Testing Times!

These two weeks are probably the most stressful in the MBA lifecycle at SCMHRD, and yet I somehow manage to indulge my “sinful” hobby of writing utter crap! Ever since I started blogging, I have felt a sense of ownership about something, something I could call my own and something I am extremely passionate about… it’s like every little thing that happens (or does not happen but should have happened) to me, the first thing I think about is how am I going to describe it in my blog! Usually I am allergic to technology and civilization, but for a change I really like this concept of an online diary. True, I don’t have as much freedom as I did when I used to write a diary, but still seeing my name come up in the top 10 google hits is kinda exhilarating!
Tomorrow I have two exams (and still I don’t have a freaking clue about either) followed by 4 next week. Add to it, the flurry of assignments and the ignominy of the looming humiliation of flunking in Financial Management and hence be chucked out of Finance…. Hmmm, the future doesn’t look too good, but I will live! Probably I will end up taking HR electives but work in Finance, because flunking in a mid-term doesn’t make me ignorant. And personally I have never found a correlation between academics and its application (or the lack of it).
As it is we are under severe stress, and the college decided it was the right time to invite two eminent professors from a premier institute for a workshop. Obviously it turned out to be a disaster as half the people didn’t attend, and the other half studied for the exams during class or simply walked out after attendance. At the end of the day there were a handful of people who actually paid attention (and I wasn’t one of them)… not only was it an insult to two eminent, knowledgeable people, but it was also a disgrace to our college which reflected poorly on us. But I don’t think you could blame the students entirely for this. You can’t schedule 8-hour long sessions in the exam week along with piles of assignments all due for submission at the same time. All this jazz about performing under pressure sounds great, but this is bordering on insanity and stupidity. Having said that, as students we could have probably handled it better: for instance, sleeping in class wasn’t exactly the ideal way to go about it!
I am counting down the days till 28th Feb, when it all comes to an end. In March, we have our end-term exams, then I go for my summers (to bloody Hyderabad) on 3rd April and then we are back as seniors!!! Yippie… I can’t wait. Our seniors have already left, and despite all the hardships they put us through, I kind of miss them, bickerings and all!

PS: we had to submit a revolutionary budget as our economics project! I kind of derived a perverse pleasure while working on it, even though we were severely short of time. It gave us a chance to indulge our fantasies: something that the government never does! We taxed agriculture, cut subsidies and ahem, legalized prostitution to bring it under the service tax net much to the delight of the guys J We may get negative marks, but for once, it wasn’t just another assignment to be handed in…I felt a sense of ownership for it! Damn, I keep talking about “ownership”- I picked it up from some undesirable source. So long, for being ek din ka finmin!!

Valentine's Day: What it means!

I am actually dreading the advent of 14th February- allegedly the most romantic day of the year: a day which has the amazing knack of converting perfectly sane, sensible and no-nonsense individuals into hopeless romantics doing ridiculous things (well, Archies is definitely not complaining). Ask them why they are doing it, you are most likely to find them confused: err, because everybody else is doing it… duh!!!
I don’t know when Valentines Day became such a commercialized over-hyped “event” but I prefer the western concept where it’s a celebration of love (be it family, friends or spouse) rather than reducing it to a grand display of PDA. Honestly it doesn’t deserve the attention showered on it by the police or the political parties.
And, er, let me clarify: this is not a ranting post by an old hag who is jealous of all the cute, cosy couples and who secretly wants to belong to the happening social milieu but is too ugly to get a date! I have never “celebrated” V-Day irrespective of my relationship status. And I have never felt the need of a special day to celebrate my relationships. Whatever sweet, simple memories I have are just random, mundane and arbit little things which happen as a part of my life and which only I can appreciate and cherish- without the paraphernalia of universal love and affection and chocolates and cards and all that jazz!

Ok fine, I admit it… a little bit of mush and chocolate (especially munch or crackle) doesn’t hurt! I am too ugly to get a date and this post is a glorious example of “sour grapes”….. Happy???

Things that make me happy!

Text messages
Comments on my blog
Writing random stuff during boring lectures especially when the professor thinks I am feverishly taking down notes (hmmm, I refuse to be a loser)
The satisfying feeling after a brisk work out in the evergreen hope that I will lose weight or at least maintain my 75% attendance (sadly neither materializes, but I continue to remain an optimist)
Curling up with a good book and munching on snacks (explains why my brisk work out never works out)
Walking in the rain by the beach with music and good company (ahem, when was the last time that happened?)
Dancing wildly in the dark after getting over the initial inhibitions
Running into old friends and reminiscing about the good old days
Shopping
Crying after watching a really great movie

Stupidity and shopping!

This is probably one glorious example of how stupid I can be…. Read on and capitalize on yet another opportunity to ridicule me!
It’s 3:45 p.m. on a Friday afternoon and I am sitting at McDonalds waiting for the Symbi bus to take me to campus. And I don’t even like McDonalds!
I am on my way back to college after a couple of days in Mumbai. Now when you are coming back in one of those Volvo buses they drop you at Wakad from where you have to take an auto to the campus and the autowalas just rip you off! And I have a major issue with ripping off (unless I am the one who is ripping other people off) so I usually take a walk back to the campus. 40 minutes in the sun is nothing compared to the money you save and the exercise you get! But today since I had a lot of luggage with me I decided to get dropped at Aundh from where I can take a free ride to the campus by the Symbi bus…. Smart no, or so I thought!
So I am like waiting in the sun with 3 heavy bags, the bus comes, and well, it just decides to ignore me!! It keeps going without bothering to stop and I am running after it like a madwoman with 3 bags, but it still keeps going. So I am stuck at the nearby McDonalds for like another couple of hours, spending money on a burger I don’t like and watching India get thrashed by the Aussies. So the whole objective of NOT spending money has clearly flopped and I have ended up wasting 2 hours as well…
As long as we are on the subject of spending money, well my Mumbai trip turned out to be a very expensive one! Well, how can you blame me? Leaving a woman alone with stylish outfits in a retail outlet screaming 50% discount (the “upto” superscript escapes your greedy eyes) is the perfect recipe for disaster! But the downside of modeling in trendy clothes in the trial room is that it also brings forth all your insecurities: how many times I have wished I was taller, or thinner or had this and didn’t have that… you get the picture! But I guess given my OCD for stinginess, it’s ok to give in to your whims once or twice a year. Anyway now that I have given in, it’s too late to feel guilty.