Random Thoughts

Don’t get me wrong, I love blogging but I am really surprised looking back at my blog that I have hardly written any posts in 2011. Well, what can I say – it seems to me that 2011 was a really exhausting and busy year for me, since I could hardly find much time for doing things that I love most, one of which is putting down the random thoughts out here on my blog. I am glad that 2011 is in the past and this new year brings me closer to the things that I really cherish in my life – don’t want to emphasize it too much and jinx the whole thing. In short, hope that this year turns out to be one of the most memorable ones, hope it brings joy/happiness to not only me and my family, but also to all the people/friends around me including the whole wide world. Let’s just say that I am so glad to be back, more actively blogging – feel free to read and comment. Peace!

Hawaii is definitely one of the most beautiful places on earth – no doubt about it. If you plan on going to Hawaii with the intention of covering most of the activities including hanging out at the beach then make sure that you have at least 4 days per island. Depending on the type of vacation you hope to have there are lots of options and activities that suits everyone’s needs. If the intent is for a romantic, peaceful vacation then you should choose Maui over Oahu. But if you would rather shop and feel like being in a big city, around lots of people then you should focus on being in Waikiki which is in Oahu. Well, I definitely cannot comment on the other Hawaiian islands but among the two that we had the opportunity to visit, I loved being in Maui and wish we had planned to spent more time in Maui instead of Oahu.

While we were in Oahu, we loved the snorkeling at the Haunama Bay – the colors of aquatic life, mainly fishes that you see under water is pretty amazing. The Sunset dinner cruise gives you a view of the shoreline and the night lights around the island – it also gives you some flavors of the Hawaiian cuisine, the food is so yummy. In Hawaii, most of the seafood is fresh and since the fruits and vegetables are grown on the island – don’t forget to relish on these to your heart’s content. The hike up to the waterfall in Waimea Valley brings you closer to nature, it will leave you refreshed and rejuvenated – not to mention that this will feel like a work out so make sure to do this before lunch. The vegetation is pretty amazing, where you get to see fruit that looks like pineapple growing on trees but don’t get carried away by looks  – trust me, these are not pineapples. While you are there, check out the Dole pineapple plantation where you get to taste the sweetest, less acidic fresh Hawaiian pineapples and grab some flavored or chocolate covered macadamia nuts. Since we had taken the Circle Island tour, it really helped us to cover most of the important locations on the island including giving us an idea on creating a list of places we would like to revisit by ourselves during the rest of the stay on the island. Haleiwa Town, along the north shore is another popular spot if you love galleries, boutiques etc and the sunset beach is another favorite of mine.

If you have a rental car at your disposal then take a tour of the entire island from one end to the other – there are some beautiful beaches in Oahu, with crystal clear green & blue waters/waves away from the busy Waikiki area. There is just so much you can do in Oahu, in terms of activities that it can be pretty overwhelming – but don’t forget to grab a drink and chill at the beach to calm your inner being and soothe your soul – ALOHA!

With every passing year or birthday dawns a realization in you, that now you are slowly moving into the next phase of life, closer each day to being the older generation and then you wish that maybe if you could bring time to a halt at this point that would be the best birthday gift so that you don’t get older any more. There is probably a philosophical approach to this, as nirvana or eternal bliss or ultimate bliss to me would mean a state of the mind or soul where you are at peace with yourself and everything around you, when you become insusceptible to age and/or time. Wouldn’t that be an amazing feeling? Positive that I would love it, but according to Hindu mythology, it takes several birth, death and re-birth cycles for you to fulfill all your desires so as to attain this magical bliss. Well, I guess there is plenty of time left for me which is very motivating for now.

My birthday was very delightful, though it was similar to other work days in many ways; it was special for me with a group or team lunch which was so much fun at Claim Jumper, thanks to all the team mates who made it so joyful and then a private dinner in the evening with family. Well, since we rarely celebrated birthdays with cake cutting back home, ever since my dad had this serious accident when I was still a kid, right after the night of his birthday celebration and the fact that this was caused by an irresponsible drunken doctor seems like a horrible fact but true, I never knew that we need to make a wish before you blow out the candle. Funny, how you learn small things every day from some one or the other, now I will have fun telling this to my kids, if we end up having them. But anyways, this past weekend we did get the opportunity to drive to Cottonwood, which is approximately two hours drive from Phoenix to ride the Verde Canyon Railroad (http://www.verdecanyonrr.com/) from a Depot in Clarksdale which runs to Perkinsvile ranch and back. The train depot had these amazing crafts of wooden eagles made by the local artisans, with such perfection that you end up buying them like us. Apart from the small-scale shopping we did the train ride with complimentary drinks and food, to keep you refreshed for the spectacular four-hour ride through the wilderness is truly an experience of a life time since there is likelihood that you will be able to see a few eagles, their nests and probably even eaglets. The ride made me realize even more now that we all need to preserve this beautiful world and try to live in harmony with nature, as every rock or stream or tree or mountain that you see beholds the supreme craft and it definitely makes us all happy.  

We stayed at a very special bed and breakfast place that makes you feel cozy, comfortable and at home (http://www.theannabelinn.com/). The rooms were nicely decorated especially the one we had called the La Chambre D’Or, and the owner of the place was very friendly and hospitable. The Thai Palace restaurant, which sits right around the corner, probably less than a mile from the Inn, seemed pretty busy but the food was very authentic and we loved it. Overall, we had a very delightful weekend and this was probably one of the best birthdays I have ever had in my life, hope to cherish these memories for as long as I live.

Recently I have been reading on the internet as well as listening to messages on the radio relating to the huge recalls from one of the leading players in auto industry and the issues that have caused this to happen. I think that recalls happen all the time with different companies, though they seem to be trying hard to rectify these issues as soon as possible, but the concern raised about unintended sudden acceleration problems and the possible causes does seem quite disturbing.

Let’s step back from this premise and ponder about the statement that “rapid growth in a very short span of time may result in mistakes, within any company.” In my opinion, the auto maker is probably not the first company in the world to walk this path, it has been treaded long and far by many other companies previously and quite a few lessons learnt in this process. Here in my city, I often hear from people who previously worked at this educational institution about the rapid pace at which they grew in the past couple of years, can it be attributed as one of the reasons why they are having student dropouts and bad debts or can this be attributed entirely to the effects of recession with people planning to attend school instead of job hunting, as news sources state – well, there is some room for thought.

Anyway, the insights that we can get from these scenarios, is that companies need to focus on customer satisfaction, quality and overall value provided even when they propose to grow at an extraordinary rate and this needs to be planned carefully. They may expand at a fast rate increasing the brand penetration or awareness, the profits may have quadrupled or increased even more, but in order for them to retain the position that has been conferred to them by the consumer based on quality of service, customer satisfaction or greater value provided, there needs to be some level of dedication maintained along the way to keep up this good work, over time.

The proposals about offering New York residents owning recalled vehicles with alternate modes of transportation (rental car), expedited repairs, and reimbursement of the cost incurred by dealers for the compliance seem to be fair measures for keeping the disgruntled consumer happy for the time being, but the end result on how this would affect the company in the long run would probably depend on how soon the auto maker is able to figure out the problem and remedy it.

We have been really busy with all the complex happenings in life; you know the ones that cannot be predicted or controlled by mortals like us. The only way to live through these circumstances is to fight it with all your heart and evaluate the different options that are available. The past couple of months have been perfect with not many ups and downs, it had stabilized and we had the sweet desire to get a house of our own. But a sudden change in your job situation is the worst thing that can happen in a time like this and finding one that suits your interest is even worse. Does God want to convey a message to us? Maybe it is that we should not be buying a home in this desert or maybe we are destined to be in a better place that is less hot, wonder what it really is. Sadness and happiness are two phases of life, it is funny that when someone is happy they never bother to appreciate it but when you are sad you nag and crib about it all the time. So when you are sad that’s when you realize the sweetness of happiness you tasted in the past, isn’t it an amazing fact that we all have tasted at some point in our lives.

Just like everyone out there, I wish we were blessed to have more control over our lives as in reality if we look at it from a divine perspective, we don’t have control over even the present moment forget the past and the future. Though I am a firm believer of destiny, I would not say that sitting idle and doing nothing would help the situation, we have to do our part which is called the “karma” and God would do the rest. The psychic and tarot reader at the renaissance festival seems to be wrong about a lot of things that she predicted and a few we are yet to know. It is every man’s desire to know what future has in store for him, probably that’s one reason why we pay these fortune tellers. In India though things have been a little different in the past, when you are born as a Hindu based on the date, time and month, an astrologer would write your entire life and all the incidents that would happen during the different stages of ones life. Based on all the things predicted in the past, there is not one thing that has gone wrong. Wonder what makes their predictions so perfect and accurate.

What’s the purpose of our lives – is it to study when you are a child, then get self sufficient by finding a job like everyone else, after which you get married, have kids for continuing your heritage, take care of your old parents, retire from work to realize that your children are too busy to take care of you and then spend the rest of your life in an old age home. Is this the sole purpose of life? If we are going to be like everyone else, why did I hear since childhood that “each one of God’s creation is unique and different from each other.” Was that a false statement since we all live the same set of steps and then end our lives?

I think that we need to be more innovative & creative in life, even if circumstances are not so favorable. When you are a child, parents take care of you so well that you basically don’t need to worry about anything, just be carefree enjoying each moment. Instead we whine for different things that we don’t have and feel that others are more fortunate than us, complain about a hundred different things, find faults with elders/parents and say that they don’t know because of generation gap. After getting admission to one of the premier colleges in the state for an Engineering or Business Management degree, you can’t wait to get placed and start earning a steady income. So you complete the degree in flying colors, and then you settle down for a crappy job that pays your bills, but something that you don’t enjoy doing. Then you start asking yourselves “what is it that I want to do?”, “what kind of job would make me feel better, and happy?” Alas if only you had asked these questions a little earlier, you could have saved a couple of years, prepared yourself by choosing the adequate degree that enriches your position etc.

So how can you find answers to these questions, it is quite simple. The answers to all your questions lie within you, but it is just difficult to tap in and get the right answers. I feel that each person that we come across in our lives, is good at something or the other, some are good at talking to people, sales, some others in marketing or customer support, and a few others in managing resources efficiently. So how did they become good at it, of course by doing it a lot over time and since they are innovative & creative when it comes to the things that they love doing. The rule is pretty simple, keep doing the things that makes you happy as creativity is instilled within you during the process. Again, how can you figure out if you are happy doing that or not? This can be done, by monitoring closely your own emotions after doing different tasks, just refrain from doing everything together and making it too complicated. So rule number two is to try doing different things and give yourself some time to play around with it for a while so you get a good feel of the whole thing. The last and final rule is to monitor closely your own emotions to compare and contrast with each other, and rule out the ones that make you mad, irritated, irrational, list goes on and on. This way you can narrow down to a list of things you love doing, and keep doing it!

God has made human beings just as fragile as the toys that kids toss around everyday to amuse themselves, in their excitement. It is so easy, to get someone upset, annoyed, irritated, depressed, angered or emotional. Similarly they are made susceptible to cheating, lying and doing things for their own advantage, even if that act would have affected another person in various ways. It seems that at different points in your entire lifetime, you encounter this inevitable fact of life and you wonder why human beings are lured so fast by personal advantage. But again if all human beings were created selfless then there would be no place in the seminary and we would all be priests/monks.

This could be one of the reasons why some consulting companies in the US take advantage of consultants who work for them at different client locations. Since the consulting company holds the H1B which is the key to employment, they would have an upper hand in all decisions. In fact they would not reveal any information regarding how much money the client would be paying them for the services you provide or the hourly rate if you opt to work as a contractor and decide to not avail the benefits of being a permanent employee for the consulting company. There is usually a percent system that unites these consultants with the consulting company which would be 80:20 (80% for you and 20% for the consulting company) if you find the project but again this could go up to 70:30 or even more if there are more than one consulting companies involved in finding the project or say the loop. Imagine the total net pay an employee would be getting after the first and foremost consultant cut, followed by all the mandatory state/federal pay cuts. In short, all throughout the work life, you will end up assuming the total value paid by the client based on the four digits that you see on the gross or net pay on your paycheck. Again, just like two sides of the coin, all the apples in the basket may not be rotten, so there would be some consulting companies who are fair and good to work for. This brings forth a very relevant question – Why is an immigrant dependent on these consulting firms? It is because companies here do not come forward to process the work permit so readily. With an annual cap of ~65000 H1B’s, companies not readily sponsoring employees, immigrants are literally at the mercy of these consulting companies. Hence the struggle for existence continues its set course as always and I wonder if Herbert Spencer’s and Charles Darwin’s concept of “Survival of the fittest” would apply here.

Tahoe trip was so exciting, as we went around sightseeing with my pals from work; the scenic beauty seemed to be unparalleled to any other place I have been to. We were thrilled at having been able to enjoy the beauty that surrounds, speeding down the snowy mountain trail, pulled by a team of huskies, the so called husky express. Sleigh rides were spectacular, over the mountain meadows and through the forests of pine and aspen, a totally different scenic view of the lake enlightened by the tales recited by the poet, singer as well as driver who took us through this breathtaking experience. Not to mention, the rejuvenating feeling that fills your body after the warm therapy at the day spa. The different combinations of red and blue that fill the sky as the sun is setting behind mount Tallac, which is one of Tahoe’s highest peaks, seems to be the vision of a lifetime. Nightlife seems to be amazing at the casinos with lots of drinks, food, music that fills your heart with happiness, at the same time providing tremendous gambling options to visitors tired after the day’s adventure into the wilderness that surround Lake Tahoe. As the happiness of having had the opportunity to be part of this rare, joyous venture fills my heart and soul, the pain of having to wake up early morning slowly seeps within. For a moment, I wished that my dream was true, and I feel jealous of all those who have got the chance to tread the snow filled mountain paths of Lake Tahoe. I wake up a much stronger person, with the intense desire that I’ll make my dream come true, and someday I will nurture the spectacles that await my eyes at Lake Tahoe.

As I sit here trying to run the macro, without knowing how much longer this process is going to take, in order for me to access excel spreadsheets which fill my work life each day, a thought comes over to my mind about all the different things we do in our lives each day. Though I am fairly new to my job, the learning curve in my career seems to have come to a sudden halt and I seem to be doing the same mundane tasks over and over again. At the end of the month like everyone else, I am happy to get rewarded for all the services, but that does not motivate me enough to keep me going. Personally, the most motivating factor is constant learning on the job but since I rarely get a chance to stop looking into CRM, Excel spreadsheets and numbers all day, this model does not seem to be working so well. Again my opinion is that there would be no such job in the world that will provide value addition always, or are there any?

Oh my God, the macro I modified worked and gave me the right results. The joy of an innovation, though it was the slightest modification in code to the one written by someone unknown, seems to be so overwhelming. I feel deeply grateful to Google and all the programmers out there who provide free codes to help people like me in distress. And so I didn’t have to strain my eyes for 5 long hours trying to manually do the task and also I feel happy. I can’t wait to go home and hop onto my Wii fit, as health comes first and then play m