Tough Times

Past few weeks have been quite difficult for me personally. I had to finally face issues that I was dreading for the last couple of years. But I'm doing all right now.

My personal problems aside, it has been terrible times to live in India. As serial blasts rocked Banglore yesterday, followed by even worse blasts in Ahmedabad today. Lets hope our prayers are answered soon & these sadistic terrorists receive the punishment they deserve. Words cannot describe the grief & the helplessness that a comman man feels under such situations. Some of the bombs planted today were near civic hospitals where the injured victims were being taken to. I hope the government takes a united stand & take some desperate measures to curtail such inhuman acts.

That being said, Indian people are mentally very strong. I cannot imagine people from any other part of the world reacting so swiftly & gaining normalcy within such short time. It hurts , but people have learnt to move on. My prayers are with the victims , their families & the people of these cities.


Ciao n Peace.

Tough Luck

My big day came & went awful. Initially although my PM didn't break the news straight away , we talked with our business unit head. He said the doctor reported my case as "medically unfit" & that the corporate hr had terminated my offer. However they said that I could join as a contract employee. It would be like a free lance job, but with project deadlines. Like an independent consultant. I have not committed anything as of now.

Will have to fully understand the implications of working in such manner. Will probably take a decision this weekend. I would really like to see what was in this doctor's report. My thought was that he wasn't even qualified enough to comment on my illness. Anyhow I 've to keep my chin up & storm ahead. What this job would mean is that I wouldn't have a service agreement & could switch jobs if & when I get to work some place else. Some of my friends said I should look for a job elsewhere. Maybe in a smaller organization where they don't have a medical & all. But the thing is that I really like working in such projects having deadlines & competing with the best and being successful at that.

Lets hope things look bright at the end of this tunnel. I am not heart broken. But my spirit seems to have definitely sunk. I don't feel the same about my company anymore or doctors for that matter. Bottom line I have to work some place paying similar kind of salary else continue here, minus the insurance & some other goodies. Life goes on.


Ciao n Peace.

The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight finally releases this friday. Been looking forward since last couple of months. It has got some rave reviews. Hope it lives up to the expectations. Hoping to catch it this friday / saturday!

In other news, haven't still received the joining letter. Suspense is mounting , I hope I can adjust to whatever happens next. Hoping for the best though. Very difficult to concentrate on work, but doing my best & hoping my efforts will outweigh my medical situation. People simply didn't understand the gravity of the situation when I explained my problem. My PM seemed nonchalant & said there would be no issue , TL said we will handle if & when it comes up. But its really bothering me. Hope that they give us the joining letter by tomorrow else planning to have a "talk" with HR on thursday. Training starts on 22 & have been called for induction programme on monday. Praying for a wonderful weekend!


Ciao n Peace.

My Pre Med Test

Last 2 days have been one of the worst ones in the last 6 years or so. I had my pre employment medical test. Some of the other candidates who had come on friday were given a clean chit & their reports were submitted to the HR. While I was told to come again on sat to meet the senior ophthalmologist & a senior physician. This was one test that I have been dreading since last couple of years. I'm physically fit to do any kind of work. However I cannot see anything with my right eye , can only count fingers & have to rely on my left eye completely. Also my DM papers state the critical condition I was in way back in 1997. Maybe its because of the health insurance or whatever, but these people kept on investigating as if I had some really big problem.

The physician was adamant that my case was a "burn out" case & said there weren't any problems. However the chief medical officer kept on insisting that the case needs to be discussed more. I reminded them several times I have been working at the same place since last July & didn't face any problems with my daily activities. To add to my woes I have misplaced my current med records. I searched them for 2 days but couldn't find them. Ordering a second set of copies from the lab will take some time. So was able to show only my old records. However I said that I was willing to undergo any test that they would like to investigate. However they simply didn't commit anything and said they would mail the report to the HR.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed. This job really means a lot to me. On monday I will be putting a word to my project manager, if they consult him regarding my performance. I'm extremely confident that my team will support me. However problem with such companies is the insurance. Anyhow, I will have to put forth my case , in case things dont look good. I just hope conditions favor me. I'd to face this situation one day or the other. Can't keep working at places without insurance,n other benefits. Anyhow hoping for the very best now!


Ciao n Peace.

Office Space

Things can turn pretty wild in a matter of hours. Well something similar happened yesterday. We were scheduled to join work on 22 , but things heated up. We were categorically told to join on monday by our office y'day. Our team had the notion that joining on monday was optional since we wouldnot be on company payroll before 22. But the project requirements were such that it needs immediate resources. Unfortunately we were given an ultimatum that if we didn't join by monday then we would be joining with rest of the joinees in september or later. With the IT slowdown looming large since last couple of months this meant ominous signs.

It was only because we had done our internship last year , we were given an opportunity to work early. 3 out of 6 members have decided to start working from monday, I am one of them. I tried to convince others to join but they wouldn't relent. Although we won't be getting our normal pay for this period of 15 days , the office has made arrangements for our travel n we would be given an allowance. I thought that its fine ,as it is we weren't doing anything productive. Refusing this would mean to wait for couple of months, or look for another job till then. Last couple of years haven't been easy since studying for a master's degree meant that I could never work full time during this period. So I want to start working immediately.

Well I am deeply saddened by the fact that our group of friends won't be together. Somewhere down the line we might be able to spend time together when these people join later in some other department. But last year work was fun because of everyones involvement & commitment. Life however goes on. Last few weeks have been lil weird. Couple of my closest friends have left town to go overseas to study / work & now this. I will miss all of them. However my personal life is looking bright. Hoping for things to be bright on the health front too.


Ciao n Peace.

In Waiting

I have been patiently waiting for the past couple of days to join my workplace. It's been almost 3 months since my "exams" break. I was supposed to join on 24 June , but due to HR policies have to wait almost a month to complete some sort of induction training. This is really bad news & am really fed up of all this waiting. The worst part is after joining on 22July, I'll have to wait for almost a month doing training before I actually rejoin my project. Although the place is far off I preferred to stay here finally coz I simply love my work. I enjoy working on my current project. Theres never a dull moment.

Y'day the doc's receptionist had called n asked me if I could come down for my appointment. I had totally forgotten about it since last month. He wasn't talking much about change of medication or anything. I did remind him of my liver problem & blood pressure. But he wasn't too worried about it. I do want to take a second opinion of a rheumy in a month or two. The case with rheumys is that my earlier doc was the best but he retired some time back. Although his assistants are good but haven't continued my treatment there. Will have to consult my family doc or someone to guide me to a proper choice for the second opinion I've been seeking for a long time now.

I have been reading couple of books, exercising , going for a jog now & then. Still have to wait for 18 more days !! before rejoining work. Hoping for good results in between. Final semester results might be out the same time I guess.

Oh & btw the new Coldplay album Viva La Vida is awesome !!!


Ciao n Peace.