Google Goa - Part 1: Gathering data

Looks like another eon has passed since I last blogged. I haven't posted any pictures either coz someone stole my camera. Don't worry, a replacement is on it's way but it arrives March 17th so bear with me a little longer. Substitute pictures will be taken for whatever I can but I am afraid some moments have been lost forever :(

A lot has happened in the last few weeks, but I'll update you guys on the most significant development. I arrived at our Hyderabad office only to find an "Office Space" nightmare - a matrix of cubicles that were indistinguishable from the next, despite the splattering of Google green, red, and yellow sideboards. Every time I went for a drink I could never find my way back. I would end up at the cube either to my right or my left, but never ever to my own cube. As a result of this sameness, there was no energy in the office, there was no hallway chatter, and the whole office was as dry and boring as this blog so far.

An Office Decoration Contest seemed like just the right way to improve the vibe of the office. We each had a budget of 50 dollars (Getting the budget increased from 500 Rupees to 50 dollars is now officially the first major accomplishment of the new Eng Ambassadors). Apparently this was not enough motivation because not a finger was lifted in decorating the cubes for the first 3 days. There was still no trash talking, no jabs about each other's efforts - the energy we had hoped for was still missing.

Fearing that our first event might turn out to be a failure, last Tuesday, we decided to take matters into out own hands. A decision was made to build a beach shack - a prototype for our proposed new offices in Goa. A phone call made to Ismail, a man who can procure anything and everything. "Hey Ismail, where can we find bamboo?". "Take a right from the Jubilee checkpost sir; I'll explain it to the driver." Most conversations with Ismail seem to fit this pattern. He always knows where to find whatever crazy thing we are looking for, and we always seem to get in the way of Ismail communicating the correct directions to the driver.

Rizwaan, our driver, took Douwe, Shailen, and I to the bamboo store. Our 4th office mate was out sick, but it our intention that the beach shack will fully occupy his cube. Hence his share of the budget will also be fully utilized in the construction, and so it seemed fair to at least mention him, even if it is not by name.

Bamboo heaven was exactly where Ismail has promised it would be. The dusty old corner stores, which acted as the source for building material for all construction work in the area, had never seen 3 grown men running around their premises. After the initial climbing of bamboo ladders and other horsing arounds, we started talking to each other about what all we could build. Since we had no plan to speak of, it was decided that it is best to regroup back at the office and come up with a plan there.

However, before we leave, it was time to find out how much each of the materials cost so that we had some idea of how much our grand plan was going to cost us. Given my turban, my knowledge of Hindi, and my perceived experience in these matters, the job of haggling was given to me. The key to haggling, I had learned, is putting on a look of disgust at the price you were just quoted, telling the guy that you were not born yesterday, and then walking out. The closer you are to the exit sign, the better the price gets.

I greeted each quote with my best imitation of Hyderabadi Hindi "Aare bhai, tum logan toa ajeeb baat karta hain" (You guys are just talking silly). After ten minutes of this back and forth, which was aimed more at price gathering than price haggling, I promptly walked over to the shop next door. The prices were communicated between the shops through some back door channels because we were quoted exactly the same prices that I had negotiated down at the previous shop. However, we did like his bamboo a lot more. The bamboo was greener, which while not great for a construction site, had the makings of a more aesthetically pleasing beach hut.

A decision was made to return to this shop and get the green bamboo.