Manila ---> Mumbai...Transition

It's been close to 2 weeks since I have got back to Mumbai after completing my MBA from AIM. In those 2 weeks I have rarely missed AIM as much as a few of my batch mates. They still can't believe that the honeymoon period is over and we are back in reality. May be since I am enjoying a short holiday before I start work again, my feeling differ from my peers. I am in a way now happy to be back in Mumbai, and be with my parents after a gap of 5 years.

However the memories of AIM, and Philippines will endure in conscience for years to come. It has been a life changing experience for me. An opportunity to learn in a new country, embrace a new culture and make new friends.

I guess when I look back in hindsight, there was so much more which I could have done and achieved in Manila & The Philippines. There were so many more places which I could have visited, so many more friends I could have made etc.

Now back to reality, in the busy city of Mumbai, and I am starting to find my feet all over again in the city which has been my home for 25 odd years. Its difficult to get used to life here in Mumbai after having had lived such a carefree life in Manila.

The last few days in Manila went off in a blur, without me having an idea whether it was night or day even though during the last week alcohol consumption was still very low by our own set standards.

The last pool party was worth remembering and thanks to Megha, the last of the cohort 4 junta can remember & savor the last pool party of batch 4 at AIM by watching it on VLC...

It has been a memorable experience...

Understanding Consumer Behaviour

Well that's one of the electives I have enrolled for in the 3rd semester. The subject sounds very interesting at first glance but as I dwell more into it, I can just find jargon galore and nothing else...

So don't be alarmed if you see me using words like semiotics, anthroposmiotic, triadic etc. in my future blogs...

Well my understanding of Consumer behaviour from the point of a marketing executive is "To Create Desire" in the hearts and minds of the consumer...

How you got about doing that is where Understanding the present/past consumer behaviour and marketing research comes in to the picture.

My biggest take away yet from this class has been how to segment a brand or a product based on the three important criteria's of Categorization, Prioritization & Placement with the aid of a tag line & a positioning statement for the consumer.

At the end of the day the best one can do is to place himself/herself in the shoes of the consumer and then drive home the point...Worse comes to worse...You will be wrong in your hypothesis...Well one anyways learn's from one's mistake.

End of an Era...

Well no one loves good byes least of all me. However all my life I have been one of the last ones to say goodbye to everything be it while leaving school, engineering college or my organization.

Seeing off people has become like a second occupation for me...It was never easy when I went off to see most of my friends from engineering to the airport every other nite. However saying goodbye to friends whom I met not even 8 months ago has been a difficult experience here at AIM...

They have been my family for the past 8 months and we have practically shared all our happiness and sorrows with each other...Every other night has been made memorable thanks to the late night drinking sessions or just the b.S sessions which we would indulge in whenever not drinking.

The last 8 months are fresh in my mind and each day has been a special one.

For the last few days cohort 3 guys have been consoling me and telling me that there will be another set of friends which will make the remaining journey more exciting that what has been till date. I don't repudiate that...However there is an uneasiness at the back of my mind about how the next 8 months will span out...

I know I am surrounded by wonderful people around me and the next 8 months will be a beautiful experience in the MBA institute but my mind and more importantly heart is not willing to accept the inevitable.

The realization will dawn during the next pool party whenever it is, since the usual faces will be missing and new faces will surface to take up the mantle and the onus of carrying the torch will fall on the new batch of students from cohort 5.

Well cohort 3 as I have said before, it has been a absolute pleasure...You have been the best kind of seniors any incoming batch would have prayed for.

To my set of friends, the life and times that we have shared with each other will be remembered for a long time. The secrets we shared, the BS by the poolside, the insightful CP and the drunken revelry will all be cherished...

As I look into the future, I know I'll not find friends like the ones who have left but I am still excited by the next 8 months of my AIM life and beyond.

As KK and Shubho told me not so long back..."Tera MBA toh aab shuru hoga...Term 3, AC period and term 4...Aish karega tu abhi"...

Well cheers to each member of the legendary cohort 3...Wish you guys all the very best...And once again it has been an absolute pleasure...

Barely Breathing!

The aimless manner in which I have lived the past few weeks brings me to a very important question: Is it all worth it?...

I am barely enjoying life...
Barely surviving...
Barely thinking it over...
Barely sleeping...
Barely living...
n most importantly,

Barely thinking...

The clock keeps ticking and all I have to show for the last few days is more confusion and frustration.

Now I make the rules of the game simpler...It's either my way or the highway...

As one more Diwali away from home beckons, it's time to come out of all this turmoil and confusion and take a stand on all aspects of life...

Game on as far as I am concerned...

The crux of the situation still remains that:- it's my life...

Day 15 @ AIM

I had a early day today with LOB as the first lecture followed by OM & after having survived our Prof Larry Tan in the morning lecture it was time to finish up LOB for the Monday quiz.I slept for a while in the afternoon and then had a mini beer party at the pool side with Mac,Nash,Ervine,Emile & Preetesh and then followed that up with a swim.

After having done all the tp I could have afforded for the day,I sat back in my dorm room and proceeded to finish the remaining chapters of LOB which are suppose to be a part of the quiz on Monday.This was from 8.30 pm to 11.30 in the night.

Harsh,Aseem and Akshel had already left for Mindenou in the afternoon and Nash & Emile had gone out for dinner with the Ganguli brother's as well as Jo-Anne, mukul,Preetesh and Vishal.

I was on the court @ 11.30 pm playing basketball for close to 1 hour alone before the Gadoo's joined me and it was not long before the entire entourage got back from their dinner party around 12.30 am in the night.

After 4 rounds of 1 on 1 with Emile,in which I gave a valiant fight before drawing the series 2-2 (quite an achievement for me) I went back to the room & savored some delicious Chinese which Jo-Anne,Emile & Nash got for me.

After that the five of us i.e Emile,Nash,Jo-Anne, Aina and yours truly set off at 1 am in the night to roam around and see the sight of Manila's night life.We roamed around a lot's of places and even tried the Filipinos specialty:- balut that is essentially boiled pre-hatched poultry eggs, usually duck or chicken.It was much similar to a fied egg if you ask me ,but never the less an experience to cherish.

Our final destination for the night was Padi's point (the original one which was the first one in Manila to be opened.I have already mentioned about it's franchise which I visited during my MOA visit).It was a beautiful night with friends, drinking beer, relaxing away from the tension of MBA, chilling out with each other, trying know each other better and in general enjoying the free time in hand.

Emile showed a loads of snaps & I am actually jealous of him because of the amount of things he has already done in his life like, snorkeling, flying, sky diving etc and on the other hand the max I can boost about is playing different kinds of sport (though that's not bad either still I would love doing the stuff he has already done).

Well we finally reached back @ AIM precisely an hour back i.e 3.35 am and after another wonderful & eventful days it's again back to sleep for me.

It was a fun night and thank you, Emile,Jo-Anne,Aina & Nash for making it all the more special.
I am already cherishing the friends I have made here in AIM.Cheer's to my batch:- Cohort 4, AIM batch 0f 2010...I guess pretty soon I'll come up with a blog with something about each one of them.

Till then adios...Good night...

Day 12 @ AIM

9th June'09...

First of all Happy Birthday Ankit...(Pariekh for the uninitiated; friend from DJ)...It's been 5 years since his last birthday celebrated here in India and to think of it; it's also been 5 years since my group of friends from engineering went off to the U.S for their masters.

However, back to AIM... Life is becoming a struggle each passing day, with time being a premium and sleep an unknown entity in itself.After having appeared for the QA quiz on Saturday, I let my self unwind completely in the night @ Mohit Gaurier's birthday by the pool side.It was a amazing fun night,with drinks flowing throughout the night and music blaring full blast till 6 am in the morning when we finally called it a night...

However each nice thing in life comes with a price and I had to pay for the night out partying by sacrificing on my sleep as the very next day I had my CAN/Learning team meet @ 1 pm.

CAN/Learning team:- It's a concept here in AIM wherein the entire class batch of 45 students have been divided in to 8 groups of 5-6 members each which are known as CAN group or learning teams.We are suppose to prepare for cases in our CAN group and present it in class as a group.It is aimed at improving our team work dynamics and analytical skills as well as giving us a real life experience of solving cases...

Well after a rather nice weekend, yesterday was really a awakening call after I gave my first official LOB quiz and it is safe to say that it was a disaster.For the first time in a long time, I was clueless as to when taking an exam.Well I guess my time to chillax and take it as it comes needs to cease immediately if I wish to extend my stay in the Philippines beyond September'09.

However today, has gone rather well.After a boring lecture of SMA, things look good with OM and then MC was the highlight of the day where we had to simulate an actual press conference as part of our learning & it is safe to say that CAN group 8 fared quite well as compared to most other groups.Right now I am sitting in the last lecture of the day i.e. QA and blogging myself to glory.

ps:- Happy anniversary Mom n Dad...& happy birthday once again Ankit...