Two years have sidled past...

Its been two years and two days since I've been working (ok, is "have been employed" better, and more truthful?). AM called me up day before and screamed at me (as she is wont to do) - "Dude, it's been two years, I feel like a slave!!".
That got me thinking about the last two years.

I still remember the first day at work ...sniff..., all nice and scrubbed and shiny and bright we were, yes, as we reached the office some half an hour early. Then we sat in the reception waiting for people to trickle in and enfold us in their arms as we start to put our tremendous intellect to the greater good of the company.

There were 8 of us - management trainees- the blue-eyed boys/girls of the senior management; the objects of jealousy and envy of the area managers who had risen up through the ranks from grass root level (They just keep meeting the MD all the time!!) . Ah the heady days, when such proximity to the top management used to make us puff out our chests in pride (eh, I don't think that happened..but what the hell, it sounds good and fits into the plot..so lets just call it poetic (prosaic?) license...no this is not lying..no, YOU shut up)

In all honesty the first 8 months in my first company were really good. We got the kid-glove treatment from the topmost people in the company. We were doing a number of different projects to provide us with a window-view into all aspects of the company, from the manufacturing plant, to the marketing team, to the sales function, to a rural sales project, to even a Corporate Social Responsibility initiative. Each project is a separate story in itself, seriously.

The manufacturing plant project was a lot of fun and really bonded us eight together. Ah, going to the plant every morning, bunched up in a qualis. But then the time we all spent in Lucknow was also quite awesome.(Especially the project AM and I were doing in Benaras. Running around villages on a rickety ol' bike. And then the toughest part- buying benarasi saris for the entire clan [ atleast the female part of the clan. Thank God AM was there, shopping for your family is certifiably THE most difficult task in the world {yeah, yeah so you work in a nuclear power plant, in the radioactive area..pffft.. even Homer Simpson does. Have you ever seen Homer shop for his family? Never, cos it can't be done..refer to earlier "most difficult task in the world line})

The most boring was when we were all split up to different cities for a two month sales stint. That wasn't fun at all, quite boring and I think the first seeds of real discontent were sowed in that period when we realised what the company had planned for us for the next 2-3 years after the honeymoon period of management-trainee-ism would get over. And brrrr..the picture was not rosy, neh, nope, not at all rosy.

But there was a silver lining in that dark period too. I used the proximity to Pune really well. I used to go to Pune almost every weekend, to AG's house with all his wonderful flatmates. Excellent fun was had by all in the brilliant house. Pune, sigh, is an excellent place if you have a gang of friends around. The most interesting trip to Pune was when I was..er..having a discussion with my "mentor" (hehe, yeah, right!) one saturday evening. And then took the last train from Mulund to Dadar..all when I was, let me just say, a wee bit tipsy! Taking the volvo to Pune from Dadar late at night became quite an ordeal (I was sloshed..er..slightly tipsy, remember?), but I was grinning like a cheshire cat all through the journey !! Awesome! (Reminds me of the train journey to Patna for B's wedding...hehe..that journey was also somthing! But more on that later. That reminds me, I'd decided to write about the best trip EVER in my life in 2003 to Manali with the entire gang. I think whenever all of us meet, we invariably discuss that trip. So it is only correct that an account of that trip should be available for all eternity somewhere- namely, here. So kids, just remind me to write about that sometime...soon)

Anyway, back to my first job. It had its good times (Conclave, projects, parties, offsite) and it had its bad times (the actual work), but it was still my first job and I'm sure i'll remember it for a very long time (have you noticed that as time passes by you tend to forget the bad things and remember the good things about anything, whether its job, college, school, relationship. [for example, when I left the first job I couldn't even bear to see its logo anywhere and a wave of loathing would rise within me when I saw/heard anything about it, but now I'm cool and can look at the times I spent there more objectively, and even manage a wistful smile about those days ]). I guess its God's way of reminding us to count our blessings rather than wallowing in the sad parts.

And i've been in my current job for an year now. And somehow i'm not too comfortable writing about my experiences here, yet.They've been good but I just don't want to write about my current job. It sort of breaches the sanctity between the virtual and the real world. Maybe some other day.

Till then, have a great weekend people. And those who work 6 days a week..well..boo hoo, you suck!!