40 - the decade that went by..

I wrote this piece when I turned 30. About the decade that went by. Significant in its own way and very much "sinusoidal".

In the upcoming 30s, I was expecting a lot flatter curve - and it delivered.

I lost my mother-in-law at 31 and gained her back in the form of my younger son at 33. I do believe he is "her come back" as she promised before she left..

Rest has been smooth sailing. Settling in - raising kids, moving two homes till we finally ended in the one we live in, finally changing jobs after 15 years and so on and so forth. It has been eventful, happy and content. And yet, never in spikes. And I love it that way.

If my teenage self saw my 40-year-old self, I think the teenage version would be inspired and would want to emulate the 40-year-old version. Enough said :D

Looking forward to being the same, and staying equally spirited through this next decade!!

Under lock and key for a further three weeks!

The Prime Minister of India, our beloved Modi-ji, announced lock and key for another three weeks in the interest of the country's well being. A welcome move.

I was going to ring in turning 40 this April with a dinner and a cruise and now all that is out the window. Instead I get another three weeks of guaranteed family time with husband and kids and seniors all compulsorily staying at home. Come to think of it, it would not have been possible for all of us to stay together at home for six weeks in any other permutation and combination of events! Whatsoever. Absolutely.

And for that, the big 4-0 will be remembered for a long long time to come!!

Farewell, Cisco!

In a very eerie coincidence, today, 21-March-2020, I finally formally resigned from Cisco. Should have happened a couple of weeks ago, but thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic - things got pushed to the last minute. And how they landed on this very day!

15 years ago, I was due to join the company of my dreams on Mar-14-2005. After seeing a lot of rejections, 9/11-triggered unemployment and economic uncertainty, job freezes and what not, I finally landed that dream offer. Thanks to last minute H1 confusion and visa papers not coming in, the date was moved out to the next Monday, Mar-21-2005. Forced vacation for a week.

Then on 21-March-2008, after finally spending three stress-free, employed years in the US, I said bye-bye to my SJ campus since we were flying out a day later to India in what we were hoping would be a permanent move back :) Again another coincidence.

Now, after two weeks of forced staying-in, this Wednesday (25-March) would be my last day in Cisco - which also, thanks to another coincidence, was my first day with Cisco India (25-March-2008). Which also reminds me, it has been a dozen years since we moved back to this weekend! :)

Talk about coincidences and stars aligning! A new adventure starts 26-March. Looking forward to that now..

It has been a long journey, and a very cherished one. I leave behind some very good friends whom I will sorely miss and very many memories. Lot of lessons learned as well.

Finally, my marriage takes it's rightful place as the longest relationship I've had :)