Senthil’s Page
This is not just another bloody WordPress.com weblog!! What were you thinking eh?Archive for My Life
Done being a student!
With the end of this month, I would no longer be a student anymore. (Well, lets assume I don’t get crazy enough to go ahead and do my PhD or something like that!). Now you might be curious to know how I feel about the whole thing. Well, I myself cannot figure out how I feel about the whole thing. I mean, I just woke up the day after my last presentation we made for CAPSIM like it was just another day. It didn’t somehow hit me that I can no longer be a student. Strange.
But when I look back at how I felt when I was done with school, I felt the same – Nothing!. But years later, every time I think about school, I always get nostalgic and never fail to smile. ‘School days are the best’, I’d tell myself. And again, I somehow feel this is exactly how I’m going to feel about college years from now, when I hang my laptop on my shoulder, carry files in hand and fake a smile for a foreign client from whom I expect to fetch my company millions in dollars. I just hope those days aren’t any day near. Yearning to go back in time can be killing! Let that feeling take its own sweet time to reach me.
Having said I have done classroom-studying, I’ll never let my need to keep learning leave me ever. What’s there to outside one’s classroom far outnumbers what one learnt in class. And as I prepare myself to jump across frames that will transform me from being a student to an employee (a businessman later in life), there are things to be done, habits to be changed and people to be thanked. Since the list can get long, please bear with me!
I cannot but start thanking some of the most nicest teachers I have studied under in Christ School, Bangalore. Starting with Sr. Sagaya Mary (Taught me maths in Standard Two), Mr. Baby Philip, Mrs. Shashikala, Mrs. Amita Chaturvedi, Mrs. Latha Renji and Mr. Pandey. I guess if not for them, I would be less competent in one way or another. And then I must thank Mrs. Mariyamma, my accounting lecturer in Christ Junior College. My professors at Alliance Business Academy, where I did my BBM, always believed in me and have played a key role in my academic life. I cannot thank Prof. Ray Titus for his wonderful lectures in Services Management and Strategy, that I remember until today. The list is absurdly long when it comes to my Ohio University Christ College MBA professors whom I love and respect. Thanks to Dr. Raghu Iyer, Dr. Amalendu Jyotishi, Dr. Venkatesha Bhagavat, Dr. John Schermerhorn, Dr. Felicia Morgan, Dr. Dinesh Iyer, Dr. Jayanta Sen and Mrs. Gayathri (Placement Officer). I am really going to miss the office staff in Ohio Christ.
I met some of my best friends while being a student. Though I’ve lost contact with a lot of these people, they still mean a lot to me – Fijo Paulson, Dhanush Jose, Derrin Joseph, Asma Rafeeq, Sharan Sridhar, Soumya Madhavan, Ninal Joseph, Nandini Narayan, Jiji John, Sachin R, Ammar Khan, Krishna Murthy, Vinay Chetan, Nimisha Saha, Nayanshi Shaw, Preethi Paul, Shalini Kashinath and Salma Raheem. I am so sure I’ve missed out a lot of names. If you are among them, my apologies. I really wish I could throw you all a party for being such good friends of mine!
As I start my career, in an not-so-awesome fashion in a not-so-good recession ridden economy, I am nervous and excited. Years from now, as I look back to tomorrow, I just hope I can say to myself – ‘I’ve come a long way!’
Love
Sen
Thanks for all the love!
This year’s birthday is the best ever I’ve had in a long time now! And it wouldn’t have been possible if not for a lot of people who really care for me!
Sharan, Nandini, Nimisha, Dumbo and Nick came home at 9AM while I was still sleeping deeply. I heard someone knock frantically at my door. When I opened the door, I was so surprised when all I could hear was these nuts shouting ‘Happy Birthday!’. It took me a while for me to realize who all were there. Sharan had to leave in a while for he had office. After a while Shalini, Natasha and Sumit joined us as well.
We cut cakes, opened presents and ordered food home. It was great fun in all. I must really thank all you people for being there at my place on that day and for all their love. I really missed Preethi and Sharan. It would have been great if only these both could have been there as well. 
Thanks!
Love
Sen
Getaway to Mysore
Nandini’s dad happens to be Karnataka’a High Court Judge and customarily gets passes for all major events the Karnataka Government organizes. So this Dasara (An extravagant festival celebration organized by the Government in Mysore District, Karnataka, India. For more information read here) her dad got gold passes for the event and since they had other plans, Nandini gave it to Sharan and me to go watch the event.
After enough discussion, we decided to reach Mysore on Sharan’s Honda Unicorn since it was only 140 kilometers away from Bangalore. We left on Wed, 8 Oct 2008, at around 6pm and stopped at Barista which is located on the highway. Since the last time I saw the highway has changed a lot. The highway now houses Cafe Coffee Days, Barista, McDonalds, tens of Dhabas and plenty other places for one to stop and relax for a while.
We finally reached Mysore at 9.30 PM that night and since we had our hotel rooms confirmed in advance, thanks to Sharan, all we had to do was get in and freshen up and leave to have dinner. The security guard in the restaurant told us about RRR, one of Mysore’s famous place to have Biryani. We did find the food amazing after our dinner.
The next morning, we left to the Mysore Palace where the procession was scheduled to begin at 12.30PM. We reached the place at 11.30 and found a mile long queue. We wondered if we would even get a place to sit. Suddenly we felt the Gold Passes we were holding wasn’t all that precious. There were many others with similar looking passes. Laugh out Loud. After security checks, when we went in, one cannot ignore the spectacular Mysore Palace in the background. Even though I’ve been there a couple of times earlier, each time you experience a whole new feeling. We sat in the seats allocated to us and watched the entire procession. It was a colourful and a splendid performance for people all over the state.
That evening we went to the closing ceremony for Mysore Dasara 2008. It was organized in a place called Banni Mantap. I loved the parade and the fireworks in the end, not to mention the motorcycle stunt performances. Since cameras weren’t allowed inside, we couldn’t take pictures.
We left the next morning early at 6 AM stopping once to have breakfast in a highway restaurant. I was worried I would fall sick in all the bike rides we were doing in cold mornings, scotching hot afternoons and dry evenings. But luck was on my side. I am fit enough to be writing this post two days later.
Few pictures of the Procession (Click to Enlarge)
Love
Sen
Big Saturday
After few life changing decisions I made on over the week with mixed results, Saturday happened to be a perfect day for me go out and meet few friends. I met my best buddies Sharan and Nandini at Casablanka (Near BDA Complex). Somehow, of all the people I’ve met in my short life till now, these both (along with many others) have remained so close to me.
For over an hour, I poured my heart out to both of them – things to do with my personal life, issues I am currently facing because I wanted to be good to everyone (Sometimes, you just have to choose between people!) and how my life was so totally messed up! Like most others, when we talk to our friends we don’t need their advice for we know what’s the best thing to do. I just wanted them to listen to me and somehow i feel these both nuts understand that and lend me their ear every single time.
Sharan and me then ate sandwiches and drank coffee, while not stopping ourselves from scooping out some DBC from Nandini’s bowl. Though I’ve been to Casablanka once, I really love this place. The place serves good food and the ambience lets me relax. While we were returning, my others friends Nick and Dumbo, called me up and I promised I’ll meet them at Kalmane Coffee in Forum by 18:00. When i reached the place, i realized they’ve turned the cafe upside down. It no longer had a cosy sofa in the corner. We had to struggle box-looking cushions. But who cares. The coffee is cheap and we get to spend tons of time without getting kicking out. The next couple of hours was spent talking about relationships with Nick playing judge.
There’s something about Nick that makes me really like her. She’s bold and fragile, both at the same time. Its tough to argue with her, yet I’m so comfortable talking to her. She’s sure among my best buddies now! And my Dumbo is so central to my life. She loves me more than anyone else does and its not too often to get to meet people like her. After I said goodbye, I strangely wanted to go to Landmark and browse through books. I personally have so many books at home that I was worried, that i’ll end up buying more. I am so addicted to shopping for books.
I picked up a book called “Real Estate Investing for Dummies!” and a CD Pouch that’ll let me keep 96 discs at one place. Just when i hit the billing section did i realize thats its a weekend. There were atleast 100 people waiting to get their stuff billed. I walked back and put the things back where they belonged. I reached home and spoke to Dumbo again. Things are fine, for the time being atleast. Pray it lasts forever.
Love
Sen
Rewind and Play
I recently watched Ashton Kutcher’s movie ‘The Butterfly Effect’. There hasn’t been a movie in recent times that got me so involved. It is not because I found the actors in the movie or their performances terrific, but rather because I loved what the movie had to say – the smallest of decisions you make today will change what you are in the days to come. While Kutcher could read his journals to mend his life, I could only sleep and wish I did things differently.
After the movie got over, I kept wondering about things I wish I could change in my life that would have made me be in a better situation today. Now I don’t mean to say that my life is messed up or that there are tons of things I wish I could change. Yet at the same time one cannot deny the fact that each one carries a fat bag filled with wrong decisions one made over time. Here are the list of things I wish I had done differently –
· During the last year of my school, I stood for elections to be elected Prefect for one of the school houses. Prior to the elections, I was a nice guy who did well academically and took part in events. While I eventually did win the election, I lost my senses. I turned out to be one of the worst house Prefect ever. I chose who deserved to get opportunities to take part in house events and hardly bothered to work for the common good. My house lost horribly at every possible event. The co-prefect hated me. By the time I realized how much I had stooped my school life was long over. I so wish I had never stood for that wretched election.
· Wish I never met this girl called ‘the Beautiful one’. While I loved every second I spent with her, she ended up messing my whole life, my friendship with my best buddy, spoilt my name and left my heart scarred!
· Wish I had chosen Science over Management while at College. Nothing is more interesting that Science.
· Wish I had not lost so many of my good friends. Basically people hate me at times and just turn away
· Wish I never had so many crushes 
· Wish I never wrote this post!
Pssst, I cannot think of anything else as of now. Will update this post when I can.
