Back to office..

So, an year and a fortnight since the last day at my first job, I was back in office earlier this week. And it was a nice start. While the company and the location, the Silicon Valley, are as different from that job, somethings just do not change..

The excitement of a new computer for the office work, the access card to enter the office buildings, entering a ticket with the IT Helpdesk to setup with an issue - similarities just dont end :D

And yes, my seat is still at the one of the ends of the floor.. and what I see out of the window is once again construction in progress :D    The more things change the more they remain the same :D

Of course, all is not the same - this is internship and not a full-time job.. My new machine is a Macbook Air with a 128GB SSD and i5 processor - my first machine in my first job was a P4 with 80GB HDD  :P
Technology advancements are nowhere as sharp as they are here in the hub of the computer world :D
My individual office space is much bigger - with two white boards for good measure :D

This is a fantastic opportunity - someone up there really likes me I guess :) - that I sincerely hope and pray to be able to do justice to. 

Transiting from T(SC) to U(SC), and taking three months for it..

T and U are adjacent letters in the English alphabet, however, my job at TSC and my current status as a graduate student at USC are as different environments as possible. The change in a single letter took me a huge three months to complete. But as I flew from Delhi to LA, I couldnt help but look back at the days at my first job.

My year-and-a-half-and-a-week-and-a-half at TSC had been a most memorable experience where I have learnt so much more than I could ever imagine and made such wonderful friends that even my co-travelers on the flight to LA reminded me of them :P The three months have been an interesting time; at times I have felt like I am still an employee at TSC, albeit one without work - and without pay, obviously :p - simply because I have been in such close contact with my friends there that I have felt their presence all around me. Sometimes it has scared me because I wonder if it is unhealthy for me, an opinion that several of friends seemed to have as well, simply because that part of my life has now ended and a new has begun. And yet, I have never been able to do it. In mid-June, I closed my office bank account as a step towards closure - not very successful in attaining closure though. But now that I am here in LA it will finally begin to happen.

But that is no way to say that I want to let go of my friends. They are well and truly all over my thoughts. The memories of my time at office are amazing to say the least. I tried to get them all these presents with me as well but only a few could make it with me across the Pacific (due to airline baggage policy :p)

Some great memories from office

Girl Next Door is one of my favorite movies and I love the part where towards the end when Emile Hirsh's character recounts the three things from high school that "I will always remember...".  For me, TSC was no less than a school - the one that taught me an insane amount about myself. And as I will leave it behind to start a new life, I will be remembering more than just 3 things :P

I'll always remember...

• AK's smiles
• GO's thoughts
• Ze Gang!!

                  The "idhar aa" to AS; and standing at my desk and observing the office 
                  Tech gupshup with RN
                  Talking to PS

• Wittiness of Furobiker
• The amazing memorabilia I collected at my office desk
• Bakar and Calivin and Hobbes with AM
• NB and SG, and clicking pics of RB :p
• Discussing movies with SR
• Working with the MD
• My baymates - RM and AMa; the emptiness of the bay and later PS
• 240 
• Cabbies - esp. RR 
• Lancedowne and the office parties

And of course, I will remember the fun I could have on weekends - life as an MS student might not give me time for that :p

And other than all this I will remember pretty much everything, on and off :p

Signing Off,
An ex-TSCite and a brand new Trojan :)

Priceless is too small a word

There are good office days, there are bad office days and then there are days when it just doesn’t matter anymore. But there are also days where a few great moments blind everything out else in life, office or not. Just had those few great moments of my office life today. 

Sometimes you need to work overtime at office due to too much work. Ironically, that's when it hits me that that there's more to office than work. The people around me are simply awesome and it because of them that I can pull it off. Friday the 14th was a day that had everything - am email asking me to work on the weekend (and the cribbing that followed :p), an office lunch, some lovely ppl  walking up to my seat to chat :), and an email from my manager letting me know of a (female) neighbor :D coming to sit next to me next week.

But it all just fades in comparison to an impromptou photo session that captured my best time of the day - the post-lunch gupshup :) I know all too well that I will be working on the weekend. But I know what will get me through it.

So here's a big hug going out to the Ze Gang!!!

Pic of the Day - A beautiful drawing (in red)

The past week has involved a lot of overtime at work and its not over just yet. But here is a pic signifying that it has not been all that tense; there have been some fun and games too :)

 I guess it is because of people in office who are able to find space in a mundane work pad to create something fun is what makes it not-such-a-bad-place after all. Thank god I know people like that and also those whose idea of fun trivia is actually fun :D