I've changed my gym. This one is called "Slimline Gym". This will be my 4'th gym

now. Admittedly, the names of these gyms have been pretty cliched : Image Gym,

Power Gym(Now Gold Gym), Juvenile Health Spa( Now Power Gym.I sat on the

owners head until he changed the name, It took me a long time to explain the

meaning of juvenile). So now the latest is Slimeline Gym.

My very first gym was Image Gym. It was a place where my friends and I would

religiously assemble each morning and have amazing workouts for our mouths as

we gossiped away. We really didnt know too much about working out. Often

some wise guy would come up to me and say " You're doing the exercise all

wrong, thats not the way to work your biceps!" to which I'd retort " Atleast I'm

working out some muscle arent I??" My friends and I thought that just by heaving

a few weights, we'd become huge and muscular. In fact, in a months time, I began

to feel huge and muscular, sneering at mere mortals who didnt lift weights. My ego

ruptured however when I visited my school and all my teachers told me I looked

thin and sickly. Apparently, just lifting weights wasnt enough. I did a lot of research

on the net. You had to lift heavy, lift proper, eat right and take lots of rest. None of

which I was doing.

My friend then visited Power gym and found it a lot more spacious, the equipment

wasnt old and rusty as it was in Image and the instructors had impressive

physiques. So we left image and came to Power (which we hadnt chosen the first

time because it looked like a "rowdy" gym). Power was a good place, but I

disliked going to Besant Nagar every day after college. So when they opened a

new branch in Adyar, I left Power. So now it was Juvenile Health Spa.

Some of my complaints against Juvenile Health spa are that its too small, getting

too crowded( which means I'm wasting too much time just waiting for equipment).

My biggest complaint however, is that the Pull Up's bar sucks. Its part of another

bench and I feel so uncomfortable doing the exercise I love the most. I cant move

up without banging and bruising my knees against the bench. The dips bars are

located on the same bench and everything shakes violently when I perform the

exercise. I guess the only real convenience this gym provided was that it was really

close to my place.

Slimline gym is spacious, has excellent equipment and there are always a few

trainers around to help you. Its all very professional. They also have some very

strict rules. What does tick me off though is that you have to work out in a T shirt

or shirt. You cant walk around in your banian. Also, you cant use the treadmill

unless you are on the weight loss program. Grrr.

When I had my first workout yesterday, the trainer told me I was doing the bench

press all wrong and I lacked balance. He treated me like I was a babe in the

woods. I was insulted, but you know what? He was right. I was doing it all wrong.

So I've decided to swallow my pride and try to get things right.

So lets see how this gym works out for me.

I've been running around writing one exam after the other for the past few days. Polaris, Polaris interview,Barry Weh Miller, IGATE....

I've got through the PAT, Barry results will be out in 2 weeks ( I have no hopes though, I didnt know anything in the software paper). What really ticks me off is that I didnt clear the IGATE test. It was stupidly easy (Not that I'd have taken it up, theyve asked for Rs 29000 for the training program).

So I'm basically out of the house everyday by 7:30 AM, I come back in the afternoon and have a nice nap.Usually spend the evening with a book.

I've realised that I need to lose some weight. I stumbled across an entry I'd made 2 years ago in a notebook( I took my gym very seriously then). I weighed 60 kilos and had a waist of 30 inches. Now I weigh 66 kilos and have a waist of 32 :-(. Really need to go jogging. Dont want a belly :-(

Had my PAT interview. It lasted only about 5 minutes and the questions werent too vicious. I was asked questions like Tell me about yourself, describe your family, why should we hire you? What salary do you expect? Will you accept postings anywhere? blah blah blah. Anyway, the interviewer said they'd let me know in 10 days.

I've cleared the PAT :-). My interview will probably be tommorow or day after.

I'm obviously pleased I got through, but I dont want to get my hopes up too high. Its a lot more painfull when you get closer to the job and then get rejected in the very last round. LIBA was lesson.

K, anyway, I'm just going to stay positive for now.

Somethings not quite right.I've been rather uneasy for the past few days. I think its because I am so uncertain of my future at the moment and also because someone very dear to me is leaving for higher education. Its a gnawing type of uneasiness which gnaws away from the pit of my stomach.

I wake up each morning not sure what to look forward to. Time lies heavy on my hands and I'm painfully aware of each passing second. Right now I'm sending my resume for every software company that advertises on the paper or online.

Ok, enough of dark uneasy thoughts.

I've made a rough plan on how to prepare for the CAT. Data Interpretation and Logical Ability is something I need to really work hard at. Quants is something I used to be shit scared of but lately I've become more confident. My mind still freezes when it comes to DI though. I really dont know how to manipulate those figures. Needs lots and lots of work.

I went and wrote the Polaris Aptitude test at a school in Kilpauk today. You ought to have seen the number of people there. It reminded very nastily of the sheer competition one faces. When we had to get into the exam hall, it was like trying to board the unreserved compartment on the train to Bombay. I fought my way madly through the crowd and got myself a seat.

There were two tests, a technical test having questions only from electrical and electronics and an aptitude test having the usual quants, logical and verbal questions.
The technical test was pretty basic stuff but I wasnt so sure of how I'd done when I finished it. More than one answer looked very tempting :P. The aptitude test was pretty simple, I think I did it well.

Results will be out only tommorow, so I have to go all the way back to Kilpauk :-(

About the only place where the summer is worse than in Chennai is probably Calcutta. Its beastly hot even at 8 in the evening. Well, perhaps I'm saying that because the max temp in Darjeeling was 18 degrees :P.

I've spent enough time in the east and I long for the comforts of the south. Perhaps not comfort...but the familiarity atleast. I'll be home tommorow night and I look forward to it.

I have to give the PAT, the aptitude test for Polaris on the 22'nd. My dad insisted that I brush up with C and C++ for it. So we went and bought a book on College street here. College street is something like Richie street in Chennai except that they sell books by the ton.Quite exciting for a book freak like me :)

Not sure what I can acomplish in a day though, wonder what the PAT will be like.

Darjeeling is breathtaking. Thats all I can say for now. I'm just too tired to wax eloquent on the weather and the scenery. Will do so once I get back to Chennai.

Today, I went to the loo 3000 metres above sea level while travelling at over 600km/hr. Yep, I'm talking about my flight. I havent been in a plane in 17 years, so it was quite an experience.

I reached Calcutta in 2 hours flat, quite different from the usual 34 hour journey by train. Somewhat crappy food was served on the flight, I couldnt identify most of it. I thought I was eating Pizza but my mom told me it was a dosai :P. Anyway, it was genuine airline food, so I'm taking it as an experience :P.

Our Darjeeling tickets will be confirmed at 4:30 PM tommorow. If they are confirmed, we have to take the 7:00 PM train. If not, we stew in Calcutta till the 21'st :-(.

More tommorow.

I leave for Calcutta this evening. I'll spend about 3 days in Darjeeling, some time in Cal and then I'm back in Chennai. End of vacation, beginning of my adult life.

Congratulations to Aparna for getting into BIM :-). Way to go Apar, I always knew you'd make it :-).

I'm going to write the CAT again, I'm actually taking some study material with me. I wont be studying in Darjeeling( just in case you think I'm crazy). Once I'm in Cal, I'll be pretty vetti for about 3-4 days. I'm supposed to write a travelogue for the Colleger magazine on Darjeeling. Hope I get good money for it ;-).

Bye for now.

A few things I like about Bangalore :

1) The weather is absolutely amazing. You can doze for hours together without sweating your blood out as happens in Chennai.

2) Let me make it clear : YOU DONT SWEAT!!!

3) NO CONDITIONAL ACCESS SYSTEM (CAS) which implies I spend a LOT of time watching ZEE English and Star World and Cartoon Network :-D :-D :-D

My relatives here think I've put on a lot of weight. I'm about 65 kilos now and I think I look pretty normal. Guess I must have been one skinny runt back then.

I read Life of Pi and the book is pretty good. Its hilarious in the beginning, kinda sad in the middle and the ending leaves you in a lot of doubt. I know this is not the best of reviews, perhaps I'll write a better one later but do try to get your hands on that book. Right now, I just started Vernon God Little.

I'm sitting in a tiny cramped cubicle as I write this. Better go before my sis starts wondering where I am.

I have a super duper cold and it feels like I have a few cement sacks strapped to my head. Its THAT heavy.

my cousin Prashant finally got his call letter from the Taj. The good news is that his salary is double of what he expected. The bad news is that he has to join work on the 15'th of may which means that he cant come with us to Darjeeling :-(.

In case I havent told you about my impending trip: I leave for Bangalore on the 6'th, come back here on the 12'th and then fly to Calcutta on the 13'th. From there its Darjeeling for 2 days and I'm back in Chennai on the 21'st. Now that Prashant isint coming, everyone else on the trip is over 50 (My dad, mom, aunt, uncle and grandmother). Dad is a lil sceptical of grandmother coming cos her legs arent in very good shape and she walks really really slowly. He's not sure if she can take the strain of travel. Besides, my uncle and aunt also suffer from various health complications. In case of an emergency, it would be useful to have Prashant around.

K, dont have anything to do today.

Went with a few friends for a walk in interview at HCL BPO. There was a terrific crowd when we got there. In the end there was no interview as such, just an aptitude test. The results are supposed to be mailed to us.
We came back home and watched a bit of "Aley Payudhey" on TV but the power went off and didnt return till much later. Also, surprise surprise, it rained today!!

I have a terrible headache and sore throat now, hope I'll be fine tommorow