Back to Blogging

Its been more than a year since I blogged. So, I'm wondering where I should take off from. Well, I'll try to paint a picture of how my year had been.

In TCS, I've had my share of fun and frustration. I finally am out of my practice group and all for a good reason. I've decided to call it a day on my IT career. Ever since that GLIM fiasco, I've been wondering what I must do to. An MBA was surely on the cards. But, to do it in India or overseas was the million dollar question.

I weighed my options and finally thought that I would do a career shift to pursue a career in Finance. The best bet was do it in the US. My current GMAT of 660 didn't look too attractive enough. I gave another shot at GMAT. However, my second attempt landed me a 680, a marginal 20 point increase.

Now, I began the process of shortlisting - based on the career opportunities in the Finance sector, placement records, Tuition fees and its reputation and ranking. This is the final list I came up with.

1. Manchester Business School, UK
2. Brigham Young MBA
3. Michigan State MBA
4. Babson MBA
5. Purdue MBA
6. HEC, Montreal
7. NTU MBA
8. NUS MBA
9. Notre Dame MBA
10. Georgetown MBA
11. Vanderbilt MBA
12. Wake Forest MBA
13. Rice MBA
14. Brandeis MBA
15. William & Mary MBA
16. Pace MBA
    

However. I ended up applying only to 7. And guess what I got an admit to the first university I applied. It's Brandeis University, Boston - International Business School. And even better.... I got a scholarship of 60% and a Univ Loan of 25%. That takes a massive 85% off my tuition fees. Boston with its close proximity to New York is a hub for financial banks and institutions to recruit MBA grads.

With one university offering me an MBA programme, I was confident of calling time on my TCS career. After a weeks of 'sitting on the bench', I was given an assignment to go to Trivandrum as a Faculty. I didn't want to miss an opportunity to visit the place which kick started my TCS career. And only this time, the roles are reversed :P

iPod Lost.... iPod Regained

It was the 31st of Jan... Dhoni and Tendulkar were going hammer & tongs on a toothless West-Indian bowling attack. So enthralled I was by the gladiator-like display by Dhoni, that I even forgot about office. I rushed up through my breakfast, took my bag [more like a brief] and started to office. Against this backdrop, I feel compelled to list the contents of my Bag - for thats the crux of this whole blog.

1) Cheque book
2) Vehicle papers [the originals]
3) 30-GB Video iPod

After placing my Bag on the side hook, I sped on my Hero Honda Splendor to TCS, Vadapalani via Koyambedu. When I neared my destination, I put my hand on the hook - Only to find it empty. Initially shocked, I then pacified myself that I may have left the bag at home [Oh! Ya. Absentmindedly... Thanks Mom]. After boarding the bus, I called up home to verify if my assumption was true. But everyone including the local tailor who guards the gate told me that I had taken the bag with me. I, at once, knew that I had just made my day.

I alighted the bus, ran towards JNR Office, took my bike and sped home. After confirming my worst fears, I pondered what to do next. The answer was obvious... Start a wild goose chase. I retraced my path from Home to TCS-JNR office [twice], stopping at every junction/traffic signal to ask every vendor and traffic constables whether 'they had seen any bag falling from a two-wheeler about an hour ago'. Not surprisingly, none knew anything about it.

I subsequently lodged a written complaint at the Koyambedu Police station as well as alerted the Anna-Nagar Police station about it - for I don't know where I had missed it or who took it. And those creeps never took any action until evening when I visited them for a second time.

Sometime in the midst of this drama, I got a 3 promotional calls from various agencies - ICICI, Reliance and Citibank. Poor fellas... They incurred my wrath for calling me at the precise wrong moment.

I then tried to get over the loss of my iPod by watching India decimate the West-Indies. I also received a small lecture from my Dad for not taking a copy of the Vehicle papers. The Cheque book was not a problem, although I thought I should warn the bank authorities about it. After spending close to 6 hours on the my chase, I called it a day and hit the bed. At around 9 PM, I got a call again. With my sleepy tone, I picked up my mobile. "Mr.Raaja...Don't you want your Bag ???". I was stunned. After finishing the call, everything dawned on me.

The Revelation :
My bag had dropped from my Bike, when I took a left turn near Koyambedu. I did tilt my bike more than required on that occasion . An elderly person had taken it with him and tried to find out any contact information to return it. After he had left for office, his son, working in Reliance [now you see... I mistook the call of my Saviour to be a promotional call...] found out my name and Home number from my ICICI Personalized cheque book. He called up my dad and asked my mobile number stating that he was a friend of mine from Koyambedu. And my dad heard it as 'Coimbatore'... Similar tones]. And he didn't want to startle my Dad by telling about the lost bag... Such strange coincidences.

Nevertheless, I arrived at his residence and identified myself. His family greeted me and then showed me my bag. I also showed them a copy of the Police complaint to supplant my identity. I was kind of surprised to witness such honesty these days . My iPod should have been more than a reason to keep the bounty to themselves. Thank goodness... It didn't fall in wrong hands... or rather it fell in the right hands. They didn't accept any 'thanks' that I offered while I left home with a sigh of relief. I listened to some of my fav tunes on my iPod, all night long. My Longest day had just come to a peaceful end.

Its TCS Velachery now ....... Wat Next ???

I guess my whining goes to the next level each time I start blogging out. But my employer (TCS) doesn't help my case in any bit... After a small stint at TCS Ambattur, I'm now shuttled out to Velachery. Although I feel that its good to explore a lot more options early in one's career, 3 Branch-location changes in 2 weeks is still something I haven't come to terms yet.

I feel the atmosphere is near perfect (just like the one I had in mind). The ambience and building aesthetics are worth a mention too. Anybody who frequents the Velachery road (which almost all S/W related dudes does) will find this Maroon-coloured building standing proudly with the banner TCS.

What didn't go well with me were a couple of issues.

1. The distance I have to travel - 55 KM (to and fro)
   
2. The canteen food.
   

I have managed to get accustomed to the long rides (though it gives a huge strain on my back). But the food is really pathetic. There are NO .. absolutely NO varieties. No taste in the food either. And the Rs.23 tag on the meals is totally unjustified with the items they provide. And what more... The makeshift canteen is currently situated in an alternate Car-Parking lot. Grrr.. I guess the new canteen (to be completed in a couple of months) should improve the situation.

From today, I vow to update my blogs twice a week. Its really hard to visualise all the events if there is such a huge gap between blogs. Cya soon.....

Reallocated to TCS-Ambattur

After a brief stint on the Bench (the Floor would be more apt) at TCS-JNR, the rest of the Nov-15 batch were asked to report at TCS-Ambattur to attend a test. I didn't have anyclue what it was all about.

When I learnt that the project was a TCS support group, I wasn't amused. I've never given it a thought and I spent the rest of the day deliberating whether to opt for the group or not. Be it fate or my destiny, I got selected into the group alongside Saigopal and Arun Thilak. I was atleast happy that I was not alone.

The main issue that plagued me was that I shouldn't be straight jacketed by opting to stay in SSG for long. But when Mr.Ashok assured me that there was no reason to worry and that choosing my career path would be up to sole discretion, I felt confident of taking the next step.

Also I did some reasoning out myself. Being put in a project right away, I wont be doing any good with my current programming skills. It would be better if I could increase all my competency levels before venturing into the projects area. So, I felt that SSG would be the best place for one to kickstart his career.

Right now my primary job is simple.. Learn !! Learn !! and Learn !! Nothing else. I haven't had much of an appetite for learning since my schooling days. But I guess all that is about to change in a short while !!

My first day in TCS-JNR

I was in for a big suprise on my first day at TCS-JNR (Vadapalani). I had imagined a warm welcome speech by the MATC walas and proper redirection by them. What happened on Nov-15th was nothing close to my expectations.

My day started at 10.00. I waited at the reception/lounge (with the other Sep-30th batch mates). To my dismay none came to even address us. I was a bit irritated. Around 11.30, our patience was tested to the max and we decided to meet the MATC wala. The matc lady was not even aware that a batch was to report on that day. (Baaah.. so much for competency levels) She then asked us to write down our skill sets and submit it to them (i wonder wat happened to that paper ????). She then told us to wait till 1400 hrs. Goodness me.. There was not even enough chairs for us. I was sitting on an elevated flooring for 2 hrs.

We had our lunch (the food is a hell LOT better than wat used to be served in Trivandrum) and reported to the matc again. Finally, at 1500 hrs she came out of her cabin and told us that we would have an official meetin with the area MATC officer the next day at 6 PM ( is it a nite party ???). That was it.. my First day in TCS.. something which i never expected. But i must say i'm a bit fortunate.. considering the fact that there are batches released from ILP, a couple of months ago and still awaiting a formal meeting with the MATC.