It is 9am on a warm, beautiful day in Pune. A day even Bill Gates would have spent at home. But, alas, work beckons the geeks, to the air-conditioned environs of a sterile office. The janta stumble in one by one, swiping their IDs sleepily. For the more fortunate ones -- read, those like me who stay close by -- it is still slumber time. By the time I answer the call of office it is almost 11am. I am still dazed with sleep. My colleagues give me a knowing smile, as if they know I had partied all night and came to work as an afterthought. If you still haven't guessed, I work in a software company. Now it's time for me to boot the monster. It is as averse to coming to life as I am on a Sunday morning. I check my emails quickly. There is a chain mail asking me to forward it to all I know so that a dying leper in Siberia can get married. I delete it quickly; let the leper manage on his own. I look at my pile of work-related emails. It looks terribly impressive, but boils down to actually nothing. It is this kind of work culture that attracted me to this profession two-and-a-half years ago. Believe me, work -- or the lack of it -- isn't the toughest nut in the software industry. It is getting used to the computer lingo, which, to a fresher, can be as confusing as Bambaiya Hindi. For instance, what would you think if someone told you, "I have a delivery today?" You would take the speaker for a gynaecologist, right? But all the poor chap is trying to convey is he has to send the 'source code' and other relevant documents to his client! There is an unwritten rule in our great industry that serious work should only begin after a steaming cup of coffee from the office pantry. I strictly follow this rule. Checking out the staff who has joined overnight and sipping coffee are brilliant stimulants. One has to keep oneself updated about the latest happenings in the computer industry. This is very important for your growth. Not wanting to take any chances, our organisation has a well-stocked library, with books on all possible subjects from project blues to chip design. Meetings, which we see oh-so-many everyday, can be very interesting. The agenda would be the final review of a proposed design, but normally we get to discuss the latest mushy flick to hit town, the best eating joints and such other important topics. Lunch can be quite sad if the company has a canteen. Thankfully we don't. So we head out. After haggling over whether it should be Punjabi or Chinese, we decide on South Indian. After the meal I am ready to drop off. I am tempted to hail an auto and head home for a siesta. But office beckons, and I sit down to struggle with a code. It keeps giving me errors that are as Greek to me as Malayalam is to Tintin. I head for the library to boost my technical knowledge. After referring to a couple of books, I realise that I hadn't put a semicolon at the end of a line! Mails can get quite depressing if you haven't got a single personal mail since morning. Doesn't anybody remember me? I pester my cubicle partner to send me some silly forwards. Then I send me some mails myself and my spirits lift a bit. All said and done, the software industry is not a bad place to be in. Where else can I address my boss by his first name, discuss with him whatever comes to my head and, more importantly, have flexible work timings? The clock strikes six. People are packing their stuff to head home. The geeks are suddenly transformed into 'happening' babes and studs with a rip-roaring social life.... I join the exodus. Another day gone. I am a day older without becoming wiser. Don't be fooled by the name or the illustration: Jenny Jacob belongs to the unfair sex! Illustration: Lynette Menezes Tell us what you think of this diary Be part of an exciting venture! Write a Diary!
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