20 Years Ago till Today...a timeline for me.........

On my 27th Birthday I decided to make a timeline for myself.Since its a blog as well you are welcome to read it.....Its not a very romantic or action timeline but its true and my honest line.....

20 years ago I . . .
Can barely remember what exactly I was doing. No date wise memory

(2001)10 years ago I . . .

1. I had attained my first board exam ICSE and awaiting the results. I was especially scared about the physics and mathematics. I knew I was going to fail in biology. My Physics teacher was more scared than me. 
2. Finally completed the Unreal Tournament and beaten Xan. Vomited after playing Doom and decided never to play the series in my life. 
3.  Elder brother got married, and I got the privilege of being the groom’s brother for the first time. Got a very dear Sister In Law(I call her Didi till day)Family Member = 9+1

 (2006)5 years ago I . . .

1.  Got transferred from Kolkata to Bangalore to study Engineering.(Against my will) 
2.  Lost both my Grandparents. Dida(2003) Dadu(2006).Family=10-2 
3.  Sitting back at home with Zero morale and trying to find my way back to the College. 
4.  Appeared for an interview with Wipro BPO, got rejected due to lack of proper communication skills. 
5.  Went to Vishnu solutions for an Interview and came to know that being a 2nd Year Pass Engineer, I was overqualified for the job. Though he did agree to get me a job if I would have paid some 10,000 as a security and my certificates as an assurance. 
6.  Morale boosted up once I had cleared the exams(all except one EC32) 
7.  Realized that really women can be deceptive and they can lie for their benefits. 
8.  Gifted with a nephew(Sangsaptak) who became the youngest member in my Family (taking my title...he he).Family=8+1 

 (2008)3 years ago I . . .

1. Brother visited Bangalore and had a kickass time.Those days were like heaven when your brother is there to take care of your financial needs and to lets you to have...ahem many many good things.He was like a guide,philosopher and friend to me that time...We were the perfect bachelors with some of our fellow bachelors.We sort of had an unofficial bachelor's club with my brother being the unofficial president for the club....we had daily meetings and addas..
2. Finally passed out of the college, even with a job in Keane India (then known as Caritor).Though the buggers didn’t called me immediately. 
3.  Joined Wipro BPO (cleared the rounds with highest in comm. Skills and tech knowledge) to earn my pocket money, which was proudly spent on Computers and fruit juice and girlfriend. 
4. Celebrated my first Love anniversary (November), and realized that when you receive gifts it’s wonderful and when you have to give its costly. 
5. Realized that once you get into job it’s really the end of personal leizures, took up my first call as FLA(Front Line Agents more like Front Line A** HOLE) on 23:59 PM 31st December 2008.The lady on the other side was very courteous and offered me cookies to compensate the pain of taking her call on this occasion. Mrs. Mary Mathews, from Ohio.

 (2010)1 year ago I . . . 

1. Have someone in my life to annoy and bother with my actions...
2.  Proudly was going for a dayshift with Sunday as week off and a promotion. 
3.  Handling a team of around 10-15 people. I didn’t know I could do it. Planning to quit the job as well.”Frustration…ami hote chai sensation (TM)” was my motto. 
4.  Weekend Attendance at Ajanta for a couple of Beer(*Contains fruit juice and no added flavour) and Dry Chili Chicken. 
5.  Luckily had received a call from Keane India and Wipro Technology at the same time 
6.  Left home in the month of September and settled for Bangalore then Noida. 
7.  Joined my 2nd Job as a Software Engineer at Keane India (Noida)-Finally got the call. 
8.  Purchased the Nokia X6 on EMI to enjoy the superior photo quality at 5MP Carl Zeiss Optics. Still paying the EMI. The phone successfully survived one snatching event and multiple drops from hand. 
9.  Gifted with another nephew (Panchajanya) who once again becomes the youngest member of the family. Family=9+1

(2011)So far this year I . . .

1.  Been to office and tried to use the office hours for blogging and other social activities. 
2.  Office blocks facebook, Gmail and blogger. **&&**!@@@*!!. 
3.  Got a salary hike (don’t know why) and had little more money to spend on Pizza. 
4.  Missed half of my second brother’s wedding and landed up in Kolkata on 2nd day. Did expected a lot of brother’s Saalis but sadly that’s another story to be narrated later. Got a cute and really nice person as Sister In Law who calls me Bhai. She even reads my blogs dedicatedly(thanks) .Family =10+1 
5. Quit the habit of drinking in weekends and now can stay without a drink for months 
6.  Presently planning to quit cigarette(that’s a tough call)

 (15th June 2011)Yesterday I . . .

1.  Boozed a little to enjoy the night. Managed to drink the entire stuff without spilling even a drop. Record.
2.  Got wet in the rain to feel the nature. Caught cold and had a little fever. 
3.  Watched the movie Darjeeling Darjeeling by Anjan Dutta and tried to relate the characters to my own life(Nope I am the only piece in this universe..single piece sample) 
4.  No cakes were cut and no payesh was made, not even one sweet. Booooo….. 
5.  Realized that I am 27 now. More Booooooooo…………

 Today I . . . 

1. 1. Completed 27 years of my. 
2. 2. Completed the first chapter for SCJP by Kathy Sierra 
3. 3. Promised to quit smoking 
4. 4. Promised to be good to the special lady and not to annoy her(*Conditions apply)

Tomorrow I will . . . 

1.  Again annoy that woman 
2.  Be back at work (full-day) 
3. Smoke 10-12 cigarettes in office.
4. Cook some good food with the newly learned recepie and post the pics on facebook.

 In the next year I will . . .  

1.  Open a new blog about my personal journey to the wastelands 
2.  Start the Optimized Savings plan (Self Designed) 
3.  Try to change the job by the end of the Year.
4. One of my best friend is going to enter the family phase of life.Planning to be there for the fun...

Thats all for today...signing off..

Childhood and the Memories

Today while having a long discussion with my office colleague Ruma Di..a very interesting black and white idea came to my mind(.Now in this case black and white doesnt suggest that the idea is lacking color but instead is very old.)Me and Ruma di were discusing about her younger son and my nephew.As like all bengali addas..the Hankerchief suddenly chaned to a Cat.Our childhood.While discussing our memories about our childhood i felt a very special joy in the way she spoke and a very similar wave of positive energy in my mind too.....


So what is a childhood like to a man/woman.

Its like those black and white photos you have back at your home which are almost inside dirty photo frames covered with dust and spider web.The picture itself has faded at some places.Yet when you look back at them you are transported instantly back into time and relive those days.The effect stretches for a few secods to may be a long lasting hour but not more.......Once again you are drawn back to reality by some mystcial force.

My Childhood:Frames in my mind that will never fade away

Dadu and Dida

Today it was different.It lasted for a long enough time to spend time on this blog.Though I really cant remember which is the oldest memory I have but I sure do recall some of the best times in my life.A lot of people who knew me from my childhood says that I was very "Duronto".I was exacly opposite to my name.In Bengali Language "Santanu" means a person whose mind and body is calm.Well i was exacly opposite to that.Now a days also my old stories arrives at a place before me.Somwhat like my reputation preceeds me..I remember I used to climb tall trees and sit there for a long time.The only thing that could persuade me to come down was my Grandmother(Dida) telling me that "If you dont come down immedieately I wont feed you with my hands and you have to sleep with your grand pa".Yup I was really scared of my Grandpa(Dadu).He was always so calm and used to talk less.Rarely I had seen him loose his temper and best of all,till the very last days he tried his level best to be independent.They always wanted to see me happy and successful and yet the sadest part is that when I have every possible happyness that a man can have...they are not there.I lost my Grandmother during the schooling days and my Grandfather passed away when I was in Bangalore.

Color TV

Coming back to the happier shades of memory..I remember when one day my dad brought home one color tv thus marking the entry into the world of true color.Watching my favourie "JOHNNY SOKKO AND HIS FLYING ROBOT" was truelly a trill on DD1.

Babu

One of the best moments I enjoyed was when my cousin brother used to visit kolkata from asansol during his summer holidays.Those days were absolutely faboulus.Starting from playing demo Mahabharat wars to even fights..he was my only companion those days.If I have to describe him..he is more like one of my few best friend with a blood relation.The word cousin just dont fit in.Some person,the name I dont remember gave us the name "Lav and Kush".The best part is that the time we are at the same place we are hardly seen apart.Only thing is that I got so little time to spend with him.Even when he finally setteled in bangalore,I was on the verge of leaving Bangalore.

My Maternal Uncle's Place

My maternal uncle used to live in Kalikapur near Champahati(The famous fireworkd market).My memories of the place is only during the Summer vacations.The taste of famous Hatu Parata and hot jalebis.My Grandfather had a very big stationery shop over the place.One of the biggest sort of like mini big bazar in those days..And i remember stealing hajmola and chocklates from there.A fellow named Bappa was my companion there.My uncles used to have big Gardens full of all sort of trees and a big pond in the middle.All the day it was just roaming around.Specially for a child who is brought up in cities the sight of a huge Garden and big ponds and vast rice fields were like water to a desert beduin..I used to loose myself..

The Famous Trio

I remember my faithful companion the Hercules Cycle.It was bought when my elder brother used to go to school.Later it was refitted for my schooling completed with new tyres and a fresh paint.Me and my friend Sumon and Rajat each having their own cycle used to spend hours and hours cycling over to unknown destinations.Heck even before ICSE physics board exam we were out cycling.Those days were without any fear or remorse.Perhaps a very golden age.Sadly enough all our cycles were stolen under mysterious circumstances during a very particular time frame marking an end to the cycle era.Now both of them have purchased byke.Perhaps I am the one who is left to buy one and join them.Even after so long time our friendship has passed the tirals of time and memory and still stands true.If you ask me the formula perhaps I dont know but one thing is for sure...it surely worked out truelly.
 
Well that pretty much summarizes almost everything.Though there are something I choose not to share on this blog either because they are too sensetive or perhaps because I didnt find any words to describe it.
=========================================================================================
 
So Whats so special about this post
 
Well to begin with,this blog deosnt contains pictures.Why?Because naturally there is no way to replicate my memory or imprint that on digital media.Second,this blog post will mark the ending of personal blogs which otherwise I have planned to host on another site.I will post the link soon once the blog is up and running.From now on this particular blog will focus more on anything else that me & myslef.

Why such a sudden change?

I felt that my blog readers must have something better to do than reading my updates..or like updates about my daily life..This overall was reducing the blogger value..so....

Signing Off
Santanu Ghosal

Plans for the Future

Recently I felt that my life is pretty unorganized and truelly the yield is very low.Though it suits my strategy of "Work when required" suits fine but sometime I really feel that its actually driving me nowhere.So figured out that I needed a way out.A systematic and planned transformation to push the better half of me into action and make some achievemenst on the way.

 Why should we listen to your plan?

One advantage I have working as a software enginer is the ability understand reusability.Reusability in wiki is descibed as follows

In computer science and software engineering, reusability is the likelihood a segment of source code that can be used again to add new functionalities with slight or no modification. Reusable modules and classes reduce implementation time, increase the likelihood that prior testing and use has eliminated bugs and localizes code modifications when a change in implementation is required.

When modified to Human Life Cycle

In modern day life, reusability is the likelihood a segment of idea or work that can be used again to add new funda with slight or no modification. Reusable ideas and work reduce working time, increase the likelihood that work was successful before thus has eliminated problems and success rate will be possibly higer.

Now when I share my Ideas which already has been put to use.The best part is that you can use it too in your daily life royalty free.He he ofcoure I would appreciate if a small treat is given as token of credit.On a serious note if

Work when required Strategy

http://bluebuddies.com/

This strategy in particular has actually proven very efficient and helpful for people like me who dont want to work extra but want to get all the benifits.Lets take a look into the strategy with a sample test case.

When I was recruited for Keane India back in 2007 I practically didnt have any idea about java.Though able to code in C++ ,I had my confidence level boosed up by the lab exams where I always was the one to walk early and secure a 98% marks.So what's the secret.Its simple.Just 10 days before the lab exam,

• Understand what each program gives as output with a specific set of Input
• Figure out the important segment of code.Remove all the un necessary display and formatting
• Get the code into practice all by myself in Home pc and once in Lab

 And wallah..the magic was done.Net yield.I never used to attend lab sessions and got away with 0% attendance in Lab.

  

Next When in Keane Training I am asked to build a sample project(one of the hardest one).I dont know anything.I had missed a lot while drooling in class.So next begins a session of self learning and exploration.The time was short and there were lots of distractions.Durga Puja,Party and ofcourse my favourite pass time sleeping.Once again the strategy worked and I worked really hard for 3 days continuosly and achieved around 87% in project.It was done nicely and the trainer complemented me.But you know what I felt that I had cheated.I could have done much better.

  

Realization

http://kamyabology.com/

Now when I dont have any real task at hand I somehow feel that perhaps I am living my life to a complete waste.Nearly 1/10 th of my salary goes into having pizza and 1/10 th ino Cigrettes both of which I find very hard to resist.I have started a plan to reduce smoking and this particular article can be described as a foreward for that and much more.

Why all of a sudden are you thinking like this when you have everything you wanted?

Good question.

Yes truelly I have been blessed by a job in my dream sector(IT that is).And I do also have a sweet love whom I am planning to get married by the end of 2012 and I even got a hike after joining and working for 3 months.Ive got my own laptop and a dedicated Interent.I have also started saving money for the long term expense.My parents are happy about me.My brothers are happy about me.My friends are happy about me.And the best part is Maverick my once believed arch enemy is also finally in terms with me and we are good friends now..............

So what more do you want?

But something is still missing........After a long an deep thinking I found out that I am missing an Identity..Not the one given by the Indian Govt but the one I should have,the one which will identify me,my personality and my characteristics.Dont know if this is the outcome of playing too much Role Playing Games(RPG like Baldur's Gate,Deus Ex and Elder Scroll).

 Uniqueness. 

 In real world I need to identify and exploit my strength and shield my weakness.One can never eliminate his/her weakness coz that my friend will simply mean like cutting you out.I wont be bothering you guys out with my self realization plans,however lets go by a generalized way of planning.

 Plan For the World Domination

I feel like the evil mastermind Mojo jojo or in that case Megamind when I stared out the plan.Ye ha ha ha..Yes...its alive...its alive...oops!

Coming back to the point.

  

Good Vs The Evil

http://www.wearerealnews.com/

1. The first step is to sit quitely with yourself alone,in a peaceful place with something to write into. 
2. Take a deep breadth and try to think of nothing..just let your mind grasp the sound of nature(This is not Yoga or Pranayam) 
3. Ask yourself the question "What am I good at?"..Note them down.. 
4. Repeat step 2  
5. Ask yourself the question "What are the things where I really mess up?"..Note them down..Preferably list them based on Priority.

Milestone

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/

One really never knows how much he has worked or travelled unless there is a milestone for measurement.Being a student of science I do believe that most of the things apart from emotions are measurable.So lets do it.Lets first prepare a planner which will be span over a year and subdivied as follows.

                                  Year-->Quarterly-->Month-->Week

The lowest tab is week.The reason behind is that a month is too long for me to wait for the results and a day is too early to measure the pattern.

  

Things to Include in the planner.From year point of view

1. What are the things you are planning to achieve in the next year
1. i.Financial-->Total Savings,Total Salary Scale
2. ii.Social-->Holidays,Vacations
3. iii.Physical-->Get more weight/Loose more weight/Get fair complexion/Get dark complexion
4. iv.Mental-->Ease of decissions/Speech fluency.. 
2. Divide the possible goals into a Quarterly/Monthly and Weekly Review target.Not every plan will be weekly so the flexibility is there
3. Get a fresh copy or even better a printout and stick it into a place where you will be visiting frequently in a day yet it will be hidden from normal view.
4. Grab yourself a excel sheet or you can draw tables in paper and start to montior on the timeframe(Year>Quarterly-->Month-->Week) and give yourself scores and comments.
5. Share them if they are not very private.That would give you the encouragement to follow.
6. Give yourself treats and record them with snaps or audio clips.Listen to those when you feel depressed or feel moving away from targets.

The Real Drama

http://www.bbc.co.uk/

 People close to you may say that you are changing or might notice the change but not comment on it.Take the comments as critics.Feel free to discuss with your close ones about these changes.If required make a modification to the plan at the time of review(Year-->Quarterly-->Month-->Week).No matter what happens dont loose hope or motivation.Most important "Dont buy away your plans for a smaller cause".Its ok to have minor distractions but its the end result that matters.Like for me..someone might say the ways are radical and may not yield anything,even your inner entity might try to push you off the track.The key to survival is to hold on.

   

So wish me good luck as I begin to prepare my will of salvation

  

Signing Off
 Santanu Ghosal

Boring Days

The days in Noida has been increasingly boring.

There is almost nothing to do out here.The city is damn costly.Even a standard haircut is around 100.After listening to that i was initially planning to grow beards and long hair.The best and the worst part of this time is the winter.The temperature drops around 7-8c in night and early morning.The best part is going under the blanket every night and the worst part is waking up at 6:30AM and take a hike of 1 KM in the foggy weather to go to the nearest bus stop.

But I am enjoying the place where i live.Its very peaceful and also sometimes feels like i am i a camp in a remote location.The sunrise is a very pelasant sight to see if one can wake up by that time.Like in a camp I always have to ration the food and cigrettes as the nearest shop is 1 KM away.At night the gates are closed and its darkness beyond the Society boundary.

I have staretd cooking and i am thankful to god that it is working out.I can successfully cook for 2 persons.Day 1 i had prepared Khichri and Day 2 Rice and Dal and Aalu chokha..Next I am planning to include Papad and french fries also.

But amongst all this.I miss kolkata and my close ones.Seems like it has been deacades i have been out of my home.I literally have to struggle to get hold of my mind in those tough situations.Well after a long time I am out of Kolkata(actually I wanted to go out of kolkata).I never imagined that I do really miss Kolkata.It seemed that even after 2 years of staying also wasnt enough to live kolkata.Oh the Ajanta Movie Hall.I and some of my friends(Sumon and Occationally Rajat used to go there).
The  addas we used to have.The rice and dal of Home,My room with my favourite pilow,My PC(With 1 GB Graphics Card and a 21 inch Monitor) which was virtually redesigned from Wipro Salary.My Samsung L700(Stolen),Occational visits to KFC(Esplanade) with a mysterious lady.................Well the list will continue and i wont be naming all of them(I dont want to bore you)..............I will be posting some pics taken with my New 5MP camera..

Signing Off

Santanu Ghosal

Mobile Snatchers

The day began as a normal morning. Waking up at 6:45AM and getting ready. A long walk to bus stop and then waiting for the bus .Today to my surprise was going to be one of the most memorable day of my entire life.

 

New Lands

Leaving my Shack

The journey began once I had completed the necessary preparations and then had set of for the capital of India. The day was little bit busy as I had to complete lot of small paperwork laid by my recruiters. Then finally the moment came. We boarded yet another mechanical beast called Auto. There while unloading from the auto, something happened that I couldn’t think of or even dreamed of. One of the 5 most important things in my life suddenly was lost. A precious lifeline to my family, friends and love. I lost my mobile. Immediately when I realized this I called back but the phone was switched off. I rushed to the stand but the driver was gone. Finally unable to risk my travel, I had to move on. Luckily for me, I had another backup ready and presently am surviving with that. So if you want to contact me call me on 09874961601.


The flight was good. Kingfisher provided snacks and there were also movies to watch. I rate them 4.5 out of 5.The first view I caught of Delhi was Yamuna River. It was shinning like silver. It was full moon and truly it was the most beautiful and heavenly show that caught my eye. The night was short and brief.

Day 1


Next morning after having our heavy breakfast which includes 2 Aalu Paratha,2 Bread Omelette and 4 butter toast we started off for our new destination. The office although doesn’t looks very impressive from the outside but the inside is very well maintained. We have office cabs to drop us to the guest house and take us back in the morning.

Overall Noida is very chilly place and on top of it this particular sector 42 seems to be like a fortress outside which there is no population for miles. The best thing about staying in the guest house is the high speed internet they are providing.

But soon I have to leave this safe haven and find out a new home for myself. I am planning to search for my new shack just after the Diwali.

Note: I am trying to forget about my old mobile so a humble request. Please dont ask questions like Where How and When? These will surely make me upset.

Happy Diwali.

New Camp

New Adventure and a New Camp

Well its almost time to pack up my resources and prepare my backpack and move to a new territory. My profession requires the new exploration. My service is needed in another fortress of Keane in a place called Noida. Intelligence Report suggests the extreme weather conditions. Right now it's cold over there. Although not snowing but the bitterness of cold is bound to have a bite on my Battle hardened body and soul. Warm clothes are presently not in my possession partially due to my travelling past and also partially due to the fact that the confirmation for my payment has not reached me via the modern methodology called Salary Credit.

Although I have my backup but it had been stocked for a different mission.I will be starting my journey on 2^nd November and will be travelling inside the belly of a mechanical beast that can fly at a very high altitude. That will make my journey shorter. The arrangements have been made by my Employers.

Yikes!

Does the language sounds too ancient or do you think that I have gone crazy? Well the truth is I had been reading the Lord Of the Rings novel by J. R. R. Tolkien. A journey to a Fantasy world and well for LOTR fans like me it's like a Christian reading the original gospels of Jesus Christ. It is so much different from the movie. One who has enjoyed the movie will surely enjoy the novel provided he is having a patience of reading which a very rare skill among mortals is.

Squirrel Rescue

Yesterday I had seen a very painful event. While I went on the rooftops for a smoke, it was raining heavily and I took shelter under the shed that was there. I saw a squirrel.He was just stuck and seemed very sick to me. The poor thing was trying to move away from the rain but somehow couldn’t do so. I decided to help. Althought I was afraid of a squirrel byte but still picked it up from the rain and placed it in a dry place. To my surprise his body was covered in some kind of sticky stuff and that explained why he couldn’t move. Unable to move and heavy glued the squirrel was gasping and was soon coming to an end. I didn’t wanted him to die so I called some of my colleagues to help.

Upon enquiry I found out that the canteen folks had placed a mouse trap hoping to catch a mouse but he was caught in the trap.A doubt came to my mind wether I am saving a big mouse or as squirrel as by that time he was looking very similar to that of a mouse.But no it was a squirrel.
We washed the squirrel and then removed his furry tail which had already transformded into a peculiar weight of hair.We had a short debate wether to put him in a dry place or wet surface as I thought maybe wet surface will hep him loosen the gum.He didn't liked the idea of being in water so we placed him in a dry place.We gave him some rice and a sliced carrot hoping that will help him recover his strength.The last time we left him,he was eating like he had not eaten in days.Today when I go to the office I will check on him.

Medic Team

Hopefully Resting

Updated Friends List

Well definitely..Here is a more updated list...

New Included

• Teachers/Researchers
• Deboshree
• Piyali
• Subhodip
  
  

  

  Friends List

  

Please help me to finalize and complete the list.Very soon i will be sending  a form via Email/Facebook which will contain an option to update the profession..Planning to do it totally automated.

Friends and Acquaintances

I was just wondering that of all the people I know how many are into different profession.

Here is the Graph...

The List will be updated from time to time.





I m in Bangalore

He Guys,

I am writing after a long time.Many things have changed since i last wrote.

Just an Update.

• I am presently working for Keane India(as a Software Engineer)
• I am presently located in Bangalore(AKA Bengaluru)-->Joined on 30th August 2010
• Acquired a Tata Indicom Connection(DOP:1st September 2010)
• Bought a new Laptop sicne i couldnt carry my old powerhouse to bangalore..She has become too old for a intercity transfers.........(DOP:4th September 2010)
• Got myself a Tata Photon + connection(DOP:18th September 2010)

Yes Finally after waiting for nearly  2 years,I received a call from Keane India for my Campus Recruitment.Ironic enough I was also selected for Wipro Technology Bangalore,for a project in Test Automation in a banking project.

It was a tough call.Both Companies offering Low initial package,Location:Bangalore and Of course both in technology.

I had to take my call,and i betted on Keane......

I was not wrong.Here presently i am on a training schedule for Java.I dont know but i am comfortable here.........