Aman's Blog....

I am sitting at the airport right now waiting for my flight to be announced. Actually, waiting for my flight’s boarding gate to be announced because I reached on-time but thanks to the stupid Air-India, the flight is delayed for more than an hour. So there is no gate announcement done yet and I have about 3 hours to spend waiting before the boarding would start. This past week has been a mixed kind of one. I had been on road for 4 weeks before I got a week off and I really really wanted to get back home as soon as possible because my mom wasn’t well at all in the last week of my travel. By the time I reached home, she was a little better but again in the last two days, she was having issues while eating anything. Any time she was having something, she would be feeling restless and nausea was there too. Fortunately, yesterday she was a little better and I am so hoping and praying that she is going to remain fine. The next 3 days were spent preparing and writing about two technical art...

I have finished my this week’s session today. If you are a regular here you would be aware that I was traveling to Cambodia the last week before coming here and how tough that entire trip was! This week also was not of any difference. Though the module that I had to deliver this week was the one which I knew already but it is such a kind of module that every time when I step in the room to deliver it, I feel a chill in my spine. The reason for it is that the not only the module is very tough but also that there is a LOT of the content in it and because of these two things, I have to speak a lot, at times even without taking any breaks for a very long time. And this happened in this week as well. The level of complexity became even more higher because of the delegates that I had in my session-very experienced and techie group! But that’s what make the module interesting as well because if the delegates are not able to understand what you want to convey to them, your interest dies and th...

I am sitting at the Starbucks right now. Just had a cappuccino along with a sandwich. It’s still 3 hours more before I shall be boarding my flight. As I said before, it’s going to be a long and tiring day and may be that wasn’t enough, the check-in staff played a practical joke with me as well. I specifically asked for “no emergency seat” and guess what I got? So I spent the last 2 hours sitting upright and it’s again going to be happening for another 5 hours in just a while. I am just not sure what do because I know the flight would be full and it wouldn’t be possible to change the seat because not anyone else also would be so willing to exchange his/her seat with an emergency one. I shall try for sure but I am not keeping very high hopes. Before I ordered my coffee, I walked around the place for almost an hour. I am sure a lot must have changed here but still, it appears the same to me, just like what I saw when I came here for the first time. And that was even the first time for m...

It’s been a long time, well 3 weeks is not a small time I would say. I have finished all of my sessions today here at Cambodia and at the end, I shall say things went okay. Though there was a small sudden issue that came up which did spoil my mood but still, overall I would say things went fine. I was really very worried as there were four different sessions that I had to deliver and out of that three were completely new for me. That was a big challenge and on top of that, I am working on a very important writing project which is time bound which is running parallel with my day-job. You can imagine from this that I had two weekends and one public holiday here with me and in all of these days,  I was in my room either writing or preparing for the new modules. Though the sessions are over today for this trip but the writing part is still pending, a lot of it! I am working on it very hard and trying my best to get it done as soon as possible because there are many other things which I...

Note: I started writing this post when I was at Singapore, two weeks ago, on the weekend when I had some time free but then I got caught up in tons of things and this post left uncompleted. Now, as I am done with the session for this week, I have completed it. About this session, I shall be writing about in another post, hopefully. I don’t get to say this very often that I felt really relieved and felt that I have achieved something but after the end of this week’s session, I believe it’s not going to be true if I would say that it was just an okay session and I didn’t get a feel of accomplishment after the end of the week. I have been at home for about 4 (or may be even more) weeks because the programs of mine were not getting confirmed and it was some how required too as there was a lot of travel that I had done in the past few weeks so a little bit of relaxing time was just about right. But what I was scheduled to do after that time out was actually very tough and it was sendin...

I have just come down to this place(for the 3rd time) and now, sitting all alone in the training room as it’s lunch time. No, not really going for lunch cos have no mood for it. It was a long travel to here starting from Delhi to Malaysia and from there to Phnom Penh. There was nothing unusual about the travel as such. Yes, I had to come here this time via KL and the reason for it were two.One, I didn’t really go to Malaysia and just did a transit from the airport  and second, I don’t choose my travel routes but my travel desk does based on the cheapest fares that they can get(even without caring that flying for 5 hours and then further 2 hours is far more tiring than flying for 3.5 hours and 1.5 hours for the same destination via Thailand) . The flight of Malaysian was okay and was far far away from their so-called marketing statement “MH stands for Malaysian Hospitality “. I have just started the session and it’s a very tough session. I shall be posting an older blog post soon ...

I am just being so upset at the moment from the way things are going on. Not sure why, I am just not having a good feeling about almost everything. Just don’t know why the times are so tough and just for the record, “when the going gets tough”,it’s a good song to play but when it’s for real, being in tough times is not a fun-at all!

It’s been three days since I have come back from my last session in which  I had encountered an earthquake as well. Except for that, the session went absolutely fine. I met some of the most amazing delegates and it was a very big coincidence that there were 4 delegates whom I had met already in some other places. It was a very VERY fun filled 5 day long week in which there were lots of laughs but also there were many many technical discussions as well. But I am so glad that the session went really fine. Though I haven’t seen the formal feedback yet but I had been told by couple of the delegates that how much they liked the session and this short email that I got after about 2 days says a lot IMO. Hi Aman, Now I don't have fear from RAC. Thanks a lot for clearing concept of RAC. I don’t think anything else is needed to mention that the class went okay! I am so thankful to all who came and also said so many kind words! It was a pleasure and honour to meet you all and I really...

Yep, and it came all of a sudden today when I was with the delegates in the session. I am delivering a very tough and advanced session BTW at the moment and the delegates are really good both professionally and personally! Today, two of them took me out for lunch and there we met one delegate who was in my session 3 years ago. Also, there are two delegates out of which one was in my session 2 years and she immediately spotted me and very kindly mentioned in the room that she was very happy when she came to know that I am the instructor for this tough course and also added that I am really good, which was very kind of her to say! There is another delegate who attended my presentation a year ago and told me today about it! So overall, it’s a great session going on, tiring but really good! Hmm I think I have missed the point of the post. Okay, so we were in the room and one of the delegates was actually standing and explaining a concept. We were all sitting in front of him and were list...

Yes, it’s been quite some time since I have updated my blog. Last time, I had taken this much of leave from updating it when my dad passed away. This time, fortunately things are not so bad but still, some how I am not able to have a mental status to sit back, write and update it. Even now, when I am writing this post, a weird kind of uneasiness is there inside me. May be I am just being mad or may be, it’s just some bad time frame. Am not sure what it is actually but just know this that I am not in a good state of mind. I am not really able to spend time (quality) on my work, on doing any research or as a matter of fact, any thing productive. I know I must pull together myself and start doing my work and I am going to get back to business very soon.

I am sitting on the airport at the moment waiting for my fight to be announced , which is not going to happen till the next one hour. It’s been about 10 days that I was at home and now, it’s the time to get back to the real world and work , which is required to sustain in real world. The current moment of time is not really a very smooth one for me and my family. There has been MANY issues that have been coming and the biggest one, which is making me the most scared and tensed is the health of my mom. If you are a regular here, you might have read an earlier post where I had mentioned the same and also this that I was burning with anger because this was called or considered as “whatever” which it is really NOT! Anyways, it’s there and it’s just making me so worried right now. Just hoping and wishing so hard that all goes and remains fine. There is no more strength left in me now to even think about something even remotely close to what that I have faced in 2011! It’s going to be a ...

Well, I just got back in my hotel room after some really REALLY good things! One, I got a chance to attend the sessions of the some of the biggest and the best names of the database world , Hans Forbrich , Lucas Jellema , Raj Mattamal , Murali Vallath and Edward Roske . Two, we all just had dinner just a while ago and three, well , it’s about me but anyways , my presentation went well! Sort of enough reasons right! And it all happened at the kick off of OTN Yathra at New Delhi! I reached here at Delhi yesterday. Though Hans and I think Lucas were already there but I had to go for an official meeting and I started for that as  soon as I reached at the hotel-in about 15 minutes after reaching the hotel may be. That was not at Delhi but was at Noida so it took a lot of time in the cab to go there. The “meeting” turned out to be a tech interview of mine which the customer sort of wanted to do and though I was okay with it, I some how felt a little insulted when there were some ques...

I know that I had mentioned in my last post that I shall be writing about my Singapore and Hyderabad trip. That didn’t happen because since last couple of days, my mom is not well at all! And it should be able to express it well that doc has asked me to get few things done ASAP and also have asked to come down to the hospital again for checkup of her in about 2 weeks. I won’t mention here that what’s really happening at the moment but what I shall do mention that I am so damn upset about a comment which ended up with the bloody “whatever”. Not everything is so damn small or non-important that it can be just summed up by whatever! How much it hurts , pains to lose your one parent and being scared, worried  with every passing breath about your mom, it’s not something that can be considered to be called “whatever” damn it! It’s not easy to make me upset but the issue is, when  I am, I really am!

I reached Hyderabad yesterday morning after finishing a 6 day, long and hectic session at Singapore. I am supposed to start the new session from tomorrow here. I shall talk about the Singapore session in the next post because today something far more important is there. It’s my dad’s birthday! Yes, it’s my dad’s birthday. I went to temple today morning and did prayed to God to bless his blessings on my dad and wished dad happy birthday! I saw a movie today where a guy was telling his dad that how it would matter to him only what his dad likes or dislikes and anyone else doesn’t matter to him at all! Also, how his dad hugged him and how stronger he must have felt in being his dad’s hug! Yes it was just a movie, I know it but it just shattered me and the same happens now at so many times, on so many different occasions. It’s not possible for me to explain that how it feels to see my dad not here, to express that I can’t/won’t ever be able to get my dad’s hug, celebrate his birthday and...

So it’s the year 2013 and this is the first post of mine in this year. And it feels good to mention that the first session of this year has gone really well for which I was really very tensed as it was a customized session for a very esteemed customer. Fortunately, it went well and was very well accepted by the delegates too. This was the first major news , at least for me! The second major news is that I am very much honoured and privileged to be accepted as one of the speakers in the upcoming OTN Yathra(Yatra) that’s including some of the best and biggest names of the industry like Hans Forbrich, Murali Vallath, Harshad Oak, Lucas Jellama, Vivek Sharma and many more! This tour is sponsored by Oracle Technology Network and would be carried over in 6 cities of India, starting from Delhi, where I am scheduled to speak. This is a really big thing for me to share the stage with such distinguished and respected names! So do register, come and say hello! Hope to see you there! I can’t...

I wanted to sit and write this post from last few days but somehow, I just couldn’t mint my words. I was(and still am) just so lost that what should I write, what I can say! How can I express that how so ashamed, so frustrated I am feeling to see what is going on to the women, to the gals in my country, to express my anger to what has happened to a 23 old girl on 16th December 2012 , in the national capital Delhi? I believe , no words are ever going to be enough when you have to express sadness and that’s exactly what’s my state of mind is right now. I have chosen always not to mention anything bad but I believe, today it’s high time to speak about some facts, some bitter and horrifying facts about the sorry state of India! No matter what anyone would say but this world is still is a male dominated society, where women is not really considered or looked upon as an equal partner or citizen when the comparison of her is with her male counterpart, doesn’t matter what! And in the same wa...

And not just this one , which started on this weekend but from the last one too that did happen at Colombo. This session was a little unusual one for two reasons. One, it was going to get started on a weekend. I can’t recall that I have done it ever for a new session. I have taken sessions on the weekends but it would be mostly an extension or just a one day session. But this one was a new session and that was a little strange to start it of on Saturday. The second thing was the module itself. Though the module that I was going to handle was the one which I have taught many many times already but from the past few weeks, I hadn’t touched it at all as I was doing completely different modules. So though I did remember what it had, it was a little difficult to get into the flow. It’s finished now and also got finished with a very good rating but still, I am not very much satisfied with my work. I may add another point for the unusual session and that would be that it did happen at Mum...

I am sitting in the session of mine while the delegates are doing the lab session. It’s the 4th day of the session which means, there is just one more day to go next. So far, about the class, it’s going on and it’s worth to mention that this module is one of the most toughest ones and whenever I deliver it, it takes a lot out of me , both mentally and physically. And it’s not a very good stay also that I have got this time neither the travel was(and shall be) any better at all. I had to take the first flight from Delhi to Chennai and after a 3 hour long wait there, the next flight was to Colombo and guess at what time, 1am in the morning! Yes 1am, I am not kidding. I reached at Colombo at 2:30am and at my hotel at about 4:30am and had to start the session at 9am. I can’t say it enough that how tough it was and since then, the fatigue somehow , hasn’t completely gone yet and every day, after the session, I am just so burnt out. The same itinerary is for the return flight as well , actua...

I just finished my last session here at Singapore. It was a really hectic and tensed tour for me as I had to deliver 3 sessions and that too without any breaks in-between, including the weekend. And not just this, out of the 3, two of the sessions were going to be my first-teach sessions which means, I was going to deliver them for the very first time. And just to make things more difficult, I hadn’t gotten the time to prepare for those two modules before so I had to sit and prepare for them while I was delivering them. Not something so easy to do, let me tell you that! Though my weekend class went off well and I got a very good score( actually got 100% rating), the session of Monday started with tons of issues, right in the beginning of it. First the environment that was required didn’t get done completely due to which, I couldn’t set up the microphone and the webcam which I needed for the session. Second, this was not just going to be the first time teach of the module but this tim...

<<Rant started>> I just finished a session yesterday but this weekend, I am again in a session which would last for 2 days. This makes it 7 days of continuous talking but that’s not all. I have another session starting from this Monday as well. Life can be very hard at times, trust me, very very hard! <<Rant ended>>