102 - TOW My Training Begins

102 - The One Where My Training Begins

(Music.... Long Frame shot of GEOMETRIC, pan in....Abhijit walking in.... Music....)

My second day started in the least unexpected way.... I had decided that I'd join the company Gym that day, so had packed in soame workout clothes n sport shoes for myself...so me n Vishal had decided that we'd take the Scooty, n store the stuff in its bootspace, but to our dismay...(actually, dis is July)...the scooter was badly punctured....so we were delayed a bit....but we switched to Vishal's bike n scooted off to work...Vishal dropped me off, and I reached just on time....
My schedule was 9.30 to 6.30 training, with a lunch break in between. I thought it was gonna be really hectic n taxing ...especially coz i had a gr8 track record of attending college with similar timings...n trust me, when i did attend, i felt like i was getting tortured...(i hope my profs. dont read this...).
My training in the first week was supposed to be on C++, n i was expecting the usual C++ crap..but the training started from about level 6, n it was like facing 6 bouncers in an over...for the entire duration of the innings....(never dun that b4...). So to give a brief idea (actually i hv Dolphin , not Idea), c++ training was going to be really tough, coz it was a 10 day course crammed into a 5 day time slot... so I knew that we were in for some brainy action in the week ahead...n i would much rather not discuss it any more...
Moving on... one thing i loved there was the free n casual approach n work culture...ppl were in jeans, tshirts..semi-formals...I was looking really overdressed in the lot....with my plain full sleeved shirts, black trousers n black shoes....i decided fm next day, i'll be wearing casuals...
Along with that, i must mention here about the amount of Tea-Coffee every1 drinks out here... n why not..we hv a small Pantry section at virtually every corner inside the building...with tea-coffee machines n a microwave...but the greatest hit among everybody is a Cafe Coffee Day machine..that churns out everything ranging from a Cappuccino to Espresso to Latte , even plain tea or milk.....all that u'd get at a CCD outlet, except the BILL..... so its fair to say, i hv so much caffeine in my system, that i dont shut down till 2.30 am ....n still i dont feel tired...thats really sum hidden strength i discovered....
Since i hv brought up the topic of strength, i'd proceed to the Gym part...We hv an exceptionally well equipped and well maintained gym on our premises...along wid a nice swimming pool and a tennis courtas i said earlier..i had planned to start gym that day, n for the first time, i actually did what i had planned.... i changed and went in the gym....enrolled myself...spoke to the trainer abt my gym history....n then started my workout with some warmup, Cardio, and sum basic weights....about an hour in the gym made me feel good...refreshed n ready for action.....
But unfortunately, the only action left was to Go home , hv dinner n sleep...which i did with all my gusto.....
Once again, feeling that i hv achieved something....feeling that i hv put the time in my life to some good use...i retired to bed....waiting for a fresh new day tmrw......

More updates cmg up in my next episode....103....stay tuned..

(Music.....Credits.....production house Logo....Music....End...)

101 - TOA My First Day

101 - The One About My First Day...

(Before u start, i would like to mention that this is a hybrid post between F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and Scrubs, title is like the former, while i m visualizing myself as if i m narrating this in a Voiceover, just like J.D. of Scrubs...)

Monday, 23rd July, 2007, a major landmark in my life.... its my first day of professional life...I joined GEOMETRIC SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS LTD.......... (dont get surprised...i was supposed to join TCS on 8th Aug, but this offer came up n was difficult to say 'no' to...)..Many of my friends know i always wanted to join GSSL... n so, there I was, being a part of my dream company as a fresher......
My first day was quite an experience in itself....I was required to report @ the Agra Fort Bldg..(yea, these ppl @ Geometric hv got strange nomenclature...gets even bizarre ahead...) at 9.30 am. After signing in at the reception, I waited for the recruitment manager to show up. The receptionist informed him abt my arrival, and I was asked to wait. After about half an hour, i was called in , and I recieved my Offer Letter with salary details. Immediately, I was shown the way to the auditorium, where, I was told, the Induction was going on... when I reached there, a lady then took me to another room, where actually the Induction was being held....n guess the name of the room....Takshashila....lol....(told u...bizarre). I was handed a huge bunch of forms to be filled, which i started to do wearily.. Passport Details form, PF form, PF nomination form, PF declaration, Insurance Form, Declaration, LTA n Food Coupons declarations n related forms, n what not.....all the while, the HR ppl were helping us with these forms, n clearing our doubts...
The form filling session was followed by various presentations...first up was the Organization Overview n Compensation structure clarification.... that was followed by the Infosystems Security rules n procedures ppt... which also included the use n rules of use of email id n related process.... the security presentation was very important as it stressed on the Dos n Don'ts, n also on the importance of Confidentiality.
After that, we were taken for lunch in the company canteen. A table had been arranged nicely for all us Joinees, and the food was also quite delectable. We all ate pretty quickly, in anticipation of the post lunch session, which was to begin @ 1400 hrs.
After lunch, we were educated about our payroll and all related areas, including how to maximize the Take-home salary... This session was followed by the opening of the Bank Accounts...here, representatives from 3 banks (CITIBank, ICICI n HDFC) entered the room n started boasting about their respective banks' offerings and other crap.... i was least interested to listen to all that, coz Vishal had strongly recommended HDFC...so i went in for an HDFC bank acct...now all the ppl who knw how a bank account is opened in nationalized banks, prepare to get amazed.... gone r the days of lengthy forms, signatures n tireless waiting for the account to get opened... all it takes now is a couple of signatures , a photograph, an id, n ur instant bank account is ready..(faster than u can cook Maggi...)..all complete wid ur ATM-Debit card, netbanking pin n cheque book...call it 2 min. account....
After that, again the boring presentations resumed.. with a wide gamut of topics covering the facilities layout, HR instructions, Admin instructions...n such other stuff....
At the end of the day, we got our Access Cards, sans our Ids...only blank access cards...we were told we'll recieve our ids in a week's time...after thaa, all our forms n documents were collected, and we were collected and we were asked to report to our immediate Managers... I wasnt assigned any, but i got a copy of my schedule of the week.....i had to begin C++ training the next day....so i went to chk out the training room on 2nd floor.... (only so that i could use my new Access card...).... Having checked out the room, and used my Card at every possible opportunity n more, i decided it was time to leave... so i went out to where my scooty was parked..(yes..i had ridden Minal's scooty that day..), where there was a customary bag checking..n left for home...beaming with pride on the inside....looking forward to the next morning...
More about my first week at work in my future posts.....