It is quiet after the storm!

Blog this, Blog that!

A lot of incoherent thoughts crossing my mind right now. It felt nice to stay away from work yesterday! And it feels all the more good when everyone is working and you can just laze around. I went to office early morning for a few minutes and then returned. At first when T asked me not to come to work, I asked him what do I do. I would get bored at home. But on the contrary, I realised I had so many errands to run and I was so occupied thr the day - doing grocery shopping, a quick visit to the library, got a haircut and treated myself to a good lunch! Oh well, a day off doesn't really hurt.

I was apprehensive about returning to work today. But the tension in the air cleared up and hopefully things will work out for the better. The tough phase is hopefully past me. I realise I don't thank Vinay enough for being so supportive all the time. He is my sounding board and never complains. No wonder everyone in the team likes him so much! Mark Twain said, "I think a compliment ought to always precede a complaint, where one is possible, because it softens resentment and insures for the complaint a courteous and gentle reception."

So finally spring is here. I was really surprised to see so many tourists around - it is spring break! The buses were really crowded with so many kids - these kids brimming with enthusiasm, asking amazing questions to parents, looking at all the buildings with awe and restlessly waiting to get to the museums.

Of late, I'm noticing many of my friends that write blogs. The blog culture has really caught up. Wonder what makes it so popular, in the sense personal websites have existed for a long time now. What makes blogs different from them..I like Mark Cuban's reasoning in his interview to Dan Gillmor. It reads..

Q: What else should I have asked you about the new world of communications?
A: It's not a new world. We all have been able to create our own websites for years. This is just a content management system, verticalized for diary entries. That diary-like format has caught the attention of the voyeur in all of us. Whether or not it's a long term impact, I have no idea.

I do think it is the diary like format with bits n pieces of personal information (amounting to enough gossip) that makes a blog more appealing!

Turbulent Waters

mmmmm..I'm just going to sleep now. I am so tired after today's events. I try not to discuss work on this space but it just affects me so much that I try to come out of that hole and keep going deeper into it. But today's events were so different from the past. In the past I have been either quiet or taken my negative energy on someone else or by diverting my attention..It is funny that I when I'm upset I drink a lot of water...Probably because drinking water makes me get up from my desk and I try to clear my thoughts gazing down at the river from the pantry.

Today's outburst was so much like me...It was the culmination of everything. I don't know what's going to happen from here but I'm prepared for whatever decision is taken. If I've to go back, that's fine by me. It just reached a point where I couldn't lie low and pretend as though it was not happening and turn deaf ears to the bull shit. Ok whatever..It was a relief talking to t and I'm not going to work tomorrow.

Exporting America or Importing Profits?

Every morning, I start my day with a hot cup of tea and watching Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer on CNN's American Morning. I have been doing it religiously for the past few months. Today's show was disappointing. Minding your Business, a part of "American Morning", is anchored by Andy Serwer. Andy spoke of an "Importing America" case today. Obviously it drew everyone's attention as much as "Exporting America" is getting. He cited a case where an Indian company was looking at the American market for hiring American call center consultants. As I was composing this post, I found the transcript of this morning's show on the CNN site. Neat. I was mistaken to have thought that the disparaging remarks blurted out by Jack Cafferty (of the Cafferty File fame) and Soledad were impromptu. I should have known better that such things are tactfully delivered by the news channels. Read the entire transcript here that sparked my anger..what were they thinking ? My comments in blue..

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE": Insourcing. I don't know if this is man bites dog, role reversal. I think it's actually the exception that proves the rule.

This is interesting stuff here. Story in "The Wall Street Journal" about a company in India, call center. This is called V- Customer, they do all these big call centers. You call up, try to get information, it's in India.

Well guess what? Here's the company, V-Customer, they've got six call centers, they handle all those millions of calls. Three thousand employees, looking to double almost by later this year. They are looking to buy a company in the United States, of course, to expand their operations. Helping out with the call centers. And isn't that ironic.

Is it so difficult to digest the fact that a Indian company can hire Americans? I don't understand what's ironic. Business works both ways.

CAFFERTY: Maybe they could hire people in this country to speak English a little better than those folks over there do. I mean you get on the line with some of those folks in India, and you can spend the rest of your life there. They don't understand you, you don't understand them, it's takes forever.

I bet it does! I have seen both sides now. The AOL call center mentioned by Jack is indeed in Bangalore. I have seen them being coached for American English for 2 months. I will agree that I considered it funny when they would rut away the airport codes and the slang used by Americans, this was a part of their curriculum gearing them up for their jobs. It is a fact that one cannot 'remotely' learn a country's usage of language without actually interacting. And I definitely would give the benefit of doubt here.

HEMMER: Kind of like New York City.

SERWER: Listen, I was talking to someone from AOL at a call center in India and I was having a tough time, getting frustrated and I just said it's not her fault.

I can imagine the abuse this poor woman in India gets, day after day. She spoke English well, understood what she was doing. But you could see how frustrated customers with that job thing are giving her a hard time, right?

CAFFERTY: Well yes. I mean you pick up a phone to call AOL, it's an American company. The least you can expect to talk to someone who understands the language.

The best things in life come at a price. Be ready to pay $10 for a call and you will have an American chirping away with you.
(CROSSTALK)

SERWER: Colin Powell was there this week trying to jawbone the Indians to lift trade restrictions to make the job situation better there. He is there.

Why are some Indian cities such as Bangalore, Delhi thrown into bad limelight now and are getting attention more than what is due? Check the picture in this article titled Questioning free trade Mathematics. It is a picture of a company in New Delhi, not is Jakarta or Beijing or Mexico City. So many jobs get exported to these cities too. Then why target only one?

Reason : Presidential elections. The democrats are advocating the cause for loss of jobs. Outsourcing is definitely not new to this country. Outsourcing in the manufacturing segment started way back in the 1980's. But hue and cry of this magnitude was not raised then, why? Then why is export of technological jobs getting more attention. Because the percentage of job losses due to this is more than that could have been in any sector. Software is not a industry by itself - its repercussions on other industries is known to everyone.

-- to be continued...

Here are some good reads..

http://www.ftponline.com/weblogger/forum.aspx?ID=1&DATE=03/16/2004
http://www.infoworld.com/article/04/03/05/10OPconnection_1.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/18/business/18scene.html?pagewanted=2
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/17/international/asia/17POWE.html?th

Good Reads

Chk out all these-

1. Vault.com - This is a very good site to get the vibes of different companies and what insiders think. It is dubbed as a online water-cooler with employees giving a vent to their feelings honestly as everyone converses anonymously. So if you are looking out for a new job and wonder what it is like to join that company, post a message and you will be surprised at the mixed responses.

2. All work, no play - this article appeared in this Sunday's Chicago Tribune Magazine. It is a very beautifully written article describing the frenzy as we chase everything in life and yet they remain out of reach.

Currently Reading :

1. Omnipotent Government -The Rise of the Total State and Total War by Ludwig von Mises (1944) on V's recommendation. Reading this book gives a scary feeling. It is not so much different now than it was in 1939. Only that Germans have been replaced by some one else. The potential threat is always lurking over so long as the unquenchable thirst of one nation to exert power over the rest of the world stays.

2. The King of Torts - John Grisham

This weekend was uneventful. I saw the river turn green as part of St. Pat's weekend celebration. Still getting used to the glasses. Yesterday was my first day and my eyes and head hurt so badly.

Countdown

5 months to go. I'm tired of dealing with "dimag hai ghutne mein" kinda people. I will be so relieved. I am very glad I lost my temper today as not losing it would have made it worse for me.

31st August 1997

The memory of that Sunday morning is still clear. Home for the weekend from college, I was woken up by mom early morning that Princess Diana had met with a car accident. Mom has a habit of following news so closely everyday, irrespective of where she is. To add to it, she was such a big fan of the princess. We were glued to the TV that morning tying to absorb the terrible news. There is something with the British monarchy and most former colonies of England. The resentment built over the years perhaps leads to following every move of the monarchy and reveling in their bad publicity. But such was not the case with Princess Diana from the beginning. She was widely admired, mostly for her beauty but also for her quality to be bale to reach out the common people. Bad news concerning her rocked over and over again - separation, Prince Charles relationship with Camilla, Princess's alleged relationships with her trainer - all these finally culminating in the most tragic of all, her death in a car crash. No one will ever know who was responsible.

Now, more than 6 years later, NBC is broadcasting a 2 part series called "Princess Diana: the Secret Tapes". As she narrates the distress she was enduring in her marriage, it brings back fond memories of the princess - allegedly the most photographed woman in the world. Its a shame that life of someone so beautiful had to end the way it did.

End of a journey....

I was searching for a quote to best describe the situation and I found more than what I was looking for. Here it is-
Pull the string, and it will follow wherever you wish. Push it and it will go nowhere at all. It's just that way when it comes to leading people. - General Dwight D. Eisenhower [He used to demonstrate the art of leadership with a simple piece of string. He'd place the string on the table and say the above.]

Letting go of something is so easy. If at all getting back time and people were so easy, things wouldn't be so tough. It is time for retrospection and a little insight into things. If you must play, decide upon three things at the start: the rules of the game, the stakes, and the quitting time. A good balance of hard workers and smart workers is the formula to successful project management.

Meanwhile I'm enjoying this phase with less pressure at work. The past weekend was fabulous. I'm eagerly looking forward to the next 2 months - a lot of traveling to do - it is going to be tiring but it will be fun too.

I'm getting glasses. Its funny because I had this habit of gng to an optometrist every 6 months, under the pretext of headache (well not pretext as I would really get head ache) hoping I would be prescribed one. But every time I went for a check-up I was told its very mild and that I don't need one. But today the doctor prescribed one as it was very fuzzy --- I don't think its cool now. Makes me feel old :( But atleast I'm hoping it will be a cure for my persistent head aches.

I am in a state of trance. People have been kidding that I behave as though I've been on drugs. I've got a shooting pain in the head that stays for days leaving me in a dizzy state even after the pain has subsided. I guess its weird because during these periods I get irritated, suggest things that perhaps don't make sense.