A Trip to the Sin City and the City of Dreams - LV & LA

As days of going back to school were coming closer, we decided to have this one more trip to two of the best global destinations - Las Vegas & Los Angles. Although, we were planning to have this for  a long time, but few other trips (Miami-Orlando & NYC-Washington) in between derailed the plan to visit the Sin City.

Although I had already been to LV in Dec-2009, this was the first time I was planning to go to LA. However, last time, it had become very cold when we were in LV and therefore, I wanted to ensure this time we plan it before US Thanksgiving. And as you may know, the best time to visit LV, a desert, is Oct-Nov, when days are not very hot and nights are not very cold. So we finalised our travel dates to be Nov-19 to Nov-24. We were planning to spend 3 nights in LV and 2 nights in LA. Though I wished, I booked it for longer so could enjoy more time in both the cities.

Habitual of taking domestic flights, I forgot to keep a time margin for Immigration formalities at Toronto Pearson Airport. We reached the Airport 5 minutes after the check-in counter was closed. This was the first time, when I had to plead the airline staff to allow us to go even though she said that she wouldn't delay the flight if we didn't make to the gate on time. Got through the first hurdle of check-in, we were lucky there was no big queue on the immigration counter but found ourselves in a long queue of security checking. We were getting very anxious, and when security office asked me about the liquid gels in my bag that were above 100 ml limit, I just asked him to throw them instead of arguing with the reasons.

Carrying my duffle bag in both hands as if I am carrying a baby, I and my wife started running towards the gate and was able to made to the flight before the gate closed. It was the second time (after my inaugral internationl flight, Mumbai - New York) when I was about to miss the flight but ultimately was able to made it. Anyway we took a deep sigh of relief, when we sat on our seats. From east cost to west-coast, it was going to be a long flight of 5+ hrs. However, because of time difference, we landed at LAX at 12:30. We needed to  change our flight to LV, after 1 hour. so we enjoyed our Privilege Lounge access (thanks to BMO Elite Card) for a while and got on to another flight bounded to LV. 

Las Vegas:

In a short 1 hour flight, we reached LAS at 3:30 PM. Here we needed to pick a car from SixT Car rental company, which was outside the airport, and we were required to take a train to the Car Rental office. This whole process stole 2 hours from our time. After picking our car, as we do on all the trips, instead of going to Hotel from here, we headed to nearest Walmart, about 5 miles from the car rental company. we picked up snacks for us and headed to the hotel.

During our last trip, as bachelors, we had stayed in Imperial Hotel. It was right opposite Ceasers Palace. Although that hotel was not in business anymore, I was convinced that I wanted to stay somewhere near the same location. And therefore, we decided to stay in Flamingo Hotel. It was a lovely hotel, and using my BMO elite card, I also got special offer on price as well as food. It was indeed a great deal. 

In the hotel, as happens always in any LV hotel, we were standing in a serpentine queue to get our checkin formalities done while casino was gradually warming up. However, while my wife, stood in the queue for me, I tried my hand in blackjack, but before could loose more, I became wise. Soon we were in our room for some private time.

Bellagio Musical Fountains

When on the strip, you can just roam around and enjoy the view without doing anything else. As we passed through various hotels like Caeser's Palace and Bellagio, the first thing you shouldn't miss at any cost is Bellagio Musical Fountains. I believe it is one of the most enjoyable things on the Strip. We drove to Luxor Hotel to see Egyptian theme and gambled in MGM Grand at par - No loss and No Win. Besides this, if you are a fan of theatre and drama, Las Vegas hosts many live shows and one show you shouldn't miss is Blue Man Show. I believe it is one of the best mono acts happen anywhere in the world. 

Second day morning,  we drove to Hoover Dam and Grand Canyan. Although, we were not very interested in going to Grand Canyan, but I believe it is a great view if you have enough time to go as it takes few hours of your schedule. A Bus takes you to the actual canyans as you are not allwed to drive beyond a the ticket booths. A magnificent engineering marble, Hoover Dam is one of the grandest want man-made water body I have ever seen. A magnum opus in itself, it makes you appreciate the grand vision the team that put Hoover dam to reality had. It was a lovely drive to to Hover Dam. we were back to our hotel by 4 PM. We had our dinner in one of the indian restaurents adjacent to the strip.

Gandola Ride

Third Day, we moved to Circus-Circus Hotel as we wanted to cover north part the strip. Circus-Circus is a good hotel, but it is very secluded from all the buzz of the strip. So, I wouldn't recommend it to everybody. We started our morning with some shopping from Las Vegas North Premium Outlet Mall and ended our day in Venetian with Very romantic event of the trip - Gandola ride followed by fun in the 'Tao' night club. If you are newly-wed OR soon-to-be-committed, these are two things you should not miss at any cost. 

Los Angeles

Next Morning, we headed to our next destination - LA.to LV is abour 4 hours, 270 miles away. Starting at 9 AM, we reached our next hotel - Best Western Hotel, Norwalk Inn. We chose this hotel because of its location. It was almost equi-distant from various attraction of LA - Santa Monica Beach, Long Island Beach,  Hollywood, Griffith Observatory etc.

Griffith Observatory

After checking-in, we headed to Griffith Observatory. About 30 mins away from the hotel, we reached there in time well before sunset. However, one thing you may find difficult to get near the observatory is the parking. it is very crowded, and weekend evening is even more. So, be ready for that. It was a lovely evening which ended with some scientific knowledge.

Next day, we wanted to visit many places, and to ensure we are able to cover all of them required a tight planning. The best way to do that is put all destination on the map and visit them in sequence, while also considering their opening/closing or best visit time. So I created a plan for us as - Santa Monica Beach / Pear, Beverly Hills, Hollywood Walk of fame, Hollywood sign, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and Union Station.

By keeping beach visit in the morning or evening, you can enjoy both sunrise & sunset at the beach. Most of the other places were of historical significance, and for us largely photo venues. Overall drive of 100 miles was ok for me while travelling these multiple places. However, having this on Sunday, saved us from the nightmarish traffic of LA. If you want to make it little relaxed, you may skip few of these places.

We ended our evening at Long Beach with

our drinks in our hands. It was a great way to conclude the vacation. Next Morning was little tense, as needed to work with peak hour traffic while travelling to the airport, car rental and then ultimately to the terminal. However, having a flight little late in the morning, made it little relaxed. Travelling via Minneapolis, we were back in Toronto before midnight.

Overall, although hectic, we loved the overall experience and it was great fun. However, as they say 'what happens in vegas, stays in vegas', so wouldn't disclose any more details here ;-).

Admit from IIM Ahmedabad - Am I living a dream?

Dear Manish Jain, 

Congratulations!

We are happy to offer you admission to our (full-time residential) One Year Post-Graduate Programme in Management for the 2015-16 batch commencing April 07, 2015.

- Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad

This is one of the happiest days I have seen in recent years. And why not, one doesn't get Admit from IIM Ahmedabad everyday. It's only few handful of students that IIMA admits every year and being one of them is one of the biggest dreams for anybody looking towards management education in India.

However, the journey towards IIMA from application to this moment has truly been a roller-coaster ride.

It was just a month and a half ago when I got an email from IIMA Adcom, asking me to be available in Newark for Interview  just after 15 odd days. My request to have video interview didn't find a taker. Cancelling the planned trip to Montreal and Quebec, I planned my road-trip to New York with my wife, who was pleasantly surprised with this plan but had no idea of the reason behind this plan. I generally keep my important plans secret just to focus on them without having any distraction from any where.

Anyway, Combining the work with leisure was just a way to justify the expensive trip.

Things were on right track until, I happened to call Adcom to confirm about the final details and got to know they had removed my name from in-person interview and put me in a Video interview. It was a real shock for a while as I had made up my mind for In-person interview and didn't want to give up the advantage of personal impression.

However, somehow I was able to convince the Adcom to put me back on the list of candidates for personal appearance. It seemed like the first bluster in the path to IIMA.

Anyway, making it to the interview and getting a favorable result made the whole experience of 'A Trip to New York' a memorable for life, one which would always bring a smile on our faces.

Running continues.....

Sunday 4 May, -1 Degree Celsius feels like temperature with strong wind flowing around, ‘Mel Lastman Square’ was buzzing with enthusiastic runners. This was the venue from where thousands of people started another run of their life time. As one of the Half-marathon runners, I was running my first such run outside India and that is in totally opposite weather conditions.

At 8:30 AM, I started my run with a target to finish the run in 2 hours. The wonderful Trail of the World's longest street, Yonge Street, can be called one of the most favorable routes for Marathons. Elevations along the course were also favorable. Passing through main intersection of Sheppard Avenue, York Mills, Lawrence Avenue, and Eglington, we turned towards Bayview Avenue. Beautiful forests around the street led us to the King Street which had the 15 km milestone. Now I wanted to give little rest to my legs. I ran another kilometer before I went for little stretching of my body parts. After this I continued my run towards the finish line. I was running alongside 2 hours pace rabbit.

This was the time when a comparatively easier run had become difficult because of the strong winds. There was a moment when I felt that I would be blown away with the strong wind. Now I was finding it very difficult to breathe as well.

Nevertheless, I didn't want to lose focus from my 2 hours goal. Running besides major attractions of Toronto, I ultimately finished my maiden non-Indian run at the shores of Lake Ontario.

Finishing Marathon is one of the best feelings which I was having at the finish line.

Canada Foreign Officers Strike

It seems Canadian Foreign Officers strike is at the peak of conflict and pressure is mounting on both government and PAFSO to resolve it quickly.

It has become a issue of who will blink first. As of today, things are worse than they were in the first week of June when it all started. Biggest losers of in all this are Canadian Public because of huge loss of revenue from tourism, lost work because of unavailability of temporary workers and impact on the choices Students make this time of the year.

From GDP perspective, as per few estimates, Canada is loosing $20 million/week only in tourism. Losses accounting from Students and Workers can't be quantified very easily. This is obviously a bad business equation if we see only from this perspective. To save approx. $4.5 M/ year by not giving increment to Foreign Service Officer, government is actually loosing almost 4 times of it in a single week.

But if we see from the administration perspective, it can't be an easy decision for government to accept all the demands of PAFSO members because it may end up in surge in the similar demands from other public service officers.

PAFSO has chosen a time when historically it gets highest number of Visa applications and which is not helping the Visa applicants either.

I hope both parties are able to come to the table and come up with a workable solution as soon as possible. I hope they would think about those students who have applied in Canadian Universities and might end up loosing an year in case they don't get Visa on time. I hope Agriculture world and corporate world is able to put some amount of pressure on both the parties to get this resolve quickly and not drag it further.

Hum, Tum Connected with "Connected Hum-Tum"

Wednesday, May 29, 2013 : Hum, Tum aur "Connected Hum-Tum" all came together to decipher the code behind the latter one. All the leading ladies of the series were revealed in-front of more than 100 IndiBloggers by the none other than the Director Paromita Vohra herself.

A Fun filled evening with few witty ice-breakers from IndiBloggers team and Zee Team were just perfact to ensure the involvement of all the IndiBloggers.

Six Participants of the Connected Hum-Tum with names Preeti Kochar, Pallavi Barman, Mahima Chaudhary, Sonal Giani, Madhavi Mauskar, and last but not the least Mumbai's very own Malishka Mendonca opened themselves in front of the bloggers.

A special preview of the series for us was a really good gesture from the Zee. I personally found many of us, regardless of sex or age, would be able to connect to all or at least some stories of the participants life. For ex. one line from the preview really explains the pain of a lady, portrayed by Preeti, when her husband goes for the work on Sunday, kid falls asleep and she remains on herself to ponder upon how her life is going. Similarly, the pain of a girl, portrayed by Sonal, when she says that she still hopes that the family of her boy-friend will accept her one day.

Although I had thought that this would be just another reality show shot with moving cameras, I found the stories in it more real (even though I accept that there would be few manipulations here & there after all it is for entertainment of the audience).

Let's see if audience at large gives it a "aaj kuch tufaani karte hein" :-)

More details @

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connected_HumTum
http://www.indiblogger.in/bloggermeet.php?id=206

PMP Preparation Guidelines

Many people have been requesting for the guidelines for PMP preparation. So posting this on the Knome to enable everybody's access to this. This was from my own and one of my PMP Circle Mates (Tanveer Shaikh's) preparation for PMP one year back.

During first 3 months of my preparations, my focus was more on learning concepts of various project management methodolologies, in last 15 days I gave many full length tests that helped me in gauging my preparation level over time.

Books Recommended : 

- PMBOK Official guide

- PMP Exam Prep - Rita Mulchy

Total Preparation Duration : 

3-4 months

You may use following few points as a guideline to prepare yourself.

1) If you start with PMBOK but you'll find it boring and difficult to understand.

2) If possible create a study circle of fellow PMP aspirants

3) Read PMP Rita Mulcahy.

4) Get a copy of RITA Process game (from the Rita Mulchy book) and practice with it every alternate day. It will ensure that you imbibed the PMBOK processes logically in yourself

5) Register for PMI Membership - it enables you to seek discount on PMP exam

6) Read PMBOK. Now, this book would not be that boring and would make much more sense

7) Register for PMP Exam - it takes couple of hours in gathering all the material that is required to fill the application form

8) Once Application form is approved, you may go and seek the exam appointment

9) Practice with following free online tests

- http://www.informit.com/articles/article.asp?p=350915&rl=1 (70 que) - Tough Nut ; Lengthy Questions

- http://www.preparepm.com/mock2.html (28 Qns)

- http://www.pmstudy.com/enroll.asp - (15 qns)

- http://www.techfaq360.com/pmp_4thedition.jsp (200 Qns) - Easy; Wrong Scoring; NOT SUGGESTED

- http://www.passpm.com (50 qns) - NOT SUGGESTED

- http://www.pmsuccess.biz/Free_Simulated_Test.asp (100 qns)    -    Seems precise to PMP

- http://www.pmzilla.com/pmzilla-free-pmp-tests - (25 qns)

- http://certchamp.com/pmp-sample-questions.jsp (200 Qns) - In the spreadsheet - Repeat of many questions done already - NOT SUGGESTED

- http://www.preparepm.com/mock1.html (70 Qns) - few good questions

- http://www.oliverlehmann.com/pmp-self-test/75-free-questions.htm - Few very detailed numericals

- http://edwelprograms.com/  - Few very tricky questions, few answers are wrong

- PMP Prep - PMP Exam   -Many questions were already done as part of RITA

- PMP Prep - SuperPMP Exam- questions were lengthy, scenario based. Few questions were repeat from other RITA tests

- http://www.ajithn.com/login.php (200 Qns) - Many wrong answers given on test.  - NOT SUGGESTED

- http://www.pmstudy.com/practicetestsindex.asp (200 qsn) - Seems Very close to PMP, found few answers arguably incorrect.

10) Revised through Rita Mulchy. - 3-4 days before actual exam

11) Revised through PMBOK - 2nd time. - 2 days before actual exam

Note : 

Currently PMP is based on PMBOK 4th edition. PMI is going to change the base of PMP exam to PMBOK 5th Edition from Aug 1, 2013. So ensure that you are following correct course material as per your target exam date.

Hope this information helps. Should any of you need more information, I am just a click away.

Run Mumbai Run.........

Did you ever feel like a Hero? I did. I did once again while running half marathon in Mumbai Marathon – 2013. People were cheering throughout the 21 kms path of the run, slogans of “Run Mumbai Run” were being enchanted from everywhere and runners were putting their best foot forward. Enthusiastic runners ranging from amateur athletes to professionals, from celebrities to common men/women, and from 17 years old to 60 years old, all were filled with the excitement of being part of one of the greatest races on the earth (others were Nairobi, Singapore and Hongkong Marathons).

Reached the Holding Area at 4:40 AM, we started the half marathon at 5:40 AM. First 72 minutes and 11 kms were relatively easy for me but after that things started going tough. I started having pain in my lower abdomen & calves and my throat started crying for liquid. With a little walking for 2-3 minutes I started again and took my first sip of liquid at 15 Km mark. My mind was split in two parts; one was asking me to take a little rest while another was not allowing me to stop. Playing among these two, I was moving towards the finish line.

As I completed 20 Kms, 130 mins had already passed. Every muscle and bone of my body was crying out loud for me to stop but a passion and desire to touch the finish line was not allowing me to do that. Reaching 100 m (remaining) mark, I just opened my arms and wanted to fly to the finishing line. Breath was going, calves were crying, and I was just sprinting like never before.

I touched the finish line; clock was showing 2:18 when I saw it before going beyond finish point. Once again I finished the race. Although, I couldn’t better my last year’s finish time of 2:14 hrs, I was happy with my performance.

Today I am committed more than ever before to break the 2 hr mark in next half marathon wherever I run.
Amen !!!

My first Public performance…......

Today was a wonderful day when I found myself overcoming a fear of performing in front of 100 people. It was "Annual General Meeting of PMI (Project Management Institute) Mumbai" and I was sought to nominate myself for the Guitar Performance after the regular stuff of the AGM. After lot of deliberation I confirmed my nomination just a day before and it was accepted.

Although I was not very sure whether I should play Hotel California (My favorite English Song) OR Dooba-Dooba (Hindi number by Silk Route), I followed the basics of entertainment and decided to go with Hindi number as audience (mostly middle aged Indian Managers) could relate to it better.

I practiced song couple of times to ensure, my fingers were moving fine, my voice was playing along the fingers and most importantly I remember the lyrics of the song that I was going to play.

It all went great, I dedicated the song to my fiancee and audience’s response was awesome. People were humming the romantic number with me and my guitar was sounding better than ever before.

Later during the dinner, I was well received by the fellow members when they praised the performance very much. It was a great platform to get known among people who are 10-20 years senior to me in the Industry and I am glad that I grabbed the opportunity.

I just loved all the attention. And yes, it was also a rehearsal for the performance I’ll have on my wedding-eve for my guests and most importantly for love of life.

Project Management Conclave - 2012

It was a lovely Saturday Morning and I was very much excited to attend this conclave organized my PMI Mumbai for the practicing and aspiring Project Managers. TCS sponsored couple of its project managers for this event.

PM Conclave 2012, in Hyatt Regency, started with a bang when one of the most admired industry leaders and father of software industry in India, Mr. F. C. Kohli delivered his Key Note Speech. One would never imagine how a short-heighted, ordinary looking man pioneered the Indian IT when he took the helm of TCE (Tata Consulting Engineers; now known as TCS). He spoke about how he brought Burrough Computers in India and his team did the reverse engineering to make first indigenous computer in India. I got the chance to ask him first audience question about how he switched his career from a well-settled TISCO job to a new venture of computing.

Later, in the day, case studies from Aeronautics, Solar Power and other fields highlighted the importance of Project Management at micro level while keeping macro picture alive.

The focus of the conference was Agile Methodologies in and beyond IT Project Management. There were few very good speakers who spoke about how their own industries are trying to use Agile for business sustainability and how Agile is not only about Scrum but a mind-set. One may or may not know about specific methodologies of Agile Project Management but one would always be able to appreciate its core values of delivering to the business in most effective and efficient manner.

Second day ended with a panel discussion when I found myself little misplaced I could not agree with opinion of few of the panelist on importance of ethics in business. I couldn't resist myself from catching a point of a panelist, and asking him question on that. Later, in a private conversation, I found it very ironical (as he was a professor of ethics in a elite business school in Mumbai) when he tried to portray ethical misdoings of a well-known Indian company as valid practices for market survival.

Nevertheless, it was a good experience to be a part of Project Management Conclave and anyway you don't get chance to feast in a five star hotel everyday :-)

Another failure .. It seems is raat kee subeh nahin...

In last two years I had many accomplishments but things that I wanted most could not be fructified.

Once again today, I feel like I have let all those people down who wished me for my success in my endeavours.

The failure I had today hurt even more because this was one of those efforts where I had put my life and everything I could have. I had not felt so confident of my efforts as much I felt on Nov 3rd after getting my interview with ISB was over, I had done my best and it was rarest of the occasions when I was so satisfied with my performance.

Last 3 months, there was hardly an hour when I was not thinking about the outcome of those efforts. I was debating with myself all the way putting points what could cause me not getting success vis-a-vis why I should get an affirmative answer from the school. However, every time I end up convincing myself towards latter because I had given my best.

Nonetheless, there was another aspect which was other side of the debate that I also had competition with others and today seeing myself in the wait-list make me think  that I lost to others. In the end, I could not overpower others. 

Now what, I do not have any move left against so many unknown fighters who are preparing to fight against me with all of their arms.

So now it's not only about the outcome but also how soon that comes.

Americans choose the world leader....

So finally BO won the votes of Americans. Last election was the first time when Indians (atleast I) took keen interest in American election. Before then this, we just used to hear news about the event. But this time, the media coverage given to the event was much more than ever before.

If we try to put our views on few of the things that were discussed in last few days and how this election could have made significant impact on them, than following come as front runners:

Economy: There is no doubt that Mr. Obama got a tragic financial legacy from his much beloved predecessor. When Mr. Obama took office, USA had $10 Trillion of debt, on which he added $6 Trillion more. Now the argument could have been made from other side that Obama made the economy worse by adding as much debt in just 4 years as no other president, except Mr. Bush Jr., could do in total. But in my opinion, Mr. Obama should get the credit for this that he got the situation in control. Although $6 Trillion are not less, it could have been more.

Foreign policy: This was a subject of interest for whole world. And If I see differently than China is the only entity that came as front runner. A dedicated debate on foreign policies got marginalized to a discussion on China and its economic policies. Now it is very clear to the whole world that China is not emerging super power, but it has already become one. Few more years of political diplomacy and it will be The Super power, surpassing the USA. Mitt Romney’s stand was very clear on this issue and he showed clear solidarity with Israel while making it clear what he would do with China. At the same time, Mr. Obama still found to be ambivalent on most of the related issues.

World peace: This is one place where our Nobel Laureate (in peace) had an upper hand. Mitt Romney’s stand that he would increase the military budget by $2 Trillion did not go very well with the people who wanted to spend that money on their on welfare rather on fighting war against other countries.

Inspirational leadership: This is a softer aspect but most dear to my heart. In my personal opinion, Mr. Obama is the best orator among world leaders in today’s time. Except in first debate, he has always come well prepared and been very assertive in putting his points across the tables. He showed himself engaged with the people but at the same time not emotional. He demonstrated that leaders have to empathetic but still they have to control their emotions.

Even though I have many challenges at my work (high rate of Visa rejection made IT manager’s job even tougher) after Mr. Obama sworn in 2009, I personally admire his oratorical skills a lot.

And the Champions Trophy goes to ….....

VMS (Victoria Memorial School for Blind)

It was a great show by all the schools but our kids left everybody behind.

Participating first time in TCS Maitree Inter-school-meet of 8 schools, our students from VMS emerged as the champions. Event started from General Quiz (for which I & Riddhi had mentored the students). We got the initial setback when we’re told that, because of some confusion, organizers had put a Visual round in the quiz. We had no option but to live with that. Despite of this, VMS whiz-kids (Rahul, Hemant, Vishal, Shamsher, Chandrakant) led the way till the Visual round, which was obviously not that scoring for them as the earlier rounds.  But after that they again got into flow and all, especially Hemant, were outstanding. Hemant even surprisingly gave the answer to a question related to 'Refractive Index' which I had explained to him one week ago.

It was followed by several other events such as skit (we were third), Ad-mad show (we got second), ‘Best out of waste’, Elocution (we got first in junior category) and many more. But the real show was ‘Solo Singing’. We were confident of putting a great show. And boys exceeded all the expectations. With the help of kids on the instruments (Ratan, Pawan and others), ‘Ashish’, ‘Amit’, ‘Akash’ and ‘Sumit’ put audience on the roll dancing across the auditorium. And no doubt we finished at the top of the podium. Following this, ‘Group Singing’ was no less great and students repeated the performance.

We were confident that our kids will perform great but finishing at the top was not expected. Our Visually disabled Kids proved that when god makes a mistake and doesn’t give you what you need most, it compensates by giving you those abilities which makes you special in all other aspects. 

Although, I had to leave the venue before the closing ceremony, but getting SMS from Priyanka and Sreenish (fellow volunteers) and than a call from Vishal (VMS kid) made me visualize this : 
"At the end of the event, all of us (Team VMS) had tears in our eyes; we were overwhelmed by the joy and happiness given to us by those kids.  Once again, we are proud of being part of this great initiative."