The week ending this Saturday will bring a welcome respite from the hassled existence i hve been through in the last fortnight. I will be able to finally read a book that i have wanted to, and have in my room, but was never able to, because of lack of time.

It is a hot weather today. The breeze is warm and aggravates the heat of the sun. The people appear like zombies, totally oblivious to the heat. Can anyone get used to the heat? I dont think so. I personally can't unless I have something deeply engrossing to read. Or a good movie for that matter. The heat reminds me of the situation that sometimes develop in group meetings, particularly in a situation where the deadline is close and some people lose their cool. Some people think that all is lost and get panicky, which is expressed either as anger or pleading. In some groups are in a spot because some group member, who earlier accepted primary responsibility to carry out a project, with others feeding secondary stories, suddenly decide to back out giving vague reasons. This can really be a problem but then the mistake lay with the group members themselves who might have been happy at being out of the firing line. They might not have actually analysed the person whom they entrusted the responsibility, and now it is too late. So there is actually an abdication of responsibility here rather than an effort to harness resources efficiently.

This second term too shall bring its share of groups and assignments in the form of seminars, actual reporting and designing pages. I do not have any say in the composition of the groups so it is more like a roulette game, betting on getting the 'right' people. This is a subjective judgement but often, we are more comfortable working with some people than with others particularly people whom we dont know at all. But this is part of learning, a challenge that can be overcome, provided all group members are equally diligent. If not, then for your own sake, you need to perhaps work more than the others. The trick lies in getting all to perform certain roles, howsoever undesirous the other people might be. I prefer to potray the negative consequences and comparing them to other groups that are supposedly 'better' or atleast look that way. No one likes to feel inferior. But if the person is not at all motivated to work, then the group has to accept and move on without her, as assignments have a deadline that needs to be met expeditiously.

I like people who are not attention seeking. I personally am not. But there are most who do. And they tend to be selfish for this very reason. Now if I have such a person in my group, I would take care not to hurt her ego. They are not always selfish though. Sometimes they are really likable. It also happens that once you do well in some aspect, like presenting, it is taken for granted that you are going to do that always which can be a problem, as presenting means you have to prepare yourself, which in turn is something you might not always like to do!!!