Was I rude, was I not?

I've received three ( still counting ) phone calls since morning from IDEA customer care center. College students refer to it as ICCC -> I triple C. All three callers were female. ( Fe, for short )

CALL 1 : ( 9948007356 )

Fe: Hello sir, this is from IDEA customer care.
Me: Yes please
Fe: Sir, since you are a  trusted customer who have been with us for long; we are giving you a free sim card sir. 

Me: We already have two add-on cards. Don't need any more, thank you!

Fe: Blah blah blah blah 

Me: No thanks

Fe: Blah blah 

Me: Bah 

Fe: Blah

Me: Bye

Five minutes later 

CALL 2 : ( 9948007362 ) 

Fe: Hello sir, this is from IDEA customer care.

Me: I have an extra sim card, do you want one? 

Fe: Yes sir, I have an extra sim card, do you want one? 

Me: Grrr. Who's this speaking? Your name please

Fe: ( something like ) Nafees

Me: Where are you talking from? 

Fe: ( in a low voice ) Karkhana

Me: Where exactly? 

Fe: Sir, IDEA main office. 

Me: What place did you say? 

Fe: Panjagutta ( in a even lower voice ) 

Me: Hmm 

Fe: Sir, why are you asking all this?

Me: I just received a call from the same office. If you are really concerned about serving trusted customers you would've known the fact that... wlah wlah wlah wlah 

Fe: Sorry sir, please don't be angry. 

Me: I am not. 

Fe: Your voice sounds like that. Sorry sir, we will not disturb you again. 

Me: Its alright. Bye :)

I felt very awkward, because that was the first time ever I lost my cool over the phone. ( and possibly for no reason ). Poor girl, she must have been so annoyed. I was halfway through calling her back and saying sorry when... 

CALL 3 : ( 9948007361 ) 

Me: Hello

Fe: Hello sir, this is from IDEA customer care.

Me: Yeah? 

Fe: Sir, since you are a  trusted customer who have been with us for long; we can give you a free sim card sir. 

Me: ( GRRR ) We do not require one thank you.

Fe: Are you sure sir? We are giveing it for free!

Me: ( Resisting temptation to shout ) Oh wow! But we do not need it as of now. I will call you whenever I am in need of one. 

Fe: Ok sir. Thankyou very much! Have a nice day! 

Me: Thanks. Bye!

So, basically after that call I didn't even think for a second I would call back to apologize Ms. Nafees ( or whoever it was ). It was a first showering-sarcasm-over-the-phone and it was funny :D. I have learnt one thing though. 

Being rude doesn't fetch anything : neither peace of mind nor an extra sim card.

And thanks to IDEA, I have my first post of the summer :)

Last night reflections

Today will be my last night in VISHWAKARMA BHAWAN. A huge hostel with a great mess, its a place every BITSian would want to be some or the other time during their stay. I know that each day now till August, I will be waking up to think what breakfast / which shake ( juice)  would be selling for lunch in the mess. 

Second year has been a great one

Every year in our lives we come across new experiences and it strengthens our mental outlook, enhances our maturity and adds to our understanding of the world. The fact about my second year is that it has done all this but the HARD WAY. Absolutely no complaints though. For I may forget the pain or whatever but I will never let go of the lessons: 

• Not all people around you are your friends. Everybody thinks for their own purposes, about their own grades, about their own life and they are ready to pull you down if you are ahead. 
• Girls are an intelligent lot, perhaps even more than the (male) 10-pointers. They think a lot before saying anything and get pissed off at the slightest insult. Never mess around with them, neither on the phone nor while chatting.
• Everybody wants a share of everything. They all (at times, including me) want to enter into every field they can. For example, I know of 9-pointers who want to show their mettle by 1) being a part of every sport: cricket, football, swimming( whether playing / viewing! )     2) watching every movie, every series, etc that is available on LAN                                        3) Finally they want to be a part of poilitics as well. 

Silly though they may sound its worth knowing that such things happen and that care needs to be exercised. And it explains why people say that we tend to become less careless as time passes by :). The reason is that there are many a pit holes that we discover in our path and we need to cross them carefully. 

It doesn't feel as though I'm a second yearite. For one thing, I still do not know what is the (best)  way to study. That is because with each passing semester I've kept changing my way of study and many a times, fortunately, it has lead to better performance. I do not know how much time it would take for an established method of study to come into picture. 

Can anyine tell me who is or what an ideal second yearite should possess? 

How I feel

I feel hurt, broken and unpleasantly sure that the future could be the same. But despite all injured feelings I feel good. I feel stronger, mature. And I will work to forget these hard-learned lessons of second year. Ironical? Well, yes. These (moral/immortal) lessons that all of us keep learning from time to time are not for telling future generations. They are for own selves.

Such things should never come in the thought process again. What I mean is, the next semester I will not do anything that will make me realize the same lesson again! A new lesson would be welcome but the same mistakes I shall not repeat. 

As for any tensions or frustrations, I have learnt to look at them as opportunities to know thyself

My BITS Day

This day holds a lot of challenge every year. As a brief overview of what I mean here's what happened when : 

DATE	EXAM / TEST
May 11th, 2007	BITSAT
May 11th, 2008	WORKSHOP
May 11th, 2009	DISCRETE STRUCTURES FOR COMPUTER SCIENCE

It felt very strange as I was writing WORKSHOP exam: that only last year I was writing BITSAT and now an exam in BITS. This year also, I felt no less strange. I am just wondering now about May 11th, 2010 : NEXT IS WHAT?

Lab Test

Many of the seniors had told me that a day's preparation would suffice for the lab test(EEE). It was true since the basic connection in all the experiments were very nearly the same. So, after having prepared a full night I headed for the lab test. 

When we entered we saw that there were a lot of empty sheets kept on the table. Now, the experiment that each person would do will be decided by which sheet they would pick up. Fortunately, I choose to pick up a very easy one. (Potential across R-L and R-C circuits :P) 

Although, it was something that could be completed in half an hour, I took that time to make my connections! I gave it over to the instructor to evaluate. He saw the connections, shook his head and said something like 'zero'. My heart stopped beating, my head went numb and I was feeling dumb. He swapped one connection and then asked me to show the circuit diagram. 

I thought that I had got the circuit diagram wrong. And I told sir that I had got confused and to excuse me since there was only one mistake. In the marks column, he scribbled " - 0.5 ". Grr, what a psycho I thought. Just the one connection wrong : 0 marks and 0.5 deducted for my conduct. Grrr. 

First I felt angry and then I was devastated. To think that after two months of experiments, I did not know how to put the routine connections properly. Aaah! It was too much to bear. I felt so low and there were some fifteen minutes to take the readings now. Trying, extremely hard to concentrate I managed the correct readings. 

Or so I thought I got them correct. One of the readings was wrong, I did not touch the terminals properly with the volmeter wires. Grrr. 

Hurriedly (in a minute or so) I finished the graph. Then I filled the tables and scribbled a few preacautions all the while wondering how the viva-voce will be.

The viva was a compensation for all the screwed up stuff that had happened until then. It went really well :). After getting the two out of three questions correct, he asked two leading qustions and I answered them around the bush, taking my time :). All in all, I managed a 8.5 / 10.

Since not many had scored more than 7, I requested sir to increase a few marks for the conncetions and that -0.5 was disturbing. He laughed his head off and told me that 0.5 marks have been deducted, phew. I felt sorry for thinking the lab assistant was a heartless psycho and went to pack my stuff. I gave a final look around the room, the last day was so eventful even if the daily experiments weren't. 

Room number 2119,  bye bye. 

April Dates

I have a habit of remembering certain dates and these are the ones that April reminds me of. 

April 10th, 2005: My entrance exam for a coaching centre that had a good reputation

April 19th, 2005: The results of that exam. I got selected :D.

April 19th, 2006: My intermediate first year ( equivalent to class XIth ) results. Scored 96%.

April 8th, 2007: IIT-JEE '07

Although there were some tests at college too on these dates , they were sort of routine hence I remember only a few of them. 

My experiments with classes

Well I thought : " There are seven courses this semester. Is it possible to walk away with good marks in all without struggling like mad. Maybe do well in one or two courses without trying too hard. "
It was sounding sane enough till then. But:
" Maybe this is what efficiency is all about. Get good grades without having to work too hard or maybe ... maybe without attending the classes!

Yes! That's it! Hooray!

Just study on your own like a natural scientist. "

In taking decisions like these people usually try to rope in somebody or at least ask their opinion. But I was sure that it will be fine." Maybe I'll try it for only one test and see how it goes. "


Obviously, the test flopped! And things seemed worse for the quiz that followed in a fortnight. Still adamant I stayed away from the classes and lo! quiz also approached without me attending any classes. The quiz wasn't very good either, so I decided to suspend my stupid experiment and here are the conlcusions:

• Never miss classes
• Even if you miss, write down the notes the very same day
• Write notes neatly and understand before writing so that you will be clear
• Take the textbooks to the class, especially if it is problem - solving day :)
• Pay attention

" Die but attend classes :P "


So, I ve learnt my lesson. If you are still not convinced you can repeat the experiment again and add a few more points to the list!


Pssst .. Funny , right? Funny because all of these things are known to us or at least we are taught when we were kindergarten kids. We knew every single do and don't. Just did not appreciate them or the pint needs to be driven into head.
Why?
Maybe because it will be helpful in the future :) .
Maybe we are to realize and learn its importance. Only after we commit silly experiments and look back do we know.
Another striking piece of evidence which suggests that life indeed lies in the small things.
Cheers!

Old Bank Setting

Among the other things that give Pilani a place in the Schaum's peculiar towns of the world list, a must see is the SBBJ- Slow Banking from Babloo & Joker.

Name : Babloo

Age : 50 + ( the time when adventures start happening in Pilani vasis. )

Education : 14 yrs schooling, 4 years makhaan mein kaam, ( Delhi-6 )

Since then : at humbling Pilani

Hobbies : latest ( 1990's ) songs from the market will always be on his mind, coming in time to office, handing over withdrawl sheets to waiting customers at snail pace, speaking as slowly on the phone as possible, etc.

Latest crush : Songs by Rahman : he will ask every soul on campus to send them by bluetooth. " uske liye balance nahi lagta.. "

Mode of transport : Usually phatphatiya, or his hyabooza

Naam : Joker, aa, joker!
Age : Little younger than babloo
Hobbies : To be more updated than Babloo :P
Headline : I take my own time
Favourite dialogue : " ek minut rookiyey "
Arrival : Minimum half an hour late.
( Note : Does not talk very much )

Waiting at the bank

Some of the nuances that come with not having an ATM card is waiting in a long queue at the bank. Its very far from being fun or funny, even if Babloo kept you entertained with silly jokes.
All of a sudden I had the feeling that maybe this was just a old hindi drama show that runs everyday for screening on doordarshan. Suddenly a phone call, tring tring , I was sure it was the boss saying he was ill and the serial would end saying to be continued...

Scene 3 : ( Enter Joker )
Finally, he arrives and is immediately served a glass of water. I guessed if this tradition were to break Babloo would lose his job. Before seating himself he prays to the Lord and only then starts off with the customers.


On the one side there is the world hit by recession; people jobless and stressed out completely.

" When the tough gets going, the going gets tougher "

In India, there is this youth full of energy. It seems while sleeping they keep muttering, start-ups... I'm the next big thing. There are people who are frustrated and angry and confused.

And what do we have here... a hindi drama produced by a bank manager and his assistant...


It feels so strange that life can be so simple at times.
Maybe it should be.
Maybe India is not in the cities but its beautiful villages.
Maybe one day we all will realise that life lies not just in big achievements but also the smallest of joys make it worth living.