The Butterfly Diaries 15 - Release Roadblocks
The whole point of the IT gold rush is about going onsite to the US and earning in dollars. And better late than never, better Euros than nothing, my opportunity was finally coming, and it looked like I was going to spurn it.
But the few months of preparation had me excited about the MBA and I sought a release from the IT job.
“Why would you go and apply for a human resources course of all things?” asked my colleague Miss Audacity when she learnt of my interview call.
I couldn’t tell her that I believed a course in human resources was what came closest in the real world to my dream of becoming a psychohistorian from Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series. She would think I was mad.
I, however, did mention it to my other colleague Mr. Quiet. Instead of laughing at me, he said, “You are in the wrong field, boss. Forget this IT job as well as the MBA and become a writer.”
As I was trying to figure out if he had been pulling my leg, I heard my lead Mr. Earnest’s voice: “When do you plan to complete that enhancement you were working on?”
“Tomorrow,” I said.
“Can’t you complete it today before you leave?” he said.
“I can. But I am quite tired. I fear I may introduce bugs which will end up pushing the release readiness to the day after tomorrow,” I replied with a sudden wave of inspiration.
He gazed at me for a couple of moments and said, “You are right. Come back fresh tomorrow and complete this.”
I packed my bag and sprinted to the bus area.
February saw me write the exam all over again. With the belief that I would crack it since re-exams were lucky for me. I almost believed providence had done it specially for me like it had back during my undergraduate exam where too the exam had been cancelled after I had messed up the first time around.
And in March, came the interview from the earlier exam. I was left wondering if I had done well by telling the ecclesiastic panelists that Machiavelli was my role model.
All the while the boss lady was checking the status with me. Everyone keeps begging their bosses for onsite opportunities. And here she was chasing me with opportunities.
The Interfaces onsite opportunity turned up in late March and by mid-April, Miss Sincerity had left for Germany. That broke my heart into a thousand pieces. That was when I realized how much I wished to visit a foreign country at least once in my lifetime.
And as if to rub salt into my wounds, the good people at the institute told me in the sweetest of words that great guy though I was, they did not have a place for a Machiavellian like me in their esteemed institute.
But as one door closed, two opened. For the boss lady asked me to apply for my work permit anyways even though I was waiting for the other result. And close on the heels of my application, it came, bringing another interview call.
This time I decided to go for finance, which was this institute’s specialty, since human resources had let me down. But there was a catch – I knew nothing of finance beyond my salary statement. So, I set out to learn the subject by buying second-hand business magazines by the kilogram. Mr. Quiet, a passionate investor in stocks, also helped. I too opened a demat account and started trading for practical experience.
But in the interview, they ended up asking me questions from my core engineering subjects. How was I to remember them after three years? I hoped against hope that it was one of those stress interview thingies and I could still make it.
Meanwhile my work permit had arrived, and the boss lady continued to ask me for updates. And then the final blow arrived – the cancellation luck charm had not worked. I was shattered. There was no release for me. Nor for Mr. Quiet. Miss Audacity on the other hand had converted both her calls and was trying to decide between the two.
I told her, “You go for the bigger brand. As for the other one, you can hand it down to me.”
“Indeed. I crack the exam, and you want the seat? Typical!”
But release did come to me in a form I least expected. As a role. An onsite role called release management – one I had not given much thought to before. I did know our enhancements and bug fixes were going into the client’s production environment without disrupting business. And that it was not happening of its own accord. But then it is one of the roles that if performed effectively remains invisible. Like folks keeping public infrastructure in order.
I of course was grateful to the boss lady for still giving me a chance. But it seemed like a consolation prize after missing my MBA.
Mom was like, “Don’t run away. Stay back and fight. You are within inches of your goal. Next year you will surely make it.”
But a bird in the hand was worth two in the bush. This was now. And it would shatter my heart to miss it again. I could surely write the exam the year after.
Mom did not look convinced.
But the few months of preparation had me excited about the MBA and I sought a release from the IT job.
“Why would you go and apply for a human resources course of all things?” asked my colleague Miss Audacity when she learnt of my interview call.
I couldn’t tell her that I believed a course in human resources was what came closest in the real world to my dream of becoming a psychohistorian from Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series. She would think I was mad.
I, however, did mention it to my other colleague Mr. Quiet. Instead of laughing at me, he said, “You are in the wrong field, boss. Forget this IT job as well as the MBA and become a writer.”
As I was trying to figure out if he had been pulling my leg, I heard my lead Mr. Earnest’s voice: “When do you plan to complete that enhancement you were working on?”
“Tomorrow,” I said.
“Can’t you complete it today before you leave?” he said.
“I can. But I am quite tired. I fear I may introduce bugs which will end up pushing the release readiness to the day after tomorrow,” I replied with a sudden wave of inspiration.
He gazed at me for a couple of moments and said, “You are right. Come back fresh tomorrow and complete this.”
I packed my bag and sprinted to the bus area.
February saw me write the exam all over again. With the belief that I would crack it since re-exams were lucky for me. I almost believed providence had done it specially for me like it had back during my undergraduate exam where too the exam had been cancelled after I had messed up the first time around.
And in March, came the interview from the earlier exam. I was left wondering if I had done well by telling the ecclesiastic panelists that Machiavelli was my role model.
All the while the boss lady was checking the status with me. Everyone keeps begging their bosses for onsite opportunities. And here she was chasing me with opportunities.
The Interfaces onsite opportunity turned up in late March and by mid-April, Miss Sincerity had left for Germany. That broke my heart into a thousand pieces. That was when I realized how much I wished to visit a foreign country at least once in my lifetime.
And as if to rub salt into my wounds, the good people at the institute told me in the sweetest of words that great guy though I was, they did not have a place for a Machiavellian like me in their esteemed institute.
But as one door closed, two opened. For the boss lady asked me to apply for my work permit anyways even though I was waiting for the other result. And close on the heels of my application, it came, bringing another interview call.
This time I decided to go for finance, which was this institute’s specialty, since human resources had let me down. But there was a catch – I knew nothing of finance beyond my salary statement. So, I set out to learn the subject by buying second-hand business magazines by the kilogram. Mr. Quiet, a passionate investor in stocks, also helped. I too opened a demat account and started trading for practical experience.
But in the interview, they ended up asking me questions from my core engineering subjects. How was I to remember them after three years? I hoped against hope that it was one of those stress interview thingies and I could still make it.
Meanwhile my work permit had arrived, and the boss lady continued to ask me for updates. And then the final blow arrived – the cancellation luck charm had not worked. I was shattered. There was no release for me. Nor for Mr. Quiet. Miss Audacity on the other hand had converted both her calls and was trying to decide between the two.
I told her, “You go for the bigger brand. As for the other one, you can hand it down to me.”
“Indeed. I crack the exam, and you want the seat? Typical!”
But release did come to me in a form I least expected. As a role. An onsite role called release management – one I had not given much thought to before. I did know our enhancements and bug fixes were going into the client’s production environment without disrupting business. And that it was not happening of its own accord. But then it is one of the roles that if performed effectively remains invisible. Like folks keeping public infrastructure in order.
I of course was grateful to the boss lady for still giving me a chance. But it seemed like a consolation prize after missing my MBA.
Mom was like, “Don’t run away. Stay back and fight. You are within inches of your goal. Next year you will surely make it.”
But a bird in the hand was worth two in the bush. This was now. And it would shatter my heart to miss it again. I could surely write the exam the year after.
Mom did not look convinced.
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