My first painting!!

I am so excited to try my hands at painting to paint one of my fav characters –

The Buddha.

It’s Full Moon and a bright lotus and from the dark, there is an image of the golden Buddha symbolizing light from ignorance.

Learning an art is an incredible experience as you become aware whenever u learn something new.

Will continue to post more paintings.

Day Out with Thomas

The nostalgia of toy train or travel by real train is always cherished.

 Perhaps a toy train was gift… Looking back, do you remember the spark of joy and enthusiasm accompanying it? For many, their first toy train triggered an enthusiastic hobby for collecting model trains and creating miniature railroads spanning towns/cities. …not only can this be an incredible hobby but it can be rewarding for the entire family.

Thomas & Friends, a small creative fiction  on the steam locomotive in The Railway Series book by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher has now grown to be a weekend destination.As it is one of the favorite TV series watched by my daughter, 
I decided to spend a day at North Carolina Transportation museum for the event
 "Day Out with Thomas".

Its not only fun loving but also educative, informative and creative.

Below are the pictures and videos that creates a longing to go back again.

       

    
                                         

    


    
                     

A day in the Smokies!!

National parks are usually one of the best getaways to rejuvenate and  soak in nature.

So on one of my weekends , I decided to visit the smoky mountains.

Firstly, every traveler must grab a map of the park being explored before the start of travel in to the park.

So here is the map of Smoky mountain.

Its geographically located between two states of United States : North Carolina and Tennesse.

I explored the mountain from North Carolina side. My drive was through Cherokee to Oconaluftee visitor center.

There are fields near by which are habitats of wild life of the smokies. These fields can be explored by walk.

 After a brief walk on one of the fields, we drove towards Clingman’s dome and Newfound Gap.

Enroute I could get a glimpse of many campers going back towards stone age era.

 Its amazing how human mind always goes in search of something nonexistential

 On top, we get a very nice view of the smokies.

We finally winded up an exhausting day at Sugarlands.

Next day,  we explored Cataract falls, Laurel falls, Sugarlands visitor center and a wheat mill.

After a rejuvenating time in the smokies, we finally bid good bye to the mountains and headed back home.

How to earn PDUs to maintain PMP certification??

After a mammoth task of clearing the PMP exam, the next task is to earn the PDUs to maintain the certification.

Let me share my experience of earning the PDUs.

We need to get 60 PDUs over a period of 3 years to renew PMP certification.

The 60 PDUs are classified as follows:

In Educational category , One needs to get 35 PDUs.

In Giving back category, One needs to get 25 PDUs.

Also Educational category is further divided into 3 subcategories:

1. Technical

2. Leadership

3. Strategy and Business

Giving Back category is divided into 2 subcategories:

1. Work as a Practitioner

2.Giving Back

I do lot of online reading , listen to webinars to get PDUs in Educational category and its also free.

For example: http://www.projectmanagement.com/ has lot of online materials which are free and we can claim PDUs.

Below pic shows my reading content :

The next category is Giving back:

We can claim PDUs by practicing project management methodologies in our profession.

In my work , I follow Agile methodologies via JIRa tool, Daily team meetings etc.

Also I create content through my blogs and claim PDUs.

Once the knowledge is gained or created , it can be reported via 

All the necessary details wrt content need to be filled in and submitted. If its approved, PDUs will be accumulated in the CCRS dashboard.

This is one of the simple and inexpensive way to gain PDU.

Hope it was helpful.

Do share your comments.

How I cleared my PMP exam 2016!!

 As a working professional, I always felt the need to manage myself more efficiently and to take control of situations. As an aspiring project manager, I understood PMP certification would give a good platform to grow in the path of project management. 

I started with the basics of how do I go about getting PMP certification during December 2015. I started comparing different materials on the internet. Over a couple of weeks , I concluded along with study guides PM PrepCast would give me sound knowledge and basics of project management. 

Today , as  PMP certified professional when I look back, I made the right decision. The PM PrepCast is a very good study material especially for those new to project management. The concepts are explained in a clear and concise manner as in PMBOK guide. PM Simulator is of great value especially in understanding stress levels, timing constraints in planning for real exam. 

I prepared from materials Head first PMP, Rita Mulcahy PMP prep book eighth edition and PMBOK guide fifth edition. I listened to all the videos of PM PrepCast and refined the concepts using study guides. I spent 4-5 hours per day for almost 8-12 weeks. I practiced about 2500 questions.

 Lessons learned from those PMP certified is of immense help as it gives an idea of how to go about your preparation time and study materials. Thanks a ton to Cornelius Fichtner for explaining the concepts in a structured and organized manner. Difficult concepts such as earned value management, network flow diagram, forward pass, backward pass, Procurement management are explained very well.  

And I passed PMP exam in my first attempt on April 5th 2016.  Relieved !!!

Coffee time across Geographies

A lot of my friends tell that office life is boring and hectic.

But I feel otherwise often. Although I eagerly wait for weekends, I do enjoy being at office, meeting new people, understanding different cultures, learning new stuff and of course chatting at coffee table.

Coffee tables are the best places to meet new joinees, have an informal chat about anything under the sun 

I always had a group of friends to enjoy my cup of tea with all office updates at usually 10.00 am and 3:30pm on most days.(@Bangalore office)

I had made a group on Skype messenger named "Coffee Friends" so that I can ping my friends just before I go for coffee.

It feels refreshed to talk to a friend about how your day was both at home and work.

Its feels good to kick start your day with a cup of coffee in office cafeteria.

Although a chaotic place with varieties of breakfast, a lot of noise, different flavors of coffee, tea to cater to many moods of people, a feel good factor always comes in.

Happiness or sadness, anger or frustration -> everything dissolves with a hot cup of Tea/Coffee :)

In USA, its usual to see that colleagues exclusively do not dedicate their time for coffee.

Most coffee/tea are sipped along the Hallway or at desks glued to their monitors.

Although it’s a lot more productive to have coffee/ breakfast/lunch at desk, somewhere the people connection is missing.

A Moment to share your laughter at work, A moment discuss your issues at work may now seem distant.

Within the same organization, how people sip their coffee/tea varies across geographies.

Although my logical mind tells me to be more productive, my emotional mind tells me to ping my friends

"Shall we go for Coffee?"

Enjoy the Small Things!!

Background: Team environment in which one of the team member Adira goes on vacation. Other team members are Aurav and Joe working on the project.

Vacation...va..ca..tion.. its vacatiooooooooonnnnnnnn!

Adira was so excited about her vacation to the national parks on the west coast of United states of America.

On the other hand, Aurav being the hardworker was busy working and getting anxious about the workshop with the supplier the week ahead

Like a humming bird, Adira just finished the work and left office to board her flight.

Aurav looking at Joe sighed "Good times"

  

Aurav pulled it through the workshop with team member's support.

His high level of attention to details and excellent debugging skills makes it hard for any supplier to defend himself.

Alas the supplier.

The following week Adira returned from vacation.

After settling down with work,

Adira being curious  asked Aurav "so When do you go on vacation?"

Aurav: I hardly go on vacations"

Adira : What"?

Aurav : Yes I do not go on vacations..

        Initially i was saving money so I couldnt afford a vacation for myself.

        but now I never make it a point to treat myself.

        I never know what i really miss by not going on vacation.

       

As one gets into professional life, he/she gets so engrossed with work and career that they forget the outside world. but vacation is not just about going far away places or enjoying luxurious food and hotels, 

its about leaving something one previously occupied with.

it should rejuvenate the mind and body so that one feels enriched and relaxed.

it also reminds that there is whole world out there which is so beautiful.

Quite often, we are constantly thinking about the materialistic things so that we can be happy.

but happiness is being able to accept yourself, smile from heart, feeling the heat of the sun, enjoying the rain, feeling the nature, things that sing the melody of the soul.

So