Sunday, November 29, 2009

Finally working again

Have been waiting to get back to a full time job for the past few months.

Kept wondering what it would be like to work after 13 months of joblessness. Well I don't find any difference. It is interesting though to enter a system which is already set and fairly large. I joined my previous company as their 16th employee so obviously most of the people I worked with over the 3 years I was there, came after me. It a different experience trying to catch up with 50-60 people who are already working around you.

Not else is very different I guess. At least not in the first 3 and a half days of being there :)

It suits me just fine...

Yup, many of my friends are fair-weather friends but I don't mind mainly because the weather is mostly always fair :)

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Cause and Effect...

I always find it funny when people say 'look how perfect the Earth is to support life' when in fact most species have evolved and adapted to the way the Earth is...If we lived on Mercury, we'd think Mercury was the only special planet that could support life the way we knew it


I feel we are looking at things backwards or upside down. The Earth didn't evolve to suit our needs, we evolved in such ways as to utilize Earths resources.

And the most important bit about this is that this adaptation to the Earth's resources have happened over billions of years. We didn't get to where we are in a couple of lifetimes. And I think its important to remember this because we are changing things on Earth - we are changing its nature.. Whether it's the atmosphere or the land or the water, everything is naturally changing and also changing because of us (humans). Change in itself is not a problem but the changes need to be slow so that we can adapt. Drastic changes only mean that we will have to cope better and have to work harder and faster to adjust to the world around us.

Whatever change we create should take effect slowly so that we (and other species on Earth) can adapt to the same.

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

5 Minute Management Course

Going through all my unread mail and finding some interesting forwards [I generally hate forwards and find that finding the really good ones is like looking for a needle in a hay stack] this is one of them. My personal favourite is Lesson 4 :)
Enjoy


Lesson 1:
A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings.

The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs.

When she opens the door, there stands Bob,the next-door neighbour.

Before she says a word, Bob says, 'I'll give you $800to drop that towel.'

After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob, after a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 and leaves.

The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs.

When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, 'Who was that?'

'It was Bob the next door neighbour,' she replies.

'Great,' the husband says, 'did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?'

Moral of the story:

If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.



Lesson 2:
A priest offered a Nun a lift.
She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg. The priest nearly had an accident.

After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg.

The nun said, 'Father, remember Psalm 129?'

The priest removed his hand. But, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again.

The nun once again said, 'Father, remember Psalm 129?'

The priest apologized 'Sorry sister but the flesh is weak.'

Arriving at the convent, the nun sighed heavily and went on her way.

On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It said, 'Go forth and seek,further up, you will find glory.'


Moral of the story:
If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great opportunity.



Lesson 3:
A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp.

They rub it and a Genie comes out.

The Genie says, 'I'll give each of you just one wish.'

'Me first! Me first!' says the admin clerk. 'I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.'

Puff! She's gone.

'Me next! Me next!' says the sales rep. 'I want to be in Hawaii , relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life.'

Puff! He's gone.

'OK, you're up,' the Genie says to the manager.

The manager says, 'I want those two back in the office after lunch.'


Moral of the story:
Always let your boss have the first say.



Lesson 4
An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing.

A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him, 'Can I also sit like you and do nothing?'
The eagle answered: 'Sure, why not.'

So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.


Moral of the story:
To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.



Lesson 5

A turkey was chatting with a bull.

'I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree' sighed the turkey, 'but I haven't got the energy.'

'Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?' replied the bull. They're packed with nutrients.'

The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree.

The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch.

Finally after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the tree.

He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the tree.


Moral of the story:
Bull Shit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there..



Lesson 6
A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field.

While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him.

As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was.

The dung was actually thawing him out!

He lays there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy.

A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate.

Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and

promptly dug him out and ate him.


Morals of the story:
(1) Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy.

(2) Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your
friend.

(3) And when you're in deep shit, it's best to keep
your mouth shut!

Interesting thought...

"When an egg breaks by a power outside, a life ends.
When an egg breaks by a power inside, a life begins. "

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Some brilliant quotes

Sometimes in the winds of change we find our true direction.


The only thing that stand between a person and what they want in life are the will to try it, and the faith to believe it is possible.
-Rich Devos


Throw the heart over the fence and the rest will follow.
-Norman Vincent Peale


Laughter is an instant vacation.
-Milton Berle


Find your joy and share it with others.


If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything.


Keep your face to the sunshine and you will not see the shadows.
-Helen Keller


Courage does not always roar. Sometimes it is a quiet voice at the end of the day, saying..."I will try again tomorrow."
-Mary Anne Radmacher


Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.
-Robert Brault


Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.
-Mother Teresa


Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.
-Will Rogers


It's choice - not chance - that determines your destiny.
-Jean Nidetch

"If you don't know how to fix it, stop breaking it."

'Habit is habit and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time'. - Mark Twain

Always love quotes by Mark Twain. I surprisingly have read little of his work. Probably has to do with having to read 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer' when I was too young for it and at a time where I didn't quite like reading yet.

Will give his writings another go though cause he seems like a very intelligent man.

In terms of, a 'habit being flung out the window', I have known a few people who have just given up a bad habit right away or started out and stuck with a good one. But for most people I think the coaxing is needed. Most of us fall off the bandwagon (sometimes are aren't even on it...we just think we are) at some point or another and then have to get back on.

Have a bunch of bad habits I want to get rid off and a bunch of 'good' habits I want to adopt. Came across this interesting article recently- The Habit Change Cheatsheet and at least many of the '29 ways' are worth trying. What was most interesting though and something I have never thought off in the past is 'identifying the trigger(s)' and 'replacing them with a replacement habit'. Would definitely recommend the article to those trying to change a habit.