Why “not” Nepal? :0)

Happy Dashain folks !

and enjoy this yak picture.

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everyone says we have to work 6 days a week in Nepal.
I seriously doubt if our productivity is more than 2 days.
It just means most of us think work not as a passion but as a job.
not as a learning, but as a requirement.

Time to change your job or find something in your job that translates into passion and purse that.

otherwise you are not really helping yourself or others.

ujw

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Hunting for office space is tricky but here are universal issues to think of while choosing an office space in Kathmandu.

a) Ask how the water supply is in and if they have a underground water pumping equipment or not. ask neighbours how the water supply is in the area.

b) Again, be aware a lot of good areas in kathmandu are now plagued with traffic jams and noise pollutions. Posh place might not be the best place any longer. (specially for a lot of IT companies who need a quiet, conducive atmosphere to work).

c) Make sure, you ask why the previous tenant left. Usually reveals a lot about the house owner from the past experiences. Less hassles if the house owner is considerate.

d) Think about the “perception” of the central location of your office. Perception counts. Some places take a long time to travel for clients/employees but because the perception is that place is in a central place, people don’t feel tensed up to travel. Hence choose a place that is “percieved” to be in acceptable location, however far it may be from the actual centre of Kathmandu.

e) make sure the place is close to different “Micro bus” stops which are the lifeblood of a lot of your employees who come from all corners of kathmandu. This is the closest kathmandites will get to a metro train system

f) Make sure you talk about house tax details with owner before hand. Most owners don’t want to pay any house taxes to the government.

bring on your suggestions on office hunting experiences …

Ujw

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a) buy laptops (and LCD monitors).
b) buy offline UPS that have extended backups with batteries (car batteries work fine).
c) make sure the electricity meters in your home has more than 30 to 60 Ampere at least. You don’t need a three phase line unless you are more than 100 big.
d) install light saver bulbs instead of the traditional electricity guzzling bulbs.
e) get a diesel generator and save enough diesel supply to get out of gasoline supply problems sometimes.
g)

i know this is a long list to worry about, but electricity problem is not to be brushed aside if you want to do any serious business in Kathmandu.

Add your suggestions !

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Some simple guidelines to help write english essays /blogs better.
I had to write this up quoting George Orwell’s guidelines which i just read.
I have given examples to help you out. Please print it out, if it helps.

Himalayan times, English Daily in Nepal is is often hilarious to read because of the way their editors write their english. It needs some serious rescuing!
thehimalayantimes
this is the one of their headlines “Defence still a bone of contention.”

Here are simple rules on the way to writing better english.

i. Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.

bad: I “stood shoulder to shoulder with” with tenzing.
better: I stood ‘besides” tenzing.
bad: I would like to take the pleasure in announcing our refreshing redesign of Exoticbuddha and humbly look forward to your grateful feedback.
good: Look at our ‘refreshing” redesign of exoticbuddha and I appreciate your feedbacks.
bad: I would appreciate it if you could understand our concerns and pay us in due time.
good: Thank you for paying your bills on time.

ii. Never use a long word where a short one will do.

bad: Nepal is a beautiful place with lots of adventures, treks and cultural wonders; i.e such as……
good: Nepal is a beautiful place. It is full of adventures, treks and cultural wonders. Places like…..

iii.If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.

bad: On the other hand, i think he might just be right.
good: I think he might just be right.

bad: I like him very much so.
good: I like him.

iv.Never use the passive where you can use the active.

passive (bad): Mount Everest was climbed by tenzing and hilary on 1953.
active: Tenzing and Hilary climbed Everest on 1953.

bad (passive) : the bill should be paid on time. Otherwise you will be kept in our black list.
good (active): Please pay the bill on time. Otherwise we will keep you in our black list.

passive: You will find a lot of restaurants are run by local people in sherpa villages.
active: Local people run most restaurants in sherpa villages.

v. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.

bad: The spring water in mustang tastes like “amrit”
bad: The “H2O”in mustang tastes……
bad: the spring water in mustang tastes like “virgin”

good: The spring water in mustang tastes like “nectars from paradise.”
good The spring water in mustang is “heavenly”

vi. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

these rules don’t work always. if you feel, something’s not right when applying these rules. .break them!

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