Sunday, January 06, 2008

2008, thinking back a decade

Usually at the turn of a year, I think about the past year, how it has been. Its ups and downs, good or bad. Thankfully, the last three years have been some fun ride, whatever the years before those might have wreaked:)

But this year, 2008, I cannot help thinking back a decade. Not just retrospecting on 2007 but on that whole time that was 97-07. A major milestone this year is that Subhash and I will have known each other for 10 years. And we talk about it often enough :) How we were and where we are, how much has changed yet how much remains the same...

We began engineering (B.Tech) in 1997. (Subhash was was in his last year when I was in my first) It was supposed to be a normal year, except for that it was everything but. We were completely jinxed and doomed, started college only on December 29, 1997;) Just 2 days between us and ignominy! We used to joke about it saying that we started on 29 December just so we could have 97 in our records and not be mixed up with our next batch!

Back then engineering was just becoming a "routine" thing. With our batch we had an explosive growth of private colleges, which, now, has gone so far that it has completely diluted the profession. Disastrous, how much changes in 10 years!

I made some very good friends, thanks to being in JNTU. And in general, the engineering stream itself. I cannot help but notice that when you are in Engineering you just about know anyone and everyone in your city who happens to fall in that four-year overlap. Both ahead and behind you. I know a lot of people who are friends, friends of friends, friends of friends of friends, and you know how it goes. Three years before me and three years after. I am sometimes amazed how well networked we are and how little we realize it. I, myself, was ignorant of this till I joined Orkut;)

Needless to say, I am proud of my profession and what I do. And 1997 is when it all began. I have journeyed a decade of life in this profession and I cannot believe that it has been 10 years! I still remember when I was in engineering, I used to think that I would work right out of college for a couple years then do an MBA and then get out of this whole technical end. And that a techie job was not exactly my cup of tea, I just couldn't endure Electronics (when you consider the fact that my major was Electronics and Communications, that was pretty pathetic;) ) but little did I know, that I would find solace in the Communications part and be happy! Maybe, for ever after..

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