By Vasundhara Goyal
Spending four long years in a hostel makes it difficult to sleep at night on time, a virtual jet-lag develops that doesn’t allow you to get up early and attend the morning call before going to office. Perfect! Just what you need on the first day of work- getting face to face with the phrase, shitting in your pants.
That day, it rained as if it was the first and last rainfall of the season. When you are used to bunking classes with the lamest excuses of “avoiding rain” and “difficult to drive in rain”, you end up wondering how the staff of your new office managed to reach on time when you are precisely 20 minutes late. So what? What’s the big deal? It’s an office, not a school, only till you come to know that your boss was raised by a school principal. Perfect! Just who you want your boss to be - a chemical composition of Amrish Puri and K.K.Menon.
I knew I was getting a zero in my salaried account for the blunder. We know it as education, they call it spoon feeding. On job training is just not that. I got an assignment. I had to arrange for the best quality instrument at the best price. How? I didn’t know. I searched for suppliers on the internet and called one of them, introduced myself as the employee of ..so and so.. company. “You again. Stop calling and wasting my precious time when you are not interested in buying”, out came the reply. I am sparing the swear words. Perfect! Just what you ask for a job to be - a ghost protocol, no backup no support.
Obviously there were so many other suppliers, but I was reluctant to call now. My mission was to find out who was looking after the “ghost protocol” before me. Unlike Ethan Hunt, I didn’t have a team, so the risk factor was entirely mine. I came to know that the guy had already called all the numbers available on that list and I was back to square one. All the other blunders were nothing with respect to the above mentioned. Spilling the coffee on my white shirt, accidentally entering the men’s locker, falling from chair while stretching and yawning at the same time and combing hair in front of a mirror which was actually a one way glass that opened to the Chairman’s Cabin (who was luckily not there at that instant), were just a manifestation of my USP which I never mentioned in any CV.
Spinning on my chair for two long hours, I came across a website with the best priced instrument. I got an approval for purchase of that instrument and now all I had to do was to convince the person to give a discount and quote the price at 2% tax. I thought it was the simplest task, but I didn’t know there was a difference between bargaining with a store keeper and winning a deal with a proprietor. I had to ask for a rollback from a madrasi who didn’t know English and refused to speak Hindi. Wow! What luck?
The day ended and nothing came in hand. I got out of the building only to find the city, still getting drenched. The roads were in worst condition and by the time I reached my place, my jeans were all wet and muddy. I took a bath and had my dinner watching Rocket Singh that I had got from a friend. All I did was to empathize with the guy when I dozed off in no time. I woke up early morning 2 hours before office time, feeling fresh and relaxed. I kept lying on my bed for some time, wondering; maybe it wasn’t such a bad day after all.
Spending four long years in a hostel makes it difficult to sleep at night on time, a virtual jet-lag develops that doesn’t allow you to get up early and attend the morning call before going to office. Perfect! Just what you need on the first day of work- getting face to face with the phrase, shitting in your pants.
That day, it rained as if it was the first and last rainfall of the season. When you are used to bunking classes with the lamest excuses of “avoiding rain” and “difficult to drive in rain”, you end up wondering how the staff of your new office managed to reach on time when you are precisely 20 minutes late. So what? What’s the big deal? It’s an office, not a school, only till you come to know that your boss was raised by a school principal. Perfect! Just who you want your boss to be - a chemical composition of Amrish Puri and K.K.Menon.
I knew I was getting a zero in my salaried account for the blunder. We know it as education, they call it spoon feeding. On job training is just not that. I got an assignment. I had to arrange for the best quality instrument at the best price. How? I didn’t know. I searched for suppliers on the internet and called one of them, introduced myself as the employee of ..so and so.. company. “You again. Stop calling and wasting my precious time when you are not interested in buying”, out came the reply. I am sparing the swear words. Perfect! Just what you ask for a job to be - a ghost protocol, no backup no support.
Obviously there were so many other suppliers, but I was reluctant to call now. My mission was to find out who was looking after the “ghost protocol” before me. Unlike Ethan Hunt, I didn’t have a team, so the risk factor was entirely mine. I came to know that the guy had already called all the numbers available on that list and I was back to square one. All the other blunders were nothing with respect to the above mentioned. Spilling the coffee on my white shirt, accidentally entering the men’s locker, falling from chair while stretching and yawning at the same time and combing hair in front of a mirror which was actually a one way glass that opened to the Chairman’s Cabin (who was luckily not there at that instant), were just a manifestation of my USP which I never mentioned in any CV.
Spinning on my chair for two long hours, I came across a website with the best priced instrument. I got an approval for purchase of that instrument and now all I had to do was to convince the person to give a discount and quote the price at 2% tax. I thought it was the simplest task, but I didn’t know there was a difference between bargaining with a store keeper and winning a deal with a proprietor. I had to ask for a rollback from a madrasi who didn’t know English and refused to speak Hindi. Wow! What luck?
The day ended and nothing came in hand. I got out of the building only to find the city, still getting drenched. The roads were in worst condition and by the time I reached my place, my jeans were all wet and muddy. I took a bath and had my dinner watching Rocket Singh that I had got from a friend. All I did was to empathize with the guy when I dozed off in no time. I woke up early morning 2 hours before office time, feeling fresh and relaxed. I kept lying on my bed for some time, wondering; maybe it wasn’t such a bad day after all.
Vasundhara Goyal
I eat when I am bored and I live by the quotes that explain exactly what I am going through. I fancy reading Archie comics for the love of my favourite character Jughead Jones and I tend to get attracted to guys with a persona like him. I am a loner and at times I search for lonely spots where I can just sit and daydream.
I eat when I am bored and I live by the quotes that explain exactly what I am going through. I fancy reading Archie comics for the love of my favourite character Jughead Jones and I tend to get attracted to guys with a persona like him. I am a loner and at times I search for lonely spots where I can just sit and daydream.
