"Pigeon Berry" or "Sky Flower" or "Golden Dew Drop" or "Duranta Erecta/ repens" or "Goldspot"

"Pigeon Berry/ Golden Dew Drop/ Sky Flower/ Duranta Erecta/ repens/ Goldspot"


Here is the thumbnail version of an image I have taken of the 'Pigeon Berry' shrub plant which is uploaded in Alamy website.



The ‘Pigeon Berry’ also called ‘Golden Dew Drop’ and ‘Sky Flower’ is more of a sub-tropical shrub and goes by it’s botanical name ‘Duranta Erecta/ repens’.


It grows best in moist and fertile soil bearing gold color berries and violet flowers.


While the flowers give out lovely fragrance, the berries are pickings for some birds and insects but poisonous to human beings.


However, it’s stunning looks and fragrance have crowned the ‘Pigeon Berry’ as beautiful and ornamental garden shrubs.


With a growth of over 6 feet and shaded by droopy branches these are also grown in containers.

In Kerala it is more popularly known as ‘Goldspot’ as it is a common beauty shrub in almost every household.

Psalm 23- The Lord is my Shepherd...

This is a really powerful Psalm. I think it's one of the first which we have all learnt at Sunday School. It not only explains about the good nature of our Lord but also the plans that He has for all of us. This Word is also an assurance of God's protection, restoration and deliverance upon our lives! Though it is a snall chapter with 6 verses, personally, I have always been comforted, strengthened and rejunevated whenever I read it and proclaim it upon my life in Jesus' name! Psalm 23 is a psalm of David, an annointed and chosen servant of God who was the King of Israel.

The Bible is the inspired Word of God!!


Psalm 23


1 " The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be
in want.

2 He makes me lie down in green
pastures,
He leads me beside quiet waters,

3 He restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for His name's sake.

4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow
of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my Head with oil;
my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
for ever. "



Bible- New International Version (NIV)

TOY TURBO 2008- First Stop Motion Video

First Stop Motion Video-

Turbo cars are really cool. Be it any model. They are just superb! I also like collecting toy cars, though I may not be able to explain everything about a car. But I really like them and they make a good addition to my toy collection. My friend Sanjoy is a real brain when it comes to cars. He also writes his reviews on all the latest cars in auto magazines in Kerala, India. I think recently he is into bikes as well. Anyway, I tried making my first stop motion video with the few resources that I had- my toy Turbo, Canon 400D SLR camera and of course Techno music which is really enjoyable. Don't know whether you will like it or not. Here goes...

SECOND COMING OF JESUS & GLOBAL WARMING- The Future!!

This is an explanation on a topic which I wrote in one of my previous blogs. Here is the previous entry which is followed by its explanation:

SECOND COMING & GLOBAL WARMING!

Jesus is coming again to take with Him first, those who died believing in Him followed by the believers who are living at the time. The 2nd coming of Jesus Christ, the reign of Anti-Christ and the Beast will take place just as it was prophesised thousands of years ago and recorded in the Bible. Famines, earthquakes, broken relationships, hatred, filth, unrighteousness, wars, climatic changes, and so on are all happening just as prophesized. The world is running around and formulating new world rules and regulations on reducing Global Warming. Go on do what you have to do for God says in the Bible ‘....let the world do what it has to do but My Word will come to pass...I will destroy the world with fire from Heaven....Those who belong to Me I will save!’. The world now knows how hot the Earth is becoming and that too at a faster pace. You may be recycling, reducing your road and air travels, using eco friendly bulbs and machines. But no matter what you do the truth is the Earth is getting hotter and hotter as it is getting ready to be heated up and be destroyed by fire very soon, because God has spoken He will destroy it with fire from Heaven and that is exactly what is gonna happen!

Global Warming and Second Coming of Jesus

I earlier wrote a few lines on how global warming will continue even stronger no matter how hard we try to stop or reduce it because it is God's word that the world will be destroyed with fire and that is exactly what is going to happen. One of my friends read the blog and he was laughing at me. He jokingly said that I declared that Global Warming will destroy the earth when Jesus returns the 2nd time. I told him that's not what I said and he's got it all mixed up. I tried to explain but as always, once someone has had their chance to mock at the Word that is shared to them, or as soon as they finish speaking their views about a believer, they don't stop to listen to its clarification. They just finish their part and say that the conversation has ended and not to speak anymore about it. Even if you try to add one word about the whole topic, they immediately say they understood (for the sake of stopping the talk) and not to add any more and waste time. And you end up getting the look from them which says "I have said all that I want on your face but now I don't want to hear any reply from your mouth. Shut up!!" Sheesh man, how much more can you can ask when you allow someone to shoot all his arrows at you expecting that in the end you will get your chance to clarify or share something, but they just walk away without even bothering to give you your chance to speak at least as a matter of courtesy.

Sin is the reason!

Anyway, that's not the point here. The fact is that no matter how much you try you cannot end the Global Warming phenomenon! It's good to try and of course we have to do what we should but how much harder you try the quicker GW (Global Warming) is spreading itself around the world. The reason is simple: It's God's word that as per His plan, the earth will be destroyed with fire.

What God made was good, but His most favourite creation Human Beings- you and me, have fallen away from Him- through Sin! He sent His Son Jesus for our redemption from sin and giving us salvation, by His sacrificial blood, but yet man has not opened their hearts to seek the Lord. Jesus was crucified and buried. But He rose again on the 3rd day and has now got full authority over Heaven and Hell. He has put Satan under His feet where Satan lies defeated. Very soon Jesus will return in the clouds to take away His faithful church and the remaining will be left on earth where they will see the reign of the Anti Christ, then the false prophet along with the Beast. And that is when the world will realise that they had been deceived all that while by the Anti Christ. But by then it would be too late for them to turn away for those who say no and refuse to join hands with the Beast, they will be tortured and persecuted. Some will finally join with the Beast, but those who refuse the beast and endure for Christ at the last moment (after seeing and witnessing, they will then remember that all what is happening was what the so-called preachers of Jesus Christ had been preaching about...) despite the pain and sufferings; they will be slayed on earth. But they too will be saved on the day of judgement because they were slain for their faith in Christ.

Armageddon

Then after few years of the Anti Christ and Beast's rule on earth, which by now is completely being ruled by Satan and his army of deceived souls and fallen heavenly bodies, Jesus will come again the third time, but now He is coming with His beloved Church and a war will take place where the Glory of the Lord will be manifested and Satan and his army will be defeated on earth. It is during this war- Armageddon, that almost the entire Earth will be destroyed as a result of the devastating war. This war will witness most of the nations, who have always opposed Christ and His followers, use their most deadly weapons of destruction which is the nuclear weapons which they have been keeping aside for a long time now.

Victory belongs to the Lord!

When the victory of Jesus and His Church has been announced, there will be rejoicing in Heaven and then God will command His Word and fire will come down from Heaven and devour the entire world. After the destruction of this world, God will command again and a new world will come from Heaven, which is called 'The New Jerusalem' as prophesised in the Bible and God's people will live in harmony amidst the glory of God.

This is why, I say that Global Warming, though a result of man's own doings, is clearly now a part of God's plan which is why He let it happen and now it is happening at a faster pace- you know what that means don't you?... Yes, the Lord's second coming is not far away, it is just around the corner. Watch and be prepared. Global Warming will not burn up the Earth. It is only heating up the Earth so that it will burst into flames at one go, when fire from Heaven is lighted onto it.

English to Malayalam Translator

This game was one of the games played during ‘Happy Hour’. I have already mentioned about ‘Happy Hour’ in my previous blog post. So let me explain to you about this game.



The Cultural Committee had requested me to host this game which I happily agreed to. Of course I did ask them to make sure someone was standing along with me just in case I needed help. So I had a co host with me on one side and a time keeper at the other side. Well, I was happy to host this game at the beginning, but as the game slowly progressed I regretted my decision to host it. Because the game was such a hit and huge fun to play, that had I not been the host, I too would have certainly participated in it whether I would win or lose.

The game was really so fun that apart from the participants, almost everyone in the audience had their say in it. In fact at the end of the game, they all even made me participate but as I was the host I was not eligible for the prize. Yet I played it because it was such an interesting and fun game. Literally everyone present in the cafeteria was laughing their lungs out! In the end we had two winners and they were given instant prizes.



Objective



The objective of the game is to translate or reply, to questions asked in English, back only in Malayalam. For those of you who are aliens, Malayalam is the language of Kerala, a southern state of India whose inhabitants are known as ‘Malayalees’ or ‘Keralites’ or more popularly as ‘Mallus’. Anyway, as per this game, I would ask the participants certain questions starting from their personal background to topics such as sports and pollution. The reply is to be given only in complete Malayalam sentences without even one English word. If they utter a word in English then they are out of the game and the next participant comes in.



The time limit given for each contestant is 2 minutes. Of course this is too little time to actually bring a real competitive game but as this event is taking place during working hours we have to stick to the time limits so that the game is over within the stipulated time and we can get back to our work. Coming back to the game, when a question is put forward, the reply must not have a delay of more than 2 seconds. Also, no replies will be accepted if it is given in one word answers. And that is where the challenge lies. You must reply to every question in full sentences only.



It’s a fact!



Generally, even though we belong to Kerala, most of us always speak in Malayalam with at least one word in English. And we are so used to it now that it has become widely accepted among almost every youth in Kerala. What happens is that the more we speak in this manner, the more we tend to actually forget how the word is really spoken in Malayalam. It’s true that nowadays, it is compulsory to speak in English in schools and at workplaces especially in MNC’s as we do most of the business in international standards and with foreigners. So such problems can be marginally highlighted when these kind of fun games are played. It’s not that we don’t like to speak these words in Malayalam, but our lifestyle has now compelled us to stop speaking 100 % fluently in Malayalam while relying on English for some words, a situation which, alarmingly, will slowly be renaming the Malayalam language to ‘Manglish’- a combination of both Malayalam and English.



8 Enthusiastic Participants



Anyway, this game had 8 participants who were very active and enthusiastic to win. The first winner was a highly explosive and ready-to-fire male whose farewell was just given to him as he was leaving from the company. Heh, the phrase I used does not describe him physically (skinny dude who's slightly improving a bit...), it's his communicative English and attitude I was referring to.... :) The second winner was a female who was as polite as she could be and as smart as we couldn’t even imagine. However, there was another contestant who was on the verge of winning and that with such a brilliant performance but in the end she committed one tiny error and that too just 2 seconds before the time limit. Otherwise she it would have really been a convincing win for her.



You deserve it Audience!!!



But most of all, it was the audience who also deserve equal appreciation because the whole time it was the joy and excitement on their faces that really filled the entire atmosphere. An encouraging force! They were so much into the game that the thrill of the entire event was evident on their faces. Many of them also gave their feedback saying that they would love to see such interactive games/sessions being conducted in future. “So Cultural Committee, we are keeping our fingers crossed..... :)”



The Time Keeper



And in the end some of my colleagues persuaded me to take the challenge as well. I agreed. My Co host started shooting questions at me to which I answered in Malayalam. Then all of a sudden questions started coming to me from the audience as well. Again I was replying in Malayalam itself. In the middle I understood that my 2 minutes were up and in fact the game was still continuing on. I asked the time keeper and she said that there was no time limit for me. This means that they would stop only when I lose. Man, how mad I was with her- Bad Time Keeper!! So the game went on and I just wasn’t giving up.



‘Sameyam ayennu’ kutty pareyunnu: ‘Time’s up’ says the girl!



Finally a popular colleague in our office stood up and said that it’s enough and times up as we all had to get back to work. So I translated that sentence too and the game was over and I won. Unfortunately I was not eligible for the prize as I was the host for the game. So the prizes were awarded to the winners and everyone went on their way with big smiles on their faces and many funny moments to cherish.


You can view the video which our special cameraman captured in my mob cam during the event. Enjoy!

Happy Hour- An Employee Recreation Program

We have a monthly employee recreation event called ‘Happy Hour’ which is conducted on Fridays by the Cultural Committee. Though our company provides other employee recreation activities, this particular event is a unique one. ‘Happy Hour’ is an activity where games are conducted and the winners are awarded instant prizes. The event starts at 4:30pm and is held at the cafeteria. Most of the employees come to the cafe by 4pm to have their usual tea/coffee/hot chocolate/milk along with biscuits/fruits. This is all free you know :). But during Happy Hours, apart from the biscuits/fruits, we also get some additional snacks like Pazham Puri (Banana fry) or Uzhanu Vada (a round donut) with chutney. Mmmmm....it’s really tasty and more filling. So you can now see why most of the employees are happy at that moment.

As soon as the snacks are consumed, a Cultural Committee member or a non member selected by the Cultural Committee welcomes everyone through the mic and grabs everyone’s attention. He or She greets the crowd and starts a conversation until everyone is settled down. During this time some may leave the cafe, while those interested to know what game is gonna be played that day, would remain stuck to their seats, giving their best smiles, waiting for any moment they get so they can laugh their heart out and cheer up themselves.

Once everyone is settled, the host is introduced accompanied by one or two Cultural Committee members/helpers. The host then announces the name of the game and its rules. The games played are sometimes popular games and at times innovative. The rules are simple but tricky so that it encourages maximum participation from the employees and at the same time it creates so many thrills and fun that not only the participants, but also the audience get to enjoy it and have a great time watching it.

Few examples of the games that have been played are Musical Chair, Passing the message, Throwing the ball into the box, English to Malayalam translator, and so on. I was a host for the game ‘English to Malayalam translator’. I shall explain about this game in my next blog post. Check it out.

Conclusion:

This is part of a series of posts I wrote in October 2008 concerning the arrival of the Global Recession...


Conclusion:

To conclude, this is an opportunity for the beginners and small time folks to make it big. Open your eyes and study the environment you are in. You have got everything to gain right now. It is all in your hands. Take the plunge. Remember the Lord and go forward in what you do. Nothing is too late for you to do anything about it if you are doing something about it right NOW!

Root Step 10- Final decision on Staff Requirement:

This is part of a series of posts I wrote in October 2008 concerning the arrival of the Global Recession...


Root Step 10- Final decision on Staff Requirement:


The crucial decision for any organisation is always regarding the cutting of jobs. But here, I have given this the last priority because if the above steps are followed as mentioned, then by the time you reach the 9th step your door to a smooth business operation in this crisis situation is wide open and you need not even think of making this kind of a decision. You still have your employee family with you. But one in ten, if you still happen to find yourself in a situation where you have to go forward with this decision, then please do it with utmost respect.

Like I said earlier, unless not in a one day emergency, first give a 6 months’ notice period to the staff in those positions which you feel has to be removed from the company. No biased decisions please. Conduct a performance appraisal based on the actual performance of the employees, announce the entire process and then make the decision. But as you do this, please give them your full support that they will be given offers again as soon as the company pulls up its socks. Also you can use your influence and refer them to various Human Resource Consultancies so that it will be an encouraging factor for the employees.

And while this happens you run the risk of creating insecurity in the minds of the rest of the employees. Once again, I urge you to explain the entire reason behind this move but also tell them the truth that it’s fine if the remaining is willing to stay back even though they just witnessed what happened, but there is very little possibility of a huge salary hike during this period. At the same time, if the company comes up, then a salary hike with the dues and perks should be assured to those remaining.

Let’s face it, the majority of the remaining staff are bound to leave despite the promises because the times are uncertain and to them a recovery may not be possible at all, especially after seeing their colleagues being shown the door, and even if there is a recovery it may take a long time which is a very long wait for them. No one can be blamed here. Neither the management nor the staff. But don’t fret, because even if they leave you can always hire freshers who are ready to work for entry level salaries. So in this way, staffing problem can also be solved. But this is a decision only to be taken in the worst of the worst times.

Root Step 9- Devise Tactical and Trust Building Discounts and Offers:

This is part of a series of posts I wrote in October 2008 concerning the arrival of the Global Recession...


Root Step 9- Devise Tactical and Trust Building Discounts and Offers:


A major step towards saving your neck in these battle zones, including taking a big risk of cutting down on the prices of your products. You can also go back to traditional methods and provide samples or freebies in order to promote your product. Special offers and discounts will definitely attract the public who are fed up of seeing price rise headlines everywhere they go. This is a big risk but the odds are towards you and the public will surely respond with a huge sigh of relief which will be something of a new fad in this economic hit crisis situation. This is why I still say it is a time of opportunity for the small guys to come up!

Root Step 8- Adopt ONLY necessary Cost Cutting measures:

This is part of a series of posts I wrote in October 2008 concerning the arrival of the Global Recession...


Root Step 8- Adopt ONLY necessary Cost Cutting measures:


Having decided on the business model and chosen appropriate distribution channels, the next step would be to list down the day to day necessary activities or purchases and their expenses, and then cross out the less necessary keeping the most necessary activities back on the paper. In other words, eliminate the entire extra and un necessary activities happening in the office which was costing you all this time.

If you have 3 telephones in the reception, remove the one which is being the least used so you don’t need to pay the extra monthly rentals. Replace the high voltage bulbs with latest energy saving bulbs. You not only reduce your bills but your contribution to Global Warming will be even lesser. Issue strict orders to the staff not to keep the lights or systems switched on when no one is in the room. Provide only limited stationery items and charge them a nominal amount if they go over the limit. This will bring a discipline and also act as a reminder to everyone that there are only limited funds for stationery as well and so they must use it rationally.

Company sponsored parties can be limited to once in 6 months rather than on a monthly basis. These steps may sound silly but if you can explain the seriousness to your staff as explained earlier, then they will wholeheartedly accept these new decisions and see to it that the company runs strong even during the stormy times.

Root Step 7- Formulate ‘Need of the hour’ Distribution Channels and Transport Routes:

This is part of a series of posts I wrote in October 2008 concerning the arrival of the Global Recession...


Root Step 7- Formulate ‘Need of the hour’ Distribution Channels and Transport Routes:


The statisticians and analysts should formulate the best distribution channels for your products to go out. The best channels are those where the demand is high or still maintaining the balanced mix. Don’t go anywhere near the demand diminishing areas unless you have a well prepared strategy for them. Once the distribution channels are fixed, the transportation routes must be coordinated in such a manner that the products reach their destinations with the least minimum cost. The Admin department can be reeled in for this purpose as they are the ones who always perform these kinds of tasks and so the transport routes are known to them just like the back of their mind.

Root Step 6- Select the Best Model:

This is part of a series of posts I wrote in October 2008 concerning the arrival of the Global Recession...


Root Step 6- Select the Best Model:


Come together with the Board, Managers and functional heads and discuss the pros and cons of each business model provided by the Strategic Management. At this point of time it won’t hurt to even invite key performers of your company and hear their opinions as well. If they feel that you are giving them equal importance as to the amount of hard work they put in, they may think twice before leaving you. That’s why they are the key and high performing employees of your company. Set practical examples for each of them and forecast on the sales and compare them one by one. Accordingly select the best model ensuring that majority of the forum has vouched for it.

Root Step 5- Prepare fresh Business Models based on your probing and findings:

This is part of a series of posts I wrote in October 2008 concerning the arrival of the Global Recession...


Root Step 5- Prepare fresh Business Models based on your probing and findings:


With the findings of the strategic management, you can now prepare some new and fresh business models. When I say new and fresh, what I mean is that your product can still be the same, but prepare models keeping in mind the present economic scenario. They should be tailor made to survive presently, so as to ensure that you will not worry anymore about your ‘once fully bloomed business not doing good anymore’ but you may accept it as though you are a fresher starting your first business all over again.

Root Step 4- Segregate the problematic areas to the Strategic Management:

This is part of a series of posts I wrote in October 2008 concerning the arrival of the Global Recession...


Root Step 4- Segregate the problematic areas to the Strategic Management:


Once the research is looked upon and the various issues and problems and probable solutions have been analysed, it can now be broken up based on the company’s portfolio and each division can be passed on to the respective Strategic Management heads who can take on from there. Each of them can be responsible for the division they work in. They can further probe into the problem concerning their department and come out with different ideas so as to solve the problems they are facing. Maybe there may not be a solution but at least strategies to minimise the issues can be found out. This is where they can use their experience and expertise to come out of the box with some really creative and innovative thinking to see that the ship sails smoothly during the raging storms and not abandoning it.

Root Step 3- Research & Analysis:

This is part of a series of posts I wrote in October 2008 concerning the arrival of the Global Recession...

Root Step 3- Research & Analysis:

Get your research team to conduct a detailed analysis of the entire country where you operate in. Research and find out which locations have the economic crisis hit hard, do the company have any operations in those areas, If so, or not, what may be the secondary reason as to why the products are not selling, find out also which areas the products are still doing good business, what category of people still use these products, what more do they expect at this point of time, how much cost is incurred in distributing the products to areas where demand has diminished, what is the transportation cost being incurred, and so on. This report can be submitted and discussed with all the key board members or working committee.

Root Step 2- Meet and own up to your Employee Family:

This is part of a series of posts I wrote in October 2008 concerning the arrival of the Global Recession...


Root Step 2- Meet and own up to your Employee Family:

Okay now you are thinking fresh and you have decided to make some changes in your firm. But before you make the next step please don’t forget the next most important asset in your company. That’s right; I’m talking about your employees. If you think that this crisis period has affected you, then please remember that it has simultaneously affected the people who are working for you as well. Why? Because it’s these people you made your company and you are here in your position today partly because of them too. You owe them the time to make a choice. If in an emergency, then of course a day’s time is all they have but if you have time to strategise for your company, then you have to give them this time too so they can also strategise about their future.

The point I’m trying to say is this: As per your new strategy, it may be imperative to stop certain positions and so the staff must be aware of this well in advance and not at the last minute. If you tell them well in advance, they may be agitated, but because they now have a couple of month’s time at their disposal, they will definitely look for a better opportunity and move out smoothly. If that happens, they will sit in their new office with a better salary and actually be grateful that you had given them the time to move on. And that shows your loyalty towards your employee family which they will never forget.

Word of mouth goes out about your loyalty, people start wondering if such caring bosses still exist in today’s mean world, they start hunting you down, they become your customers, and once your shares start shooting up, you will find your former experienced staff coming back to work for you with more dedication and commitment. What happens if you use them till the last minute and then chuck them out with little or no time left? You not only lose out on all the above mentioned jewels, but you will tend to lose much more than you can imagine. Ponder on this when you have time.

And so, arrange a meeting with the staff and explain the current market scenario and the dangerous position of the company and let them know that as per the new strategies, some of them may be asked to leave but only within 6 or 12 months and not earlier. Make them feel that they are part of the company and will be requested to adjust with the times. But let the truth out to them before it’s too late for them.

What you can do as a Small Business Firm- get back to your Root Steps

This is part of a series of posts I wrote in October 2008 concerning the arrival of the Global Recession...


Root Step 1- Change your mindset- See the market situation as an opportunity from a fresher’s eye:

Leave your office for a moment and drive away to your favourite place. It could be a restaurant, a park, your bedroom, whatever. But just go away from your office and sit down in a place where you don’t have anyone to disturb you so you can think peacefully, and see the entire world system revolving around you, from a whole new perspective. Close your eyes and forget that you are the CEO or Manager or Director. Start imagining yourself as a fresh college graduate who wants to make his/her mark in the business world.

You’re fresh, the world is old and the events are new. What are you going to do now? How to start a new business? Which product would you like to invest in? Where are you going to find lenders? Which area do you have in mind? Do you think it would be wise to start an ice cream parlour just because you love ice cream? Or would you open a financial consultancy firm so you can sell your financial wisdom to the investors who are worried sick during this crisis time? Or perhaps you may want to start an agricultural farm because you know how the prices for vegetables are soaring each day and maybe you can be the person who sells it at subsidised rates thereby ensuring daily customers.

It’s your call. Which industry is booming now? Which is slumping? What do consumers want? Which product is required most at which area? You think about it and take the decision. There’s no point looking back and worrying now. But look back if you want to take something useful like the courage you had the first time when you stepped out to do something new, to take the venture into something which you never did and to take the risk when you knew that you were still inexperienced- a fresher. Start thinking like a fresher and you will be surprised at the fresh ideas that come into your mind.

Think and Do Differently!

This is part of a series of posts I wrote in October 2008 concerning the arrival of the Global Recession...

Think and Do Differently!

However, these suggestions will only give you a half chance to survival as it completely meets only the physical and tangible needs. These are practical steps put into practice. So what is this other half? - It’s your mind! Surprised? Well, you have to be surprised because it will make you rethink and reassess the entire crisis situation. This is why a small business firm can still stand on their ground while the big guns fail. After all, you started off with nothing, didn’t you? So why not go back to your roots now? If you feel that you have to make some changes, then go ahead. But remember to follow some guidelines which will cause a shake but not loss of trust, from your creditors, manpower and stakeholders who make up your real assets.

ROOT STEPS:

Small Business Firms

This is part of a series of posts I wrote in October 2008 concerning the arrival of the Global Recession...

Small Business Firms


For small business firms, this is a great opportunity. See, the big firms are big because their investments are big, their stakeholders are big, their manpower is big, their commitments are big, their dues are big, their profit expectations are big and the risks they take are big. Their whole business model is a big cycle. That is why they are called big business firms. So a dip in their profits will definitely cause a big impact on them. This affects their dues, their commitments, their manpower, their stakeholders and the result is too costly for them to depend on their investment which is why they have so much to lose in this period of uncertainty. Hence they have some major changes to make in their strategies.

Small Firms- Big Hopes

Small business firms have got small investment. The risk is lower here. Yes, the problems you face are similar in nature to those of the big firms. But the cost of recovery and costs to be incurred in making changes are considerably very much lower as compared to your big brothers. You can start by minimising your profit forecast, cut down the price of your product and provide discounts, devise different effective ‘Need of the Hour’ marketing strategies; reduce your distribution channels, apply resource management techniques and simplify the transportation routes to yield minimum costs, strictly adhere at minimising administration costs, and there is in fact so much more you can do if you just sit, calculate your ledger books and analyse the whole thing from a new and different perspective.

Current Economic Downturn

This is part of a series of posts I wrote in October 2008 concerning the arrival of the Global Recession...


Current Economic Downturn

The current economic downturn is not a permanent one. It’s only one of the many falling leaves flying in the wind and on to our face. Just reach out your hand and brush it away because this period is what I would call a situation where Strategists, Analysts and Managers can come back to where they started from.

True, we are now terribly involved in a hit and run economic scenario. But picture this; we have also passed early moments in history where economic depression was its worst at that point of time. And leaders worldwide feared that hope was far away. But this is year 2008 and the world market is 1000 times stronger than what it was when we were really in lack of resources to counter attack those early hits. So now, this is also just one of those times where we have to face the sudden drops and wipe it away with what we have got.

Data and Sales Analysis

This is part of a series of posts I wrote in October 2008 concerning the arrival of the Global Recession...


Data and Sales Analysis


The Crisis Scenario

What times are we businessmen living in right now? Are we happy with the stock market reports? Are our financial institutions lending a helping hand? What are the returns we are now getting? Just what are we going to do about all this?

Data and Sales Analysis

I’m working as a Data Analyst in a media company, one of the world’s largest online stock photography companies. Though I am responsible for the reporting and sales forecasting with data analysis, I have also conducted a personal analysis on the current economic crisis that has hit our planet and has been a bit of a bother for a pretty long time now. I also heard about a man in USA who shot his whole family before taking his own life, all because he lost his entire savings in the stock market crash and was declared bankrupt.

What is happening here? Is there nothing left for the common man? Is this the kind of fear that is in us right now? Well, take a look around you. If you are a person like me, then let me tell you that this is the beginning of something wonderful for a new entrepreneur and especially for small business firms.

Birthday Excitement for July 4th!

I wrote this post last year on Thursday, July 3 2008...

Birthday Excitement

Today is 3 July. Tomorrow I would be 28 years old. Of course it will only happen if I live to see it happen. So I consider it God’s grace that I am alive to step into my new year. I think, by the normal worldly standards, I am supposed to be excited and anxious about tomorrow. But am I really excited? What if I am not? And if so, then what is it that is keeping me away from this so-called excitement? - Birthday Excitement…

Recurring Activity

Maybe I have already been through this process all my life and I now consider it a too normal kind of activity. Yes it happens only once a year but the truth is that I am so used to it which is why I now keep thinking as to what exactly is it about my birthday that I should be excited about? Yes, I am happy that I’m alive to see it again (thank God!), the greetings and gifts I receive are very touching and there is a special joy I feel deep down inside of which I can sense every year. But I want to find out about that excitement which I am supposed to feel. Is this excitement only for the fact that it is my ‘Birthday’ or for the fact that there is some kind of purpose in my life the reason being that I am still alive for one more year?

Complex excitement

Complicated, isn’t it?....Well, this is just what I am trying to point out- at least for myself….how complicated is it going to be for me if I want to figure out the fact behind why does this Birthday Excitement exist? Am I so important that I am supposed to be excited only because its my birthday just like everyone else in this world or should I be excited for both-the fact that its my birthday and also because I now know that there is also a purpose behind my existence in this world which is more important than the ‘Birthday’ part?

Me, My Life and My Purpose in My Life!

Whatever, I now realize that I may be important to a certain level. I have purpose in my life. The truth that I believe now is that it is not me or my Birthday alone which is so important but even the purpose behind which my life revolves around me. So these three make a team- Me, My Life and My Purpose in My Life!

Though I understand myself and my life, I still may not have fully understood my Purpose in my life. Maybe I am to get a good education, find a good job, engage in some business, make some money, find a wife and settle down somewhere. Or perhaps I am to earn some money and share some of it with those who are not able to afford a one time meal, or build shelter for the homeless, or share new clothes with those who are naked, or love and respect every human being, care whole heartedly for my parents & family who had taken care of me till I was on my feet and now require my help in turn, or I should be a good & helpful neighbor to my grouchy but lost neighbor, or I can put the trash in the appropriate recycling bins and waste lesser water thereby being an example for others to stop contributing to Global Warming.

Everything?

Or maybe my purpose is to give importance to all of these rather than only giving importance to ‘My Birthday’. Hmmm……maybe I should ask my Creator as to why would I be given a chance to celebrate my birthday and what is that special joy I feel deep down inside of me on that auspicious day. Could it be that that special joy will come out of me once I start walking in my Purpose?...God?.....

I have decided not just to ask God and wait for an answer. But I will ask while simultaneously trying to walk in my Purpose for my life. Now I'm getting excited....This is going to be something different in my life....Birthday Excitement!!!

You tube video song for ‘Kalmedhikkum deshamelam en Karthereku sonthamakum’

This is a video which I found in You Tube. It shows a live Tamil praise & worship song during a visit of Father Berchman, in our church at Cochin. I had attended the service and it really was a blessing for me. The song we are singing is a Tamil song- ‘Kalmedhikkum deshamelam en Karthereku sonthamakum’. It means ‘Wherever I set my foot, it is claimed for my Lord’. I pray that you are blessed and revived by this song. God bless you :)

Cornerstone Church- Joshua Generation Ministries

The church I attend is pastored by Pastor Rajesh Mathew. Holy Spirit is the Senior Pastor.
It is situated at Cochin, Kerala, India. Br. Jose Anathanam of 'Covenant People Ministry' also shares the Word sometimes.

Here are few links from YouTube:















Jesus Who?

We believe that God loves everyone so much that He gave His only Son Jesus to die on the cross so that by His sacrificial blood we are saved and brought back righteous before God. He gave us Jesus to die on the cross so that if we believe in Jesus we shall not die but have everlasting life in union with Jesus Christ (John 3:16; Bible). Jesus died and rose again n the third day. He is alive now. He gave us Holy Spirit Who is the Helper and Comforter. God’s power is manifested in us by the power of Holy Spirit through Jesus. Jesus is the Truth, Way and Life. No one can come to our Heavenly Father except through Him. (John 14:6; Bible). When you believe in Jesus, confess your sins to God and ask forgiveness, you are cleansed and washed by the precious blood of Jesus which is why you are no longer in line for judgement.

SECOND COMING & GLOBAL WARMING!

Jesus is coming again to take with Him first, those who died believing in Him followed by the believers who are living at the time. The 2nd coming of Jesus Christ, The reign of Anti-Christ and the Beast will take place just as it was prophesized thousands of years ago and recorded in the Bible. Famines, earthquakes, broken relationships, hatred, filth, unrighteousness, wars, climatic changes, and so on are all happening just as prophesized. The world is running around and formulating new world rules and regulations on reducing Global Warming. Go on do what you have to do for God says ‘....let the world do what it has to do but My Word will come to pass...I will destroy the world with fire from Heaven....Those who belong to Me I will save!’. The world now knows how hot the Earth is becoming and that too at a faster pace. You may be recycling, reducing your road and air travels, using eco friendly bulbs and machines. But no matter what you do the truth is the Earth is getting hotter and hotter as it is getting ready to be heated up and be destroyed by fire very soon, because God has spoken He will destroy it with fire from Heaven and that is exactly what is gonna happen!

THIRD COMING & HOPE

Jesus will come again the third time as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. At the Battle of Armageddon, Satan and his allies will be defeated and thrown into the Lake of fire where they will be tormented with pain from all the snake and scorpion bites and with eternal fire. The hope is Jesus for after the destruction of Earth due to the sin of mankind, and the eternal damnation of the ungodly, the New Jerusalem or the New Earth will come down from Heaven and all who are in Jesus will live together in harmony and peace surrounded by the Glory of God!

Purpose

As believers, we are appointed, anointed and commissioned to walk in purity and in love and with courage to boldly proclaim about our Living Saviour Jesus because He wants to touch each and everyone in this world no matter who they are or what their situation is.

In my church we worship in spirit and truth just as Jesus taught.

"God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth." (John 4:24; Bible)

Do you want to hear about the FOOD FEEDBACK?

Hi,

Thank you for the offer. As requested, here is my feedback:


1. French Fries: Well, the stuff was very dark brown in color (meaning it was fried more than normal). Also the oil from it was so fresh n full that had we drained it out, we would have so much oil with us that we could have started our own fast food joint. So I think it should be called Indian Fries and not French Fries and hence I really don’t think that our guests from the UK would have enjoyed it.

2. Potato Chips: There were two types of chips- one was normal and without masala while the other one had the ‘Chilly Factor’ (Masala flavor)! The common factor among both was not the ‘Crisp Factor’ but the ‘Chill factor’ (cold and soft)! Probably it was crispy after its preparation, but by the time it got here, climate must have taken over thus transforming them to wet and soggy chips. Anyway, though I feel that the normal type tasted better in my mouth, I still don’t feel that it would taste good in their mouths.

3. Garlic Bread: I have heard of the Gingerbread Man taking over the city in comics and cartoons, but today I realized that the Garlic bread Man is the number one competition to the Gingerbread Man, because he just took over my appetite in one bite! And I don’t think that our guests from UK prefer anyone taking over their appetite. So this is also a definite ‘NO’!

4. VEGETABLE SANDWICHES: Again two types of sandwiches existed here. The Normal and the Grilled. The normal one made me feel really normal, and I don’t wanna make my guests feel normal you know- not good hospitality! But at the end of the day, the grilled sandwich was a lifesaver! It tasted okay and had good amount of cheese as well.


SUGGESTIONS:


1. Burgers are a very good option.
2. Sausages to keep them going strong.
3. Olive pickle to tickle their taste buds.
4. And fresh fruit salad (fresh implying no brown color fruit pieces!)to keep a smile on their face!



Looking forward to more food testing in future!


Thanks and regards,
Sunny

UK guests with Indian food at home!!!

Hello everyone! Today we’re gonna have some fun with food testing! How many of you have served as a human available for food testing in some kind of laboratories? No? You haven’t? Well maybe you may have tested food for your friends or family members?

ARRIVAL OF GUESTS

Anyway let me explain our scenario over here: Few of our Managers are arriving from the UK office to visit us. Certain responsible persons are interested in making their stay a very comfortable and memorable one. Every arrangement has been made for their travel and accommodation. They expect the UK guests to eat and feel at home here in India. Nothing wrong about that you say? Well, what happens when you make all the arrangements but forget about the food part?...Ohhhh, now you got something to say!

SPICY OPTIONS…

India is well known for its spice rich gravy and Kerala for its thick Brown Rice, Porotta, Kappa and spicy Fish curry. As for the English, India is a country famous for its chikunguniya, malaria, viral fever and bird flu. So if you are in the Management and you sincerely want the English to feel at home, then the first thing you should do is ask them in advance what is the menu they would like to have so that arrangements can be made much prior to their arrival on the purchase and preparation of such menus. And after they have arrived you can provide them our exotic Indian dishes as a secondary option. That is called making them feel at home! They get their dishes first just like in their home in UK!

DUMPING

So what is the result you get when this basic strategy is overlooked and you end up with just few hours remaining before you greet your UK guests and you gotta get the food ready to make them feel at home? This is where these people come up with last minute options such as time wasting food testing steps. They ordered different types of junk food from the nearest fast food outlets and requested few employees to taste it and opine whether the English guests would like them or not. I mean for a usual junk food eating Indian, these foods were amazing! But when we put on the English shoes, trust me this is not the type of food you want to eat as you suddenly give importance to all the rules in the cooking book and ensure that your English guests are satisfied- less or no oil, good fry, less salt, etc:-. Sometimes I wonder why the same people who give us Indians food by breaking all these rules in the cook book work their heart out to provide the same food for foreigners by complying with all the rules. I have heard of Dumping- exporting best quality while retaining the rejected quality for the local market. I wonder what’s happening here man! So here is the small feedback I gave after testing the food. At least my honesty saved our British guests from a terrible stomach upset! An International Favor!

4. Pretty Folder Organization:

“Keep your table clean! Tidy your drawer! Make up your bed! Place the dishes in the right place!!!”

Do these ring a bell? Yup mine do! I had always been yelled at for not doing them. Home is where you learn the first of everything. Its true. As you grow up, you slowly start doing these (I’m talking about obedient or less obedient and not disobedient people :) ) chores because you were programmed for this purpose since your childhood. But as you mature, you realise that it is not just a responsibility but also a necessity of your life to ensure that these chores are met. Well, this post is not about chores and activities but about the way we do them. I remember my earlier days where I used to do things just for the sake of it as I was forced to do them and not because I enjoyed doing it. And that really left the entire place messed up and even if anything was done I was not at all happy inside because I knew I did something I was not interested in at all. Maybe I was watching my Ninja Turtles cartoon on TV and I was suddenly asked to go to the shop or clean up my room. I mean who wants to do all that when you’re watching your fave progs on TV? Anyway, the point is that I finally learnt something- whatever I am supposed to do, whether successful or not, I might as well do it with my whole heart! It may or may not be complete but it will look neat and tidy and the results will show the amount of effort that has been put in. I reckon if you try more sincerely from that point on, you are definitely going to make a big difference. You can achieve beauty and results in what you do.

FOLDER FOLDING ME

The work I did in my previous company required me to keep many folders wherein the content was stored. However this task of creating new folders was not to my liking. And so my desktop and documents were full of content rather than ensuring that the folders were full of it. Yes, I may have done it that way as I needed them immediately during the course of my work instead of wasting time and opening the appropriate folders. Or so I thought. What happened was that I not only saved the low priority but also the very high priority docs onto my desktop. It risked both dangers of crashing as well as jobless networking spies who had the access to destroy or play with it. Towards my exit though, I realised there’s something in folder organisation. I think everyone gets the brightest of ideas or think in the most creative way only after the resignation letter is put. Suddenly I get some extra courage to speak up, isn’t it?

FOLD ER UP

Well, today in my Media company, I happily ensure that all content are kept in the right folders. Well, at least the high priority content. While working I save the content to my desktop as I have to send them urgently and I don’t want to waste time un necessarily. But I now make sure that I transfer the high value stuff to their actual places keeping only the apprentices on my desktop. I am happy to create and maintain folders as it keeps me organized and systematic. They look neat as well. Results with beauty! :) So I have adopted this process even in my outlook mail which houses thousands of mails from every department. At any point of time I get to quickly pull out a particular mail sent by the HR or CEO on a said date, rather than hurriedly going through the entire list of mails ultimately panicking, wasting time and not finding the mail at all. I got this result because I have created folders based on various hierarchies and type of tasks. I learnt this from maintaining the usual folders in 'My Documents'. Isn’t this something unique? At work I am now organised administratively because I have organised set of folders containing the relevant contents. Now why wouldn’t this process be applicable in my house? I can tidy my room and drawers in the same manner. My files can be appropriately taken care of with all the certificates and documents and receipts I have received all these years. My personal letters and greeting cards I received before the Internet era is also compacted. I may listen to numerous CDs everyday but on weekends I can take the pain to organise them once again. This is looking neat now :). In office, my computer neatly folders the music I play while working, the photos I collect and all other drafts. What trouble would I be going through in order to keep myself organized? Just a few seconds to keep clicking on the mouse? This is neat and pretty organisation. Creativity at my fingertips!!! :)

3. Magic by Excel:

Honestly, in school I have never loved Maths even a bit. I never saw him as my best friend either. It wasn’t me when I was sitting in class listening to Algebra and other dumb calculations. Well, at least I tried to listen to that dirty stuff which I never really didn’t want to see or hear or even know of. Yet those formulas got the best of my brain the effect of which I can still feel even today- boy! What a mess I had been during those Math classes. You are not gonna understand it man! Thank God for those Geometrical chapters and Compass box (again drawing....heh :)) along with tuition classes- I ended up getting pass marks in the final exams. (His)Grace Marks!! Really!

COSMIC ZONE

Anyway, here I was in my company looking into an excel sheet trying to create a table to record the count of some of my clients when I realised how much my hatred for Maths was still boiling inside me, and all because I had to prepare a table with some mathematical calculations- addition and subtraction! Not only was my fear of Maths present in me but also the fear that arose because of my cosmic belief that “I don’t know anything in computers as I did not do a course”. This really made me forcibly push myself into the back seat from where I was really in no position to recover as I just didn’t want to ‘disbelieve’ my cosmic belief! But because my situation- ‘boss waiting for me to complete her orders!’ demanded that the table be prepared, I had to open the back seat window and yell for HELP! Yes, I got the help I required thanks to my experienced computer literate colleagues and Senior Executives! Thank God for them!!

KING OF EXCEL.... FALLEN!

Well, having passed on from that stage of excel, I moved on to my next company where the scope for excel usage at work was my survival kit for successfully standing tall before my Manager and Senior Executives- especially when I’m in a comfortable office chair-soft and rotates too! in my company’s main Customer Care branch where customers of all walks of life storm in and give you those ugly ‘Do it or Die!’ stares. (Suddenly my chair isn’t comfortable...or maybe I have just become too hard to be placed on something soft....I wonder why...). Along with smiling and caring and assuring my newly made best buddies- clients, I also have to maintain my ‘daily’ walk-in excel sheet (yes that’s right I m so lucky to make new best buddies EVERY DAY!!....aaaargh!!!). Okay I’m smiling now. I tell you, they may be rough n tough but it’s my job to take care of them. It’s my responsibility now. Caring for them has hence been my duty inside that office. My attitude showed. They were pleased, for situations where no resolutions existed in my company, the communication from my mouth was pleasant to their ears and thus the echoes and stones from their mouth reduced. Tremendous changes!!!

In midst of this entire live and professional problem solving, I had to solve my personal problem solving as well- the excel sheet in front of me had to be filled in simultaneously while looking at my clients. By (His Grace!) now entering text details was my forte. Entering count of each walk-ins and the number of complaints was also beginning to be okay now. I don’t need my seniors to show me how to sum up the count and align the tables. I’m perfect in data entry now! Yaaay! Wow! And I haven’t even done a computer course!! Amen! Those numbers in the excel sheet are suddenly becoming very friendly to me. Dunno why. But 6 months later it’s time for my Appraisal and I have to now prepare a table showing the average and percentage analysis of all the type of complaints I have resolved and not resolved. The number of clients who walked in and the sales count for each telecom product had to be analysed as well. O my God! What’s this? What’s happening here? I thought I was King over here. Hey- just what exactly is going on!!!! Okay today I have humbled myself. I am no longer perfect in data entry and neither am I King- can someone help me out here please???....Thank God again for my seniors. Wow- I thought I would never see them again. I love them all! Today I learnt how to ‘select all’ and ‘sort’ and ‘copy and paste’ the required information which my Madam wanted. Amazing, I suddenly have more respect for my Madam :) Do you think Excel sheet produces Magic? I’m about to find out.

EXCELLENT EXCEL EXCELLING!!!

With very little, or equal to 0.001 %, knowledge in excel I have now joined my present company. Despite telling the truth about my excel knowledge, I was recruited in order to fill the shoes of someone who would be challenged each day of the month not only to enter, but also to monitor, analyse, forecast, present graphically and highlight the trends and provide suggestions to my team in UK. With a personal desire and interest to gain some computer knowledge, I challenged myself to utilise every opportunity that I came across to improve on my existing small database and at the same time take the pain to learn more so that I can fight and come out of my back seat. Each tool I learnt in excel brought me closer to my destination. By God’s grace I have sent my cosmic belief to space. I mentioned my confidence in picking up excel knowledge if I am trained for only a few days to the Manager (the BEST MANAGER to whom I’m currently reporting to). Yes, I am now the Data Admin Executive for almost 2 years. My team which comprises of Sales Managers and Account Executives depend and rely on me in order to get the accurate analysis required about their worldwide clients. Accordingly they can Strategize and make quick decisions. My Sales Manager- a gem of a person!, patiently waits for me to complete the CEO report so that based on my comparison reports and trend analysis, she can discuss with the CEO, and strategize, change forecasts and make decisions on monthly and yearly targets. These targets are then broken up and distributed on territorial basis and communicated to the rest of the departments who keep smashing the monthly targets!

GAME OF NUMBERS

What is this data? It’s the same numbers and formulas that I was afraid of and hated during my school days. But today, the need to extensively talk to this data with the help of excel tools has become my means to earn my bread and butter. Of course I always keep thanking my God for being my Ultimate Source by providing me with this opportunity where I not only am in the process of losing my fear for Maths, but I’m also learning new mathematical tools, and increasing my typing speed and computer knowledge. The numbers you have known since childhood is definitely an asset and the more you play with it in excel, the more assets you are gonna own. In Excel, you can enter the numbers for any group. The buttons for addition, subtraction, division and other formulas are all automatically available on the click of a button. If you want to present the numbers to show a increase or decrease in any field, you can easily show it with the help of graphs which are also available at the click of a button. All types of mathematical calculations are easily worked in Excel. Even if you forget something you can go to the ‘Help’ option and view it there. As a Data Analyst, this definitely will help me in preparing very complicated data and complex analysis in a very simplified manner which would be easy to grasp and quick to understand for the task owners. Excel Magic! Again Creativity is at my fingertips :)

Microsoft Excel is a great learning experience. Here is the link to the Excel Demos that Microsoft offers:

Sumod Sunny's Fave Live Microsoft Demos

Training for Microsoft Excel 2007

Training for Microsoft Excel 2003

Enjoy!

2. The Letter World in Word:

Are you fond of writing? Do you prefer traditional writing to typing? Are you one of those who just loves to use the pen to scribble so that in the end you still end up getting that special feeling that ‘you just used the little strength in your small fingers to hold a pen and wrote something on a paper’? (Hmmm.....even as I’m writing now, I wonder how many are not privileged to feel this little joy of scribbling....thank you Lord....and help them as well...).

OPPORTUNITY YELLS

Well, writing on slates, four line note books and finally in blank College note books are always fun and keeps your handwriting level to at least a minimum satisfactory level. But what happens when you get a chance to exploit your writing skills on your computer? Not only do you get options to choose the font size, colour, and styles which exist in the whole world, but you also get to enjoy a whole range of other options as well. You can write the entire letter without any major modifications in the beginning and then after you finish you can make use of the spell checker and automatically get your errors rectified. You can auto align the entire letter into paragraphs and add headers also. Different text colours and highlighters can also be used for any important sentence. Images can also be added your typed letter. This is best used for preparing resumes so that you can paste your passport size photograph. Links to websites can also be included so that the site can quickly be opened by just clicking on the particular link. In addition to all this you can also erase any text you require at any time which is very nice as you could not do all this while you were in your examination halls during those days when you used papers to write and ended up making the white paper look like it came out of the sewers with all those cut marks, corrections and un readable handwriting. Ugh!

WORD CHECK

But yes, this does come with few sacrifices as well- you don’t get to experience that little joy of writing which I mentioned above and you also have to pay a higher electricity bill as you would be spending more time in front of the computer in order to draft your perfect letter. Moreover please do take care to carefully read through your draft- the letter you just typed, many times before you print it out. Otherwise you may spot some errors and thus reprint which results in wastage of paper and further contribution to destruction of natural resources- cutting down of trees to print your paper!. And please spend less time in front your system as wasted time causes wastage of energy as well. So, effectively using this application definitely helps me create a perfect and neat letter which I have never even dreamt of. Creativity at my fingertips :)

1. Joy in Paint:

Do you love to draw?

Or do you don’t get anymore time to draw and paint your favourite cartoon characters and other sketches?

I just love to draw. I draw what I love to draw. My memories of myself sitting crouched in front of white sheets with crayons and colour pencils in my hands, always appears fresh before me. Back in school, my friends would always comment- Sumod just loves to draw! Anyway, ever since I got employed, I really haven’t been getting enough time to do what I wanted to, or in “Corporate” terms: I have not been managing my time effectively!” So here comes a great opportunity for me to once again indulge in one of my all-time favourite activity-Drawing!

And it all happens in that ‘Paint’ application where I can draw what I want and even use all the colours I have at my disposal. Wow, I’m smiling now :) . This is really great stuff. I’m back to where I started. I’m happy :) Painting is a joy! This use of computer drawing application has really kick-started something new in my life. Though I now have to use the mouse instead of my good ol’ pencil, I can now quickly add, erase and insert a lot of fun things in my Paint sheet. Now I know how to add texts, circles, and images to make my drawing look more beautiful and fun. Creativity is now at my fingertips :)

CREATIVITY AT MY FINGERTIPS!!

It’s true!

Anything you create in your computer is creativity at your fingertips! I definitely don't have any specific qualification in either computers or creativity but considering the path of progress I have travelled through in my work profiles during the past few years, there really was something I have discovered- Creativity at my fingertips!

What did I discover?

1. Joy in Paint

2. The Letter World in Word

3. Magic by Excel

4. Pretty Folder Organization

This is my first post in Blog- on Tuesday, June 10 2008

Though I started my blog in October 2007, my first post in a blog was on Tuesday, June 10 2008.

My friend Manikuttan is a SEO. Now I know Ajay who is also a SEO. But Mani is a blogger and Ajay is a wishful blogger. Between them I am still trying to find out what to do as a Blogger though I am very much interested in writing and expressing my views on certain issues.

Why Blog?

Actually what is the exact purpose of a blog? It may be useful but who exactly benefits from a blog? Why do some SEO's ignore this particular chance to blog?

Sumod-Sunny