Ccs and Bccs

There was an interesting conversation that I happened to be a part of, at the Bangalore advertising awards evening the other night. (For some reason, this line sounds elitist....I like blogging!). This revolved around the utility of the ubiquitous ccs and bccs in mail after mail that we receive everyday.
With the awards, named, funnily enough, the "Big Bang Awards", it came as no surprise that oldies in the gathering were holding forth on how the quality of advertising creatives and therefore the quality of awards, were much better during their “times”.
Around some point of time in the evening, the cc/bcc story came up as just another normal topic to be bitched about, which is so typical of such a jamboree.
One of the guys began by saying that a vendor, who had written to him with a request on some job, had marked a cc to his boss on the same mail. It irritated this guy so much that he ‘replied all’ saying that he would not be considering this particular vendor’s request since he had exceeded his limits by marking a cc to his boss. My focus, till that point of time, largely restricted to a few other important ‘subjects’ floating around, shifted to this topic immediately. My reaction was that this was a very fine thing to do, given the fact that I was in pretty much a similar situation that evening and was still working on a fitting, yet professional reply.
Now, there is my answer, I thought to myself. I received a mail from a media professional earlier in the evening, about a particular advertising proposal, addressed to me, with a copy marked to my reporting boss. While subtly hinting that he knew my boss, this idiot was also trying to arm-twist me into reading a mail that I had very little concern for. Since the mail was ‘ccd’ to him, the probability of my boss asking me about my take on the proposal, however insignificant the sender might be, at some point of time in the future, was extremely high. After all, the boss also has to act like he goes through every mail, isn’t it? He can ask me what I think of the proposal and for all I know, he’s only seen the subject line in the mail. I don’t have those liberties you see.
But what this conversation also did was to highlight how much of an ego issue this cc/bcc thing can be in most cases and also laid bare the tremendous destructive potential that lies in that simple option.

I, for one, get irritated when my agency guys mark my boss on a job that calls for my approval, This is typically done just to ensure that I give them a favourable reply. The last time that happened, I made it clear to everybody concerned, including my boss, through a "reply all' mail, that if somebody is under the impression that their work would get done by marking superiors on such mails, they are definitey wrong. On the other hand, I made it clear in that mail, that if copies were marked to my boss, then I would definitely not even consider whatever there was in that mail.

Come to think of it, Ccs and Bccs can become potential causes of rifts and divisions within organizations, if they are not handled properly. For example, all I have to do tomorrow to create a rift between two of my reporting bosses (not that I want to... this is my alter-ego writing) is to mark one guy on a cc instead of directly, on a matter that concerns both equally and lo and behold..office politics :). I might get shouted at by one, but I am sure that my higher order objective of creating a rift will definitely be achieved. Going by the size of some of the egos floating around in office, it is not too difficult to imagine.

Damn these Ccs and Bccs! They rock!

Bolo Whatte fun

I have been having the good fortune of being accompanied by two nice ladies everyday for the last few days on my daily drive to and from office, making these daily long drives, which can often seem like drudgery, truly pleasant and enjoyable. After all, what better company, than two beautiful ladies, regaling you with stories through the course of the entire drive? While one accompanies me to office, the other escorts me back home everyday without fail. Either or both are always promptly there by my side day after day, everyday…and of their own accord. One ensures that I reach office in the best of moods everyday to take on my boss, while the other placates my tired mind every day after a hard day’s work on my way back home. (Notice the subtle usage of the white collar phrase “tired mind” as opposed to the blue collared “tired body”)
Of the two ladies, one is a veteran and is quite adept at this role and even has awards to show for her prowess in this endeavor while the other is relatively new but is catching up fast. Not wanting to make any demands of you, apart from the fact that you should listen to their chatter, these two are the perfect companions to have. I like the fact that you can remain silent for the entire length of the journey and these two talkative ladies will neither mind this nor make you feel awkward. A few girls I know can make you feel a bit uncomfortable if you don’t keep talking to them constantly. This particular discomfiture can often leave you praying for the earth underneath you to open up and gobble you. So while everybody I know has been cribbing and crying about the worsening traffic situation in the city, I for one, look forward (and quite eagerly, may I add) to spending long winding hours on the roads behind the wheels, courtesy these wonderful couple of ladies. Can a guy wish for more, I ask you?
Vasanthi Hariprakash and Aviva..fun, fun and more fun!

The animal in us all

Even as I was penning down my latest post, I thought it would be a good idea to get somebody else to write here. And who better than VK, one of my closest mates, someone I know for about close to 15 years now, someone who knows me like very few do and who incidentally, also writes for a living. I plan to get him to write here every now and then, if only to bring in some fresh energy.
So VK, here you go….the canvas is all yours…

What is left to write, when all I see is a million individual thoughts and expressions that surrounds the vastness of cyber space. Just like the coffee that we sip to tickle the taste buds, similarly writing a blog tickles the minds of the unheard 'word (th or thy)'-less warriors. Why do we do it? It seems we find great pleasure in making our brain as sensual as the tongue or the skin. So here I am in my best mate's blog, at his insistence, to connect with those of you who are blog rebels, fairies, lovers, wankers, cricketers, friends and countrymen. This is short note for us 'pigs' from the world of Orwell.

Why are we animals? Here we were, the girl and I in a wine lounge, loving each others company. We order a bottle of red wine and as I pick up the slender and smooth green bottle, I wish I was touching her skin at that moment. As I uncork the bottle, I dreamt I was removing her green top. As my mind tricks me in to intoxication, I look at her and give her an ass-uring smile. Then I tell her 'You have done well'. She replied with a smile, as her tongue hisses out and her teeth bite her lips, she said, 'Thanks to you, I am mes(s)merised by your prowess on the world around you.' Well! I said, "Its because of all the things that happen when you least expect them to, I have experienced the worse on the field." Then as I poured the wine in to her glass and then in to mine, I wondered how long would this last now. I looked at her eyes intently and then she would do the same. We spoke a lot with our eyes.

Now, completely intoxicated, we hold our hands and walk out for the evening. But as I try to control the machine in the head, stopping it from entering forbidden territory. I can barely control the one in my pants. Then I ask god to give me strength, leaving the girl to play the part of the devil. As I drop her by the door of her house, she looks at me again and lets her eyes become the ignition key for the male "harm(b)one". The next thing I know, there is car zooming on TV, with the Fast and the Furious playing on DVD and the lady continues her rant about how handsome "Dominic Torreto" was and how she wished that I looked like him. The animal in me fell from clould nine and she was in seventh heaven with Dominic.

Now for all of us who think I should try again. Why do I have to be the animal? Now that both the girl and I want to sleep in the fantasy forest inside our heads, is there any meaning in what we really want to be. I want to sleep with her (which in reality has no meaning to my life, albeit satisfying my appetite temporarily, just like coffee). Importantly, she too wants to sleep with an imaginative body (which has no meaning again).

Similarly, we bloggers are animals trying to find reality in cyber chips. What should we do? Get the blog to help you and not create your fantasy. But people often want to get down at the wrong stop or miss the bus(t)!

See you later.

"Emptyglass".

"There once was a note pure and easy. Now it sounds bizzare"