|
stronger
than chickamagaloor coffee
A day in the life of
by Vwake
It is 9am
on a warm, beautiful day in the Big Bang (Bangalore for the uninitiated).
A day even Bill Gates would have spent at home. But, alas, work beckons
the geeks, to the air-conditioned environs of a sterile office.
The janta
stumble into the office one by one, swiping their IDs sleepily. For the
more fortunate ones - read, those like me who stay close by -- it is still
slumber time.
By the time I answer the call of office, it is almost 11am. I still look
dazed with sleep. My colleagues give me a knowing smile, as if they know I
had partied all night and came to work as an afterthought.
If you still haven't guessed, I work in a software company. Now it's time
for me to boot the monster. It is as averse to coming to life as I am on a
Sunday morning.
I check my emails quickly. There is a chain mail asking me to forward it
to all I know so that a dying leper in Siberia can get married. I delete
it quickly; let the leper manage on his own.
I look at my pile of work-related emails. It looks terribly impressive,
but boils down to actually nothing. It was this kind of work culture that
had attracted me to this profession two-and-a-half years ago.
Believe me, work -- or the lack of it -- isn't the toughest nut in the
software industry. It is getting used to the computer lingo, which, to a
fresher, can be as confusing as Swahili.
For instance, what would you think if someone told you, "I have a
delivery today?" In all probability you would take the speaker for a
gynaecologist. But all the chap is trying to convey is that he has to send
the 'source code' and other relevant documents to his client, simple!
There is an unwritten rule in our great industry that serious work should
only begin after a steaming cup of coffee from the office pantry. I
strictly follow this rule.
Checking
out the staff who has joined overnight and sipping coffee are brilliant
stimulants.
One has to keep oneself updated about the latest happenings in the
computer industry. This is very important for your growth in the industry,
or you may find yourself stuck at the bottom of the corporate ladder.
Not wanting to take any chances, our organisation has a well-stocked
library, with books on all possible subjects from project blues to chip
design.
Meetings, which we see oh-so-many everyday, can be very interesting. The
agenda would be the final review of a proposed design, but normally we get
to discuss the latest mushy flick to hit town, the best eating joints and
such other important topics.
Lunch can be quite sad if the company has a canteen. Thankfully we don't.
So we head out. After haggling over whether it should be Punjabi or
Chinese, we decide on South Indian.
After the meal I am ready to drop off. I am almost tempted to head home
for an afternoon siesta. But office beckons, and I sit down to struggle
with a code. It keeps giving me errors that are as Greek to me as
Malayalam is to Tintin.
I head for the library to boost my technical knowledge. After referring to
a couple of books, I realise that I hadn't put a semicolon at the
end of a line!
Mails can get quite depressing if you haven't got a single personal mail
since morning. Doesn't anybody remember me?
I pester
my cubicle partner to send me some silly forwards. Then I send me some
mails myself and my spirits lift a bit.
All said and done, the software industry is not a bad place to be in. You
learn a lot working in a team. The open work culture in my office allows
me to address my boss by his name, discuss with him whatever is bothering
me and, more importantly, have flexible work timings.
The clock strikes six. People are packing their stuff to head home. The
geeks are suddenly transformed into 'happening' babes and studs with a
rip-roaring social life....
I join the exodus. Another day gone. I am a day older without becoming
wiser.
feedback & faqs ?
|
A
day in
the life of...
Want to know what it's like to be back?
Over
to nirvana
Rating god men
All god men are equal. Some are more equal than others.
other stories
Da revenge of
Veerappasura
|
