I start my day by sitting on a chair, Giving my monitor a hard, cold stare. By evening I’m done with another coding, Oh! This has become a routine so boring.
Like all, I entered this field with many a hope, Jobs were aplenty and there was no dearth of scope. Dreams were big - Of joining the likes of Gates, And a chance to make good money in the States.
Thus, I entered the world of bytes, Only to realize that reality bites. ‘Coz a programmer’s life isn’t all that cosy, The bed of software isn’t all that rosy.
Seeing the monitor all day & night, Have taken the power off my eyesight. Late to bed & late to rise, Has made me wealthy, but not healthy & wise.
Working holidays, busy weekends, No time for family, no time for friends. My job steals most of my time, Helplessly, I’m a part of this crime.
Just for a few bits of money, I forego those moments with my Honey. When I should be out – having fun, I’m telling a Comp. – what is to be done.
I hate you, yet I can’t get away, ‘Coz I need the money you pay. God, to thee I pray, If there be one – show me the way.
When God didn’t bother to reply, I realized what it tends to imply. I chose my own path, sans the logic, Of planning, tracking & weaving some ‘magic’,
Manager’s chair was always alluring, But now I know, it’s equally boring. Do what may to evade the pain, Somehow, the fuss doesn’t seem to wane!!!
Some of the regular readers of this space have urged me to blog more often. Although laziness continues to be the prime reason for not blogging often, another turn off which is building up fast these days is the numerous CelebBlogs that’re mushrooming all over the BlogSpace. And they’re luring the common reader away. (It’s like losing your dedicated customers :-(!)
C’mon think of it – If I’d the time to read a webpage full of unfeigned content, wouldn’t I choose to read the thoughts of a certain Mr. Bachchan over someone like Nihar Ashish? Don’t bother - You don’t need to answer that one :P. The verdict is straight, reading about celebs naming their pets upon each other is any day more interesting than what happened in X person’s life. Moreover - The news channels ensure that you know about the latest posts on these blogs more regularly than the celebrities themselves (You still think they write it ‘ :-)?). Knowing these as a matter of fact, I’ve no complaints with my readers.
However - I certainly feel that personally; I have something strongly against these celebrities. I used to watch TV as a pastime, mostly reality shows, then the celebrities started hosting them & the ‘reality’ bit was no more. I used to love cricket, but soon it became the amalgamation of Bollywood & BCCI which made me lose interest. Now I can almost say that I used to love the BlogSpace, but very soon, celebrities will be ruling the roost here as well. After Aamir, Amitabh & Shahrukh, the latest news claims that our very own Mr. Lalu Prasad Yadav is also going to start writing (I doubt!) his own blog soon. Can’t wait for that one – Need to know how he used to locate the train sitting on the bhainsi.
Go on celebs - Keep Blogging! (while I keep Slogging :-(!)
Date : 14th August, 2003. Venue : Interview Room. SIT Campus, Tumkur. Event : Final (HR) round of TCS Interview.
Interviewer: “Where do you see yourself 5 years down the line?” Interviewee: “I see myself as a Manager, managing a team of at least 8-10 people. Estimating, Planning, Interacting with the key-stakeholders & leading the proceedings.”
Interviewer: “Don’t you think 5 years is too early to be a Manager, considering you still have an year left to complete your course?” Interviewee: “I have faith in my abilities & I like to dream big. So that I can push myself to chase & fulfill them”
The interviewer was a sly pot-bellied & bespectacled Bengali who seemed to have no regards for humankind or people in general. No points in guessing who the Interviewee was! There were other discussions in that interview apart from the one narrated above which probably didn’t go my way. The interviewer wasn’t impressed. He probably thought of me as a cocky student, who’d read some inspiring books with his dreamy eyes. 270 top students from our college of 800+ students appeared for the first round of that selection process. After 4 rounds – Only 35 made it to the final interview. Out of the 35 finalists, 29 were eventually selected. And I was one of the 6 who couldn’t make it! For the first time – I had doubts whether I’d set very high targets for myself. People with unrealistic dreams are always treated as maniacs in our society. As much as I loved being confident & bold, I detested being perceived as an arrogant, unrealistic & over-confident person.
It’s about to be five years since that incident. As I write this, I feel a sense of satisfaction. Neither have I achieved something major nor answered anyone’s questions. No dreams fulfilled & no critics silenced. In the last five years, I’ve just managed to live upto my own expectations and I’m happy that I could do so. I’m doing what I saw myself doing yrs. earlier. I’ve been a Manager @ 25!
It was the second last day of the holiday season & most people had already planned it in advance. After all, the last day of a year deserves some celebration! As for us - Our deportation in a foreign land did not leave us with too many options. The lack of family/friends & the cruel weather further added to the agony. Thankfully, there was this City Square (Nathan Phillip Square to be precise) which hosted an open air extravaganza [I like the last word – Goes to show how well they marketed it!]
A leading TV Channel had sponsored the event which brought together some of the renowned local/international artists in an open air ground. We’d already been there @ the same time last year & since we’d no better options this yr., thought of sticking to the tried & tested formula. Our team consisted of just two people – Me & Ravi. Being our usual selves – We started @ 11.40pm, knowing that it was just a 2 min. walk from our place. However – This day was to be different. The regular 2 min. walk took us a good 10 mins. - Thanks to the crowd! It looked like the whole city was converging @ one point. It was definitely a good build-up to the actual event. Excitement was in the air. People were singing & shouting all along the way. Most of them were in good (read: ‘High’) spirits & were suitably dressed with accessories ranging from 2008 painted faces to massive balloons to ‘Happy New Year’ hats. It was pouring, like a tradition, for it was raining on the same time last year too. But the rain just wasn’t enough to dampen the spirits.
So we arrived @ the spot & joined the several thousand other heads which were fighting the rain & cold just for the ‘feel of the moment’. It was just like another rock concert. The countdown started soon & just at the stroke of midnight – The crowd bursted! Everyone released the balloons they were carrying, there was a loud noise of different whistles, trumpets & mere screams :). The ambience quickly transitioned from a ‘Rock-concert’-ish to something close to the Inaugural Ceremony of a world-wide event. And when the moment finally died down - followed the loooong kisses! When we looked around, everyone was embracing & kissing their partners [Believe me or fail - I rarely mean ‘everyone’ like the everyone in last sentence.] Looked like we were the only lonesome losers in the crowd of millions. Surrendering to the occasion - We shrugged shoulders & embraced each other a Happy New Year!
Clichéd as it may sound, there are moments when you think you’re a part of the crowd & then, there’s the very next moment when you realize you’re all but alone. All for yourself & nothing more! Cruel are the designs of destiny. For when you have friends, you keep striving for some free time & when you have good times, you fall short of company!
Over the last few days – I’ve been sensing an electric ghost in my suite. It never shows up, but uses its shock-&-awe tactics to surprise me at regular & unprecedented situations. Whether I touch the door knob, the washroom tap or the refrigerator door, it shocks me every single time. The situation had become so spooky that I finally had to search for ways to get rid of it.
This situation is nothing but Electrostatic discharges in the form of shocks. Here are a few facts about the same (Actually there were many but I just managed to pull in the ones which are applicable to me/people like me):
Cold & dry climate, Furniture coverings, Man-made floor and shoe sole materials are main factors in most cases of shocks.
And as with most cases – The causes themselves gives us an indication of the solutions. So for people who experience electric shocks more often than others, here’re a few pointers to reduce the same:
Try to increase the temperature & humidity of your place.
Wear cotton clothes
Change the furniture covers from synthetic/nylon to some cotton variant.
Check your floor. Change it if you can [Wooden & carpeted floors are more susceptible]
Opt for shoes with leather soles. Better still – Walk without shoes or socks.
I’m still wondering that the electrostatics chapter in the high school Physics class taught us so many complex formulas (of which we remember none). What if our education had been more practical!?
The title of this post is delusory (like most of my other titles). Not that I’m confused; it’s just that I’m bad when it comes to making the choices. So the bear with me-This has nothing to do with flirting with danger.
It was a lazy Sunday afternoon. And just like all lazy Sunday afternoons – Nothing was going right! The Sunday was ageing fast; I wasn’t feeling like moving a muscle & yet was cribbing about another wasted Sunday. Just then the communicator on the Laptop buzzed. I was expecting a Yahoo! But this turned out to be the Office Communicator. Ab kya phat gaya! Was the obvious (& usual) first-thought.
However- It turned out to be my Director. She was like – "Sorry to disturb you, I need to talk to you on something urgent" By this time, my mind had already thought of what things could possibly have gone wrong for me to deserve a direct (& unscheduled) confrontation with my Director. So while I had started cogitating the ‘saving-my-ass’ speech, I was informed that I’m required to travel to the US for a quick Client Session. The topic of interest was the place – She’d just mentioned Hollywood! (Probably just for the affect - Managers always know how to bait the juniors)
So – Overnight preparations happened (anyyyyything for Hollywood), the presentations were made & the bag was packed. 3 of us were supposed to go. My Sr. Manager – An uber-kewl Jamaican guy, myself – the quintessential ‘brown’ nerd & a bubbly peer (who could’ve opted for modeling but chose to ruin her life in software). The lady was supposed to pick me up from my place for the early morning flight – And boy! Did she do a good job at it? I literally woke up by her call (2 hrs. ahead of the flight time & early in the morning) She was ready to reach my place in 10 mins. And me, like most other good guys, was too much of a nerd to admit I was hardly ready. Anyways – I got ready in 15 mins. & that included a forced nature’s call, proper shampoo bath, two coats of shave, last minute packing & dressing up (Deos, chapstick n all). After all I was going to have great company. So I finally got off & headed to the airport in hugger-mugger. Things were smooth after then – The only itch was that after reaching the airport, when I searched for the camera to capture a moment – I realized that I left it behind! I was completely shattered assuming the opportunities that I would miss. Being in Hollywood & without having captured a moment – That sounds like a curse! [Coming to think of it as a reconsideration – Little did I knew at this time that I would not get a chance to visit any locales – That should’ve reduced some disappointment]
We went straight to the client office from the airport. And the next two days passed by in a flash. It was only Hotel to Client office & back, naturally enough, the sight seeing was limited to the roads & the sidewalks. The hotel suite was good (It was Sheraton after all).The only other place to boast of, was the Universal Studios complex where we dined once. It was lively, well-lit & crowded with all kinda tourists – from kids to grampas & from couples to officials (like us). We’d decided to try some good Mexican food, and minutes later – It was ascertained as SHIT.
Well, that’s almost all of it. All that I know about Los Angeles/California/Hollywood/Universal City is that:
It’s hotter than most other places in the US/Canada (and the HOTness is not just in terms of just the temperatures. You’ll need to see the babes to gauge the heat ;-))
The traffic is no less chaotic than India (Bangalore?)
When you’re passing through the roads, you get a feeling of déjà-vu. (You must’ve seen these places in some Hollywood movie or the other)
The HOLLYWOOD sign on the hills is more glamorous live than what we see in images. (Sadly – I got a glimpse of it only when the flight was ascending on our way back).
Throughout my stay, I was wondering how I would get to see the HOLLYWOOD written across the hill. And ironical as it may sound – I got the view from my flight while returning. There it was, all across the hill, almost teasing me.
Well – God responds at times. You just need to pray long enough. Thanks god for answering my prayers & being so kind to me!
The last four lines substantiate the crux of my Diwali this year. Though it wasn’t too bad after all – But frankly speaking, there wasn’t anything great about it either. Now before I can jump on the Diwali story, I need to justify my sabbatical from the blogging space. I always had the passion to write, but perhaps the other passion (or the urge!) to work is always slightly higher which kept me to my daily official tasks & away from the notepad. In the meanwhile, there were many incidences which I’d liked to pen down. But having gone past them I don’t think I’ll ever do that again. So thought of at least listing them here, so that they’re captured in text apart from my memories:
The Royal Official Visa trip: Just a day of regality wherein I flew King-kisser airlines, leched on the cute Punjabi stewardess, got a dedicated chauffer driven Optra to start with (which was later replaced by an Accent), drove down the length of the city, did some shopping, visited a friend & dined in a dhaba. Everything was just royal & perfect on that day. [And yes – I got my Visa too]
Toronto Reloaded: In the space of just about a year, we were flying again to Toronto – Our international abode. The journey this time was far less eventful (but none less exciting) that the first time. But once we touched down the city, it caught our excitement (yet again!) The apartments were better than the last ones & the office had shifted too. We are all set for the second innings.
The Royal-er Official trip: If royal was the term given to the one-day Visa trip to Chennai, then this one should be termed no less than ‘Imperial’ or ‘Majestic’. For the 2 day offsite trip to a resort in North-Toronto was something you only get to watch in movies or dream about in fantasy. First of all, it came in at the last minute & at a surprise. I was told in the weekend that I need to reach this resort on Monday morning for a 2-day internal session. I was wondering what kinda session are we gonna do in a ‘resort’. All the queries were pleasantly answered after we reached there after a 90 minutes drive on Monday morning in my Manager’s plush car. It was a calm & serene place. The tranquility was disturbed only by the gentle breeze. There was a vast stretch of individual cottages lined up & half of them overlooking a beautiful lake. There was also a large landscaped golf course outdoors. In the indoors – you had all that you can ask for in a multi starred location. The suite was princely too. For among the obvious furniture, it included a Jacuzzi, an arrangement for house-fire, and a big balcony overlooking the woods & the beautiful lake. Apart from the sessions that we anyways had to attend, we had a great dinner & we also had an outdoor activity. And the activity was – A bumpy ride around the woods & the rocks on a Hummer.. (Yes you read it right – A Hummer it was!). And it was the ride of our lives. We went through timberland & bouldered terrains & enjoyed the various acrobatics of the Hummer. The two days passed in this location like a flash but the memories are bound to remain forever.
Well, that were the back-logs of the old months as they passed by. Hope to be more regular (at least for the next month or so)
Name: Nihar Ashish Home: Bangalore, India About Me: Nature soothes me...
Speed thrills me...
Adventure appeals me...
Art mystifies me...
Music entices me...
Beauty inspires me...
All of these, COMPLETE me. See my complete profile
