Filling Timesheet is Painful

The most annoying task for any resource in the month end would be filling in their time sheet. Having worked for some of the largest companies, I have seen really monstrous time tracking systems. Every employee thinks that they are frankly Painful, horrible, soul crushing, and pointless. No one likes time sheets.

I have seen those tensed faces during the month-ends as people have to clock the each and every minute they are in the office and also have to justify their work for those hours. I am not sure why managers think that any resource can actually justify his work for all the 8 hours.

I have also seen some managers resort to public humiliation to get their employees to submit their time sheets on time without any discrepancies. Even though we are at work busy doing a task given by the same manager, he still insists in submitting the timesheet on time.

Below is one such conversations which I have actually had on the floor.

Manager: Where is your time sheet Sudheendra?
Sudheendra: I’ll get it to you.

Manager: But it was due two hours ago.
Sudheendra: Yeah I know. Look, I’m really very busy, and I don’t really have time to figure out all that I did in the past week and fill it in the time sheet.

Manager: Do you want to get paid?
Sudheendra: Do you want me to work or not. Of course I need the salary. Look, I’ll get it to you, I just need some time to finish some things given by YOU.

After all this struggle, one questions that always recurrs while filling the time sheet is:

Hey buddy, Do you remember what we did last week?

In a place where we do multi tasking and work on many projects, I guess our memory about the tasks done would often become blur. I know we all are intelligent and have started writing about all these tasks in a Excel sheet to have it for reference at the end of the month.

But after doing all these exercises, justifying all those tasks each day for all 8 hours would always be a very big & tedious task for the employee.

I am now ready for the comments from the managers :-)

New Year Resolutions

As I do every year, this year also I took some resolutions and trying to follow them.

Regarding health:
- Drink plenty of water (I am already doing it and am continuing that this year too)
- Eat more fresh fruits and drink juices (I am doing it everyday)
- Avoid non-veg where ever possible (Avoiding on weekends is a little tough though)
- Avoid alcohol (Strictly following)
- Sleep for 7 hours (Not happening)
- Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day (Not happening)
- Smile and laugh more (I am always smiling)

Regarding Inner soul:
- Make time for prayer everyday (Yes, since yesterday)
- Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day without doing anything (Not happening)
- Call family often (Yes, everyday)
- Stay in touch with friends and family

Regarding personal growth
- Read more books than I did in 2009 (Going on)
- Dream while I am awake (Not happening)
- Learn a new thing everyday
- Read before you sign (Added yesterday)
- More blogging

The list would definitely increase as days go on and on

Lessons Learned the hard way

There are many lessons in life that we learn from parents, friends, surroundings, situations etc naturally. But there are some lessons which we learn the hard way.

All my life I have never cared about cross checking anything or anyone because, I always felt that the whole world is standing on faith and belief. I have filled so many forms or signed so many bonds and contracts without reading, took so many cheques and money from people with out counting, etc. I did all this by beleiving the other person and have never failed or have been betrayed or fooled.

There are some incidents which change the way we think and the way we look at the life. One such incident happened in my life and I have learned this lesson the hard way. I have been overbilled on my two mobiles for 700 dollars just because some idiotic salesman has not ticked a small box and I signed it without properly looking into the form.

From now on I will definitely be skeptical when I am filling the forms, signing the contracts or dealing the money matters.

My first Couch Surfing Experience

In recent times I have been travelling many places and have met many new people and have discovered many new websites which are helpful to travellers. One among them is this couchsurfing.org. This is an online community where people host many travellers across the world by giving their couches. It not helps people get a free place to stay but also helps in connecting travelers with like-minded people.

In the same way I got registered in this website for quite sometime and have been reading experiences of the different travellers with their hosts. When I was in Cambodia, I was about to meet one of my couch surfer friend, but couldn't make it due to some unavoidable circumstances.

Recently I got a request for couch surf from a couple from Canada. They sounded genuine and they have been travelling in Southeast Asia for more than 3 months. I and Swetha discussed over this for sometime and then gave a positive reply to them. We were not sure who and how they were.

This Saturday, the couple (Marie and Olivier) came home and there started a new friendship between that Canadian couple and all my friends gang. We all went out to have some drinks and I saw that everyone was behaving as if they all knew each other for quite sometime. We have shared so many stories from our side and at the same time heard their travel stories. Came to know about some interesting places and interesting activities which we can do.

I am excited about this couch surfing website and I am looking forward to host more and more new people and know new stories about them.

Experience Counts

There are many instances where we hear this statement. In recent converstaions between my friends we again came across this. In all my friends Surya is the youngest and Nagaraj is the eldest. Below is how the conversation went:

I, Swetha, Santosh, Surya and Nagaraj went out for dinner. While having the dinner, Nagaraj got a call and went to take the call. Mean while Surya started the below conversation:

Surya: Guys, my brother's first marriage anniversary is coming and I have not given any gift till date. Everytime he gives me something and this time I will have to do something for it.

We all started thinking and tried giving some ideas. Fed up with all those ideas he told us

Surya: My brother already have a TV, Playstation, Car, etc .. so dont give me those ideas.

Santosh: Ok, I got a brilliant idea.

Everybody got curious, whats it?

Santosh: Why dont you go and give a surprise.

We all were so impressed with the idea and applauded Santosh for this wonderful idea. Surya even started searching online on his iphone for the visa time and the tickets etc. Now here comes the twist in the story. Nagaraj comes to the table and asks what was the discussion about. We all were so impressed with the idea and told him that we are proud of Santosh to give such a brilliant idea. Nagaraj smiled and said

Nagaraj: Are you guys nuts. That is their first ever marriage anniversary and you guys want to spoil their privacy by sending Surya there.

That statement made us realise how bad the idea was.

Hence Experience does count.

Its been 10 days

Its been quite a while I have posted anything in the blog. There were lot of things happening in life and hence couldnt really spend time on the blog. I have travelled to Siem Reap, Cambodia which I have not mentioned in the blog till now. Also I have met some new friends through couch surfing. At office its busy and tension filled weeks going on. Partied hard for friends birthday party. Saw new movies. In the coming few days I shall try to write in detail about all these.

Recent Changes in Life

Daily Breakfast
Daily lunch box
Daily dinner at home
Less Junk in food
No Ice Milo
Less waste expenditure
Less number of movies
No contact with friends
No mails to anyone
No time for chatting
No orkutting
No blogging at home
More and more work
Very less travel and outings during weekends
More music
Gained weight
Stopped running
Started weight training at Gym

How can he ask me?

Friday night at 7.45 PM when I came home and was talking to Swetha, I got a call. I could see that it was someone from my office. I hate to receive calls about work after office hours. But what can we do, its recession time and have to be in my limits. I picked up the call and below is the conversation.

I: Hello, Who is this?
Other Side: Hi Sudheendra, this is P*****.

It was my manager.

I: Yeah tell me P*****.

Next 10 minutes blah blah blah about work. You dont believe what he has asked to do. It was not my work nor it was so urgent nor it was something to do with me and still he asked me this.

Manager: Have you planned to work this weekend?



I was so angry on him. First thing how can he call me on my personal mobile at that time after office hours and ask me if I was planning to come to office on a weekend without any work from my side but to cover someone else's mistake and save their arse. I dont like anyone calling me on a weekend for any work related matters. What will they do for the whole week. Managers just want to cover the arse of their favorites.

I dont know what and why I am writing this, but I was frustrated and spoiled my whole weekend mood because of that.

A Parting Note

Same as last 3 days even today morning everything seemed very good and I was hoping the day to go well. I was not aware of what was in stock for me on this fateful afternoon. It was 3 hours ago when she decided to leave me. Everything happened all of a sudden. Neither me nor anybody else could see it coming. I never anticipated this to happen.

She was very very very important to me for so many reasons. She was always with me in both happy and sad occasions. She stood by me in both tough and glory times. She have always taken care and made sure that I was never alone, and left out. She was my beautiful personal secretary and would do everything for me that is there in her limits - right from waking me up, to help me organize myself, to help me reach my friends, to book my movie tickets, to check my balance sheet etc. She would sing and entertain me when ever I was bored or stressed out. I was always connected with the world when she was with me. I say that she is everything in my life but still she meant a lot in my life. She came into my life unexpectedly and left in the same way abruptly. Neither her arrival nor her departure from my life was expected by me.

Yes, you expected it correctly, I lost my mobile in my gym :(. That means - no calls, no FM on the move, no alarm clock in the morning, no organizer to remember important dates and activities, no pastime games when bored and no SMS to friends just to kill time during the meetings. I can overcome all this just by buying any other stupid phone. But here comes the worst part - I have already lost my 350+ contacts - something I always feared when I heard about this from friends.

I have been depressed since afternoon. I have been calling my number and I can hear only one voice: "The number you are calling is not available". I called customer support and blocked my Sim and the only positive point out of this is that I can retain my number, so there is no need to update my phone number to all my friends.

My friends at work were upset with me because I did not shout at the gym staff and demand for the phone. I repent for not being aggressive with the gym staff. But things have ended there. Now I have started working looking for a 'replacement' for ‘her’.

Officially Dependant

Day before yesterday Swetha has got her Dependant Pass here in Singapore. Now she is officially dependant on me and has to show the pass every where and for everything. Its a bit difficult to digest that somebody is dependant on me as I myself depend on my friends for many things. I shall try to do my best and be responsible with this new role :-)

Just let us be as we are !!!!

I am in the office and was talking to Swetha over the phone. After putting down the phone I remembered something that happened at my marriage. It was not actually with me but with my family. I don't know why people cant live their own lives and let us be.

Since my childhood, I have never been interested in others lives unless and until they come up and say by themselves. I hate it when the aim of some people's lives become interfering into what I or my family is doing. Now come on how does it matter to them, and anyways how does it even effect them even an inch. If there is something about them then they should show that interest. But no, they will always keep on interfering and poke their nose in our business and go on irritating us. Why..?? Why..?? Why..?? Why do you have to do it?

I gave a thought about this and well... to that there can be so many reasons. May be they dont have a life which interests them. So, for that dude go and get an interesting life or make your life interesting by giving some space to yourself rather than poking into others lives. I have an interesting life of my own and I am contented with it, and I don't need or look out for your inputs from time to time.

So a humble suggestion, before I lose my patience and show you my other side, which is not that sweet, Please do not interfere in my family issues.

While writing this post, I also remembered one more incident where people have drawn wrong meanings for the words I have spoke. I hate it, when people take me wrong and not as I am. I really don't like it when someone draw his own meanings to my words without knowing the reality. Please don't do that, it hurts me a lot because I really never mean such things, its just a matter of - Difference of perception.

10 Random Things I want to do

There are a whole bunch of things that I want to do in my life. But for the time-being, 10 random things that I would like to do on immediate and short-term basis (not necessarily in that order)

1. I want to go home (home bole toh “Hyderabad”….spend time with parents)

2. I want to watch Inglorious Bastards, Ice Age, Public Enemies and Up (This list will never end as you all know)

3. I want to enjoy in the rains in Singapore (The enjoyment is not in playing in rain, but just to beat the heat in here)

4. I want to eat more and more variety of foods made by Swetha. (She has been doing great till date)

5. I want to change my Starhub Internet connection. (8MBps is also very slow. May be in a month I shall shift to 12MBps)

6. I want to do a cross country drive in Malaysia.

7. I want to visit California and Ore bro to meet my close friend and close cousins.

8. I want to shop (This is the first time ever I am feeling so)

9. I want to buy a new 42" LCD TV and start watching my movies from the hard disk.

10. I want to Take a break from the work life so that I can spend some quality time with my wife and parents.

Out of many of the items from the above list, there are some things that money can’t buy. For everything else (as the ad goes) …… there’s Santosh Anna's Credit cards!!! ;-)