Filter Coffee

It must have been around 6.30 in the evening. I had still not been assigned a cab at my newly joined office so I had to travel on my own - Don't ask me whats the big deal in it - for a person who was comfortably commuting in the company provided transport for 5 years this was surely a nightmare. 

Unfortunately for me, that day I took my car to office and very soon realized that I had committed the biggest mistake of my life as I tried to find my way through the impressively congested and irritating Bangalore peak hour traffic (No...I did not do any car pooling and that is not the discussion here so lets not go there)......Lot of honking...screaming at the annoying pedestrians walking on the road conversing over their cell phone....cursing the Auto guys for recklessly switching lanes and also blaming myself for taking the car out.......By the time I reached home with all this circus and drama, I had almost traveled for 2 hrs....energy was completely sapped....head was about to explode.

Thank god.. that day my mom had reached home before me and I politely demanded for a hot cup of coffee.....the word itself brought a sense of freshness and relief in my mind....I followed my mom to the kitchen......as she heated the water and poured it over the freshly ground coffee powder in the coffee filter the aroma it generated made me forget all that torrid time I had for the past 2 hrs.....my mom has this uncanny knack of always mixing the right quantity of ingredients to anything she prepares which makes things taste a lot lot better.....Now I watched her carefully as she used all her experience in mixing the hot black coffee with fresh milk and sugar. When I took the first sip, I could smell the aroma and simultaneously taste the hot coffee just gliding down my throat....I had just escaped into a wonderful cup of hot filter coffee.

By now you could easily sense that I am addicted to this beverage.......surely......I am so addicted that my day just refuses to kick off if I don not have coffee in the morning or it simply makes me dull and UN-enthusiastic if I miss out on my evening dose.....I drink coffee if I am out of mood....if i have headache, if I am happy, if I am sad, chatting with friends, family or relatives no matter what the occasion is :-) I am addicted to this as some people are to alcohol (now stop making weird faces)...Its a fact...I love coffee and I know my South Indian origin should take the blame for that.....!!!

If you think that I am exaggerating......just drop in to my house........and I am sure your experience will be something similar..!! - Its an Open Challenge

-Sethu-

PS - If you are someone who has aversion to caffeine and if you have not tasted coffee even once in your life (Yes, I know a handful of people).......just ignore this post and the invitation...!!!

Vacation Time

Its been only 2 days since I have joined HP and I am off on a 11 day vacation (can sense a lot of people fuming over this). A much needed break though. I always wanted a break after I left my previous company before I joined HP. But due to some induction issues, I had to join at the earliest which meant that there was no time for respite I had only a weekend to prepare myself mentally to get into the new role.

It was only after I finished my induction that I got to know that it was the company's shut down period and I would be off for 11 days returning only on the New Year. Sounds so cool doesn't it??? Before you reach to any conclusion, let me tell you.....its not that great. It has its own set of terms and conditions. This is not a holiday but a company policy to take mandatory leaves which will eventually be deducted from my entitled annual leave. So when I get back to work in 2013, I will start of with a negative balance of leaves to my credit....which is surely not a great start. (I'm sure a lot of you will now be clapping with a big smile on your face....How sadistic)

11 days is a long time and I would have surely loved to plan something....may be a lazy holiday in some cozy resort in the jungle or a adventurous trek at the western ghats or a refreshing holiday at the coastal region but none of them fit to the size of my pocket as of now. I am in a Financial Crisis* of some sort and cannot fund any of those vacations......sob sob.......Instead, I am staying indoors for the past 4 days cleaning the house, washing utensils, helping my dad in cooking and all such boring uninteresting things (I hate it when my mom is not there at home)

Now since my Mom is back from her small trip and I still have a week's time till I get back to work, I wish some one funds any one of those above mentioned vacations and are willing to consider it as a bad debt :-P.... Can I see someone nodding your head ???? If yes...U are my best friend....I'll give you my account number...!!! Make it fast... I have a lot of planning to do...!!!

Signing off

-Sethu-

*Something similar to a global recession, as my previous company decided not to pay any salary in my notice period (ridiculous company policy) and my new company told me that I have joined them a little too late to pay me the current month's salary.....I will receive everything only on next month...Come on guys...don't you know Time value of money??? Money today is more precious that the same received tomorrow...so forget the rules and pay me :-)

19th December

As I walked through the gate of the Grand Mc Grath hotel, I was getting this wierd feeling of walking into an unknown territory. There were a lot of things that occupied my mind...!! How will it turn out to be??? How would the people react?? Will I be fortunate enough to meet any familiar faces....and a millions of other doubts...felt like my brain was in top gear at full speed.....

After a Four and Half year stint (Now close your mouth - I know its a little too long going by the industry standards) my Journey with Northern Trust came to an end as I finally decided to come out of my comfort zone - much to the relief of my parents and some relatives who somehow thought I was not good enough to get myself a new job

I was walking to my induction at HP (No its not Hush Puppies or Hindustan Petroleum - It is Hewlett Packard for people who don't know) as I was about to begin my journey as a Financial Analyst here - Little scared but excited.

Induction was not that dramatic - Lot of speeches from various departments, Introduction to company's work culture, history and a lot of other such uninterested things that made me feel I was sitting through a class in college which was a mixture of Organizational behavior, taxation and business ethics with some flavors of business communication at intervals....So I was more or less sleeping through the whole session (especially after the wonderful lunch that they served)

I will be going to my work location next week....To a place where people don't know me. I have to build a new reputation all over again...right from my teammates to my managers which is a tough task at hand but I guess with all the experience I have gained in my previous job, I should be able to create a better impression here :-)

Wish me luck as I embark upon a New Journey

Sethu :-) :-)