Experiences

Dental Nightamare

I was lying on the dentist’s chair with my mouth wide open, the dental surgeon was peering in with a tool that looked like a drilling machine. My eyes went wide, my body tensed. My hands were free but suddenly I could not bring myself to move them. The dentist’s assistant grabbed my jaw and held it in place. I looked at my dad who had accompanied me, standing in a corner of the room with a horrific expression on his face. I looked up at the focus light on top and shut my eyes tight preparing for the most harrowing 30 mins of my life. And at that moment I vowed to myself “Never ever again!!!”

For 30 mins the Dental surgeon tugged and pulled and drilled but my tooth refused to budge. If there was blood I didn’t see much of it. I had my eyes shut tight and only opened them few times to peer at what was coming next. The anaesthetic prevented me from feeling most of the pain but it could not save me from the tugging and pulling that I could feel. Bloody Hell!! The way he tugged and pulled with those pliers. Man!!… I swear I could almost feel him taking my jaw off!!

Just when I thought this was going to last forever, my tooth came off…Finally!! I almost cried with relief. I was then cleaned up and sent on my way with many aftercare instructions which I was too dazed to listen. After a few hours, the anaesthetic wore off and the pain hit me. Terrible, unbearable, mind-numbing pain. Thank God for Science and Modern Medicine!! …..Pain killers came to my rescue!!!

After going through this dental nightmare and suffering three whole days with a huge swollen face and living off liquid food stuff, I feel completely eligible to preach about dental care to anyone and everyone around me. Please Please Please!! brush your teeth twice daily. No matter how tired you are or no matter how clean you think your teeth already are. Just brush them twice daily, lest you have to go through the above horror!!

You too reader!! Go ahead and get brushing if you haven’t already.

Fresh out of college, my professional journey began with Infosys.

Year 1:

The first year of my journey at Infosys can be broken down into two major halves – The beautiful Mysore Campus and the rough professional world at Pune DC (Development Center).

The Infosys Mysore Campus is one of its kind. Such comforts and luxuries were offered here that we dreamy eyed college pass-outs could never have thought of before. Add to it the grueling training, which is designed to carve out the best Software Engineers for the country. First two months in training and I started questioning myself if I had chosen the right career stream. All around me I saw my peers passing tests with flying colors while I struggled with my coding skills. I came from a background of Electronics and Telecommunications and my coding skills from college were very limited. I picked up eventually and then my life at Mysore campus actually began. New friends were made and what amazing days those were!! Trips to Mangalore and Waynad still remain highlights of my life. The late night walks, birthday celebrations, shopping in Mysore city, having lunch and dinners all together, sitting around chatting late into the night…just bliss!! Remembering those days sometimes brings tears to my eyes. Those memories will be cherished forever!!

I was transferred to Pune DC after my training at Mysore. Here my professional IT career truly began. Initial days in Pune DC were all about learning. I learnt how projects were handled, role hierarchies, who calls the shots, who you should report to and such. I was pretty much a nodder like I did exactly what I was told to do. Did not question much. If I had something to add to I almost always kept it to myself mostly because I thought there are people much more experienced than me and ofcourse they know things better.

Year 2:

This was the time I started to realize that doing just what you are expected to do is not enough. I realized this when during a performance review session one of my project leads had a feedback that I was not proactive. I did not understand what he meant at that time by being proactive. I thought, since I was doing everything that was thrown at me, there was nothing anybody needed to complain about. However, apparently being proactive was very important to differentiate you from the crowd, it meant doing things before you are told to do them.

Year 3:

This was an eye opener for me. During this time I realized that not everyone who is experienced knows how to do things well. This was the time I began to question everything, the tasks assigned to me, the feedback given to me, the decisions taken by the so called experienced individuals in the team. At this time I also became aware of a different set of IT professionals, the kind that only spent 9 hours in office just so they get their monthly salary and are least bothered about the projects health. During this time I also learnt how unjust the system of performance review was and how important it was to network with people. This was also the worst phase of my life in terms of my mental health. All caused by the high expectations I set for myself and not being able to acheive them.

Year 4:

During this time I got to know a few amazing women fighting it out in this Man’s world. I had a new found respect for women managers and leads in the IT industry. At this time I felt the burden of responsibility of my project. I began practicing pro-activity in true sense. Had the honor to work for a truly amazing manager who makes you want to give your all to the project and take responsibility for it. At this point I found this quote from somewhere really appropriate – “People don’t leave companies, they leave their managers”.

After my four year stint at Infosys I would like to Thank them for taking this piece of coal and beginning to start the process of transformation into a diamond. Its still not there yet, but the shine has just begun to show. I attribute all my experience of the IT profession to Infosys. It has taught me to survive in this rough world.