Kodaikanal Trip

First of all I wish to thank my colleagues who were a part of the trip and made it a success. This is the second trip I organised in my life after the one during my B.E days. I had planned a trip to Coorg during my M.Tech with my classmates but couldn't go because few were not cooperative. But when I suggested about a trip to Coorg to my colleagues they all gave thumbs up at the beginning but later we had a twist which made us to visit Kodai.

It was Bala who was not willing to see Coorg because he had seen it thrice already. He was so adamant that he wouldn't come to Coorg with us. Two days before the trip we changed all our plans and finally planned a trip to Kodai. We were 10 and 9 of us work together at Capgemini. One was Murali's friend who also showed interest in the trip and joined us Friday evening. 

We left from Chennai on Friday evening. Five of us boarded at Perungalthur where I am put up and remaining 5 boarded at Guduvanchery. Around 7 in the group are used to drinking so they had planned to drink in the cab right away from the beginning of the trip. They had purchased some bottles of beer in Perungalathur and after everyone boarded the cab in Guduvanhery they started drinking beer and dancing to the tunes of songs.  On the way we had some stops to have tea and dinner. Next day morning around 9.30 we reached Kodai. Murali was the one who had booked the accommodation and it was cheap too because it was not the right season for the tourists. Though it was cheap he (Murali) felt we could get a cheaper one and went to take a look at a cottage which our driver wanted to show us. We were actually wasting time in search of cheaper accommodation and walked nearly two kilometers in vain. Then we decided to get back to the same place and got ready to see places.  

We all had bath and got ready. On the way we stopped near a hotel to have breakfast. There were only two women to cook for 10+1(driver). We ordered and waited. Everyone was so hungry. First we ate all the idlis available and then waited for dosas and puris. Since only two were there their cooking speed and our eating speed din't match. Seeing the situation few of us first started serving the dish. Few started going to kitchen to get the food. Sujai and I went a step ahead and got into kitchen. I then started cooking. I made two puris and one dosa as much as I remember. We ate to an extent that there was nothing left to eat. We desperately wanted something to eat. We found some pear trees outside the hotel with lot of pears in it. We reached out to it to pluck some pears and most of us had one pear each. 

Then we started to explore the places in Kodai. Since the driver knew Kodai very well he took us in a circular path so that we could visit most of the places in the hill station. Pine forest, pillar rocks, governor stone, suicide points, Guna cave are some of the places that we visited on Saturday. Some of us broke through the fence to get down to the Guna cave (Devil's kitchen) and clicked some pictures there. Its named as Guna cave because one of Kamal's movies called Guna has a popular song shot there after which it has become a famous tourist spot. We visited most of the suicide points in Kodai and took photos of beautiful sceneries. The hill station was spectacular from different views. We ended the day with a little shopping near pillar rock where I bought only a key chain. 


We went back to our rooms and took rest for sometime before some of us stepped out for dinner and also to buy drinks. Bala, Anbu, Prem and I ate dinner there and got parcel for others. Four of us din't take hot drinks that night but the rest drank and slept late. Next morning I got up and woke everyone up to get ready fast. After getting ready we all had breakfast in a small hotel near by. To our surprise every item was costly. One idli costs 10 rupees. Believe me food is too costly at Kodai.

On Sunday we visited the famous Kurunji Aandavar temple first and then Chettiaar park before we left to Berijam lake. We reached Berijam at around 2.30pm. But before we reached there we stopped in between to see many interesting places and took snaps. There was nothing but the lake to see in Berijam. We winded up soon and got back to Kodai in the evening. At Kodai we went for boating in the main lake for around an hour. While we went for boating, all of us had ice creams from the stalls that were near the fence of the lake. Then we went into Brayant park which is near by and clicked some of the beautiful flowers that were there. We spent around one hour there and then shopped near the lake. Most of us bought home made chocolates, eucaluptus oil and tea dust. It was almost 6.45pm when we started our return journey after visiting most of the places in Kodaikanal. There were horse riding and cycling too but none of us were interested in those activities. 

On the way back we stopped below the hills near Thalapakatti. Each of us had heavy non-veg food there. Then again we resumed our journey back home. It was 6 on Monday morning when few guys got down at Guduvanchery. I settled the amount to the driver for the cab and got down at Perungalathur. I was happy to have organised a successful trip again after a long gap. 

We have already started discussing about our next trip. Most of them are saying me that they want a longer trip to some distant place. If everything goes well I will go for another trip with these guys before 2012 ends. 

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Weeks 108 and 109

The last two weeks were very hectic and as a result I was very tired most of the days. It was hectic because I was travelling on most of the days and din't get sound sleep. The training resumed as predicted on Monday and now we have completed two weeks of training in Perl. Probably in next week we will be getting client calls for getting into projects. One more week of training is left and at the end of it there will be an assessment before we get client interviews. Actually most of us are eagerly waiting to get into projects. Have to wait and see what is in store for us. 

Last weekend I organised a trip to Kodaikanal with some of my office colleagues. We left Chennai on Friday and came back on Monday. Please refer to the post named "Kodaikanal trip" in the blog to know more.

Though I went to office last Monday I was not able to attend the training because I was ultra tired after the trip. I slept in the dormitory. On Tuesday I took leave to go to my native.I traveled to Salem along with my sister and Aashitha to be with  my family for my Dad's retirement. It was the first train journey for Aashitha and we (my sister and I) were surprised to see her awake throughout the journey. She slept only for 10 minutes and was awake the rest of the time whereas other babies in the compartment slept for a good amount of time. She was just seeing out of the window and was happy to do that. 

Though we din't have a function we celebrated by distributing sweets to our neighbours. My sister and I decided to present my dad a gold ring and purchased one from AVR swarna mahal. On the way back to home we bought a saree for mom too. We felt happy in spite of mom's scoldings that we had given more money for the ring. I and my sister din't take it to our head since our dad was contended with the present. 

I had booked a return ticket to Chennai on the same day to get back to office on Wednesday. I started from there at 10.30pm and reached my room at 5.30am on Wednesday. Had some sleep in the morning before going to office to be fresh for the day. Rest of the days it was training and there were loads of assignments to be completed. Still I have two assignments to be completed but I am behind others by only one assignment. 

This weekend is somewhat different from others because I din't wash my clothes and skipped few meals. Got up late today. Made an omelette and had some cornflakes with milk. Most of the days I have cornflakes with milk for breakfast since we have a burner cum stove at our room. Now we have an induction stove too. Though we have it we don't cook too many dishes. We make omelettes, boil milk and make noodles. Occasionally we prepare coffee and tea. 

That is all about the last two weeks. I wish all the reader friends a happy time until I come up with my next blog post. 

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Week 107

Yet another week in my life. 5 working days in the week. Monday through Friday there were nothing to do at office except sitting in the bench and checking mails. At times we do attend video screening sessions or  do some e-learning if its scheduled for us. Actually I am in a shadow bench now. But due to the unavailability of a facilitator I along with some of my batch mates were sitting in the bench for the past two weeks now.

I had mailed about this situation to my staffing partner and it became an issue at the higher level. Finally on Friday, my project manager had called me from Pune to explain me the situation and also told me that the training on PERL would start from Monday without fail. I thought I messed up with my project guys but to my surprise he talked to me like a gentleman and there was no air of tension because initially I was tensed that the manager would come hard on me. 

Again, it was the usual weekend routine of washing clothes and getting ready for the week ahead. I washed some of my laundry clothes and visited my sister on Saturday. I reached there around 2 in the afternoon and spent time there till 6.20 before I left. Spent some time there chatting with sister and playing with Aashitha. Had veg briyani for lunch in my sister's home. I had had non-veg for lunch for 12 continuous days till Friday and fortunately or unfortunately I broke the non-veg spree on Saturday.

While coming back from my sister's home I came till Tambaram by train. Then I caught a bus to Perungalathur in Tambaram which became fully crowded in a jiffy. In Chennai the conductors would be sitting and we have to pass the money to get the ticket. I hate doing this and I hate people who ask me to pass the money to buy a ticket. Since it was crowded I thought of taking the ticket only if conductor comes to me and asks for it. The driver stopped the bus in between for the conductor to finish giving tickets to all. He came to me and asked for the ticket and as I have said I took it since he came to me where I was sitting. Within minutes of taking ticket there was a checking squad and I was lucky to have taken the ticket. Otherwise I would have got fined. At that point I decided that where ever we go we should never fail to take a ticket because it would cause unnecessary delay and fine. My laziness would have landed me into troubles. Why I say this is, sometimes I have traveled without a ticket in the local trains and buses but I was never caught. I had traveld without tickets because of the laziness to stand in the queue to take tickets for trains and laziness to pass the money through the heavily crowded bus. I believe some of you are just like me but never travel without ticket.

Today, I am writing this post sitting alone in my room. One of my roommate is away with his friend and the other has gone to Pune to be with his family. I caught alone in my room. But still its not boring because we have got internet and tv in the room. 

Well, that is it for the week. Hope you guys are having a wonderful time in your lives. Have a nice time till I come up with my next update. 

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Week 106

It was a dull week at office. The facilitator who was supposed to come on Monday did not turn up, so the entire week there was no work to do at office. I did some basic PERL scripting and spent remaining time by chatting, playing and sleeping. 

On Tuesday I went to my sister's newly rented home at Velachery. I picked up my mom from there (refer to previous post) and boarded her into the bus at Perungalathur at around 12 midnight. Apart from my normal routine I washed my clothes on weekdays to reduce work during weekend because I had both days (Saturday and Sunday) committed. 

On Saturday, I watched 'Billa-2' in Devi theater. This is the second time I watched a movie in Devi after the movie '3'. I liked the movie since I felt the movie is worth watching at least once. And I need not tell you guys that I am a fan of Ajith, so I loved it a little more. Then, I along with my room mates went to Sree Annapurana Bengal hotel near Egmore railway station for lunch. We all ate a thali, chicken and  fish each. I liked the non-veg part especially. After the lunch we left to our room and on the way I had a nice sleep in the train till Tambaram. I reached room at around 4 pm that evening. 

On Sunday I woke up pretty late in the morning (around 9 am) and got ready to go to my sister's home. I started at 12 and reached at only 2 in the afternoon. Had lunch there, it was again chicken for lunch. I have had chicken continuously for 7 days now. In the evening I left my sister's home after a coffee. On the way I got down in Tambaram to buy a pair of slippers and a laundry bag. I bought the laundry bag at Saravana stores and the slippers at Bata showroom. 

That's it to say about the week's routine. I wish all the reader friends a good time until I come up with my next post. 

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Week 105

I am writing this post from my home. Yes, I came home for the weekend. I visited the farm and my grand parents' home on Saturday. Sunday afternoon my mom along with my sister's family left to Chennai from here. My sister and her child were in home since they came to India. Now Aashitha can sit and crawl around, so my sister can look after her alone. My mom has gone with them to set things up at the newly rented Velachery home. 

Last week I had a Unix assessment as a part of the training. The results have not been announced even though it has been evaluated. PERL training is going on now. From tomorrow there will be an associate from Hyderabad to train us. I think this training will go on for another four weeks and later those who do well will be into projects of Morgan Stanley. 

Since my mom is not at home  I had some clothes to wash and cook dinner for my dad and myself. I prepared dosa and coconut chutney. It was good to me but din't get any feedback on it  from my dad because we won't converse usually. 

I have to post this article, shutdown the system, pack bags and catch my bus to Chennai at 10.30 PM near new bus stand. Well that is it for the week. Wish you all a wonderful time until I come up with my next post. 

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Week 104

First thing I would like to mention here is that the city had rain on almost all days of the week and the city is cooler compared to last few weeks. But still the days were hot and the body never stopped sweating during travel. 


Monday through Friday I had a new routine after a gap of two months. We, a group of around 20, have been marked for Morgan Stanley's project and are being trained in UNIX and PERL. The UNIX training will be completed on Monday. We will be writing an assessment based on which the selection or short listing will be done to get into project. I am eagerly waiting to get into some project and gain experience because some of my batch mates who joined with me are already into projects. 

Apart from the new office routine I dint have anything new this week. It was the usual weekend routine of washing clothes and preparing for the week ahead took me through the weekend. Well, nothing really interesting to say about the past week's routine. 

One thing that makes me happy while I am writing this post is that I have completed two years of personal blogging with this post I believe.  

As usual, I wish all the reader friends a nice week ahead.

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Weeks 102 and 103

The past two weeks were not different from the routine that I had in the previous weeks. Though I had time, I dint write last week's update because of laziness. I felt that there was nothing interesting to mention in the post about the last two weeks except for few things. 

I won't be able to disclose few things as of now. But there are some other things that I would like to mention here. For the first time in my life I donated blood at my office in a blood donation camp. To my surprise, many ladies donated blood compared to men. The amount of blood taken was 350ml and I did not know this till I donated. One of the  statistics says that only a quarter of the blood requirement is met in India. I don't know why people don't come forward to donate blood though there is a lot of advertisement and awareness about the requirement in the society. Probably all are afraid like me. Believe me, I had a normal day even after donating 350ml of blood. Some had the dizziness but I dint feel so. I never donated blood during my college days but somehow got the courage to donate and I am happy that I have done it at least now. Hope, I will be donating it regularly hence forth. 

I along with some of my batch mates who have got into perl technology have been moved to testing practice since the nature of the job is mostly related to testing. Many of us are really happy that we got into testing but only God knows what would happen in future. I would be happy with development or testing but not production support. People in the industry say that we won't feel the stress if we are into testing. It makes me feel a little relieved because I don't like to think a lot and stress myself. 

A serious advice to all those who read this post. If you haven't watched the movie Saguni by Karthik, please don't watch. All of my friends who watched it are very upset. So beware friends.

Well that's it for now. I hope I have said all I wanted to. I wish all the reader friends a happy time until I come up with my next update. 

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Week 101

Its a comparatively stress less week since I moved to a place that is closer to my office. But still, this place is half an hour from my office by local train. The same bench life is going on at office from Monday to Friday. We have been told that we will be undergoing a training in perl from Monday. Have to wait and see what is gonna happen. I won a coffee cup from IBM who had come to conduct a session on cloud computing. I managed to win this only after gathering all the answers from the previous participants.

I have got two north Indians as my room mates and I am learning new words in Hindi. So far I have not started conversing with them in Hindi but I have a desire to learn Hindi. Lets see whats gonna happen. 

Well, there is nothing actually interesting going on in my life right now except that I have crossed 100 weeks of personal blogging. 

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Weeks 98, 99 and 100

The heat in the city has not gone down so far. I am at home for the weekend and feel a lot better to be away from the hot and humid city where I live. Anyhow I will have to be there tomorrow. I have got a call from Pune saying that I would be trained in perl and will be given project at the same office. So, Chennai seems to be the location for me at least for now. The last one month has been full of fun at office with nothing to do. Reporting to the office at 11.30 AM and coming back at 4.30 PM was the routine. In between we used to check mails, play carrom and watch movies at the video screening hall. We have watched almost all the movies in the library collection I believe. But, I think from now on the routine would differ and we will have to do what we are meant to do. 

I couldn't write the last two weeks because I did not have the internet connection. I was staying with Lingesh in Tharamani but now I have shifted to Perungalathur. I shifted from there because the travelling time from my room to office was almost 2 and half hours. Now I have moved into a room where two of my colleagues live and it is only half an hour from my office by local train. The new room has an A/C and an air cooler to keep ourselves away from the heat. 

I was highly frustrated whenever I traveled from Tharamani to Paranur. The crowded buses and trains add fuel to the flames. Then you know what would happen if we don't drink water for 2 hours and have to stand during half of travel without place to sit. The dehydration made me to drink at least 3 liters of water everyday. I don't know whether or not I have mentioned here in my blog that I have stopped taking soft drinks and canned drinks since last one year. I go for the fresh juice, sugarcane juice, butter milk or tender coconut to keep the body in good condition during summer. 

I faced all these problems or in other words I was living this life along with sinus for half of the past three weeks. Now I am almost fine without sinus but still a tinge of normal life is missing. I feel I would be normal very soon. 

I wish all the reader friends a happy life with good health until I come up with my next post. 

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Week 97

The days had been very tough for me. I started hating the city a lot.  I don't know why I hate it this much but I really do hate it a lot. I don't like the city's climate at any given day of a year. It either shines or rains to the extremity. I had lived in Bangalore for 4 years but I did not realize how good the climate was. The climate in Chennai makes me realize how good the climate of Bangalore was. 

I am also not feeling well since last Friday. I have got cold and headache that has turned into sinus. I visited a doctor only this Saturday and now I am feeling better. Its getting cured at a good rate. Previously I have been trying my own medicines from medicals but it did not work out. Anyway, now I am feeling better. Hope, I will get well soon and be normal. I did not eat normal food because I never felt like eating solid food most of the times. I rather took liquid food like juices and coffees. The juices contributed to the disease even more.  This is also one of the major reason why I hate this city. No good food where ever you go. If you get good food it will be of very high cost. I had a more comfortable life in Bangalore compared to Chennai. Its not that I am cursing Chennai but where ever I see only the bad things appear to me often than the good ones. I am longing to settle down in Bangalore and I don't know when that day would come. I wish it comes soon. 

Still not into project. Waiting in the bench for projects. Some have got projects and moved to different cities. Hope so the rest of us also will be getting soon.

I am still staying in Lingesh's room in Velacheri. Sometimes it takes 2 and half hours to reach my office. It takes 2 hours to reach room in the evenings at the minimum. I lose almost 5 hours of a day in traveling alone. This also makes me get more frustrated. I have to look for a room for which I have to get into  a project and know where the final location is. Lot of things are inter-linked and have put me in a dead-locked situation. I am desperately waiting to come out of this situation and free myself. Those who read this post please pray to God that I should get into a project soon to come out of this dead-lock.

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Weeks 95 and 96

The weeks had been so frustrating for me since its ultimate summer in Chennai. Adding fuel to the flames, I had to search for accommodation because we were asked to vacate the room. It was very tight for me throughout since I was in Bangalore during last weekend and I had to look for rooms in parallel. I had finalized a hostel in Tambaram but just before leaving Lingesh called me to his room saying that his room is free for 15 days and I am staying there now. So, I have just extended my time for searching a better option. The hostels in Chennai are not good and the rooms are too costly for one person. I am in a big dilemma not knowing what to do. Hope so I would get one soon. Nowadays I am travelling from Velacheri to Paranur that are almost 50 kilometers apart. The travelling alone takes 4 hours of a day. 

Since two weeks I am in bench and there is absolutely no work to do. The last two weeks had been just checking mails and waiting for project calls. Some have got projects and many are still in the queue. Hope so the company will put us in some project very soon. I tried asking for a relocation to Bangalore but the person who is the in-charge refused saying there is no vacancy. I just couldn't control asking for Bangalore since my visit there made me to ask for it. The climate in Bangalore is ultimate. I like Bangalore a lot among the places where I have lived. It has got such a beautiful climate throughout the year. Planning to get experience and shift to Bangalore after a few years. 

This week I am at home. I went to my native and had a look at the farm. As far as I am concerned a lot of work and money has changed the farm for good. But the thing is still lots and lots of stones are left untouched. I think in one more month the work will come to a halt. My dad is spending heavily on it to make it good for cultivation without listening to our advice. I don't know what all he has planned and how much he is gonna spend. Hope so everything will result in profit and nothing goes as waste. 

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Week 94

Successfully completed the last week of training. First two days of the week we were in Teynampet office and the next two days we were asked to go to Mahindra city office for SE immersion. Again we came back to Teynampet office on Friday for project evaluation. Saturday was working day since last Friday was holiday. Probably from now on we will be having a two day weekend to relax a bit more.

It has been three months in the company now. Next week on wards we would be getting into projects if we do well in the client interviews. But there are not much requirements in the company for projects as of now. If they ask me go to Bangalore I will be the happiest person on earth. But as far as present situations are concerned there are no chances of getting Bangalore now. Five from the batch has been asked to go to Pune for a project. Rest of us are waiting for projects and most of us will be getting in this week.

Other than training life is flat. Nothing great is happening. I got a good news from one of my close ones but I can't update it here for sometime. I am waiting for the day when I will be able to disclose to my world about it. I had bad experiences with some of my batch mates too. I thought that I was doing good to them but it back fired and I learnt the same lesson again in my life. That is not to poke my nose into others' problems unless and until invited. 

The new phone is keeping the tensions off from my life. I am fond of listing to songs and it really helps me in keeping away daily tensions from getting into head deeper.

That is it for the week. As usual I wish all the reader friends a happy time ahead. 

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Week 93

After a very long time I am at home. Its a long weekend since Tamil new year fell on Friday. I left Chennai on Thursday night at 10.30 pm and reached Salem by 5.45 am the next morning. The whole day I stayed at home and had complete rest. On Saturday, I visited my farm and grandpa's home in my native village. Sunday (today) I bought a mobile (Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman) worth Rs.14500. This is the first time I am buying an android cum touch phone. I preferred Sony only for two reasons. The first is an obvious reason and that is the quality of music they provide. The second one is the camera. 

One more specialty of the week is meeting Aashitha once again. She is my sister's daughter and I am seeing her only for the second time. Because all the Saturdays were working days during training period, I was not able to travel home but now I almost spent three full days at home and I had a good time with her. 

I should say about the bus in which I came from Chennai to Salem. As usual it was late but not very late. The bus is a 2+1 semi sleeper non A/C. A bit costly compared to normal buses and trains. The specialty about the bus is I din't get up disturbed from sleep even once during my travel. I felt very comfortable travelling in that bus. Fortunately, I have booked the return ticket too in the same bus. I booked with this travels because there were no other options available to me. Luckily it was good experience for me. 

Otherwise it was the normal routine at the company from the beginning of the week till Thursday. We spent most of the time in the recreation room playing carom and table tennis. 

The most important thing that happened this week was the tremor that shook Chennai this week as a result of a quake in Indonesia that recorded 8.9 in the Richter scale. It was almost close to the the one that initiated the Tsunami in the year 2004. We all at the company felt the tremor shaking the entire building. When this happened we were in the 10th floor of the building having lunch. Initially I was not normal and was bit tensed but slowly I was normal  since my Chennai friends said there was nothing to worry about it. It was one of the worst life threatening experiences that I had in my life so far.


Well, that is it for the week. Wish you all a wonderful time until I come up with my next update.

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Week 92

It was one of the most memorable weeks in the recent past for a few reasons. Firstly, we completed the project work that was assigned to us in the training. We were supposed to start the second project but since the environment is not set we were not able to start it. I think we won't start it in the next week of training too because it takes a lot of time to follow the procedure to set the environment. The next four days are going to be the last days of the training. Following it, the next Monday will be the graduation day after training and after that 99 percent we all will be in SCOPE is what our batch in-charge told us. 

Saturday was one awesome day. I along with 8 of my colleagues from training batch visited the Besantnagar beach and spent the evening there until we left from there at around 9PM. I was initially not willing to go into the water but my colleagues carried me and dropped me into the salt water and there after it took sometime for me to return back from water because I also started playing with them in water. We had ultimate fun. The full moon day made the sea look great and it was really a wonderful sight to watch. Then we chose a fish stall among many that were there. If I am right, I think we ate in Bala's fish stall. We ordered one plate of each fish variety that was available there. After tasting them we ordered for more whichever we liked.  It was the first time I ate crabs. We all ate for around 900 rupees. Then on the way to bus stop each of us had a jigarthanda. I promise, that was the first time I tasted it. It was not bad but not good either. 

Sujith (my colleague) told that he would drop me in Chrompet in his bike. So we waved them bye and started walking towards the place where his bike was parked. To his surprise he found his locked helmet stolen. Then what happened is the most interesting part. We took a helmet from someone's bike and rode away from the place. 

I have booked to and fro tickets to my native. I am planning to spend this Tamil new year with family. Hope I will be screwed this time at home. Have to wait and see what is gonna happen.

That is all to say about the week. Advance wishes for the Tamil new year. I also wish you all reader friends a great week ahead. 

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Week 91

It was yet another week of training at Capgemini but without trainer. Its project work going on and that is the reason why we don't have trainer with us. We are supposed to complete two projects in next two weeks and then wait for the real projects. Actually we are learning more now compared to training that happened with the presence of trainers. Everyone is interested in the projects and they are doing it on their own. Especially the non-CS and non-IT guys are doing well. 

Saturday was the day where most of the interesting things happened. Sujaikumar brought us breakfast as he promised. We all had good time eating and taking photos in the company cafeteria. Other than training we(12 of us from FLP training batch) had went to watch the movie 3 in Devi theatre the evening and all of us felt it was waste of time and money. 

Except for water problem in my room everything around me is fine. We are searching for rooms in different places of Chennai but so far have not found a good one. We have been told to vacate the room within a week's time and have to sort it out soon. Otherwise it was the usual routine that we have in the office that kept me going throughout the week.

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Week 90

The summer is here. Already two of my batch mates in the office got their eyes swollen because of the city's heat. The symptoms of water scarcity is showing up. I think in one more week, that is from April 1st week, we will be standing in queue for water. Otherwise, it was yet another week of training in the office. There are two more tests to be written and two projects to be submitted in two weeks time. After that we will be put in project or made to sit in bench. Before that we have to complete one certification in any of the technology that we have learnt.

Day by day I am getting close to more people in my batch in training. Anyhow I won't be in touch with them after three weeks because we will be in different projects and in different offices. I showed my long face to one of my colleague and apologized on the same day. It came to an end the next day as we started talking normally. That was one incident that showed others that I am a short tempered person.

I played table tennis on two days and have learnt the basics of playing. Only once I played with right hand and then I started playing with left hand. I have taken a decision to play all the games with my left hand hence forth. I used to play carom with left and I have planned to continue this habit in all games too. 


Nowadays I am sleeping on the terrace of my building even though there is heavy mist fall because inside my room I am not able to sleep well. Anyway I am getting a good sleep there compared to inside the room. 


I also travelled two times in the train without ticket during the last two weeks and was lucky not to be caught by the checkers. Hope so I won't do it again or the situation doesn't arise. 

One more day that was special in the week was Friday because of Ugadi. We dint get a holiday since we are in Tamilnadu. Only thing we were able to do was wish each other and continue normal routine. That is all for the week. Rest in next. Have a nice time reader friends. 

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Week 89

Yet another week of training. We were free most of the afternoons through the week. We had one good afternoon session where we were split into four different teams and were asked to do a project. The project is to make a slider that we see in children's park. First the requirements were explained and we were asked to follow the steps that we follow in SDLC(Software Development Life Cycle). I was made the project manager for one team. We were asked to complete the task in 30 minutes. We made the best slider out of the four teams and won the first position. At the end of the day all of us knew that the activity was given to improve team work and also to understand how a project is analysed to meet client's requirements.

On Friday afternoon when we had nothing to do in the training, I called few of my batch mates (Ramkumar, Dev, and Shylesh) in FLP and talked to them as a senior employee of the company and threatened them. It was an awesome day for most of us since all of us enjoyed it. Afterwards I called some of my FLP batch mates' friends and had fun by screwing them up. Can't forget this day because I had never been like this. 

This week too we had the normal Saturday routine that we have in the training. I was not feeling well but still managed to stay energetic. Though I was not well I din't miss the special briyani for lunch in Thalapakattu near my office. Saturday was Jayachandran's(my flp batch mate) birthday too. He took us to an ice-cream stall and a paani-puri stall near by in the evening and treated us. Then I came back to Chrompet and when I was on the way to my room I met a staff of my department when I was crossing my college. Then another staff (Sunil sir) came and took me inside the college where our department function (Samhita) was going on. It was the most awkward moment for me in the recent days since I had never met my HOD after I left the college. I had a small chat with some of the staffs but was comfortable since Vivek was there. Most of this blog's followers would be knowing that he was my M.Tech classmate and presently a staff of IT department at MIT campus, Anna university. 

Then it was the normal Sunday routine of washing clothes and doing the pending works. Had some good sleep in spite of power cuts and cricket match between Pakistan and India (Asia cup 2012).  It was an amazing performance by the young talent, Virat Kohli, in the series that has secured a spot for the team in the finals. 

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Week 88

Mosquitoes + Summer = Sleepless nights. Crowded buses in the mornings and evenings make life even difficult for me. Can you imagine something else that can make life even worse in Chennai? If you are a native of Chennai then your answer to the question would have been water scarcity. Yes, I am expecting it soon. The water in the well goes down day by day and at the end of this month or mid of April we will be facing that too. There is no permanent solution to all these problems. Its the fate of the people who live in Chennai. Only thing that is good about the city is the humidity. The humidity makes us to sweat more and there by helps in removal of salt from body.

In spite of these problems, the training is in full swing. We are learning the last technology (C++) in the training. Once this is complete, we will be left with only a project to complete. We are yet to complete two more tests in the training. This week all of us cleared the UNIX exam successfully with pass marks. Its only one more month of training life and then we will be facing the real world projects if we are lucky or else we will be made to wait in the bench.

I can say only one thing about the routine that I have now. It made me get up by 12pm this Sunday. After my regular Sunday work I again started sleeping at 5pm and woke up only at 9pm. This made me feel how tired I was. After reading the first few lines you won't be searching for reasons to why I slept long on this Sunday. 

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Week 87

The most memorable week of my life because I got my first month salary from Capgemini on Wednesday. The company credits the salary to your account on the last day of the month. Except for this reason the entire week had the normal routine. We were in training but due to absence of trainers and unavailability of software we dint  have much to do except e-learning. We had C language theory on Friday and that is it about the whole week's training. 

Yesterday I went to Express Avenue along with three of my colleagues. Its a big shopping mall in Chennai with almost all the big brands present there. This is my first visit to the mall though I have lived here for the past two and a half years. I bought a pair of shoes and a pant that costed around 2200 bucks together. When I spend on clothes the money goes out of my pocket in thousands now. I think not to spend much on clothes but when I see something that attracts me I go for it. It is a bad habit that I have cultivated recently that has to be corrected immediately otherwise it will lead to my salary bankruptcy before I see 30th day of the month. 

One more incident needs a mention here. We had a bad experience there that night. We were four and went in two vehicles. One was parked in the parking place that the mall has provided. I went in Bala's vehicle. He is a native of Chennai and knows the city well. So he parked it outside the mall by the side of the road on the sidewalk. When we completed shopping and came out the vehicle was not there. Then we searched for it the length of the road and then enquired a shopkeeper there who then confirmed that some vehicles had been towed by the traffic police. We were lucky that the police station was within 100 meters walk. We went there and talked to the officials there about the vehicle. This guy's dad has worked in Raj Bhavan so it was just a cake walk for him to get back the vehicle. But the tension was clearly visible on his face. Then we both came from there and he dropped me in Saidapet railway station. I reached my room around 10 pm after having dinner in a mess near by. 

We both learnt one thing from this incident. Its better to pay the 40 bucks to park the vehicle than to waste time in tension of getting the vehicle back. So my dear reader friends don't park your vehicle in no-parking  area. If you have got relatives or friends from the government especially in law and order department then you can park your vehicle in the centre of the road. 

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Week 86

The week was not so hectic as the previous weeks. I woke up to alarm and went to office before time. This week most of the days I got seat to sit in the bus to Teynampet that will be usually crowded. As usual the training was going on as per their schedule. Now we have completed two technologies and tomorrow everyone should appear for a test in pl/sql. 

The Anna university conducted its graduation day on Saturday. I attended the function and got the degree certificate. I also met most of my classmates there. I have not seen only three of my classmates after the completion of the degree. Had a nice time with them taking some photographs. I have got problems of uploading photos here. It stays here for sometime and vanishes away. I don't know what is going wrong. So I planned to put it in picassa album and give a link here. Since I do not have the photos now I will upload the photos later and link it from here.

The company celebrated its Annual day this Friday and we had only half day on Friday. This is comparatively a longer weekend than we usually get during training. Though I had lot of time I couldn't prepare for the Monday's exam. Have to start it tonight only. Well, that is all about the week. I wish all the reader friends a nice time till I come up with my next update.

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Weeks 84 and 85

The past two weeks were long weeks as usual. Good as well as bad happened during the days starting from my friend's kidney stone to meeting two of my school friends. Let me disclose the good ones first. 

We have completed the first technology(Oracle) in the training and from tomorrow we will be learning Unix. All of us in the training completed the second test successfully. The test was not scheduled in the syllabus but still it was conducted to test our knowledge. The funniest thing about the test was we were preparing a lot for the test and at last we were given only ten multiple-choice questions and most of us scored full. 

I met two of my school friends (Nivas and Jayaramachandran) near my office yesterday. I should not say I met them they identified me and stop the car and came to me. Then we headed to Nivas's home spent some time there. Had evening snacks and coffee at his home and after sometime Jai dropped me in a bus stop near by from where I caught the bus to Chrompet. 

On Wednesdays we have something in the training called as 'Future Leadership Club' for one hour in the afternoon. I have been compering or in other words anchoring for the past two weeks and have got some good responses which makes me feel happy because I am new to this kind of activities. Next week I am going to speak about blog for 5 minutes in FLC.

Last Saturday I had to eat lunch at a hotel that is near my office because the cafeteria at the office will be closed on all weekends. After having my lunch I went to the cash counter to pay my bill. I ate a meal and it costed 55 rupees. I gave 500 rupees to the guy at the counter who was busy in a conversation with one of the staffs in the hotel. He asked for 5 rupee coin and I gave him so that he would return me 450. He missed his calculation in the conversation and returned me 500 in hundreds and fifties. I counted it, put it in my pocked and walked out as if nothing had happened.

The bad thing that happened was the kidney stone to my friend(Lingesh) who got admitted in hospital for a week for treatment. He is fine now after a week's treatment. He has been advised by the doctors to stay in a good environment, drink more water daily and quit tea & coffee. So we are looking for a good 1BHK in and around OMR area. 

I hurt my left little toe while walking due to which I am not able to walk properly with shoes on. Its a rule that everyone must wear shoes in Capemini. I have not asked them about using sandals under these circumstances since I thought I can manage. I hope that it would be gone in a couple of days. 

I attended Aravazhi's (my senior at MIT) twin brother's wedding last Sunday at Nungambakkam but could not meet any of my friends there since they did not attend due to their busy schedules. The Sundays are whiling away in the similar fashion every week and as I said in my last post I am desperate for a two-day weekend for which I have to wait for 8 more weeks.

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Week 83

The weeks are so long nowadays because I have to go for training on Saturdays too. The only day we get is Sunday and I use it to wash my clothes and do the pending works if any. I also try to pay a visit to Kumaran Kundram temple that I used to visit during my college days here. The last two weeks have been hectic for sure but it has brought me under a routine after a very long time. I think I am following a routine after my school days. During my college days I used to be late on some days but now there is no chance of going late because we will be marked absent if we don't go there on time. 

I am desperately waiting for long weekends with at least two holidays per week. I have to wait for 10 more weeks for that because only then my training will be complete. During training we will be learning 4 technologies and we have to get a certification for one of the technologies. The information is not yet clear on that so we guys in training are waiting for the info so that we can complete the certification part of training first. Then there is an exam on each technology and a project to be completed along with lab assignments. Though this happens in most of the companies, the new thing here is the termination if we don't clear the test. We will be given only one re-test for one of the tests and not for all. All of us have cleared the first one. Rest of the tests are scheduled at the end of March. Hope everything will go fine for the entire batch.

I am more worried about the upcoming weeks because I wont get time on Sundays too due to some friends' weddings or receptions that fall on Sundays. Patiently counting the days for a long weekend and a visit to my native. That is all about the week. Have a nice time reader friends.

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Week 82

I am enjoying my time at Capgemini, Teynampet. The office is good except for the cafeteria because we don't have enough options there and no non-veg food. Though I went to MIPL office only for two days I love the environment and the food there. This office is also good but its in the heart of the city and travelling becomes difficult during peak hours. It takes around an hour to reach the office from Chrompet. Though the training has started its not hectic till now since they taught only the basics thus far. Tomorrow I have to attend an online test. The test will be on what we  have learned so far. Everyone has to score a minimum of 60 out of 100 to clear the test. There are five more tests like this and one has to clear all the test to clear training at Capgemini.

Though I am going for a job the feeling of a student has not vanished yet since we are treated like that way during training period. Only Sunday is holiday in the week for us and we are not allowed to take leave till raining period is over. Because of this rule we are not able to go to our native and unable to attend any functions. I am missing many wedding functions during this training period. I wish Priya, Bhavana, Beena, Imad and Arun Karthik a happy married life. I dont know how many I am gonna miss in another two and half months. Well that is all to say about the week. Rest in next.

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Weeks 79, 80 and 81

The first three weeks of the new year were really good for me. I had got a temporary job in IBM as Technical Support Executive (TSE) but had to leave it after one week's training. Yes, I got the call from the company in which I had got placed during last January. My parents were also happy that I got the call.


One more thing that has made my entire family happy is the return of my sister's family from United States. Was happy to see Aashitha in India. I was in home last Tuesday and came to Chennai Wednesday morning only to join Capgemini the next day. Before I left Salem I visited my farm once just to take a look at the plants growth. First two days I went to the office at the Mahindra world city but from Monday I have to be shuttling to Teynampet office and Chrompet. The training will be for the next 13 weeks and then I will have to shift to the project's location.


I went to Aravazhi's home on Saturday evening to return back the jerkin that I took from him when I returned to Salem from Bangalore. This weekend I also went to Mayajaal with Vivek and watched the movie Vettai. The movie was not entertaining except for very few scenes. Its utter waste of time and money. Then today I along with Linesh and Nagaraj went to T.Nagar for shopping. Today too Vivek joined us in shopping. Then we returned back to room. Nothing more to write about the past three weeks but these days will be in my memory for long time since I got the most awaited call from Capgemini. 

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