention to u, you must pay attention to yourself.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
It's been a bad weekend. been down with cold and fever... the worst part would be to not be able to go to hyd this week... have loads of work to do.. but my body doesnt agree to the idea at all. Let's see how it goes. The pressure of studies seems to affect almost noone in my vicinity.. it's just the nature of things that have gone on this sem. So many events, activities and breaks.. hardly any focus on studies. N it's not over yet. expect some more drama to unfold over the next 2 weeks...
Monday, November 17, 2008
Alive and kickin, pushing, punching.....
As it turns out, b-school life is exactly as i wanted it. A post on the blog at the beginning of the first trim and now the second entry towards the end of the 2nd trim... phew it's been wonderfully hectic!
A lot has happened in the past few months.. i have worked on 9 projects.. (completed them too) and will have another 8 in the kitty by the end of this trim... Summers is done and i am going to a place where i wanted to... so happy..Stood for my first democratic election and got elected on merit.
Continuing with the tradition, i have taken up responsibilities that require me to juggle multiple things at one time.. from being a shadow member of a project to entering classes midway through the lecture to staying up till 6 in the morning.. i have done it all...
Nick-named papa by my lovely floor mates, i am trying my best to live up to their expectations of being good at everything! ( and no it is not easy)...
The trip to bonn n berlin should be fun. Honestly, things turned out to be much better than i ever expected.
At the moment, balancing responsibilities with the score of other activities in college seems a tough act. But then, it's not beyond me.. n i am enjoying it.
For a change no one in class expects me to score well in the tests, or answer questions in the class.. ppl cant even guess since when i was hoping for this to happen:)
As for the next blog entry/update.. i dunno when it will come... It's like a roller coaster ride this stay at the b-school.... there's no time to stop and ponder, pen down thoughts... but i wil try to keep the blog/periodical updated.. :)
A lot has happened in the past few months.. i have worked on 9 projects.. (completed them too) and will have another 8 in the kitty by the end of this trim... Summers is done and i am going to a place where i wanted to... so happy..Stood for my first democratic election and got elected on merit.
Continuing with the tradition, i have taken up responsibilities that require me to juggle multiple things at one time.. from being a shadow member of a project to entering classes midway through the lecture to staying up till 6 in the morning.. i have done it all...
Nick-named papa by my lovely floor mates, i am trying my best to live up to their expectations of being good at everything! ( and no it is not easy)...
The trip to bonn n berlin should be fun. Honestly, things turned out to be much better than i ever expected.
At the moment, balancing responsibilities with the score of other activities in college seems a tough act. But then, it's not beyond me.. n i am enjoying it.
For a change no one in class expects me to score well in the tests, or answer questions in the class.. ppl cant even guess since when i was hoping for this to happen:)
As for the next blog entry/update.. i dunno when it will come... It's like a roller coaster ride this stay at the b-school.... there's no time to stop and ponder, pen down thoughts... but i wil try to keep the blog/periodical updated.. :)
Thursday, July 3, 2008
GO IIFT GO!!!
It's been 3 days at IIFT and they have been the most unexpected.
The gruelling weather in Delhi which is nothing short of hell, with all its humidity drives me mad at times. That is the only thing that bothers me at this point of time.
The batchmates are the sorts that I could only have dreamt of sharing a classroom with.
Extremely talented,varied and achievers in one field or the other. The interaction during the classes is almost non-stop with the prof being bombarded with Q's after Q's.
The seniors have really made us realise the importance of what we are doing and how we should be doing it.Daily PDP sessions and meetings at 11 in the night for different clubs keep our schedules jam packed...
I am enjoying it though.Because during the whole process the profs have not interfered even once. Every event is organised and handled by students, just the sort of thing i like :-)
Starting this saturday, the long list of seminars that i would attend in the next 2 yrs begins and i cant explain how much i look fwd to it.
I think the next 2 yrs are gonna be simply awesome, what with a guitarist for a roomie, an amazing set of ppl to interact with and the opportunity to live my dream of pursuing an MBA being fulfilled.
While the load of work is gonna increase much more very soon, i am game for anything at this moment.
The pdp sessions in the sweaty auditorium is quite a problem but then i am enjoying them since i get to know a lot abt my batchmates and seniors.I think the whole set up is simply superb.
At 2 in the night, as my roomie plays his guitar, i am here typing away on my blog, dreaming of 2 fruitful years at b-school. here's wishing myself n my batchmates all the luck and a great life at IIFT!! GO IIFT GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The gruelling weather in Delhi which is nothing short of hell, with all its humidity drives me mad at times. That is the only thing that bothers me at this point of time.
The batchmates are the sorts that I could only have dreamt of sharing a classroom with.
Extremely talented,varied and achievers in one field or the other. The interaction during the classes is almost non-stop with the prof being bombarded with Q's after Q's.
The seniors have really made us realise the importance of what we are doing and how we should be doing it.Daily PDP sessions and meetings at 11 in the night for different clubs keep our schedules jam packed...
I am enjoying it though.Because during the whole process the profs have not interfered even once. Every event is organised and handled by students, just the sort of thing i like :-)
Starting this saturday, the long list of seminars that i would attend in the next 2 yrs begins and i cant explain how much i look fwd to it.
I think the next 2 yrs are gonna be simply awesome, what with a guitarist for a roomie, an amazing set of ppl to interact with and the opportunity to live my dream of pursuing an MBA being fulfilled.
While the load of work is gonna increase much more very soon, i am game for anything at this moment.
The pdp sessions in the sweaty auditorium is quite a problem but then i am enjoying them since i get to know a lot abt my batchmates and seniors.I think the whole set up is simply superb.
At 2 in the night, as my roomie plays his guitar, i am here typing away on my blog, dreaming of 2 fruitful years at b-school. here's wishing myself n my batchmates all the luck and a great life at IIFT!! GO IIFT GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Things start to roll
Tonight is a gr8 gr8 match on the cards... portugal clash with germany and i have no idea who's gonna win.both are good sides with portugal being the more attacking one.
Germany would be praying that podolski and frings play this match. And that gomez doesnt develop cold feet all over again. His miss in the last game was just unacceptable.
My laptop has arrived and it's a piece of my heart for the moment.
This is infact my first blog post on it. :)
A neat piece of engineering. Looks robust and sturdy. Hasnt given me too much of a bother so far.
For the use that i am going to put it to, i don't think there would be any major issues.I am not a gamer and mostly use my lappy for browsing or preparing presentations. My config would be just fine for it.
Only problem is that i got this terrible eye strain since i came home. Have finally decided to go for anti-glares. the TFT screen with true life seems to hurt my eyes even more.
btw, i was doing a rough calculation of my expenses incurred on mba so far and it has already crossed the rupee 2 lakh mark. But i am sure it's worth it.
Now, my eyes are strained and so i must stop. Don't miss the match tonight. And you dare not miss spain v/s italy. it should be a cracker of a match.
I am pleased that so many attacking teams are in the quarterfinals. My firm favorites are the dutch.They can go all the way. I just hope that they dont peak too early.The crunch time is now starting and i keep my fingers crossed for them!
Germany would be praying that podolski and frings play this match. And that gomez doesnt develop cold feet all over again. His miss in the last game was just unacceptable.
My laptop has arrived and it's a piece of my heart for the moment.
This is infact my first blog post on it. :)
A neat piece of engineering. Looks robust and sturdy. Hasnt given me too much of a bother so far.
For the use that i am going to put it to, i don't think there would be any major issues.I am not a gamer and mostly use my lappy for browsing or preparing presentations. My config would be just fine for it.
Only problem is that i got this terrible eye strain since i came home. Have finally decided to go for anti-glares. the TFT screen with true life seems to hurt my eyes even more.
btw, i was doing a rough calculation of my expenses incurred on mba so far and it has already crossed the rupee 2 lakh mark. But i am sure it's worth it.
Now, my eyes are strained and so i must stop. Don't miss the match tonight. And you dare not miss spain v/s italy. it should be a cracker of a match.
I am pleased that so many attacking teams are in the quarterfinals. My firm favorites are the dutch.They can go all the way. I just hope that they dont peak too early.The crunch time is now starting and i keep my fingers crossed for them!
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