Butterflies in my Tummy

Goodbye and Godspeed

Boy oh Boy! I had been waiting for a lifetime for this day. In fact it started the very first day I joined the Infosys giant. Back then, I had always felt that you should never get attached to anything. I also believed in the concept of move-on… that you shouldn't stick so long so that you start getting obsolete, rusted and like a classical antique grandfather clock tick-tock-ing anxiously as you wait mechanically for each second in your life to pass by.

Over the years, I had so much to speak about what I would feel on this day, but now when it actually came, I am just speechless. I have no clue on where to start and how to start. My long tenure in the mighty campus were igniting my beliefs conceptually. I was just proving myself wrong day after day. Somehow it did take a pretty long while for me to realize that. I wonder what took me so long. I guess, I must have fallen in love. I must have fallen in love with the magnanimous structures, that spread across a fantasy land, as far as eyes could see. I must have fallen in love with the plush landscapes, that would royally fade into shades of gray, as you near them, you know.. like the Windows Vista background when you press Ctrl-Alt-Del. I must have fallen in love with the serene composure, the excited moments that burst you with enormous pressure, the anonymous addiction to workaholism, and the embarrassing victories that were awarded free of cost, on the spot and sometimes with a pat on the back. Oh boy, I was struck down, right on the ground. I lay there for a long long while. And try as I may, I was not able to get up after my eventful fall.

Then, day after day, as I started bidding farewell to my near and dears, who left for greener pastures and brighter sunshine, I started reminding myself, all the more, that I should be next one out. Finally, the day has now arrived. Today is the day when my name will soon be wiped out from the sensitive corporate database which is famous for having world-wide data replication and data recovery and fail over and what not. 20827, which was the first identifier that replaced my original name, will remain forever as an useless primary key - like a dangling pointer with no credible owner.  My dance on the slippery floor has come to an end. I am up, and now on my own. I can walk out the door. I know it is not an easy thing to do. 

Each step closer to the door, stabs me deeper in my heart. Each step closer towards fresh air, strangely makes me all the more suffocated. As I approach the golden exit gates, I want to turn and look back once again at the magnificent empire that I am leaving behind. But I know for sure that if I will turn around, I will break down. The charisma and magnetism is still lingering in the air. The mystical fragrance is strong enough to drag me back into the dance floor. But I remind myself that the romance has come to an end, and now I don't have time to loose. I have to reach the gate before I get locked in again. As I hurry and calculate my steps, glimpses of my past flash along the side screens. It feels as if I was staring at a magical crystal ball, only this time, I was looking into my past and not the future.

I see faded images of the good old times. I see enemies gained, and friends lost. I see success and failure fighting painful battles with each other. The pages in my life continue to flip faster and faster as I fast-forward the past 8 years of my life. It is difficult to believe that my dream is nearing an end. I finally reach the gates and I try to push it open. The gate is heavy and my hands are hurting as I try to squeeze myself through the little space between the harsh door. And as I finally pull my last inch out, I hear a huge thud and I see the gates closed tightly behind. Somewhere through the gap, I sense the loud closing of a chapter in my book. Troubled yet relieved, I search myself. I have nothing with me, except a few documents tucked in my backpack. I check my pocket to feel the ID card that I carried along with so much pride for eight precious years. But it is no longer there. It is all over. And.. I move on...

Some memories... from the past...

The Quarter Life Crisis

The Quarter Life Crisis

         (Author - Unknown)

(Note ~ This is a wonderful read that I found over the internet. Sharing it for the benefit of the readers. All copyrights (along with my due respects) still remain with the unknown author of this article.)

It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are a lot of things about yourself that you didn't know and may or may not like. You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now.

You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren't exactly the greatest people you have ever met and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones. What you do not realize is that they are realizing that too and are not really cold or catty or mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you.

You look at your job. It is not even close to what you thought you would be doing or maybe you are looking for one and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and are scared.

You miss the comforts of college, of groups, of socializing with the same people on a constant basis. But then you realize that maybe they weren't so great after all.

You are beginning to understand yourself and what you want and do not want. Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging a bit more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and add things to your list of what is acceptable and what is not. You are insecure and then secure. You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life. You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward.

You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you or you lay in bed and wonder why you can't meet anyone decent enough to get to know better. You love someone but maybe love someone else too and cannot figure out why you are doing this because you are not a bad person.

One night stands and random hook ups start to look cheap and getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic. You go through the same emotions and questions over and over and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision.

You worry about loans and money and the future and making a life for yourself and while wining the race would be great, right now you'd just like to be a contender!

What you may not realize is that everyone reading this relates to it. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out.



Goals for a Happy Life

Its been some time that I have been cribbing with my friends across the globe, talking about how stupid life is and can be. There are quite a few people in that category whom I know, and who are as frustrated and as helpless as me. We live only because some strange phenomenon simply forces air into our nose day in and day out.

Today I decide that it is time for yet another change in my life. I bet I still lack the enthusiasm when it calls to take a risk. But this time, I try to act deaf to those crazy voices inside, that scream at me against every move I make. I believe there is a big pessimist hiding behind that man in the mirror, and I hate saying hello to him.

But I also know that behind that very pessimist, there is a good human being standing (or perhaps hiding). And I know that he wishes to do good so that his Creator would not regret having sent him to this beautiful planet.

I had some thoughts today that made me feel better. I thought I would pen them down here, in the hopes that one fine day, some desperate soul might gain some benefits sooner or later.

I am going to talk about how to be Lucky in Life. The easiest (and best) way is to simplify your goals so that you can achieve it. The more detailed (and complex) your goals are, the more difficult it would be to be attain them.

Let me take an example. If I define my goal as "Buying a Mercedez Benz"; I would have to strive endlessly. Given my strengths and limitations it would take atleast a couple of long years of entire savings to even get near my goal. But if I define my goal as "Buying a bicyle", I can accomplish it this very day.

So given the fact that I need to surrender my belongings before ending my mission (on this earth), would it be easier for me to give up a Mercedes or a Bicycle? That makes me ponder, is it even worth to have big goals (like to become a billionaire, or to own ten estate farms, or to visit the moon!

Some such simple goals are
- Be good and do good
- Eradicate sorrow
- Life life as it comes, without worying "too much" about tomorrow or pondering "too much" about yesterday

We all (especially me) spend much time thinking or worrying about situations that might never occur. In the end we forget the little drops of happiness that adorn us. We end up sad, miserable and irritated.

So, from today, I am going to try to follow these goals. Simple and sweet, let me try how easy it actually turns out to be.

Google Plus One

The Google "Plus One" button seems to be a good contender to the Facebook "Like" Personally, I adore the "Like" button, but I would want to see how the "Plus One" competes. I just managed to add the Google +1 button to my blog posts.
It is pretty straight forward.

1) Log into your Account.
2) Go to Dashboard --> Design --> Edit HTML.
3) Check the "Expand Widget Template" Checkbox
4) Paste the below code just under the <data:post.body/> tag

<!-- Google +1 button Start -->
        <p></p>
        <div style='float:left;padding:10px;'>
               <script type="text/javascript" src="http://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js"></script>
               <g:plusone expr:href="data:post.url" size="standard" count="true"></g:plusone>
        </div>
<!-- Google +1 button End -->


And Voila ~~*~ You are done!
You can control the size of the button by the "size" attribute, which accepts values of small, medium, standard and tall

This snippet positions the +1 Button after each posts. If you prefer it on the top of each post, place the above snippet before <data:post.body/> instead of after it.

You can also change the value of "float" attribute to right or left to position it horizontally.


~~~ Have Fun ~~~

The Indian Embassy at NYC

For those poor Indians in New York and surrounding states who are in need of getting official help from the Indian Embassy, here are some tips.

A trip to this embassy would remind you about the good old days back in India. Long never ending queues would induce some bit of nostalgia into your soul! Boy, how I love that!

Ok, so here is the Case Study. I needed to get some documentations done and get it attested by the Indian Embassy and I had to send it back to India. After a week full of enthusiastic planning by my better half, we decided on a  plan. [The official website - http://www.indiacgny.org/ did not help much, except provide the details of the timings and address.]

What to Bring!
Dos

• Try to reach there early morning (around 7 :30 AM), so that you can be early in the queue. Actually its not necessary, you can reach there around 9 and still get your work done, but the lengthy queue will freak you out for sure.
• Get enough Snacks, H2O, energy drinks, magazines, books etc to keep you from being exhausted or bored.
• Make sure you have all your documentation. Take additional photo copies if required. You dont want to run around looking for the xerox center.
• Get printouts / copies of application forms beforehand.
• If you happen to need to type an applciation form or take a printout, there are lots of shops around 55nd Street (like Staples, Office Depo etc. You need to walk a few blocks though)

Donts

• Dont reach there before dawn. It is not necessary.
• Dont use your cell phone, once in the building. You will get a shouting or two from the staff.
• Dont hand-write application forms. They dont accept anything that is not typed.
• Dont argue with the staff there. They are capable of turning nasty pretty soon.
• Dont forget to get an umbrella, or a sweater or so depending on the local climate. You dont want to be a victim out there.

Reaching there!
We live in Long Island, which is pretty much close to this place. The embassy is in NYC and it's address is:

Consulate General of India

3 East 64th Street
(Between 5th and Madison Avenues)
New York, NY 10065
Tel: (212) 774-0600 - Fax: (212) 861-3788

(Please note that the telephone numbers may have changed. So do look at their website before you call them.)


We left home at 6 in the morning and took the LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) train that dropped us to Penn Station, NY at around 6:45 AM. From there, you have a number of options to reach the Embassy. You can take either the Subway, or the Bus. (Check Google Maps and select public transportation as the mode)
 
I would prefer the M04 Bus. You have to walk the least and you dont need to hop different bus / subway. And its frequence is almost around every 15 or 25 minutes.
 
We took the M04 from W 32 Street - 7 Avenue. It was like a five minute walk from Penn station. The drive is good, and you can look around and have fun. We dropped off at Washington Heights Cloisters(this is Via Madison and Bway, and around 15 stops / 25 minutes) From there we walked all the way to the Embassy. Take a printout from Google Maps, it will be helpful. Below is a sample one
 

 

I forgot to mention, You can buy a Metro transportation pass that you can use for subways and buses. You can get these passes at the PENN station. If you are not able to, make sure you have enough quarters / dollars to pay for the bus fare. I think the fare is around 5.5$ per ticket (in M04)

Once you reach the Embassy, things are pretty straigtforward. You need to wait until 9 or so, till they open the mighty gates. Also please note that the direction of the queue. It is in the basement, and not the main gate. The queue itself has no head or tail, so u need to ask the humble souls standing there. So when they open the basement doors, they will hand over tickets. These tickets have numbers and they announce the numbers. So, based on your luck and your number, you would have to wait some more time. Finally when you are called, you tell them your concern, hand them your documentation, make the payment, and get the receipt.

Some tasks, like attestation etc, can be done on the same day. So you need to wait till 4 or so to get it back. Thats a bad thing though, coz you have to wait so long for a lousy attestation signature! Anyways, there is an option for express mail through USPS. They will charge you 20$ and you would get back your documentation within a day or two (or three), through mail.

Indian Embassy at NY







This should give you an idea of the queue and where to stand. Do expect a much larger queue though :-D

Thanks to Google Earth for the nice images.


I seriously wish that you dont have to wait long for getting your work done!
And I hope this post helps someone in finding their direction.

Update One - Kicked out of God's own Country

Its been like 9 months outside India and I am already feeling crazy! This blog is dedicated to those pathetic "code monkeys" (an another me) who suddenly find their lives devasted getting into the profession of the Golden Goose (remember the goose that laid Golden Eggs) For the layman, if you believe IT is the best profession, then you are wrong. It sucks. It is cozy down there, where you are just out of college and when you are impressed by money (that you can use to impress others). But later... down the lane, you find yourself murking around, lonely, and deprived... looking back at the friend... who you just disposed off... to climb that extra rung on the ladder (to hell).
Unfortunately thats the way it is in any profession. But the pyramid in the software field, I believe is the steepest.

Whateva!!! Once you are in, you are lost. There is no way out, (unless you are ironically blind) You find yourself dancing on an oily stage surrounded by concrete mazes.. You fall down, you try and get up, and down you go. And you look around and see more such jokers on the dance floor, trying to help themselves (instead of others) to get up!

In one such slippery incident, I cribbed so hard, that I got a kick on my you-know-where and that catapulted me out of the country.... into Devil's Fantasyland!
Boy oh Boy!!

And look at me, here I am, at Uncle Sam's... waiting for my return ticket!

And to all of those, who dream of dollars and pounds... I hope I would be able to provide some kinda tips.. survival tips... while you own the post of a Non Resident Indian!

Stay Tuned!
Tada

2 Years - Long time

Its been more than two years since I last posted on my blogspot! I have been in and out of blogging every now and then. But now, for the sake of reviving my consciousness, I am seriously considering to get back on the boat!
The last two years, has left me with lots of stuff to bluff about! And I hope to keep my readers happy!

Stay Tuned~