ISB interview

And the day was fast approaching. I had booked tickets from Bangalore to Hyderabad for my interview on Thursday 1/29. Sunday, we got a call from Channel V saying the Cisco Band Omnifuse has been selected for auditions on Tuesday in Mumbai. An MBA is going to play a significant role in my life and ISB is more than just my dream fit. But with the drummer already dropping out, an absence of bass guitar will amplify the rhythm void. I decided to go for the auditions with the band. I booked flight tickets from Bangalore to Mumbai for Monday and then from Mumbai to Hyderabad for Wednesday. I knew it is going to be a stretch for me, especially considering the fact that I was planning to do a lot of "technical" ISB research in these two days, but I also knew the stretch was worth.

We got into the last 20 at Channel V Launchpad but did not have sufficient practice to take ourselves beyond. Tuesday evening, I went around parts of Mumbai and was impressed - at 2 am, I could see women walking alone, autos running on meters, families visiting beaches - this city just surprised me, Jai Mumbai! Next day I flew to Hyderabad. I went around the campus, attended a class, and spoke with a couple of students.

Two people, I believe one alum and one professor at the interview panel: "So, when did you come?" "Yesterday, from Mumbai". "Aren't you from Bangalore?" "Yes, I had gone to participate in a channel V competition with the Cisco Band". I now knew the stretch I volunteered to take was paying off. A few minutes about music, about the band and then questions on how will you take your band experience to work? Then a few minutes on a Cisco project, a BITS project and my US assignment. And a common question of why MBA and what after MBA. The interview ended like this - "What is the one weakness that you've?" "I think for 8 minutes and speak for 2 minutes, I know as a leader, I should be able to speak for 4 minutes with 6 minutes of thinking". "So, how long did you prepare for this 30-min interview?" All of us laughed and then I said "MBA is something that I've been thinking about for the last few years".

I felt like speaking with family at home rather than with an interview panel - so informal and so light. I will know in two weeks whether they were smiling or laughing. What will I be doing the next one year will be decided by Feb 10th.

What is your Zodiac Sign?

I remember I used to hate about all the fuss over zodiac signs once upon a time, I think that was around the same time I used to wonder about all the fuss about God and if I am not wrong that was probably the time I was buried in my text books at school. That was the time when I used to think someone is either really good or really bad, when I used to think why shouldn't the world end that day when I forgot to do the homework, when I used to think my parents should never die, and probably when I used to think I can get away with my mistakes. But everything changed in a gradual span of a few years as I grew from a child to a boy to a man. I am eagerly waiting to analyze my transition from a man to a husband to a father.

One such feeling that I have always strongly held against is "love at first-sight". I used to wonder how can that ever happen. Of course, it can't happen when you don't know anything about yourself, forget about knowing others. But as you sail through the ocean of life, and keep "meeting" a dozen people almost everyday, you slowly start to understand what you're and what others are. You can never master, but then you definitely learn so much.

Well, I met a girl a few days back and we just had one hour of conversation when I realized that I've never "met" anyone like her before. She was almost exactly like how I imagined (if at all I did) my wife should be. We knew each other for around a year, but that was the first time we spent even five minutes together. I just saw my reflection in her and she saw hers in mine. We've spent more hours together now, and we've still not discovered anything tangential in our characters. Starting from daily activities, our perceptions on life, our ideas about relations and you name it, we think alike. I knew she was married, even before we met, else I'm not sure if I would've stopped myself from falling in love at first-sight (or may be at first-chat) with her.

So, I started doing some research about zodiac signs and compatibilities to see if that answers this feeling of "immediate" liking and I find "There will be love at first-sight between Taurus and Virgo". I was just blown away in surprise. There was no more surprise left in me when I noted that most of my closest friends belong to one of the five sun signs below that are compatible with Virgo. I realized we are all lesser mortals and that there is probably someone who knows everything about everyone, may be that could be God. I thought I'll store my research and some pointers in this blog so that I can come back and visit this as I meet more people.

Just hoarding for future research:
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/zodiac-sign-compatibility-traditionally-compatible-sun-signs.html
http://www.india-server.com/astrology/
http://www.gotohoroscope.com/compatibility.html
http://theastrologyroom.com/guides/zodiac-symbols-and-their-meanings

12 SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC:

• Aries, Mar 21 - Apr 20
• Taurus, Apr 21 - May 21
• Gemini, May 22 - Jun 21
• Cancer, Jun 22 - Jul 22
• Leo, Jul 23 - Aug 23
• Virgo, Aug 24 - Sep 22
• Libra, Sep 23 - Oct 22
• Scorpio, Oct 23 - Nov 21
• Sagittarius, Nov 22 - Dec 21
• Capricorn, Dec 22 - Jan 20
• Aquarius, Jan 21 - Feb 19
• Pisces, Feb 20 - Mar 20

CLASSIFICATION:

• Fire: Aries, Leo and Sagittarius : passionate, energetic, creative and aggressive
• Air: Gemini, Libra and Aquarius : thinkers, idea originators and truth seekers
• Water: Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces : emotional, creative and intuitive
• Earth: Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn : sensual, hard working, sincere and practical

COMPATIBILITIES:
Fire-Air and Water-Earth are compatible to each other.

• Aries: Leo, Sagittarius, Aquarius, Gemini, Libra
• Taurus: Virgo, Capricorn, Cancer, Pisces, Scorpio
• Gemini: Libra, Aquarius, Aries, Leo, Sagittarius
• Cancer: Scorpio, Pisces, Virgo, Taurus, Capricorn
• Leo: Sagittarius, Aries, Libra, Gemini, Aquarius
• Virgo: Taurus, Capricorn, Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces
• Libra: Gemini, Aquarius, Leo, Sagittarius, Aries
• Scorpio: Cancer, Pisces, Capricorn, Virgo, Taurus
• Sagittarius: Leo, Aries, Libra, Aquarius, Gemini
• Capricorn: Virgo, Taurus, Scorpio, Pisces, Cancer
• Aquarius: Gemini, Libra, Aries, Sagittarius, Leo
• Pisces: Cancer, Scorpio, Capricorn, Taurus, Virgo

No wonder - Virgo is first on Taurus' list and Taurus is first on Virgo's list. :-)

Anyway, as always these are only guidelines and all sources say that the happiest couple need not be in the above "compatible" list and the unhappiest couple could well be in the above "compatible" list.