London Chronicles

Moving on... an update

2010-04-27T15:20:00.004+01:00

Well trying to maintain multiple blogs can be a bit of a bummer, so having noticed that I can only get around to writing on only blog at a time, on the rare occasion that I write now, I've moved the 'London Chronicles' blog over to 'Thoughts of a Confused Mind'.

Cheers

Just peeking in here...

2009-12-22T15:08:00.000Z

More than two weeks into the job now. It seems I’m slipping into one of my older routines where I would live by the clock from Monday to Friday evening and then freak out over the weekend or sleep through it. That’s the pattern over the past couple of weeks. With Christmas a few days away, work is sluggish. Everyone is keener on getting out than anything else. To top it, it’s been really cold the past few days, with the occasional bursts of snow – last evening being the most recent one. Not that anyone does mind that. Some in fact, are hoping for a white Christmas. Nothing quite as heavy as the one earlier this year which brought London to a standstill but enough to allow for a snow fight J However, today has been bright and sunny with mild cold spells. Feels good from the glass confines of work at Kings Cross, but out there it’s cold enough to numb the old self. Anyways, it seems to be turning into more of a weather update, so I shall sign off now, while I look forward to an evening out with colleagues.
Cheerio

A Start

2009-12-09T15:24:00.001Z

Half the week has gone by. I started at my new job. The induction was at Birmingham for a group of 10. The first two days were pretty much easy flowing with the induction. Listening to talks and learning about a few things to get around in the firm is all that was done. Having put us up at the Hilton Metropole (Don’t raise that eyebrow, it’s only a business hotel), perhaps the best bit was the evening out at Jimmy Spice, Solihull for dinner, followed by drinks at a nearby Wetherspoon pub. Now in case one intends to get around to Solihull in the future I do recommend Jimmy Spice as a dinner, but do ensure you have a large enough apetite else you might be sorry not to have tried half the stuff on the menu. It’s a buffet spot, with the menu ranging between Chinese, Thai, Indian and Italian. Quite a mix I daresay, but well worth the money. I digress!!

The revelry carried on well past midnight, and yet by 10 all were at their respective desks on Tuesday. Sharp? Not really. But then that’s just part of the game I suppose, Work hard, party harder. Wednesday, I reported at the base office in Leatherhead and managed to start my stint by getting lost in the town and harking up the wrong road searching for an elusive road which as per Google maps should have been easy to find. Luckily, a fellow I knew hadn’t made it yet and managed to pick me up on the way to work. I’m sure this would be something to laugh about in years to come, but as of this morning did make me feel like a prize ass. Wading through the documentations and other procedures to land a project, while meeting up with a few other folks from office, the day comes to a lazy end in the early winter dusk.

The journey back was quite interesting as I observed the number of people of who commute from London to work in nearby locations, while catching up on a bit of sleep. I dare say, sleep would be a luxury now except for weekends. Anyhow as I sign out for the day I look forward to making a good start to the second innings of my career. Cheers!!

Transport in London

2009-07-15T02:40:00.002+01:00

The Tube, originally uploaded by ConfusedSam.

There are times I really wonder how life would have been for London without the ever present London Underground or the Tube. The strike a month paralysed the city for 2 days, with people commuting by bus and national rail. A journey of 45 minutes took 2 hours. Now, if one was smart one could cut down on the time by taking a seemingly longer route. It called for very smart and efficient planning. It was on the second day that I had to see my father off at Victoria on board the Gatwick bound train for his flight to India. The journey promised to be arduous and yet it was smooth in the end, with least/no hassles and us making it to Victoria in 75 min, nearly 30 minutes before our estimated time of arrival. And that made me appreciate the traffic system in London. something was always working. Always!!!

Post exams and Portsmouth

2009-05-13T13:11:00.006+01:00

So, exams have been over. The week following that was spent working on a business simulation exercise. With that out of the way, we now concentrate on the research proposal for the dissertation coming up in July.

The exams were taxing, with 5 in 5 days. Yep, you got that right. It was 5 in 5. Not a shred of mercy for the business school students. We lived, we sailed through... and finally crashed after the exams were over. But the exhilaration triumphed over fatigue and we spent the afternoon lazing about at Hyde Park, soaking in the sun over a few beers and then trooping in for an after-exams party at a classmate's place at Fulham Broadway (nice house he had there!!) And so the much awaited weekend started. And honestly, most were interested in lazing about than anything else. However, me and a couple of my classmates decided to spend the day out on Sunday, walking about in Soho. (read about it here: Soho Walk on a Sunday)

Hyde park on Sunny Afternoon (May '09)

The business simulation exercise though was mind boggling. Having had to run a business on a software simulation, each team (formed at the beginning of the year) had to manage it to ensure profits, good share price, nice dividends, valuable market share, sustainability and other aspects as one is supposed to encounter in the real life scenario. A steep learning curve it was, with the advantage being, the mistakes would cause losses but they would only be numbers on the screen. Definitely a better way to try out the fundamentals we have been picking up over the year, without any serious repurcussion which was, as a professor pointed out, an advantage managers of yesteryears never had. :)

*****

Going ahead the scheme of things as laid out before, I would be sharing a few pictures from Portsmouth, which I visited in February. A port city and a major naval base of the Royal Navy and Marine Commandos, Portsmouth has been in the thick of actions since the medieval ages. It's most famous creation being the Mary Rose (built during the reign of Henry VIII), which had infamously sunk a few km off the shore in 1545. Speculations are rife over why she sunk till today. The last of its remains were recovered from Davy Jones' Locker in 1982, and is the oldest surviving remain of any ship. It can be viewed at the Portsmouth Historical Dockyards. The Dockyards also houses the famous HMS Victory (oldest ship in commission), which Lord Nelson commanded during the Battle of Trafalgar, and it was on this very ship that he breathed his last on 21st October, 1805.

The remains of Mary Rose, washed in molten wax

The HMS Victory, portside

The Spinnaker tower

It's almost showtime!!

2009-04-25T22:46:00.005+01:00

Yep, that's right. less than 36 hours to go before I write my last set of theory papers. I'm hoping that this would be the last set of my life. Lets hope so. Wish me luck!!

Going ahead with the scheme of things as laid out in the last post, I present to you a few clicks of the London snowfall, the worst of its kind in nearly 2 decades. It brought things in London to a standstill for more than 24 hours. Clearly, London was not prepared for this. Read the following article on BBC: Heavy snow disrupts London travel.

Time flew...

2009-04-11T01:45:00.005+01:00

The last few months have been crazy. Time flew by and there was little I could do about it. Exams happened, barely scraped through. Another term got over, another bout of reports, videos and presentations. It's all over now. Before I knew it, half the course was over. And here I am studying again for another set of term exams. Meanwhile, I did go about visiting a few places, bought myself a guitar (a cheap one, just to while the time away) and London had its worst snowfall in 18 years.
So, instead of inciting you to murder me of boredom induced by my scribbles, I'll let you take a glimpse of things as I captured in the past few months.

This post shall have pictures of Jersey Islands:

Sunset at St. Oeun's Bay

St. Helier's fort

My humble abode

Street at St. Helier

Season's Greetings!!

2008-12-31T20:21:00.000Z

It's been a frightfully long time that I have scribbled anything in this spot. Much has happened since my last update. Term has got over with the last few weeks having knocked the wind out of the soul. Things keep getting tough I tell you. Moving on, we were down at Bath a few weeks back in case I didn't tell you earlier and it was a splendid experience. A beautiful little town! You probably could walk it from one end to the other in probably an hour or so. The day was pretty cold and foggy which did add a certain charm to the entire trip. Nevertheless a wonderful trip. I shall share the pictures on this soon enough. And as the term flew to its end, Christmas came knocking on the door. With most residents leaving for their respective homes, we had an early Christmas party here at Clayponds, which very much set the tone for the days leading up to Christmas. It was a wonderful party with more than enough to eat and drink, and music to set the feet moving. A crazy night. What it spawned off were a series of parties across town being thrown by someone or the other. Going over to friends' for a sudden dinner invitation, trying out Chinese at Chinatown and checking out the stores on Regent Street and Oxford Street as they dished out marvellous sales. Though not much of an avid shopper the sales did left me wondering about what I could possibly buy. The Christmas lighting across town was beautiful.

At Leicester Square the Christmas festivities end up with some marvellous ride which thrill you to no end. And you could still be left wanting for more and more. Finally term for over, and after few days of lazing around with friends at Clayponds, one did realise the impending doom in the form of term exams in the middle of January next year. However, I also had a vacation coming up. A week on Jersey Islands, visiting my dad's uncle. In fact, that's where I am as I type this out. A very beautiful island I must say. With the beautiful houses and long winding roads, concealed entrances all over, breathtaking bays and amazing beaches, it surely is a beautiful island. Part of the Channel Islands, Jersey is one hour by flight from Gatwick and an hour by boat from the French coast. The influence of both the cultures could be seen right across the island, perhaps mixing together to form a delectable mix of its own, which you cannot help but relish. More so about Jersey after I return to London.

On a serious note, the end of year was marred by the Mumbai siege which laid bare many a facts for India and perhaps for the world to look into. It really does make one wonder about the entire purpose of such blasted acts which probably didn't benefit anyone unless someone is too mentally imbalanced and a sadist to derive pleasure off someone else's misery/helplessness and situations similar to that!! Sad turn of events in the Indian sub-continent. One can only wait and watch as the situation unfolds there with the political stage perhaps more charged than ever.

And the pressure mounts...

2008-11-15T02:00:00.004Z

Well... much water has flown under the bridge since the last post which was again not quite current in its recording of events. However, much as I might try capturing the past 5 weeks mayn't be possible but then the thinking hat is on to get matter up to speed as of today.

The Initial Rush - The Adrenaline

It was deja vu for me. I was again a student. Though the expectations were set for us and the cold air did hit me on the face when I stepped out, somehow I was yet to accept deep down that I am in London, at a Business School with one the best Universities in the world. I was again a student. The future was again uncertain.

Getting back to business the first week started off with classes in Accounts, Economics and Informatics. Off all these, Informatics was arguably my favourite. It probably had more to do with the fact that I knew a lot about what was being talked about and come across practical examples of them in my short career in the IT industry. Apart the lecturer surely made the class very very engaging, much to my delight. You listen, you question you learn. Just the right mix. With other subjects, it was more of apprehension about taking up a new subject and how would hte self fare in them starting from a grasp to the implementation. Much ado about nothing?? Or was this just the start of the show??

It was around then I get an invitation to attend a birthday bash for someone over the weekend. Splendid. And that's how I came to meet many a faces from the Indians In London. Well, this group deserves a special mention in my chronicles but now, is not the time. Som with IIL, I ewrapped up the week with a delicious meal at Khan's, an excellent restaurant on Westbourne Grove, Bayswater (Central Line)

The heat is one babay!! And so is Greenwich.

A new week brought in with it the splendid news of performing case studies in Informatics and Economics. This was a group activity, meaning you could afford to relax a little or may fret?? Well, I certainly am licky, as it meant I could relax, because thankfully my group has got people who are committed and believe in getting the work done. Oh, and we had Economics test on the 31st. A mundane time carried the mind along as the week drew to a close.

And that's what I was looking foward too. Saturday meant a day trip to Greenwich. Greenwich has always meant Prime Meridian to us probably since primary school. It kicked off with a great boat ride on the Thames from Westminister pier to Greenwich Pier. That was a cool ride, as one travelled past some of London's landmarks like the London Bridge, The Globe, St. Paul's, Tate Modern, Canary Wharf to finally arrive at the pier off the Royal Maritime Musuem at Greenwich. After a trip to the Royal Observatory and some lunch we realised that we were awfully short of time and thus decided to let Greenwich be for some other day and headed off towards Ealing Broadway. (So, presumably a detailed post on Greenwich can be expected.)

But then, when its a group of youngsters nothing can be definite. While on the tube to Ealing Broadway, a sudden plan and decision saw us getting of at Oxford Street to get a feel of London shopping by evening/night. What followed was a few hours at Oxford Street (though we covered probably only a mile in that) during which some people did real shopping the rest happy to soak in the vibe. Exhausted and wanting for a good meal, the troop headed out to Khan's (I was happy to coax them into this. I had to have the keema naan again!!) And then, a ride back to bed and let the Sunday breeze by.

Here comes the BIG Daddy and a White Diwali

What a week!! There I was rushing about to gather stuff to study for the test and the test kept drawing itself closer to me, till I found myself in the examination hall. 20 minutes and I was done. That's all!! Meanwhile, I realised how out of groove I was as a student, for when it came down to the crunch I couldn't study with the same intensity as I could a few years ago. Was I growing old or was it lack of practise. I dunno... but I better pull up my socks.

Meanwhile Diwali (The festival of lights) went by, which was surprisingly white this year as it snowed in London in the month of October after 74 years the last time being in 1934.

Informatics rule the senses

Yes!! That's how the next two weeks breezed by as the Informatics case study report submission approached it's deadline. Along with it the subjects too drew to a close. Time for some new subjects and new schedule. And hopefully, I would be able to pull my socks this time on time!!

B-school is tough, but you would love the challenge!!

The Welcome, B-School and the First week.

2008-10-20T15:36:00.001+01:00

5th October, 2008 triggered off a significant week, one that any fresher at the Imperial would remember all life. It started with a welcome speech by Sir Roy Anderson, the Rector which was followed by high tea in the Senior Common Room of the Sherfield Building. The sheer number of freshers left one feeling overwhelmed. The enthusiasm amongst them at having started their term at Imperial was contagious to say the least. Having interacted with some batchmates, the old soul took the tube back to South Ealing.

Evening saw the warden at Clayponds address the entire group of post graduates. (Did I tell you Clayponds is for post-graduates and PhDs?). What followed was an evening of fun as barn dance event ruled the roost with most trying it out for the first time. The band from the Medics was truly amazing with the lead singer also doubling up as a master of ceremony for this event. Sadly, the evening had drawn to a close, with the expectations of term time tucked away in some corner for the time being.

Induction week:

At the Imperial College Business School, the first week was also the Induction week during which one went through the paces of all the facilities that were at the disposal of the students with some wonderful simulations being handed out which were to be undertaken as groups. The purpose was to serve as an Ice breaker and also a good team building exercise. One was also introduced to the faculty and the Career and Professional Development Services team who would be very instrumental in shaping the future of the students starting out to chalk their careers in a turbulent market in the next one year. Needless to say, their confidence was quite reassuring. Again, students at the ICBC were given a glimpse of the high standards expected of them as they were introduced to the rigorous schedule.

One also had the Union Clubs and Societies putting up their stalls at the campus to let the students know of the world of opportunities they had to participate in the activities they desired to. With more than 300 such clubs and societies, an Imperial student is bound to have a full social calendar.

While at it, a walk to the Imperial Sport Club, Ethos was to be made. Situated right across the street off Exhibition Road near the Tanaka Building, the Ethos boasts of the state-of-the-art facilities which were there for the taking for the students, something very few would let go.

As the week drew to a close, event at the Union after college hours started to keep one busy. Clayponds was not to be far behind with each evening having a special event for the students there. Sport night, Pub crawl, movie night were all part of the week that went by. The week finally culminated into an all night dancing at the Club Oceana, Kingston, while also showing the newbies of the town how to get about in London at night.

At 4:00 am on Sunday, as I jot this down, life at Imperial can leave you ready to sleep at the end of the day but love every moment of it and it definitely gives you a high. If morning shows the day, one seems to be in for a fun-filled year.

I call it a day/week as a game of football awaits me in the morning. Rock on!!

The Shift

2008-10-04T22:57:00.001+01:00

I got to shift into the halls today - Clayponds it is at South Ealing. A quite place to be honest! Saw loads of students moving in with each carrying quite a few bags. A walk to the flat revealed the inner parts of the student village and somehow I started liking the place, not that I had much of an option. But it was good. On the way, I had this strange inkling that I would end up a view of the cemetery and sure enough I had a room overlooking the cemetery. The view though is priceless. For want of a good camera I cannot capture the same.

All set in my room, I set about unpacking and the first thing I did was get the laptop out and set it up with the internet. And then I was stuck!!! Presumably so, I might add. Finally hurried along and got the unpacking done and then took a shuttle to the Tesco at Oysterley Park. A couple of trips and I had almost all that I needed. Later in the evening was a welcoming party which I must I was glad I attended. I met quite a few people who till date were mere Ids on the net. Time at Clayponds is going to rock I’m sure!!

It’s time for a nap now!! Ciao....

Touchdown

2008-10-03T22:21:00.002+01:00

As I stare out of the window of the jet into the apparently cold and foggy city from above, I realised I’ve finally arrived. After lots of preparation and grinding I’ve arrived in the city I wanted to visit ever since I was a kid. Going through the immigration I realised I might be doing this a lot for the next few decades may be, for given the career I wanted globe-trotting could be a major part of the deal. A cab ride through the beautiful landscape of Heathrow brought me to Ealing where I would be putting up for the night before I get to move into the halls tomorrow morning. Eager to scope out the land I stepped out into the streets as soon as I could to check out the distance to the tube and the halls timing my walk all the way. I know being a first timer it might sound ridiculous as most would expect me to be in tourist mode for a couple of days, but I prefer getting down to business as soon as possible. Nice neighbourhood, pretty quiet!! The walk past the South Ealing cemetery is spooky towards the evening. And I would be taking that every day for the next one year. Getting creepy, eh??

Anyhow, time for some fish ‘n chips, a movie and then a good night’s rest. Hopefully my body would adjust to the UK time zone soon enough.

Cheerio!!