Rajni told me that when Jerry sent Santanam to Mishra’s office in Andheri to raise a stink about payments, they offered to pay for our services in copper and zinc pipes. He’s pretty sure that Santanam has blown his chance of making senior partner.

I think so too.

And the race to be made associate is hotting up big time. Almost everyone in the office thinks that Vineet is almost ninety per cent there. He is on his sixth project since joining. Apparently all the managers and principals are fighting to get him on their projects. Project ratings are supposed to be confidential but Yetch asked Rosita to let him use her computer to scan some documents. He then forwarded all of Vineet’s rating emails from Jerry’s mailbox to his and mine when she wasn’t looking.

You should have seen Yetch’s face when he saw Vineet’s ratings. So far the guy is on an overall 4.6 out of 5 for his six projects. Yetch looked heartbroken. Apparently Yetch has never managed to get more than a 4.1. Ever.

Santanam still hasn’t finalized our scores for Panchatantra but I’d be surprised if I scored less than a 4.7. In fact, to be quite frank, even a perfect score would not surprise me. But I assume Santanam would be afraid of making me overconfident with a perfect score on my first project and might take it down a little. It is quite unnecessary if you ask me.

I am a realist if nothing else.

As for Jai Hindustan Automobiles, we’ll be starting work tomorrow. We have two weeks to work on it. The team still hasn’t met with the lead on the project, but I expect to score high on this one as well. It IS an engineering and manufacturing company.

After all, who graduated from his engineering college twelfth in his department overall, and joint fourth when you only combined grades for the last two terms for the best three subjects including basic French?

Moi! Robin ‘Einstein’ Varghese!

Staying at the Grand Plaza hotel in Bangalore. It’s a good five-star hotel. But one gets used to the Taj after a while. I’ve decided to ask the partner, Prasad, to move us to the Taj after a couple of nights if they have rooms available. Consulting is tough, mind-exhausting work. And you need the right environment for that sort of work. The Grand Plaza is just not up to it.

Good night, Diary. More tomorrow after we meet the guys at JHA. Can’t wait. There is something tingly and suspenseful about a first client meeting. Like that feeling you get just before you go on stage to say something or recite a poem. It’s all that adrenalin pumping.

I love this job.

Tata!

13 November 2006

10.23 p.m.

What a weird day …

Things began nicely enough. Our entire team—one partner, one principal, one associate and yours truly—met at the Grand Plaza coffee shop for a quick meeting over breakfast. Prasad the partner, a very unemotional guy with an odd accent—half English and half American?—gave us a quick briefing on how the fortnight ahead would progress.