The Way I See It # 76

The irony of commitment is that it’s deeply liberating – in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life.

- Anne Morriss
Starbucks customer from New York City.

What a weekend...

Last weekend and the days leading up to it were quite a whirl wind. Feels like I have done a lot and yet it feels like I did not do much. So what am I talking about...

Due to my usual attitude of committing to more things than I can handle, I signed up with a couple of friend to participate in the then Venture Capital competition, somehow I also got roped into participating into the Technology Case competition. As if that was not enough it turned out to be the weekend for which the Wharton Technology conference was planned for and I had signed up for a bunch of work for the conference. All in all the stars had aligned to make sure that the few things that I wanted to give my best to during this quarter were all going to happen back to back and... this is the best part... it would be the weekend before the finals.

Living one day at a time is perhaps not the most strategic way to live but in circumstances such a these it can work well. So the first thing I did was to deal with the tech case, our team cranked away at the case till we could bear it no more. The thought was, we will give it our best and we did. Cruising on less than 2 hours of sleep somehow made it though these days, managed to not cause any disaster at the conference and spent the next 48 hours brainstorming, arguing, debating and discussing the business plans for the VC competition (BTW, 5 words do not do justice to the process, the VCIC competition merits its own posting maybe I will write one up over the spring break).

Guess what we ended up with 2 for 2!

My team won both the competitions and we get to represent Wharton at the regional competition. The thought is both intimidating and exciting at the same time...

A song...

In last few months many times I have found myself humming tunes. This is something new to me. Now that I think about it I cannot recall when I acquired this new habit but somewhere along the past few months, I have started humming. Needless to say people who know me (including myself) are surprised.

On that note, here is a song I recently heard and which stuck in my mind. Curious name for a band..

DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE LYRICS

Soul Meets Body


I want to live where soul meets body
And let the sun wrap its arms around me
And bathe my skin in water cool and cleansing
And feel, feel what its like to be new

Cause in my head there's a greyhound station
Where I send my thoughts to far off destinations
So they may have a chance of finding a place
where they're far more suited than here

I cannot guess what we'll discover
Between the dirt with our palms cut like shovels
But I know our filthy hand can wash one another's
And not one speck will remain

I do believe it's true
That there are roads left in both of our shoes
If the silence takes you
Then I hope it takes me too
So brown eyes I hold you near
Cause you're the only song I want to hear
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere

Where soul meets body
Where soul meets body
Where soul meets body

I do believe it's true
That there are holes left in both of our shoes
If the silence takes you
Then I hope it takes me too
So brown eyes I hold you near
Cause you're the only song I want to hear
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere

Quotes from the notes

I am taking a cost accounting course this quarter. Here is a quote from the notes for that class. While I don’t understand why the quote and the comments that follow it are included in a course of cost accounting, I definitely do appreciate the message conveyed.

“Always do right. This will surprise some people and astonish the rest.”

- Mark Twain

Calling in sick when you’re feeling well. Taking a two-hour lunch. Fudging on your expense account. Filching office supplies. The temptation is always there – to beat the system, settle a score with the company, address a wrong, especially if you’ve worked overtime and feel they “owe you one”.: But if you step over that invisible boundary you’ve said to yourself, once again, that there are no limits, anything goes, whatever it takes to win.

In all likelihood, the company won’t notice minor transgressions. But if you compromise your standards in some small matter, it becomes sassier to do so on larger ones. Without ever making a conscious ethical decision, you can find yourself in a conflict of interest that could jeopardize your career. IT might be the revelation of confidential information in a job interview or moonlighting for a competitor or accepting gifts from suppliers. Whatever the case, no one steps over the line without smudging it first.