Hi.
You’ve entered my territory. It’s only fair that I tell you what you’ve landed yourself into before you move on.
I’m, well… a lot of things. (things.. as in not literally. You’ll discover as you read on.)
I am, for one, a software engineer. By profession. Period. Among the perks of my job is that I get to stay up late and have frequent night outs. And I think of Mom and Dad and the times they used to tuck me into bed, even when my eyes and ears and head and heart used to be running on the television. And now, I’m up almost all night, indulging myself in all sorts of code. (Only not the Da Vinci kind, though I do admit mine would present a much bigger enigma. Just WHAT is that line doing there?). And before I forget, I’m doing this in some part of the day as well.
Day – that’s the lighter side of my life. And that’s not just because the sun’s up outside. But because the mood’s up too. And so is the coffee machine. And so are the reply-all’s! Oh, those leg pulling sessions! If only they were a wee bit literal, me and my friends would’ve all grown about a foot a day. And I would’ve titled this article “Tall in a day’s work!”
Which reminds me, another thing that I am, is well kinda funny. Hey, the thing’s not funny. Funny is the thing. (Even if I do say so myself ;) ). And my idea of humor - the deadlines given to me by my boss. And my reactions to them – “Sure, it’ll be done. By the end of day(s)” (s- silent. And conditions apply!). And finally – my explanations for what-cannot-be-done-in-the-given-time but should’ve-been-done-in-the-given-time has still-not-been-done-in-the-given-time-AND-more. That takes the cake (and the calories too). My heroes? You guessed it right –Calvin, Dilbert and Garfield. All this also contributes to the lighter side of life. On the darker side (read nights) , is coffee on the rocks! I’m referring to the JAVA inside my head, which I most desperately try to transform into working code. Which takes us back to point number 1. Technically, we call it recursion. And in English –a vicious circle. And in Hindi – umm… err.. well… That’s a language I need to get a certification course on. (again).
Okay. Track change.
The next thing that I am – a music buff. I grew from Hindi movie songs to English country music – to Boy Band types Pop music (if you’d like to call it growth) – to the final pinnacle – Rock, Metal and all that jazz! It’s quite a common trait in almost 70% of engineers. (for reasons refer lyrics of Sad But True by Metallica.). Anyway, now I’ve crossed over what I considered the final frontier as well. My favorite music now – declaration of compensatory off’s for all the weekends and late nights spent in the office. Biggest irony of IT I believe – rejoicing at comp-off’s instead of resenting working like that in the first place. Again refers to point 1 does it not?
That’s my life in a nutshell. As a software engineer. Gotta re-engineer MY software quick. Gotta make peace with the real life happening outside this matrix. Before I forget my password.
Peace on Earth. (And on the net too! Who knows when I come back as a permanent citizen.)
~K.
