Feels Weird

Feels weird I write this post! I'm a manager now :D Cant believe in couple of day's I'll have 30 guys reporting to me. 8 years back, I still remember my first day at office. A BPO organization based out of my hometown, Kolkata. Twinkle eyed, all I could was to stare at the glossy interiors. And after the day finished, I came back & met my childhood sweetheart. She was waiting with a proud smile near the bus stand. And I couldn't have been more happier. Everything seemed so perfect. Just out of college, that 16 grands salary a month seemed like a million dollars! Sadly didn't realize then that tough times awaited with a smile. Since I was a good communicator ( thanks to my english medium background), I was selected to be a part of the helpdesk. There were others who couldn't even say a proper intro about themselves & got selected for non-voice teams. I was flummoxed by this development! I mean how could a good performer in the technical interviews be selected for a helpdesk! :O Anyways, I moved on. But thankfully even though I was an agent at the helpdesk, I learned a lot from my peers & seniors. It was then that I learnt what corporate life meant. I picked up professional etiquette. I made fabulous friends. And in those 3 years, I learnt a lot. And then came my second adventure at Hyderabad. I had never been out of home, up & until that time. As the 3rd law of Newton says - Every action has an equal & opposite reaction. It's just that I never guessed it coming. In a couple of weeks, I had life changing experiences. Had a mini titanic scene at my flat, as the kitchen tap broke & within seconds everything I could see was flowing in water! I broke up with my five year old girlfriend. In a few weeks, I learnt she was going around with her office mate. Had a very difficult time to come upto terms with that & almost contemplated giving up. But as the saying goes "In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on - Robert Frost". It was then, when I saw what proper sheer luck does to a person. I had just come over to meet my parents & also stay away from Hyderabad which admittedly became a tough city to live in. I saw a newspaper AD that Accenture were recruiting in Kolkata for their new office in the city. Although I never had a technical acumen to go for an interview ( because of my BPO background). I decided to give it a shot. I still don't know what the recruiter saw in me to give me the job as a middleware admin! :D It was plain & sheer luck that once again I got selected for a technical middleware project. And although I had to compromise on my starting salary, I still have to thank my ex-girlfriend. She had moved in2 Bangalore & my offer was from Accenture Blore too. Naturally, even though technically she was my ex. Neither she or I could give up on both of us. Because we were genuinely "good friends" apart from being lovers. We practically spent our teens & early tees together. Anyway, I'd go on to the topic once again. So, I was at this french international complex technical project on middleware working on the latest technologies & using Unix, Ubuntu , Linux as their operating systems! I know how I passed out my engineering, so all these seemed hibru. But I got two tamilan people to thank for. BG & Muthu, you put your trust in a rank outsider. Someone who had no knowledge. Somebody who didn't know what middleware meant. It took me a while, but I slowly picked up stuff. Got myself enrolled for a in-house training program at a leading training house in Bangalore & in office I was always attending e-learning or instructor led courses. As funny as it sounds, I'd still have to thank my ex for it :D :D . Within 4 months since I landed in the garden city, she left. Apparently the guy she was dating, relocated to NCR and she left to join him there. I was heartbroken, but I put all my vent towards my job, my studies & training. There were days, when I would stay at office for 15/16 hours a day. Deep in my mind, I knew this was my last opportunity. If I let it go, I'll never get a second chance. In five years, I get a chance to be what I always dreamed as a child. I got three wonderful people to thank for. Bharathi Ganesh N & Muthamilan Sargunaanandan Rathish Embar you put your trust in a rank outsider. Someone who had no basic knowledge. Somebody who didn't know what middleware meant. Someone who couldn't even logon to servers too! tongue emoticon P.S - I take interviews these days & we normally don't entertain freshers for highly critical middleware roles! Today as my first day as a Manager, I can't thank you enough for believing in me. Giving me an opportunity to be a part. I hope someday somewhere we can catch up smile emoticon