8 October
2013
28 September
2013
Chance Meeting…
Beautiful day in Atlanta. The sun and the clouds are constantly playing peek-a-boo with each other and a light breeze is blowing. Dropped the daughter at Chattahoochee High School for a debate program and went for a run. 5K into the run, I had a vague recollection that there was this guy that I have talked to a few times after moving to ATL but never met – who I thought had told me he lived near that High school.
Fished out the phone, got his contacts from old phone records and called him. Guess what? Six years after moving to Atlanta, we saw each other for the first time and ran another 5K. Grabbed our Starbucks – which was overcrowded outside since it is a gorgeous day – and sat on the sidewalk under a tree and chatted just like we would have back in India.
Found out we have many many connections from my last three jobs. Best part – we graduated in the same year from two different colleges literally across from each other in Chennai. For all you know we had tea together in those tea stalls between the campuses. Maybe this was not the first time we had coffee sitting on the sidewalk under the trees!!!
28 September
2013
Fascinating Evening
One of the better evenings I have had. After a week of some good and bad news in professional life, had a nice cool down time with some personal friends and my wife at a local bar. After a really great time with some hearty laughter, everybody left – including my wife – for various Indian parties they had to go to. And I decided to hang around by myself and nurse my gin and tonic as I collected my thoughts for the week. I still had to fully accept my friend’s sudden bereavement.
Barely had my friends left, a couple came and sat beside me. Not to be conspicuous, I moved my barstool a little to give them some space. But in that “Thank you” … “No problem”… we got embroiled into a much much longer discussion. At some point I was feeling bad and apologized for imposing myself on their private evening. They insisted they were having a great time and wanted to talk more.
Fascinating discussions.
Found out Blaine used to work where I work today, nearly twenty years back!! He told me about my current company stories that were simply mind blowing. Found out that one of the pre-sales guys in my group started as a security guy at the front gate of our office and during night shift, he used to be bored and read up our system manuals! That is how he switched to technology!!!
I noted his lack of hair on head and commended him on his hairstyle and loudly wondered why I might like it 🙂 Well, I found out it is from chemotherapy 🙁 Blaine is a cancer survivor. Not once, not twice, thrice!!
Incredulous, I asked him “You have beaten back death thrice? I know nobody else like you. What is your epiphany moment?”. He told me that he wanted to get over his fears. So he skydived! I am like “You skydived to get over your fear of skydiving”? Oh! no! He not only got over his fear, he actually learned to love it. Has skydived for over 90 times. Does it every other week or so. Even Kim mentioned that she has skydived with him. (BTW, his suggestion for best skydive? Dubai SkyDive). I promised him to put it on my bucket list.
By this time, I had ordered some food. And I asked it to be with without cheese. Kim asked me if I was allergic to milk products. I mentioned that I was just watching my saturated fat and cholesterol. That led to a long discussion including how very few of us realize that our liver produces way more cholesterol (which actually is required by our body) than we ingest. And that a lot of this is about DNA. Speaking of DNA, she showed both her hands and pointed to her middle fingers – both were bent on the end. Evidently, everybody in her family has that!!
I noticed something else on her fingers, and asked why was the ring on the wrong hand. She let me know that they are not married. Have dated and lived together for 18 years. Never married though. Obviously, I had to ask why. “Because we don’t want to take each other for granted”. I was literally staring at them trying to grasp what they said. (also remembering that I had told my beautiful wife of 20 years that I would join her 30 minutes back 🙂 )
Eventually, I had to leave. I told them that they were the most unique couple I have ever met and after exchanging contacts wished each other that we have more “intersection points”!!
12 September
2013
Intersection point. Revisited!
The nagging sense of a missed opportunity to smile at a kid was powerful enough that I went back to the same running route this morning. Figured I might be able to see the kid on his way to school – if that is where he was heading the previous day.
On my way forward, I did not see him.
On my way back, I went past the school again and still did not see him.
Just as I was going to turn into the road back to Starbucks, I spotted him at a distance – with his mom. This time I was determined.
Changed my route, ran towards them and then slowed down. Smiling ear to ear, I took my cap off and told the kid that the previous day he had waved at me. I felt very special and that nobody usually does that. (Completely skipped the smiling part 🙂 ). He gave that same awesome smile and looked up to his mom.
His mom and I exchanged pleasantries (he is a kindergartner and goes to the school that I ran past). Then we fist bumped each other (I mean the kid and I – not his mom and I :-)) and proceeded on our own “lines”.
Now that is an intersection point I can live with!!!
10 September
2013
Smiling back…
One of those signature moments that makes every day such a beautiful day. Early morning during my 5 mile run on Alpharetta sidewalks, climbing up a small hill, I saw a very young kid – the boy could not have been more than four years old – holding his mom’s hand and walking along. Most likely to the Kids and Kids half a mile down the road.
As I approached them, I was trying to be mindful not to startle them from behind. The kid (who by the way, had his head clean shaven like me) heard me, looked back and his eyes were fixated on my bright neon orange shoes 🙂 And just as I passed him, he looked up to me and gave me one of those beatific smile only blissful kids unmindful of their parents’ “Stranger Danger” advise can give. And then wrested his hand out of his mom’s clutch and waved at me.
That was a very powerful moment.
By this time, I was just passing him. I raised my hand and waved back. He could not see me – but I smiled back to him too.
For the rest of the run, I mentally kicked myself for not turning back and showing the kid that I was smiling too. I guess I did not want to be weird to the lady. Or maybe I was too much into the running and missed the enormity of the moment. Regardless, the kid deserved better from an adult.
And that was my lesson for the day – in runs, as in life, we start from different points and end at different points. The line between those points – or the speed at which we traverse the line – does not define us. What defines us are the intersection points with others’ lines. For, it is in those intersection points that life offers us the opportunities to acknowledge each other’s journey, celebrate each other’s presence and make a difference to each other’s lines.
And that journey is what it is all about.
That is why we live. That is why we run.
28 August
2013
Brandon Wilson!!!
Memorable evening with Brandon Wilson! We sat in cubicles next to each other in an earlier job. He ran Finances for my business (in other words, kept me honest 🙂 ). Above all, he was my friend!! I remember spending quality evenings after work discussing life – how to not forget the perspective that money is an output, not the end (the company we worked in was an immensely successful startup that went public); how to realize what we are really good at – what kind of work makes us truly happy. Certainly set a lot of direction in my life. And he had just crossed into the thirties then!!!
It was great to see how he has continued with success in his career path. But it is his humble beginnings that stand out. Mother worked in post office, dad either farmed or was in construction in a small place called Muleshoe (west Texas) (as he said “are we happy at work” was not an interesting question for them). Brandon’s first job was as a call center rep. Worked there for six years!!! It is amazing to see how he has kept himself grounded in humility, good values and long term view of the road in spite of the phenomenal success he has had career wise!!
This evening was no different from those evenings. I again learnt a lot from him!!
8 August
2013
Reid Madsen!!!
It was the summer of 1995. I had just joined a small startup company as a developer. Next week Reid Madsen joined and we shared an office. Reid came from C coding background and we used C++.
I remember the first question this tall guy asked me – “Rajib, what is a template”? And I proceeded to explain, feeling good with the early sign that I can add value to my new company.
In under 72 hours, Reid was spitting out C++ template code that made me wonder “How the heck did he do that”? I knew that I was licked.
So, I became a Development Manager 🙂
It was like “Dude, you are way better than me. Now, let me manage you” 🙂
It was fascinating to see that Reid Madsen today after years and years. Thanks are due to him for making the time for a hurried breakfast before I had to run to the airport.
It was heartening to hear from him that he still is proud of me…. for following him in hairstyle 🙂
15 July
2013
Brush with the TSA…
Interesting incident this morning while leaving Atlanta for San Francisco. At Atlanta airport, I realized that I was not cleared for TSA Pre this morning – so had to go stand in the standard queue which was a little crowded. As I walked up to the TSA agent – nice young lady, “Culp” was the name on her badge – I was going to break the ice by commenting something random like “that is a very unique last name” or whatever. But she took charge immediately, and before even she could read my boarding pass told me “I know you. You travel too much”.
I was caught so off guard that, for once, I was at a complete loss of words. I mumbled something like “Yeah, I know” (instead of what I should have done – “Really? How?”) … all the while trying to figure out whether when TSA tells me “I know you” – is that working in my favor or against me 🙂
As I think about it now, there is no way she could have known me due to my travel. There are too many agents in Atlanta airport, too many gates and too many prototypical Indians every week at the airport for her to know me from seeing me at the airport.
So either we have common friends or there was some incident that made her remember me.
Now, the curiosity is killing me!!!!!
7 June
2013
Roy C!!!
One of the few things that gives a better start to my day than running is meeting people who have touched my life in the long past.
Had the privilege of meeting “Roy C” after more than 22 years at a Starbucks near my house today! Just like in this picture, we used to sit next to each other in our bench during our MBA days in IIM-A. (Yes, we had assigned seating and in a stroke of sheer genius, our school sat us alphabetically 🙂 ). The boredom of MANAC 2, POM 3 and such other esoteric classes was made somewhat bearable by Roy C’s smart repartees, ever present wit and continuous pranks.
Fortunately, he has retained all his charm even to this day!!!
6 June
2013
Throwback…
Great evening with Robin Fleming who is visiting Atlanta for work and Raj Sundaramurthy.
I last saw Robin nearly 10 years back. I learnt from her more about building quality into software production process when we worked in i2 than she probably ever realized. I don’t remember it but she reminded me that evidently in my first interview with her I had asked her if she had read Microsoft Secrets. Looks like I have been reading books for some time 🙂
And that other guy, Raj – he and I have worked together in three of the four companies that I have ever worked in. And Robin and he has worked in the same company two different times!!!
Connections… Connections… Connections…
