I so disagree with this...

This is a small and upcoming search engine. Even though I'm the hugest fan of Google, I usually don't neglect new search engines. So, I just give them a try. If only to size them up against Google and feel satisfied that GOOG is still the king.
But this new search engine is just wrong.
According to the guys at Jobacle.com

Webmasters or Web site owners can control the position of their listings in the directory by bidding high. The more you're willing to pay - the higher on the search engine you'll appear. The top 10 listings are shown on the homepage, while the top 20 listings are shown on the top links page.

This absolutely kills the democratization of the Internet that Google tries to do.

NMUN, SIDS, Project PEACE and other obscure acronyms I

Last week was spring break. I was not lying on a beach somewhere sipping margaritas. Nor was I in some obscure library/bookstore. Nor was I doing my homework. I attended the NMUN, which for the uninitiated stands for National Model United Nations. It is the biggest competition of its size. And the whole thing was totally awesome.
I might do this in three episodes I guess.
The bus ride is almost uneventful. We check in our rooms in Sheraton. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, I pass the exact spot where I had called GTSA before embarking on this journey. So even if we're technically incommunicado, the ball is in my court to return her call. So, I actually call to tell her of the reason for calling her and about the competition. I know, lame.

Bloody Sunday:
But the child who is born on the Sabbath Day
Is bonny and blithe and good and gay.

We find that unlike every year, the opening ceremony is going to be on the second day instead of the first. And that's supposed to make sense. Oh and some Presidential hopeful called Hillary Clinton usurps the room where our committee is supposed to meet. So we're transferred to Hilton... by that I mean, we must walk two blocks down the road to Hilton.
So we had a pretty rough start as far as the first sessions go.
Turns out, I'm going to be the first speaker of the day. Knowing this... I begin to hyperventilate.
I churn out some canned speech and think that I can remember it all and go there in front of everybody without my notes. Only to forget most of what I have to say. I remember the beginning and an excellent finishing line. And blob through the rest.

Monday Night Raw
{Monday's child is fair of face.}

We were supposed to have the opening ceremony on this day. I discovered that our blankets are troublingly staticky. And throughout the day, whatever things I touched, I'd get a nasty shock. The opening ceremony was nice but very short. The wait and security check outside the UN was longer than the ceremony itself and so it kind of pissed some people off.
At the committee, it was the second day and most people still didn't know where Mauritius [which we(my partner and I) were representing] was or much else about it. I tried to get the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) together, so that there might be some group that Mauritius could be leading. And SIDS are spread throughout the globe so that could be a significant plus point.
So, I first tried Cuba. Now Cuba as we all know, has this very 'unique political structure' and they were unwilling to join us at all. Pffft.
Then I found and tried Jamaica. Jamaica was a double delegation and both the girls had very genuine concerns. Let me explain: at any competitive MUN session there are two types of people- the players and the 'lost sheep' (I know, we're kind of mean about it). The players totally know what to do and are very strategic (aka sneaky). The 'lost sheep' are the people who are so awed at even coming to New York, the UN, Sheraton and all that glitz that they have no clue whatsoever to do. Let me make it clear that we're not either of these. We are here to win, but we refuse to be sneaky.
The delegates from Jamaica (if you remember that's about whom I was talking about) were however, neither of these two groups and they did not seem to want to win either. Their questions were well thought out... kind of a critical look at the whole process. And it was one of the delegates who kind of dominated the whole conversation too. So as any girl who actually portrays critical thinking ability would; she piqued my interest (aka I had a crush on her).
But my agenda wasn't working. I couldn't find Bahamas or Costa Rica that day and the idea of bringing SIDS together was a flop.
This was a brief session and it was over before we could make any more progress. It was 11 pm at night.
However the night was far from over.
On Sunday, most people had apparently made a lot of noise. Due to which the hotel management decided to provide an entire hall downstairs for people to socialize or to relax.
BAD IDEA MUCH?
Imagine a hall full of teenagers from all over the world. Yeah.
I went there initially to check whether the Jamaican delegate would show up. Once down there, I meet my partner. We then sit together and he brings out beer and pours it in a cup for me. To appear polite, I accept and slowly sip it. I look around, she is nowhere to be seen. The night has just begun, hasn't it.
An Italian/German/English birthday song later, more alcohol is brought down. A group of people (including my partner) start playing flip-cup. And people are chugging beer all over the hall.
I leave the place after I hear the director coming down and announcing "Delegates, please do not have sex on the floor".

This is Jon Stewart's take on MUN. Note this is the MUN I was part of too. His studio was just a couple of blocks away from our hotel. Darn, I should've gone there.



Coming next:
Meltdown Tuesday:
Where, I come up with a plan to bring the whole committee together
And Mauritius is on the lips of every person.
And more in the next episode- "Meltdown Tuesday".

Budday.

March 12 was the "Happy" birthday. I had two midterms and a Model UN simulation that same day. It was destined not to be good from the very beginning.

March 11, 10:30 p.m- I return from work, eat dinner, settle down to revise.
March 11, 11:00 p.m- I'm sleeping on the open text book, face down.
March 12, 12:00 midnight-
phone rings.
I jerk awake. Who could it be at this time? Already feeling stupid for having slept, I pick up my phone.
"Happy Birthday" says an exuberant voice.
"Thanks" I said listlessly, still unable to put a finger on whose voice it is.
I'm about to ask who this is. But she seemed to know me well, and it would seem so rude to ask.
"Were you sleeping?" she asked.
"Oh, not at all." I said, feeling like a jerk.
"It is your birthday today isn't it?" she asks.
"Oh, yeah, it is".
Only then I get it. It is her.
"Hey! thanks for calling." I said, a little more excitedly.
She seems relieved to discern a return of the usual vigor in my voice... I assume.
"I just want you to know that even though we are not talking anymore, you can still call me whenever you like." she said.
"Um, okay, sure, same goes for you too." I say.
"So, what are you doing for your birthday? she asked.
"Um, nothing much. Having two midterms. That's about it." I whined.
"Aww. Really, you'll do fine."
"Have a great year ahead." She said.
"Yeah, sure, I'll try."

Nothing better happened beyond that, except I discovered that it's extreme fun to repeat "happy birthday" to people who wish me. Their face and confusion is priceless.

Oh and the midterms sucked.

Persistence

Found this here as an example of motivational poster parody. Pretty cool.

By the way, I have two midterms, my birthday and a four hour grilling UN simulation tomorrow, and I'm looking at de-motivational posters.

Are you reading between the lines like I am?

Being Brought to Account

I try as hard as possible to fit into the whole finance subculture. Most of the times, I just fail miserably.
Like two weeks ago we were in Manhattan and I was in charge of finding Fulton Avenue. En route, I would look at the street names and try to remember them. We passed “wall street”. And I just grinned—imagining a street with walls on both sides and no …. wait wasn’t that the Wall Street? And I asked my friend who was driving, whether that was the Wall Street. He said it was. Ooops.
The other day, my Money and Banking Prof was talking of financial firms. He looked at me and asked.
“Tell me what you know about Fannie May”
“They make good chocolates.” I said.
He was stunned and did not ask me anything else. I will make the perfect dreamy financial analyst.

Just had to share this one.

Even though I'm no longer in a long distance relationship. This one's just too true to be ignored. This is from my other favorite web-comic. PhD- piled higher and deeper

I just uncovered this piece from one of my earliest writing. I think I wrote it about two years ago.
Now, I'd have found myself to be totally hoity-toity.

Nobody wants having what is good for them- Jane Austen

What You Want is Within You

Musk is a familiar perfume. Many of us might even know from where it is obtained- a gland of the musk deer. The search for this enchanting essence has almost driven this animal into extinction. But the argument of whether or not we should continue hunting these animals is not the purpose of this blog.

A musk deer, not knowing the origin of musk, went about searching for it. He forgot hunger, thirst and sleep in search for the source of smell he adored but could not yet attain. Traversing rivers, climbing mountains wandering through the forests, he went about searching for the origin of the perfume.

Weeks passed by, the musk deer still hadn’t found the source. Then at a distance, he noticed a group of hunters. He quickly turned around and jumped behind some bushes, unaware that there was a sharp, jagged stone just behind them. He landed straight on the rock and slit his belly. As he lay there dying, he finally discovered the source of the bitter perfume. What he sought was within himself.

Things that you desperately seek cannot be found anywhere else. Nor can anyone tell you what and where you should seek. Do not misunderstand, I’m not talking about material things. There are things far more important and elusive than physical objects that serve us and give us pleasure.

For instance, I know many people who know they can climb higher in their careers and life if they can master the art of public speaking. They buy books, CD’s, go on seminars. In other words, do everything that does not actually include talking in front of people. They fail to look into themselves, that’s where the changes need to be made, and that’s where their progress is to be evaluated

So today, look into yourself. That’s one situation, place that you can totally change. And the happy news is you must change it.

A peacock that rests on its feathers is just another turkey- Dolly Parton