update !

I finally got a new cell phone - the one which I always wanted !
MDA - the latest innovation from HTC is here in the US markets (backward these ppl are..in terms of cell phone technology!)


This phone is loaded with features:
I can have my calendar on it
In transit, I can email via it....chat via messenger.

Detailed list of features is present here.


Microsoft has provided a nice page for the same here
T-mobile salesman told me that I would get some add-ons from handango

Closing today's blog on this funny excerpt I saw somewhere.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Good GMAT question

Infosys entry difficult than Harvard ?
http://money.cnn.com/2006/03/15/magazines/fortune/infosys_fortune_032006/

8 things to ask before you say I do

Love struck Nidhi and Sandeep while they were studying together at IIM-A and after 2 years of graduation and being together they decided to tie the knot. Even though they both earned a 6-figure salary and had been living together for a year, they never had got down to discussing finance matters. 3 years into the marriage they ruefully look back and wonder how many fights they could have a ed if the details of money had been sorted out first

Prathibha Gheewala, Ex-Principal Marriage Counsellor, Bandra Court, says, “Money is a very important subject to talk about amongst couples who have a love marriage because there is little involvement of the elders who usually discuss these matters.”
Getting married for love doesn't make the big issues go away, and if you don't discuss them, you are setting yourself up for tangles. So here are 8 things a woman should ask before she walks down that isle.

1. Future Vision
“Where do you see yourself in 10 years?” This question is the best way to start a money conversation. For example, does he want to start your own business or own a vacation home? Where does he see himself and the two of you together? This will give you an idea of his goals and how he plans to achieve them. It will also help you judge if they are realistic.

2. Banking
Should you be keeping joint or separate accounts or a mix of both? Have separate joint accounts, one for husband and wife and the other for wife and husband, even if one of them is not assessed for income tax. This may sound trivial but actually is of great importance for proper tax planning.
Keeping accounts separate also keeps a semblance of control over your own earning.

3. Finances of Parents
Are either’s parents going to stay with you? What is their financial status? Who handles the household finances?

All these are very pertinent questions that need clarity. If you plan to support your parents then, it needs to be made clear too. Simran Wadhwa, a young IT professional who got married a year ago says that she is the only child and always thought she would support her parents, but her husband is absolutely against it. “It would have a ed the bitter arguments we have if this had been discussed and settled before marriage. It is very important to me”, she says.

4. Investments
Is he a conservative investor? Does he prefer bonds to equity? Does he have a retirement plan?
You need to discuss your current investments as well as your investment goals. There may be overlapping investments that will have to be reviewed. For instance if you both have high exposure to an aggressive equity oriented mutual fund, you may want to sell off some to keep the exposure limits.

5. Budget
Budgeting is not only for the middle class. ‘Budget’ doesn't have to be a boring exercise -- think of it as a means to reaching your goals.

You should also take this time to discuss other spending issues, such as how much each of you can spend without consulting the other. You probably don't want to discuss every Rs.100 purchase, but you don't want to come home from work and unexpectedly find a new Mercedes either.

6. Housing
Do either of you own a house? Do you plan to buy one soon? How large? What is the budget and how will you finance it?

Gheewala says, “Often a woman puts in her income into running the house and the man’s income goes for paying loans and building assets. At the end of 10 years there is an asset on his name and nothing to show for her contribution. It is therefore necessary to purchase a house jointly”

Besides the security created it makes sense tax wise too. Swati Lanke, a practicing Chartered Account explains that the tax benefits are higher if the house is owned jointly in a 50:50 proportion. The tax benefit doubles if you take the loan jointly and you may even qualify for a larger loan.

7. Financial nitty -gritty
Who will be responsible for paying the bills and preparing the taxes? Do you both contribute to paying them? Who keeps the paper work? The person who is more organised and has more time must take up this task. Non-routine decisions have to be discussed.

8. Insurance
Does your employer pay for your group insurance? By how much should you increase your insurance cover after marriage? What riders should you take? Do you take family health insurance?

The need for insurance of a married person is different from a single one. If you are taking a housing loan then again a term insurance is needed. If you are going to start a family then you need to factor that in.

The author, Shalini Amarnani, is a freelancer.Does your employer pay for your group insurance? By how much should you increase your insurance cover after marriage? What riders should you take? Do you take family health insurance?

The need for insurance of a married person is different from a single one. If you are taking a housing loan then again a term insurance is needed. If you are going to start a family then you need to factor that in.

From moneycontrol.com

More productive IT !

http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/newsletters/chartfocus/2006_04.htm

AT&T: A battered brand, reborn

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2006/0424/058_print.html

Global sex survey: guess who's satisfied

http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=11891330&src=eDialog/GetContent

People who are dating have higher levels of sexual satisfaction than (married) couples ... but when they think the relationship is temporary, they're not going to feel as positive about sex - Laumann

....Of outfits, dinners and theatre !

Never seen her like that ....ever :)
As it is I was excited about the whole episode. I was surprised that she was too !

Lucas Park ppl treated us exceedingly well and we had a sumptuous dinner.
Post-dinner, as we moved towards the theatre, my heart was racing.

The theatre is a visual delight with Byzantine decoration in it. It was all so eclectic.
We had some of the best seats. Just before the show, they were showing videos of Chaiya Chaiya and other AR Rahman's songs.

I knew it would've been boring for Bee. However, I tried translating it for her - literally !

There were moments during the theatre that I had nostalgic feelings. Myself and Da Dame had a discussion and I had a question which is still unanswered "Till when would I run ? "
"From India to here and now, from here to Pittsburgh. Would I never get to settle down ?"

I guess I am making choices for the same. Are they right ?

Would I be a self-made man after giving up so much ?

Even after that what would it be that I would've achieved ?

Answers - well, I don't know.

Only time will tell.

Meanwhile, coming back to the dame's attire. She bought it for this evening she said. Absolutely fab she looked. Her necklace was suggestive - but I didn't want to discuss that with her. It was gorgeous though. We took a few snaps with her cell at her place. It was a great evening followed by a great discussion in the night before which we parted.

I really admire her listening skills and her maturity - well, I respect her for that. In the relation, I may be the immature one but her clarity of thoughts keep us bound together. I feel guilty about leaving at times.

Well, one of my fantasies are done !
Parting leads me to thinking about one of Picasso's paintings - Life !

Tonight...I wanna cry !

Listening to Keith Urban's single title....Tonight, I wanna cry !
Earlier, I used to feel...such songs are for hopelessly romantics.

Couldn't control feeling the same way myself.

Outsourcing saves lesser than it claims
-----------------------------------------------

http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=11840154&src=eDialog/GetContent

Where do you wanna live ?

Quality of life ranking of cities.

www.imercer.com/qol

Surprisingly, Chicago is just 41st !

Trip to Anheuser Busch !

As a part of Admitted students weekend at Wash U, we had a trip to AB. AB, as the name suggests is German.

It was work of 2 German entrepreneurs (A and B)who had started their business in US around First World War period. After prohibition was removed, they started their work even with greater vigor. Today, they have quite a few beers with them....the main one being Budweiser !

Bud... is a German name. So, to make it more Americanised, they used the symbol of the Eagle :)

Anyways, I got to see the inside of the canning factory (2000 in a minute !) and also the chief of the plant discussed other stuff such as how he handles the union, etc. Now, he also discussed on strategies to get more market share....their market share for 20-27 age group fell from 70% to 45%. This is an interesting figure to know. Also, due to health reasons, older ppl left drinking beer. However, they bought Bud lite...which was introduced with this sole reason.

Anyways, he wanted to regain the market share from Martinis and other tuty-fruity drinks. Hence, the mgmt is now debating over the fact whether they should be just a beer company or get into other liqours as well.

Bee says...they should get into other spirits as well !

Well, I am not such a liqour person...and I prefer wine over any such things. ....despite of the fact that the beer chauvinists say .... "Wine is for Vagina".. whatever !

AB factory tour was something I had asked Bee about...but apparently, she didn't have time for it. With Wash U trip, I got to see more... hence, I think I should be content with the maxim...whatever happens...happens for the good.

Movie scripts

http://home.online.no/~bhundlan/scripts/

Twisters-2 !

Sunday...da day of trip.
bloody... day light saving had already taken the life out of me.
I got out of the Boathouse @ Forest Park early on the previous day in order to make it to bed early. However, I made it to bed only by around 11:30 pm or so.

Alarm clock started ringing at 5:45 as I had put it that way. However, I had woken up way before that. Drove down to the intermediate destination.

B took a ride to P's place to get R's kitten. P was in sleep when we reached her place. She is gettin her house in shape slowly and steadily (and you know what they say about...slow and steady.....winnin the race).
Then we were all set !

Well, on the way, we played a nice game...that of learning numbers in various languages.
R taught us French numbers (Un, Do, Twa, Qwatra, Sank, Six, Set, Ouit, nuff, des...wow I remember it !)....and I tried teaching Hindi numbers !

Did some small naughty things....n sinful food. Yeah, southern food is almost everything fried !
btw, B was ready with her indian-kurta like top (with some embroidery/design) with jeans on it..much like the indian college goin gurls.

Well, we reached home pretty much in the afternoon...but it was a fun ride...nice day outside..nice ride...good stops at logical breaks.

R was mad about the fact that she was unable to get into her house and show us her prom dress. For an intelligent gurl like R, I had expected a little bit more maturity. Well, blame it on the hormones though.... I mean teenagers are like that. There was a time...even I was a teenager :)

Anyways, got to know Bee's mom is planning to sell that house. Bee had apparently done a good job setting up her aunt's room in mom's place.

Later, myself and Bee visited Bee's own place. Nice scenic place...it was a beautiful day. I dont know if she would've been able to manage it there. I mean..I remember my aunt having a place for a bungalow at our native place...but once she was hooked on to Mumbai..she didn't want to go there. Bee persisted on the point that she would be able to make it in TN. I dont think so !

Way back was a trip I would never forget....ever !
We had discussions with which we got to know more about each other. We faced a stormy drive together. Well, it was overall an action packed Sunday evening.

btw, while Bee showed me her place and we headed for a chinese buffet place for our dinner, I drove the rest of the journey. I realised she must be tired. Now, her truck is absolutely fantastic. As much as it is loaded, it is convenient.

What was the most enthralling of the revelations was the survival of this Taurean female from all that she's been through. Puts her in a different orbit altogether. ...in terms of respect.


All the while, I never felt uncomfortable in the storm...despite of having a look at the Tornado's one side of the wall which Bee spotted out. At that time, it didn't seem that big a thing...but later when the downpour increased and we were still listening to music instead of radio, I realised what we were getting into. A tornado warning was already issued but we were both ignorant at that time.

That's why they say "Ignorance is bliss"

We could go through it so well. For me, what mattered the most was her company. Probably, her company can let me weather any storm and remain unperturbed. That's what I feel at least now.

We came back to IL just to find out that her area was hit too. Fortunately, not her house...but yes, a nearby region was hit and live wires lying open forced the emergency team to black out an entire region. She guided towards another exit and we were at her place.

After all this, I felt like making a rebuttal to the unavoidable offshore call. Laid my head down on her lap. Remembered someone so much ....(weeps).

Later, we went to sleep. She wakes up early and knocked on my door at 6:30 or so.
We had a morning routine I wouldn't forget.....in the end, I found out it was 10:47 am and I was not in the office ! Well, gotta run.

This weekend before my 24th bday is something I would always treasure !

Twisters -1 !


Yeah....absolute twisters...both tornadoes and life-twisters !

Weekend started with the registration to the Admitted Students weekend at Wash U.
The nature of class I met was what I expected. Their corporate experience ranged from 12 to 48 months. Some of them were really good. Some of them had already committed.

Those committed had great amount of fun...others like me were asking ppl.....trying to validate what if they made this choice. So, the Fri evening started with a Speed Networking game ...similar to Speed Dating game.

Met quite a few ppl there...notable was Bijal. She was American born Indian gurl. I think she was from Ohio. Gujju ! She had admits from Stern and Wash U. The latter offered her a scholarship and she wanted to think about them since she already had 6 years experience and didn't want to take up a debt for a Masters degree.

That made me think....that would it make sense to do an MBA after MISM ???
Unnecessary waste of money and time !
Moreover, those who wanna make it...make it without a degree...esp, in today's era...we have something known as a EMBA :)

So, later I met Susi ....Susi Allison from Wash U.
Her hubby was from Nepal. She was planning on setting up stuff in India someway.
She knew quite a few things about Indian culture.

btw, India is a big brand name in the United States by now!


Fri nite...I tried getting hold of Bee.... ran around frm pillar to post for 2 hours...and lack of cell phone caused this ridiculous situation. Darn it !

Sat ...I started off early with Wash U....Faculty panel....then a Class followed by an Alumni panel.
btw, they gave us an iPod too.

Later, I got to visit St Louis.....some of the most beautiful parts...nobody ever took me before. Now, that's what I call a city.

Pedestrian neighbourhoods....I wonder why Bee did not choose to buy a house there....later she explained me that the Mo taxes were way higher than the IL taxes.

By now, ...the committed students were making plans on checking out housing by May or June or July. They planned to take pre-programs too.

Rodney, Finance club president, explained to me that for Finance...one is definitely at a slight disadvantage due to location...however, one does get face time with the regular recruiters since Dean and others take the students to NY for roadshows after which placements are far better.

Their Finance club is arranging a trip to Omaha to meet the legendary investor Warren Buffet.

Frankly speaking, I feel Wash U would be the best environment to study. Students are hard working...non-pretentious. It has a typical midwestern feel to it. Also, being a small program, the alums are really do care about their batches. Wherever they are...they try to push the resumes of their juniors as much as possible.

This made Wash U very very attractive to me.
Also, I know St Louis and hence, I can easily settle down here.
Moreover, I would get to meet some of my very close friends I made here...
However, that's not a major point to consider. After all, I have left my home to come here.

What might lack is that if in year 2008, I discover that due to a slump they are unable to place me ..then I shall be in a bad position. For CMU, placements would start pretty much by Sept and hence, that uncertainity would be less...but the tuition is ex-fuckin-pensive.... 40k (after scholarships)

However, it would gates of star univs for MBA, if I would wish to do it later. Mostly, I shall do an eMBA. Harshad's gotta come to US. Gotta bring in dad n mom too.

I dont know why but sometimes I feel that had I been in India, for me the potential to network and make friends would've been far higher than it is now. Here, due to my dark skin...at first, ppl are overawed or they are simply curious. It takes time to convince on various factors. Amongst Indians, it doesn't take much time.

Anyways, continuing about the weekend, we headed to the Boathouse in Forest Park on Sat night....which was wrecked completely in Sun evening wrath of nature. Boat house was a nice event..met the Chinese gurl who is in consulting and lives in NJ and works in Kansas..and is mostly out of Kansas. I asked her if she liked her job and she mentioned, it sucked :)).
I knew this answer since the lives of consultants are miserable due to the constant travel involved. Mon-Thurs is a big pain in the butt.

Comparing it to Bee's life, Bee is a Queen !

I also met Shanti. Now, at first glance, I felt she was American. However, I figured out that she was an Indian. Her mom is an American I guess, for the looks she possesses. She had an admit from Stern too. However, she had an aid from Wash U and mostly wanted to attend Wash U.

So, that brings me to square one.
Spending money on education vis-a-vis doing hardwork at work and making smart moves to get what one wants.

If I do my Wash U MBA, I would not require any other education pretty much. So, by 2008, I would be in debt of 60k which would be paid off by 2010 or 2011.

If I do my CMU MISM, I would require an MBA very much ...later. So, by 2008, I would've paid off my debt for MISM. Later, I can make savings for MBA till 2011 and then get an MBA in eMBA form....i.e. if I dont land with a travelling job.

letsee...right now, MISM seems to be the way to go !