Day 419 - 7th March 2012

After yesterday's submission I expected to be a little free and had planned to catch up on all the books have to be read. However the first half of today was consumed by MCSA work. Had a meeting with the executive registrar and the associate director for some work related to the dissertation committee. The meeting for one almost two hours. Post lunch had to send out some mails for the senior committee selection process.

The finals of the MCL were played today and it was a PGP-2 v/s PGP-1 game, just like last year's final. It pretty much followed the same trend like last year's game where the PGP-1 team faced a batting collapse and put up an almost at par score. The PGP-2 team chased it but not without a few hiccups. There was even a prize distribution with all finalists winning medals and trophies for the man of the match, man of the tournament and winning captain. All of these were given by the MCSA :P

Went to the gym in the evening. Dinner in the mess was a pleasant surprise with soup, pizza and chocolate ice cream :). Post dinner had a meeting with all senior committees to figure out the dates for their selection process.  Got done with that by midnight after which there was a KT session for the new MCSA. Went for a midnight snack to Chota with Sania, Ishan, Baby Menon and Pallavi - tadka maggie in the chilly weather was heavenly! Got back to the room by 4. Tomorrow is holi, had escaped it last year but this time that wasn't an option :P

Day 417 - 5th March 2012

Have to find ways to kill time in March. Everyday so far has been following pretty much the same routine - wake up at noon, read articles off the net through the afternoon, go to the gym in the evening, play tennis/badminton if possible. Decided to go out for dinner -went to Kbobs. Had heard a lot about it and it lived up to expectations, with some awesome kebabs. That's one more item off the bucket list.

Had a meeting with all committees in the night for the senior committee selection process. Had a batch meet with pgp-1 after that to clarify doubts regarding work in the senior committees and also take their feedback on the way senior committees functioned during the year gone by. Got done with it by 2 in the night. Came back to the room, spent the customary hour on facebook before calling it a day.

Day 416 - 4th March 2012

Woke up earlier than usual today but still wasn't good enough for breakfast in the mess :P Spent the first half of the day taking of care long overdue washing of socks and shoes. Had a 3 hour siesta, woke up by 530 in the evening. Went to the gym after that. Tried my hand at badminton again today, now I am not sure if I will be able to play tennis :P Post dinner Buds, Kalkar, Ishan, Sania and I went to SH-5 to see a documentary on anarchy during the Spanish revolution. It was pretty interesting, George Orwell's 1984 was inspired by that part  of Spanish history. The movie got done by 2. Back in the hostel now. Tomorrow onwards need to start ticking off items from the Ahmedabad bucket list.

Day 413 - 1st March 2012

Woke up at noon. Had to go to the city for some work in the afternoon. Used it as an excuse to have lunch at Chawla's - a punjabi food place at Vastrapur. Pretty decent food. Since its my last month out here, have made an Ahmedabad bucket list - a list of places to go to in the city before March 31st. So Chawla's is now off the list ;-) Got back to campus by 4. Had a little MCSA work to care of in the evening. Went to the gym for sometime before dinner. Post dinner started work on the international marketing assignment. There was a case study of KFC 's strategy in China that had to be analyzed. Got done with that by midnight. Placecomm elections will begin in sometime. It seems only like yesterday that we had our placecomm elections :-) Will attend the elections before calling it a day.

Day 412 - 29th February 2012

No classes today. Didn't realise how time flew throughout the day. Went to the gym in the evening (come March, the gym will be overflowing with people from pgp-2). Got down to writing testimonials for the yearbook in the night. Have to admit that I have been very lazy - have written very less for very people. I prefer  telling people in person how much I am going to miss them :P Surfed the net before calling it a day.

Day 410 - 27th February 2012

Had a rest day today. Spent most of the day sleeping. Had to take care of some MCSA work in the afternoon. The film studies assignment was due tonight. Gave finishing touches to my assignment before submitting it in the evening. Dinner was at Natrani cafe with Sania. Got back to campus by 10 and had to start working on the International Marketing Assignment that has to be presented in class tomorrow. Our group is working on how India can be marketed as a medical tourism destination. Got done with it by 1 in the night. Went to Gulmohar after that for Atin's birthday treat. Was there for half an hour before coming back to Kachnar and calling it a day.

Day 391 - 29th January 2012

Another rest day today. Woke up at noon and had brunch at Chota. Continued watching the original Agneepath, in fact everybody who has seen the Hrithik movie has come back and seen the Amitabh Bacchan version. Played tennis in the evening for a couple of hours. Got back to the room and finished watching Agneepath. Was also tracking the Djokovic Nadal Australian Open Final online. For the kind of match it was, there must have been way too many visitors at the website for it to function smoothly. So I had to watch the final moments of the game at the community center. Sunday dinners have always been good at the mess and today was no different. Got back to the room and spent sometime watching videos of old tennis matches on the net (yes, the Djoko Rafa match effect). Read a bit of Ambani and Sons before calling it a day.

Day 389 - 27th January 2012

Didn't have any classes today. Woke up at 930 and decided to shift base to the library with the hope of starting work on the dissertation. Got a call from my guide to meet her regarding the questionnaires that I had sent to her. Had to make some modifications to them. Have resent them and am awaiting for her approval. Continued reading The Elusive Fan, I find it very similar to our marketing textbook, the theory sounds very obvious or pfaffy but the examples and case studies are very useful in understanding how marketing actually functions. Some MCSA work kept me busy post lunch. Played tennis in the evening for almost 2 hours. Had to leave the game half way for about half an hour because of a meeting with the chairman of the dissertation committee. The date of submission has now been pushed to 23rd February, giving us some breathing space. Continued my day long stint in the library pre and post dinner. Have plans to call it a day soon, want to watch movie before sleeping though, dont know if that will materialise.

Day 388 - 26th January 2012

Didn't have any classes today on account of Republic Day. As is the norm, Republic Day celebrations were held on campus by inviting schoolchildren from the nearby villages. Had a meeting with the Executive Registrar which went on for almost an hour. Had a nice 2 hour long siesta. Have started reading Kotler's book on sports marketing called The Elusive Fan (under the pretence of doing literature review for my dissertation). Spent most of the evening reading the book. Dinner was at KFC with Kalkar. This is the first KFC that has opened up in Ahmedabad and it was my first visit to the place. It did take some effort to reach the place though since the bike ran out of petrol along the way. It was worth all the effort though. Got back to campus by 11. Continued reading and along the way saw some videos on youtube. Will read for a bit before calling it a day. Have no classes till the 30th, hopefully can get some work started on the dissertation!

Day 384 - 22nd January 2012

So the plans of going to the Little Rann of Kutch did materialise. 9 of us split up in a car and 3 bikes. It was a 90 km ride one way and the road was brilliant to ride on. Kore was riding pillion with me which meant there was a spare rider in case I got bored :P But the roads were so awesome that I couldn't imagine letting anyone else ride my bike! The trip was organized courtesy Rohini's dad. It started off with a lip smacking, finger licking good lunch at a resort near the sanctuary we were supposed to tour. Cars and bikes were allowed inside the sanctuary and the journey was like an off road terrain. Compared to the highway that we had taken to reach there the ride inside the sanctuary felt like a driving test! Nonetheless it was good fun and we got to spot some wild asses (dont snigger), neelguys and did some birdspotting as well. All in all a good day spent. Came back to campus by 730, had dinner saw a little bit of Groundhog Day and called it a day by 11.

Day 368 - 6th January 2012

Another rest day today. But woke up in the morning to play tennis for about an hour. Post breakfast went back to sleep and woke up in time for lunch. There is a lot of work lined up for this month with an assignment submission every 3 days till the 18th and the dissertation submission on the 1st of Feb. Having said that there is this state of inertia that has set in, with yesterday and today being free days, I have been on a movie marathon! Saw kick-ass in the afternoon, its a movie which takes a dig at super heroes. This was followed by Our Idiot Brother, a family comedy. So I guess starting with the assignments will have to wait until tomorrow! :P

Day 357 - 12th December 2011

Didn't have any classes today, nonetheless woke up at 730 in the morning and played tennis for about an hour. Had breakfast in the mess (which is quite abnormal for a holiday) and then headed to the library to work on the B2B individual assignment. Now that placement week is over, there is a barrage of assignments lined up, with submission dates even going into the term break. The B2B assignment required us to analyse 2 cases and make appropriate recommendations for the business problems that were being faced. Managed to squeeze in a half an hour siesta following which there was a company presentation. Also met up with my dissertation guide to decide how to take things forward for the research that needs to be conducted. We will be having a more detailed meeting tomorrow.  Went back to the library post the presentation to continue work on the assignment. Got done with it by around 7 in the evening. During the alumni meet we had got these coupons from Subway which entitled us to one free sub on buying a normal sub. The coupon expires in a couple of days so Sania and I decided to head to Subway for dinner. Got back to campus by 10 in the night and have been doing random tp since then. Had to start work on the B2B group assignment which is due tomorrow evening, have just about started work on it, will continue the rest of it tomorrow since its another day of no classes. For now, will call it a day!

Day 340 - 24th November 2011

Had a rest day today on account of the grand alumni meet and Natrani over the  weekend. The day started off with the pgp-2 womens' cricket match. Quite a festive atmosphere at the cricket ground with quite a lot of spectators who came to witness the action. The ladies were as competitive if not more than the boys, with some brutal sledging happening on and off the field :P All in good humour though. The match was a closely fought one though with the result being decided only in the last over. Post the match MCSA work kept me busy for a good 4 hours! Had to go to the city in the evening to pick up sandals. Got back by 9, dinner was at Chota courtesy the mess food. Some of the alumni have already started coming in. More are expected over the next couple of days. Should be fun!

Day 304 - 4th September 2011

Had another rest day today, woke up early (read as 9 a.m.), had breakfast in the mess after ages! Went to Bopal for a haircut, luckily reached the barber's just before the Sunday morning rush kicked in. Got back to campus by noon. Post lunch had the PGP-1 v/s PGP-2 game. Didn't play today's game. PGP-1 won it quite comfortably, this time around chasing the target with 8 wickets to spare. Had most of the evening free, utilised that time to catch up with Geeko, Fruit Loops and Apu, something which has pending for quite some time!
A quintessential rest day, will call it a day soon, have a full day of classes lined up tomorrow.

Day 292 - 18th August 2011

Got back to campus at around 2 in the night. Had a rest day today but unlike other rest days couldn't sleep in since there was some FIF1 work to be done. Had to go to Nirma and IIM-A as well which kept me busy until afternoon. Met Sania for lunch in the city, went to Curries. This place is known for its North Indian food and it did live up to my expectations :P

The only way to do justice for such a lunch was by according it a 2 hour siesta, which I ensured happened :P Tonight was opening night for Sankalp, where the directors put up a play for everyone. The play was an adaptation of a Ruskin Bond story which went on for about half an hour. Post that had nothing much to do. Its been extremely hot and humid here today, dont know how Im going to be able to sleep, nonetheless will give it a shot :P

Day 290 - 15th August 2011

Independence day celebrations had to take place indoors today due to the rains. As has been the case for the past 18 years, school children from neighbouring villages are brought onto campus for the flag hoisting ceremony and served breakfast. Had a little MCSA work after that which kept Jhamb and me busy for half an hour. Post that we had a few performances from PGP-1 in the auditorium, good renditions of Vande Mataram. We also had an alumnus who is now an anchor with Star News visiting campus. The entire MICAn fraternity owes him big time since he is the guy who started Chota canteen :D Lunch in the mess was gujju cuisine served with Thums Up! Managed to squeeze in 2 siestas on either side of lunch before getting back to finishing off Pundits from Pakistan, overall a good read for a cricket fan or anybody who is intrigued by Pakistan.

Continuing with the cricket theme that has lasted this weekend, saw Fire in Babylon a documentary on the world beating West Indies side of the 70s and 80s. The movie just got done about half an hour back. Will call it a day in a bit, regular classes start from tomorrow again.

Day 289 - 14th August 2011

Today was the second day of the 3 day break, woke up at around 12 and had brunch at Chota. Spent most of the afternoon taking care of all the pending laundry. During the monsoons one needs to factor in two extra days for clothes to dry which needless to say is a huge pain! The entire exercise took about a couple of hours. The sun came out for a bit in the evening and we decided to make the most of it by playing cricket in the Kachnar courtyard. Playing with a wet tennis ball on a slippery surface is always a lot of fun.

Once the rain gods came back I went to the library to continue reading Pundits from Pakistan. This was the first time this term that I went to the library. Was there for about an hour before heading out to ISCON mall for a bit. It was one of those I-need-to-get-a-taste-of-civilisation-outside-MICA moods that took over in the evening. Spent a little time at crossword as well, earmarking future purchases :P Got back to campus by 9 and ended up chatting with Sir and Kore. We decided to watch Hot Shots 2, which fulfilled our desire to watch a nonsensical comedy. Stayed up until 3 before calling it a day. Although tomorrow is a holiday, need to get up early for the Independence day celebrations on campus.

Day 288 - 13th July 2011

Due to my internship travel, had to swap the 1 credit course on Basics of Account Planning to Luxury Branding, which meant I had a rest day today. Woke up at 12 and was just lazing round. Post lunch played cricket in front of silveroak for a good two and a half hours. Felt good to be playing after so long. PGP-1 has a long weekend on account of raksha bandhan and I day, so campus is relatively empty. Playing after such a long time took its toll on me, ended up sleeping for a couple of hours in the evening as well!

Spent the rest of the day reading Pundits from Pakistan - its a book written by a journalist who traveled with the Indian contingent in 2003-04 during their first full length tour tour of Pakistan in more than 20 years. Reliving those memories provided some succour for the wounds inflicted by the English team during the ongoing test series. Post dinner saw a couple of movies - Austin Powers and The Butterfly Effect, have a rest tomorrow as well, need to find more ways to kill time :D

Day 268 - 18th July 2011

Had kept the alarm for 830 but ended up waking up at 1030 (which is still better than 245). Started working on the markstrat assignment when at around noon we got news that the deadline had been extended by a day! Still finished off the part on the internship before lunch. Had to meet the marketing area head today to discuss our concerns regarding the total credits available to us and the selection of courses for this year. They will be forwarded to the associate director who should get back to us by tomorrow. Went to Bopal in the evening for a haircut. During the day, the heat became oppressive to say the least! However it poured in the evening which brought down temperatures considerably. Have been working on the markstrat assignment since dinner, had to go to Kore to get some more doubts cleared. Have been watching ads/music videos on youtube for every set of 100 words completed :P Finally got done with the report at 3. Have to give it some finishing touches, which can be done tomorrow as well. The deadline for the submission is 6 in the evening.Will call it a day now and hope that I can actually get a rest day one of these days! :P

Day 267 - 17th July 2011

Woke up at 230 in the afternoon today! Have to do something about waking up slightly early on rest days. A lot of people from campus went to see Harry Potter today. After being here for more than a year we have gotten to know that there is an IMAX in Ahmedabad! All the HP fans headed out there to see the latest movie, yours truly doesnt fall in that category so I stayed back on campus and played a little cricket in front of silveroak. It was good fun, brought back memories of the MCL. The MTV shoot also happened on campus today. In the evening there were special performances lined up in the audi - a musical, stand up comedy and a play. Divyanshu, PGP17's very own stand up comic, stole the show with by far his performance till date! He deserved the standing ovation that he got at the end of it. Also realised that apart from our batch, the junior batch is also a very talented bunch. Since the MTV shoot got done at 9, which happens to be rush hour in terms of mess traffic decided to have dinner at Chota for the second night in a row. Post dinner, had a meeting with all the committees to discuss the process for the junior committee selections for this year. That went till about 2. That was followed by a markstrat team meeting, we have our first submission of pgp-2 tomorrow. Need to submit a 1800 word report out of which 1000 words should relate our internship experience to the markstrat world and the remaining 800 words should analyse the decisions we made in any one areas over the 8 markstrat years. Kore explained most of what was done and we divided the work amongst ourselves. Tried starting work on the report but then that familiar battle against sleep began. Sleep -1 me - 0 .