14 and counting

Today I finish 14 years of working at a desk! I still remember my first job as a co-op at GE-Lunar in Madison - the first couple of days I was totally freaked out and wondered how I would spend the rest of my working life sitting within the same building for 8 hours straight! If I sat at the desk for more than an hour, I would feel fidgety and start to feel sleepy at the same time. It was a really nerve-wracking experience - and since it was the first couple of days (plus it was winter!), I wouldn't dare to step out for lunch, which meant 9-5 in the same building, on the same floor. I was zapped. I would never survive this for long.

And yet, life moved on. I adapted. I never thought I would survive in a techie role for more than a couple of years and yet, here I am :) Getting bored of just doing a management role and so doing something technical to "keep it interesting".

Who would have thought! :)

Closing 2015

Every year, we shut down at work for about 10 days, take PTO by force, (although, I would anyway do it) and have a good time. Since Rohan was born, and was old enough, I have been using the shut down time, to explore the city a bit more. We do spend most shut downs in Bangalore, thanks to Subhash being in retail and December not being a very friendly season for him to take off, it being the commercial-riot time and what not!

This year, I think we spent it very well too. Friday, Christmas - we went to the hitherto unexplored Gopalan Signature Mall on Old Madras Road in the evening. Oh and this was after I did my annual kitchen cleaning ritual all in the morning! Yay! Mall was very average and very crowded - no loss by not visiting further. I think except UB City and Phoenix plus both Forums, I don't like any other malls I've visited so far.

Saturday - December 26 - another long pending check list off - Bannerghatta National Park. I must say we were very happy with the zoo, the animals were aplenty (whatever varieties they had), monkeys were roaming all over the zoo, but kept to themselves, and all the animals very very active. Singapore Zoo on the other hand was highly over rated, all animals were heavily drugged and we had to wait ages to catch glimpses of some of them.

Monday - Dec 28 - the customary annual watch maintenance round - took watches which needed straps and batteries and drove to Indiranagar, took the metro ride from there to MG Road, walked around MG Road, Infantry Road, Brigade road etc, Rohan held up very well. Father in law was meeting some batch mates of his in MG Road so we went together, then we got back to Indiranagar, and did some timepass there waiting for him to get back by the Metro, then came back home together. Time. Well. Spent.

Tuesday - Dec 29 - Customary annual HAL Aerospace Museum trip - first time for Rohit, fourth for Rohan. Was a good one hour spent there :) Evening visited Subhash's office with Rohan and Father in law - BMTC Volvo and auto combined. Came back with Subhash. A happy child was Rohan when he realized how many modes of transport he used that day ;)

Wednesday - Dec 30 - again a long pending checklist item - Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium. Rohan enjoyed it. Me and father in law went with him, the show was pretty nice and there was a small sized science park outside which was worth a good 15 minutes in the sun :)

Thursday - Dec 31 - Again a Metro Ride on Rohan's demand - this time some mundane work near Cauvery Bhavan - so again the three of us, me, father in law and Rohan set off, took the car to Indiranagar, metro to MG Road, Auto from there to Cauvery Bhavan, back, rinse and repeat! He was happy again, Metro is his favourite velagiri in Bangalore.

Friday - Jan 1 - this was a repeat wish. CCD on Brigade road! Took mom and dad with both kids this time, Baiyappanahalli Metro to MG Road, CCD, some window shopping on Brigade road and back after buying Rohan a 3-D "Tower Bridge of London" Puzzle from a street vendor. He definitely was in high spirits the whole time, excited to be going with his younger brother and coming back with his precious gift!

So there, it is weekend again and from Monday we get back to routine, for another three months, till the kid gets his summer break!

A new year to finish 10 years!!!

I finish 10 years with Cisco today. For a change, it doesn't feel like I joined yesterday or anything. It feels in fact that it's been much longer! Often I catch myself thinking, has it been just 10 years? Feels more like 15 or 20!

Considering that I've seen most major life events during this stint, I'm not surprised. In fact, aside from emigrating to the U.S, all life events have been while I was employed here. Got engaged and later married, moved back, seen my mother in law pass away, had not one but two kids, phew! Quite a lot!

And through it all, it's been an employer without fault. I've had real palpitations at the thought of quitting and going someplace else. That's when I figured, it's more than just an employer. It's second home.

I still remember those days. Of financial worries and job insecurity in a land where no job meant no status, visa issues etc. That way, whenever I think of this role, it feels like a saviour. It literally pulled me out of the dark depths of life, in more ways than one. It brings a smile to my face for sure.

Then California. Oh, was it a relief after the four years in Wisconsin. I loved Wisconsin, and Madison. But the winters, oh, those were things nightmares are made of! For a South Indian used to scorching heats, they were repulsive. Period. California was a welcome relief and a generous dose of sunshine, Indian stores and Indian-ness in general :D

I remember how I was staying with V and S, and my join date was delayed by a week, thanks to some goof up from HR in visa process. I can never thank both of them enough for the kindness they showed and for the good times I had with them, especially S :) I remember looking around for apartments, moving into one, stuff arriving from Milwaukee, setting up house and so on and so forth. And the car arriving. Just in time for the Monday morning drive to work. If I had started on time, I would have had to find a way to drive myself to and from work for that one week.

A shout out needs to go to all my colleagues in SJ. It was a fun team and one I have never been able to repeat or experience again. Especially my manager there. I am back as part of his extended team in my current role but its just not the same. He really taught me what mattered and what didn't in his own way. In fact I always maintain, between Subhash at home and him at work, they really made me a better human being!! Even after so many years of moving back, whenever I am in a spot, I just have to drop him a word and he works a 1-1 with me into his schedule. That is the stuff awesome guys are made of!

Nostalgia and memories. Good stuff.

From dream company to second home, it's been a wonderful (just) 10 years! Certainly looking forward to the next 10, and definitely hoping there will be a next 10:)

Technology we make..

Needed to apply for a Singapore visa for all of us and also a Malaysian visa. Had very little time on hand plus the agents' exorbitant and random charges kind of put me off. I found that we had an option to apply online provided we knew a citizen or PR of Singapore and they had an account with which we could login. I checked with one of my very close friends who has been living there for a while and she said she did have an account. I asked her if she minded applying for us. I filled all forms electronically but I was reasonably sure there was no option to upload them. And I did not want her to labour alone over 7 forms. So I thought of an idea which involved a technology which we make and use daily, WebEx! I setup one with her, we collaborated over the bridge and voila! It was done. And by some chance, the first two visas I applied, were approved and we had e-visas within 2 hours!! The rest took about a day and a half to come, but all in all a very hassle free process. Minimal paperwork and not to mention the very reasonable price - just the official government fees!

Kudos to the Singapore government - truly showing the way in technology adoption. And a million thanks to my friend :)

Was particularly proud of the technology we make - without it, this would have been a little more complex to do :) It is always great to work for a place whose products you know make a difference and what more, you actually see them in action every single day - right from when browsing on the mobile to posting this blog! :)

Done with one, on to the next!

Today is Rohan's last day at Cisco's daycare. Its been a very emotional week for me. Today I can even find myself choking with emotion, the poignant last day. I still remember nervously bringing a 13 month old strapped in his car seat and leaving him here, worrying (almost obsessing) over what he is eating, whether his diapers are being changed, what sicknesses he is picking up, where he is falling and getting hurt and what not. And all fears did come true in different stages, he fell regularly sick, lost a lot of weight in the first year, picked up a lot of diaper rashes, had his chin gashed very deep once besides a lot of other minor injuries etc. But through it all, it has been a very memorable journey.

And my little brave man did it all for me! It was getting very stressful managing coming to work, shuttling times between mine and Subhash's (I used to come to work 8 to 12 and once I got home he would go to work), then taking calls and handling escalations from home while feeling horribly guilty about not giving an infant all attention that is due to him.

Was waiting for the day care to start and once it did, off he went from day ONE. He never cried, never threw a fit and never complained. But then he has been my perfect boy always, and made me enormously proud - always. There were mishaps, yes, but I think he bore them well.

Of course, he learnt a lot too, and I have to thank each and everyone of his teachers for all that he has built over the past 3 years.

Thanks to my employer and the excellent facility they build on campus, I was able to come back to work full time, focus on my work for a few hours everyday, get my career back on track and also manage logistics very easily, take him with me and bring him back with me. Cisco has that way been an amazing company to work for. Giving back in many more ways than just a monthly (or bi-weekly) paycheck.

He is one of the very few kids (probably less than five) who were around right from the beginning of the center, till they are forced to graduate out finally now :)

Incidentally my younger one will be exactly the same age in a week as when Rohan started going to the daycare. So his duration at this centre is exactly the same as the difference between him and his younger brother in age! The younger one has the luxury of three doting grandparents being around him all the time in the comfort of home. Plus a mom who isn't as obsessive as when she was with the older one. Thanks to a lot of learning between then and now ;) Again a shout-out to my parents and father in law. But for them, I would have to go on a lengthy guilt-trip again, putting the younger one in the daycare and feeling awful about it. Really, having parents around is such an awesome blessing in so many ways!

Also, I start going back to Cisco transport from next month. After nearly five years! I stopped just before I went off on my first maternity leave :) No more compulsion to drive to work and have a car on hand since the son is not connected with Cisco anymore. And so I can give up on driving after 3.8 years finally!  Till the younger one needs to be ferried back and forth. I am looking forward to it!

Here is a shout out to my boy today as he finishes a major phase and enters into a bigger one. I am actually nervous about two things - he is very shy and he still doesn't eat well and definitely not on his own. But all in good time I hope. School-bus, regular school, books, bags, shoes and what not. Here is wishing him a happy and fulfilling childhood, not too academically burdened and hope he has a lot of fun learning life's lessons.

9&6

Yesterday I finished 9 years at Cisco! An eternity it feels like. Felt really stupid at having forgot it till someone congratulated on LinkedIn! Was wondering why date seems familiarly close to a milestone just the previous day. And last week I was thinking about how I finish 9 years next week. But yesterday I completely forgot. This was not just another date of joining for me. It was a transformation of my life in many senses. Financially, professionally, geographically and so on and so forth! Can't thank everyone who's made my life richer at the workplace enough! I have met some really cool, smart, nice people here and made some friends for life. Found people whom I can truly respect too! All in all, the past 9 years has been enriching, happy, enjoyable and extremely flexible. Work has adapted in ways like never before to my needs of peaks (married, yet single life in CA) and troughs (maternities). Can't be thankful enough :)

Next week on Monday, we finish 6 years of moving back to India. (Coincidentally also a Monday that year!) Yet again, a happy decision, but this year is extremely special because our ultimate dream of living together as a family with parents and in-laws under one roof with kids has come true! Hardly a day passes by when I don't feel happy for this blessed phase in life! Hope it lasts forever!! :)

Behind the wheel!

Today I drove to work - exactly one week from the date of the C-section. I was thrilled to be able to do it.

We visited the doc for post-op follow-up last evening - and fully knowing what he was going to say - asked him if I could drive. He said you do whatever you please, no restrictions from my end. So off today I went with my mom, father in law and the new baby in tow - to work - to pick up Rohan from the child care center. I met a few friends from work in the parking lot hurriedly, (I wish I could have done it a little more leisurely :( )before going off to pick him up. The younger one was just waking up so I was anxious to get back soon, I asked them to hurry up with Rohan and send him out fast. He has to be brought out in the middle of his snack session (those that know him, know he and food do NOT mix at all) On hind-sight, I should have lounged in the parking lot for some more time, fed the baby and then gone up leisurely so that Rohan could also have finished his snack, I could have gone a little less fidgety and could have spent a little more time with friends. Well, you learn everyday :)

This works out well, without the headache of having to hire a driver. But the flip side is the new born is too young and taking him everyday is strenuous for him and leaving him at home is risky since his schedule is not yet set and my mom will be utterly helpless if he starts feeling hungry and crying for me while I am gone. And with Bangalore traffic, there is zero predictability on when you can get back given you are out once.

Some neighbors dropped in just when we got back from the trip to see the new baby. Both kids had gone to sleep in the car, and I had just finished ferrying them one after the other into the bedroom when the younger one started crying and I started to feed him. So I asked them to come in and sit with me, rather than make them wait. While discussing how we just got back, they referred a driver agency which is apparently very good. So I took the number and called the lady up and she has promised to send a person on Monday. If he turns out OK, that will be a good daily-basis arrangement, till the younger one has a settled routine, can hold his milk a little longer and I can venture out a little more confidently leaving him at home.

But the bottom-line, it was amazing to be back behind the wheel already and driving to campus. Felt a sense of freedom which completely eluded me in the surgery's depression last time around. This time, whether I call it experience or a determination to not let myself get depressed like last time, I have managed to not only stay happy for the past one week, but also surprisingly more agile and less handicapped :) Well, all is good so far. I have to thank my mom and father in law without whom I could not have done this at all. A hundred thanks to them!!

Happy one week birthday to the son!!

Signing off

Today was the last day at work for the next five months! I was glad to have been able to go till the very end. Last time around, I was at home for a week before the baby came (more because he decided not to come out at all) and was very nervous and jittery because of the delay, not knowing what will come, and finally when the C-section was decided, worrying about the huge impending surgery.

This time, in complete contrast, the date was decided a week ahead of time, I went to work even today, drove myself (and the son along) till the end, and in general kept my mind on things that are day-to-day and routine. More than anything, want to be done with the whole saga, so looking forward to tomorrow and more than that to a month later when things would have somewhat recovered to normal, and settled into routine.

Mom, Dad, Father-in-law are all here. Glad to have everyone around.

More when there is later updates!

8 years!

Probably forgot for the first time ever - today I finish 8 years with a great company and a great place to work. I was talking my team and it was one of the engineers' anniversary yesterday and then it suddenly hit me - that today is mine! That is 3 years in SJ and 5 years in Bangalore - happy times, always great memories, lot of learning, lot of fun and almost no Monday blues - touch wood! :)

Often I think, so much in my life changed while I was working here - I got engaged, got married, moved back, had a kid - this one thing, my employment has been the only constant in an otherwise change-filled life :) And I am truly grateful for it.

And I can never think of this day without thinking about the day I interviewed two months before that - 8 AM to 8 PM with three teams till I was exhausted and never wanted to listen to the words "ping" or "network" again in my life! Such mental fatigue I neither experienced before that day or after! :)

That reminds me, close on the heels of this mark is another one - the one where we moved back to India - it has been five years already!

These 10 years

Today I finish 10 years in the corporate world. It has been one heck of a ride, a lot of fun and luckily very little nastiness to remember.

The first job at GE was not the first time I was making money. I used to take tuitions while I was in engineering and by the standards those days, made a handsome amount ;) I even managed to save up a bit. Then there was the TA/PA/Grading jobs in UW. That period was very eventful, nervous, ridden with financial difficulties, emotional upheavals and what not. So when I got a co-op in GE, I was ecstatic. It was a lot of money compared to what I was making till then and ensured at least 6 months of peace from the uncertainty of having or not having a job.

I was at GE for two years. It was always turbulent, always turmoil, always uncertain. Then I switched to Cisco and since then, it has been one smooth, nice, comfortable journey, so much so, that the difficult past seems very unreal now. When I think of it though, it makes me happy to be where I am today, and feel peaceful.

I remember the first week at GE though, it was very weird to be getting in at 9 AM and getting out only at 5 PM. The whole day at a desk or in the lab but always indoors - it was the first time I was doing it and it was a very very weird experience. I remember very clearly thinking at the end of the first day if I would sleep though a good portion of my 30-year career. It was that weird and that boring. But somehow to this day, I am doing the same thing, and not sleeping at all, so all is well, I guess ;)

Guilty!

So a colleague recently came back from the US and kept getting us Lindor Truffles everyday. Day before yesterday, I was feeling fattened by them, so I decided to keep them in my office to eat later. There was also a Ghirardelli Square (86% dark, let's just call it GD)

Yesterday morning, I checked and both Lindors were gone, along with my bag of raisins, which I normally stock (mostly for eating with Lindt 90% dark chocolate - if you have not tried it, you are missing something). The GD and the bag of dates were intact.

So I sent an email to campus security, notifying them of this incident. Since I assumed, the folks who ate the other stuff were not interested in the dates and GD that they left behind, I let them be where they were.

This morning, those also were gone. I sent them an email again and lamented the incident. In 15 minutes, two officers were in my cabin, explaining that the night cleaning crew had admitted to eating stuff. Normally they are accompanied by security officers while the cabin is unlocked and cleaned. Apparently the food was shared with generous good-will amongst everyone (partners in crime). And they also informed me that both parties were terminated. Terminated! I felt a jolt and a pang of guilt. I just caused two folks a job-loss :( I repeatedly asked the security officers if they cannot just let them go with a warning. They said they cannot :(

This is the classic dharam-sankat. On the one side, there is the argument that this time it was food, next time it can be something more precious (I have lost photographs earlier when I was occupying a cube, since which I stopped putting anything outside, till I moved into a cabin, assuming that since I lock it, the stuff is safe). Or that it was the right thing to do so more people don't start seeing thefts. But then on the other side, was a little bit of food worth a job for a couple of men? :(

I guess the midde-ground is that I stop stocking any food, so I don't tempt anybody into flicking it off in the first place. Is that a win-win for everyone?

Oh god!

Ethnic!

So, that unthinkable thing that I finally did a few days ago was this - to go shopping for cloth on Commercial Street! I went with a very trusted cousin and she took me and got me back in 2 hours flat! And we fixed a tailor there itself. I am usually a very ready-made clothes type person, and dread going to any tailor. The whole process somehow intimidates me!

Now today was a great suspenseful day. The guy was supposed to give me the stuff on Sunday, then Monday and then finally this afternoon. We had an independence day celebration at work and wanted the stuff ready in time. Only for it to end with a nail-biting finish! I waited and waited and waited with friends, till 2 (event started at 1.30 PM) and then asked everyone to go back to what they were doing, losing hope of the guy ever showing up and somehow finally half an hour later he did show up ;) Dressed up hurriedly and went to the place where the event was happening. Only to be accidentally caught in the fashion parade and win it. I have no clue how. I think my whole win was rigged. In some vague way ;) But not complaining!!!!

All in all, for a person who never goes to tailors and almost dreads it, this experience was novel. In fact it was a lot of fun waiting for the guy to show up till the last minute. Thanks to friends S, S and R who made the waiting so much fun!!!

The boss

This week I met up with my ex-manager from SJ. He was visiting on work. He is a really great guy and I've mentioned him multiple times on this blog. It was great seeing him after nearly 1.5 years. Caught up with general stuff, how Bangalore is working out for us, kids, daycare, schools etc :)

Yesterday he was leaving for Hyd, I was thinking of calling him all the while and guess what, he called on his way to the airport to say bye. That is the kind of nice guy he is :) He did not really have to, yet he did.

On a side note, this week was performance evaluation week at work. My manager said all of my engineers gave positive, happy reviews/feedback for me :) I was glad. And thought of this guy. I used to admire his management style, how it was always easy to work with him, you could always go talk to him about anything and he'd listen and be genuinely interested in helping you. I always try to follow his style - between him at work and Subhash at home, they totally moderated me and my approach to everything in life :) I will always be thankful for that :)

When we were leaving the US, the fact that I will have to now report to someone else after being with that team for three whole years was the only thing that bothered me a lot, and for quite a while after I moved - that says it all actually :)

7 years!

Finished 7 years with Cisco today - randomly posted a status on Facebook this morning - and I got a comment (which went on to become a story dialogue) from one of the managers that had interviewed me back then. I remember and always cherish that interview day although it left me sick of the word called "ping". The job was an absolute necessity then and also it was my dream company, I was very nervous needless to say. I interviewed with three teams for a grueling 12 hours and was dead tired when I went back to the hotel that night. I waited very nervously for an offer and when it was made - my life was made. From then to now - it has been one hell of a ride - always something interesting - always something challenging - somehow always NICE. I am hoping I have many more such years and niceness :) Now I finish more years in India than in the US ;) One more big thing I always wanted to do but did not really know if I will be able to.

Mac'ed

I just got home my shiny new Macbook Pro. Cisco had halted all orders to get in the new models with one of Intel's latest and greatest chips, i5.

I was working from home yesterday since the medical checkup thing brought me back to Airport road and when I came home and checked email, I figured that I had this waiting for me back at work. So today, we went to campus, after calling and confirming that the mail-room guys were around. And, home came the MAC. My tech geek is working in earnest now to set it up and I hope to have it seamlessly integrated into my work-life sooner than later ;)

VPN and Bharat Bandh

So Monday is off in the US. For July 4. Monday is also "off" in India. It is an All India (Bharat) Bandh, declared jointly by all opposition parties (boy, enemy's enemy is a friend, we all firmly follow this, and nothing unites the politicians better than when the running government is in a soft spot). So are we closing?

Of course not. We all get to Work From Home (WFH). We are part of the "never off" company that is Cisco. We had a notice today from WorkPlace Resources saying we are all encouraged to work from home and that the cafeteria etc will be suspended on Monday.

Technology does wonders. To productivity too. So, on Monday, work goes on. Bandh also goes on. Everyone is happy. Win-Win.

I love the way we seamlessly network in the virtual world. And I am proud to be part of one of the major players who makes it possible. We truly change the way we live, work, learn and play. (This, for the uninitiated, is Cisco's trump line :), sometimes it sounds jingoistic but sometimes you realize it is very true )

Cisco vs Apple

Yet again. No this time this is not a problem with licensing the "iOS" name out to Apple (really, they borrowed iPhone and now iOS, losers!), but this:

Cisco Cius

I think (and hope) this will be big. Now only if it did something for our stock, that would be something more to smile about ;)

PS: Been very slack with blogging. Normally during a trough (although I call this blog sinusoidal) I do not post things. I hate to put out more gloom in the world. Shilpa: No, I was not busy, in fact I hate to say "I am busy" :) I'll hopefully be better now that the cloud's lifted.

An alternate take on the Iceland Volcano

After that CRS-3 announcement debacle, we have some brilliant stuff at last ;)

Wrap it up!

I am about 13 test cases away from wrapping up as an engineer. So long!

But the 13 test case path is not easy I tell ya! 4 of the simplest ones took all day yesterday and still didn't finish although I was at them till 11.45 in the night. Why? Its not even my fault. Some router crashes, some disk goes bad, images simply refuse to copy, how the hell is an engineer supposed to test when the routers and all the forces in this universe refuse to co-operate!?!?!

Anyways, hoping that next week I will be able to finally say "So long!" to the engineer me and don a new role. And hoping that the last 6 years have taught me something to go on for the next 6-7 months which is obviously a "testing" phase. (Too much test in my life, bah!)

Yawnnnnn

Just signed off on a marathon all-night call. One of India's leading ISPs and our router decides to misbehave time and again. Some part of it is abuse from their end too but whatever. Ended up spending all night on a con-call. Time to catch some two hours of sleep now. Reminds me of the last time I did this. All night @ work with managers and tech-leads and all that, that was a much more serious issue of course. My manager actually used to come in just to keep company and he used to bring in snacks etc so we could keep awake ;) This time I was @ home on my couch, so it wasn't easy to keep awake too :(

Lets hope I dont have to do many more of these ;)