Bye Bye 2013

It's time again to say goodbye to another year. Another year is gone leaving behind memories - some good, some not so good. The year on the whole didn't go as expected and I am not too disappointed that the year is coming to an end.

How the year went
The major theme for me this year was marriage. I had to go through numerous profiles, spoke to some girls, met few of them; but somehow things didn't work out - and I am still single. (I know most of my friends reading this will be disappointed with the outcome but like they say "Everything happens at it's own time").
Professionally the year wasn't anything to talk about - at best it can be described as stagnant. This is certainly an area that needs focus in the coming year.
Personally the year was pretty taxing. Facing family and relatives and friends after each encounter, trying to explain them the reasons, their collective disappointments - everything took a toll. Erratic work schedules added their weight. 
When it comes to friends, there was a lot of difference of opinion. Arguments (more of fights rather than discussions) were pretty much controlling the talks/plans. Even with close friends it wasn't smooth sailing.

But there were some wonderful times as well like stay in Toronto, cousin's marriage, xbox/ps3 times, meeting friends, etc.
And I can't end the post without saying 'Thank You' to friends who made the year it was:

• Manas and Sudhanshu for being around; recent dinners at Murthal and Karim's were icing on the cake
• Saurav and Shilpa for the wonderful times; Saurav's staying overnight and the pasta by Shilpa comes to mind easily
• Office folks for making the office ambiance cool - Raghav, Shuchika, Nikhil, Prasad, Nimisha, Ritu, Vijaya, Sandeep, Vijay, Nitin, et al.
• Football was at a high where in we won few trophies and got a tournament sponsored. Thanks Uttam, Harish, Apoorv, Aaditya, Sailesh, Kunwar, Neeraj, Prashant, Sohan, Param, Gopal, et al for the wonderful moments
• Shubhi, Kunal, Febin and Sahil for some nice times and ... lets call it realizations.
• Minakshi and Seema - it's always nice to talk to you
• Supreet for non-stop bickering about marriage and other good times at chabar; including "murabbe ki sheeshi mein ..." :P

Thanks everyone for making the year a memorable one.

Wishing you all a very happy new year 2014

Thanks Toronto Team

I have spent more than 2 months here and today evening I will be heading back home. I don’t know how the time flew as it always felt I was at home away from home. And I owe a big thanks to my teammates here who not only welcomed me but also made me a part of them. I never felt like an outsider here; and that made the stay wonderful.

Now that I thank all of them I think I should write a line or 2 about everyone, about what I will remember most about them.

I will start with Ankur. He is from the Gurgaon office but we had never met there. And here we became friends. He would persistently encourage me to try/do new things. He made me taste the Raspberry tea in office and he was the one who encouraged me to cook. And he helped me do a lot of shopping as well.

Naveen is someone who comes around as the bully. He will keep bossing most people. But when it comes to work he is the go to person. He has his way of doing things but it was nice working with him. And despite how he comes up, he has a softer side. One night we were in office till late and we ordered dinner. When our order came, the dish I had ordered contained capsicum (my dreaded enemy). And as I was wondering what to do, he exchanged his dish with me.

Rajiv is another teammate of mine who comes across as someone very quiet. He goes about working on what’s need to be done in his own quiet way. He is probably the only person I know who was praised implicitly by a leadership member in front of his teammates.

Andes is one of the most thorough person I have met. He is quiet and doesn’t speak much. But as far as work is concerned he would try all possible ways before coming up to any conclusion. For instance if there are say 10 ways of doing something and an average person will do only 5-6 steps before coming back Andes would do all 10 before reverting.

Evi was the person about whom my impression changed drastically from my initial days to my last days here. I didn’t speak much with her but one day I said something to her – quite bluntly – which I now realize I could have avoided. And she didn’t give an impression that she didn’t like it; so I guess it’s all good J

Abhishek is the PM and has a unique way of going about things. We had our share of manager-developer conversations but they were all in good spirits and there was no arguments (for a change :P).

Andrea joined the team recently and didn’t have much interaction with her; but she is the first girl I have met who has good knowledge of football and enjoys the game as well. Just that she is Red-Devil makes us rivals of sorts ;)

Don is another PM on the project. He is usually very quiet compared to other PMs. I was most impressed with the things he does when he is not working – interviewing students and skiing. And I still remember the day when he put ‘Worrying’ in his LLP J

Girish is the client CE and at his position I hardly expected to see him in office with the team. But he was involved till the minutest details which was pleasantly surprising. And he was as approachable as any other member of the team which I didn't expect. Moreover he loved to take the team out for beer and always had interesting conversation up his sleeve.

While working with Satish I never felt his seniority. He worked as if he was a friend of yours; getting involved in conversations, listening patiently and helping whenever you ask him for help. And he is probably the only person in the team who can make and keep Naveen quiet (which is a major achievement if you ask any of the people mentioned here :P).

Susan is one of the smartest girls I ever met. She is a very quick-learner. You tell her something once and she remembers it. She can mix and gel with anyone. And she is pretty organized as well. I was amazed at her typing speed. She always brought chocolates for the team. She helped me buy a suitcase. One day she cooked and brought macrones which were great. (She only let me eat 4 which I believe is the max no anyone ate ;)). And the icing on the cake was the Starbucks Coffee mug she gave me J

I have tried to capture the most remembered moments because there’s a lot that can be written. And I wouldn't end without mentioning that the best part of the day was the lunch sessions – usually conducted by Naveen. You have to be there to know and experience how they are.

Bye Bye 2012

Another year comes to an end - 2012. It has been another happening year. The year began with me travelling to Bangalore for the 1^st 2 months of the year. There were frequent trips to Bangalore round the year as my office wanted me to work out of Bangalore office. And the year ended in Toronto, Canada.

I entered the 30 club. Many friends entered the next chapter of life – parenthood. Booked a new flat. Got an Xbox 360. Started playing football again – won the intra company tournament. And despite marriage being heavily on the cards managed to remain single for one more year.

And like always I can’t let the year go by without thanking the friends without whom it wouldn’t have been the year it was.

• I will have to start with Shubhi. With so much time spent in Bangalore it wouldn’t have been possible to have a nice stay there without her. And there were other wonderful moments spent with her.
• The football players Uttam, Umesh, Divraj, Apoorv et al who revived the good old days of playing football.
• Manas for always being around and the PS3 times
• Saurav, Shilpa and Ashish, Nidhi for all the wonderful times
• Kunal and Febin for the movies
• Sahil for the times spent over coffee
• Minakshi for the wonderful conversations
• Seema for her advices and encouragement
• Uma, Gunjan, Vijay, Nimisha et al for making the office hours enjoying
• Yogesh, Shashin and Ankur for making the Toronto stay comfortable

And to all those whose names I haven’t mentioned but were part of my journey of 2012. I wish everyone a wonderful 2013 – Happy New Year