Being consultant..

There are three types of days in a consultant's life:

1. When client is working and the Firm is working - Consultant works
2. When client is not working but the Firm is working - Consultant works
3. When the Firm is not working but client is working - Consultant works

Comp(ensatory) offs?!! What are they?

But life is lousy for a consultant, I tell ya! Why? Here is how a friend put it:

1. You work very odd hours.
2. You spend a majority of your time in a hotel room.
3. Your client pays for your hotel room plus your hourly rate.
4. You are paid a lot of money to keep your client happy.
5. Creating fantasies for your clients is rewarded.
6. People ask you what you do and you can't explain it.
7. It's difficult to have a family.

I agreed till I 'stepped back' and realized that he had just made me look like a prostitute!

But then sample my own experience when my girlfriend went to tell her mom about me:

1. Her mom didn't recognize my B school's name (IIM is known to every infant in India but ISB is not)
2. She had never heard my Firm's name (my firm doesn't brand/advertise itself)
3. She didn't understand even my profession (my girlfriend was also not very sure how to explain. Poor girl just believed me when I told her that I also do something respectable)
4. She was convinced that I do something shady when she heard that despite being from an unknown college, working with an 'obscure' firm, in an unheard profession, I earn well.

Only three letters do justice to my feelings...

...WTF!

Shifting loyalties..

I love writing blog but lately it went down on my priority list. A couple of days ago I saw a note on my blackberry that I had written on a flight in Jan this year. So I thought to revive my blog with this. Here it goes -

Enough! I have decided. Now on, I am going to take jet airways only. Their airhostesses are so much prettier than Kingfisher's! And the jet airhostesses said hi also to me, all of them.

I feel bad for having lost 37 opportunities to spend time with them over the last 6 months. Those kingfisher airhostesses would say hi to everybody ahead of me but when I come, they would start looking at the passenger behind me as if I wasn't there!

That apart, I admire NG's eye for beauty more than VM's who claims that he personally recruits his crew. But NG doesn't make any such claims anyway. It must be some obscure aspiring senior manager who is enjoying making offers (job offers I mean) to all those beauties who would otherwise not even notice him in the bar.

So, tomorrow's flight to Hyderabad is a jet now. And the day after's to Mumbai too. This reminds me, my imminent hyderabad trip is giving headaches to my girlfriend these days. I am going to ISB to take mock interviews of people shortlisted by the firm but she thinks I will get laid by some chick there who really wants an offer (job offer I mean). Though I secretly suspect she is convinced that my looks are not going to do wonders for me but still she is somewhat insecure because of the cult status of my firm which I have made her believe creates a bright halo around my head that blinds all ISB students. I have tried explaining to her that these are only mock interviews (as if the ladies would seek appointments to sleep with me if I were taking real interviews) and even showed her my packed mock interview schedule but she still believes girls would find a way to nab me. She doesn't know that kingfisher's airhostesses don't even acknowledge my presence. But as this rationale is based on my looks, which, I suspect, she discounts anyway, it wouldn't convince her. So I wouldn't mention it to her.

Why inflict humiliation on the self!