Day 47: 6th Aug, 2009

Yet another 3 hour paper we had today - LAM or Legal Aspects of Management. Funny thing was people started finishing off within 1 hour itself. A couple of cases - I personally found them interesting (which is not to be miscontrued as easy). Then some short answer questions... didn't take much time... lots of globe there. I myself managed to finish it off in around 2 hrs, finally coming up with 5 inventions that cannot be patented :-p .

It is now 4 in the morning and I am trying to read up on weird motivation theories, none of which seems to have any effect on me or the remaining junta seated here. BIO (Behaviour in Organisations) is by FARRRRR the most theoretical subject we have on our course. Trying to mug up stuff like crazy, but recall value is abysmal. Darn! Am unable to remember stuff that I read on just the previous page.

Anyways, give up time for now - will go and sleep. So long!

Day 46: 5th Aug, 2009

Wow! :D It finally feels like you are writing your exams in an IIM. I think today's ECO paper was set for Amartya Sen or Montek Singh Ahluwalia or the likes. The last question had a 4 side writeup(small font, 4 tables, 1 graph) on some government wheat storing policy that we were supposed to read and then analyse/suggest policy measures. But never mind. I love such papers which are totally g**nd faadu. My reasons:

1. When we get simple papers, I am the only one who has made a mess. But with such papers, the playing field is levelled... the fighters brutally crushed and flattened!

2. Studying over a limit makes no sense. It only creates a depressing atmosphere apart from scaring the shit out of people around. Doesn't really fetch too many marks over a limit. It is only after such exams that people come to terms with such facts.

3. You learn to appreciate the subject for the intricacies involved and for the levels that can actually be attained if you really stick to working hard without caring about point 2 above :-p

Anyways, tomorrow another 3 hour paper on LAM (Legal Aspects of Management). Apparently, 4 sentence questions call for 4 page answers!!! Hehehe... lets see if I manage to put 4 words together.

Day 45: 4th Aug, 2009

After many many days - a 3 hr paper!! Don't recollect the last time I gave such a lengthy paper. (Technically many papers in engineering were very lengthy but I never had much problem because of the limited content I need to fill).

As expected, tons and tons of crap in the Comm-1 paper. The clincher question however - write two journals you referred to for your comm project. Hehehe, I thank all of us team members will end up writing different answers? :D

Anyways, eco tomorrow. I am very very sleepy. Hopefully tomorrow morning will be a little enlightening.

Day 44: 3rd August, 2009

So how would you feel if you were expecting someone to fire a nuclear missile at you and all you get hit by are a few stones? A sigh of relief perhaps? But what if those seemingly harmless stones were enough to cause a few fractures? That is bad!

A similar thing happened today. I think our section got the simplest of balance sheet problems in the 25 year history at IIM L. And yet yours truly here managed to screw it up! :-S . As usual, ended up with an unbalanced sheet.

Actually the problem with mistakes is that they have this quality of causing a temporary addictiveness to error. Typically, while solving a problem, you often realise midway that something is wrong. You then try to retrace the problem from the start with the intention of finding out where/what went wrong. But this is where your mind plays tricks - you again have the exact same thought process and commit the exact same mistake!

Anyways, over and out with MANAC for now. Comm-1 (Communication) paper tomorrow. Need to have a heavy breakfast and lunch - loads of crap to be generated :-p .

PS: Took one round around the campus ring road at night. Saw foxes! (they looked a lot like dogs, but my friend at the pillion rider was pretty sure they were foxes :-p). So that's a new entrant to the list of wildlife animals! Yet to see the snake and porcupine though!

Day 43: 2nd August, 2009

Facing the Legend

Right from the day we got our admissions to IIM L, the one thing unanimously agreed on by all the seniors was the legendary terror of facing MANAC. Well, tomorrow we have our very first set of exams here and it is going to start with - what else - MANAC.

Basically a subject about balance sheets, profit and loss statements etc etc. As remarked in all my previous posts, all my attempts at problem solving have only generated im-balance sheets. I am a little sceptical as to how important it is for us - future managers - to get into so much depth about accounting. As far as my opinion goes, most important is to know whether a transaction is an ADVANTAGE/DISADVANTAGE to the company, rather than knowing under what name and sub name it should come.

Also, all people around me seem to be studying and learning like crazy. A friend of mine in another section is super surprised by my coolness and relaxed approach. I am, in contrast, equally surprised that to see him work SO much! Anyways, to each his own. Let me see if I manage to break the jinx and bring some average performance atleast tomorrow. ATB!

Day 42: 1st Aug, 2009

Finally things have switched into the exam mode. All other activities seem to be at a standstill and everyone around waist deep into their books.

I am been struggling to put myself into that mode. Then I have been struggling to get myself to pick up a book. Then of course the HUGE struggle of trying to make some sense of all the gibberish. Just tried my hand at a big MANAC problem. Spent close to an hour or may be more and the result - as usual, an im-balanced sheet :-( . Just hoping we get some marks for steps and stuff... !

Day 41: 31st July, 2009

We have Relative Grading here in IIM Lucknow. Which means your absolute performance does not matter; what matters is where you stand compared to others. What I definitely didn't expect is to get a "taste" of it today during breakfast. Woke up well in time to grab a bite, but realised when I went to the mess that half the menu items had been hogged-to-finish by the early arrivers. Had to make do with the standard cornflakes/milk and bread/butter/jam.

PCom(Placement Committee) next shortlist was released. Got chucked out :-( . Quite disappointing. Not very sure what went amiss. But anyways, disappointments never stay with me much :-p .

Today happened to be the last day before our first exams here. Indication that it is time to start studying. Anyways, bored and distracted as I was with the very thought of picking up a book, some creative juices of my mind set flowing - and presenting before you yet another limerick! :D

Exams I have from Monday

On books my mind doesn't stay

Subjects galore

Each one's a bore

Time to seek The Divine and pray!