Diary 8: Eventful Day

Today I woke up at 7:10 am, and got ready to go for my interview with Numantra Technologies at Powai. I reached at the place at around 9:45 am. The office was small, and seemed as a meeting point for few individuals. The first interview started at around 10:20 am. The panel consisted of two members, both of them were pass out from IIT Bombay, and one of them was also an alumni of IIM Calcutta. They gave an introduction of themselves and asked some general questions about me and my experience. They asked a lot of questions on team dynamics, leadership instances, situations of conflict with team members or client and similar types. I tried relating them to my work experience, and gave out examples. Then they moved to the business analysis section where they asked me a guesstimate - "What could be the approximate population of Powai ?". I am not good at guesstimates, and hence the next few moments were awkward and frustrating. They told me that you know the number of buildings here. So, I answered by assuming an average family size of 4, and average building floors with number of flats per floor. All this can provide me the data for population. But, they were skeptical on my assumptions, and I didn't sound very convincing. They asked me whether I can figure out any other metric apart from building data to find out the population. I thought for a little while, they gave me a hint on the number of cars, and then they said that we can figure it out using the tags of residential building on the cars. They gave me one more chance, and then I answered that we can look into the electricity consumption. A corporate building will have a single account at the electricity bill and the residential building will have individual bills for residents. Then they told me that electricity measurement meters would have been a better choice. After all this, one of them started explaining the kind of work they do, and how team dynamics play a major role and all. I found out that they are particularly focused on clients in India, primarily in Mumbai, and work on the client location. The interview ended at around 11:15 am. After the first round, there was a break of around 5 minutes, and the second round started. It was supposedly a technical round. In this round, I was much more confident and articulate in my answers than in the previous interview. Here, I found out that they work primarily on the SAP - BI side, of which I have only 2 months experience. They asked me about my motivation to work on SAP, specific details on data model designing, custom development and so on. It ended at around 11:40 am, after which I gave in the details of my compensation and notice period to the HR executive and left. I was free at 12 pm, and hence decided to call up old friends from Deloitte to join in for Lunch and catch up. Dallas unfortunately was working from home. So I called up Shashank, and he called up others to plan the lunch. He said that they would be free within an hour, so I decided to just roam around the Galleria. I did some window shopping, went inside random shops and asked for prices of wireless routers, and even bought a KKR T-Shirt. After that, I finally met them (Shaurin, Shashank, Rukmini, Deepak, Amlan, Sandy and Tanvi). We had a great time, reminded me of those times. I, Sandy and Amlan decided to give the treat for our own reasons. After that great time, I came back home by Train. I reached at around 4:15 pm, and was very tired. I had few chats with my mother regarding the interview and all. Then I checked my mail, whether any new work has come up, but there was none. After that, I just switched on the AC, and slept as a baby. I woke up at around 8:20 pm, and started watching the IPL match between RCB and Punjab. It seemed like a repeat telecast of yesterday's knock by Virender Sehwag. But this time, it was Chris Gayle. He made 107 in just 49 balls. RCB reached 205 in their 20 overs. Punjab were hopeless in their chase and fell apart like house of cards. RCB won the match by 85 runs, a huge margin. After that I was watching the news regarding the reactions of people to Osama Bin Laden being dead, and the role of Pakistan in guarding Osama for so many years. A debate started at out dinner table also, where my father was blaming everything on Pakistan, and I was blaming US for all the miseries it has caused in general. I tried to convince him that 9/11 was not an attack by Al-Qaeda, but was an internal affair of the US government itself. I focused on the evidence available to us, and the various other facts that would explain my defense, but he was adamant. My mother was very supportive of me, as she was able to understand the deeper details. I went on giving instances of how US manipulated the opinions of people etc. I felt very happy that I was able to put them in a very articulate way. Anyways, after all this, I went back to my room and searched for the moon landing controversy on Youtube. I watched it for a while, and later watched the latest episode of Big Bang theory. After that I wrote this post, and now I plan to watch the latest episode of Bones, followed by next 2 episodes of CSI:Miami. I plan to sleep by 3:30 am.

Diary 7: Peaceful Day

Yesterday night, after I wrote the post in the blog, I watched two episodes of CSI:Miami and hence completed the season 1. After that, I just opened up Guitar Pro after a long time, and started composing something which was running in my head. I created only two tracks - Keyboard and Drums, and then slept at around 4:30 am. Today, I woke up at around 9:20 am, to attend the scheduled call at 9:30 am. But there was no call, I guess Gil thought it was better to mail the work than waste time in calls. So, I received a mail at around 10:00 am regarding a new task, which was only assigned to me. Ankit was still struggling with his task that time. I started with my task, cleared few doubts from Gil through chat, and finished the work around 1:00 pm. I was free then, but I didn't send the new task back yet. I planned the delivery in a way so that it seemed that I worked hard today also. So, I decided that I will send one task at 2 pm, and the other at 4 pm. By this time, Ankit had mailed his task. I remembered then that I had to send my resume to Raj as there were openings in Diamond Consulting. So, I just edited the resume to add my present job experience and sent it. After that, I sent the first task at exactly 2 pm. Meanwhile, I had already started watching the season 2's first episode. I had my lunch at around 3 pm, and then at around 4 pm, I sent the next task. I was now really relaxed, and hence watched latest episodes of HIMYM and Gossip Girl. Although there was a match going on between KKR and Kochi, I didn't feel like watching it, and just the scorecard few times in between. At around 6:00 pm, I was feeling really sleepy and so I took a power nap at woke up at 7 pm. I found out that Dad is already home, he has come from his Delhi trip. I checked my mails and found out that there are few changes required, and also Ankit is facing some new issue. So, I looked into both of them, rectified them and then sent a mail to Gil that I won't be available tomorrow morning from 9:30 to 11:30 (I have an interview with Numantra Technologies). He then replied that it's fine, and in fact even offered that we can relax now as most of the work has been done. I was happy to hear that, I really needed some break. Well, after that I started watching the IPL match between Delhi and Deccan. Also, my sister took the internet from me, so I took the laptop to the drawing room where I was watching the match. I took a glimpse of my resume, and then started working on the guitar pro file I had made yesterday. I found out it sounds better without the drums, so I added a bass line and a overdriven guitar track. It sounds good now. The real sound engine of the guitar pro was not working properly anyways with the drum track. Well, about the match, it was probably the  best match of IPL 2011. Deccan were awesome with their batting and made a very good total of 175 in their 20 overs. Delhi started terribly, losing wicket in their first over and soon they were 30/3. It was evident that they were going towards another defeat, but apparently Sehwag had other plans. His strike rate was below 100 at the start and also till the 7th over. Then there was a over bowled by Malhotra, who was playing his first IPL match. His over went for 23 runs. After this, there was no looking back, Sehwag hit sixes at will, and  rode his luck to bring down the required run rate from 13 point something to 6 by the end of 16th over. He got out finally but after a 56 ball 119. After this, he became the orange cap holder also. It was a magnificent knock, even Dale Steyn, who finally got him, personally went and applauded him for his knock. It was like a dream come true. I always wanted to experience such a chase, and who else other than Sehwag would have made it possible. Post match, I started watching the latest episodes of Chuck and House. After finishing those, I started writing this post. I wanted to get my resume printed but there is not a single white paper in the house. So, I will take the older version of the resume with me. Next I plan to just surf the net a bit, and then sleep at around 3:15 am. 

Diary 6: Good Day.. and Life is always about a Good day...

Yesterday, I didn't sleep at 2:30 am as planned. Instead I worked extra so that I can have a comfortable day today. Gil sent a late mail, to give us the information about the morning call, and also tell us about the next tasks on our plate. I was awake and hence started working as soon as I got the mail. I finished a considerable part of that task, and then slept at around 3:30 am. I woke up at around 9:20 am, connected to the internet and straightaway told Ankit that I won't be coming today as I was too tired from yesterday's work. After this, we attended the call with Gil, in which he just re-iterated the contents of the mail and thanked us for our efforts and hard work. The call ended at around 10:15 am. I started where I left off yesterday night, and neither Ankit nor Gil had any idea that I can finish my task off in just few hours. Today, I was relaxed and working at a steady pace, with no hiccups or issues. My brain cells were also firing the synapses in a superb way. I figured out a lot of optimum ways to implements many parts of the solution. I was happy to see how deep I was able to think, and how I have captured the software well, just within few weeks of training, which was primarily on a self-trained basis. In between work, I had lunch at around 2:45 pm and also watched an episode of CSI:Miami. Also, my Dad had to stay an extra day at Delhi because the work was not complete yet. He asked me to pay his SBI Credit Card bill, and so I did. I haven't got the salary for the last month yet, may be because Gil is too busy with the project work that he forgot to transfer the money. On another front, I got my Ad-sense account activated for my earlier blog, but will have to look into details of how it works. Anyways,I completed my task at around 3 pm. But, I didn't stop. I had a quick peek at what was Ankit's task, and I realized that he will surely have a long day ahead, mainly because it would take a lot of time to understand the complex sections which were earlier not his part of the task, and which made yesterday a hell for me. I had already figured out ways around it, but it would certainly take some time for him to acclimatize. Anyways, I knew that there was one more task, so I had a look at it, and started working on it. It was similar to the earlier ones, expect for one part, and so I decided that I would keep the rest of the parts ready. Meanwhile, there was an IPL match going on between RR and CSK. It was an important match for both of them, considering the new format of Qualifiers and Eliminators for the top four teams. 1st and 2nd team play a qualifier, the winner goes to the final, and the loser plays with the winner of the eliminator between 3rd and 4th. It is a good way to ensure that the consistent teams get more chances. Anyways, the match was won by CSK comfortably at the end. Mike hussey tied with Sachin as a contender for the Orange Cap. But later in the day, Sachin takes a lead of 24 runs. I stopped working at around 7:30 pm, and then suddenly I got a call from Shaurin, my ex-colleague. We had a nice chat, and came to know that Amlan is going to Paris to pursue Masters in management course (MIM), which is not a MBA, and is valid only in Europe. We cursed the B Schools for their gruesome admission processes. It was nice talking to him after a long time. After that, I started watching the IPL match between Mumbai and Pune. The match was taking place at DY Patil Stadium, just few kilometers away from my home. DADA was not playing, although he was sitting in the dug out of the team. Well, Mumbai batted first, and although they didn't start off well, they somehow managed to score 160, with some hitting by Keiron Pollard and T Suman at the death. Pune lost a wicket of the first ball of their innings, and they never were convincing enough. Mumbai won the match by 21 runs, and they are again back at the top of the table with 14 points. Today, again for the third consecutive day, we didn't eat home food. Today we ordered the food from a dhaba, which opened recently in our society premises. The food was good, but the quantity was a bit on the lesser side. After that, I logged in to my work mail, and found out that Ankit had not yet completed his task. I was saying to myself - What goes around, comes around. Then I watched few videos on Youtube, and then started writing this post. Meanwhile, I got a message from Gil that tomorrow's call will also be at 9:30 am and also that there is more work on the way, but now I am not that worried as my work is already ahead of what was required. Now, I plan to watch 2 or 3 online episodes of CSI:Miami, and then sleep at around 3:30 am.

Diary 5: Bad Day ! But life is not about a bad day..

Yesterday I slept at around 2:30 am, and woke up today at around 9:15 am to attend the conference call with Gil and Ankit. Today my sister didn't go to school, for no specific reason as such. The call started at around 9:45 am, and we discussed the issues around the code delivered yesterday. There were several mistakes small and irritating, and there were some changes also, which made my day close to Hell later on. The call ended at around 11:00 am. I started with the changes, and then decided that I will keep working from home. I sent a mail this time to Gil to inform about this, as he had mailed Ankit earlier about work from home issues, although I never faced any issue with him in this regard till now. As I went on making changes, I realized that there has been some major changes, which required us to go through each line of code. Those changes led to new kind of problems, and hence I was stuck big time. Also, my sections of code were the complex ones and hence took a lot of time to debug and change. There was supposed to be a call at 4:30 pm, after which I was to mail the updated project, but at around 2 pm I could clearly perceive that I won't be able to complete it. I had a quick lunch at 2:15 pm, and went back to my room. Ankit, with the smaller and easier portion of the code, sent me his part of the project at around 3 pm. I told Ankit then that I won't be able to complete as there are too many changes, and asked him to check whether the quarterly tab is fine as per requirements. To this he said that his part of the code is fine. I was very frustrated already and became more agitated on hearing this, but what could I have done- he is the director after all. At around 4 pm, I took a clever decision, and implemented the smaller portions of the code quickly, without getting stuck at the faulty parts. I did this so that I can tell Gil that only one part of the code is left. Gil came in at around 5 pm, and we had a quick status call, where I explained Gil the situation. He asked me to send him whatever I have done, and so after integrating the project I sent it. I was skeptical about the integration but it went well. After this, I started working with a peaceful mind, as I had no time limitations now. The tides turned the other way, and I figured out a way to deal with the problems ( A marker with marking as begin position was the savior ). I started implementing the solution at around 8:30 pm, and completed it at around 9:30 pm. Meanwhile, I also started watching the IPL match between KKR and DC, and before I speak more about this match, I would like to inform everyone that our very own DADA is finally back. He has been given the offer by Pune Warriors in replacement of injured Ashish Nehra. I can forgive Ashish Nehra finally. Well, we will have to wait and watch when he will be back in action, but let's hope that it is tomorrow. Pune will play Mumbai tomorrow. Back to the match, KKR didn't start that well, but awesome hitting at the death by Yusuf and Manoj Tiwari helped KKR post a competitive total of 169. DC started off very well, but lost wickets in quick succession, and hence were never really stable. KKR won the match by 20 runs, and moved to the first position with 12 points based on the net run rate. Today my sister wanted to order from McDonald's. Given my father has been on an official trip to Delhi, she feels it is safe to assume no one would oppose that. I had few second thoughts about it, but ultimately ordered our usual ( 2 McChicken medium meals,  2 veg pizza mcPuff, 2 Chicken McGrill with cheese - 364 Rs ). So, finally after a tough day with updates and alterations, I was free. I started watching the  next episode of CSI:Miami. I got the confirmation mail regarding the interview for NuMantra technologies on Friday, 10:00 am. I was just looking through the status updates and posts on my facebook page, when I came across this video:

It is just amazing to see that how a video of a Racer in some corner of the world, and at the some other time can inspire you so much. Being the emotional fool, I started crying, well, at least my eyes filled with tears. Given the recent events in my life, I was truly very inspired by this. The background music was so appropriate for this video, I search for it specifically and found out that it was a song named "Forever Reign" by HillSong. I listened to it many times after that. This small event made me change the title of the post from just -"Bad Day !" to the one at the top. My conscious resonated with the thoughts presented in the video, and I learned the same lesson again - the one in the Gita - Do your work, don't expect rewards. Well, after that I started writing this post, and now I plan to watch another episode of CSI:Miami and then sleep at around 2:30 am.

Diary 4: Osama Bin Laden dead? Really ? I am not that sure about it.

Yesterday I slept at around 2:30 am, and today I woke up at around 10:15 am, to attend a conference call with Gil and Ankit. I had already told Gil that I will attend the call from home as I was too tired from yesterday's heavy work. Anyways, the call was just a half an hour call and ended at 11:00 am. In the call, we were assigned some new work which was pretty much simple and straightforward. After the call ended, Ankit told me that we will meet in office. I said that I will leave in a while, after starting the work. Somehow, I got stuck in the starting itself due to faulty schema definition files. I figured out the main problem and told Gil about it. He advised that I make a new project for now, and we can deal with the version problem later. So, I started working on the new project and was on full flow, so I decided that I will continue working from home and not waste any time. Time was flying by and soon it was 2 pm. Ankit had already reached office by 1 pm, but the internet connection at office was giving some problems. Sushma was also online today, since she was back from her one week holiday. Anyways, before Ankit could say anything I told him that I ran into an issue with some files, and hence had to clarify them with Gil, and since I didn't want to waste 2 hours, I stayed back. He understood the point, and afterwards took the updates from me regarding the new task. I had already divided the work between us, again assigning him the lesser portion of the pie (since I want to reap the maximum benefits of the task). I had a quick lunch at around 2:45 pm, and again started working. I completed my part of the new task around 4:30 pm, but then Gil came along with some other task, which unfortunately I had to do, since Ankit had not yet finished his part. So, I again started working. Meanwhile, I also started watching the ongoing IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Punjab online. I was eager to watch this, because it had Sachin Tendulkar. Mumbai was the first to bat, and started off slow, losing the wicket of David Jacobs in the first few overs. But then, Sachin and Rayadu introduced some stability and accelerated the run flow. The commentators today were criticizing Sachin because he was playing slowly, but in my opinion he played very nicely, understanding the slowness of the wicket, and also understanding the importance of his presence on the crease. He also regained the Orange Cap, and made a 45 ball fifty. Mumbai lost few wickets in the middle, but managed to get to 159 their 20 overs, which many people said is not enough as the wicket was good for batting conditions. I had my doubts regarding that. Anyways, somehow multi tasking between work and IPL, I saw the second half right through. Punjab didn't start well, they lost Gilchrist early, and Valthathy was on an all time low, with strike rates nearing 30-40. Punjab was also finding it difficult to make runs, and lost wickets in the middle overs. In the end, Mumbai won by 23 runs, and won back the first position from Rajashthan Royals with 12 points from their 8 games. Meanwhile, Ankit was facing some problems integrating my code with his, and so he sent it over to me to verify, and few manipulations, I was successful in doing that. So, I sent it over to both Gil and Ankit at around 7:15 pm. I was now free, finally, with all action items closed. So, I went to the drawing room and started watching the news. Well, today there was a huge announcement made at an international level by the president of US - Barrack Obama. At 8:30 am IST, he announced that Osama Bin Laden has been killed at Abbottabad, a place in Pakistan, some 50-60 kilometers north of Islamabad. Everyone reacted - the international press, the world political leaders, Pakistan government, Indian government, Indian media, Pakistan media. Most of them focused mainly on two points - Credibility of Pakistan on issues of Terrorism and Praise of US president in capturing the "most deadly" terrorist of the present times. When I saw the news, I was practically laughing at the ignorance and US biased nature of discussion. Very few, I mean, limited to numbers which can be counted by a kid studying in nursery, were actually asking the right questions - Where is the proof that Osama Bin Laden is dead ? Nobody saw any video or photograph. Why was his body buried at sea ? (may be to conceal evidence of DNA etc). Why this happened just in time, when Obama's popularity was on the decline, and was on his way to run for president for the second time?. Well, I need not tell myself why. I pity on those who cannot understand the real motive. People still think Osama Bin laden was the 9/11 mastermind, without asking any questions. This is not just the 10 years from 9/11 to today, the disease has been here for a much longer duration, more than anyone can imagine now. Good luck to the citizens of United States, but they have fooled yet again. Well apart from all this, tonight my mother said that she is tired of cooking. Hence, we ordered food from outside - veg noodles, veg machurian, chicken fried rice and chicken in barbeque sauce. I liked every item other than veg manchurian. Well, I was not much interested in the second match which was being played today between Delhi and Kochi. The epitome is that Delhi performed badly yet again and Kochi were fabulous. I returned to my room, to check my mails etc at around 10:30 pm. I also had a small chat with Gil, who fixed 9:30 am as tomorrow's call timing. I was fine with it, and I informed Ankit also. Then, started writing this post, and now I plan to watch two episodes of CSI:Miami, before I sleep at around 2 am.