Friday, October 13, 2006

My teaching debut

It was my first class. the topic to be covered was just some Matlab basics and a revision of some digital communications class from the previous week.
Though, I am very comfortable with these topics, I spent a good part of the day, preparing for the class.When it was finally time to begin the class, I felt that I could easily pull it off. A class of under 30 people, me just covering the basics, . . . no problemo, I thought.I could not have been more wrong.
"Hi, folks. Shall we begin?", is met with a silence.
"Did you read the material I posted on the website?". Silence again . . . atleast I got a few nods now, answering in the negative( some response is better than no response!!)
"Did you atleast read the homework questions posted earlier in the week?" resulted in a deafening silence.
Now, I was ready to run out of class. What am I supposed to teach, if they dont respond at all?But I go on . . . blabbering away, my speaking speed accelerating . . (as usually happens with me) . . . I see many blank faces,with the odd one or two nodding in agreement. ( so I slow down my speed, or so I think), I fix my gaze on those poor chaps and begin speaking in earnest . . . soon they realised, the more they nod in agreement, the more I punish them by looking only at them while teaching...so they stop looking at me.... now I am stumped.
So, I started off with trying to discuss the homework that was due in under a week's time, and some time later, they opened up a bit and started asking a few questions, thankfully!!
From then on, time flew( atleast for me, am sure the guys listening to the leture felt otherwise) . . .before I knew it, the hour was up, and I still had not covered everything that I had planned for the session, people were asking doubts left and right,it was chaotic, but I had to wind up quickly. So I just directed them to room 420 and wound up for the day.

I always wanted to do one thing when teaching, I did it today!!
When asked a particularly probing question,to which I dont have an immediate answer, I always wanted to say, "Let's take it offline" and not waste others' time. I DID ask one person to meet me offline . . . but he did not bother to turn up at all. Guess, he had enough of me already, in the class :-D

I got some feedback from "friends" among the junior batch students . . . It was a complete washout. I even had to send a mail, correcting some of the things I had wrongly stated in class.
I will have to take one more class some time in the next few weeks, hope that turns out better.

Ciao.

Thursday, October 05, 2006

In light of recent articles about Alonso blaming Michelin first,Renault next and his teammate later for allegedly not helping him in his WDC challenge, the following cartoon was drawn by someone and posted somewhere.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

I'm in love. . . . . .again

The first time I fell in love was some 15-17 years ago. It was love at first sight.
However it did not last long. My dad got transferred and soon I lost touch. It is said,out of sight is out of mind. For 12 long years I did not spend time with my love again. I only had brief fleeting glimpses. However, I did have one encounter around 2 years back, bringing in a flood of nostalgic thoughts. But nearly 600 kms of travel for just a sighter proved impractical.....long distance affairs never work out ;-)

Over the last couple of days, I fell in love for the second time in my life. This was no "first sight" issue. Though having been aquainted for long, and my new love being one of my mom's favourite, I had never felt any particular liking in the past. But having spent some quality time together during dasara, I am now caught between two loves. One calm and serene bringing a tranquillity I have cherished over the years while the other is accomapnied by a regal elegance unparalleled.

Do I have to make a choice and choose one over the other? nah! I will love both.














My first love: Two small towns in the malnad regions: Coorg( madikeri) and chikmagalur where I lived as a kid, enchanted by the flowing beauty of the hills and valleys, the green gardens, dense forests and the super weather.
My new found love: The city of Mysore, for its royal grandeur and elegance . . . it reminds me of Bangalore of the early/mid nineties. People with a laid back attitude to life, a place becoming modern, yet clinging on to its rich past. I hope Mysore stays the way it is now and does not become a Bangalore.