IT’S NOT WHAT IT SEEMS

I wonder if you have ever seen an animated movie called “The Swan Princess”. It’s a typical tale of a prince and a princess falling in love and the prince rescuing the princess from the villain. Nothing different in that, however, there is one part of the story that I would like to very much highlight; one line that the old king says to the prince before he dies. The evil sorcerer vows to take revenge on the king for banishing him. Now how is he going to do that? You guessed it; by taking the princess away. The part where it all changes is when the kings caravan on the way home is attacked by a monster that kills everyone and takes the princess, Odette, away. The prince rushes to rescue his love only to find the king on the verge of dying. The only clue that the prince gets from which he can recover his princess is the line “it’s not what it seems”. This is his only clue to figure out that the evil sorcerer is actually the monster (he can transform himself into the monster and back). The princess also turns into a swan and at night she turns back into a princess.

So what exactly am I leading all of this to? Well my basic aim is to make you understand the statement “It’s not what it seems” first and the background of it before I start explaining exactly how it’s related to what I’m about to say right now.

Many of us have had the experience or are still experiencing work in the corporate sector. All those who have had their share will know exactly what I’m talking about. The politics amongst the peers, the way the upper management is handling everything, not to mention the favoritism that goes on. It’s kind of like high school all over again. The only difference is that the nerds go unnoticed (hard workers/employees) and cool people get all the credit and they are the ones who are claimed to be the best (the management and the top notch people). When it’s time for bonuses and increments, the popular will always get an enormous amount whereas the lower employees go unnoticed. No justice in that, but people still bear it because that is their bread and butter.

Anyway enough frustration, I’m pretty sure many of you already know that feeling. Getting back to the point there is this one particular organization, whose name I’m not going to mention, but I can tell you this much that it’s an asset management company(never call an asset management firm an investment bank, ever, they take it way too personally and not in a good way). So the time anyone starts here will witness a very smooth sailing, trust me you will eventually fall in love with the place. The people are great. The upper management is one of the most amazing you will ever find, the CEO’s door will always be open for you and the works. Then one fine day you wake up to find out that it was only a dream, a really really good dream at that. You work you’re a** off for the place, stay there late nights and at the end of the day you will get to hear “what is it that you have done?” and you stand in the middle of the room too stunned to move. You just look and think “uhhh you’re kidding me right” and the answer you will get “nooo you didn’t do this you didn’t do that blah blah” and the things mentioned are all of that which is strictly not under your responsibility. And then you just stare and say “really!!” at that particular point you motivation level drops a level well below zero degree. All you want to do then is slap everything in their face. Somehow sabotage them so they suffer the way they made you suffer though out the year you work there.

Oh this is just one instance, there is more. The upper management will seem too sweet, chatting nicely and all, and then one day because of one false claim of you favorite person saying “oh they didn’t help me” guess what happens then. You get a call from the CEO who starts abusing, yes abusing, you and even saying that mess with the favorite person you mess with me. Umm where did the professionalism go then?

When you want to kick someone what out of your firm there is a way of doing it. You can simply call in the person and ask them or explain to them the reason. But no that’s the way we think, what you actually do is accuse them of taking their cut from the company and tell them they are wrong and you know better, after a long hire period by the way.

Professionalism or unprofessionalism you decide now. Hire a person, develop a personal grudge against him/her, then keep them hanging on the question if you are going to make them permanent or not.

But wait, on the face of it and in the very beginning everything is peachy keen and the best you can ever get. And then all of a sudden, out of the blue you start showing your real side.

Now do you get how “it’s not what it seems”? The supposedly good guy turns in to a blood sucking monster.

For the love of God please decide your management style and stop with the favoritism already!! This is supposedly a professional world, not high school all over again. So my advice, act like the grownups you actually are!

Sorry PACRA, move you rating out of the way, I give this company am AM-Zero.

My rating for you – a 1.5 out of a 5 (5 being the highest).

Introduction

This blog is all about all the companies working in Pakistan.

Yes I'm going to judge you and whatever you do.

Not only that but I aim to dig out your secrets too.

Every company that has the honor of coming up on this blog will also be rated my way.

But this blog remains anonymous for many reasons.

All of you organizations from A to Z better watch out I got my eye on you :D

If anyone out there has anything to share with us, a story or a secret or anything that you know off, be my guest and let me know I will gladly post it up on you. Don't worry it shall remain forever anonymous, you have my word.

Hope you enjoy this! It's about time the truth came out.

My Volkswagen Beetle

I have adored the beetle ever since I was old enough to understand what cars were. Some, including my family members, thought it dumb, called me stupid and what not, but I guess it was an in the blood thing for me to not let go of the bond that I shared with this vehicle.

By in-the-blood I mean that my dad was crazily into cars and I first put my hands on the steering wheel, when I was a year old (as confirmed by my mother), while sitting in my dad’s lap. There was no looking back after that and I started proper, uninspected driving when I was 10.

Got into college and started pestering my dad into getting me a car, but he kept on delaying it for one reason or the other and so the begging continued.Then one fine day, after my graduation, my dad made me accompany him to his friends place, to inspect a Bug that had been parked there for ages.

The i-just-have-to-have-it factor took over me and without realizing what condition the car was in, I got it. The experience was extremely brutal, as the car had been tampered with, as far as parts were concerned. So after months of arguments at home, I finally disposed the car off.

It was then that my dad took me to one of the VW Guru’s here and asked me to take my pick out of the cars for sale. I pinpointed out one (a 1970 model) and we handed over the keys to the mechanic to commence the resto.

Six long months of going over ideas, getting wet dreams about the final outcome, being robbed off the money intended for the denter, bearing the insults on how I was wasting money and other crappy happenings, I finally got the car out in September 2005.

The moment my baby hit the road, heads turned as though something had just landed off the moon. It was one of the happiest moments of my life and all who were against the whole project went mum at the very sight of my baby.

What further compounded to people going mum was the fact that the bone stock 1.6L engine kicked ass, no matter which car I went against. It was beyond the expectations of all that an old (so called unreliable) car such as the beetle could head to head with civics and corollas.

The sentimental value that my baby has for me is beyond words and I don’t think any other project of mine can ever come up to this level.