Retraction

This is a retraction to 'Like vs. Like Like'.
Those who frequent this blog will know what im talking about.

My Room

FINALLY, I have my own room, which I can call my room for more than a week. This will be my room for the next year!
Its pretty much the same as the other one, except of course, this one isnt 'Valley-facing' ;). This one is directly opposite my other room, so its pretty cool. I just picked up bunches of my stuff and threw them from this room to the next...so that made moving pretty easy!

I wish I hadnt gotten the other room before this one, because the view sucks :) In fact, there is no view. Decide for yourself -

Before

After

So...this is going to be my haven for the next year. If only these walls could see and hear, the stories they would have to tell after one year! LOL! Come to think of, going by the last one week, they wouldnt have too many stories since I only seem to be in here to sleep at night!

Stretched on a rubberband

For the last year or so, all we have been hearing about is the 'India Story'. Anywhere you go, there are people singing praises of India, the world's emerging Economic Power! The rising Stock Market, 10% GDP growth, blah and blah...

But the voices talking about the lack of food in the country, the millions of people living in total misery and the lack of primary education in the rural areas are drowned out in the whole 'India Shining' hoopla.

We are stretching on a rubberband right now. Either we can snap it and shoot off forward or we're not strong enough to break it and then we're back where we started.

My Room 1

First of all, this is My Room 1 because people here tell me im going to have to move from this room soon since its a 'valley-facing' room and seniors around here cannot tolerate juniors having that sort of luxury. Its not really a luxury, its the same as any other room, but seniors will be seniors *i hope none of them read this*.

Anyway...

It felt real nice when I opened the room and walked in and took a look around :). This is the first time Im going to a hostel and to think that this would be my haven for the next one week :D (temp room).

And, tada...


And it still feels good when you lock up and leave your room to go somewhere...I suppose this wont last so Im having fun with the feeling right now :)

But the best part of this whole thing is the complete 'Im the boss of me' feeling...you are responsible for your room, getting your stuff in order, laundry, etc, etc...and i like this feeling, too. Sure, it can be a pain to have to wash your clothes and hang them to dry and all, but the whole thing gives you the sense that youre in control. Im already liking it :)

So, after telling people all my life that I dont particularly want to stay in a hostel, I find myself not so averse to it after all :)

My first Last Day

2nd June was my very first 'Last Day at work'!
It was pretty incredible. Everything seemed so different to me...because i would be seeing it for the last time! When i got onto the bus, I sat down thinking that this is the last time Im going to do this. The bus is extremely special and the thought that this would be the very last time I do this was a downer. I met some very special people on this bus.
Then there was breakfast for the very last time...another extremely significant event in the scheme of things :)
I could go on, but you get the idea...everything about the day was weird because it would be the last time I would do it. Just like that. One day youre doing all these things, routine for the last year and a half and from the next day it ceases to exist except in your thoughts sometimes.
I mailed a lot of people, telling them I'm off and 'keep in touch' and all...people replied too...i felt pretty good that they did :)
During the day many people came over to see me and wish me luck and stuff and people on messenger and mail and everything. It was a real good feeling...that there are these people who are going to miss you - be it for a little while. The guys in the project all came over to my desk and gave me a gift - it was really thoughtful, too, something they knew i would use. And then when I was leaving, I said bye to everyone, everyone stood and waited till I crossed the floor and walked out the door. After that everyone may have gotten back to work, but while I was leaving, they stood and waited till I had gone completely. I have no idea why I liked this so much, but I did. It made me feel very good.
I left on very good terms. Thats why all this was so great. Im very glad things didnt get screwed up. I had a good time at Infosys and I would have been upset if things had gotten sour. I am definitely going to miss the place...at least for a while.

Infosys

12th July, 2004 - The day I joined Infosys.

The day I thought to myself - 'Shit, I'm making money'.
The day I left home for the first time.
The day I stepped out into the big, bad world.
The day the grain-of-sand-on-the-beach feeling hit me, harder than before.
All said and done, a day I'm sure I will remember for ages and ages.

2nd June, 2006 - The day I will leave Infosys.

No clue yet what Im going to feel. More sad than happy, thats for sure. Ha - I do have a clue :)
The last 2 years have been great and there is not a single unpleasant memory that I have. Of course, I got lucky - great gang during training, in the lap of luxury at Mysore, chill projects and fun gangs of people in Pune. Need I say more...

Chill projects had a lot to do with it, I guess. Thats where I really got lucky. I got to take off at 5.45 almost everyday, play, get the heck out, whatever. Work was such a small part of my life, I really liked that.

My first project - ICS.
Cute project. Interesting ML. I rocked! Week 2 I had turned the project upside down and we were finished a month before time. Everyone (my ML; team was him and me) dazed and completely shocked. Oh, that was fun...obviously, since people were singing praises of me :D

Then - CCA.
This was in early Jan and I have been here ever since. It was incredible at first, learning a new programming language, learning a new application. And I rocked yet again!! :D
Same ML, I think he had recovered from the shock by then.
But this project really has be an education. I have been fantastic at times, able to find solutions where a lot of people couldnt. I have messed up at times, usually in things so silly, its weird. The first appraisal was quite an experience...anti-climatic, because my seniors were pretty close friends by then, but still...

Infosys is an awesome place to work, there is just no denying that. I mean, imagine - youre bored so you just chill out in Coffee day! or a poolside! yes, there is a poolside inside Infosys. Every Infosys. You can play almost any sport you like on campus, its awesome.

But for the last 2-3 months, I have known to myself that I want to be doing something else - not just anything else, but something specific that I knew. And it worked out. I am off to IIM K to do my MBA - that rhymes - and Im totally thrilled. This could not have happened at a better time.

Thats the Infosys saga. It was good, especially since its come to a close when it has :)

Reserved but Unabashed

Did you catch Arjun Singh's interview recently? By Karan Thapar. I have seen a lot of totally thick and shameless people in my day, but this beats them all. He cannot be serious.

I think this is just an elaborate hoax they are trying to run. You know, like when someone asks you to pretend its your birthday and then people come and wish you or ask you stuff like 'so, hot date tonight?' and you say 'no, just a quiet dinner with family and close friends' (should have just said 'yeah, hot date' actually). It was almost like Arjun Singh was bursting to tell us that this is all just some stupid joke that Sonia is playing because its in Indira's will or something - 'Give them hell from me' type of request. I would much rather believe that this is a hoax rather than believe that our elected representatives (yaay us!!) would actually do something like this. I mean, fine, they are completely incompetent and totally incapable of providing any sort of education or facilities to our backward classes, but its not like we expected that they would. I dont think the backward classes did either. They know its all an election campaign game. And the goons in power know we know. So where the hell is this sudden desire to do something coming from? To show us that they are doing something? No, thank you is what I say.

So here is what we should do - Organize a protest rally, go up to Parliament or something, but our banners should read

JOKE'S OVER

NICE TRY, BUT WE ARE ON TO YOU