Dreams and failures

Back to School: - Children of the recession

2009-07-16T16:22:00.000-07:00

It is time to go back to School .Time for Children’s to buy new school bags and stuff as they march towards new session. And many more expenses for parents, as they progress. And this year Parents are busy not in shopping for kids, but in searching their jobs, cost cutting and saving pennies.
Recession has hit hard and has affected and changed not only our economy and life’s. But has taken away smile from the faces of our little ones. As parents deal with the realities of the economic downturn, this article features tips and some guidelines for all those parents, who are affected directly or indirectly.

Recession Rescue Tips:-
 One –fourth of the house-hold income goes into eating out. Affecting not only monthly budget but also health. So, plan your week and prepare Make-Ahead meal .It saves time, money and your Childs health.
 Most of the time and money is spend on shopping for your kid’s clothes. Try to; swap clothes with family members or friends who have kids younger/elder to yours.
 Start collecting Coupons. You might get good deals on many household plus on child products.
 You can Sign up with a local moms support group. It is the best way to exchange thoughts with other local moms when you need help.
 Instead of buying school bags, accessories, toys etc from Wal-mart or target, buy second-hand toys from Internet sites such as Craigslist and through garage sales.
 Stop buying DVDS and CDS and start borrowing it from Library. Kids will enjoy not only movies, but also there weekly trip to library.
 Losing your job is hard enough, but losing health insurance doubles the catastrophe.
1. You can register with Children's Health Express Van, as it requires no insurance forms and no fees. There are 37 Children's Health mobile medical clinics in 15 states across the country. It is initially proposed to serve low-income & under-privileged children. But now parents who've lost their insurance or lost their job can use this service.
2. President Obama has recently reauthorized, federally funded CHIP program. This program covers children who are uninsured.
3. You can sign-up for discount drug cards. For more information on this check websites: - rxassist.org, needymeds.org, or PPARx.org.
4. You can inquire about the price tag of a prescribed drug from the Medical provider. And you can save money by discussing the alternative, if it is costly.
5. Coupons and circulars are of great help. Many pharmacies, like CVS and Rite Aid, offer special gift cards coupons usually worth $25 to $30, if you transfer a prescription.

Lets act rather than debate.........................

2008-11-30T13:27:00.000-08:00

Whole nation was in siege for last 3 days and every Indian was a mumbaikar.Lets all fight together against this mayhem rather than debate; on who is wrong or who should be punished.Yes we are angry and shattered,but is this is enough.No we need to change it ,we just cannot blame and blame the government.We live in democratic nation and it is we the people who choose the government.

No matter who is in power BJP or UPA,terror attacks were always there.And it will continue to happen ,if we the citizens don't change it.How many of us has send there children in military or in politics.And the answer will be "why should we,as there is corruption or there are better options".This attitude is the result of all these terror.We are responsible and rather than playing the blame game,we should take constructive step in making a secure future .It is true that government just react momentarily and make several laws.Which is either opposed by opposition or dumped under files.Government is accountable to the citizen and yes they are responsible.But it is not true that,they are solely responsible.It is whole system and in which the AAM ADAMI plays a vital role.We should speak unless we are not heard.
Today the 24*7,media presence is there.And it gives us the liberty and platform to speak and convey our message to our leaders and system.It was because of media and AAM ADAMI ,that has put Manu Sharma behind bars.Yes we have that power which can change things.Better late than Never.Lets speak against the odds which we see in our society ,speak against the injustice..................

Lets act rather than debate.

“Outsourcing-Offshore” an illusion or reality for Unemployment in U.S.

2008-09-09T13:22:00.000-07:00

US economy is going through the phase of recession and more- more jobs are now been outsourced. But, still today many of the US techies believed we Indians as the incompetent people, who are not capable enough to perform the Jobs which include strong management or technical skills. Recent survey had shown that, many of the US based technical writer’s thinks: they are the best writers as English is there first language and have questioned the potential of Indian writers. But the bottom line is, IS this true and if not, why we are the victim of outsourcing?

Off shoring is the only option which several US based companies see to do cost cutting and in turn to increase there productivity. Globally, we are blamed for the unemployment in US; we are treated as under dog; working on lower wages and in turn we are blamed on our capabilities/work. Recent discussion and center of the debate in US politics was why outsourcing? In fact Barack Obama, nominee for the US presidential election 2008 said: The No. 1 priority is jobs and job loss and that is something that is hitting communities’ downstate as well as here in Chicago. Everywhere I go people are out of work or they are insecure with the jobs that they have. The whole issue of outsourcing is enormously important. Not only are blue collar jobs being exported now, but you have got white collar jobs going to India and Singapore, and so people feel enormous economic insecurity and that has to be priority No. 1.

Here, are some of the pros and cons of outsourcing and its impact on US and International Market, which will portray a border picture of outsourcing:-

Pros’

• Earlier, the solitary purpose of outsourcing was cutting cost. But now there are many factors which are responsible for outsourcing to offshore.
• Companies want to enhance efficiency and thus in turn reduce there backlog tasks.
• They want to take complete advantage of specialized skills and focus more on there core business.
• By doing so they will be able to satisfy their clients, and save time.
• Mostly Companies hire low cost, extremely qualified, skilled and professional employees when needed and once the project is over these employees will discontinue working for the outsourcer. And hence the companies do not have to spend any extra money and time on upgrading the technology and training of the existing staff.
• Another interesting advantage of outsourcing is that, the companies hiring employees offshore do not have to pay any kind of federal or state taxes for these employees. Thus reducing the operational costs. Also, the outsourced employees are not provided with the companies benefits or compensations as per US work reform laws.
• US with ten different time zones is benefited by the “24/7” coverage in offshore outsourcing. There by providing around the clock support to its customers, even when whole of the US is sleeping.

• Outsourcing has started affecting the economy growth of all the offshore companies and in turn increase in, their standards of living and demand for U.S. products and services.
• Lastly, off- shoring IT jobs to low cost countries is a profitable business strategy, which helps in creating new business and jobs opportunities and also resulting in much higher wages back in US.

Cons

• Loss of job and future prospects of jobs for US people in service and IT sector.
• Language and American accent, affect the quality of customer service and it may result to the attrition of clientele and also affect the business.
• Due to the accent problem, Time to resolve per call is also slow.
• As everybody is rushing in the race of off shoring, to cut the operational cost. It is very important to look at all the aspects of outsourcing. Because there are many fields where you require constant interaction with development team and customers. These require physical presence at the base location and off shoring will not solve the purpose fruitfully.
• And off shoring can result in making of future competitor to your own business.

Above mentioned advantages and disadvantages may help to change the perception of all those people who have either lost their jobs or are unemployed. Finally, as per the Laws of Economics, “Free trade between different countries whether it is for services or goods is always benefited”. And outsourcing/off shoring is nothing but trading services across worldwide. And all those companies which follow this simple rule of Outsourcing at Global arena are going too be benefited in long run. This will open gates for new businesses and ventures and hence will result into many opportunities offshore as well as Onshore.

As very well quoted by Timothy Taylor, managing editor of the Journal of Economic Perspectives, in his article titled "In Defense of Outsourcing."
"If a society attempts…to shut down economic changes, like those from outsourcing, international trade, and new technology, it can avoid some economic disruption in the short run, but at a cost of blocking overall economic gains."

Review on Fasting,Feasting

2008-04-09T09:17:00.000-07:00

Fasting, Feasting is a cross-cultural blend of Indian and western culture, by Anita Desai. Though very few Indian writers are internationally acclaimed, but this book was able to mark its presence in the finalist at booker prize.
Fasting, Feasting is set in two entirely different and extreme backdrops. First part takes you through a life of a young Girl Uma , from a small town middleclass family in India . She is always overruled by her conservative father from her childhood to adulthood and also by her so called fate. Her feelings are beautifully portrayed by the writer, through characters like, her widow Mira Massi or her alcoholic cousin Ramu .Writer has brilliantly used these characters to display the inner conscious and desire of Uma. While Aruna and their neighbor display the mindset of a girl, who wants freedom and power. Thus first-part talks about Uma’s life and second part takes you far in America, where Arun, the younger brother of Uma, who is also the epicenter of her family, has come to study (which is his father dream, not Arun's). This half of the story is set in the westernized culture of Patton family in America. Anita Desai has brightly described the mind set of an Indian boy in the form of Arun, who is like an alien in this western land. He is surprised, shocked and learning while staying as a guest in Patton’s family.He sees,how the young girl of Patton family is starving for the attention from her mother.And her mother far from her need ,is engaged in dumping grocery in fridge to taking sun-bath....

Thus, the book is all about the human emotions and desire; which one always takes lightly becomes the necessity or you can say need of other. The overprotective and dictating environment, which is burden for Uma becomes desire for somebody else.

Go Goooooooooogle

2008-03-16T12:30:00.000-07:00

Today, the whole world is compressed into these thin pads and providing services to any part of world is just a click away. A person seating in remote town of Mexico can teach an Indian cook how to make Tortilla and similarly, a person seating in china can speak in Spanish .Seating in your house from any part of this world, you can search from plumber to electrician not only for yourself, but even for your son who is located in Chicago, you just name and you can find. From learning history of a country or a person..................................just type and learn.

Thanks to Google mania which is making its way from broad rooms to ballrooms. And from school to universities and from house wife to mid wife; precisely everyone is colored in this mania. It all started in late 1996, when two college guys from Stanford explored their idea of a search engine into Google. But it was not an easy path. Just making a search engine was not the end, but most importantly the biggest challenge was ahead; that was how to earn and survive? And, going the why like Yahoo and other companies went for advertising was not their style. They want innovation which was their base .................................and the idea which they implemented was remarkable. It was win-win case for the company as well as for the user and advertiser. They practiced the yellow pages style. That is if a person typed "piano” in the search box, then it will show about the same. But will also list number of paid sites on your right side of window related to piano sales to piano learning classes etc. Precisely every thing which relate to the typed word. And it was this user friendly kind of innovation, which helped Google to go public. And finally from mere a few dollar company they became a billions of dollar business.

They came as a small fish but finally they are emerging as a shark ....................................and big sharks like Microsoft is also lead behind in this race of DOT COM. Google has now a billion & billion dollar company, which started as a vision of search engine and is now resulted into Google video, map, youtube, orkut, spreadsheet, pictures, etc............
Google is the Dream and Hard-work of few high school students,which has proved a difference in the life of;many aspiring students and young entrepreneur's.Lastly,i want to conclude this topic on a beautiful quote by Thomas Edward "All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible."

Knock -Knock homemaker!!

2008-01-04T19:12:00.000-08:00

If you are sailing in same boat, i mean bored with your daily routine of taking care of your family and house. And thinking to find out new ways, to get rid of this routine. Then you are at right place. Here, are some ideas or ways which can help you, to not only get your boring life into an interesting life, but will also help you to earn handsome amount.
As you all are aware about the share-market boom & interestingly it is just a click away from you. It’s an exciting work, where you can just start playing with only Rs.5000-10,000 or even more or less according to your pocket. And can make double or even triple amount, if you invest intelligently and smartly. Here, are few Simple Steps which will help you to start as a beginner:-

Get an online Demat a/c to do trading. I think best is to open an a/c with ICICI direct.Bcoz it will be linked directly to your ICICI saving a/c. Hence, it will help you to reduce your headache of signing cheque and transferring funds to your demat A/C.
Now to learn the basic terminology used in this business ;watch CNBC TV 18,Buissness AAJ TAK news channel, or the best is to logon to http://moneycontrol.com/
And to get the virtual idea of the trade i.e. how to buy& sell shares and when & which one to invest, you can start playing on www.moneybahi.com. It will guide you and help you to gain real time experience in share market.
Create your portfolio on moneycontrol or rediff .This will help you to keep a track on your investments , plus you can also create a watch-list to track the funds you may be interested in future.
As a beginner considering ones age the portfolio is created. That is ,if you are 25 years old ,then your capacity to take risk will be high as compare to one of the age 40.And depending on that your investment plan changes too.
You can also go for Systematic Investment Plan(SIP).Where you can divide your money under different equity and bonds.

TIP:- Divide you investments into various funds. For example:- invest 40% in equity and rest 60% in mutual funds+ IPO'S. This ration changes according to your portfolio.

After considering all these parameters you can easily trade .This is one of the option to utilize your free time.
For reference , please go through links given below:-

http://www.moneycontrol.com/pehlakadam/

http://content.icicidirect.com/product.asp

Meaning of colors

2007-12-16T10:24:00.000-08:00

To understand the word color what one needs? One need to see the colors ,different colors like red, green,yellow,orange etc. Or one needs to know the meaning of colors.I mean what it stands for, for example red for love & passion,white for peace etc.So according to this only those who can see, can understand the meaning of color.And for those who cannot see , they cannot.Is this life is all about for them or there is any colorful side ? Well answering this is quite tough for me as the world which I and you are seeing from this naked eyes is completely different from them.For us we sometime judge any person by his/her looks or action or words.So this mean that we are better judges or we are the one who can enjoy life ,as we can see everything and understand its meaning.So this mean the person who can see precisely should be happy .But then also why 90% of us are not happy.Why? ?

Life seems to be so so complicated ..................we all are busy in our own life.And always we are thinking about the stupid materialistic problems , which everyone thinks is having in his/her life to be the biggest problem .

In fact iam also driving in the same car ,Recently i shifted to east America and its winter here,every where its white and only white bcoz of snow.And for me its all together a different country,where i don't have much of friends or family ,it feels all alone and the life which was so colorful seems here to be only with only one color that is "White".

I seem to be so depressed and alone that its hard to adjust ,and suddenly the life which i loved so much is feeling like a burden to me.But its this video which all together changed my perception and made me realised that life is not about the artificial colors which one sees , its all about what u think and feel from inside.There are few people in this world who cannot see but then also they find out ways to celebrate each moment .This is the true meaning of color,"digging out happiness from dark".And if you really want to build this feeling in you too then Please see the complete video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhwIFbB5iuo

Cheers,

Ruchi

New in Technical Writing?

2007-02-26T09:00:00.000-08:00

If you are new in this profession and wondering what things you should do, which course, which tool is relevant and how to get a job etc....So, here are the answers to your every question.

Courses/Training

You require training if you are not aware of any tools and pattern which is followed as technical writer. Basically there are various institutes present in all major cities which provide short term courses for about 3-6 months in Technical writing, like Techno-point, Triumph in Bangalore, and Wavelength in Delhi and there are many more .You can search online and can get the information. Basically these institutes provide you training under different modules.

Generally, the very first module will give you the complete picture of what technical writing is, how many types of documents are there, what kind of language is used while writing. And thus what should be your approach while writing. So, it will help you to write in systematical manner considering your audience and their needs. Second module is consist of publishing tools like frame maker, robohelp, MSword. So, here you have to be careful while learning as its needs concentration and more importantly practice. As you can forget very easily .Frame maker is the major tool which is used everywhere for printed documents and for online help robohelp is used. So give more time in learning and practicing these tools. Third and the last module is the editing tool like Photoshop, flash. Generally these tools are not that important but will be an added advantage if you are making this as your full time profession.

And at the end of your course you can create few projects, which will help you to have a live hand on technical writing. And also these institutes can help you in placement too.

Reading/Writing

After finishing your course and in the duration till you get job don't waste your time .Read the manual which you have in your home, for e.g. .your TV manual or mobile phone manual. As it will not only help you to get idea of different kind of documents and there way of writing. But will help you in your interviews too. And start writing about any topic and anything. And get it checked by another person. So that it will highlight your mistakes, grammar error, spelling mistake etc. As English is one thing which you have to learn yourself and the best way to improve your English is to read and write more to improve. Create your blog; it will help you to express your views and also to improve your writing skills. Read news paper, novels and watch English channels. Because as a technical writer you need to explain your audience in simple and clear language.

Preparing for interview

There are few things which you should remember while preparing for your interview .As you are presenting yourself as technical writer so be careful while writing your resume. Please don't do any spelling mistake, it won't be granted.
Ø Firstly, be familiar with MSword, frame maker. As mostly all companies use these. Generally they will ask you simple questions like "how to convert word file into frame files and vice versa?", "how to insert table in frame files or what is anchored frame?”,"what is the full form of PDF and how to convert frame files into PDF file?”,"how to import images?”,” how to give different header and footer in word file?", Etc.

Ø Now there are different terminologies which are used in technical writing like DDLC, SDLC. Have a clear picture of this cycles and what your role in that is.

Ø And most important is the type of language which is used worldwide by technical writers, i.e. active voice. So, you will be put up different questions on sentence formation and also on editing part. Like you will be given a scenario say for example a process in some developing phase of product/software (depending on the type of company )and you will be asked to arrange the details given in systematic order and also required to do editing part too.

Ø You can also be asked to create a template for a user manual or guide.

Register on Jobs Portal/Tech-writing Forums
First thing you should do after you decide to pursue your career in this field is to get yourself registered on various tech-writing forums .These forums will give you an idea about the current industry trends. And will also help you to learn a lot from the discussions happening on the forum on various topics. Here, you can also participate and get all your questions answered by experts. Plus these forums are the best way to interact with like minded people, which ultimately help you to grow. These forums also get you updated with the job openings and events going on in Tech-writing field. Here are the names of few forums related to Tech-writing field.
Ø technical_writers_india ,this is @ yahoo groups
Ø http://twin-india.org/portal/
Ø STC , it is world wide org. for tech-writers

Big Brother ya Big TRP?

2007-01-27T12:27:00.000-08:00

Whatever is the name of the show or the country in which the show is hosted.The controversial Big Brother's Shilpa racist issue, or Rakhi sawant harsh comments in Big Boss.Its all about the BIG TRP Game.And we the viewers are enjoying it.
To start with Big Brother show,which is making news for all the so called wrong reason of "RACISM".Being an indian and that too in UK at first i was also influenced by all this racist talks and issue .And i started to watch this show daily without any miss.And the thought which striked to my mind was ,WHAT IAM GETTING BY WATCHING THIS STUPID FIGHT?IS THIS RACISM?OR IT IS JUST ANOTHER GIRLISH FIGHT, JUST HAPPEN TO BE B/W A WHITE AND AN INDIAN?
And the only answer for that is nothing ,its just another big publicity and TRP game.As the word racism is all in our mind.Nobody has the right to discreet you on the basis of skin color or language.And here in the case of Jade and shilpa it was nothing but the ego and big cultural difference.It can happen with anyone anywhere.When two people from extremely different backgrounds and all together different country live together in same place, how can you expect them to not fight.That was genuine at there part.We can't blame and say as Racism.Whether you are living with your parents or siblings or friends, how often you fight and what name will you give to that fight.
And the live example of this whole issue is the BIG BOSS show in which there are celebrities from same country and culture.Precisely all are Indians and so there should not be any fight or issues then.But surprisingly it has more of all that fights,basically it includes all the bollywood masala ; romance, ego, hatred, politics.And here we people cant debate for racist issue but yes we can do debate about what exactly this reality show is all about and by doing so we are just helping them to achieve and meet there TRP rates .
And lastly i would like to conclude this whole issue, "As one of the great marketing strategy with a 3 crore amount to be victim in this and Zero to viewers for making this big brother a big hit".

First Time visitors to London

2006-12-15T05:26:00.000-08:00

This post is for all those who are visiting London for the very first time and specially for those who have no clue how to and from where to begin and that too in an economical rate.
So, here we go.......You have choice of viewing all the major sights scene in bus.It is the hop-on-hop-off bus.So, you can hop-off and check the place which you want to see and then you can wait there at the nearest bus stop for another bus and can continue your remaining tour.There are two bus tour available:-Original bus tour and The Big bus tour.So you can choose any one, i had taken The Big bus tour and can recommend you the same.And regarding cruise sailing on river themes.Guys it is free, i mean it is included in your bus tour fare.So, you don't have to worry where to go and which street , just get into this roof top bus and view the exotic and ancient architect city London in most amazing manner.And that too in the cheapest way, it will cost for, Adult- £20.00 and for Child (5-15)- £10.00.
And for information on which tours, places,etc....check out this site http://www.goldentours.co.uk/tours.php?1
And if you are looking for the transport service in and around London,visit this site http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/explore-london/travel-information-centres/locations.asp

So,enjoy your trip.

Are we playing our role

2006-12-06T08:51:00.000-08:00

Well this question always circulate ,whether it is old friends chatting in college canteen, or married women gossiping in park or passengers waiting for their train/bus at station or Bus-stand ..............
Are we playing our Role as son,daughter,wife,etc.......................or as an Indian.Are we?

Is just sending money or transferring funds to our parents account is our duty, or spending time with our kids in McDonald's or gifting them I-Pod.Or paying our tax on time?
Wondering if this is our duty, then what was our parents doing all this years and even pursuing till today.I mean i remember, when i use to come back home from school my mom use to wait and treat me like princess and feed me my favorite dish........................
And i too remember the day when i voted first time, it was awesome experience and i was so thrilled. But that was also the last time i voted.And after that round about 5 times the polling for municipality and assembly took place,which i missed due to my professional assignments.
And seating here far from my home-land in United Kingdom due to my job,i politely miss many of my personal responsibilities.And i don't blame my job of this.I think i am wrong at some point or correctly most of us are wrong!!!!!!!!

I don't know how to conclude this topic, as even i am surprised what role am i playing ....daughter, wife, mother, Indian.....................................or just its "I"

One Afternoon !

2006-11-18T06:26:00.000-08:00

It was about 1.45 PM and still i was browsing and searching something which i even i was not aware of. And suddenly in middle of all this some message blinked and it was none other than my friend who just popped in to say me "hi", well thanks to her bcoz then i realized the time and got hungry, but my stomach was still sleeping and there was not even a single sign of hunger .But like true North-Indian lunch time means "time to eat, whether your stomach allows u or not”. So i went inside kitchen and was figuring out of any permutation - combination which can solve my lunch puzzle, as i haven’t cooked anything. So with no luck in kitchen, finally forcefully i got dressed up in all my winter accessories to face the cold and breeze which was blowing outside, without any clue where i am going and what i need to eat. While passing down the street and peeping inside the restaurants so that something might click me to solve my afternoon puzzle, and lastly i got attracted towards one Chinese girl, who was looking at me while passing through her restaurant and i don't know whether it was that ignorant look of her or my so called hunger which drove me inside that place. But anyways, i was able to park myself at corner table and that girl helped me in choosing my lunch menu. As it was buffet i had enough of option to choose, but i was searching of Chinese Manchurian and veg. Hakka noodles which was missing in the menu. And then i realized that i was not in India and it was so true for my stomach that is still sleeping after 20 days also.

Why Dreams?

2006-11-15T07:27:00.000-08:00

Dreams! Why one dreams, why we dream all those things which are hard to achieve, why one is scared of losing the close one in dreams..............................?
Well dream is nothing but our conscious. More precisely it is the picture of that child which is lost somewhere behind our artificial life .We are just like a child while dreaming:-who want to achieve what is not in his/her reach, who is scared of loosing the warm support, who is sometime not aware of the height of the mountain ..........but still wants to climb it. This is our dreams, which is nothing but the reality of our conscious.
And it is only these "Dreams", which makes sometime a normal lay man into Dhirubhai Ambani ,Narayan Murthy, Bill Gates and this list goes on.......................That is , Dreams are our own role models ,which give us energy to achieve and grow.
So, Keep dreaming and never get dishearten by failures!

My first Blog

2006-11-13T06:41:00.000-08:00

Hi,
I always was in illusion that blogging is quite difficult and thats not my cup of tea.But,finally today is that lucky day that,i thought i can do this.So, here iam with my Blog "dreams and failures", sound strange and discouraging,isn't it! Well, no it is the journey of whole life in between that two words.
Dreams and failures, here iam gone to share all my views and facts which i came across small-big, also want your views to correct me if iam wrong and also to encourage me , if iam right.