The year that was 2013

I vividly remember January 1, 2013. We ushered in the New Year with the customary dinner in Austin, peered through frosted glass at the fireworks the city offered and retired to the warm comfort of the apartment. New Year's day was passed by visiting the temple and dreading to go to Richardson (~220 miles away from Austin) to join my new workplace.

To recap, a couple of months earlier (October 25th 2012, to be precise) I lost my job in a major reduction in force at my employer of 6+ years. Needless to say this was a big blow to my confidence. The fact that I was supporting two tuition fee made things a little harder. What softened the blow was that I secured a job offer almost immediately and that I was one semester away from graduation. 

With the recapping done, I must confess that I never really looked forward to the new job. Primarily because it was something I had done before (after graduating with an MSEE degree) and that it was in a different city. One piece of advice if I have to give to the world is - Do not start anything if your mind isn't in it. It is difficult enough to sustain the motivation and interest in things you wholeheartedly embrace. Do not make it harder than it already is. Believe and give your 100% before joining anything. If the experience is contrary to what you expect, you always have two paths from then on. 1. Stick on and change what you don't like 2. Move on. I will leave it up to you to choose which path suits best for you. In my mind, at that point there is no right or wrong answer. Just go with your instinct and stick with it. Again do not have second thoughts. As Steve Jobs said in his commencement address to Stanford University, one day when you sit back and look at your life, you will be able to connect the dots. So enjoy the ride!

The reason I went on this spiel was because it became harder for me. In my earlier blog (I am not linking my earlier post here when being a marketer, I should be doing anything to get more eyeballs on my blog :P) I had mentioned about my horrendous schedule and lack of light at the end of the tunnel. I do not know what you call it - Luck, God's will, some force outside our control - I choose God's will, I had a job out of school by the time graduated. It has never happened before. This was the first time I had a campus recruitment job. I gladly accepted the offer and was ready to face this new job as a Manager. The very fact that I was going to be called a manager was a completely different experience. It sounded strange at first. Now I am used to it but I am still getting used to the fact that people listen and look for directions from me. I am confident things will be better going forward.

Before I mention my new job, I have to say the summer was one of the best times I have had since I came to the USA. My parents visited us from India. My sister and B-i-L along with niece were in Champaign, IL. So the entire family met for about 3 weeks in Champaign along with my uncle from Bengaluru. We had an amazing time and Champaign is a wonderful small town. Got back on track with my running there. 

This second job in a year, I was gung-ho about it. I wanted to do good things. I wanted to change archaic ways of doing business. Alas, the ground reality was different. On the job, I was without responsibilities for more than a month. Slowly I got disgruntled with it. Here I was wanting to do something but I couldn't. Here, I chose the second path I mentioned above. 

I made the switch to the 3rd job in a year. It has been 4 weeks here. It mostly has been learning and absorbing most of what I can. Few customer visits have taught me more about my product more than anything else. One thing I could have done differently in the first four weeks is to offer my insights in discussions but I kept to myself because I wanted to get my basics right. 

In this new year, responsibilities are going to be transferred to me and of course I will have to open up and offer my insight and direction. It is exciting even to think about the fact that I will be responsible for the P&L of a product line. Here's to me hoping for an exciting ride in 2014.

Just to offer a perspective into the year I had, have a read - 

1. For the first 4 months (Till April), I flew back and forth Richardson and Austin on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I drove to Austin on Friday evenings and to Richardson on Monday mornings not to mention the small matter of doing decently well in my coursework

2. I moved to Richardson from Austin in mid May.

3. Drove to and from Richardson to Champaign (~800 miles), drove to and from Champaign and Mackinaw Island (~600 miles).

4. Moved from Richardson to Bridgewater, NJ end of July.

5. Moved from Bridgewater to Beaverton, OR end of November.

Crazy stuff, isn't it?

So I am going to sign off with - Have a wonderful 2014. May all your dreams, wishes come true. Stay fit and healthy. For me personally, I am looking forward to owning the P&L responsibilities and learning a lot! Hoping to exercise my brain a little bit more. Maybe cutting back on TV or watching Netflix and substituting with a lot reading is the way to go. I am open to suggestions for reading material. Hoping to continue my path of running and exercising and of course Hoping to do great at work!

Adios!

P.S: I would be remiss if I do not mention my cousin's spectacular hospitality in Richardson TX. Here I was, a fully grown adult, staying at my cousin's place for 4 months. They were kind enough to give a room to myself, feed me and put up with my odd hours. I will be forever indebted to them for helping me out in my time of need.