End of a beginning

This is the last day of my internship at C_____, B_______. Though I can cross back the threshold of C____, it would be only as an employee. The thought saddens me. I know that this is only the end of a beginning, the beginning of my career. So, my mind and reason stress that I should move on and let the next change in life take over. But, my heart tugs on saying that I should atleast give a good goodbye to the internship period before I move on to become an employee. For most people, this might sound like a ridiculous idea because the internship and employment in the same team would be similar. But, no, it is not!

As an intern, I am only responsible for my part of the project and I am allowed to make mistakes, even silly ones. Also, I can put in only certain hours of work and plan my work to finish it within the stipulated time. I have not been in the office after 8 pm during internship period(save for one day when we did for the pure heck of it!). Also, I reach the office by 9.30 and leave at 6-7. I've been without a care in the world and have immensely enjoyed myself these past few months surrounded by friends. I've done things when I wished, learnt to survive in a new city with none to aid, learnt a new language(I can pass muster in K____), learnt to travel in buses and to move in a crowd, gone shopping for 11 hours non-stop(yeah rups, me, a shopaphobic, have become a decent shopper with some good shopping experiences to my credit(Guys! It IS very important to know to shop well in the female world... don't underestimate its importance)), met with friends from different parts of the country and generally learnt to manage at any place on my own. This has given me more confidance on myself and has helped me know myself in a different light.

As an employee, I'm sure the scenario will be different and that I would learn a lot more in the corporate world. But before a new beginning, a good round of farewells to the past always reminds me of various events and helps me write the past as sweet memories. The entire team(GSBU) has been cool and its been great working with them. Though there were times when I was at my wits end, they were few and far between. A special thanks goes to each one of them(esp. MD,M,N and SK) for making my internship period a memorable one. During our time as interns, we had a few new additions like SKrish and MK into our team. I also got to meet with Bill, Eric, Joanna and Kevin from our team in US and had an interview with them which was good(I also brushed through the basics of ECE and CN in order to attend the interview.... only then did I know how much I had forgotten in six months time. From what I've heard, this seems to be the case. Once we are into the industry, we seem to remember only the information necessary for the job at hand and comfortably forget the rest... with my memory, I tend to forget even faster :)) I also met up with the W___ people in our team(A,SD,AKG) during the lunches that we went when Kevin and his team had come. I've already told a lot about my team. So, lets move on.

About the house where I was a paying guest for so long, it was a fun place. All of us there have had some great time together(I can't forget the sundays when we'd lived, shopped, dined and slept without a care. This was the first time I never hurried through my life. I took my own sweet time to do something. Life at C__ was a perpetual whirlwind compared to this. I had something pressing to do all the time.) And the food and care given there was amazing. Had I gone into any other place, I doubt if I would have so easily adapted to a life outside home after living a cloistered life so far. Thanks to Janani for suggesting that place! Also, I've learnt so many good things from Geetha chechi, Anjus(both of them), Doss, Bhar and of course, Vidya. All along, S has also been quietly advising me on so many issues that I have so far never thought of or have taken for granted. Thank you, folks!

Now, back to my office. I would like to remember and thank every person, right from Asha(my concierge) to Amita(my HR) to RR. And, special thanks to all other interns from Tech who made life more interesting :) Let us all move from being interns to being employees together, either at C____ or at other lucky companies that have hired you. Further come my gtalk friends, who, whenever I was running tests and didn't have much to do, came to my rescue and pinged me :) There were a few others who patiently listened to my incoherent ramblings whenever I was bored. Thanks guys! :)

Finally, coming to SG and a few other friends who made life at B____ seem bliss. Whenever I've needed something, I've made them a call and they'd pitched in. I've never felt lonely with this gang around me. All those calls, all those treats and all those talks! Wow! I feel that these few months have brought me closer to them than any other period of my life. I would not be thanking you because I feel that the fun that we shared is too good to be true and I don't want to spoil it by bringing sorrys and thank yous into the picture :) But you all know my heart and I'd surely yearn for the lovely times that we spent together in this beautiful city. Looking forward to lots more of fun wherever we meet on Mother Earth. :)

Ok! Now, I'm done with the round of goodbyes and am looking forward to joining as a C_____ite. I'm going on a vacation for a month's time to spend some time with family and friends back home. I'll keep you posted on things that I come across during my vacation(there are some interesting things planned ;) Shhhhhhhhhhh) Hope all of you have a great time in your lives too. Take care, Ciao!!