Bon Iver

Although I have felt it, I still fail to see it. He is not the best looking, rather is actually quite on the bad side.. he is not the smartest I know, rather sounds quite unintelligent at times.. he is also old, not that there is anything wrong with that but compared to me he is quite old. Despite all this there is this innate quality in him that women get attracted to him like the cliched old saying of honey bees getting attracted to nectar. They are young, intelligent, sassy, smart, and extremely beautiful women. Clearly they arent bimbos who fall for a guy praising her hair or her lips. These are independent, extremely educated, and smart women. There is something about this guy which I cannot put my finger on. The fact that he is an awesome kisser, or the fact that he makes them feel like they are the one that his life revolves around, or the fact that he is an outdoor person contrasted with a very subtle and sensitive taste in music. What is it?? He has the most tattered car that can be found in the neighborhood, he dons the most disgusting pair of jeans and shirt (I guess those from a generation before mine..haha), he has a pot belly; a huge one at that. Then what makes him the man who is able to get any women he wants, rather the most respectable women in town. Respect!

He has a very cute, smart, and 10 year younger gf. I hope they last. He deserves it. All the very best.

Sneaky Bastards

So .. b school is really sneaky.. And I need to get rid of it as soon as possible..

G bye blog..

Shit happens..

..but life moves on.

In this weird scenario that I find myself dealing with there are some small good things that happen to you and you realize that world is a better place than what you thought it was.

Cheers! to Life.. that stops for no one..

The show must go on... Looking forward to Boston and then Indianapolis.

Referral

I feel loss of words today as I write this post. My mind is a 'mela' of all sorts of thoughts right now but I cannot bring myself to comprehend what each one of them is indicating and getting at and how can I organize them all. For an overtly organized person, this gives nightmares. These are the times that I dread.

I have been observing people a bit too much lately. Its amazing that how beyond the cultural barrier, everyone has the same way of thinking and delivering. And I was quite amused by it too. But come what may, I have come to realize that culture plays such a big role in a person's upbringing. Underneath everyone is still the same, but the layers that cover them coz of the culture and their upbringing brings about a massive change in people and its not easy to penetrate through.

Americans amuse me with the variety of people they exhibit. But then again, I guess so are Indians (and I say that coz I find it very difficult to explain to Americans how Indians are not just one kind and how not everyone in India touches everyone's feet). A friend of mine, J, constantly believes that every other girl who take an initiative to talk to him even once likes him. He calls this giving himself the 'benefit of doubt'. But how right is that? He looks deep into this girl's eyes, has the gut-smile* on this face, and kisses her forehead and then her cheek. And he clearly has a boner as he shows his affection for this girl. In conversations later, when this comes up he lives in denial and assumes the girl to take the responsibility for not pushing him away! Which girl pushes a guy away who shows such affection on her. .. errrrm he says American girls.. Haah..!! This blew me away. Is it really culture. Just coz that girl was Argentinian and she is more sensitive to other people's needs, she has to take responsibility for his boner.. ! Well I am sure, she is partly responsible. ;). I think all this is pretty immature for a 30 year old man.

And then there is another American friend that I have. He has one of the most atypical history an American guy can have. The way its depicted in movies. (I like I like). But he claims he is far away from there now and has grown out of the nuances of his life (he is well experienced that way..). But he likes it simple!!! Never talks openly about his past. Mystery hovers around him all the time.. and then he asks for things being simple and easy! Hypocrites - most Americans. I know every guy likes the chase better than the commitment. But even if there is no commitment, its difficult to have these American guys tied down the way our poor Indians guys mostly are.

But then there are exceptions. Or should I say the 'other kind'. Going strong for a number of years. Have'nt seen a couple so much in love before. When I look at them, it gives me jitters. I have never liked or loved anyone so much. Am I missing something?

And then there is another friend that I have, W. An overtly ethical kinds. The ones who would look down upon you if you did an individual project in a group! And might even consider complaining. Did I ever mention that Americans have this nasty habit of complaining. They are complaining all the time. Mostly about people around them. Its surprising how guys gossip here and that just increases my respect for my friends back home.

I guess I need to stop observing less and concentrate more on my Managerial Accounting exam that I have day after.

Current status - Disinterested/Confused

*gut-smile - A term that I coined which only I understand -- its the kind of smile that is most genuine, most intense and believable and it mostly is smiled when the guy is expressing his deep passion for his woman.

Value Proposition

As my awesome marketing professor says.. "You cant try and be everything to everyone.. You have got to target the right market segment and give them the most beneficial value proposition". Ain't that true for life and people in general? Isn't world a marketplace with customers, buyers and suppliers all trying to minimize their costs and maximize their profits. Nobody wants to get hurt and be sad. They all aim to fly high and with high profit margins and a good product.

The key, as now learnt in my marketing class, is to target one and only one segment. Straddling will give you the worse of both the segments. Your product might be the best for one certain set of people, but the worst for the other set. And you cannot, rather should not, try and be useful to them coz you will lose your loyal customer set. Can I not see that apply to me? I very much can! I am not a product like salt. People dont care much about its brand. Also there isn't too much loyalty as most of such products have the same feature - iodine content, free flow etc. and customers couldnt care less which brand they pick up. People are indifferent towards such products. But I am a product like a Absolut Vodka - a very niche market. People who like it, love it. People who dont like it or dont drink alcohol cannot stand it! I could also at the same time be PanParag - people who like it, love it. People who dont, dont!

Should I care about what these certain set of other people think about me. Like for right now, I know there is a set of people who will mock this entire post! They would attribute it to bad analogy, kiddish behaviour, overthinking etc. Should I bother about them? I say No. Id go with my marketing professor.

But then the question comes to How big is this market segment that I am targeting. Is it big enough for me to make enough profits to sustain in the market? Right! So rather than worrying about the other market segments, I should worry about mine and advertise more here. But I must say the temptation to have the largest market share is huge, but I should curb it and focus on profit making. That should be my strategy. So going ahead, I should switch the strategy from 'growing market share' to 'increase in profits'.

Cheers! to the new strategy. Lets get to work!

Pet Peeve

I cannot stand people who make 'a lot of noise' while they eat. And here I know this girl who I have to spend a lot of my time with, makes like a shit loads of noise while eating. Is she crazy? Is she dumb? Does she not understand what she is doing. I cant even come to tell how loud she is when she is eating. And to top it all, there is food in her hair, all around her plate on the table.. And there are guys who like that.. !! God save the world.. So much so for looking pretty and the giggle power.. !!

Strategic Balance

Disclaimer: This post comes at a time when I am dead sleepy but cant sleep coz I have to complete a Stratgy chapter which talks of how people cheat, fancily called opportunism, and how it can hurt you, called costs of opportunism.

(I have had a disclaimer on few of my posts. These are those times when I write coz I am either frustrated, or lazy, or sleepy, or just not in a mood to write. So it might not be a good read, but then I never asked you to read.)

And life can get to you. This post comes as such a contrast to my last one. So much so for a change... and in just three months. Life is the complete opposite of what I had been living in the last 6 months and that probably being the reason for me losing the CFF tag I had and not living upto my set standards. But I am really enjoying it. Its same in many ways but yet so different.

My travel here had an element of excitement because of the Europe trip. That was one helluva trip! I dont even want to get into writing a post explaining it; there is just too much to talk about and too much to not talk about (wink..wink). But coming here and starting a new life freaked me out much less than my shifting to Bangalore for work had. Anticipation wasnt killing me and I was surprised why.

Americans, their culture, their accent, their snootiness and all that:
Wasnt so bad afterall. I dont want to sound like a know-it-all person (in many ways I do and sorry about that) but it didnt take me time or effort to understand them. They are same as Indians in almost all respects. One cant talk about smoking up with them, neither can one wear plunging necklines without people looking, one cant swear, one will get looks if one drinks and gets too excited and etc etc. They are just the same, its just that..probably.. their percentage of open minded people is slightly higher than India. And Indians in the US, abso-fuckin-lutely crazy. The other day I went for Dandiya and I would have had a 100 times better crowd in some sad Pune dandiya than what I had here. Do ABCDs (as my roommates and a lot of others call them) forget to 'get dressed' when they come here and think that everything is cool.

And people have a universal problem with me being outspoken. Some love it, some like it, some outrightly hate it. And the proportion of Indians and Americans who have these opinions remain the same! I thought there was more accpetance here, but I should have known that they have never had a woman Prez whereas India has had!

Some Americans consider me hot/beautiful/super-cool. Good to know that. It always gives me energy to be good to people. I can be very mean sometimes!

Friends:
People are all good. They are not extraordinary, but they are the ones that I can relate to. I dont feel like a dumb chick among them. Indian crowd is kind of a shame. Everyone is amazingly sweet, but I expected something better out of a b-school crowd. I am single, you see. I have different perspectives.

Home:
I avoid being home. I love the graduate suite. Its the common area for the b school graduates, almost like a lounge area. Its awesome fun. Everyone is discussing the same thing and everyone is going crazy! And yes, there are more reasons why I avoid being home!
My roommate sleeps at 9:30 and gets up at 5. Beats Me.. !

Oh that reminds me of one of my professors.. Boatsman.. ! Awesome fella. If it wasnt for him I would have never understood how to manage GOBS of money that I am hoping to make after my MBA! haha.. For better understanding of the legend, click here.

All in all, I am living the same life, just a lot more busier. And I am not complaining. With the setting that I am in, I wouldnt have wanted to be free. Education here is awesome. I really like my school as it gives me the opportunity to be visible and stand out. I am hoping to not let the energy die down and make the most of it.

Adios! Till the next post which will not be published anytime soon.