Goodbye 2008

On the eve of the new year, I look back at the year that was and quite an eventful year it was, at least from my perspective.

January : The year begun with the CAT results right in the first week of January. Now, as most of my friends know, that I had written CAT just for the heck of it without any preparation. I still vividly remember the day of the CAT results. Me and Puneet had gone to give the monthly rent to our landlords. On our way back (which was a 15 minute walk), as we had nothing better to do, we started calling up people asking about their results. But I had no answer for them when I was asked for the same. And since the CAT website gets choked on the day of the results, I had to wait for a couple of hours after reaching home to get to know the results. I was very surprised with the results (99.98 was not what I had expected).

February-March : Then came the spate of interviews for all the IIMs (Thankfully it was only the IIMs as I had written no other exam and not applied to any other college). The only sad part for me was that I had to shorten my long hair :( .Luckily, I had a very good manager, so, I could tell him exactly what was going on.
The most memorable of the interviews was the IIMC interview. That was a long story in itself. (Click to read IIMC Interview and Convocation Trip).

April : I was due to visit Neta, one of my best friends, who resided in Pune on the day when the results were ultimately declared (after many many delays in the result announcement). Before getting on the flight, I only knew about 2 results (IIMA, which I didn't get through and one of the L,I,K which I got through but but didn't matter as I had decided to join only A,B or C). Hence, I was not too happy getting on the flight. But as soon as I landed, I was flooded with calls from my freinds informing me that I got through all IIMs except A. That was a very happy moment for me. So, that trip was memorable to me for one more reason (the other being the ultimate fun I had with Neta and Kholu, which Neta might not have liked too much because he was our target all the time for all the Jokes :P).

April-May :Ohhhh, how did I ever forget IPL, the rush and excitement of a cricket match in the time of a football match. It was so successful that movie theaters at those times suffered huge losses. It did not matter to us (me and Puneet who are cricket maniacs), that Bangalore did not win any match we had gone to see at the stadium. And we provided Bangalore with huge number of opportunities. We saw Bangalore hammered single handedly by McCullum in the opener, to them throwing away a match from winning position against Chennai. But once you are in the stadium, you simply don't care. It did not for me especially as I supported the Delhi Daredevils. But IPL was the best thig to happen as it provided us something to do in the evenings - either at the stadiums or at home watching it on TV.

June : The most important decision during this time was to decide between IIMB and IIMC. Different people gave me different perspectives. And as someone rightly says,"The More you think about it, the more confused you become". Ultimately, it came down to a impulse decision which I still feel was the right decision. This month also signified my resignation from my job, which was a very amicable affair and my trip to Mumbai for my cousin Rajiv's wedding with Shreya. Marriages are always fun affairs with the entire family getting an excuse for getting together. I enjoyed to the hilt with all my cousins. The fact that I got along well with Shreya added to my delight :)

July : This signified my entry into the much revered IIM-Bangalore. Everyone around me was telling me that people aspire to be there and I got it on a silver platter without much hard work. The first week of the time here at IIM would be something I would never forget in my entire life. An elaborate prank that is customary to the IIMs is played by the seniors where all the new students are made to work so hard that many people simply start bucking under pressure or become defiant to all the workload. I simply believed that this was something that was expected of IIM students as everyone told me how hectic MBA life is. Most of July was spent adjusting to the MBA lifestyle, although it did not need much adjusting.

August : Come August, it was time for the Inter-IIM sports meet, Samhar played annually between IIMB and IIMC. And one of the things I liked the most about coming back to campus was the opportunity to play volleyball again. IIMB decimated IIMC with a scoreline of 15-2 with me and my team contributing to that scoreline with a win in volleyball. I was singled out for hooting by the opposing team because I was playing Libero and hence wore a different colour jersey. Little did they know that the level of hooting was nothing compared to what I had endured in Spardha, Udghosh or even the inter-hostels while playing in IT-BHU.

September : Most of September was spent working on project submissions etc. That was the most uneventful month of the year for me.

October : Most of October was spent attending company PPTs and resume and form submissions for the summer placement process. None of us liked attending those PPTs but everyone understood the importance of attending them. My birthday also falls in October, and a memorable birthday it was. (Birthday Celebration).There was little time left for other activities in October.

November - Mid December : November brought about the much awaited summers process. Long story short,it was exciting and I got through into Citibank Markets (Interview Experience). Then started the month-long inter-section sports meet, whichI enjoyed a lot. Not only because of the playing, but also because of all the politics people played and all the controversies involved. I was required to play the mediator in many cases (I wont elaborate onthis).Although Section-D had little chance of winning, but I still appreciate the enthusiasm that the junta showed and came to participate in huge numbers. According to me,participating and giving your best effort is the thing that is most important.

December end : It had nothing but the customary end of termexaminations and some days of long sleeping hours after the term-end at home :)

I am very happy that I had a very eventful 2008 and look forward to 2009 with expectations of surpassing it, as far as eventfulness is concerned. This would be my last opportunity before I am lost in the monotonous job life in 2010.
So Thank You 2008 for all the memories and 2009, SURPRISE ME.