Another year goes by.....

So here comes the end of another year. Sometimes it seems that it was just yesterday when we were talking about 2004 going by and 2005 being a few days away. Now in the blink of an eye, it is one year hence. And sometimes, as I look back al all that happened in 2005, it seems as if it has been eons since we celebrated the last new year's eve.

Taking a look back at the year gone by, there were a lot of new things. I started blogging for instance, and amongst KGPians, there was a huge explosion of blog culture. This has helped keep in touch with those who are now scattered across the globe, thus keeping people in the frozen Alberta, in the civilisation, and those still in the village just a click away. Yo Blogging!

Moving to more important things, 2005 was also the year that changed me perhaps more than any previous year, more so in its latter half. Maybe it was the begining of my final year of college or the thought of the future and what it held for me, but it caught me off guard. While I am still trying to figure out some loose ends, 22nd December had laid rest to most of these thoughts.

2005 was also the year when I spent all of my summer vacations in KGP. It was a mixed experience. While there was a lot of free time, the weather was so hostile that it was folly to try to get any significant work done in the day time. And on top of that, the restaurants were of no help. Anyway, that is now behind me now and perhaps was the first and the last time I ever did anything like that.

Thinking of some lighter moments, I often get reminded that it is now almost six years since the world was supposed to end. All that dawn of the new millennia and the doomsday hoopla is more than gone now. Maybe a thousand years hence...

One thing which has always been same all these years is that whenever I sit down to recollect past experiences and events, my mind always blanks out. And it is the same today. 2005 was a year full of wonderful times, sad times and O.K. times, but right now, I cannot remember any of them.

In about eight hours, 2005 will be long gone, and it will be 2006. And a year later, I will be thinking about what 2006 did for me, and perhaps will blank out again. Whatever...

Anyway, here is me wishing that all those who read this piece, and all those who don't that 2005 was really good for them. And also that 2006 be even better.

Psycho's Day Out!!!

While this is a story of December 8th, 2005, I never got the time to write it before, hence it is being posted after later events.

This particular day, we four people had decided to buy some computer hardware and stuff, so it is off to Kolkata (Calcutta, or Fort William for the nostalgic minded), the only place nearby where it is possible to buy such stuff at half decent prices. Anyway, we take breakfast and then leave for the station. While two of us got a decent rickshaw, the one we got was very slow, thus we were quite late reaching the station. It was sheer luck that we were able to catch the express train, otherwise it would have been a woeful passenger train ride lasting close to three hours.

We reach Howrah station in decent time and then the question was how to reach the next destination, and here one friend suggested that we take the ferry across the river and then the metro. So that's what we did, and the ferry ride was awesome.

After the ferry ride, we asked for the nearest metro station and Esplanade was supposed to be a five minute walking distance, but fifteen later we found out that the five minutes info should be taken with a pinch of salt. Or under a fast walking competetion. Anyway, we did reach the metro station and catch the ride to Park Street, but not before the metro ticket automated gates trying to keep us out of Esplanade platform (or in the Park Street one).

At Park Street, we visit the Oxford bookstore but find only one book of interest, and then we go off to have some lunch. The rolls we had were really great, and also pretty much sufficient for a long day.

Then it was to Chandani Market for the work we had actually come for, computer hardware shopping. There, we surprise the shop attendent who expecting a 40GB HDD customer had to deal with us who wanted two of 250GB HDD's. Because this shop was not able to provide us with what we wanted, it was off to another one, and luckily there we got all the HDD's, the DVD-RW and the blank Disks.

After this, it was another metro ride to the Forum Inox, and the Crossword bookstore a block away. Two good hours spent there, getting books, having coffee, pizza and sodas. Nobody wanted to stay to watch a movie so it was time to get back. A breezy taxi ride and we are back at Howrah station. A light dinner at FoodPlaza and then an empty passenger train ride back to Kharagpur, we finally reached back to the hostel at 1 AM. Long day, but a really good one.

PS. There was another "Psycho's Day Out" Version 2.0 about a fortnight later, we'll see about that later.

Psycho gets a Job :)

Campus recruitments: The Saga Begins
This year, the powers-that-be decided that campus placements will take place not yearlong as they usually do, but only in the final semester of the year. Apparently, this will result in improved attendence in classes. Little do they know we have more reasons to stay away from classes than just placement interviews. :wink:. Anyhow, I don't think we will ever know that wether this step made attendence any better in the autumn semester, but what I do know is that this did created a lot of panic in our minds about the actual placements. Compressing a yearlong process into a semester is like a little more than we bargained for. But whatever....

So the campus placements began finally on 21st of December.

Day 1
The Indian Tobacco Company Limited, Hindustan Lever Limited and Fair Isaac visit on the first day. Lady luck smiles (ironically) on 13 people, nine go to ITC and four to FI. HLL as always delays its decision till final interviews which will be held at its head office back in Mumbai.

Day 2
Maruti Udyog Limited, Lehman Brothers, and McKinsey are scheduled for the second day.
Lehman Brothers takes 10, after a lot of confusion and resume resubmittals that I will never know about completely. McKinsey creates a fiasco with the senior associates not showing up and delaying the interviews by a day. As for Maruti Udyog Limited, that's where I was, and the story goes on like this....

Maruti Udyog Limited
The Pre Placement Talk takes place in SN Bose auditorium, and after that, it is straight to the interviews. Thirty-two applicants, nervous and dressed up sit in the TnP section waiting for their turns, and somewhere midway is my turn. Interview is taken by a panel of three senior management members of Maruti Udyog Limited, and I come out after the interview with a lot of apprehension. The interview went well but who knows, how many people might have done even better than me...

Then the Oracle calls. Not any seer, but the Oracle Inc. test is scheduled for 4:00PM and it is already quarter past three. So i rush off to the hostel, change and go back for the test. Luckily the test is delyed, and before it can start, the final list of selected candidates is put up infront of the TnP section. And my name is on the list :).

A coffee later, I come back to the hostel to get a good GPL at the "legs" of BFM residents, curse them, it was a really cold day. Anyway, who cares about the GPL when you have a job in the field that you are sure you will enjoy immensely.

End Sems Chale Gaye!!! Registration Aa Gaya!!!

So the end semester exams finally ended on the 28th. of November. I.C. Engines examination completed at full throttle. Out of the examination hall at 3:20PM and off to Harry's.

Anyway, that was it and then it was two days of relative peace before the registration for the last time ever at IIT Kharagpur. But it was the worst registration ever. The worst managed fees payment counters, only one line for all the dual degree students and that too shared with post grads... and on top of that bank employees having snacks when we are getting frustated of standing in the line for two hours. Thank god this was the last one.

To make things worse, the academic part of the registration was to be done online and the system seems to be broken, so God save us. As my next door neighbour would say, "Whtever....".