.....

Sad news confirmed today...another friend of mine passed away on 3rd July came to know about it a couple of weeks ago (but was not sure/couldn't believe it)..and all this while I was thinking that he may be busy as he had not given me a call...

He passed away at the age of 30 ..heart failure...due to stress...how common is the theme..nowadays...I am just too sad at the moment. he was a dear friend of mine from college days..may God bless his soul...As one grows old..each year God takes away someone one knows... and one feels just that much empty from inside..as if a part of us goes with that person..a bunch of good memories are all that are left.... I get the same feeling of emptiness when someone whom I really like (esp) in sports retires. I mean you have grown up seeing the guys in action and one fine day they are gone too..

Sometimes I feel that we put in too much weight on the professional/achieving part of life and forget to live life as it ought to be lived....in the process missing out on so many things.....wish everyone starts 'living' life to the fullest possible extent...and gets the best out of it..

Weekend..

Now this one really takes the cake in terms of consistency...for the fifth weekend in a row.. I have been hit by a flu...Would you believe it that it affects me on the weekends..starts on a Friday night and subsides by Monday.!!

Hopefully the next weekend would not bring it again..

US unemployment rate surpasses 10%- that's another one which surprised me a bit.. The doubts on the swiftness of the so called recovery which were lurking at the back of my mind are getting reconfirmed (by the way these doubts are mostly about the western world's recovery , I am still very positive on economies driven by domestic demand esp India) and are now forcing me to think about re framing my investment policy... as the coupling effect would take down all the markets if US data keeps on throwing up bad surprises.. and I do not want to miss out on the opportunity if it presents itself...again..i.e..

Not so much of an avid blogger am I? Long time hardly any posts. Time was good. Back to saddi Dilli.. in winters had loads of fun in early 2009 and guess the good times are here again as Nov is chilly this time around!!

Sometimes I miss the evening Sydney sky- clear blue one as if cleaned by the mighty one for us to ponder over his beautiful creations. I loved it when I used to go back home sometimes for lunch ( used to stay in CBD) while sea breeze used to come over from Darling Harbour in to the King Street and blow into my face..

Had the same feeling while cruising on amazing Ladakh roads riding on a Thunderbird.. searching for the monasteries in remote locations..The sky at night in Ladakh is just like the one which used to be there at the planetariums enthralling us in childhood as we looked at it as collections of different light bulbs....I saw at least 5 shooting stars within half an hour at 3.30 AM in the morning ..while looking at the sky with cold winds blowing from across the barren mountains making the experience surreal.. From what I saw on the Ladakh trip early this year my admiration for the Indian Army keeps on increasing.. They are the living examples of 'mind over matter' theory.. where they live ..we can't spend more than a few hours. My experience at Changla Pass was on the same lines.. people do not/ are not supposed to spend more than 15 -20 minutes on the pass due to the lack of oxygen and the chilly winds... however.. when I went through the pass this year.. 3-4 Sikh soldiers of Sikh LI were there since morning and from what I gathered they are 'posted' at Changla !!! What great fortitude !! Hats off and my salutes..

Interesting so far..

Life down under has been pretty interesting so far with a bit of beauty of surroundings, new friendships, new culture at work and outside, long hours of sleep ( quite contrary to my usual self) on the weekends and so many more things.

Till date there have been three days which were most eventful, the first one being meeting up with ‘Tugga’ Steve Waugh. Just happened to meet up with him while taking an after lunch stroll in the streets. For the first few minutes I was just staring at him and smiling. Appropriately, after a couple of minutes of the unrelenting gaze from my side he shot an exclamatory look. Of course one has the leeway of being in a daze whence one meets up with the childhood hero and that too by sheer random luck. By the end of the talks I did what I know best- blabbering about markets and we had small chat on AIG and its future (this was before the Bailout).

The second memorable day was the trip to Canberra’s Floriade. It had the most beautiful collection of tulips and their derivatives( I mean multicolored tulips like a mix of an orange and purple etc) . The countryside/outback in Aussieland is amazingly beautiful with an amazing array of flora and fauna. I would say Sydney has got the best of all worlds, with an amazing mix of beaches, mountains (snowy ones too), caves and forests all located within a small radius (300km). It rained half the way to Canberra and almost the full way back. I have never seen so many rainbows in such a short period of my life as I have here. Infact on one fine day I saw two rainbows in the sky!!

The third memorable day was the Annual Conf. of I Bankers where we witnessed behind the door presentation of the past, present and future of I banking in this part of the world. It also provided a platform to meetup with the country heads from around the world including the current BOSS and the most probable one for future. Great perspectives and amazingly talented people provided the maximum amount of motivation possible to each other for weathering the storm the world is currently witnessing.

Generally each day has brought new things in life on personal and professional front. However, all said and done one misses India every passing moment and more so on the Festival of Lights-Diwali. Enjoy all you lucky fellas for you are in India where sweets were exchanged and crackers were burst. Not that it did’nt happen here. Of course we do our part here but it’s not the same. To top it all was working on Diwali..There is a price for all the good things..

Downunder..

It's been over a month now... Opera City is very beautiful indeed...Bondi was beautiful but was bit of a disappointment because of its size...Baga is a much bigger beach....
Overall my exp here till date has been a mixed bag.. Work within the bank is just ok till date..not something which will send shivers of excitement down the spine... Honestly ....I think more than anything once u get in... what u realize is that the journey was more arduous than the task ensuing.. post the goal ....i.e.
One thing I admire about Mac bank is their spirit.. the kind of things they undertake literally stems from a well known line...

'what the mind of man can conceive it can achieve....'

but of course after covering all your positions as a bank....
Life style is pretty chilling.. Staying next to a place like darling harbour ensures one can de-stress pretty quickly by taking a short walk over the bridge and getting hit in the face by the sea winds.....i also love the piazza in front of the Victoria building as it's one of the most happening part of the town with thousands of people criss crossing the place any given hour...

after a long time in my life.. i have the privilege of coming home and taking out time for myself instead of academic/professional pursuits...till now the personal part of the life is going pretty fine..however sometimes...during the week......when i am punching in the keys...the heart longs for the final journey which should be undertaken.....sometimes i try and tell myself..of all the prices one pays to pursue what one really wants (also of knowing what one really wants).... and sometimes it seems in the long run.. may be it wont matter...
my bet is that if i know my self... the journey is on....its only a matter of time...

indeed... one of my favorite lines from a movie....

"...geology is a study of pressure and time......that's all it takes really........

..pressure and time....."

On the contrary the city of SCG keeps on amazing me everyday with its beauty...would try to be at the Boxing day test this year and try to catch up with couple of cric Gods..

New Life...

Placement week got over. Hectic to say the least, but it was indeed a very interesting period of life. One gets to know the limits to which one can stretch oneself  only becasue of resilience and the depth of interest in a field. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience as in any case I never had the luxury of getting several job offers in two days. 

Global Mkts role at I-bnk would be something which I may rue/mull over for some time. Hope life takes me to places where I want to reach as my passion for getting in to Mkts makes me get up at night and think about the  missed chance which  stemmed from the inability of the campus recruitment process of a bank to offer appropriate remuneration. 

The Oz option is more like one of the famous bidding cases which had a good part of the valuation coming from the real option of the project in the future.. 

Valutions are still on...

New life post ISB or the same one with new perspective...yet to decide...

Night Time at ISB....

Night time at ISB is not the least of lonely times.. infact the afternoons can be sometimes much more lonely time..
..
even if one is loaded with a number of assignments and is working till 3 Am..and expects no one to be around, when one goes out to get a cup of tea...dont be surprised if you find plenty of folks doing their stuff.. assigments, boozing, getting a cup for themselves..etc...

New year came in and till date not free from the asgnmnts.. no break what soever this time as asgnmnts are getting over by Monday morning..

Fin Eng. course in term 6 was the most enjoyable one till date.. and I feel lucky to have met the like of George Chacko.... what pedigree!!..and what exp!


Death Spiral Converts etc.. good stuff to know...

lets see what T 7 brings in...

by the way at ISB since now i am accustomed to sleeping less than 6 hours per day... i watch all the IND Aus matches in the morning ...almost every ball and then set out to do the asgnmnts...
cool na... after a long time .. i had the privilage..Laxman was amazing today... esp the first 50 in 43 balls ... only he can do it..

Hope the others continue the good show tom....