The taking of risks

26th June. This morning as I locked up my house, rented house, it
rankled in my mind, it felt like today was important. I didn't think any
birthdays were close and the date of my passport expiry had already come
and gone this month, then what...I thought of the date, today is 26th of
June. I had no trouble recollecting it then, 26th of June, 2000, start
of an era that has not yet ended!

21st May 2000: I bought the first motorbike of my life. That was a
courageous action, in every way. For one thing I did not have enough
money to really buy the bike, even with finance. You wouldn't think
anyone would be foolish enough to not allow for the cost of helmet with
the bike, would you? Well, I was. By the time I was done paying for the
sundries, by the time I had the bike out of the showroom, I did not have
enough money left to put petrol in my bike. Can you believe that? I had
to borrow money from my friend Deepak P...LOL.

The second courageous thing was to buy a bike when I didn't know how to
drive and had no licence. Well, Deepak taught me to drive, in one day,
several hours.

At night about 9PM, when I left him near his house, I wasn't sure I
could get my mechanical monster home without assistance. But I did, and
it felt so great I can't describe it!

26th May 2000. I was a software faculty with the dream to be employed as
a developer. Ah, the dream! It was never easy and not a lot of people
made the transition. But the minimal probability of success did not kill
the dream. 26th May is when I appeared for an interview with NIIT, the
software services giant. Hamdard university was so far from my place
like the other end of the city, but by now I could drive good enough to
take the risk. 6 levels of tests and interviews later I knew I was
'almost selected'.

Another personal interview in NIIT's own office and I was 'selected'.

26th June 2000. That's when I started my career as a software
professional. 7 years. 7 long years, each filled with its own challenges
and rewards.

Remind me to tell you what happened 7 months after my joining NIIT. :-)