Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Seven Days

Based on my past two semesters in SMU, Week 10 has been the hell week where you have the cruel combination of midterms, project meetings, and presentations. But this semester things were different. I just got out of Week 10, and I had no midterms, no project meetings, and no presentations. What I did have though, was possibly the best week of my life.

Saturday & Sunday, 20th and 21st October – SMU BP IV’s

My week began with the annual SMU British Parliamentary Inter-Varsity debating tournament. The tournament had teams from Malaysia, Thailand and of course the local universities ie NUS, NTU etc. Being home ground, we had a reputation to protect. SMU had never lost a local BP IV since 2005, and everyone wanted to keep the record intact. Apart from that, this was the first BP tournament that I was going to as SMU A, ie the top team from SMU. So anyways, I prepped quite hard for this tournament by matter loading, training debates etc, and I honestly wanted to win. The tournament began well for us, as Carlo (my debating partner)and I won the first preliminary round.

We went on to break 1st into the semi-finals. We consequently made it to the finals. The final was not the greatest of debates, and I took the wrong burden of proof, which made it dangerous for us as Opening Opposition. But we stuck by our fundamentals, fulfilled our roles, and made our primary arguments. And well, we ended up winning! It was a brilliant feeling. Carlo and I have kept the SMU BP tournament record intact, and now well, it’s up to the juniors to do their job next year. Congratulations to Rajan for winning best speaker of the tournament. You deserve it buddy. As for me, well I’m going to be smiling about winning the tournament for a long time.

Wednesday, October 24th – TATA Crucible International Business Quiz

For those who know me well enough, you know I can’t live without quizzing for too long. It’s been a long time since my last major quiz, and honestly, I didn’t think there was going to be such an opportunity in Singapore. But around mid September, I got a mail from SMU saying that Crucible was coming to Singapore. For those uninitiated, TATA Crucible is India’s largest Business Quiz. It’s conducted by Giri Balasubramaniam, my favorite quizmaster. I’ve been to a large amount of Giri’s quizzes, and Mukund and I have a brilliant track record at his quizzes. Crucible was going international, and chose Singapore as the first venue. So obviously I was ecstatic, and couldn’t wait to sign up for it. I called Bhavya, a third year at SMU, who missed quizzing as much as I did, as he was very active on the Delhi quizzing circuit, and I asked him if he was interested. And quite obviously, he jumped at the opportunity too.

So finally, the quiz was held on the 24th of October. We topped the prelims, jointly with another SMU team, with a 23/25. The questions weren’t that tough, as Giri had no gauge of how tough to make it in Singapore. So it was a question of hitting as much as we could, and not missing the obvious ones. As we were called on stage, I felt brilliant, as this was what I have been missing for so bloody long! 8 teams made it to the finals. The final was perfect, as Bhavya and I scored in every round consistently. We ended up winning the quiz, and being crowned champions! Along came $7000, iPod Video Nano’s, Nikon Dig cams, and a very beautiful trophy. But apart from all of that, just being on stage again, exchanging high fives, cracking Giri’s famous Beyond the Obvious/Think Laterally round, made me feel, like Bhavya said, completely at home. This is where I am the happiest, and this is where I’m at peace. The customary phone call to my parents was made, and it felt great telling my parents after so long that I had won a quiz. The brother of course already has plans for the iPod and the money!

Friday, October 26th – Megadeth

Need I say more? Megadeth played at Fort Canning Park, and it was off the hook! Seeing Dave Mustaine live was an awesome experience. They played all the biggies – She Wolf, Hanger 18, A Tout le Monde, Holy Wars, Tornado of Souls, etc. 2 hours of non-stop mayhem! And of course, the mosh pit was wild. I was surprised that Singaporeans have that much energy in them! We beat the hell out of each other, jumped up and down, somehow managed to shoot pics, screamed our lungs out, and generally were quite mad. I know it sounds insane, but as Mustaine would put it, peace sells… but who’s buying? Hat’s off to Megadeth for a brilliant concert, and a brilliant experience.


Saturday, October 27th – Black Sabbath

Still reeling from the Megadeth hangover, I was looking forward to this concert like hell. Sabbath, with Ronnie James Dio played at Fort Canning Park, touring under the name “Heaven and Hell”. As soon as Tony Iommi walked on stage, I lost it. This was a guy who I’ve idolized for a long long time. Ironman was one of the first riffs I picked up on the guitar. This concert was not as insane in terms of the mosh pit, but the music quality was mind blowing. Dio is positively one of the best vocalists ever. Iommi is, well, he’s just god. They played all the big hits – Heaven and Hell (a kickass 17 minute version), Neon Knights, Falling off the edge of the World, Voodoo etc. What a concert. Sabbath is never going to get too old!

That brought to an end my brilliant week. Now it’s back to project meetings, midterms and presentations. But wait, in the middle of that is the Beer Pong championships, which should be fun as well! But yeah, winning a debating tournament, winning a quiz, and watching two idols at back to back concerts, that’s going to be a very hard week to beat! I’m very grateful. A repeat of this week? A big, resounding Can!

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Internship

When I first walked into the Levi Strauss & Co. office off Commissariat Road, I had quite a few questions I wanted answers to. Would I be greeted by the clichéd good-looking receptionist? Would I have a good experience working here for two months? Would I have a boss who wasn’t the devil incarnate? Would I learn everything I wanted to learn in terms of marketing and retail strategy? Would I be able to add value in my time there? The list is endless. As I was greeted by the receptionist, who would at a later time inform me that she was a former model, my first question was answered.

I was soon introduced to my boss, and my next few questions were answered, in a favorable light. My boss turned out to be awesome. He soon acquainted me with the setup of the company, and what my project was going to be. I was very grateful that I was given a project which was of high value to the company, and would require a lot of effort from my side. I’d have run the opposite direction if I was given the mundane data entry and coffee fetching job. Instead, here, my boss got me coffee! And the only dress code was wearing Levi’s jeans to work! So yeah, I really looked forward to my time at Levi’s.

The project required me to work with departmental stores, understand consumer behavior, conduct surveys, analyze the data, and make recommendations and a report of my findings. The brilliant part of the project was that I got to go to Mumbai as part of my project. As I’d never been there before, this was definitely an added bonus. So for the next one month I worked hard, learnt a lot in terms of marketing theory, practical knowledge, interpersonal skills, and well, how to sell jeans as well!

Now, coming to Mumbai. That was a fun experience. Apart from the fact that it rained every twenty minutes, the trip was great. I got to meet very interesting people, meet up with college friends, eat fabulous food, take a tour of one of the greatest cities in the world, and generate valuable inputs for my project. Mumbai is a very fast city. People talk fast, and scam even faster. Like Javed Jaffrey said in the song Mumbhai, “Mumbai is the mean place, where you survive if you’ve got the pace”. I got to travel across the city for my project, so it’s safe to say I finally did get the hang of how to get on and off the local trains. For the uninitiated, traveling on local trains in Mumbai is a harrowing experience to say the least.

After I was done with my project, I had to present my findings in front of the board of directors. This was a scary, but rewarding experience. It’s safe to say that the CEO ripped apart my findings, as he duly promised me he would. But he taught me a great deal in that one hour. And once it was over, the fact that all of them applauded my effort and asked me to come back next year to work for them again, made it all worth it.

As I typed out my project report last week, and went to collect my certificate, I felt pretty bummed out, as I had been having such a good time at work. But as they say, it’s the experience that stays with you. So whether it was watching Deepika Padukone during a photo shoot for Levi’s, or staying up till 4 a.m. to complete my presentation slides, or eating vada pav on marine drive, or checking excel sheet figures before my presentation twenty times over to ensure all figures were correct, or using marketing theories in practice, or the awesome lemon tea in office, the experience of working at Levi Strauss & Co was simply excellent.

And before I forget, remember to buy Levi’s jeans. It’s the best!

Sunday, June 10, 2007

In Between Dreams

So my first year in college is over. It’s been over for a bit, and I’ve been meaning to write about it, but well, never got down to it. I was in a very reflective mood sometime ago, and was advised by a friend to take it easy, as there were still three more years to go for college to end. Well, guess that’s true, so this entry shall be the last appendage of the body of my reflection.

So let’s see, what do I remember from my first year in college? Off the top of my head, debates, presentations, meetings, night outs, movies, TV shows, more meetings, projects, more presentations, and more debates. Not to mention, meeting a load of interesting people, and having interesting experiences. Many of which have happened in hostel. I love my hostel. I love the people in my hostel. I don’t love the guard in my hostel. I don’t love the third cubicle from the left in my toilet. But yeah, we have a new vending machine now! Then there’s Clarke Quay. I cannot count how many times I’ve been there with my friends, getting drunk and talking about things that nobody cares, or well, just simply talking about things that nobody cares. Or maybe they do care. We’ll never know.

SMU keeps you busy, very busy. Especially if you want to have a great experience there, you have to be running around a lot. I did a lot of that this semester. It paid off. I got better grades, and had a much better time. I’m more settled there now. Once you realize your way around things, they seem much more pleasing to you. Like debating - I did not enjoy it much in term 1. But come term 2, I spent more time on it, and put more effort into it, and it paid off, with me winning SMU Hammers, our home tournament, and also me breaking at AUDC, my first international tournament. It seems that debating is my new manna. I miss quizzing though. Hope I get to do a bit of that this summer, for old times’ sake.

So anyways, I guess there’s no point reflecting on experiences soon after they are experienced. Hah. I’ll save that for a rainy day, with a fine glass of scotch, an even bigger belly, and grey hair, all hopefully years from now, when college will be but a memory, in between dreams. For now, I’m just going to enjoy what I’m doing. Working hard at my internship, and having a blast with my friends. I’ll also hopefully write more. One hopes.

“They only babble who practice not reflection” - Edward Young

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Bebot - The "Translation"

So here I was, not having posted on my blog for over three months, just casually surfing the net, when I came across it. It was searched for on google, purely out of random curiousity. The results were mindblowing. I'd like to take a moment to thank my friends Carlo and Maegan for teaching me a bit of Tagalog, the Filipino dialect. To Carlo especially, I finally understand how 'Ba' can be used in four different ways! Please note, "bebot” (be´-bot) is a street slang word for “babe” or “girl” or “female” - taken from the Tagalog word “babae” (ba´-ba´-e). Here goes -

BEBOT sung by apl.de.ap of The Black Eyed Peas

Bebot - bebot - bet (3x)
Ikaw ay aking :
You are my
Bebot - bebot - bet (3x)
Ikaw ay aking :
You are my
Bebot - bebot - bet (3x)
Ikaw ay :
You are
Pilipino! - Pilipino! - Pilipino! - Pilipino!:
Filipino! - Filipino! - Filipino! - Filipino!
Hoy pare, pakinggan n’yo ako:
Hey man, all of you listen to me
Heto na ang tunay na Pilipino:
Here comes the real Filipino
Galing sa baryo - Sapang Bato:
Came from the barrio - Sapang Bato
Pumunta ng L.A. - nagtrabaho:
Went to L.A. and labored
Para makatulong sa Nanay:
In order to help my mother
Dahil sa hirap ng buhay:
Because life is so hard
Pero masaya pa rin ang kulay:
But the disposition’s still bright
Pag kumain - nagkakamay:
When eating - we use our hands
‘yung kanin - *chicken adobo:
What we eat - chicken adobo
‘yung balut - binibenta sa kanto:
The *balut - being sold at the corner
Tagay mo na nga ang baso:
Share the glass already
Pare ko, inuman na tayo:
My friend, let’s start drinking
Pilipino! - Pilipino! - Pilipino! - Pilipino!:
Filipino! - Filipino! - Filipino! - Filipino!

Bebot - bebot - bet (3x)
Ikaw ay aking :
You are my
Bebot - bebot - bet (3x)
Ikaw ay aking :
You are my
Bebot - bebot - bet (3x)
Ikaw ay :
You are
Masdan mo ang magagandang dalaga:
Observe all the beautiful girls
Nakakagigil ang beauty mo talaga:
Your beauty really drives me crazy
Lambing na hindi nakakasawa:
The sweetness that is never tiresome
Ikaw lang and gustong makasama:
You’re the only one I want to be with
Pilipino! - Pilipino! - Pilipino! - Pilipino!: Filipino! - Filipino! - Filipino! - Filipino!

Bebot - bebot - bet (3x)
Ikaw ay aking :
You are my
Bebot - bebot - bet (3x)
Ikaw ay aking :
You are my
Bebot - bebot - bet (3x)
Ikaw ay :
You are
‘yung bahay o kubo:
The house or nipa hut
Pag-ibig mo ay tutoo:
Your love is for real
Puso ko’y laging kumikibo:
My heart always speaks
Wala kang katulad sa mundo:
There is no one else in the world like you
Pinoy ka - sigaw na - sige:
You’re Filipino - shout it out - c’mmon
Kung maganda ka - sigaw na - sige:
If you’re beautiful - shout it out - c’mmon
Kung buhay mo’y mahalaga - sige:
If your life is valuable - c’mmon
Salamat sa ‘yong suporta:
Thank you for your support
Pilipino! - Pilipino! - Pilipino! - Pilipino!:
Filipino! - Filipino! - Filipino! - Filipino!
Pilipino! - Pilipino! - Pilipino! - Pilipino!:
Filipino! - Filipino! - Filipino! - Filipino!
Filipino . . .La la la la la la la . . . .la la lo . . . .La la la la la la la . . . .la la lo . . . .



This, sung in praise of a 'Bebot'. Aah.. I love the Phillipines. Makes me almost proud of the epic Indian courtship song, "What is mobile number? What is your smile number?"