The Red Belt !

(17 July 2000 - 17th July 2005)

Yesterday marked a milestone for me. I completed 5 Yrs of service in my company and my first job!! The emotions are mixed: sense of satisfaction and achievement and also of having missed some opportunities:-)

At my company symbolically this milestone means, changing the color of my ID card belt from blue to red and hypothetically it heralds my entry into the trusted and priviliged echelons of old-timers which is an un-written (and hopefully true) rule. Getting red belt is the time to reap fruits of 5 years of toil at this software warehouse. However this red belt has also got other practical significance, we are told that US consulate recognizes significance of my companies' red belt tag, which makes getting those oh-so-hard-to-get US visas a little more simpler. Then you also stand apart amongst the zillions and ever increasing population here. I also get a Long Service Award which means 3 nights and 2 days free stay for me and my wife at one of the 4/5 star resorts in exoctic locations like Kerala, Goa, Ooty, Kodai, Manali etc. I might settle with Ooty. We also get appreciation certificate and a written feedback (which is obviously sugar laced) from peers and seniors...

These 5 years have given me an opportunity to travel across the globe: Italy, Spain, Germany, France, US and ofcourse within India. It has made a professional automotive embedded system 'expert' out of the naive and unpolished fresh-out-of college graduate. I learnt the bits and bytes of micro controllers and micro processors, the design patterns of OO programming, Seeing the subtleties of C, the threads and processes of RTOS internals, the highs and lows of analog and digital systems, and ofcourse the inside out of body electronics and the cutting edge (literally) future of vehicles- Telematics. And the financial independence brought by the job after the poverty stricken student life also deserves a passing mention...
On the flip side, the project pressures, impossible deadlines and sedentry desk job have taken its toll on the health and relations. Hair lines are receding and other lines are bulging. Some Ol' friends were lost on the way and new ones were made...But thats what life of a s/w pro is made of. No regrets.
Now that first milestone is reached, I am free to set my eyes on the next one. I am not sure if it will be in the same company! Lets see what life has in store!
Peace and Content
~Amit

What Braveheart ?

Its a long time since I have bitched about social issues and its impact on me:-) A few days back TOIlet paper (Times Of India) carried a front page news of a 7 year young Delhi kid driving his injured 5 year young Bro to a hospital for emergency treament in guess what - a car!! The news bite was titled 'Braveheart' and was laced with accolades and praise for the young kid. I have been reading readers-letters in response to that for quite some days after that. Here's my take on it:

The boy does not deserve any accolades, instead he should be placed in juvenile remand home and his parents in Jail. What was ToI journo thinking when he praised the kid? Does he want to project the kid as a role model for other kids? Does he want more 7 year olds to learn car driving and run amock on the roads? Does he want parents to teach driving to their wards and make them wonder kids, for all to admire ? Well, if I had read this news about 15 years back, I would have run with it to my dad and demanded an explanation for not allowing me also to drive the car or even the scooter for that matter. I remember I knew the son of one of dads filthy rich family friend (a marwadi) who used to drive car at age of about 13. He was same age as mine then. And not just that he used to haul cash and made business deals for his dad at that age! His father used to tell stories of his prodigal son to my dad with pride, and I used to hear it sulking all the time. Well we were quite the salaried class for making the business deals but we did have a car and I could have defintely driven it if allowed! And I did defy the rule once and took dads scooter to school while my parents were away, and I still remeber dads stony silence towards me after that for about 2 days!He never scolded but the message was driven home. Well, looking back now, I feel how right he was. I was too young and naive, could have easily harmed anyone including me with reckless driving! Even today I drive reckless sometimes, though I am trying to be a more responsible driver. I never thought I would start thinking like a stereotyped grown up, but I too have grown wisdom teeth, and they are not for nothing. I am determined to be a righteous parent whenever that happens!! I think thats a natural progression in homo sapien growth!

The best day!

8th July, 2005, 12.35 AM
This day heralds advent of a new and close relative to my life. I am very happy today.
Infact this calls for a off day at work. I mean I would be physically present but mind would be on a holiday:-)