My first week at my new job was quite an experience. If I were to highlight the main difference between my previous company 'AirTight Networks' which was a start-up and the current one 'Symantec', professionalism would be it. Everything was totally organized and processes were in place to streamline everything conceivable. This is not to say anything bad about my previous company which was a great place to work at in its own right, but I was amazed at the way people worked here and at the facilities offered here.
The facilities at my new company are great - my PC seems to have the best configuration in the market, my workspace (cubicle) here has privacy and at least 3 times more room than my earlier one, and facilities like transport, food, recreation and in-house gymnasium make this a great place to work at! The work environment however, is not as open as it was at AirTight, neither is the pace as fast, but this corporate experience is exactly what I came here for. Another good thing is that the work here seems quite promising and interesting!
I hope my remaining experience here is as good as it was in the first week and I have a mutually beneficial association with the company, just like I had with the previous one.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Sunday, February 04, 2007
The 10 Day Vacation of 2007!
Today is the last day of my 10 day vacation. What made this vacation different was that in the course of these 10 days I was unemployed ... peacefully. It was a break I took between my job change. It was quite relaxing because there were no pending responsibilities to get back to at the end of it all. It was a break between a good and memorable tenure well ended with my last company and the start of a fresh stint with my new company.
This break started off with my favourite trek - Torna-Rajgad making it my 3rd trek in as many months. We started on Friday at 10 in the morning and spent the first night at Torna. The sunset on the top of the fort was awesome with a tricky stunt at Budhla Machi, a well cooked dinner and a camp-fire at wind-point being the highlights of the day.
The second day was as usual the most interesting one because it included not only a trip to Jhunjar Machi along a treacherous path, the main trek along the ridge from Torna to Rajgad with awesome scenery along the way and a night climb to the Bali-Killa at Rajgad, but also saw me reunite with a couple of my seniors with whom I had last trekked with more than 5 years ago at Bali-Killa. The food at both times consisted of Maggi which was reasonably well cooked. My day ended late at 3 in the morning with a late night rendezvous with my seniors on an edge of Bali-Killa overlooking Torna.
The final day of the trek was rather lazy as usual, with people being quite tired and subsequently relaxed. In the morning, tea and biscuits constituted our breakfast. However, a sudden flash in some of our minds caused us to go diving in the icy cold water of Bali-Killa's pools. The moment I hit the water, I felt my entire body scream for a moment and then felt pangs of chill streak all over my body. With this dive, I can imagine what the passengers of the Titanic must have felt on hitting the icy water of the North Atlantic Ocean. The trek ended with a good rustic lunch at the base of Rajgad, thus ending the first phase of my vacation.
Pictures of the trek can be seen at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/varun.menghani/TornaRajgadJan2007
The next two days, I spent recuperating from the exhaustion of the trek and also completing some work at home which I always wanted to do, but never had the time to end up doing it.
On Wednesday, at 6:30 a.m. in the morning, I left for Shirdi. I was lucky enough to catch the luxurious Goa Volvo. The journey to Shirdi was extremely comfortable owing to the Volvo's excellent shock absorbers, AC and reclining seats. However, I was unable to get the 'feel' of a journey. Thereafter, I visited lord Sai Baba's Temple and prayed and payed homage to Him. After that, I decided to travel back by S.T. to Pune. Getting a window seat, this was a journey I really enjoyed with the wind blowing in my face and by being able to see the scenery along the way not through tinted glasses but in all its natural colours. Thus ended my second trip and also the 6th day of my vacation.
I spent Thursday getting some more work accomplished and also got a little rest on that day. My day ended with a lovely dinner at Coffee House.
Friday morning I was off again at 6:30, this time headed to the city of Bombay. I was lucky enough to catch the Deccan Queen. Since I didn't have a reservation, I had to make do with a spot near the compartment's door. I enjoyed the view and the cold wind for quite a while before some people wished the door closed as they were feeling cold. I had no option but to oblige, since they were many in number. Thereafter, I spent the remainder of my journey in seats temporarily vacated. Surprisingly, I got to sit for a majority of the time. On reaching Bombay, I disembarked at Dadar and caught a local for Malad. While in Malad, I met with my cousin, my aunt and uncle and also with my grandfather. The main purpose of my visit to Bombay was to spend some time with my grandfather, something which I had neglected to do all these years. The evening was spent with my grandfather and cousin at the Inorbit Mall there, which included amazing demos of Bose music systems and Apple products. The day concluded with a nice dinner at the Mall's Food-Court.
On day nine, my grandfather and I headed for town (V.T.) where we went to Marine Drive and Nariman point and he showed me some important landmarks of the area. The pleasant weather and the view of the sea ensured that our time spent there was quite enjoyable. Our lunch was at the famous Status Restaurant at Nariman Point. Thereafter, my grandfather and I parted company at V.T. station where he caught a local back to Malad and I caught the Mumbai-Kanyakumari Express back to Pune. I specifically chose that train because I love traveling in sleeper coaches. This time I was lucky enough to get an aisle seat all to myself, so I could lie down as well as see the beautiful scenery along the way fly past. The wonderful return journey brought to an end the penultimate day of my vacation.
The last day - Sunday was spent preparing for the new phase in my career and also in personal housekeeping like clipping of nails and cutting of hair. In addition to that, I spent the afternoon in school playing a wonderful game of cricket and enjoying a thought provoking discussion on leadership with the Scouts. The evening was spent enjoying a sumptuous dinner of Pav-Bhaji. The last part of the day was spent writing this log of the events of the last 10 days.
This vacation saw me visiting 2 forts, one town and one city for a total duration of 6 days and all this with an extremely peaceful and relaxed frame of mind.
I am thankful for this well needed (and well deserved I think) break before the start of my new job and hope that I get several such vacations in the future.
This break started off with my favourite trek - Torna-Rajgad making it my 3rd trek in as many months. We started on Friday at 10 in the morning and spent the first night at Torna. The sunset on the top of the fort was awesome with a tricky stunt at Budhla Machi, a well cooked dinner and a camp-fire at wind-point being the highlights of the day.
The second day was as usual the most interesting one because it included not only a trip to Jhunjar Machi along a treacherous path, the main trek along the ridge from Torna to Rajgad with awesome scenery along the way and a night climb to the Bali-Killa at Rajgad, but also saw me reunite with a couple of my seniors with whom I had last trekked with more than 5 years ago at Bali-Killa. The food at both times consisted of Maggi which was reasonably well cooked. My day ended late at 3 in the morning with a late night rendezvous with my seniors on an edge of Bali-Killa overlooking Torna.
The final day of the trek was rather lazy as usual, with people being quite tired and subsequently relaxed. In the morning, tea and biscuits constituted our breakfast. However, a sudden flash in some of our minds caused us to go diving in the icy cold water of Bali-Killa's pools. The moment I hit the water, I felt my entire body scream for a moment and then felt pangs of chill streak all over my body. With this dive, I can imagine what the passengers of the Titanic must have felt on hitting the icy water of the North Atlantic Ocean. The trek ended with a good rustic lunch at the base of Rajgad, thus ending the first phase of my vacation.
Pictures of the trek can be seen at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/varun.menghani/TornaRajgadJan2007
The next two days, I spent recuperating from the exhaustion of the trek and also completing some work at home which I always wanted to do, but never had the time to end up doing it.
On Wednesday, at 6:30 a.m. in the morning, I left for Shirdi. I was lucky enough to catch the luxurious Goa Volvo. The journey to Shirdi was extremely comfortable owing to the Volvo's excellent shock absorbers, AC and reclining seats. However, I was unable to get the 'feel' of a journey. Thereafter, I visited lord Sai Baba's Temple and prayed and payed homage to Him. After that, I decided to travel back by S.T. to Pune. Getting a window seat, this was a journey I really enjoyed with the wind blowing in my face and by being able to see the scenery along the way not through tinted glasses but in all its natural colours. Thus ended my second trip and also the 6th day of my vacation.
I spent Thursday getting some more work accomplished and also got a little rest on that day. My day ended with a lovely dinner at Coffee House.
Friday morning I was off again at 6:30, this time headed to the city of Bombay. I was lucky enough to catch the Deccan Queen. Since I didn't have a reservation, I had to make do with a spot near the compartment's door. I enjoyed the view and the cold wind for quite a while before some people wished the door closed as they were feeling cold. I had no option but to oblige, since they were many in number. Thereafter, I spent the remainder of my journey in seats temporarily vacated. Surprisingly, I got to sit for a majority of the time. On reaching Bombay, I disembarked at Dadar and caught a local for Malad. While in Malad, I met with my cousin, my aunt and uncle and also with my grandfather. The main purpose of my visit to Bombay was to spend some time with my grandfather, something which I had neglected to do all these years. The evening was spent with my grandfather and cousin at the Inorbit Mall there, which included amazing demos of Bose music systems and Apple products. The day concluded with a nice dinner at the Mall's Food-Court.
On day nine, my grandfather and I headed for town (V.T.) where we went to Marine Drive and Nariman point and he showed me some important landmarks of the area. The pleasant weather and the view of the sea ensured that our time spent there was quite enjoyable. Our lunch was at the famous Status Restaurant at Nariman Point. Thereafter, my grandfather and I parted company at V.T. station where he caught a local back to Malad and I caught the Mumbai-Kanyakumari Express back to Pune. I specifically chose that train because I love traveling in sleeper coaches. This time I was lucky enough to get an aisle seat all to myself, so I could lie down as well as see the beautiful scenery along the way fly past. The wonderful return journey brought to an end the penultimate day of my vacation.
The last day - Sunday was spent preparing for the new phase in my career and also in personal housekeeping like clipping of nails and cutting of hair. In addition to that, I spent the afternoon in school playing a wonderful game of cricket and enjoying a thought provoking discussion on leadership with the Scouts. The evening was spent enjoying a sumptuous dinner of Pav-Bhaji. The last part of the day was spent writing this log of the events of the last 10 days.
This vacation saw me visiting 2 forts, one town and one city for a total duration of 6 days and all this with an extremely peaceful and relaxed frame of mind.
I am thankful for this well needed (and well deserved I think) break before the start of my new job and hope that I get several such vacations in the future.
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