This is a fairly quick post, and I know it doesn’t do enough justice since I am writing after a long time. But this post is just trying to confirm that I got engaged on 22nd Oct 2008. It was a rush thing, when I met Priyanka on a Sat morning and ended up getting engaged to her on a Wed evening. But now that its done, its taking some time to sink in.
Anyway, the marriage is expected in end Jan 2009.
More later…
Hmmm….its been 6 months since I last updated this blog. So I thought it was time to make some amends. Let me update most of you with the changes to my professional life first.
Since my last post, a lot has changed. I no longer work on Oracle and DB2. In fact, I no longer work on any RDBMS. I am, however, still with IBM. I have managed to take charge of an opportunity and gone higher in what I call the “application chain”. I have become a true Business Intelligence Consultant. I now work on version 7.0 of the Business Intelligence module from SAP.
But first a little bit about the past 6 months and all the happenings. A quick reminder which will allow me to reminisce how it all happened at some time in the future:
July 2006: IBM refused to accept my qualifications; thereby affecting my appraisals.
November 2006: I decided to move on rather than wait for a whole year
January 2007: Found a new job at Bangalore
February 2007: Decided to let go the new offer based on promises made by IBM Canada
March 2007: Enrolled in IBM conducted SAP BW 3.5 training, got certified by IBM
March 2007: Started supporting a top notch US Telecom client on SAP BW 3.5
May 2007: Manager enrolled me into a SAP BI 7.0 training from SAP Academy
June 2007: Completed training and attained SAP Certification for the same module
July 2007: Confirmation and Initiation of Canada landed assignment from IBM Canada
July 2007: KTs to colleagues for all the three clients I was supporting
September 2007: Landed in Canada and started working for a new transport services client, supporting their SAP BI environment.
Its been a little rough, but I think I have managed to make the most of it. SAP BI is a high-demand and a low supply skill. But it involves not just technical knowledge. No. It requires a lot more people skills. And thats something I still need to work on.
Over a period of time, I want to expand my role from that of a technical person working on specified requirements to someone who interacts with clients and helps create value for them by understanding their needs and providing timely information for making those crucial business decisions. I hope I make it sooner that I think. 
Canada is a beautiful place to be in. Calgary, especially, is a very green city. Its a happening place, full of bars, restaurants (from all over the world), dance tutors, shopping malls, commercial buildings. You name it. Its also got a few Indian stores which I still have to visit. And a slowly increasing Indian population.
A bird’s eye view of Calgary:
This is a downtown view of Calgary at night time:
Calgary has got people from all over the world. Asians, Muslims, Europeans, South Americans, Americans, Indians, Canadians. Everyone is down here. And that only makes life a lot more interesting. A simple example, a meeting I was attending, just 5-6 people, but each one a different race and ethnicity. Me, an Indian, a BI colleague, from Hong Kong, a Basis senior, a Muslim guy based in Calgary, a lady Project Manager from Canada, another BI colleague with a French origin based in Canada, and finally, another Canadian from Infrastructure. And this was only IBM. If we had clients joining in, it would be a complete mela.
I am just getting used to the diversity of this place. But people who have been here know that these differences dont make a damn difference. All that makes a difference is how you work and how professionally you handle issues.
So thats just a primer about Calgary. I still need to update my homepage. Will try to do that a little later when I get some more free time. Till then, its Namaste!
My Mac Mini is here…and its here to stay. I ordered it a while back, and it finally arrived just at New Years time. Its a beautiful machine, tiny by PC standards, and a much better bang for lesser hardware, unlike the PC.
Wondering why the Mac? Well just because Windows ceases to impress me any more. I need more simulation. Not just for the eyes, but for the mind too.
What does it look like? Check this out….
Whats it got inside? Well, here’s the config that I ordered:
Intel Dual Core Duo 1.66Ghz
1GB 667Mhz DDRRAM
80GB SATA HDD
Bluetooth
Wifi Enabled
4 USB 2.0 Ports
Mac OS X Tiger
Within 48 hours of getting it up and running, I have managed to connect my laptop to the Wifi adaptor on the Mac in a Computer-to-Computer Adhoc network, share the Internet connection on it, and burn 6 CDs. Everything is so easy to do, it just runs out of the box!!!
Below are some screen shots I caught recently while working on it. And trust me, they have come out better than I thought they would. Just click on the images to view full sized (1024×768) screen shots.
So you want to enjoy the experience as well? Come over….
Btw…this blog post was composed on the Mac. Enjoy!!!
This is a small article which I wrote just before leaving IMT. Its been a while, but I just remembered about it a few minutes back. And thought this blog would be the ideal place to put it up. After all, this blog is about my life.
Click here to access the Word document and engross yourself in a brand new experience.
A 19 year old girl fresh out of school and just entering college taught me something I had completely forgotten. We were chatting over Yahoo Messenger and, in her own words (verbatim), this shook me up:
ID: c opportunities dont cum knockin
ID: u hv 2 luk 4 opportunitites
Not something I didnt already know. But maybe I didnt really believe it. So here goes. I am hunting for opportunities now. Opportunity beware!!!
I read this somewhere today. And was totally taken aback. Its not my favorite quote yet. But its somewhere up there.
“Who says you have to know everything? Who told you that you have to be perfect or no one will love you? It’s time to identify those old judgmental voices and break the power they have over you. Don’t blame. Move on.”
Personal experience(s) tell me the more “perfect” you try to be…the less love you get. As I said somewhere before in a totally different context, humans were meant to be imperfect. And they should be proud of their fallacies. After all, thats what makes us human.
What do you think?
The last week of April was really hectic. With so many things happening and so many things going the other way. For those of you who do not know yet, my family is slowly trying to raise its head in the city of Mumbai. My Dad got transferred early April and we are looking out for a flat in the eastern suburb called Chembur.
Shifting from Delhi to Mumbai promises to be a big headache and an unimaginable expenditure. Settled comfortably in Delhi for more than 15 years, this sudden shift brings up lots of difficult issues, the least of which are the actual movement of household stuff. Its moving people which is much more complicated. People who refuse to leave their homes and give up control. They say “home is where the heart is”. Well, the heart should not be so strong and possessive that it holds on even when the time has come to let go.
Bachelors like me (and quite a few of you as well) are quite comfortable with frequent changes like these since the responsibility levels are almost non-existent. But once the responsibilities start growing, you tend to assume some things as given, as unshakeable as rocks or pillars. And it is precisely when these “assumptions” are “moved” or “shaken” (which could take as long as 20-40 years) that you realise how wrong you were and how insecure we all are.
Having said that, there is a silver lining. First I am quite happy that my family is coming nearer to Bangalore. Then, I also know that this major change of residence is needed. In fact, a whole shift in the attitude and lifestyle of my family is required. Historically, all upheavals have led to better times. I hope this one does so too.
Good and bad experiences in matters of locational changes are welcome as comments.
