FLASHBACKS’08...The Memoirs of The Year That Was…

I wish to revisit the year 2008…in terms of all its milestones…in terms of all I’ve got, all I’ve lost, wishes that came true, miss-happenings which meandered and much more…lemme begin the month-wise journey then…without wasting any time…

Jan: Started Gymming…whoopiiieee…The most awaited dream of my life was to go to the Gym and start work-out…build some dolle-sholley…and January brought that opportunity to me. Being placed in December’08 from IMT Ghaziabad…life was a roll, no loads of the b-school classes, it was a reely a chilled out phase of life…n thts when I fulfilled my dream of going to the gym for the first time ever…continued this for almost half of the year...

Feb: Sold books…;)…Partied Hard…Oh yeah, it was the first time ever someone might have sold all the MBA books in a bulk deal and the money earned was utilized for a "noble cause" of partying hard like anything…Well, again those were the days in IMT, when every night used to be just another party night…and guess what…selling books was a rage in the college…N u have to be a part of it…n so I was. One fine day, me and all my friends packed all our MBA books in several bags and we were in Delhi for selling them, actually we had hardly opened them even during our 2 years of MBA ;)…1% of the money earned went to the God and the rest was used to get spoilt…badly :)…No pints for guessing...I miss those dayzzz…

March: Convocated…aaahaa…Can’t forget March’08; after all this was the month when I got the first convocation degree of my life (actually, engineering ki degree abhi tak mili nahi...). The emotions here were madly mixed. On one hand, we were getting our MBA degrees suggesting the completion of the days of education for this lifetime...(I Wish ;)) and on the other hand nostalgia surrounded the streets of IMT Ghaziabad…after all, two years of bonding were kinda coming to an end…friends were being parted…couples being separated…B-school masti was coming to an end…and on 18th November, from the kind hands of Mr. Narayanamurthy, I got my much coveted degree…signifying the end of padhaai ke din…

April: Feel at home…Oh yes, April came with another homely dose of my life courtesy Perot Systems, my new employer, as they had given me a date of joining which was 3 months and 12 days away from the last of day of college. While many of my friends were joining in the next 10 days, it was almost like a painful shock for me to wait for so long, the positive vibe was only being back to Jaipur, stay there with parents, relatives, friends, and family. But…having no option, I started my over long holidays eating great food at home…mom ke haath ka khana…too yummmmie mahn. But alaaaaaaaaas, I got bored too soon with meeting relatives @ Jaipur…after all I had visited all of them over n over in just 10 days and was left with nothingness…

May: Alternate Jobs…MIS consultant…Personality developer…and what not? Having been bored of life with nothingness…getting spoilt at home, and realizing that I couldn’t sit idle for so long, I had to ring a few bells, to spend my time constructively. And there begun...a flurry of amazing activities in Jaipur for me...

• First of them, the directors of a leading sunrise firm at Jaipur were happy to take me as a “Change Agent”; someone, who could convert their existing system into computerized format. The role of an MIS consultant...Well, I had a great time there, 11-4ish everyday…amazing, eye-opening changes for the firm…good fun overall...

• Secondly, I continued my gym stint here in Jaipur too and in the three months, had some visible improvements which still brings some smile to the face through the mirror…;)

• Thirdly, Internet can be great source of knowledge and 'moolah', the secrets will be revealed some other time, having applied for the broadband connection right at the outset of my holidays, I earned some 6-7k on the Internet, all in 1-2 hours for 2 weeks, with amazing learning for the self…

• Fourthly, arrey bi…MBA kiya hai…to gyaan baatna to seekh hi liya hai ;)…Got the opportunity to take some leadership and personality development classes in a few leaderships workshops. The highlight of these sessions was the mixed audience from college students to 40-45 aged businessmen, from doctors to housewives, from nice girls ;) to MBA aspirants and many more. Bringing change in their lives by talking and sharing experiences for 2 hours and forcing them to reely stretch themselves every moment if they wish to be someone in life was a very enriching experience for me too. I know that I am definitely not someone who has the potential to reely change some1’s life, but at the end of every session, getting their positive feedback and getting reviews like, “You have lit the fire in me today!”, gives some personal satisfaction to take home…

June: Viva la Salsa, Chaar Dhaam…The start of June came with a lucky surprise. A celebrity salsa workshop, happening for the first time in Jaipur, took me with an amazing enthusiasm. Salsa is one dance which is very close to my heart and the 11 day workshop not only taught me salsa but also gave me some fond memories of my Jaipur holidays. Was awarded the best Salsa dancer at the end of the workshop…I can't stop saying...”Viva La Salsa”...and I love this dance form.

Also, the fag end of my holidays got special when we had a 10 day family outing to the Chaar Dhaam Yatra…spending time with mom n dad, going to religious places Gangotri, Yamnotri, Badrinath & Kedarnath and definitely cleaning my “Paap ka full Ghada” at Gangaji was a pleasant holiday. With amazing scenic expeditions, life rattling trekkings, and solid photoshoots…I was all cleansed and content at the end of June…ready for my new stint in the corporate world…

July: Perot Systems, here I come…July 1 was the date of joining…awesome guest house…amazing induction under LEAPS (Lead effectively @ Perot Systems) program… a special attention…with 12 other management trainees……a new place Noida…this very important phase of my life started in 2008. This corporate leap was the only purpose of doing my MBA and I think the start is decent. The first month went by like anything, settling down in Noida…making new friends…shifting into a new 3 BHK with some of the Perot Systems friends…interfacing yet again to the typical 5 day IT life was all so much more welcoming with the “end of the month” Laughter…

August: Project Loyalty…The first project I got in Perot Systems as a management trainee was to design a Loyalty Product which Perot Systems could take to the market as a new offering. Pretty challenging one! This first project came with long hours of work and that too, grilling discussions, in-depth research, cost-benefit analysis, overseas calls, late night work and much more. Actually, there was a fire in the belly askin you to do more and more by every moment so that project comes out as the best. I enjoyed the work so much and the dedication was visible with the fact that there was not a single day when I had left the office before 8 PM. The final presentation was in front of our MD and it was again a nice experience in itself. Oh yeah…it went well…:)

September: Akash, the blogger…Another dream which had always been there in my heart was to own a blog in my name. Though it was not my first hand at blogging, but this was and is my best effort in the blogworld. "AkashSpeaks" got its birth when I had some free time after the completion of first project. The support of friends, every new comment, every new count on this blog used to bring a smile and used to keep me involved and it still does…though finding time is always a challenge…but after all life is all about finding time and managing it well…so the blog is alive and kicking…at least I could achieve the target I had set for myself of writing 1 blog every month. AkashSpeaks in the last three months of its start has got 13 posts…not highly commendable…but numbers still talk…:)

October: Strategy and… Well, on the official front I was indicted into the Perot Systems-Strategy for my second project. Have got a chance to work on some challenging and high priority projects being part of the strategy team. Works keeping me busy…n works keeping me happy. Diwali was nice as ever. But… October was bad…somehow…it was bad…a very bad month of my life…nothing more to say…after all...it’s all part of life…


November: Stint into the advertising world…O people, I didn’t change my job…told yaa works keeping me happy just a while back :). Perot Systems Strategy gave me the opportunity to work with an external ad agency on creating a set of 4 videos to capture the business unit’s capabilities. Writing scripts, collating information, showcasing content, arranging logistics for the video shoot, finding locations, narrating dialogues, Lights Camera Action and everything. It was all a nice learning experience in itself and believe me, advertising world is a helluva dynamic and creative industry…It keeps u kickin…!

All work and no play makes me a sad boy…and so went to the Lake City Udaipur too with colleagues to attend a friend’s wedding…good fun…nice city…but yeah, marriage continues to scare me at least at the moment…;)

December: Bulls and Bears…Always Rocking…Good time or bad time…I can’t say at the moment…but after a long wait I have started my stint in the risky stock market. Sensex, nifty, demat, closing bells, reds and greens…are all a part of my life now. I always wanted to invest some part of my kitty in stocks and so I got a start in 2008 only…right now, I m just devising my own rules of the game…so the journey seems to be long…fingers are always kept crossed in the D-Street…!


So that’s how the year 2008 has ended for me. Now, I request you all to share your highlights of the year 2008…I’m sure everyone wud love to hear and share at least the major milestones…so please feel free!
I wish all of you a very happy 2009.
Wish India comes out strong in the WAR against terror.
Wish there is more love and less hatred in the world.
Wish all of us sustain and keep smiling even during the financial crunch and the economies rebound back strong in 2009.
Wish the stock markets bloom ;).
And last but utmost, I wish 2009 brings joy, laughter, fun, excitement, peace and lots and lots and lots of happiness in your lives.

SHOW ME THAT CHARMING SMILE…:)!!!