Thursday, January 18, 2007

First of many...

I began 2007 on a slightly pessimistic note, apprehensive of the changes it will bring for me personally and professionally.. but one is usually afraid of the unknown.. I was afraid of the known! Well.. the mystery is beginning unravel.. the hazy shapes are beginning to take form, and the first of many tough decisions has been made - today.

We shifted into a new building at work this Monday.. I don't like the new office or my desk here, but its a change, and change is always refreshing, if not necessarily comfortable... I didn't want to leave the previous office because its where I first started working, and its been my office for the past 3 1/2 yrs! Ok, 2 yrs (not counting 1 1/2 yrs when I wasn't in Delhi).. so its got memories.. lots of them.. long coffee breaks, walks around the garden, the "parties" on the terrace where people ate samosas and watched the others dance and make fools of themselves, where the HR organised musical chairs and people ran around office chairs looking like 2nd std. kids prancing around! Its where I started with working 16 hrs a day and grew up into a "lead", implying my work hrs and work load reduced considerably... where I liked to walk up and down the labyrinth of stairs, where no one staircase was directly connected to another! Where the library was a place you could actually consider hanging out in, and where we had many "talks" in the amphitheatre and the only audible thing would be people's cellphones ringing off with different bollywood songs!

If leaving a building can cause so much "heartbreak" for me, imagine what leaving my first job can do! Ok, technically this isn't my first job, what with various summer internships etc where I got my "first salary" and blew it up on gifts! But this is my first job in a real career.. This is my first company.. and its tough... to first make the decision, and then to actually abide by it... and today is the day.. and it feels weird.. I am happy, excited, yet sad.. given that I am such an emotional fool, I do actually attach a lot of importance to the friends I've made in office, some of whom are my closest, most trusted friends.. I attach importance to my bosses, whom I have learnt a lot from, who have taught me to be patient, to manage work, to understand deadlines, to even learn office politics!! I attach importance to the respect I've earned and the pride I feel when random people from the team come to me and say "we were told u're the best person to tell us about this!"... And, there is a great amount of comfort that one develops with the people whom one has managed to stick with for more than 3 yrs! In this day and age of fast moving jobs and quick bucks, I'm one of the few people in my college batch who has actually stayed with the same company I joined with from campus! And thats coz they have given me a lot of rewards, and so thats brought out my loyalty for them! I've learnt a lot in these few yrs, and I've been lucky in getting what I wanted almost before asking for it! So, decisions like the one I have made today are not easy, but like I said earlier, 2007 isn't going to be an easy year for me!

But the first of a series of tough decisions has been made, and today is a milestone of sorts... lets see how the rest of the year unfolds!

20 comments:

Zee said...

are you telling me you've quit??? more importantly are you telling me you've quit over a blog rather than thru the phone???????????? no reply to comment!!! call!!!

S said...

Ruccccccchhhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiii...........how cud u not mention our long long IM chats , picnic lunches in the garden and the numerous 'cribbing sessions'.....oh how i am going to miss them all !!
Anyways , All the best for the 'first of many ' and the rest too !!

IR said...

this has to be the first resignation through "blog" world

having said that ,you are one of the few people i have seen who has such nice things to say about what will be your prev job and colleagues :)

the vestige said...

the cat is out of the bag

Still Searching said...

`zee
hmmm.. details later! :-)

`shilpi
yes i missed that! and i need those IM chats now more than ever before!! thanks for your support! :-))

`ir
hehe.. really.. yes i suppose hardly anyone declares resignations over blogworld! but i just had so many things going on in my mind that day, i HAD to put it down!

`vestige
almost!

Pritesh Jain said...

really nice indeed. I thought about many of the things you mentioned when quitting my first job. :) deja vu..

CandidConfessions said...

It is so difficult to move on! Isn't it!

Vogon Interpreter!! said...

hmm trying to be inconspicuous .. about the 3 letter acronym.. oh sorry 4 letters since 2004 AUG... that we work for!! hehe but i prefer the 3 letter one and will keep it..!!
well lets say u sure had changed my opinion abut fellow "__S"'ers :) hehe dont ask why.. plenty of reasons...!!
and i should say it will be a loss for "__S" to lose someone like u... but then again change is the only constant thing in life so im guessing its that time for you now..!!
ive spent the same amount of time with them, the 3 and half mark :) but still havnt had the courage to opt for a change... campus jobs do seem to cultiate that extra loyalty i guess... add to it the TVM training days!!
It always takes a lot of courage to call it quits and start elsewhere.. and ise uve made that call... but anyways i'm sure ure headed out to a greener pasture.. and its for the better... and heres wishing you all the best...!!
i do hope u still find "office time" to continue blogging.. i will be following it :) as always!!
wishing you a fantastic future!!

Note :
Looking back at the comment i made on ure new year blog ;) it sure is turning out to be an eventful and good year!! :)!!
kudos again..!!

SeePearrl said...

dont worry dear..everythings gonna be alright!!

mathew said...

exactly..sometime change is discomforting..sometime the montonous existence gives u comfort!!..neways good luck for the new job!!

Still Searching said...

`prits
am glad that what i feel is not unusual and i am not a freak! hehe..

`candid confessions
yup it is difficult.. esp when you start feeling guilty about ur decision!

`vogon interpreter
oh so u're also loyal to the company! Hats off! :-)) Yes change is a good thing, and more importantly you have to believe in yourself and be sure that what you are doing is for the best.. dont worry about office time though! i am going to utilise it to the best now, and am back in the blogging world since i have nothing better to do!

`white forest
yup, am keeping my fingers crossed!

`mathew
thanks.. yes, one has to learn to break out of their comfort zone for growth! though this one is a personal decision, still, its tough to make the choice..

Anonymous said...

Hmmm...change is difficult to accept.But life moves on.

Anonymous said...

oh hoo ... itne saare comments already .. jo bhi meri line thi woh tu use ho gayi already.
kya yaar; I DEMAND first right of read to your blogs; this is not done.

Vogon Interpreter!! said...

hey ruch.. hope its goin well for you...
haveu had enough time for the feeling to sink in:)
hope ure having fun with ure new found freedom...
i know its also a season of uncertainty.. so heres wishing you all the best... and hope all works out well!!

nutty said...

Hey! Good luck on the new job! Don't worry u gonna be fine! Take it from someone who's quit more than one job to move to supposedly green pastures :-)

Kishley (Dolly Sapra) said...

:) so are you liking your new company now?

manish said...

Hi Ruchika,

Hope you are doing good.All the best for your new job :-))

CandidConfessions said...

Hey Ruchi,
Im sure you'l enjoy your new job! If decisions make things better and they make moving on a little difficult -So be!! Enjoy th change!!

Anonymous said...

I can't believe I seemed to have missed all this...

Krish

Still Searching said...

`All!

Thanks a lot for your wishes.. things are working out slowly but surely, which is good news!

Will keep the blog updated for how it all turns out!