361 days of staying away..
270 long minutes of searching eyes..
48 very short hours of ecstasy..
10 days of chit chat..
And now time for a long wait again..
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
About Akshay, Macau....
For 21 years now, I have inevitably spent my summers at Hyderabad, my hometown. Be it the internship or the summer classes, everything brought me home. But, second term into IIM Bangalore gave me the first chance to spend a summer outside home. In fact, I was destined to spend my summer at Hong Kong interning at Morgan Stanley (read the post below for further details). I was excited as hell, not just because I pulled off a decent summer intern, but also because I was the last of the six (read as KAPAAG for who know it) to step outside the country. And after a yearlong grind at the dungeons of Bangalore, I finally arrived at Hong Kong.
From the very first look of it, the infrastructure was impressive. The airport express, that took me to Kowloon, and the cabs that took me home, were all too luxurious for a first timer. The service apartment itself provided quite a few amenities. I was glad that I didn’t have to clean it, change bed sheets, or in short live like I do in hostels. I intuitively knew, being as lazy as I am that I will not have to clean clothes for most of my summer. So, with all the mundane and boring routines out of the way, I had two things to figure out. The first being how to survive, and the second, how I could make my stay adventurous. The survival part was sorted out soon, as we decided to go with a mix of ready to eat, cooked and of course dining out.
In terms of adventure, the first good thing that happened to us was Mr. Akshay Jain. People do wonder who the guy in my pics is. Sometimes, a sadist and sometimes vulgar, but he was always cheerful and humorous.
• He had absolutely no love for his parents till the point in the plane where he said, I don’t hate my parents so much.
• He must have tried everything Hong Kong had to offer, from raw fish to seahorses to salmons
• He loved spending money (he wanted to spend every cent of the 14000 dollars that he was earning more than us)
• He had a huge fetish for this IIMB girl, after lots of up and downs
• His current market value stands at INR 5 million (a very cheap buy)
The only event that was close to thrilling was our visit to Macau. I have often read about volatility and all the fin stuff, but the Macau experience gave me a taste of it. I was up 250 bucks, down a grand and a half and then up 3 grand and finally ended up with 1.5. The game was fascinating, the dealers noteworthy and the entire experience addictive. In a way it gave me a world full of lessons of stop losses, entry and exit levels that I could not have learnt back in school. The Venetian was beautiful and the singer on the boat awe inspiring.
Overall, I think Hong Kong was worth a visit but not something I would want to do again and again (except the night at Macau). I had a good time interning and now keeping fingers crossed for the outcome.
From the very first look of it, the infrastructure was impressive. The airport express, that took me to Kowloon, and the cabs that took me home, were all too luxurious for a first timer. The service apartment itself provided quite a few amenities. I was glad that I didn’t have to clean it, change bed sheets, or in short live like I do in hostels. I intuitively knew, being as lazy as I am that I will not have to clean clothes for most of my summer. So, with all the mundane and boring routines out of the way, I had two things to figure out. The first being how to survive, and the second, how I could make my stay adventurous. The survival part was sorted out soon, as we decided to go with a mix of ready to eat, cooked and of course dining out.
In terms of adventure, the first good thing that happened to us was Mr. Akshay Jain. People do wonder who the guy in my pics is. Sometimes, a sadist and sometimes vulgar, but he was always cheerful and humorous.
• He had absolutely no love for his parents till the point in the plane where he said, I don’t hate my parents so much.
• He must have tried everything Hong Kong had to offer, from raw fish to seahorses to salmons
• He loved spending money (he wanted to spend every cent of the 14000 dollars that he was earning more than us)
• He had a huge fetish for this IIMB girl, after lots of up and downs
• His current market value stands at INR 5 million (a very cheap buy)
The only event that was close to thrilling was our visit to Macau. I have often read about volatility and all the fin stuff, but the Macau experience gave me a taste of it. I was up 250 bucks, down a grand and a half and then up 3 grand and finally ended up with 1.5. The game was fascinating, the dealers noteworthy and the entire experience addictive. In a way it gave me a world full of lessons of stop losses, entry and exit levels that I could not have learnt back in school. The Venetian was beautiful and the singer on the boat awe inspiring.
Overall, I think Hong Kong was worth a visit but not something I would want to do again and again (except the night at Macau). I had a good time interning and now keeping fingers crossed for the outcome.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
The Summer of 2009...
Coincidentally, as I think of how to pen my thoughts, I remember that for some reason I had posted The Summer of 2008 last year around the same time. That time I was filled with mixed emotions of leaving a place so dear to me for four years but at the same time embarking on something I have always wanted to do.. which in a certain way was a step up in the ladder to success...
Fast Forward one year.. History repeats itself.. The Pico from IITM is still alive and kicking.. Somehow people here have caught the name, the name I am so dearly in love with. But it just does not end with the name. I had one glorious year at IIMB. Sometimes I was cynical about the place. Very much I should say in the first term.. but then I got in line with the people, with how it is outside your comfort zone.. And then I felt so much better handling it and using it to my advantage. If I look back, I have always been the player catching up.. Catching up in skills, talent and whatever many consider an art.. But for the first time, I feel the pinch.. To stay ahead.. And when today, I heard about some of my colleagues cracking it at BCG (hearty congratulations to them), I felt.. its time to stop running and take stock of whats in the plate. So, here I go with one of the longest I would have ever written.. So, pardon me for the boredom.
I arrived in Hong Kong with loads of expectations, the first time in a corporate environment, the first time in a bank and the first time outside my country. It was not difficult to settle in. I must say that for a first timer, I got out of the currency syndrome, of trying to convert everything into INR, rather quickly. Being with the favourite of all Bajaj did help.. :) Ask him about others, and you might get some strong words.. Yeah.. So back to me.. The trading floor overwhelmed me.. But the pressures of the declining industry and a bad economic slump were weighing on my shoulders. I did not know how to think. Whether this was an experience to learn or to just crack PPO. I can say the two paths might be different and the black box never reveals what is the path treading both. But at first I chose the road oft travelled. To crack it and lead a life of luxury. But somewhere down the line, I felt this is not what I would do. I have some luxuries not to be so desperate.. I can do as I want. With the time, with the floor, with the money. I am 22 yrs and barely broken out of the cocoon of the IITs and the IIMs.
The flow of random thoughts continued within my head for about 7 weeks in which I worked as I was told to, but more importantly spoke to people who matter and decide where I want to head after this. I enjoyed quite a bit of Hong Kong and only glitch was the black lining in the sky.. I lived on the 15th floor, worked on the 38th floor and travelled below the earth's surface. I seemed to have forgotten the where the ground was for a moment. The skylines beautiful and the city dazzling. Enjoyed my first salary to the core. And the icing on the cake was Macau, an artificial Venetian and the Vegas of the east.. A night of one of my other firsts gambling.. So there was much awaited experience of being abroad.. under the pressure to deliver..
But then came Anusmaran, which I think was the most eventful evening I have had here.. I played football in the rain, had good Indian food and met people whose experience was more than my age. But the best thing that could happen to me was the 2005 batch people. They were in a similar situation that I think my batch would be on the back of the bad 2004 season. But now, everyone is well settled in. And it would seem as if everything was rosy then. But the fact remains, one can reach any place he wants.. he just needs the desire to reach there. And when I heard today morning and seen my friends delighted, I was thinking, it is sure good to get a PPO and make your life simpler. But this is life and the only way to win it is to keep running.. However fast you are the tortoise will find its way slowly and steadily..
I am reminded of a dialogue from Om Shanti Om :
"itni shiddat se maine tumhe paane ki koshish ki hai
ki har zarre ne mujhe tumse milane ki saazish ki hai"
I am starting to believe in it..
Will come back with a much more jolly post sometime soon. :)
Fast Forward one year.. History repeats itself.. The Pico from IITM is still alive and kicking.. Somehow people here have caught the name, the name I am so dearly in love with. But it just does not end with the name. I had one glorious year at IIMB. Sometimes I was cynical about the place. Very much I should say in the first term.. but then I got in line with the people, with how it is outside your comfort zone.. And then I felt so much better handling it and using it to my advantage. If I look back, I have always been the player catching up.. Catching up in skills, talent and whatever many consider an art.. But for the first time, I feel the pinch.. To stay ahead.. And when today, I heard about some of my colleagues cracking it at BCG (hearty congratulations to them), I felt.. its time to stop running and take stock of whats in the plate. So, here I go with one of the longest I would have ever written.. So, pardon me for the boredom.
I arrived in Hong Kong with loads of expectations, the first time in a corporate environment, the first time in a bank and the first time outside my country. It was not difficult to settle in. I must say that for a first timer, I got out of the currency syndrome, of trying to convert everything into INR, rather quickly. Being with the favourite of all Bajaj did help.. :) Ask him about others, and you might get some strong words.. Yeah.. So back to me.. The trading floor overwhelmed me.. But the pressures of the declining industry and a bad economic slump were weighing on my shoulders. I did not know how to think. Whether this was an experience to learn or to just crack PPO. I can say the two paths might be different and the black box never reveals what is the path treading both. But at first I chose the road oft travelled. To crack it and lead a life of luxury. But somewhere down the line, I felt this is not what I would do. I have some luxuries not to be so desperate.. I can do as I want. With the time, with the floor, with the money. I am 22 yrs and barely broken out of the cocoon of the IITs and the IIMs.
The flow of random thoughts continued within my head for about 7 weeks in which I worked as I was told to, but more importantly spoke to people who matter and decide where I want to head after this. I enjoyed quite a bit of Hong Kong and only glitch was the black lining in the sky.. I lived on the 15th floor, worked on the 38th floor and travelled below the earth's surface. I seemed to have forgotten the where the ground was for a moment. The skylines beautiful and the city dazzling. Enjoyed my first salary to the core. And the icing on the cake was Macau, an artificial Venetian and the Vegas of the east.. A night of one of my other firsts gambling.. So there was much awaited experience of being abroad.. under the pressure to deliver..
But then came Anusmaran, which I think was the most eventful evening I have had here.. I played football in the rain, had good Indian food and met people whose experience was more than my age. But the best thing that could happen to me was the 2005 batch people. They were in a similar situation that I think my batch would be on the back of the bad 2004 season. But now, everyone is well settled in. And it would seem as if everything was rosy then. But the fact remains, one can reach any place he wants.. he just needs the desire to reach there. And when I heard today morning and seen my friends delighted, I was thinking, it is sure good to get a PPO and make your life simpler. But this is life and the only way to win it is to keep running.. However fast you are the tortoise will find its way slowly and steadily..
I am reminded of a dialogue from Om Shanti Om :
"itni shiddat se maine tumhe paane ki koshish ki hai
ki har zarre ne mujhe tumse milane ki saazish ki hai"
I am starting to believe in it..
Will come back with a much more jolly post sometime soon. :)
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