The year 2008 started off in wild fashion with new year's eve party at "All Sports Bar" Andheri among friends.The group consisted of myself,Jimish,Hitesh,Mohit (alongwith his Polish friends), Karthik, Sambit, Vanashree n Divya...It was one of the best new year eve's party that I was part of. No one lost their senses and got completed drunk like last year(Mayuresh-case in point) nor did anyone get all sentimental ( i quote my example -new year eve 2005).
As the years are going by I have come to realize the friends you have keeps decreasing.When we started this annual "do" of celebrating new years together we started with a modest participant count of 8 in 2003 and grew up to 20 at one point in 2004.The years 2005 and 2006 generated good responses with people from the US joining in.
Well the party was great.I,Sam,Mohit got busy getting drunk.It was great fun and we partied till the wee hours of the first day of the year 2008.
Next I would like to dwell upon my roommates of E-17,Chaitraban Apartments,Pune.The four of us i.e Annshul,Saurabh, Namit and myself started off the year 2008 with new hope and vigour , hoping that we break our jinx and finally land ourselves at the doorstep of an MBA institute.After the turmoils of late 2007 when Saurabh met with an accident right at the eve of CAT'07 our preparations had taken a jolt.Still we guys were confident that this major event will not deter any of us from reaching our destiny.
The year 2008 brought with it in terms of MBA aspirations a lot of heart break and disappointments.In the end the hard work done since July-August of last year didn't bear any fruits for any one of us.
On the personal fronts though all four of us had something or the other to cheer about.Annshul got his long awaited opportunity to fly off to the U.S for an onsite assignment for Infosys.
Before that though Saurabh got married to Divya on April 23rd'08.It has been one of the highlights of the year till now.Really happy for those two.We all attended the wedding in Patna(will have details of that trip in another blog).Also attending Saurabh's bachelor party before the wedding was an experience in itself.The venue for the 'do' was his friend Mutu's farm house in Lonavala.This trip introduced me to another fascinating game to which I had been exposed but never took a liking before-Cards...flush,rummy,flash etc.This trip started a new trend for weekend past time and at one point the situation got so worse that we used to keep playing the game for 15-16 hrs non stop.Thank good those days are behind us now.
Also in March, to be precise from 20th March'08 to 23rd March'08 I embarked on my 4th trip to Goa.The gang included Gaurav,Anvita,Annshul,Shyam,Divya,Ravi n myself.It was one fun trip and a much needed one.Venturing the beautiful serene beaches and soaking up the atmosphere was an blissful experience.
Also after having spent around 2.5 years in Infosys, the company decided to pay me for my loyalty by initiating my long term work visa for the NL.Namit also got his initiated.Well this new incident opened up a new avenue for me after the debacle of Mission MBA'08.Though I was one of the lucky few to get a waiting list from AIM(Asian Institute of Management) ,the result of which is still awaited, the prospect of onsite really gave my flagging IT career as well as my below par financial situation a new lease of life.Atleast this opportunity has given me a direction to think for the next 15 odd months in one particular direction and not keep venturing from one thing to another.
Another event which has really made the first half of this year much more interesting has been the start of football practice at the phase 2 cricket ground in place of the basketball court at phase1.The experience of playing on natural green grass and the chance to play a full game day in day out has really brighten my stay at Infy.
Our group which we proudly call " HJW_Football" are really in this company not for career enhancement or for moving up the corporate ladder.That's secondary for most people in this group.We just love playing football and enjoy the facilities that Infosys provides us to keep our passion for the game alive. Since the start of this year I have been regularly playing football atleast 3 days a week and believe me I am relishing every moment of it.This has been one really fabulous group I have been involved with.
Also before I end my discussion on football how can I forget to mention that Manchester United lifted the EPL title as well as the CL title in May of this year.So in all 2008 has been a really exciting period for me and my football histrionics.
Anyways the first half of 2008 has been a really exciting period in my life and looking forward to the second half it already seems I have my plate full.Lets hope its as exciting as the first 6 months of this year.
