Weekend run-down

At first glance it looked overwhelming. It was crowded-- very very crowded. Since it was the Laxmi pooja, we had decided to go to the laxmi temple at Framigham. We wanted to go in the morning but later decided to go in the evening. The day was very nice. Sunny-- high 40s to be exact. We decided to take a quick walk at the Regatta. Regatta- HEAD of CHARLES is a boating event that happens ever year around this time. It is a two day event where all the big schools compete in a boat rate at the Charles River. The ambience is bit festive-- of course, nothing like our tihar back home. The whole of Harvard Square is crowded. People everywhere. Surprisingly the weather unlike the previous two years had been very friendly. We actually were quite fortunate to see the sun. Walking around the Bank of the river was indeed quite refreshing. This was my third Regatta in Boston.

That night along with Shailendra dai, we went to the temple. It was packed. We did not even find the parking and had to walk for almost 10 minutes. For a second, it felt like temple in Nepal-- well not exactly, but somewhat similar--- shoes lined up on the floor, people waiting on a queue to get inside the main door--Surprisingly we bumped into subarna dai who had also come to the temple with prativa di. It was indeed a co-incidence because I had just told prasanna that it would be so much like Nepal if we bumped into someone and there he was! Even though, the ambience was nothing like Nepal, it still felt really nice seeing all those people.

After spending an hour in the temple, we went to have a dinner at a Indian resturant in Framingham. The dinner was nice and cozy but even nicer than that was the intellectual conversation we had with Shailendra dai. We talked about various things-- ranging from all the philosophical topics of mind,distractions, self- realaization, sucess, failures.Very very important topics indeed.

It might sound quite astounding, but to me, one of the biggest acomplishments is when I start to control my own mind. Your mind-- well, my mind wanders a lot. Sometimes I am in the library trying to finish my homework but within few minutes I find myself doing something else --something totally different than the accouting I am intended to do. This is all DISTRACTION-- My core enemy. At this point in life, time is very crucial for me. I have so much to do and so little time and here I am wasting my time doing something else. Shailendra dai added a very important point-- he said," do not expect to see the change overnight, it wil take sometime.." Since I am very impatient this is one of the very important thigs that I need to keep in mind. I have to admit I am very impatient.I have improved a lot thanks to prasanna but I need to work a lot!

I am positive that this could possibly backfire me in future if I do not improve it. At the moment, we are in a library. I am trying to do study. Mr D is also working. I just finished writing my Career Development plan for the MBA 600 class. This is sort of an essay outlining your career goals based on your interest, your strengths and your weakness. At this time, I am happy that I have a goal. Many people are quite ambiguous when it comes to their goals. I was -- when I was in my undergraduate. Until my second semester I was not sure of what my major was going to be. I remember writing my dad and asking for his help. However, at this time it is all different and one of the major reasons for this is my work experience. My work at Nissan really helped me find my true passion. I love working for products and brands to be exact. I like -- I am going to use stronger word-- I love to explore new cultures and different interest and then try to develop a marketing strategy accordingly. Since the “WORLD IS FLAT", after all, it is about understanding new cultures and trying to cater it accordingly.

My goal eventually is to work in an International Organizations, however, for a start, I would like to work in a Multi national companies.

I have my Organizational Behaviour presentation tomorrow. We are doing a presentation of " The epic of Survival"-- the story of Sir Ernest Shackelton. Very interesting story about a courageous leader. A story about a great leader who truly overcame all the obstacles and successfully conquered his journey. While working on this presentation, I also realized a lot about the topic “Courage". It indeed takes a lot to be a COURAGEOUS Person. I take the example of the movie BILLY ELLIOT-- one of my favorite movies, where Billy, the 11 year old boy follows his passion about doing the BALLET. Learning from your setbacks is another form of Courage and I TRULY ADMIRE those people who despite their failure do not get afraid to try it again and AGAIN AND AGAIN!! I know a person like this and I AM very happy to say that he is my TRUE role model. :)

It looks quite dark outside. Soon it will be cold. The day light saving is at the end of this month. It is bad because the day is going to be shorter.On an interesting note, this morning, I did a little bit of Raag myself. I also practiced the “OMMMM" with MR D your mind really was in a tranquil stage. For a second, you forget about everything-- absolutely everything. The only thing in front of you is your mind.

Tomorrow is another longg day for me. I am going to attend the Lecture series at Boston hotel. It starts at 7:45 which means I have to be out by 6:30.On Tuesday, I am attending “MICHAEL PORTER'S " speech and I am soo much loooking forward to this. I have read about his theory since high school and now finally being able to see him is a true honor. He is a professor at Harvard business school and indeed a true scholar.

( This is supposed to have been posted yesterday, however, thanks to my procrastination side, I decided to wait till today)

I went to see Mr. Terry Lundgren, Chairman, President & CEO, Federated Department Stores, Inc at Boston Harbour Hotel. Very exciting event. I got to shake hands with Mr. Lundgren and got to ask him a question about the strategy of the company.