03/08/2015

03/08/2015; 02:02:

It’s been an eventful half week, with the committee selections in full swing!

30th began (well, technically at least- it was 1 a.m.!) with me heading over to my assigned mentor’s room for my rèsumè iteration. I gained good advice on tweaking a few simple things to make my rèsumè look much more impressive; I was also advised to add a couple of things that I wasn’t too sure about!
We then headed to the night mess to get ourselves some food- I think we’ve been in the night mess a lot more often than is necessary, over the past three weeks.

30th morning began as usual, with a flurry of classes- afternoon was not willing to be left behind this time around and we had a QT Quiz. The Quiz was fairly simple and even had the exact problems that we’d solved in class! At 11 p.m., an information session about the FLIP National Challenge, 2015 was held for all interested participants.

Since it was Thursday, night mess was closed for weekly maintenance, perhaps and Globe@I has been quick to cash in on the opportunity, deciding to stay open post mid-night on Thursdays.
Around 1 a.m., I headed for the Group Interview round for the Media & PR Committee selections- the group interview was a rather interesting concept and we even sat and discussed ideas for an event that the Media Comm can hold in the near future.

31st morning saw a few classes post which I headed over the NC-1 /2 where the IPM2015 Batch registration was in full swing! I wandered around, meeting the new kids! I then headed back to the hostel and attempted to fall asleep. Somewhere around then, we were greeted with messages from our CR informing us that Section E would withdraw its participation from Section Wars since there hadn’t been any activity or even inclination to produce any activity from our end. Perhaps that’s what we’d been waiting for, to spring into action. I spent the evening meeting the new IPM 2015 Batch participants and their parents too! I showed a bunch of them around campus and generally doled out (hopefully, not unsolicited!) advice on everything from academics to the food in Indore!

At 10:40, AIESEC held a workshop on Ópportunites at Planet-I’ where a few PGP-2 participants shared their experiences- how to bag live projects, how to win competitions (there are a multitude of competitions that are thrown open to us periodically), how to maintain a work-life balance i.e. managing POR’s along with academics, and how best to continue to pursue your interests, here at Planet-I.

At around 11:30, I headed for the Personal Interview round of the Media Committee selections- around 20 people had been called in for interviews- post this, I made my way to the FPM Common Room. Inspired perhaps, by the turn of events in the afternoon, we got busy putting together a Flash Mob. We later also worked on a couple of funny 30-second videos, to get some Section-E activity on the CulComm FB page. Finally, we wrapped only after 3 and then sat around in the night mess drinking lots of chai.

All through classes on 1st August, everyone was just itching to get out of their seats and start dancing- our flash mob was finally ready to be unveiled to the world! Right as class ended, we headed to Mess 1-all dressed in red! With increasingly loud chants of ‘Section E, Section E’, we got the mood all set and burst into dance! Our flash mob was very well received- that the mess was very crowded definitely worked in our favour!
All through the day, the Orientation for the IPM2015 Batch was in progress- one part of the orientation was handing out Academic Excellence certificates to the top 5% of our IPM Batch!

By afternoon, the short-list of candidates for selection to the various committees was released- all candidates then sent in their election manifestos which were then circulated to the batch (understandably, no one really went through them, but, that point is moot). An election was the determine the final bunch of candidates who would make it to the different committees. All evening, the hopefuls could be seen wandering around campus, making themselves seen and heard. The actual voting process began at 11:45 p.m. and ended after 2 a.m. The results were to be declared at 3:20 a.m., at the Melting Pot (that’s what the area in front of Mess1 is fondly referred to as). We sought to kill time by striking pointless conversations about Tspiras and the Eurozone, the zodiac calendar and campus life. A large amount of chai was also consumed in this process!
By 3:20 a.m., we had set up camp outside the mess and were waiting on the result announcement. By 4 a.m., the results were declared- the PGP SAC Coordinator and the senior teams of all the committees were present to announce them! Each enunciation of a selected candidate’s name was met with loud cheering! Some successes, some disappointments i.e. life in a nutshell; we then walked around campus until day-break; some guys even got a game of football going!
By 7 a.m., just as the world was waking, all of us plopped into bed and promptly fell asleep. The applications for Activity Clubs were also thrown open- another week of pre-processes that’ll end in elections!

2nd August- the day of the Section Wars finally dawned- and we slept through the first half of it, waking up early in the evening and gathering in the FPM Common Room to run one final practice of whatever we’d managed to piece together!
At 5:15 p.m., I got to attend my first ever PGP Media Comm meeting- the main agenda was to have the entire team together, looking at each other; of course, there was work too! There’s an event on the evening of 4th August and even though most things are in place, there’s always the need for publicity and last-minute additions!
We’d ordered Section T-shirts that finally found their way to campus at 7:30 p.m.; we were all in the auditorium by 8 p.m., all geared up to win the Section Wars! A round of enthralling performances, most met with loud heckling, followed- each section put on display the best that they had to offer- dance, music, videos, mimicry and even live art! Two of our section-mates created a larger-than-themselves painting of MJ, with Section-E branding in the background- all in the 15-20 minutes that the rest of us spent dancing and attempting to entertain!
There was to be an hour’s wait on the results and we spent that time walking down to the newly constructed/occupied IPM hostels- they are beyond beautiful, with a large, well designed central space that houses a badminton court and seating space perfect for a party! The rooms themselves are very spacious and come with a balcony each! We were delighted but mostly envious and left soon.

Once at the Night Mess (for that’s probably now a permanent fixture on our daily itinerary), we got ourselves fried rice and Mountain Dew. At 1 a.m., we gathered at the Melting Pot again, standing with our respective section-mates! Section H won the section wars, with Section A coming a close second; Sections D & F both finished third. Section E received the consolation prize and a special mention for our magical artists!

The entire Section Wars experience has definitely helped in awesome bonding- both within the section and cross-section!
Looking forward to our Section Party, this week! And, the Spreadsheet modelling course that begins tomorrow!