The drudgeries of life
Friday, January 01, 2010
2010 ahoy!
Now that I look back, it seems as if the 365 days of 2009 passed by in a flash!
Saying that the days flew by would be doing injustice to the awesome year that 2009 was!
This was what I did in 2009 (and I really did do a lot of things!):
- On Jan 1, 2009, I was back home...
- Then came the seniors' final placements
- A sexy trip to Manali with the gang
- The SP Jain, Mumbai, sports meet... and the detour to Pune! And the grand DA-IICT reunion!
- A memorable trip to Agra and Fatehpur Sikri
- Chakravyuh 2009
- A month long project at adidas (Anchit and I will remember those days!)
- Farewell to the seniors and their convocation
- The wonderful summer internship at adidas
- The awesome stay at Mama's house in Delhi, and a cool Delhi summer (yep, ironical it is!)
- PDP for the newbies!
- Truckloads of parties
- First rains of 2009, and the fun in the field :P
- The 15 days long Dream Trip spanning Manali, Rohtang, Sarchu, Leh, Kargil, Srinagar, Amritsar et al... something I'll always feel proud and happy about having done B)
- The league of titans :)
- Plethora of parties again
- DA-IICT reunion a la Cafe Morrison, South Ex, and then in Gurgaon
- Surprise Diwali home visit :)
- Passion 2009!
- Numerous quiz competitions
- Many many case study competitions (Mahindra, Directi, GE et al!) Holy Cow Rocksss!!
- IIM Indore visit for quizzing!
- Final Placements for our batch :s
- Christmas@IMT
- New year's eve party in Delhi and then in the Amphi
And believe me, the above is the condensed version :P
Before you ask about my new year resolutions, let me inform you that one of them I've already broken by staying up till 6 AM :P So I'm planning to forget about the remaining too... save for regularly blogging or making diary entries! Which reminds me that I'm dead meat if I don't publish the Leh Trip posts soon!
Anyway, looking forward to an awesome 2010... Wish you all a Happy New Year 2010! Cheers!
Labels: 2010, Beginnings, Celebration, Happy Endings, New Year
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Out of the blue
I hadn't planned to post for a long time, but I guess I couldn't stay away.
I've been very busy... busy studying (or atleast pretending to do that), busy filling up countless forms (Oh! The amount of money I've invested (euphemistically speaking)), busy at work, busy with training sessions... did I mention studies?!
The month of October came and went in a jiffy... if it weren't for some days and some events, I wouldn't have believed that the month actually happened!
One thing I can't stop gushing about is that I celebrated my 23rd birthday in style. So much for missing the birthdays celebrated at college or back at home. Also, the qualms about old age setting in were forgotten for once... I didn't get time to bother about anything at all. Festivities started off with the arrival of 2 packages - one containing a totally unexpected and beautiful gift and a enlightening (ahem:p) card from someone who is globe-trotting, and another one loaded with goodies, letters and cards from the parents and my li'l sis - and the excitement didn't seem to die down after that!
A grand surprise from my colleagues at work was the clincher. Imagine blowing out a candle and cutting a huge black-forrest cake while a 30-odd people strong crowd is singing and cheering on :D And then the cake-smearing ceremony *ewwwww* Got to admit thought that never has my face looked so fair :p Finally, the dudes let their feet speak when they kicked the living daylights out of me *ouch* Little do they know that I shall have my revenge :p Then the gift and A-rated card from the teammates!
Didn't do one penny's worth of work the entire day, that day. Got calls from numerous people, relatives, friends, etc. Talked to people I haven't spoken to in ages, so thank God for birthdays!
The evening was fun... the gang of us 6 roommates at one of our usual hangouts on such occasions, feating on good food, raising a toast with a glass of Antiquity (sorry Mom!) and having a wonderful time.
The hangover the next day was inevitable... no, the drinks weren't responsible... the previous day left me on a high, and everything returning to normalcy abruptly probably depressed me :p Yeh dil maange more!
Anyway, I'd like to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone who made that day so special, and who unwittingly make this world such a beautiful place to live in! Love you all :D
I don't know when I'll post next but I'll try to make it in the near future. Hang in there, people! Keep posting!
I've been very busy... busy studying (or atleast pretending to do that), busy filling up countless forms (Oh! The amount of money I've invested (euphemistically speaking)), busy at work, busy with training sessions... did I mention studies?!
The month of October came and went in a jiffy... if it weren't for some days and some events, I wouldn't have believed that the month actually happened!
One thing I can't stop gushing about is that I celebrated my 23rd birthday in style. So much for missing the birthdays celebrated at college or back at home. Also, the qualms about old age setting in were forgotten for once... I didn't get time to bother about anything at all. Festivities started off with the arrival of 2 packages - one containing a totally unexpected and beautiful gift and a enlightening (ahem:p) card from someone who is globe-trotting, and another one loaded with goodies, letters and cards from the parents and my li'l sis - and the excitement didn't seem to die down after that!
A grand surprise from my colleagues at work was the clincher. Imagine blowing out a candle and cutting a huge black-forrest cake while a 30-odd people strong crowd is singing and cheering on :D And then the cake-smearing ceremony *ewwwww* Got to admit thought that never has my face looked so fair :p Finally, the dudes let their feet speak when they kicked the living daylights out of me *ouch* Little do they know that I shall have my revenge :p Then the gift and A-rated card from the teammates!
Didn't do one penny's worth of work the entire day, that day. Got calls from numerous people, relatives, friends, etc. Talked to people I haven't spoken to in ages, so thank God for birthdays!
The evening was fun... the gang of us 6 roommates at one of our usual hangouts on such occasions, feating on good food, raising a toast with a glass of Antiquity (sorry Mom!) and having a wonderful time.
The hangover the next day was inevitable... no, the drinks weren't responsible... the previous day left me on a high, and everything returning to normalcy abruptly probably depressed me :p Yeh dil maange more!
Anyway, I'd like to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone who made that day so special, and who unwittingly make this world such a beautiful place to live in! Love you all :D
I don't know when I'll post next but I'll try to make it in the near future. Hang in there, people! Keep posting!
Labels: Celebration, Experiences, Good mood, Happiness
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Confirmation
One year back, if someone had told me that I'd survive one year in the corporate world, it would've sounded funny! But a couple of days ago, on May 28th to be precise, I actually completed one year at this company! Needless to say, it feels good! And well, as usual, I got nostalgic :p
Left home for Infy, Mysore on the 25th of May, 2006, quite doubtful about how worklife is going to be! The moment I stepped out from that auto in front of the campus gates, I was stunned! The place was huuuge and from what portions of the place I could see, it was damn beautiful! And the cool breeze and romantic weather of Mysore gave me an all time high! It was the umpteenth instance of love at first sight!
However much I praise the Infosys, Mysore campus, it is bound to be less! I spent four months there and I shall never forget the good time I had there! It was like an extended 9th semester of college, for all of us DA-IICTians! Our college courses came in handy, and rather than indulging in studies in order to pass the training tests, we concentrated more on the extracurrics! The list is huge and there are so many things worth mentioning that I'll dedicate a separate post to Infy Mysore and the life we spent there :) Look out for that...
Anyway, my first day at work was terrible! First of all, formal wear felt so stupid! We guys were used to crushed up tees and torn jeans or cargoes, a pair of sandals, messed up hair... well hostel life can be blamed for that! So imagine our tryst with brand new undergarments, full-sleeve shirts, trousers, ties, belts, et al! On top of that, the ID card which you have to hang around your neck! Everyone looked like a genuine salesman for Videocon vaccum cleaners, I tell you :D! Getting up early, not once, not twice but every day for God only knows how long! Just the thought of it gave me goosepimples! Well lots of doubts, fears, we had but the sense of adventure and a new beginning was awesome!
Survived the first half of the first day which was crammed with sessions, and then went for lunch... the most embarrassing thing happened to me amidst the new junta there... I let my tie and ID fall into my chicken curry bowl with such force that SPLASH! Before I knew it, I had the gravy all over my new shirt, tie and pants! Yuck! How's that for starters! Rest of the initial days were spent fearing the worst about all the new things around the corner... courses, online tests, assignments, etc. But like they say, when you get done with the worst in the starting itself, the going is easy later on! After the inital hiccups, time at Mysore flew by like anything and before we knew it, it was time to leave! I still miss the place, and everything associated with it! First salary, the optimum utilisation of the facilities at the employee care centre, the walks and cycle rides around the campus, the new friends made there and sharing a renewed bond with the old ones, slowly by slowly getting moulded from a college dude to don the role of a professional, and a lot more!
After training, got placed in a department which many loathe, about which many held bad opinions, but seriously speaking, the department I am in rocks! We got posted in Pune but had to undergo training at Bangalore, and that was a terrific experience... seemed like an extension of the Mysore training! Only difference was that we were getting paid extra to be on this project-specific training!
Getting allocated to a project when back at Pune, plenty of new faces who seem to recognize each other but ignore you just becuase you're not one of them, not yet at least! Finally finding a foothold, making new friends, enjoying the work, a series of fortunate events ;), and yes! The feeling of belonging is there like never before and it feels sexy! Side-by-side, life in Pune rocks! Damn I'm so addicted to this place, the people here and the way of life I've adopted here that leaving this place will be heartbreaking! But then, there's a long time before that happens...
After a long time I think I'm typing out such a humungous post! All the credit goes to my confirmation as a regular Infy employee which happens in a couple of days... no longer will I be under probation, no longer will I be bound by the bond which was included to make sure we stick... all in all, it feels good to have one year's worth of work-experience!!
As of now, love is in the air! And coincidences seem to be helping iron out the creases in life... more about the same in subsequent posts ;)!
Left home for Infy, Mysore on the 25th of May, 2006, quite doubtful about how worklife is going to be! The moment I stepped out from that auto in front of the campus gates, I was stunned! The place was huuuge and from what portions of the place I could see, it was damn beautiful! And the cool breeze and romantic weather of Mysore gave me an all time high! It was the umpteenth instance of love at first sight!
However much I praise the Infosys, Mysore campus, it is bound to be less! I spent four months there and I shall never forget the good time I had there! It was like an extended 9th semester of college, for all of us DA-IICTians! Our college courses came in handy, and rather than indulging in studies in order to pass the training tests, we concentrated more on the extracurrics! The list is huge and there are so many things worth mentioning that I'll dedicate a separate post to Infy Mysore and the life we spent there :) Look out for that...
Anyway, my first day at work was terrible! First of all, formal wear felt so stupid! We guys were used to crushed up tees and torn jeans or cargoes, a pair of sandals, messed up hair... well hostel life can be blamed for that! So imagine our tryst with brand new undergarments, full-sleeve shirts, trousers, ties, belts, et al! On top of that, the ID card which you have to hang around your neck! Everyone looked like a genuine salesman for Videocon vaccum cleaners, I tell you :D! Getting up early, not once, not twice but every day for God only knows how long! Just the thought of it gave me goosepimples! Well lots of doubts, fears, we had but the sense of adventure and a new beginning was awesome!
Survived the first half of the first day which was crammed with sessions, and then went for lunch... the most embarrassing thing happened to me amidst the new junta there... I let my tie and ID fall into my chicken curry bowl with such force that SPLASH! Before I knew it, I had the gravy all over my new shirt, tie and pants! Yuck! How's that for starters! Rest of the initial days were spent fearing the worst about all the new things around the corner... courses, online tests, assignments, etc. But like they say, when you get done with the worst in the starting itself, the going is easy later on! After the inital hiccups, time at Mysore flew by like anything and before we knew it, it was time to leave! I still miss the place, and everything associated with it! First salary, the optimum utilisation of the facilities at the employee care centre, the walks and cycle rides around the campus, the new friends made there and sharing a renewed bond with the old ones, slowly by slowly getting moulded from a college dude to don the role of a professional, and a lot more!
After training, got placed in a department which many loathe, about which many held bad opinions, but seriously speaking, the department I am in rocks! We got posted in Pune but had to undergo training at Bangalore, and that was a terrific experience... seemed like an extension of the Mysore training! Only difference was that we were getting paid extra to be on this project-specific training!
Getting allocated to a project when back at Pune, plenty of new faces who seem to recognize each other but ignore you just becuase you're not one of them, not yet at least! Finally finding a foothold, making new friends, enjoying the work, a series of fortunate events ;), and yes! The feeling of belonging is there like never before and it feels sexy! Side-by-side, life in Pune rocks! Damn I'm so addicted to this place, the people here and the way of life I've adopted here that leaving this place will be heartbreaking! But then, there's a long time before that happens...
After a long time I think I'm typing out such a humungous post! All the credit goes to my confirmation as a regular Infy employee which happens in a couple of days... no longer will I be under probation, no longer will I be bound by the bond which was included to make sure we stick... all in all, it feels good to have one year's worth of work-experience!!
As of now, love is in the air! And coincidences seem to be helping iron out the creases in life... more about the same in subsequent posts ;)!
Labels: Beginnings, Celebration, Experiences, Good mood, Happiness, Life, Nostalgia, Reminiscence
Saturday, March 03, 2007
The Holi Day
As I got up in the morning today, my ears scanned for the cacophony, the melange of giggles, laughter, and shrieks, loud splashes, even louder songs, threats issued out to people like myself who're planning to skip the celebrations by remaining indoors, all of which I've come to associate with the festival of Holi! But surprisingly it was all missing! The only sound that disturbed the serenity emanated from the construction site nearby...
For as far back as I can remember, I've always spent Holi indoors... either watching TV, or playing games! The best part of the day used to be using water-filled pichkaris and balloons, and playing a mock Holi in the backyard with my li'l sister! It struck me as odd that though my parents allowed us to enjoy each and every festival, be it Diwali, Christmas, etc. they were strictly against letting me join my gang who were soaked in colorful dyes on Holi! Probably, the mess I'd make of myself under such conditions was their biggest fear... who knows?! Anyway, the entire day was spent cooped up in the house, locked up like prisoners! The most exciting moments used to be when the crowds used to reach our gates and kept banging on the gates and kept shouting out to us to join them! Not once in the 20 years that I spent Holi with my parents did they give in to their friends' pleas...
Even when at college, most of my pals used to go home to celebrate the festival of colors... I too used to go home but for separate reasons - the main one being to escape the colors! I did somehow decide to check out the gusto with which this festival is celebrated, and so I stayed back at college for Holi in my last year! Turned out that almost everyone had stayed back and mamamia! Hearing the mob out in the corridor gave me goosebumps and I started wondering whether I had taken a really wrong decision to not go home! The mob wouldn;t take no for an answer and I made it to the venue of the festivities, the cricket ground, in one piece though I know I must've looked like a character right out of a kid's painting book:D!
One by one, all the guys were deprived of the clothing covering their upper body by the mob, and in some cases, the lower clothing too! LOL! And once you've been stripped, it was common sense to join the mob in stripping others so as to ensure equality! Who wants to be the odd-man out?! It was another thing that I was the first victim! Luckily I was unrecognizable! So, after all the initial "kapda phaado" andolan was over, the specially prepared slush was there! One by one, everyone was thrown into it *yucky* and dirt, grime, mud, water, colors, were thrown upon by alleged friends as toppings!
This and much more! Not to mention the sweets! Yummy yum yum! If ever I really felt like a pig, it was then! Somehow walked back to the hostel extremely concious of my semi-nakedness! Hit the showers pronto! Scrubbed myself till my skin felt raw! Woah! What an experience!
All said and done, it was really cool! And what mattered was the wonderful moments with friends! I don't think anything like that will happen again... people seem to have grown more mature and responsible, and such childish things won't look good! BLAH BLAH! But still, who want to celebrate certainly indulge in it! What matters is having the HOLIday spirit intact!
Here's wishing everyone a colorful Holi!!
For as far back as I can remember, I've always spent Holi indoors... either watching TV, or playing games! The best part of the day used to be using water-filled pichkaris and balloons, and playing a mock Holi in the backyard with my li'l sister! It struck me as odd that though my parents allowed us to enjoy each and every festival, be it Diwali, Christmas, etc. they were strictly against letting me join my gang who were soaked in colorful dyes on Holi! Probably, the mess I'd make of myself under such conditions was their biggest fear... who knows?! Anyway, the entire day was spent cooped up in the house, locked up like prisoners! The most exciting moments used to be when the crowds used to reach our gates and kept banging on the gates and kept shouting out to us to join them! Not once in the 20 years that I spent Holi with my parents did they give in to their friends' pleas...
Even when at college, most of my pals used to go home to celebrate the festival of colors... I too used to go home but for separate reasons - the main one being to escape the colors! I did somehow decide to check out the gusto with which this festival is celebrated, and so I stayed back at college for Holi in my last year! Turned out that almost everyone had stayed back and mamamia! Hearing the mob out in the corridor gave me goosebumps and I started wondering whether I had taken a really wrong decision to not go home! The mob wouldn;t take no for an answer and I made it to the venue of the festivities, the cricket ground, in one piece though I know I must've looked like a character right out of a kid's painting book:D!
One by one, all the guys were deprived of the clothing covering their upper body by the mob, and in some cases, the lower clothing too! LOL! And once you've been stripped, it was common sense to join the mob in stripping others so as to ensure equality! Who wants to be the odd-man out?! It was another thing that I was the first victim! Luckily I was unrecognizable! So, after all the initial "kapda phaado" andolan was over, the specially prepared slush was there! One by one, everyone was thrown into it *yucky* and dirt, grime, mud, water, colors, were thrown upon by alleged friends as toppings!
This and much more! Not to mention the sweets! Yummy yum yum! If ever I really felt like a pig, it was then! Somehow walked back to the hostel extremely concious of my semi-nakedness! Hit the showers pronto! Scrubbed myself till my skin felt raw! Woah! What an experience!
All said and done, it was really cool! And what mattered was the wonderful moments with friends! I don't think anything like that will happen again... people seem to have grown more mature and responsible, and such childish things won't look good! BLAH BLAH! But still, who want to celebrate certainly indulge in it! What matters is having the HOLIday spirit intact!
Here's wishing everyone a colorful Holi!!
Labels: Celebration, Colors, Holi
