Well it's been a reaaaaaaaaaallllllly long time since I've blogged... Not that I didn't wanna, but just that nothing significant happened for me to blog plus I'm real lazy... It's not that something's happened now but I'm hoping that while I ramble on for a while, writing aimlessly, hopefully something will strike me and I can write about that.... No luck yet though... He he he...
It's strange how life changed after we started working and to be honest, I'm loving it... Ok OK.... Not a McDonald's advertisement here... Not just because I don't have exams any more (oh wow.. that is awesome) but I love the independence it represents. Financial independence is one aspect. We need to spend sensibly alright, but it's a wonderful feeling to spend the money you have earned.. be it on yourself or on gifts for people. For example the other day I met a bunch of my dear friends from college for lunch and movie. And unlike times when we were in college, this time we went to a classy kinda expensive restaurant... It's not the amount that mattered, but the change in everyone's attitude that was worth noticing. Another thing is the independence to decide for yourself. We are given some work but how to do it optimally is upto us. We can break our heads on the same and figure things out on our own and it's exhilerating once you succeed.
But the changes don't stop here... Discussions tend to get kinda boring as people start discussing animatedly about how much income tax they shell out and what investments would help when it comes to tax benefits. Cmon ppl.. get a life!!!
I gotta admit though that our conversations are far more mature, as we discuss work environments, technologies we are working on, and so on. But when it comes to talking about hunks n babes, well not much has changed since college days. The teasing part is still the same.
But I certainly cannot say that I don't miss college life. I miss sitting aimlessly in the canteen, with a chai and vada-pav in hand, talking about everything and nothing at all, sharing happy and sad moments. In your workplace you usually have neither the time nor the inclination to make thick friends, the kind that you make in college. It's not that we don't have fun in office with friends, just that at times you feel a void... as though something is missing but you can't quite pinpoint it to anything in particular.
Here I'll add a li'l forward I had received a few days back. Kinda apt...
Yeh degree bhi lelo ye naukari bhi lelo
Bhale Chheen lo mujhse USA ka Visa
magar mujhko lauta do college ka canteen
vo chaay ka pani vo teekha samosaa
college ki sabse purani nishaanee
vo chaayvaalaa jise saare kehte the... jaani
vo jaani ke hathon ki 'cutting' chaay meethee
vo chupkese journal mein bheji hui chitthi
vo padhte hi chiththi uska bhadakna
vo chehre ki laali vo aankhon ka gussaa...
kadi dhoop mein apne ghar se nikalnaa
vo project ki Khatir shahar bhar bhataknaa
vo lecture mein doston ki proxy lagaanaa
vo sir ko chidhanaa ,vo aeroplane udaanaa
vo submission ki raton ko jagnaa jagaanaa
vo orals ki kahani vo practical ka kissaa....
bimaari ka detention ke time bahanaa
vo doosron ke assignments ko apnaa banaanaa
vo seminar ke din paironka chhatpatanaa
vo workshop mein din raat pasinaa bahanaa
vo exam ke din ka bechain maahaul
par vo maa ka vishvas - Teachar ka Bharosaa...
college ki wo lambisi raatein
vo doston se canteen me pyaari si baatein
vo gathering ke din ka ladnaa Jhagadnaa
vo ladkiyon ka yuhin hamesha akadnaa
bhulaaye nahin bhool sakta hai koi
vo college, vo basen, vo shararatein vo javani...
vo kagaz ki kashti vo barish ka pani...
Ok now I've started humming the song "Purani Jeans" as well. Don't worry folks, won't paste the lyrics of that here as well... In that case thoda aur pakau ho jayega...
It's a well known saying that "The grass is always greener on the other side".... but I won't say that applies to me. I loved college while I was in college, and I love my workplace while I'm here. Yes, I do miss college, but won't state that college life is better. Each has its own perks.... Actually now that I think about it, when it comes to comparing college life and work, I'll use my friend Sumedh's phrase "Same Difference"... Yes this phrase sounds incredibly absurd but it embodies a lot. Some things are different, the environment is different, things you are doing may be different... but you are still you and nothing can change that. It's all in the mind... If you want you can jolly well maintain things such that your workplace is as much fun as your college canteen. You just need to find that equivalence and then everything falls into place.
I have no idea whether whatever crap I've written here makes any sense at all... But if you remember, in the beginning itself I had clearly stated I had nothing in particular to write about here... Just thought of letting the Blogging world know that "I exist"... Oh well, before people start thinking of changing that fact I'll bid "Adieu!" n ppl pray that the next time I come back, I have something concrete to write about n not bore you guys to death again... Till then Cheerio!!!
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Sunday, August 28, 2005
IBM under a magnifying glass - An insider's view...
Well... I am a li'l over a month old in IBM now... so thought I'll kinda summarise my experience here so far.... A message to any other IBMer who happens to stumble upon this blog: I ain't gonna reveal any IBM proprietory stuff here... So relax n hopefully enjoy the ride!
To begin with IBM's a really cool place to work in.... and I mean it literally too. It's freezing inside, with the labs being maintained at close to 15 degrees celsius. So we actually feel comfy when we are out in the sun... no kidding! But taking the other meaning of "cool", yeah it is a great place to work. Before I joined IBM I had painted a very boring picture of IBM in my mind and I am glad I have been proven wrong. Team members... old or young... do know how to have fun! The environment is such that you do feel like working.. n looks like IBMers strongly believe in "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy"... so it's fun to see people working, but also parallelly listening to music and chatting with loads of people thanks to Yahoo! and MSN and now Google Talk, not to mention Sametime, an internal IBM tool for chatting with IBMers worldwide... And it's fun to see the scene when a person busy chatting suddenly realises that his/her boss is standing behind him... He he... Immediately all chat windows are closed and people revert back to the actual "work" window with an innocent look on the face.... Yep! I do that too...
Once a month there's a big birthday party with cake n all, for all the people who's bday happened to be that month. This was really unexpected and also sooo much fun... The last time we even had a Mad Ads competition... First prize went to a team for advertising "Curtains for windows" while we bagged the second prize (Ahem Ahem!) for our innovative ad for "A chair that makes u work"... Of course I have to mention that we were forced into participation... kinda IBM's way of ragging new joinees.
Training sessions are fun too... It's great to see the trainers actually taking an initiative and taking necessary efforts to ensure they can teach us properly. It's not like a boring classroom session where you start nodding off. Of course here I must mention a certain training session involving some of my friends who actually started off a NetMeeting session towards the end of it and the whole batch joined in...
The food is good... really. And there's an ice cream counter too, selling products of Kwality Walls. Pizza Hut will be opening a counter soon. And the description of any software firm is incomplete without the mention of the fukat ka chai/coffee. Yep! Each floor has two pantries and you get a large variety of tea and coffee, ranging from cappuccino, cafe au lait to espresso and regular tea to lemon tea, masala chai, etc. The pantry is also equipped with a microwave oven and a refrigerator.
Here's a piece of warning for all new joinees of IBM. Please check the spelling of your name in the database. There are so many things that depend on that that it's a huge pain if there's a goof up. Saying this from personal experience. It takes ages to sort this whole problem out and if you don't do it in time.. you don't get your money. Aha! Now that will make you sit up and take notice of what I said... he he
Another thing I must mention is the full form of IBM. We know it as International Business Machines but for all proud IBMers, it is I Blame Microsoft. It's actually fun witnessing the Microsoft bashing that goes on and believe me, no one spares Microsoft here. Pata nahi logon ko itna khunnas kyon hai, but it's still fun to see/ hear it.
Must add that IBM is a very process oriented company. For every small thing there's a process to be followed. One month and I'm still confused and need to take help from my colleagues.
Anyways, guess I've bored u guys n gals enough... especially any non IBMer who might be reading this.. so before I get to hear "Boo"s... I'll say Auf Wiedersehen!
To begin with IBM's a really cool place to work in.... and I mean it literally too. It's freezing inside, with the labs being maintained at close to 15 degrees celsius. So we actually feel comfy when we are out in the sun... no kidding! But taking the other meaning of "cool", yeah it is a great place to work. Before I joined IBM I had painted a very boring picture of IBM in my mind and I am glad I have been proven wrong. Team members... old or young... do know how to have fun! The environment is such that you do feel like working.. n looks like IBMers strongly believe in "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy"... so it's fun to see people working, but also parallelly listening to music and chatting with loads of people thanks to Yahoo! and MSN and now Google Talk, not to mention Sametime, an internal IBM tool for chatting with IBMers worldwide... And it's fun to see the scene when a person busy chatting suddenly realises that his/her boss is standing behind him... He he... Immediately all chat windows are closed and people revert back to the actual "work" window with an innocent look on the face.... Yep! I do that too...
Once a month there's a big birthday party with cake n all, for all the people who's bday happened to be that month. This was really unexpected and also sooo much fun... The last time we even had a Mad Ads competition... First prize went to a team for advertising "Curtains for windows" while we bagged the second prize (Ahem Ahem!) for our innovative ad for "A chair that makes u work"... Of course I have to mention that we were forced into participation... kinda IBM's way of ragging new joinees.
Training sessions are fun too... It's great to see the trainers actually taking an initiative and taking necessary efforts to ensure they can teach us properly. It's not like a boring classroom session where you start nodding off. Of course here I must mention a certain training session involving some of my friends who actually started off a NetMeeting session towards the end of it and the whole batch joined in...
The food is good... really. And there's an ice cream counter too, selling products of Kwality Walls. Pizza Hut will be opening a counter soon. And the description of any software firm is incomplete without the mention of the fukat ka chai/coffee. Yep! Each floor has two pantries and you get a large variety of tea and coffee, ranging from cappuccino, cafe au lait to espresso and regular tea to lemon tea, masala chai, etc. The pantry is also equipped with a microwave oven and a refrigerator.
Here's a piece of warning for all new joinees of IBM. Please check the spelling of your name in the database. There are so many things that depend on that that it's a huge pain if there's a goof up. Saying this from personal experience. It takes ages to sort this whole problem out and if you don't do it in time.. you don't get your money. Aha! Now that will make you sit up and take notice of what I said... he he
Another thing I must mention is the full form of IBM. We know it as International Business Machines but for all proud IBMers, it is I Blame Microsoft. It's actually fun witnessing the Microsoft bashing that goes on and believe me, no one spares Microsoft here. Pata nahi logon ko itna khunnas kyon hai, but it's still fun to see/ hear it.
Must add that IBM is a very process oriented company. For every small thing there's a process to be followed. One month and I'm still confused and need to take help from my colleagues.
Anyways, guess I've bored u guys n gals enough... especially any non IBMer who might be reading this.. so before I get to hear "Boo"s... I'll say Auf Wiedersehen!
Sunday, August 07, 2005
The ship that never sinks........ Friendship
Today is Friendship day... And after so many years of my life, suddenly I have sat down to ponder over the importance this day holds in my life... and the phenomenon it celebrates.
Ever since we are toddlers in a kindergarten, we are told to make friends. We are told to share our tiffins with them, play with the same toys and in general be good to them. At such a tender age, this Hallmark holiday really holds no meaning for us and the depth of friendship that we really feel within, is merely the tip of the iceberg. As we grow older the meaning of friendship gradually changes.
As a 5 year old, a friend was someone I could play with; someone whose house I would visit with my Barbie dolls every evening and have a blast as we enacted fairy tales and other stories involving princes and princesses with our dolls playing the protagonists. As I grew older, this definition of friendship changed. A friend was someone I could laugh with, talk to in a low volume amidst a very boring History lesson (for the record, I have nothing against history... just took an example), share my dabba with, play pranks with and all in all have a lovely time.
Of course, as everyone knows, friendship is not about merely having a lovely time as I mentioned earlier. But we begin to comprehend the real meaning of friendship only as we mature. The word "friend" encompasses a relationship that probably no one can possibly capture in words. It is so beautiful, so pure. Barring your parents, probably no one will know you as well as a good friend.. and perhaps with regard to certain things, even better than your parents....
I got a few very beautiful smses today which I felt were quite apt for this post, because it captures what I'm trying to communicate here.
A friend understands when you say I forgot, waits forever when you say 1 minute, stays when you say "Leave me alone" and opens the door even before you knock...
Love says: "If you ever need anything, I'll be there"...whereas friendship says,"you'll never need anything, if I'll be there."
A true friend is someone who can listen to you even when you are not uttering a word, who will be with you through thick and thin, someone who will guide you when you go astray and will love you and accept you for who you are.... no strings attached. But friendship is no one way street. One needs to reciprocate too. Indeed, as a friend of mine rightly said, "Friendship is a sweet responsibility"
Moving onto the first Sunday of August, popularly celebrated as Friendship Day. As the buzz hit my ears, I too got down to the tradition of making or sometimes purchasing (whenever I was too lazy) beautiful friendship bands, cards n gifts for my friends to make them feel special on that day. Year after year I carried out this tradition. Then as we matured, all of us began to feel that this was rather childish. So we came up with new ways to celebrate the day, like going out for coffee, watching a movie together or sometimes just hanging out together in our college canteen.
Sometimes I wonder... do we really need a special day to actually celebrate friendship? Do we not celebrate it each and every moment we spend in the company of a dear friend? We laugh and we cry with them... But then I feel if we can have "Father's Day", "Mother's Day", "Teacher's Day" and the ever so popular "Valentine's Day", well what's wrong with having "Friendship Day", considering friends are such an important part of our lives.
I could go on and on about friendship, even more so because I'm currently in a very pensive mood as my best friend will be leaving for his higher studies in a few days time but I guess I shouldn't torture all the readers as well... So I'll just end with a very cute write up I had come across on friends. This is actually something that is written on a little show piece I have and I read it almost every single day... and it never fails to bring a smile on my face...
Friends share the ups and downs in life - understand the "I don't feel like talking" moods and stories that need to be shared over and over again. They help during the hard times, celebrate the really great times, ignore the crabbiness and join in the silliness...
Ever since we are toddlers in a kindergarten, we are told to make friends. We are told to share our tiffins with them, play with the same toys and in general be good to them. At such a tender age, this Hallmark holiday really holds no meaning for us and the depth of friendship that we really feel within, is merely the tip of the iceberg. As we grow older the meaning of friendship gradually changes.
As a 5 year old, a friend was someone I could play with; someone whose house I would visit with my Barbie dolls every evening and have a blast as we enacted fairy tales and other stories involving princes and princesses with our dolls playing the protagonists. As I grew older, this definition of friendship changed. A friend was someone I could laugh with, talk to in a low volume amidst a very boring History lesson (for the record, I have nothing against history... just took an example), share my dabba with, play pranks with and all in all have a lovely time.
Of course, as everyone knows, friendship is not about merely having a lovely time as I mentioned earlier. But we begin to comprehend the real meaning of friendship only as we mature. The word "friend" encompasses a relationship that probably no one can possibly capture in words. It is so beautiful, so pure. Barring your parents, probably no one will know you as well as a good friend.. and perhaps with regard to certain things, even better than your parents....
I got a few very beautiful smses today which I felt were quite apt for this post, because it captures what I'm trying to communicate here.
A friend understands when you say I forgot, waits forever when you say 1 minute, stays when you say "Leave me alone" and opens the door even before you knock...
Love says: "If you ever need anything, I'll be there"...whereas friendship says,"you'll never need anything, if I'll be there."
A true friend is someone who can listen to you even when you are not uttering a word, who will be with you through thick and thin, someone who will guide you when you go astray and will love you and accept you for who you are.... no strings attached. But friendship is no one way street. One needs to reciprocate too. Indeed, as a friend of mine rightly said, "Friendship is a sweet responsibility"
Moving onto the first Sunday of August, popularly celebrated as Friendship Day. As the buzz hit my ears, I too got down to the tradition of making or sometimes purchasing (whenever I was too lazy) beautiful friendship bands, cards n gifts for my friends to make them feel special on that day. Year after year I carried out this tradition. Then as we matured, all of us began to feel that this was rather childish. So we came up with new ways to celebrate the day, like going out for coffee, watching a movie together or sometimes just hanging out together in our college canteen.
Sometimes I wonder... do we really need a special day to actually celebrate friendship? Do we not celebrate it each and every moment we spend in the company of a dear friend? We laugh and we cry with them... But then I feel if we can have "Father's Day", "Mother's Day", "Teacher's Day" and the ever so popular "Valentine's Day", well what's wrong with having "Friendship Day", considering friends are such an important part of our lives.
I could go on and on about friendship, even more so because I'm currently in a very pensive mood as my best friend will be leaving for his higher studies in a few days time but I guess I shouldn't torture all the readers as well... So I'll just end with a very cute write up I had come across on friends. This is actually something that is written on a little show piece I have and I read it almost every single day... and it never fails to bring a smile on my face...
Friends share the ups and downs in life - understand the "I don't feel like talking" moods and stories that need to be shared over and over again. They help during the hard times, celebrate the really great times, ignore the crabbiness and join in the silliness...
Thursday, July 21, 2005
The City of Joy....
First of all, I apologise for the screwed up sequence of posts.. but I felt that my lovely trip to Calcutta, where my dimensions changed from that of a rugby ball to that of a football, deserved a post...
Well, after 2 long years I finally visited my hometown for a fortnight. As the Captain of the aircraft told us "Fasten your seatbelts, we are about to land", I looked out to see the twinkling lights of the city. It was a beautiful sight. I tried to trace patterns with those lights and the view just mesmerised me as we approached the airport. Finally the plane landed with a thud and through the corner of my eyes, I saw my mother quickly thanking god for the safe flight. A familiar excitement began to grow within me at the very thought of meeting my near and dear ones after such a long time...
After seeing the movie Parineeta, I had a strong desire to visit the places that had been mentioned or shown in the movie. So I made sure I pass by the phuchka wala at the entrance of Victoria Memorial, one of the most beautiful monuments in the city. Even in the daytime, it looked spectacular. For those uninitiated, there's a lovely dancing fountain right next to Victorial Memorial called "Fountain of Joy". Also while going down Park Street, I made sure I don't miss Moulin Rouge and Trinca's; Moulin Rouge, of course is the night club where Rekha was seen singing "Kaisi paheli zindagaani"... (ok great.. now I've started singing the song as well...) Baghbazaar was not exactly en route anywhere I went, so couldn't look around that area...
Plenty of new shopping malls had come up within the last few years. In my earlier visit, I had made two attempts to visit Metro Plaza, a huge shopping complex there, but my earlier efforts had been thwarted back then, once by incessant rains followed by a car breakdown and another time by the Ratha yatra that I wasn't aware of. This time my mom n I decided that come what may, we will check this out. So amidst a lot of traffic on a Monday evening, we made my dad drive down all the way for over an hour n when we finally reached the destination we see a board "Monday Closed. The shop will reopen on Tuesday at 1:30 pm"... At that point, I don't think anyone could've felt more homicidal than my parents... Me? nonchalant as usual... The newest addition to the sprawling city is the lovely City Centre in the heart of Salt Lake area. It is a massive shopping mall, a few times the size of Forum in Bangalore and houses outlets of a lot of famous brands, including a few international ones and also has quite a few eateries for foodies like me. For movie goers, this place has Inox as well, a big multiplex... Ok.. now this has started looking like an advertisement of City Centre so I suppose I oughtta stop...
Any description of Calcutta would be incomplete without a mention of food... My mouth's watering at the very thought of it... Right from the chicken rolls (here we call them Calcutta Kathi Kabab), cutlets to the phuchkas (that's the pani puri equivalent), jhaal muri and chudmud... Calcutta.. oops sorry, Kolkata has it all. As for the sweets... yummy... mishti doi, rasgullas (or roshogollas), shor bhaja, gujiya, sandesh, pantua (that's like gjs... er.. gujab jamun) n the list goes on... Probably now you would understand why it is so difficult to watch one's weight in Calcutta...
Guess I've advertised enough for Calcutta... though honestly the city of joy needs no advertisement. It's such a lively city with warm people... Anyways, time flew while I was there n suddenly the day of my departure arrived. The plane took off and I could see the Hooghly river with bridges over it... Howrah, Second Hooghly bridge etc n could even see Victoria memorial from a great height as the plane ascended.... n then the city was obscured in white feathery clouds as I looked back longingly to catch one last glimpse of the city I had grown up in...
Well, definitely looking forward to visiting the city again next year... n now I aim to grow from football to a rugby ball in the horizontal direction... he he he... till then auf wiedersehen!
Well, after 2 long years I finally visited my hometown for a fortnight. As the Captain of the aircraft told us "Fasten your seatbelts, we are about to land", I looked out to see the twinkling lights of the city. It was a beautiful sight. I tried to trace patterns with those lights and the view just mesmerised me as we approached the airport. Finally the plane landed with a thud and through the corner of my eyes, I saw my mother quickly thanking god for the safe flight. A familiar excitement began to grow within me at the very thought of meeting my near and dear ones after such a long time...
After seeing the movie Parineeta, I had a strong desire to visit the places that had been mentioned or shown in the movie. So I made sure I pass by the phuchka wala at the entrance of Victoria Memorial, one of the most beautiful monuments in the city. Even in the daytime, it looked spectacular. For those uninitiated, there's a lovely dancing fountain right next to Victorial Memorial called "Fountain of Joy". Also while going down Park Street, I made sure I don't miss Moulin Rouge and Trinca's; Moulin Rouge, of course is the night club where Rekha was seen singing "Kaisi paheli zindagaani"... (ok great.. now I've started singing the song as well...) Baghbazaar was not exactly en route anywhere I went, so couldn't look around that area...
Plenty of new shopping malls had come up within the last few years. In my earlier visit, I had made two attempts to visit Metro Plaza, a huge shopping complex there, but my earlier efforts had been thwarted back then, once by incessant rains followed by a car breakdown and another time by the Ratha yatra that I wasn't aware of. This time my mom n I decided that come what may, we will check this out. So amidst a lot of traffic on a Monday evening, we made my dad drive down all the way for over an hour n when we finally reached the destination we see a board "Monday Closed. The shop will reopen on Tuesday at 1:30 pm"... At that point, I don't think anyone could've felt more homicidal than my parents... Me? nonchalant as usual... The newest addition to the sprawling city is the lovely City Centre in the heart of Salt Lake area. It is a massive shopping mall, a few times the size of Forum in Bangalore and houses outlets of a lot of famous brands, including a few international ones and also has quite a few eateries for foodies like me. For movie goers, this place has Inox as well, a big multiplex... Ok.. now this has started looking like an advertisement of City Centre so I suppose I oughtta stop...
Any description of Calcutta would be incomplete without a mention of food... My mouth's watering at the very thought of it... Right from the chicken rolls (here we call them Calcutta Kathi Kabab), cutlets to the phuchkas (that's the pani puri equivalent), jhaal muri and chudmud... Calcutta.. oops sorry, Kolkata has it all. As for the sweets... yummy... mishti doi, rasgullas (or roshogollas), shor bhaja, gujiya, sandesh, pantua (that's like gjs... er.. gujab jamun) n the list goes on... Probably now you would understand why it is so difficult to watch one's weight in Calcutta...
Guess I've advertised enough for Calcutta... though honestly the city of joy needs no advertisement. It's such a lively city with warm people... Anyways, time flew while I was there n suddenly the day of my departure arrived. The plane took off and I could see the Hooghly river with bridges over it... Howrah, Second Hooghly bridge etc n could even see Victoria memorial from a great height as the plane ascended.... n then the city was obscured in white feathery clouds as I looked back longingly to catch one last glimpse of the city I had grown up in...
Well, definitely looking forward to visiting the city again next year... n now I aim to grow from football to a rugby ball in the horizontal direction... he he he... till then auf wiedersehen!
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
The new Magician @ IBM...
Magicians @ IBM.... The name rings a bell doesn't it? This was the slogan on the back of the t-shirts that were given to us on 9th July, 2004 when we got placed in IBM... a li'l over a year later... we are now finally the proud IBMers we dreamt to be...
18th July, 2005 heralded the dawn of a new phase of my life. Yes, it was my first day at work and that too at a grand organization like IBM. I was excited and a bit nervous because I did not know a soul there who would be joining on the same day with me. I walked in at 0900 hours IST (wow! now that sounds formal...) and was immediately made to feel at home by the HR personnel. After my documents were verified, I was welcomed into IBM with my joining folder and a handshake. I had been forewarned about the number of autographs (he he) that I would be required to give on day 1, but did not expect the final count of the number of forms I was required to fill. Yikes!!! I realised I was in for a few hours of sheer "hamali".
Once the donkey work was done with, we were asked to go for lunch and since we were new there, the lunch on the first day was free. Immediately a smile showed up on everyone's till then bored n sleepy faces. The change in the expression did not escape anyone's eyes... Anyways, the lunch was good... n the best part was the fact that it was free ("kanjoos makkhichoos" that we all are... he he)
Post lunch I submitted all the forms and documents and we were told about all the facilities being provided. Some of the things were pretty impressive, I gotta say... For instance, we were told that everything around us was guaranteed to be fire resistant for 45 minutes. Following all this, I was sent off to meet my RDM (ok.. who's that supposed to be? still dunno so enlightenment is welcome) Unfortunately she was unwell and on a leave hence total hodge podge as no one knew what I was supposed to do. Finally I was rescued by my project manager and was finally shown my cubicle and was briefed about what I would be doing for the next few years.
After I got back home, after a one hour battle with the incessant rains and the horrible traffic, friends called to ask me what my first day at work was like. It was truly an experience... So different from college life. My chest swells with pride when I walk around with the badge which reads "IBM Employee", a proof that I am now a part of the world's largest computer organization.... It's really a dream come true...
18th July, 2005 heralded the dawn of a new phase of my life. Yes, it was my first day at work and that too at a grand organization like IBM. I was excited and a bit nervous because I did not know a soul there who would be joining on the same day with me. I walked in at 0900 hours IST (wow! now that sounds formal...) and was immediately made to feel at home by the HR personnel. After my documents were verified, I was welcomed into IBM with my joining folder and a handshake. I had been forewarned about the number of autographs (he he) that I would be required to give on day 1, but did not expect the final count of the number of forms I was required to fill. Yikes!!! I realised I was in for a few hours of sheer "hamali".
Once the donkey work was done with, we were asked to go for lunch and since we were new there, the lunch on the first day was free. Immediately a smile showed up on everyone's till then bored n sleepy faces. The change in the expression did not escape anyone's eyes... Anyways, the lunch was good... n the best part was the fact that it was free ("kanjoos makkhichoos" that we all are... he he)
Post lunch I submitted all the forms and documents and we were told about all the facilities being provided. Some of the things were pretty impressive, I gotta say... For instance, we were told that everything around us was guaranteed to be fire resistant for 45 minutes. Following all this, I was sent off to meet my RDM (ok.. who's that supposed to be? still dunno so enlightenment is welcome) Unfortunately she was unwell and on a leave hence total hodge podge as no one knew what I was supposed to do. Finally I was rescued by my project manager and was finally shown my cubicle and was briefed about what I would be doing for the next few years.
After I got back home, after a one hour battle with the incessant rains and the horrible traffic, friends called to ask me what my first day at work was like. It was truly an experience... So different from college life. My chest swells with pride when I walk around with the badge which reads "IBM Employee", a proof that I am now a part of the world's largest computer organization.... It's really a dream come true...
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Flashback
Well, looks like I haven't done justice to my 4 years of engineering by putting together the last post... so on public demand I'm back blogging again...
I'm wondering where to start... There's so much to write. As Nirmal said, college life was anything but monotonous. I close my eyes and a plethora of events just flash before my eyes.
Warning: I'm taking Blogydog's advice n writing a really looooooooong post so hold ur horses...
Let me begin with the first day in college... 12th September, 2001. After the Principal's address, some of our seniors showed us around college, filling us in with little tit bits about professors (aah! now who doesn't enjoy a li'l prof bashing? ;-)) The trip ended at what was, is and always will be the favourite adda of all COEPians year after year, generation after generation.... the ever so popular Boat Club. All eyes were drawn to the flowing waters of the river (once again.. is that the Mulla or the Mutha?). Till date those waters have a strangely calming effect on me. Anyways, coming back to my reminiscence... some of us girls sat on the ramp and another fresher like us was sent to us by a senior. He was supposed to give us 2 bucks n say "Buy sweets n share amongst yourselves..." Obviously we refused. He then begged us to take it n said he was being ragged. We then took pity on him n obliged... The same day and yes, at the same BC (or Boat Club), I mistook two of my classmates to be seniors so when they came to talk to us, I thought they were 2 mean seniors coming to rag us. To this date those 2 classmates (and now friends) of mine curse themselves for not having ragged me that day, for sure as hell I would've fallen for the ruse.
I vividly recall a particular Mechanical Engineering practical. We were being shown around the boilers (yes, our college is the proud owner of a fully functioning Babcock-Wilcox boiler and a Lancashire boiler... great! I remembered those names... ;-)). Anyways, while the practical was in progress, some of us had begun to doze off or start day dreaming courtesy an overload of technical information. Our teacher asked something... none of us had even heard the question and Mr. Pranay Tewari (one of the most absent minded souls of our class) yelled out "Babcock-Wilcox" and shook us out of our reverie. The funny part was the fact that what he said not was not even remotely close to whatever answer was expected. Since then for a long time, we used to refer to him as "Babcock-Wilcox". I wonder if he knows that...
Fast forward to 6th September, 2002. The tables had turned. We were the seniors, gearing up to give our juniors a hard time. Our classmate and CR, Indranil, had been asked not to shave so that he could look like a stern professor and on that day he totally looked the part. He was to teach Maths. This was a trick we had borrowed from our seniors. He was all huffy-puffy and threw some of us out of the class, kinda to boost his credibility. And when everyone was sure that he was a mean prof, we let the cat out of the bag. We made our juniors introduce themselves in pure, unadulterated Hindi and everytime there was a fumble, they had to rewind n replay. They were an exasperated lot and we couldn't stop laughing. Then my classmates thought of (almost) ragging me as well. Incidentally it was my birthday so I was made to stand up on a table while my juniors and my classmates joined in to sing "Happy Birthday Rupsha didi". Grrrrrrrrrr!
Then there were times when we used to play Dumb Charades and Antakshari in the BC. Cannot forget Ellora's classic depiction of "True Lies". She gave me a push and then pointed to herself and then shook her head and waved her hands (as though in denial... didn't realise back then)... The pushing was supposed to be "True" and her pointing n waving were supposed to be "Lie".... :D We created a ruckus in the BC ( something that we did a zillion times later) and hence to keep our department name untarnished, we claimed to be students of the rival EnTC department. Now ain't that sneaky?
Representing the college at the Firodiya Karandak was indeed an experience. For the uninitiated, this is an intercollegiate cultural competition where each college puts up some kind of a play... only thing is it is so much more than a play. There's acting, singing n dancing and parallelly painting, sculpting, etc going on. You have a talent and you can showcase it here. We used to practise from 10 am to 2 am... no kidding! It was extremely tiring but boy, it was fun. Those days my classmates used to treat me like a celebrity as I used to get little time to be with them. And sure as hell, I enjoyed the attention...
Then the magazine happened. I got to marvel the technical knowhow of some of my classmates, and yeah I discovered that I enjoy working on animation. This doesn't quite make sense, does it? So let me explain. For the first time in the till then 148 year old history of our college, the department magazine was published not on paper, but as a CD. It was new and challenging. We learnt a lot, worked hard and once again enjoyed the limelight.
Of course, how can I forget all the birthdays? Whenever birthdays of friends used to approach, we used to gather n discuss possible gifts at the BC. Ridiculous ideas used to come up like parcelling a girl in an empty refrigerator box, tying a ribbon n giving that to a guy. He he he. And on the actual birthday we used to purchase a cake and I did the honours of smearing the icing on the face while almost half the cake was stuffed down the victim's throat. Of course, I used to get the due reward for my action. Friends used to wait eagerly for my birthday as that was "Payback time".
Come submissions and once again we used to be at the BC, writing sheets n cracking jokes. One time we got hungry, so a friend of ours, Rohan, actually went to a nearby pizzeria n got it there. Amidst a lot of stares, we munched on the pizza.... (ok, now I've started feeling hungry). Sheets used to disappear n appear again with an "Oops sorry! Dunno how it landed up here..." Sometimes a gust of wind used to blow all our sheets helter skelter and then we had to spend a while trying to retrieve our sheets from under almirahs, nearby punts and so on...
Pranks were also a part of our lives. I played a few and was at the receiving end of some as well, though surprisingly none were played around April Fool's Day. They were varied, right from Sumedh receiving a letter from the "Times of India" office (ahem ahem! can't take credit for this one... it was totally Nirmal n Ellora's idea) related to the magazine to a flirtatious email being sent out from Suvrat's account... He he he (Now Suvrat will say, "Abhi he he he kya laga rakha hai..")
This description of the 4 years of engineering would be incomplete if I do not mention the college trip. We had an awesome time on our 2 day class trip to the Konkan area. Exploring an old fort at Raigad after a long ride up via ropeway, fooling around in the waves at the Diveagar beach, the campfire at night on the same beach, admiring the waves crashing against the boulders at Harihareshwar, visiting the Zanjeera fort by boat Swades style.... it was perfect!!!
Project discussions at the BC were always a riot. Every five minutes we used to deviate from the actual topic and start discussing movies and people around us... then go on with that for 30-40 min... n then realise n come back to the original discussion... These discussions were usually accompanied by chaha ani cream roll. It was almost as though we had actually met to discuss the other stuff and not the project.
It does seem an aweful lot as though the whole of engineering revolved around the BC. Well, that's true... not just in my case, but for all proud COEPians. If professors were to take attendance for lectures at the BC, it would be 100% in the BC rather than at the actual lectures.. he he he. We've had our good times and our bad times, both at the BC.... and probably that is the one place in college that we'll miss the most.
8th June, 2005 was the end of the saga called engineering. After our last paper, amidst all the celebration, we all went to the BC one last time. We sat there and chatted like old times. Then finally the time came for us to leave. Some of us were teary-eyed as we didn't know whether we would meet again. We had shared each other's laughter and tears and it saddened us to know that we may never meet again.
But I guess this is called life... We must move on. When we bid farewell to our past, only then we can greet our present and future with a smile. It will be a new world.... new place, new people and new challenges. We need to be optimistic and hope things are as wonderful as they were during engineering... On this slightly positive note I sign off... Cya next time!
I'm wondering where to start... There's so much to write. As Nirmal said, college life was anything but monotonous. I close my eyes and a plethora of events just flash before my eyes.
Warning: I'm taking Blogydog's advice n writing a really looooooooong post so hold ur horses...
Let me begin with the first day in college... 12th September, 2001. After the Principal's address, some of our seniors showed us around college, filling us in with little tit bits about professors (aah! now who doesn't enjoy a li'l prof bashing? ;-)) The trip ended at what was, is and always will be the favourite adda of all COEPians year after year, generation after generation.... the ever so popular Boat Club. All eyes were drawn to the flowing waters of the river (once again.. is that the Mulla or the Mutha?). Till date those waters have a strangely calming effect on me. Anyways, coming back to my reminiscence... some of us girls sat on the ramp and another fresher like us was sent to us by a senior. He was supposed to give us 2 bucks n say "Buy sweets n share amongst yourselves..." Obviously we refused. He then begged us to take it n said he was being ragged. We then took pity on him n obliged... The same day and yes, at the same BC (or Boat Club), I mistook two of my classmates to be seniors so when they came to talk to us, I thought they were 2 mean seniors coming to rag us. To this date those 2 classmates (and now friends) of mine curse themselves for not having ragged me that day, for sure as hell I would've fallen for the ruse.
I vividly recall a particular Mechanical Engineering practical. We were being shown around the boilers (yes, our college is the proud owner of a fully functioning Babcock-Wilcox boiler and a Lancashire boiler... great! I remembered those names... ;-)). Anyways, while the practical was in progress, some of us had begun to doze off or start day dreaming courtesy an overload of technical information. Our teacher asked something... none of us had even heard the question and Mr. Pranay Tewari (one of the most absent minded souls of our class) yelled out "Babcock-Wilcox" and shook us out of our reverie. The funny part was the fact that what he said not was not even remotely close to whatever answer was expected. Since then for a long time, we used to refer to him as "Babcock-Wilcox". I wonder if he knows that...
Fast forward to 6th September, 2002. The tables had turned. We were the seniors, gearing up to give our juniors a hard time. Our classmate and CR, Indranil, had been asked not to shave so that he could look like a stern professor and on that day he totally looked the part. He was to teach Maths. This was a trick we had borrowed from our seniors. He was all huffy-puffy and threw some of us out of the class, kinda to boost his credibility. And when everyone was sure that he was a mean prof, we let the cat out of the bag. We made our juniors introduce themselves in pure, unadulterated Hindi and everytime there was a fumble, they had to rewind n replay. They were an exasperated lot and we couldn't stop laughing. Then my classmates thought of (almost) ragging me as well. Incidentally it was my birthday so I was made to stand up on a table while my juniors and my classmates joined in to sing "Happy Birthday Rupsha didi". Grrrrrrrrrr!
Then there were times when we used to play Dumb Charades and Antakshari in the BC. Cannot forget Ellora's classic depiction of "True Lies". She gave me a push and then pointed to herself and then shook her head and waved her hands (as though in denial... didn't realise back then)... The pushing was supposed to be "True" and her pointing n waving were supposed to be "Lie".... :D We created a ruckus in the BC ( something that we did a zillion times later) and hence to keep our department name untarnished, we claimed to be students of the rival EnTC department. Now ain't that sneaky?
Representing the college at the Firodiya Karandak was indeed an experience. For the uninitiated, this is an intercollegiate cultural competition where each college puts up some kind of a play... only thing is it is so much more than a play. There's acting, singing n dancing and parallelly painting, sculpting, etc going on. You have a talent and you can showcase it here. We used to practise from 10 am to 2 am... no kidding! It was extremely tiring but boy, it was fun. Those days my classmates used to treat me like a celebrity as I used to get little time to be with them. And sure as hell, I enjoyed the attention...
Then the magazine happened. I got to marvel the technical knowhow of some of my classmates, and yeah I discovered that I enjoy working on animation. This doesn't quite make sense, does it? So let me explain. For the first time in the till then 148 year old history of our college, the department magazine was published not on paper, but as a CD. It was new and challenging. We learnt a lot, worked hard and once again enjoyed the limelight.
Of course, how can I forget all the birthdays? Whenever birthdays of friends used to approach, we used to gather n discuss possible gifts at the BC. Ridiculous ideas used to come up like parcelling a girl in an empty refrigerator box, tying a ribbon n giving that to a guy. He he he. And on the actual birthday we used to purchase a cake and I did the honours of smearing the icing on the face while almost half the cake was stuffed down the victim's throat. Of course, I used to get the due reward for my action. Friends used to wait eagerly for my birthday as that was "Payback time".
Come submissions and once again we used to be at the BC, writing sheets n cracking jokes. One time we got hungry, so a friend of ours, Rohan, actually went to a nearby pizzeria n got it there. Amidst a lot of stares, we munched on the pizza.... (ok, now I've started feeling hungry). Sheets used to disappear n appear again with an "Oops sorry! Dunno how it landed up here..." Sometimes a gust of wind used to blow all our sheets helter skelter and then we had to spend a while trying to retrieve our sheets from under almirahs, nearby punts and so on...
Pranks were also a part of our lives. I played a few and was at the receiving end of some as well, though surprisingly none were played around April Fool's Day. They were varied, right from Sumedh receiving a letter from the "Times of India" office (ahem ahem! can't take credit for this one... it was totally Nirmal n Ellora's idea) related to the magazine to a flirtatious email being sent out from Suvrat's account... He he he (Now Suvrat will say, "Abhi he he he kya laga rakha hai..")
This description of the 4 years of engineering would be incomplete if I do not mention the college trip. We had an awesome time on our 2 day class trip to the Konkan area. Exploring an old fort at Raigad after a long ride up via ropeway, fooling around in the waves at the Diveagar beach, the campfire at night on the same beach, admiring the waves crashing against the boulders at Harihareshwar, visiting the Zanjeera fort by boat Swades style.... it was perfect!!!
Project discussions at the BC were always a riot. Every five minutes we used to deviate from the actual topic and start discussing movies and people around us... then go on with that for 30-40 min... n then realise n come back to the original discussion... These discussions were usually accompanied by chaha ani cream roll. It was almost as though we had actually met to discuss the other stuff and not the project.
It does seem an aweful lot as though the whole of engineering revolved around the BC. Well, that's true... not just in my case, but for all proud COEPians. If professors were to take attendance for lectures at the BC, it would be 100% in the BC rather than at the actual lectures.. he he he. We've had our good times and our bad times, both at the BC.... and probably that is the one place in college that we'll miss the most.
8th June, 2005 was the end of the saga called engineering. After our last paper, amidst all the celebration, we all went to the BC one last time. We sat there and chatted like old times. Then finally the time came for us to leave. Some of us were teary-eyed as we didn't know whether we would meet again. We had shared each other's laughter and tears and it saddened us to know that we may never meet again.
But I guess this is called life... We must move on. When we bid farewell to our past, only then we can greet our present and future with a smile. It will be a new world.... new place, new people and new challenges. We need to be optimistic and hope things are as wonderful as they were during engineering... On this slightly positive note I sign off... Cya next time!
Monday, June 27, 2005
Me... an Engineer... theoretically...
12th September, 2001 to 8th June, 2005 sure as hell has been a long journey. This was the extent of the roller coaster ride called engineering. Well, although I'm still awaiting results, I've started calling myself an engineer. Of course, if my friend Rohan comes upon this blog, he'll immediately say "Rupsha, Not yet" and Aniruddha will say "We are theoretically engineers"... The practical side will be tested only when all of us start working.
I still remember Day 1 of engineering. I did not know a soul in my class. I was apprehensive, yet excited. Our seniors showed us around college and we were looking around, trying to absorb the scene of what was to be our second home for the next 4 years. Now when I look back, the sight of the slightly scared 18 year old newbie brings a smile on my face. Sometimes I fool around and tell my close friends "Hey! You never said Hi on that day... How mean!"... He he... It feels like an aeon has gone by. And once again we are out to face new people, new challenges...
Sometimes I wonder what life would be like when I start working, leaving the serious part aside where all that I've learnt for the past 4 years will be put to test. I can come back home after work, sit n watch TV, or surf the net or may be write a blog. I wouldn't have to worry about home work (a concept that I've almost forgotten in my college...he he) or about writing sheets and preparing for submissions or studying for an exam. Of course anyone who's already started working would probably beg to disagree and say "Hah! The grass is always greener on the other side". But it's so much different when you are a student and when you've started working. Yes, both involve a lot of learning, but the way the knowledge is obtained and/or applied are a lot different.
Besides what we've learnt from the 39 subjects (that sounds like a huge number, doesn't it?), I guess some way or the other all of us have matured in these 4 years, we've grown and seen each other grow as human beings. There have been happy moments and rough patches that we've had to battle and we've come out of them all with flying colours. My friend Indranil perhaps rightly says "This is the spirit of COEP..."
These 4 years of mine have indeed been an experience and have given me a horde of memories that I can treasure for life... OK, now I'm getting emotional so before I get all choked up and add to the already incessant rains, I'll sign off... Adios Amigos! cya around!
I still remember Day 1 of engineering. I did not know a soul in my class. I was apprehensive, yet excited. Our seniors showed us around college and we were looking around, trying to absorb the scene of what was to be our second home for the next 4 years. Now when I look back, the sight of the slightly scared 18 year old newbie brings a smile on my face. Sometimes I fool around and tell my close friends "Hey! You never said Hi on that day... How mean!"... He he... It feels like an aeon has gone by. And once again we are out to face new people, new challenges...
Sometimes I wonder what life would be like when I start working, leaving the serious part aside where all that I've learnt for the past 4 years will be put to test. I can come back home after work, sit n watch TV, or surf the net or may be write a blog. I wouldn't have to worry about home work (a concept that I've almost forgotten in my college...he he) or about writing sheets and preparing for submissions or studying for an exam. Of course anyone who's already started working would probably beg to disagree and say "Hah! The grass is always greener on the other side". But it's so much different when you are a student and when you've started working. Yes, both involve a lot of learning, but the way the knowledge is obtained and/or applied are a lot different.
Besides what we've learnt from the 39 subjects (that sounds like a huge number, doesn't it?), I guess some way or the other all of us have matured in these 4 years, we've grown and seen each other grow as human beings. There have been happy moments and rough patches that we've had to battle and we've come out of them all with flying colours. My friend Indranil perhaps rightly says "This is the spirit of COEP..."
These 4 years of mine have indeed been an experience and have given me a horde of memories that I can treasure for life... OK, now I'm getting emotional so before I get all choked up and add to the already incessant rains, I'll sign off... Adios Amigos! cya around!
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