Work anniversary - draft

Today I completed one year at the current company. It was an year that broadened my perspective. I had a new outlook to my personal as well as my professional life. Shifting to a private organisation from a government entity was challenging. The work culture is quite different here. Being a product based company my current organisation is focused more solving the issues or adding new features to the product and I was able to learn new areas of SDLC. A methodical approach to work with sprints, agile, standup, retro, etc made work from home effortless.

Some random thoughts

Be what you actually are..

"All human beings have three lives: public, private, and secret." -García Márquez

Truly a thoughtful quote. We all have those three lives. The contrast among them is the basis of serenity or problems in our relationships. A charismatic personality can be acted out for a while. But deep relationships won't foster. We are born to make mistakes and learn from them. Even in our personal lives, we can make mistakes. I have seen many in my life who are desperately craving attention. Dusk till dawn they are acting their lives, finally gets exhausted and ends in depression. Yes, we all have that trait in ourselves. But it should be in our control.  

On homes and dress

We buy homes not because we need them but because we can convince others that we are capable. Homes are becoming store rooms of possessions that we don't use.  Who need more than 7 pairs of dress at a time but our wardrobes are full and out of space with our cloths. It is a misconception that new = happiness. In 2019 my resolution was to not buy a new dress. Since then I limited my dresses to less than 10 at a time and donated the remaining. I am not a miser. Instead of buying 4 low-quality jeans I now buy a good-quality ones.

Honesty

Whether it is personal or professional, honesty is what makes any relationship strong. We all are vulnerable, and we all have our weak moments. By honesty, I didn't mean to say everything out in public.  Not telling frequent lies is also honesty. I watch my surroundings and the people nearby pretty well. And I get it easily when someone lies. Though I pretend like I believed everything that they said, it deeply hurts when the person involved is someone whom I care about.

Chapters in our lives

 Many a time, unexpected events will happen in our lives that change the course of our life. It is through them the main chapters of our lives are written. Until the age of seventeen, my father was the one who made important decisions in my life. But after joining the degree course most of my decisions were taken by myself. Akapparambu, KSEB Quarters, Assissi School, Model School - these were the main chapters in my childhood.

The day the engineering entrance exam result came, I called my classmate. He said that he was going to join Amrita College of Engineering. I hadn't even heard of that college back then. I tool joined the same college. That was the beginning of a chapter in my life - Amrita. A couple of months after joining there, I got a higher option to a Government college in Palakkad. That was due to a wrong decision that I made before joining Amrita. But as soon as I realised it I sent a cancellation letter to the Entrance department. I came back home from Amrita very disappointed. But then I got this receipt of the cancellation form from the entrance department. With that, I was able to continue at Amrita itself. Just a receipt decided the remaining course of my life. That govt college was nothing compared to Amrita.

So after Amrita, I came back home with a degree. A degree without a job is more painful than not having a degree at all. For a few months, I worked for a construction firm of my cousin. Then I got a temporary job at KSEB Kurumassery as a Substation assistant. Meanwhile, I happen to see an advertisement for a diploma course at CDAC Trivandrum. I along with my friend joined that course. It was 2008. By September the course was over. But we didn't go home. We stayed there at Trivandrum and kept trying for a job. That time CDAC called for vacancies and most of my friends from the institute applied. I was exhausted after applying and being turned down for many jobs. So this time I did not show much interest. On the last day of application, my friend reminded me again and reluctantly I applied. We went to Chennai together to attend the exam and I got selected. That was the beginning of one of the longest chapters of my life - CDAC and Chennai.

I got married in 2016 - of course, a new chapter has begun. We were blessed with my little girl five years after marriage. Due to some reasons I was looking for a job change and wanted to come back to Kerala. Meanwhile, I had a conference call with friends from Amrita. One of them informed me about vacancies in his company. I got selected and two months after the baby was born, I returned to Kerala. It was 2021 January. Another chapter has begun with a phone call.

It is now 2022 January. I am on work from home. Jumping between mine and my in-laws' house. My kid has turned one. Happily do my professional and personal work from home.  Looking forward to the chapters that are in store for me.

100 days of running

I started running on last year September 15. The plan was to run 5 km daily for 100 consecutive days and I failed successfully!. But you know failures gives us good experiences. Here is some of my thoughts on it

• Count down started on Sep 15th: I planned it and scheduled it in my calendar. Each day when I look at my calendar, I get this feeling that I am one day closer to my goal. Though I scheduled it in the mornings, eventually it went to the bottom of the priority list and became the last event of the day - usually at night.
• Why publish: Let everyone know of the challenge. We will be compelled to reach the goal. So let our friends and family know of this. Share it on facebook, twitter or instagram.
• About the gadgets: No mobile fewer distractions. Keep a basic mobile if it is absolutely necessary because it is difficult to run with a mobile. Wear a fitness tracker like Fitbit or Garmin that has inbuilt GPS. They can record the location, calories and the number of steps.
• Why different places: Running in the same place every day can deplete our enthusiasm. I used to drive to different places. Decide on a place before starting. Don't just take any random place. Select somewhere close to nature and calm. This one I am sceptical about. From my experiences what I learned is that we get bored easily if we run alone. It is more interesting if we have company. It doesn't have to be someone who runs along with us. A little girl sitting in the park playing with her dog can also motivate. Avoid highways - highways are flat and straight but it is very dangerous.
• No bag or other items in hand: If the primary goal is to run then avoid bags. Keep them in your vehicle or cycle. From my experience what I learned is bags will reduce the fun.
• The need for suitable costumes: There can be issues with thighs if you are a heavy person. The weight of shoes and the dress material can affect the performance. So get some sports wears which are made specifically for running. If you are too fatty avoid tight dresses. 
• Time doesn’t matter: It won't last long if we try to adhere strictly to the scheduled time. Be flexible. Change it according to the priority and availability of time. Deviating from your scheduled time is ok once in a while.
• No off on weekends.: It is an excuse. There is no holiday for the heart or brain so is for the workout. Run an extra mile on weekends if possible.
• Motivational music: From my personal experience what I learned is audiobooks are not a good listen while running. I am a kind of person who cannot focus on running and imagining at the same time. With books, you need to imagine. I tried and failed. So now I just listen to music. I prefer motivational music like Rocky or Rambo or audio extracted from motivational scenes from movies.

Many a time I lost interest in running and stopped it. Towards the end, I didn't run continuously for 20 plus days and still, I am not running. December 23 was the 100th day. This year I hope I can run more.