(This blog article is from a set of mails that I sent to my gang. This is the fifth and final of the post dated 29 Aug '08. Henceforth will be blogging directly)
A very good afternoon to you all!
My apologies, first, for the long absence. I can only say that I had nothing to write for a long time, which might be hypocrisy, since I had nothing to write even in the earlier few mails :)
Anyways, all said and done, tis good to be back!
I despise routines. Fair to say, I hate them. I feel like a friggin' program code! Get up at a fixed time, get ready in a fixed time, catch the bus, arrive in office (owing to extremely good Bangalore roads, this is not fixed), lunch at blah hours, leave before the bus leaves at the due time ... AAAAAH! It is not so much what I do, but the 'when' part is making me annoyed. It's just no fun!
The bus! Yes that reminds me; 2 days ago, that would be this past Wednesday, I caught the 7:15pm bus to return home. Just 10 mins outta the office heavy rain set in. The rains, this season, in Bangalore are a bit like the lyrics from a Dire Straits song;
"it never rains around here, it just comes pouring down".
In fact this August has seen the highest recorded August rainfall for Bangalore. Back to the bus, well, I was in a window seat, in a half filled bus. So I stretched my legs sideways, let my head hang half outside the window (I even stuck my tongue out on one occassion, and the dogs are right!), plugged in my headphones and just laid-back! When the rain started, I had to close the window, which was fine. Late dusk, street lights and pouring rain make quite a sight! My head was stuck now on the window glass, when I noticed that my head was getting wet. Yes, there was a leak in the roof right above my head. Back to sitting position to avoid the shower. But that wasn't the end of it. Next thing, water started gushing in through the window's edges, soon the entire bus floor was in water. For someone on the road looking inside the bus it would've seemed an aquarium. I know, I know, if something has to get messy it will ... damn you Murphy! The only thing that is wrong or unfair is that Mr. Murphy was damn right! (Murphy's Law anyone?)
One of those things that I do during the long 'ride' to office and back, is to just sit back and watch; watch people in the bus, people on the streets and so on. It's a real time-killer on some-o-the-days! Its amazing what all happens around us. Some day this past week, I saw a lady driver, in a Qualis, take her hands off the wheel when she was joining the main road, and mutter a small prayer ... whew! Lady, I only hope no other driver saw you. It has its flipsides; one girl I was observing in the bus (no, I wasn't staring at her) happened to notice and gave me the ugliest frown I have ever seen. Now IBM is a big big place, with so many many employees, so what's the chance of me seeing this girl again? Turns out, its not that small a chance. I have unsuccessfully attempted to hide myself behind the bus seat on one occassion when she passed my row. What was I thinking? Big foot in the bus is just as bad as a crocodile in the bath tub ...
2 months have passed at IBM now. I finally have a permanent place to sit, my own desk, cupboard etc etc. The floor that I work on has recently been opened so there are not many people here, most sections on the floor are empty. On our floor there's a chair in a small empty corner near a window that looks out towards a small pond. I go and sit there sometimes. Its absolutely quiet there, no sound, the kind of silence that can be disturbing and soothing at the same time. I was there for about 10 mins today after lunch. Far out near the pond, I saw a group of workers, sitting in a circle having their lunch. I couldn't help but think about afternoon lunch-times in college. Those were the days! These days, I go for lunch with some guys on my team. It's not all that fun. Maybe I'll tell you guys about it soon :)
Hmmm ... the SMS salary update. This month's pay has just arrived. Back to reality. Another bug to trace ...