Breaking the Ice

[Marv Hartigan]

Hi, 

Thought I should make a few things clear before going ahead. And I also get to know a few things.

1. 2013 is 1st attempt - Optionals PubAd n Socio. Going all by myself n wont quit job atleast till June.

2. Live 2400km from the famed "UPSC Circles" aka Delhi.. so pardon for inexperienced/Ignorant/dumb/rhetorical/too obvious questions.

3. Plan to start Pubad in a couple of days n will try to finish mid-february(only the basics.)...earlier thought both optionals after pre, but I dnt know...nobody advises that. Hence this approach.

I knw d Optionals of Gambit,Game,Abhijeet n Jason. Maverick if u can tell...

I will start a thread on Public Administration in this group in a couple of days...it wont demand discussions...though one thing leads to another and a discussion might happen.

I will be asking very basic PubAd things.. not very technical but just topics n where to do from.

(Of course I have a plan+idea+sources list ...but still may be I miss something, or something worthwhile comes up. )

P.S. -this goes parallely... with our GS antics (.... ;-) ). Obviously nt asking ppl to do Pubad or something... Cheers.

[Bourne]

So we don't have a like button here !

[Game Changer]

hi
@Marv...you are welcome to ask pub ad/socio questions. "hame bhi pata chale aakhir hum kitne paani men hain"
even i'm miles away from Delhi. yet to see vajiram & ravi and all elite institutions.
i'm preparing by self-study and social networking :D

[Abhijeet Shukla]

Marv , we have the same situation beside i think u have done some basics of gs well enough. I have started reading Laxmikanth for pub ad and reading the NCERTs for now.

[Marv Hartigan]

arre ... arre saare meri tarah anaari hi jama ho gae kya maikhaane mein....lolzzzz

On Wednesday, December 12, 2012 12:20:30 AM UTC+5:30, Marv Hartigan wrote:

[Bourne]

I graduated in 2012 and also gave pre this year but couldn't qualify. However I did ny coaching for optionals in Hyd while doing college internship. So I have spend a bit of time into this preparation.

[Game Changer]

@bourne.....i do not know your optionals :p

[Abhijeet Shukla]

I think im the least qualified here. I passed my grad this year thru open university at the age of 25! 

[Marv Hartigan]

@Abhijeet: dont go by qualification dude.. its just a piece of paper and definitely not a true parameter to guage one ability. 

In our parent community a guy complete his graduation thro' open university that too in 7 years. He finally got a rank in 200's.

[Abhijeet Shukla]

Thanks  for ur encouraging words ! 

[Game Changer]

you are luck to have studied commerce. i never liked economics in my XI th standard. can't believe now i'm stuck with it. sometimes i envy commerce grads :)

On Wednesday, December 12, 2012 12:53:01 AM UTC+5:30, Abhijeet Shukla wrote:

[Marv Hartigan]

stuck with economics!!!.... i dont think its dat tough... or may be I have understood it wrong.... this is more likely. lolzzz

On Wednesday, December 12, 2012 12:20:30 AM UTC+5:30, Marv Hartigan wrote:

[Abhijeet Shukla]

ok ! ok good night ( morning !!) guys .. tc 

[Game Changer]

its mind boggling sometimes...maybe that's why i like it.....you know just like physics....taxes our brain

[Game Changer]

gnite...am leaving too...cya

[Bourne]

@Game : Mine is pubad and anthro.

Marv : My only motive for taking anthro was that its a direct and scoring subject. With the duo combo of pubad and anthro one of my college senior scored double digit rank with only 3 months of preparation. However in our engineering college we had bio course compulsory in 1st year so that was an added advantage in anthro. 

[Swagat N]

Lot of ice broken for one night!

I probably will be the "elder" in the campaign then :)

Graduated in 2005 from IIT Roorkee, gave prelimns with optional history because I had not interest and only wrote the exam because Dad wanted me to. Had a 99.05%ile in CAT and final calls from ABC, but couldn't join due to "other issues". Started with BPCL@Noida and was there for three years from 2005-08. Ever since, I've been with D. E. Shaw & Co at Hyderabad.

Salary is one of the best industry, but I started getting bugged with what I can vs what I am doing (not from a monetary perspective!) and started looking at Civil services again in 2010. Tragedy strikes, I couldn't even get the application form from the post office, they were always out of stock. Fortune favoured and pattern changed in 2011. Of course, it was new for everyone, but while paper-I was on expected lines, paper-II was a cakewalk for me (thank god they removed the optional from prelimns!) and suddenly I was staring at the possibility of writing mains.

2011 Mains, gave with PubAd and Sociology; joined classes for PubAd with RC Sinha (@Analog in Hyd) and Sociology was neglected completely. Came out of PubAd paper and realized how foolish I was to rely on coaching only (no point in calling Sinha what he is). Didn't prepare much for prelimns again, but 2012 prelimns were comfortable again (slightly tougher than last year) and this time I was confident about mains. Coaching for Sociology with Saroj Samal (@Analog in Hyd) and he was a much better teacher, but I should have read a lot on my own, which I didn't.

If I get a call for interview, I don't expect a high rank (I would be surprised if either happens), and even though I promised myself before Mains this year that this will be the last exam whether it goes good or bad, damn, this exam is addictive and hence am in the loop again, reading stuff.

For those of you in the group who have never given the Mains, you probably wouldn't understand it yet (smirk!), but there is a bloody mixed feeling of immense relief right after you are done with the last paper and within 2-3 days after that you start seeing withdrawal symptoms of addicts :) I couldn't help stop reading the newspaper completely, couldn't stop checking the upsc website every now and then and once I reached home, I felt so awkward not having anything to do...

But, all that is past and, 

Here I am this is me 
There's no where else on Earth I'd rather be 

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/bryanadams/hereiamendtitle.html 

gnite...am leaving too...cya

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[Bourne]

Someone was saying above that somebody completed his degree in 7 years. The case is just opposite with me. I completed my engineering degree in 3.5 years. Thanks to flexibility provided by BITS. And seriously its just a piece of paper.

[Gambit]

Ok this is my story.

Graduated from Indian School of Mines in 2011 in Petroleum engg. Got placed in petroleum software company. Even though it was related to petroleum, didn't want to join software. Friends were going to delhi to prep, which gave me some confidence. Also parents were insisting i give it a try. Came here with bags packed and knew nothing about the exam. Before this, i had never even dreamt i would be preparing for civils.

Didnt join coaching initially as all the batches had already started. So, started self study with psychology and some gs. Choose psychology just coz of interest and had a good time studying. Stumbled upon the interview prep community during this time. Learn a lot about the exam from there. Invested around 2-3 months in psycho.

Then came october and joined mohanty for pubad after a friend recommended. And vajiram for gs. Had to commute daily for 2 hrs, with both classes one after the other. Was really hectic but had fun. This is where i found out about the real competition in coaching. Almost 60% of the students in coaching do not have a clue and have a wrong strategy, or making mistakes already make. This i hopefully avoided because of the interview prep comm. Got a lot of confidence during this period.

Then came mains result of last year and someone i hoped would cleared with psycho flunked. This was the last straw. Was already having doubts about it. So choose socio as i hoped my english would prove to be an advantage. Was the best decision i made as i really liked the subject and adapted well. So joined mahapatra for socio after pre.

Things got really hectic after pre. Here i made some mistakes in strategy. Left gs till the last month. Completed most of my optionals. But had some altercation with my roomie and some other stuff which really disturbed my prep in the last 3 weeks. Hope started fading then. Didnt study in the last 1-2 weeks, didnt revise optionals much, it was like the fuse was out. Just watched movies and gave the exam. Mediocre attempt but had fun giving the exam. I just hope i pass in hindi.

Now shifted rooms, new friends, new start. 

[RIGHT BRAINED MAVERICK]

Ok its confession time and here is mine:

From chennai.

Optionals:Pub ad psycho...2009 passed out ANNA UNIV comp engnr ,got job in tcs but was not intersted ,left to delhi and was there  for 21/2 years...now back to chennai

3attempts already over ;(      (1st - gave w/o any idea of tis exam dint clear pre...2nd -wrote mains psycho p ii made me f****,3rd -was 200% sure with pre but dint make it...There was a problem on the exam day ,my name and number was not there in the school allocated ,had to write a letter and lots of things happened tht day....still thinking whthr tht had any role in the result... went to upsc and spoke with upsc imran farhid, but all they did is asked me to submit a letter and wait wait wait after results where announced...finally nothing happened my letters got no response and I had to get ready for the next.)

So working hard and trying to do as much as possible to make it in this attempt....

Its nice we as a group have jelled well...

Though was in a very depressed state after pre ,slowly recovered and picking up pace......

Hope we help each other in productive ways and see to that we all make it this year...ALL the best to all.........................

Bigest disadv i felt in my whole pace of prep  was lack of guidance,no senior no frnd given exam bf4,no person I could ask anything..few ppl who where with me where all like me.had not internet...It was very late i discovered this interview prep community..was not even using net for 1st two attempts,when I see people even b4 giving first attempt they are very much clear about this exam and its nuances ,it makes me feel about by mistakes...anyways good time ahead...

--
Cheers,
B K S

On Wed, Dec 12, 2012 at 8:10 PM, RIGHT BRAINED MAVERICK <sash...@gmail.com> wrote:

Ok its confession time and here is mine:

From chennai.

Optionals:Pub ad psycho...2009 passed out ANNA UNIV comp engnr ,got job in tcs but was not intersted ,left to delhi and was there  for 21/2 years...now back to chennai

3attempts already over ;(      (1st - gave w/o any idea of tis exam dint clear pre...2nd -wrote mains psycho p ii made me f****,3rd -was 200% sure with pre but dint make it...There was a problem on the exam day ,my name and number was not there in the school allocated ,had to write a letter and lots of things happened tht day....still thinking whthr tht had any role in the result... went to upsc and spoke with upsc imran farhid, but all they did is asked me to submit a letter and wait wait wait after results where announced...finally nothing happened my letters got no response and I had to get ready for the next.)

So working hard and trying to do as much as possible to make it in this attempt....

Its nice we as a group have jelled well...

Though was in a very depressed state after pre ,slowly recovered and picking up pace......

Hope we help each other in productive ways and see to that we all make it this year...ALL the best to all.........................

Bigest disadv i felt in my whole pace of prep  was lack of guidance,no senior no frnd given exam bf4,no person I could ask anything..few ppl who where with me where all like me.had not internet...It was very late i discovered this interview prep community..was not even using net for 1st two attempts,when I see people even b4 giving first attempt they are very much clear about this exam and its nuances ,it makes me feel about by mistakes...anyways good time ahead...

--
 
 

--
Cheers,
B K S

--
Cheers,
B K S

[Abhijeet Shukla]

Ok I will also give details of my pathetic education background.I had done my 12th in science as I wanted to become engineer but due to financial constraints it was not possible. Then I took admission to a Primary Teacher diploma course which was very famous in our area ( vidarbha) for easy government job which has very little work and lot of holidays but  suddenly in second year I applied for a clerical job in post office and passed the exam. Post office is the worst place to work in all universe. There is huge shortage of staff. I had planned to graduate thru open university in three years and prepare for cse but to my surprise I had to work upto 14 hours in office + heavy traffic in commutation ( Mumbai).I was not able to study for grad as well as cse. I was very depressed which led to extension for graduation.I had joined the department in 2007 and I have completed my graduation this year. 

Now i have decided to crack this mother of all exams. I am very passionate about the IAS. My English is also pathetic so this is a very big problem to me.

but I will give my best of efforts to pass thru this AGNIPARIKSHA. hope u will understand my ignorance and give me guidance on this long voyage.

[Game Changer]

Here I am this is me 
There's no where else on Earth I'd rather be 

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/bryanadams/hereiamendtitle.html 

love this song. especially when i saw 'spirit' 

[Game Changer]

this 'extra' info was not solely for you :p . till now we were strangers sharing files. now we know better :)

On Thursday, December 13, 2012 1:21:56 AM UTC+5:30, Marv Hartigan wrote:

are yahan to dil khol ke bauchhaar (rain) hui hai... All I wanted to know was abt ppl's experience in this field and their optionals. Khair....more info is never bad.

[Marv Hartigan]

lolzzz.....

[Jason Bourne]

I did my schooling from ranchi .I am a chemical engineer from BITS Pilani. I jumped into this exam since i am color blind(partial) and thus not eligible for research and psu jobs. I am from Jharkhand and being an IAS officer means a lot in those states. SO a natural inclination right from my childhood. Social service is also a factor as I was involved with nss for 3-4 years of my college life.

[Jason Bourne]

@abhijeet : ur story is inspiring.

[Game Changer]

welcome back!

[Jason Bourne]

@ game  : thanku ji

@all : Is there a way we can download the whole online notebook on our computer and whatever is added there gets automatically added in our personal notebook. For ex. the way dropbox works if anyone has used it. 

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[Game Changer]

yeah it's possible to save it on your system. however u need to have ms 2010 installed

[Jason Bourne]

Okkk..What next ?

[Game Changer]

for detailed operating instructions about one-note, please contact Gambit/Maverick. i'm yet to finish my beginners course on it. sorry

On Monday, December 17, 2012 7:44:06 PM UTC+5:30, Jason Bourne wrote:

Okkk..What next ?

[Gambit]

Install ms office 2010.

Open the link in your browser. Then click on go to onenote. It will launch onenote. There it will automatically sync everything. From here on, whatever you change or is changed will get synced between all the users. That is how everyone is doing it.

[Gambit]

Abhijeet, upgrade to onenote 2010. I don't think people with 2010 can open your section. If you have a problem with net speed, then dont worry.

[Abhijeet Shukla]

yes, i have onenote 2010, but it is not syncing., I got error :"some sections could not be synchronized

On Mon, Dec 17, 2012 at 8:13 PM, Gambit <pawan...@gmail.com> wrote:

Abhijeet, upgrade to onenote 2010. I don't think people with 2010 can open your section. If you have a problem with net speed, then dont worry.

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[Abhijeet Shukla]

@ gambit 

         Have u changed the accesibility settings ? it gives error " Onenote needs password to sync some of your notebooks"

[Jason Bourne]

On Monday, December 17, 2012 6:40:36 AM UTC-8, Gambit wrote:

Install ms office 2010.

Open the link in your browser. Then click on go to onenote. It will launch onenote. There it will automatically sync everything. From here on, whatever you change or is changed will get synced between all the users. That is how everyone is doing it.

I think u r talking about https://skydrive.live.com/view.aspx?resid=48526A9880E8E84B!5686 this link. but where is the option " go to one note " ? 

[Gambit]

There is an option, "Open in Onenote", near the file tab.