Monday 18 July 2011

Things to do before I am 30 - Part I

wow...the title is daunting..When I always come to my blog post to write about it, it makes me think that I am loosing time...as Kareena said in JWM "Aisa lag raha hai ki meri train miss ho rahi hai". I don't even realise where all these years have gone. Me thinks I will have to split this blog into two parts. One part to talk about the life before today and another to plot the next year to make most of it before 30.

I am coming to this blog after almost a month and now have to hurry to finish it by end of today.Tomorrow will be my last birthday in the twenties and then there will be exactly one year I will have before I will turn thirty. Time is running out not just on the things to do but even to finish this blog as well :(

So as you can see by the date I was not able to update this by the time of my birthday. And now I have already lost almost 1 and half months of my one year before 30. I think jindagi aise hi nikal jaayegi when you keep planning rather than actually doing anything :P

So now lets begin of the notable things I have done or not done till now. These things might not be all goody goody but none the less had a major impact on my life or have changed me in some ways or other. Lets split them into 'Not so Pleasent' and 'very satisfying' categories. I am now getting all those 'Not so Pleasant ' things out of my way first
  • The only regret I will have for rest of my life is I didn't get any gift for dad when I went back for Diwali during my first year of engineering. It was not like I was earning and I haven't got something. But I never got a chance to do that when I actually started working. So this is a massive regret I will have to live with. May be this is the reason why I keep getting gifts to all my loved ones every time.
  • I got first class from 4th semester through out. Now this is a good thing in itself but it was too little to late for dad to see. He was very happy to see me getting even second class for my 3rd Sem so I keep imagining how he would have reacted for my first class. So even if everybody will consider getting a first class is good thing but for me too it was too little too late.
  • Same goes with my job and my stay in London. He would have been so proud.When I saw Mom coming out of the terminal on Heathrow I was overjoyed coz mom was in London as well as extremely sad coz dad was not. Human emotions are so funny. You can feel two extreme emotions at the same time
  • The next thing is kind of recurring. Over the period of time I have become so good at falling for wrong guys its getting scary and scarry both. At one point I was proud of myself for actually 'knwoing' people. But now I no longer have that faith/trust in myself and I am afraid to trust another guy. All current problems I am facing right now have the root in the trust issues I am having.
  • There was a point in my life when I had gone into cocoon. That was unfair to many people who genuinely cared and got hurt by my behavior. I have decided that no matter what happens I will never do this mistake again.
I know the above things are a very broad version but if given the chance I would like to change these or at least some of these.

Now lets cheer up a bit. Below are the things which really make me happy.Even today just thinking about them I get this huge smile on my face.
  • During my stay in London, I finally convinced my mum to come there to visit. When mom walked out on Heathrow that was the most wonderful experience of my life and even today make me so proud of myself
  •  Being a Tennis buff, going to Wimbledon during the championship weeks was a real treat. From the age of 4-5 years I have watched Wimbledon with awe.The traditions, Strawberries and cream,the overall atmosphere was a big pull. So to experience it in person was one of the many dreams come true
  • I make a bold decision to buy 50 pound ticket per session for 3 days in ATP world Tours 2009. Its the year end tournament between world's top 8 tennis players. And the most important part was I get to see ROGER FEDERER play live...that too twice...Being a die hard Fed Fan that was something special.I almost fainted with joy the first time I caught glimpse of him just few feet away from me.
  • I am afraid of heights..I mean I cant even climb on a chair and don't feel scared. So when I agreed to do Paragliding in Swiss (Interlaken) I even surprised myself. It was a scary and exhilarating experience at the same time. The feeling of 'I can Fly' was worth the trouble :)
  • Going to Arsenal matches and visiting Wembley Stadium (for a rather dull England Vs France match) were the highlights for the football fan in me. The Arsenal Vs Everton match was Epic. Not because of the quality of the match but because of our experience. We Got the members passes and sitting amidest all die hard Arsenal fans. Sandy and Smitesh were neutral so they had to worry about this more :D It was a really wonderful experience. Thank God Arsenal Won that match 2-1 otherwise the man sitting next to Smithy would have cried.
  • I have made if not the most then almost most of my stay in UK by  travelling around. Been to Paris twice (My most favorite city), Swiss, Holland(Amsterdam), Italy(Rome). Almost all of UK(except Irland). I have visited the 'The Da Vinci Code' landmarks as well as 'The Angles & Damons' landmarks, Now the next destination should be Washington DC to follow 'The Lost Symbol' landmarks isn't it? :D
On this note I will wrap up the Part I. In the next blog I will add what I want to still do which is also a very big list ;)

Friday 15 July 2011

Offshore Impact

Now its been a week and a half since I have joined Pune office. Lots of things have changed here over the period of years I have been with this company. The most drastic difference is I don't see many familiar faces around. I am not saying previously as well I used to know everyone. But at least by sight many people were familiar. I am missing that familiarity. It feels like I have come to a totally new company and starting all over again

In a way yes I am starting all over again. I think by the time I don't buy a house somewhere which I can call my own (mom's home is always my home but its not near and I cant go there everyday :( ) I will feel this way I guess.

From last 11 years I am out of my home. First it was Hostel then it was Pune for job. Then London. I have lost count of the houses I have stayed in during this period of time. That's why the feeling of not belonging to a single place.

Anyways I am diverting. So I was talking about all the changes I have seen in my colleagues since I have come back. To say I am disappointed is an understatement. I cannot see the professionalism that has been engraved into us when we join the company. Notable example was in canteen. When I went for lunch and I waited behind few people who were standing to place orders. I keep seeing people coming in between and giving orders. Finally after 5 minutes I asked my team mate whether I am standing in correct line. He said ki 'Aap line mein khade rahe to aapka number aane tak lunch khatam ho jaayega' . Same thing when I was waiting to get my order. I can understand everyone wants their orders to be done fast but 5 minutes se kya farak padata hai.

Same goes with travelling in office buses. When you are trying to get in people push you back and get in. I mean its not a train that if u don't get in withing stipulated time you will miss it.

Notably all these my colleagues behave so different when they are at client location. They behave with utmost care to make themselves presentable, mannered, well read and demanding respect. Why should we behave that way only at Client location or in other countries. If we start behaving the same way and observing the decorum at our own office we don't have to strive hard to do that in other places. We don't have to attend "Special Training" before going to onsite.

My rant is not at any particular person nor I am pointing at anyone. Now this is collective behaviour. I am not comparing life and manners in UK to India. That would be very unfair. I am just comparing the company environment I knew 3 years back to now. Even before going to abroad all these manners were engraved in us through example by our seniors or by the training guys. All the new trainees behave respectfully and with conscious mind. These days I don't see that anywhere.

And then we crib about the state of India. After such high education, such good opportunities if we cant behave in respectful manner what right we have to blast other people that they are rude, uneducated, not well mannered and are responsible for the state of India we are in. Everybody thinks why I should be the only one doing things right when everyone is doing it other way. But I guess you can lead by example or even if you cant change the whole situation you will get satisfaction of being at least true to you.

We the educated people, we the fortunate ones can make a difference if we decide. Then India wont be behind all those foreign countries we so want to fly to, to just get out of India.