Screwed

Ok, this post was supposed to be my weekend post but thanks to a busy weekend this just got pushed into this week. A wedding and a long over-due coffee conversation took up most of my weekend. And yes, I was working full Saturday (No more holidays in the AD World).

Saturday was interesting because I attended my first "Screwdriver" at work. This is basically a monthly forum where the entire team gathers to discuss work, projects, trends, news and other things which we don't connect over during the normal course of work. It also let's everyone know what kind of work the agency is doing. Besides this we also do some learning on advertising fundas and big boss pushes some "gyaan" into our heads. Now, the last part of this session is interesting. Let me explain why :-)

It's called the Time Bomb section. Big Boss gives a product, brand and a proposition which needs to be communicated by any kind of medium (Print, TV, Radio etc.) The team then has to come up with a concept idea for that within 7 minutes. Holy Shit! But guess what? My concept ended up being in the Top 3 for that afternoon. Yes, BRAG BRAG! Of course I didn't win the coveted time bomb trophy (look at pic). But it's great to be appreciated at your first training session.

I learnt that the Screwdrivers are most often followed by a treat of snacks and tea (courtesy generous big boss) . I also spent a good time of my Saturday trying to pick music from the Office library for the party happening later in the week at my place. Hey, why don't you give me some tips on having great parties at home with friends?

Monsoon Photo Blog

Internet is back online at office and I was able to get the photos online. Just a teaser here... more at flickr.

Finally they arrive

Yes, they are here and I captured them. The much-awaited rains finally showed some generosity and showered with a bang. Although it's been a wet day yet that didn't help bring down the soaring temperatures (it's been about 40* Celsius during the days on an average). Of course the rains also brought in the typical problems. Some MTNL landlines failed for a few hours and the Internet connections went for a toss too. So we ended up with very little work at office and spent much time in ideation or strategy sessions. And we did manage to get ourselves drenched in the season's first shower - It was fun pulling each one out in the open to experience the shower. I'll put in the photos from office on Monday.

Later in the evening we went to the sea-shore to capture some more shoots. I got my first photo tutorial session. My boss is a avid photographer and he sure did give me some fine points. I am on a bad internet connection so I am going to put more photos at Flickr very soon. Till later, have a great weekend because I am going to have one!

Oh god, I give up! Uploading and Organizing photos on a dial-up connection is like walking in the dessert you just seem to be waiting for it to end ALL the time. No more for the night.

Getting personal

Ok, work was slow and I decided to see what's new in blogsphere. I had been looking around a lot of new sites through blogexplosion and that's when I hit upon It's All Greek To Me. This is my choice of a nice blog. Lots of personal experiences and comments. I experienced so many blogs today which just pulled links, articles or put in screen-shots from other websites. They are so boring, I mean I review stuff myself or recommend tools and websites - but give it your personal touch at least. Or else what use is a blog. Unless of course you are BoingBoing.

Another boring little thing are these User Tags. I tag you, you tag another 5 friends. And then suddenly you see the whole of blogsphere is "tagged" discussing 5 worst friends, 5 books they have read, 5 things they cooked and everything on the earth which can come in "fives". But on the other hand blogs also expose you to thoughts of some very intellectual people who right damn good stuff. This editor not only does a wonderful job with her magazine but also manages an excellent blog. She writes everyday incidents but they are so thoughtful and they have so much meaning, that you can't leave without putting in a comment. I am hooked.

I believe blogs sometimes also help you tap into hidden human potentials. There are blogs which feature poetry collections, paintings and even chapters from a novel yet to hit the stands. Blogs just made personal publishing on the internet so much easier. I remember the days when I spent all nights working the HTML tags to put up my first personal website at Geocities. The wonders of technology.

And before I end, something which got me thinking - A colleague at work asked me what are these blogs you keep reading all the time. He asked "Can I sign-up on a website and read blogs? Is there one website which will give me access to all the blogs? Is it a community? Is there any business in it?" I could have answered them all. But let's look at it. Blogs are not centric to a website. Blogs are not all about business. You can't be at a single point and say here is a database of all the blogs. Actually you can't say that about websites also. So I just left him with a URL to help him start his blog reading sessions.

Time for photo blog

This is going to be a photo blog. Lots to show off, you see. First, some fun we did in office. Check the photos (more at flickr) and let me know what do you see. (look closely).


Then this is from a new swanky place on the Chowpatty beach in Mumbai. A place called Salt Water Grill. It's a beautifully done up dining and lounge bar. We loved the setting and the hammocks were attractive, but nobody managed to get into them. I also managed to capture a cat sneaking out from down under.

Minimum is pleasing

Call me silly, but I really do this and it helps me. I can't work on a PC with a wallpaper which "sucks" or is an "eye-sore" I hate it! I have always used film themed wallpapers, but after a certain time I got bored of them and then moved to landscapes and natures.

Recently, thanks to the post on Wes's Blog I got a link to one of the most beautiful wallpaper website I have come across - deviantART. What really makes me like this site so much is the category termed "Minimalistic" - I loved this concept. Clean, light colors and pleasant to see. My recent pick:

Do you something similar to share. Let me know and I can put it up here.

I am blogrolled

Things are not hectic but time has just been flying. I moved into the new job and I can see how things are pressurized with deadlines and last-minute client demands. It's crazy! And I can see how things will only get "groovy" in the time to come. I just hope I can enjoy it all while I manage the pressures. I started working on a few client websites and I am happy to be back at what I have truly enjoyed - Taking businesses online and helping them explore the power of the web.

And on the blogscene I have been trying to explore Technorati, when I realized that people are linking to my blog :D ! A big thank-you to all those who listed my blog in their blogrolls. If you linked to my blog and not listed here, please let me know.

• September's Girl
• Wes's Life
• Mauri