A "Missed" Journey :)

As per the new sucking time-table, my three alarms rang making hideous sounds that usually force to wake up everyone but me in the building . Trust me, even three alarms mean nothing when you are deep down in your fancy dream holding onto some gorgeous. ;)  Anyway, my home-gifted-cooler makes more noise than the breeze it throws, so most of the times I don't hear alarm bell. Today when I woke up, it was raining. For a moment I literally forgot the fact that I have only one bus that takes me to the office. The weather effects forced me to go back into my dreams and when I woke up again, it was already quarter to 10. "Fuck !" was the only  word I could utter. My area is still under developing stage and many residents here belong to IT industry who either follow strict bus timings or have their own car, so the Government here doesn't bother much to increase the frequency of buses. In simple terms, there was no way for me to get to the office, unless I was lucky enough to be at the bus stand and catch that "we-can't-promise-you-any-proper-timing" PMT bus. Fortunately I was lucky ! A bus came within 15 minutes, showing the real side of India, where people were hanging onto every possible place, in and outside the bus. Knowing that there is no other option, I somehow managed to get into. And the  drama begun !

First shock came when the conductor snatched those 100 Rs. from my hand and handed me over a ticket of 10 Rs., not returning anything back. I tried to protest but that fellow gave me that "you-jackass-either-bring-the-change-or-forget-your-money" glance. He soon disappeared into the crowd, despite me yelling at him. After a 10 minutes struggle, I somehow got a seat. Soon a lady comes to me and points that this seat is reserved for ladies. I stare at her stupidly. I mean come on, every single "Reserved for Ladies" seat was occupied by men so gimme one reason why should I quit on my seat. But alas, I abandoned  the seat like a gentleman ,neglecting that "you-coward" glance of a man seating next to me . The best part was that the driver was still searching for passengers ! I mean how greedy can someone get?  After half an hour, I was standing in a position , which would have put me behind the bars, had I not been in a bus ! Surrounded by 4 feminine creatures touching "every" part of my body and absolutely no space to move, I finally gave up on my money, considering worthiness of the ride. Usually a 20-minute journey took around one hour due to traffic and when I finally reached the office, it  was quarter past to 12. (Thankfully  my lead understood what it means by missing a bus and said nothing when I gave him the reason.) .I then vowed before my "10-100 rs. ticket" in hand that I will never miss the office bus again. Damn it, I need more alarms and less fancy dreams to make that happen !

The Irreversible fact !

Long time, I must say! Human creature takes time to adapt to the new place and considering my "Still-in-the-process-of-evolution" mindset, it took me longer than necessary to fit in the new(?) city. It's been more than two months I didn't blog and trust me, it feels terrible. A decision has been taken and there are infinite factors that make this decision wise AND worse, but there are only two topics that conclude this article. 

One is company and another is location.

Switching from IBM to Infosys

Pros :

Well, there is only one factor, SALARY ! Being an IT animal, it's inevitable to keep finding a better place, both work-wise and money-wise! I am not sure about the former yet, but yeah, latter has made things smoother than before.

Company work culture is really friendly. Infrastructure is stunning, policies that take care of employees are abundant (at least on the paper!) and my project work involves serious coding stuff. So a good chance to master the language during my tenure(well, If I take it seriously !)

A good percentage of feminine creatures (of course, I meant good looking !) in the campus.

Cons :

Feels like I'm in a boarding school.(Again). I now curse the people who showed me the "money" part of switching the job but didn't bother to tell me to give a thought about the work culture of the company I'm going to. Infy or any Indian organization for that matter, imposes a "swipe-in-swipe-out" system. In simple terms, you are locked in the company for a duration of 9-10 hours. This applies even if you have no work left for the day. It seems management here doesn't give a damn to "freedom of life" thing. Being in a company like IBM, where I had liberty to come and go anytime (as long as I finish my work on time), it is a nightmare for me to sprawl out of the bed every morning.

Consider this, I wake up at 6 in the morning (What's so tough? Not in my wildest dream have I ever woke up before 11, when in IBM), decide whether to take breakfast or bath (or both, or none, depending upon the bus timing. (The second option alarmingly becoming rare and the last one, more of a habit !)) . I then meet the minimum requirements to make myself presentable, slog for 10 hours in my dear office, catch a bus at 7 and be back home by 9, eat, lock the door and shoot myself!

No girls in my project, and yes, it bothers me, specially when there is so much grass in other projects and very few horses(or donkeys?) to eat it! (You scoundrel! I know what you are thinking about that "eat-the-grass" term, I am just talking about making pretty friends who give you company in/(after?) office ! :D). IBM showered me in this particular case.

Pune Vs Bangalore

Ouch. Bangalore Vs Pune. What's the difference? A lot, you bet!, both in order of comparison and in cities themselves.

Pros :

My City! (though not excited about this feeling anymore, but who cares about my opinion?In India, parents still play a major role in emotional blackmailing !)

Though I am not a native to Pune, being just few miles away from home is a good comfort (Again, to parents!) They are happy and it makes me feel better. Had it not been for my parents, I would have never imagined to leave Bangalore. That city simply rocks and has given me more than I have ever dreamed of, both in terms of friends and happiness. But life is all about sacrifices. Anyway, I do have hundreds of old school-collage friends here and I am happy to be back. Moreover, It feels good to be at a place where you can speak the local language, can bargain with autowahlas and shopkeepers , go to any place, not fearing about what time of the night it is , so on and so forth ...

Cons :

Weather sucks ! Unlike cool and romantic weather of Bangalore, Pune is coped with extremities in both winter and summer. Though I am born in such weather, being in Bangalore for 2 long years has definitely made me accustomed to its weather.

I can no longer abuse local or company people in my mother tongue for they all speak the same language. ( In Bangalore, it was a solid stress buster to abuse others in the language they couldn't understand, if in case, they screw you and there is nothing you can do about it. )

In spite of having so many friends, company timings on weekdays and the red shiny bitch throwing hot waves of around 42 degrees on weekends don't give me time to meet anybody. And I guess this will go on until June. I have even started thinking that I am going to die alone !

Well, that's all for now. As you can see, a number of factors have made this decision wise and worse ! But life moves on :) Wait ...!! Does it? :O

P.S. It took me two hours to write this article and about 2 more hours to decide on the title :(

What the hell is wrong with me?

Yet Another Lover Left Behind !

(Phone ringing)

He : (Not again !) Hey,how are you?

She: Ohh.. why bother? Does it even matter to you ?

He : (Not really .. ) okay, lay it on me !

She : Where have you been these days? Can't you just call me once?

He : I told you, I was busy in meeting friends and packing luggage.

She : So finally you are coming to Pune. Now I can keep an eye on you

He : (what the heck ! you are doing that ever since you were born !) yeah. Let's see.

She : So have you thought about it?

He: (For God's sake, stop playing with me !) About what?

She : You very well know about what.

He : I thought you were kidding (as always)

She : No I am damn serious. I love you.

He : (Why on the earth it has to be me? :( ) But you loved someone else 3 months before, and before that you were serious for two more guys.

She : That was an infatuation . I think we can get along well.

He : (You "think?") Look,I have already explained it to you. I like you but not in that sense

She : This line is reserved for girls. Don't you feel any shame ? A girl has proposed you and you are acting like a star?

He : (I know why she has proposed me,but anyway) Nope. It may be easy for you but for me, it's a critical decision. what if I say I don't feel the same way?

She : Then you are an asshole

He : (Thought so ! wow. Somebody you love becomes an asshole in the next moment. cool)Thanks. I always was.

She : Do you have any other girl in life? you can tell me

He : (Why do I have to be committed to say NO to a girl like you?) No.

She : Then what is your problem? Am I not good looking? Earning? Educated?

He :( you are way more than that ! But I know you can't handle ANY relation. And your moody nature sucks !) Yes. you are. But my expectations are different.

She : What?

He : Forget, I don't wanna talk about it anymore. you deserve much better than an asshole like me

She : Don't play smart with me. You have to tell me in one word. yes or no? I already have many boys behind me so you should better hurry up.

He : ( Hahaha. what a line ! salute to that. Don't you get it? A big NO) I told you, I am not ready yet. you are free to do whatever you want.

She : Then I will have to stop talking to you.

He : ( As if I am dying to talk to you !) I don't want to lose one of my friends for nothing.

She : You have already lost me. Good night. And delete my number from your list now. Ba-bye

He : (wow. Thanks for the great news ! ) take care. God bless you . Ba-bye.

Girls ! They are complicated !

To Bangalore !

What the hell is wrong with me? I started writing but damn it, nothing is coming on my mind. I edited and reedited one article at least for three times and finally deleted it due to lack of words :( (and title!) I usually don't need any preparation before writing. I just start with anything and go on until it makes sense (which in most cases, doesn't!). I have tons of topics but somehow I am not able to gather the thoughts together. Mixed feelings about leaving the city and joining at Pune location .(I have decided to go for Infosys). In a way, I am both happy and sad. I will certainly miss the city , after-all ,my corporate life started here.

I will miss the weather, the people, my team , pubs, my rumie, that "The Bawarchi biryani", Bobby-da-dhaba, HRC, TIMES classes and the big gang I made there, and nighouts after a hectic weekend class. I will miss those "We-don't-plan-anything,we-just go-out-and-still-can-have-the-best-time-of-our-lives" things with my rumie. Lunch,work and literally useless but fun talk with Swati, Utsab an Wasim, These things are now an integral part of my life and sometimes when I think about them, moving on doesn't make sense.

This city has given me memories. A lot of them .

Although now my team is no longer a "team" as many people left the company, I will always be proud to have Sid as my team lead, my mentor , my friend and my icon. Going away from him is something I fear the most. Aww , there are yet many things to learn from him . I am sure I will be in touch with him (and vice versa . right Sid? ;))

Thanks to Vidhi, Rahul, vishal , Pankaj, Vanya,Amit, Priyanka, Somu ,Anandu, Yash, Rajeshwari ,Saurabh and Tushar Mama for tolerating and accepting me the way I am . You guys made my 2 years beautiful in a strange city !

Thanks to Vratant for teaching me how to live the life. No one can replace your company dude. I will keep the position reserved for you as my rumie, in case you come to Pune.

Angha, Mahim and Nisha and Diya please don't cry!(specially Diya, I know you will ! :P) You are the best(and most beautiful :D) friends I will ever have. I will still be flirting with you online ;) Thanks for being there whenever I needed you . And now stop bugging me for cutting my hair. It will grow by the time you see me again! :D

Hey Soumya! Is the beer deal still on ? Though I did not spend much time with you, I still had a lot of it ! We will be in touch, count me on that ! As I said, "the era has just begun " ;)

Last but not least, thanks to Rahul, Puneet, Shrawan , Umesh , priti and Aparna for the advices and company. I will miss you guys.

I am sorry If I have failed to mention anybody else . Damn it, I never thought my friend list will go to such an extend in two years.

A toast to Bangalore! Cheers :D

Life Quotes !

Ever since I was a child, I have this habit of following great sayings or quotes. My day starts with keeping in mind some quotations, which I follow very strictly. These quotes have helped me in every aspect of my life and made me a happy-go-lucky nature guy! Or I may say, my entire life's principles are based on these quotes. Following are few of them.

1. Whenever you are in a trouble or feel that something has made your life worse, just ask yourself one question, "Will this even matter after 10 years?". If yes, then you seriously are in trouble. But most of the times, the answer will be a NO.

2. Give people more than they expect, and do it cheerfully.

3. Don't take life too seriously, you will never escape it alive anyway.

4. Only people you need in your life are the ones who need you in their lives.

5. Learn to listen, opportunity sometimes knocks very softly.

6. Patience and coolness are the only two things you need to live the life.

7. Pray ! Even if you don't believe in God.

8. Never give up . Success comes due to hard work ,not due to fate or talent.

9. People deserve a second chance, but not the third.

10. Never ever compromise on your self-respect and attitude.

11. Be nice to people, even to your enemies. Making someone happy doesn't cost you anything. Sooner or later, they will appreciate it. !

Haha, I did it !

Phew..! One and half month's struggle finally came to an end..Happy Happy :)

Two months before I started searching for a new job and "The Interview Drama" very well explains my preparation stage. In two words, I sucked! I was irritated, frustrated for fluctuating between mba and technical and still not getting my hands on either of them. Each day, only one thought,"Am I good at anything? Anything at all?"

These 45 days tested my ego. I started from the scratch(at least for c++) and yesterday, while taking the interview for two big giants, I was surprised how well I did in everything. confidence level is certainly at it's peak! I cleared both Sony and Infosys.

Sony first.

There were 3 technical rounds and I rocked in all of them! UNIX, protocols, languages oh man..My heart was overwhelming for the effort I took in last 45 days and more importantly the way I explained things, sounding like a sheer genius(Mind you ,I am certainly NOT!).Cracked it , with a very very decent salary.

Infy was second. Thought to give it a shot as requirement was for the same skill levels.

Fate was strong as they started with Linux (Fav area :))and let it go for almost 1 hour in which I answered every damn question. Next C++ .This is was kinda tough as compared to Sony but did decent in that. Finally general telecom and after 2 hours, I was sitting with HR negotiating my package! Though the package is less as compared to Sony, good thing about Infy is it is considering 3 months notice period.(This is a minus about most of the companies,but glad Infy agreed on it.)

So now I have two offers and I am ready to kick my dear company's ass :P(Of course, offer letter is still not in hand, but it is just a formality. I Will get it by next week). Sony is worried about notice period factor but anyway, if I can convince my manager to release me before 3 months, I can get into it otherwise I will still have Infy for safe side!

Life is back on the track..Endless studying nights have ended . But the satisfaction of mastering something in which you were a naive is much more confidence boosting.

Now that I have settled on one side, I am thinking to postpone GMAT. But now it makes sense . Need lotta preparation before entering into this new(?) world!

P.S. Company People, please don't disclose this to anyone as there are still some important decisions to make! I hope you understand :)

Born Again. Resurrected !

The effect of those memories was too intense to get rid of. Sitting in the darkness, He remembered that day,Nov 18,2000. The day which changed his identity, the very nature of who he was.

He was in 8th standard, with 5'3" height, with no social awareness. He had a problem with his tongue. He used to stammer. Everybody around him used to make fun of him and he never cared because he had accepted the fact that he was good for nothing. There was only good thing about him. He was a class topper . They had a combined class of boys and girls. And on the very first day, he saw her ! She was the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. With a 5'7" height, slim figure and with a humanly unimaginable beauty, she was far above any boy's standard. She was so beautiful that he even scared to talk with her.  But to his surprise , on fine day, she came to him and the guy went crazy just by talking to her ! So as time passed ,they became friend ( at least the guy thought so!), but he never realized that she was befriends with him only to let him down in grades. He helped her in everything. 7 months passed. Gradually ,the boy thought he has this "love" feeling for her but he was not even the option she could ever think of.  But love was love (ahh..at that age anything we feel was love!). So one fine day, he proposed her. As he had a problem with his tongue, he wrote down everything in a letter and gave it to her. She read it but din say anything. She asked him to meet on the next day. Boy was happy and waiting for the next day,Nov 18, 2000. Next day,he went to school to meet her, to persuade her. She was with 10 other girls and the stupid boy din have any idea what was coming to him. He went in the class. The first thing she did was to slap him. He stood there ,not saying anything.Then it started.

The first question she asked was, " Have you ever seen your face in the mirror ?" You don't even come up-to my breast . Look at your height. And about this letter bullshit. If you have guts, do one thing, Just say the entire sentence without a pause that "I love you and I want to marry you". You say this in one attempt and I will marry you. The boy stood there. Silently. He had nothing much in life but whatever it was, it was destroyed that day. Yet he tried.

I love..love ..you.. and..and ..I ..and stopped. Everybody around her started laughing. Then for next 40 minutes, she and her friends humiliated the very existence of him. They even insulted his parents for giving birth to him. The boy stood there, weeping and listening to each and every word. Then he came home and for the first time in his life, he cried. He cried for his appearance, he cried for his inability to speak. He cried for every god damn thing that was responsible for his identity.  Finally he decided to end his life. But there was someone who was there for him. His mother stopped him. She understood something very bad has happened to him . She asked and the boy told her everything. His mother listened silently and then finally she spoke.

You are my son.  Don't let someone insult you like this. Do you wanna die the way your were born? Doing nothing? The way that people wont even spit on your body? If you really are my son then show me that you have the guts. Show me that you can make people fall in love with you. Show me that you can make your identity. Or die insulted. I wont stop you .

That was the day, Many things changed. The boy quit school and decided to take the exam from home. For next 17 months, he did everything that listed impossible in his directory. For next 17 months, he slept only for 2-3 hours, concentrating rest of the time to work on his height, tongue twisters and with only one purpose in mind, "I don't wanna die like this!". Doctors even warned that if he din get sleep, he can go mental. But the boy din care anymore. All he wanted was to be better.Each passing Day.

As time passed,

A damn introvert, having no friends and most useless creature on the earth gradually turned into a person who now has some identity.

A boy who was 5'3" and who used to stammer turned into a 5'10" and a chatterbox.

A boy who almost never laughed in first 16 years turned into an ever smiling guy and a source for others to laugh.

A hopeless romantic turned into a damn good flirt.

A guy who once struggled for having one good friend now have dozens of people loving and caring for him.

Things were impossible, two people made them possible.

3 years passed. When the right time came, the boy went to see her. She din recognize him at first, She said ," Do I know you?" .The boy smiled on his victory. He said, you know me very well, just try to remember. She stared at him for 5 minutes and then suddenly shouted, Oh My God..I cant believe it, Are you what I think you are?

The boy just smiled and said, nope I am changed a lot. Thank you for everything. He then left and never saw that girl again.

Happy Ending.!!

 P.S. A fiction? Comment are deleted because those were leading to misunderstanding !

The Interview Drama ! :D

Worst day of my life ever! Though now I am seriously preparing for GMAT, considering the booming market in Telecom, I decided to take an interview for Samsung and Aricent. Well, I regret my decision. This is one of the very few situations where I felt like I am the dumbest creature on the earth. Samsung had a written test which I couldn't clear. No regret for this! Test was damn tough. My head was literally spinning for first 10 minutes after looking at the questions. I abused myself with every possible "self-insulting" words when I found out that I can't get around. I am glad that at least I was not the only one having this feeling. After the confirmation from dozens of other interviewees, I somehow convinced my mind that test was really tough. But worse was yet to come. Being humiliated by the test, I then headed to Aricent walk ins. Oh man, why didn't someone stop me from doing that? There were two guys who interviewed me. It went something like this

1st guy - Okay Manoj, So tell me about yourself.

Manoj - (Yawning right on his face! Not my fault, I was awake since 2 am! ) ^%%&^**@$#
Both guys stare at me!
Manoj -(What?) excuse me, I am a bit exhausted.
2nd guy - So you are working with IBM past two years huh..Your coding must be excellent!
Manoj - (Damn you, If it were excellent, I would have been taking Google's interview. Not yours! But buck up Mani, this is not a place to cry about your project's poor exposure!) Well, we don't do extensive coding but yeah, I have a fair idea about fundamentals.

2nd guy - Cool. So tell me what do you do in your project.

Manoj-(What do you think I will do for 20 K? I come to office, I chat, I wander around, I go to cafeteria ,I hopelessly stare at the new girls in our project and then I go home!) I will give you a brief overview as my module is very large and explaining it will take much time. Is it okay? Feel free to interrupt me if you need details at any point in time.

2nd guy- Sure. Go Ahead.

Manoj - blah blah blah..^%^8&*((88#%#%

1st guy -Seems interesting. Tell me more about ^%&^

Manoj - Screw you. If I knew more, I would not have offered a " brief view"!) *&^*^ is blah blah blah..

2nd guy - So Manoj, can you write a program to &^*^&$

Manoj-(Yippee. I had mugged it day before yesterday. Lucky! Now listen jerk) sure. The logic goes as follows..%$&^&^

1st guy- Can you implement it using ^%%*%& ?

Manoj - (I bet even your father does not know how to implement it that way! Thank to god son, your at the other side of the table!) -I can try.
For next 10 minutes I wrote something which was hard to decipher. Even for me! Actually I gave up as soon as he asked that question. But well, let him think that I am doing something!

2nd guy- (Frustrated after 7 minutes..) Can you do it,Manoj?

Manoj - (Dumb-ass ,hell NO, but lets see what you have got!) Seems a bit tough, I have never used this type in my coding. But I am curious to know about it. Can you please explain it to me?)
Phew..and the sides change!

2nd guy Wrote some bullshit on the paper. Anyway,I don't give a damn to what he explained. But I had to pretend as if I am willing to learn!

Manoj- hmm..ohh..yeah..didn't strike me earlier..you are right!

1st guy - So do you know UNIX?

Manoj - (I know about UNIX more than your forefathers! Glad you came to this area. Now ask whatever you want! )Yes. I have a good grasp on UNIX fundamentals.

1st guy - Okay. I will come back to it later (He never did! :() first tell me more about %$%&*

Manoj - (You are a real son of a bitch.I know you have decided not to take me in.)
I don't know.(This time I was losing my patience,so no more polite words!)

2nd guy - I thought you know c++ well.

Manoj -(I never said this, you moron. Anyway.) As I said,we don't do extensive coding. But I am willing to learn (of course if you are willing to pay me twice my salary!)

1st guy - Wrote some crap function..Can you please explain the output of this function?

Manoj - (As if I am a walking compiler !) (That was a damn tough program code he had written) hmm..well..actually..basically..I can try..give me a minute please..okay..the output will be..I don't remember the implementation..but I think..this goes here..so ...returning value will be.. (and it went on..!)

1st guy - Never mind. What about this one (wrote another program!) and this time gave me 4 options. (He must have understood,this guy is gonna suck!)

Manoj - (choose something idiot..!Do inky-pinky-ponky--!) Answer will be option 3 (Damn it, give me less salary, but don't ask "how"?) (Thankfully he dint :))

2nd guy- So tell me about possible future scope in your project!

Manoj-(If my project had a "scope", I would not have bothered to come here, you really are a jackass!) blah..&%^&$#%#%..blah..^%$^
They asked 10 more questions after that and finally decided this guy is good for nothing..(yeah, I know it, why did it take so long for you guys to figure it out? :P)
Okay Manoj, please wait outside. We will let you know the results in a while!
Manoj - (Haha. Your company is not up to my standards! I don't want your job) okay. Nice to meet you both (But for God's sake, please don't ever meet me again,or else that would be your last day on the earth)
Then I came home,without even bothering to wait for results.
Happy(?) Ending!

But one thing,I never felt so humiliated in my life before this. I was damn good at some point in time in collage, but this mba fever took me away from technical.
But after this incident, I have decided to clear a damn interview first(I don't care if I get a job or not,I just want to satisfy myself that I can do it!). Screw the GMAT. I will postpone it again, if need arises. But now I cant sleep without clearing an interview. I am starting my technical preparation. Not because I want a job (yeah..that is a reason, but the main reason is I have to convince myself that I am good at technical. Because this is the first time I was so down in my own eyes) . And frankly I cant cope with this feeling. I always did things by giving my best shots. I go to extremities in anything I do(whether it is good or bad.)
So, next one month in technical studies and I will surely make the interviewer (and of course, my attitude!) happy.