Nik's Time @ ISB !

My DMOP (Decision Models Optimization) Experience

Why am I writing this blog when I should be studying for tomorrows exam?
Because of the picture above ........ imagine if the students (including me) come out of the paper hoping to get double digit marks especiall when the paper is out of 100. Thats how tough the paper was ....... I think this is one of the toughest papers I have ever had in my life .... VT, Veera - this beat Control Systems Engg final by Craig Smith at TAMU also!!! Thank god that the weightage on the final is only 25% and that there is relative grading.

Whats so great about the picture?
Well ....... It aptly describes my feelings (and a lot of ISBisans) right now that I just had to put it down. Thispicture was adapted by Muzammil Esmail (Muzu - You have the talent to be the next RK Laxman!!) a couple of hours after the exam.

And the worse part .....
I am sure there are still a handful of people who would have aced this paper too. I hate them so much because they screw up the averages and really skew the curve.

Anyways I think I should get back to my studies now to avoid any more DMOP experiences .......

PS: I really hope that last part of the picture comes true!

posted by Yi Bhopal @ 8:28 PM 8 comments

Are Mumbaikars really resilient?

After the Mumbai blasts, every news channel is showing pictures of people still travelling on the trains immediately after the blasts without a care in the world. According to the news channels, this displays the resilience of the Mumbaikars and their commitment to thwart the terrorists' intentions. Personally, I think all this is a lot of crap!

Lets look closely at the people travelling the local trains ...... its those people who are travelling not because they are brave but because they have no choice. I am sure all of them have families and jobs and the only way they would earn is if they goto their jobs. Fortunately or unfortunately, the cheapest and the fastest method to travel in Mumbai is by local trains and so, of course people will travel on local trains even if they might be feeling scared. I think the media is just fuelling this romantic notion of the 'resilient Mumbaikar' just to sell bytes to the unsuspecting viewers.

posted by Yi Bhopal @ 3:10 AM 1 comments

Trauma Transforms!

Trauma Transforms ......... That is what the alums told us during our orientation when we asked them if we would be able to cope with the pressure, how difficult its gonna get, etc. I am not sure if all of us had understood what it exactly meant until recently.

After spending hours together with our respective teams discussing Competitive Strategy, deciding marketing plans in the Markstrat world, doing countless assignments together, having major debates, fighting over trivial issues like which font to use, etc I believe our team (Group D1) has transformed and come a lot closer to each other. Initially when we kicked off, we were all very defensive, trying to show who has the upper hand, etc but now all of us seem to have fallen into our chosen roles very seamlessly. Of course, we still have fights about our personal favourite fonts but now I think there is also mutual respect for each other and we seem to have bonded pretty well (Touch Wood!). Like SS said today, 'If all of us get together and form a company, I think we will do very well'. I thought it was absolutely true for 2 main reasons - we were a pretty diverse group (Pharma / Mechanical, CA, Advertising, IT, Sales / Marketing) and most importantly we seem to be working vey well together.

I really do hope this stays on all through our ISB time and hopefully beyond .......

posted by Yi Bhopal @ 3:44 AM 1 comments

Tagged !!

Having been tagged by Kapil , here I go .....

I am thinking
about home

I said
a million words in my head!

I want
good friends

I wish
I was super man

I miss
my wife!!

I hear
myself

I wonder
what the future holds in store ...

I regret
nothing till now

I am
your friendly next door neighbor

I dance
only when I am drunk

I sing
when I am drunk again !!

I cry
very rarely.

I am not
a sports enthusiast

I write
when I feel like writing

I confuse
friends with acquaintances

I need
a lot of people around me all the time

I should
work harder

I finish
by tagging Venkat, Viren and Chiranth

posted by Yi Bhopal @ 10:39 PM 1 comments

My trip to Bangalore

posted by Yi Bhopal @ 12:43 AM 0 comments

Remember the 70s ??

And if you dont, you would have had you come to the theme party last night on campus. Organized by the GSB as a kick-off party for the year, it was very well organized with great music (very apt) and cool lighting! Kudos to the organizers .......

The only thing that bugs me is that a lot of people out here are not a sport at all when it comes to dressing for theme parties. The whole point of any theme party being the 'theme', I just cannot fathom why other than a regular bunch, no one makes any effort at all ......... worse, they walk in wearing their shorts & a t-shirt !!!

Anyways I had a lot of fun especially when complete strangers walked up to me and complimented me ............ Got a major kick out of it!!! ;)

posted by Yi Bhopal @ 1:55 AM 4 comments

Another Poker game ...

and I came in second this time which means that I made about 11% (Rs. 500) of the stack while the winner took away the rest. Though a lot of people might argue that it was not fair that I was allowed to buy-in a second time, I would say that since all the players at the table did agree its totally fair!! Anyways, personally I do think inter-buy ins (buy in from the players) and second buy-ins should not be allowed and the next game should probably be fair to one and all. That said, I am really beginning to enjoy the game and learning too in the process.

BTW poker beats 'Teen Patti' and the like hands down any day ........

posted by Yi Bhopal @ 4:13 AM 0 comments