Archive for the ‘Office’ Category
Changes and Phases
It’s been a long break from blogging. I haven’t been all that busy to tell you the truth. It’s just that the urge to put my thoughts together was missing of late. In fact I was afraid to.
We encounter various circumstances in life. Some of them were never even wished for. Things move and we suddenly find ourselves trying hard to row against the tide of this rapid change. Not everyone is apt enough to handle it. Initially we try and ignore things, up to the point that they are right into our faces. Whereby we experience an outburst followed by rescinding into a shell.
I am sure everyone has faced such times in their life. At least I have. They used to be frequent during college when the process of learning about life probably started. Before was just a mad race to the top whence there was no time to stop and think. I have faced it again during my newly started professional life. However I find it a bit different this time. Specially in terms of rebound time.
College life, that too in an IIT, gives you full control over your public appearances. You can forego classes for some time before being missed. You need to write the exams though. One could easily lock himself up in the room, coming out when and where he wants to. This aids the recovery process. One needs some time alone to come to grasp with his own insecurities and internal emotional churnings.
What happens during the professional life is that one has to go to office daily, no choice there. He has to meet people daily. One couldn’t possibly get the long away time to reflect on oneself and hence the rebound takes longer.
Now after a few weeks I feel at peace with myself al over again. As per the reasons to the dull phase, when the initial excitement of a new city, a new job, dies down, the reality of accepting it as our own, a routine strikes us. We need some time to settle down. These are the common symptoms among the migrant workers such as me who are born in one place, study elsewhere and work some where else. Here I would like to mention the city of Mumbai. The accepting cosmopolitan nature of this city has helped me a lot in adjusting to the new surroundings. It grows on you slowly. Give it some time and you will fall in love with it. I feel me again, till the next bout of course.
Lehman will be back
The speculations were going on since about a month. There were talks of possible stake sellout to complete buyout. People were quite optimistic though. It has been two months since I joined Lehman Brothers (India office) and four months since I received my B.Tech degree. I won’t say that the situation here is the first for me alone; it is the first for almost all of us here. When we saw Bear Stearns go down, it was like, “Oh! It’s not good. But we will sail through”. When it has come down to us, I know now how it feels like. It’s not that I am too much worried about a job or anything. A bit alright, but not much. After all, I am a recent college pass-out and that too from Computer Science. I hope to get a new job sooner or later. But still there is a sinking feeling deep down. After all guys, I might not come back to the job tomorrow.
I have seen anxious faces over the last few weeks amidst rumors of people being laid off in London and New York almost every other day. Nevertheless the professionalism here has been supreme. My managers, my seniors were trying to hold the forte, working 24×7 undeterred by the speculations. Even this past weekend, a lot of my colleagues worked 24×7 trying to sail past the inevitable. When the news of the failed talks started trickling in, anxious faces turned into “wtf!” to “what next?” Pagers and phones kept buzzing all through the day. The friends, family and old mates kept enquiring the Holy Grail. “What went wrong?” “Come’ on yaar!!! Even Richard Fuld would be wondering about that”. Having come to him, I must say that people here hold him in very high regard. Till the recent news, people were dead sure that Richard Fuld would pull it off. And even today, we all are sure; he had done what all he could do. We still believe that Lehman will be back sooner or later. Richard Fuld is not the one to go down so easily. The faith people have in him here is just next to what I had seen during my college days, when the whole college used to have such blind faith in our director GB Sir, IITG. The feeling of such solidarity must be felt to believe in.
I want to admit today that I have been a bit laid off although my life. Or at least last few years at college. I have let life take its own course putting in just the effort which was required of me. I and my friends who have joined Lehman recently are taking it as a blessing in disguise. We have faced such as scenario so early in our career. It would help us remain prepared for the future. Working with Lehman has been a nice ride. I have learnt a lot here. The employee base here is among the best what you can get.
I have just talked to my colleague in London who was calling it off for the day probably heading for the nearest pub. Well, we deserve at least a mug of Beer. After all it has been a hell of a day.
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