My favoutite Apple cinnamon tea :D

So I am really excited right now as I'm drinking my favourite flavour - apple + cinnamon :D :D which I have managed to prepare in (just) 2 attempts :)

So basically I was introduced to this amazing thing in Mumbai outside Prithvi theatre.. and after that I couldn't find it anywhere. You can get apple ice-tea or cinnamon tea but not this neat version! I decided to try out. It was a very simple recipe :

Ingredients: (for 1 med size cup serving)
1 slice apple
half cinnamon stick
2 cloves
1 cup water
sugar/sweetener (optional)
half teaspoon tea leaves
NO milk

Process:
Boil half cup water in two places. In one put pieces of apple, cinnamon stick and 2 cloves. After water starts boiling, sim the gas, cover and leave for 2 minutes. In the other pan, boil water and put tea leaves once water starts boiling. After half a minute or so, mix the two (obviously through a sieve) and sweeten if you want. Tea is ready :) Serve hot and enjoy the awesomeness !!
Loving it..

PS: In my first attempt, I had put 1 spoon tea-leaves so it became somewhat bitter :(

We are (not) dancing

To give a little bit of context, I had started Jazz dance in my final year at IIT with Danceworx. That was my first encounter with any Western form of dance (solo) and I was really loving it. Although I wasn't exceptionally good, but I used to stay for extra hours and was a sincere student so I was even considered for promotion to the 2nd level after 4 months. But I had to leave Delhi so I had to leave Danceworx then.

Then I went to Mumbai and joined Danceworx there as well.. but it wasn't great there. First of all there was a space crunch (like everywhere else in Mumbai) and secondly the instructor was self-obsessed and so she was never able to comment/advise on how well we were doing. And I did not see any growth in my dancing even after 3 months. So I quit there and was not able to find any other school after that.

After coming to Bangalore, I thought I will just go to any Jazz class and will at least keep in touch. So after being in Bangalore for 2 months, I just browsed Justdial and based on proximity + reviews, I decided to join Swingers. It was very close, only about 1-1.5km from my home. And it turned out to be awesome! I came to know that I'm just lucky to stay close by, people come from as far as 15km as well. And it is absolutely amazing, although it is not a big brand like Danceworx but the instructors there are really top class. It has been 4 months now and everyday I used to look forward to the next class.

But the reason I am sad and the reason I am writing this post is because I have missed the 6th class in a row today :( The classes are only on Saturday and Sunday, which means I have not gone there for around 20 days now. I don't know how I could have avoided. So the first weekend I missed was because of Thailand trip organized by Google. Now obviously I wouldn't miss a trip like this for 2 dance classes. Then next weekend, three of my oldest friends were coming over to Bangalore from three different places. Now, I could have gone for the classes, like we were in town all the time and were at home as well. But I just thought it would be too selfish on my part. They had only come for 2 days and I also had to go to a family function in between for 3 hours. So I thought they would not understand if I now sayI can't even miss a dance class.

Then this weekend I was at my cousin's place. My chachi's daughter lives here and my chachi had come this weekend to meet her. Yesterday we went shopping, we had left at 10 in the morning and I thought I would finish in time to attend my class. But we were not done and then again I did not want to say that I am leaving in between. So yesterday's class got missed and what to say about today, I just got lazy! :(
I know it is not such a big deal but the worse part is that I will attend the next 2 classes (hopefully) and then miss all classes till 3rd November as I'm going home. I'm really disappointed, I used to love going there and I'm missing the place like anything. Let me post some part of this song.. I just love the way the dancers are moving on releve in the video..

When the going starts to get rough
And you feel like you've had enough
Let the music take control of your soul
Take a chance and do what you feel
Your a force they cannot live without it
You gotta break the chain yeah yeah

There's a passion inside
An inner strength that drives
Can't nobody take that away from you
It's the greatest high
You set the floor on fire when you come alive

And we're dancin'
And it feels alright
I can't control my desire
And we're dancin'
And it feels alright
Yeah
And we're dancin'
And it feels alright
Can't hold me down
Gotta reach for the sky
And we're dancin'
And it feels alright
Yeah

Zomato

Zomato

I have always been impressed by Zomato, the idea and the implementation, both. 1 large reason there is me being a foodie :D (yes, vegetarians can be foodies!!) But yes I was never so much into any of the other similar ones like Burrp! because of the reasons I will mention now.

1. Coolness factor

When we want to go out and have good food, we are in a fun mood and not in a research mode. So we want the information to be presented in a cool, colorful and fun way and not like a boring directory listing. I think that is what takes me to typing 'zomato.com' in my browser everytime I want to know anything about eating out. The name, logo, the pictures, the colour combinations and the overall look and feel appeals to me and my friends. I really like the interface which is displayed after putting in the keywords. The font is quite apt and the icons are cute :)

2. Menus and more but not too much

So, as I said I want good information about eating joints but I am not interested in heavy research. I want somebody else to do the research and then present the to-the-point information to me, and thats exactly what Zomato gives me. Everything that is there on the page about a restaurant and it is not too much information. I totally love the menus! Then the phone numbers, cost, timings, home delivery option, reviews and ratings, location etc are all 'in your face'. I don't have to make random clicks to get to these stuff. I saw there was a feature 'Is this open now' which again is quite relevant and innovative.

3. Feedback received graciously

So, as I will mention later, sometimes there is a lag in content update. So I once reported such an error. First of all no login was required! That I think is quite a good and simple idea. I really don't understand why you need somebody to register to give feedback on other sites. Anyways coming back, I was really impressed because I got a mail saying you have reported this error and we will look into it. Then there was a follow-up mail saying the update has been done. I don't know how scalable this is but it was really impressive and I think this increases trust with the website. Also, it motivates users to give feedback and suggestions.

So far so good. As I am quite a regular customer of Zomato [:)], here are a few areas of development I would like to point out.

1. Outdated content is a turn off

So, my friend and I were planning to order food one day and I introduced her to this cool and awesome website called 'Zomato'. She was also quite impressed by the points (1) and (2) above and we went ahead and placed our order at one of the listed restaurants. Now our decision was to some extent based on the prices on the website menu. When the food was delivered, we came to know that it was 1.5 times more expensive than what was quoted on the website. Their menu had changed. This was annoying because this happened with me for the 3rd time and my friend, who was all ga-ga over Zomato some time back was quite angry now :( I don't know what is your update cycle but I feel it will be better to have the content more dynamic if possible. One possible solution is to give restaurants a handle to the website so that they can upload their most recent menu/other info when there is a change or contact Zomato and ask them to update the content.

2. The first page search boxes

Because I have been a Foodiebay customer, I am ok with the new UI but very frankly if I was a brand new customer, I would not get so much impressed with the search boxes. I don't understand what is the difference between 'search' and 'explore' and why exactly you need 3 search fields when you can actually specify at max 2 parameters. I maybe being too picky here but frankly it is confusing to me. The dotted line in between, I don't know what is its purpose :P My suggestion would be to have one drop down for location, and one more box in which you can specify anything. It will be better to parse the user input and figure out whether it is a cuisine or restaurant or both. Then the 3rd box says 'by name or cuisine or location', then what was the purpose of the first 2 boxes ???? I would say first impression is last impression that is why this should be a serious consideration.

3. Discount coupons/ More marketing

This will be a very big attraction. I got 20% discount on a Chinese restaurant because of Zomato and it really helped me in remaining loyal to the website for quite some time after that. I used to look out for any similar offers on the home page. I don't know how easy/difficult it is to convince restaurant for these but this I think is one feature I would look forward to. I also think you should go for more aggressive marketing.

So that's my feedback. I saw the Events (Beta) thing and again, I am super happy :) All the best Zomato! Waiting for the mugs/iPad now ;)

Lazy day

Since the time I have come to Bengaluroo, I was waiting for a lazy day. Today after almost 2 months, I have found 1. It was amazing today. I got up at 9ish (to open the door for the maid) and then slept. Then remembered that if I don't tell her to wash the clothes, I will not be able to go to office next week. So told her to wash the clothes. Then back to sleep. Got up around 1 (to open the door for the cook). Told her what to cook, ate and then slept :) Then got up around 4 (phone was ringing), talked to my friend and slept again. But could not really sleep. I thought what to do and thought about all the things I wanted to do if I get a day off but the thought itself was so tiring that I kept lying down. Called my bf, he was sleeping.. wow ;)

Then I finally put some effort and turned on the tv - and started watching the movie Vivah. I was totally frustrated. It is slow, boring and I mean totally totally useless. Then I cooked rawa uttampam for myself (yeah that was a real work I did today) and then ate that. Since then I'm feeling sleepy.

Now I am just thinking about this awesome day and feeling happy :) This day is totally dedicated to myself and my unmarried status :) I would love to see you again, lazy day!

Technical Interview Questions I

I have close to only 1.5 years experience as a Software Engineer (2 companies) and I have appeared for quite a few technical interviews! These 2 firms have been really rigorous and multiple attempts have made my question-bank grow well. Here are some of the questions I was asked -

1. You have 100 balls, out of which 1 is defective (heavier or lighter, you don't know). You have 1 scale (2 pans) and you can use it only once. So in just 1 weigh, identify a good (non-defective) ball.

2. You are given a N*M matrix. Starting from the top left cell, you have to reach the bottom-right cell, 1 cell at a time. You can only move right or bottom. In how many ways can you do this ?

3. There is a staircase with n steps. A boy can climb 1 step at a time, or 2 steps at a time, or 3 steps at a time...... or k steps at a time. In how many ways can he climb the staircase ?
Example (5 stairs, k = 3): {1,1,1,1,1}, {3,1,1}, {2,3},{1,3,1}... and so on.

4. Given an array, generate a random permutation and prove that it is random.

5. How many rectangles are there on a chess board ?

6. Given a set {1,2,3,4,....n}, write code to generate all subsets.

7. A needle (length l) drops on a page which has parallel lines drawn on that. Line spacing is s. The needle makes angle theta with the lines. What is the probability that the needle does not touch the lines ?

8. There are 2 linked lists that intersect at a point. How will you find the point of intersection ? (You can visit each node twice)

9. There is a beaker full of H2SO4 (100% conc). Now water is being poured in the beaker at the rate of r/sec. At the same time, the contents of the beaker are leaking at the rate of r/sec. In how much time, will the concentration of H2SO4 in the beaker become half ?

10. (a) Implement a queue using 2 stacks. (b) Design a data structure in which push(), pop() and max() functions are all O(1).

1 month of Aaawesomeness !!

So, today I complete a really aawesome (Barney style) month at the most aawesome (again Barney style) Google :)

The most awesome thing about Google is FOOD :D I am so tempted to describe the menu here ;)

Right from breakfast... there is a choice of idly, wada, dosa, stuffed parantha on request. Multigrain breads with butter and cheese, porridge, oat-meal and 2-3 varities of milk. Then cut fruits and juice is there to freshen up.

Lunch is like a wedding buffet everyday. There are 3-4 menus. North Indian menu includes dal, 2 sabjis, sambhar, 2-3 varities of pulao. Phulka, Missi roti, Kulcha are the breads... Italian menu includes pasta and pizza. Huh.. I am tired writing all this now :) Ya, and not to forget live salad bar and 2-3 starters and desserts!!

Similar is the case with snacks and dinner :)

The other awesome thing is games - Foosball, TT, Pool, Carrom and chess. We recently got 2 new really cool Foosball tables. Then there is this elaborate gym and spa !! It's so wonderful..

Sometimes I feel how are people actually working there with so many distractions... anyways I had a great 1 month and looking forward to many more this like..

Bye bye Mumbai..

So finally after a few sleepless nights and loads of anxiety, I am going to join Google Bangalore :) What a relief !!! Really can't express this feeling in words.. Now that it is a 'bye-bye' to Mumbai it is a mixed emotion.. It's not that I didn't like the city.. it has a unique culture of love, acceptance and a lot of positive energy. I always felt at home here although I had no relatives here. Most Mumbaikers are strugglers in some way but they are always happy and helping others in their struggle.. The closeness to the sea is the best thing.. however stressed out you maybe but if you spend some time near the sea, you are relaxed as if the waves have taken all your problems away... a very soothing feeling.. a friend once said "the sea waves make such a noise but still everything is so calm here" I really love that thought..
But you know I was kindof tired of the city...especially the struggle part of it.. the crude nature of Mumbai takes a lot of effort from a North Indian to get settled.. The area where I was living is Malad West which ;ies in the Western suburbs. Unlike the plush Bandra, Worli etc this place was quite 'small town' type and I was having a hard time coping up with the kachra, smell, traffic and pollution.
So that is why mixed feelings.. today is my last day here and I'm looking forward to my new destination: Bangalore :) 

Last day @ MS

It is my last day at MS today. I don't understand what I should be doing today, first job, first resignation. I am also thinkign whether this was the best thing to do.. what happens if I don't get a good job ever in my life..I have only applied to startups and 1 big company.. haven't got the results yet.. really anxious as to what will happen!

I met so many people today.. I'm feelign as if I'm leaving my comfort zone.. was it really neccessary.. aisa to nahi hai ki I was just bored.. and if I was is it that I got bored too soon or something ? I really don't know.. all these questions are crossing my mind

Makai Wankam

Something I just remembered while sitting in office, thought I would post it

I had a Hungarian teammate, Gabor. When I had just joined the team, I had to ask something from him. This was going to be our first interaction. So just before calling him, I jammed him saying that I'll be calling you just now. He replied "Makai Wankam" and I was like totally confused. I said "sorry I am from India, donno any Hungarian" and he told me this is not Hungarian, this is Tamil and he was shocked being in India I don't know Indian language. Then I told him India has too many languages and I know only 1 - Hindi.

Destiny ?

Earlier I never used to believe in destiny. All the things related to it like palmistry, astrology etc were just any other fun-activity for me. I never understood the statements people used to make like 'everything is written' and 'we are just puppets in His hand' or 'we are just characters of a well-written play'. But now I have started believing in destiny, and in fact quite strongly. There have been times when looking at the events, I felt that this was bound to happen, this way or the other. There was no escape. Things seem to fit like a jigsaw puzzle.
I have started believing that everything is written but not exactly liek that. I don't think that our lives are written like a story or a play. I believe that our life is drawn like a flowchart. Each decision of ours is a conditional box which asks a question and has multiple outputs. Depending on the decision we make, we step over to the next event in our life. So in a way we shape our own destiny.. but then there is a question in my mind whether our decisions are also written ?

Decisions

Decisions = life, isn't it ? Our life is what decisions we take. And I am one hasty and confused decision taker. I am so impatient and so uncomfortable in that uncertainity period that I prefer just taking the plunge one way or the other. I also feel that we have just too many options and I am not able to handle them. I have kindof understood why. Basically I always want to make the 'correct' 'choice'. I think and I think, I ruminiate and what not finally to arrive at nothing. I talk to so many people, I take a mental note of all opinions but finally it is ME who has to decide and I don't know why but it gets so f****ing difficult !! I really need to structure my thinking, stop listening to multitude of people, infact stop asking so many people and really have to understand what I want. Then only the decision will suit me. I am so much involved in the pros and cons and ensuring that it will come out to be the best thing for me or not that I totally forget what I am and what I want.
Now if decisions = life, then what will happen to my life if this is my attitude ? Is it just the quarter-life crisis going on for me ?

Facebook or FamilyBook ?

My mom has been asking me for so long whats this facebook all about .. and I have always been saying that this is only a kids thingy and you will not enjoy and so.. plus obviously it would turn out to be such a big interference in my life. But today I saw all my town aunties are on fb!! What the f*** is happening ??? I am really pissed off by this.. all the coolness of fb will go away :( Now these aunties keep uploading their family function pics and their kids and other aunties are commenting...Not sure whether I want my mom to be a part of this circle. On one hand I dont want my mom to feel left out that all her friend-circle is on fb except her and on the other hand I am really against grown ups to be on fb!

I dont know but people have started feeling young by using fb. The aunties have uploaded supposedly cool pics with their husbands  and so many couple pics and what not ... I understand it is something exciting for her and so on  Now very soon they will add me as a friend and I will be obliged to add them :X and then they will gossip about my pics.. my status.. my posts.. my friends... and the whole small town aunty gossip :X

GIVE ME SOME SUNSHINE GIVE ME SOME RAIN GIVE ME SOME SPACE