John Gomm plays and I mean PLAYS his guitar and sings Passionflower.
Day: June 2, 2012
Meeting Anil After Almost 2 Months
Anil and I had met together for a long time, almost 2 months which is strange for us. We’ve been trying to meet up several Saturdays but something or the other always came in between. Today we put an end to it. He said that we would meet for a late lunch and I agreed and we decided to meet up at Volga bar & restaurant post 2:30pm.
I reached the place a little earlier and chose a table in the very dark bar (why the fuck do they do that?) and needed the light from my phone to read the menu. Just before Anil reached the bar I ordered a couple of vodkas + 7up for me and 2 brandys + soda for him.
We had some Chicken spring rolls that were quite delicious and light yet filling as we sipped our drinks and Anil had some garlic prawns while caught up. We even called up Madhu (for those just tuning in, Madhu is the 3rd member of our little rock band aka friendship gang) who just got promoted in the business he works for in Qatar. Yes rock band – I’ve compared the 3 of us to Rush & Nirvana and in non band related terms, I’ve also compared us to the 3 Musketeers and the holy trio of Kirk (me), Spock (Anil) & McCoy (Madhu).
We wound up our lunch with some fried rice and chilli chicken and then made our way to Kaloor where we had some ice cream. I had the chocolate one on the left, he had the strawberry one. Post that I came back home to crash on the bed at 6pm and watch some Big Bang Theory while he went back home to Thrissur.
The Last Difficult “Goodbye” You Said
The last most difficult goodbye I said is still the one I said at my former office of employment in Kalamassery. I don’t miss the company or their corporate structure or the upper management or their hypocritical behaviour. I miss my old teammembers and some of the other colleagues. We had a good working atmosphere that was not because of the company’s involvement but rather despite it! I still miss a lot of those guys & gals and I wish I could spend more time with them or if we could all work in the same organization some time again.
My team, which once was as large as 10 plus me, was 6 plus me by the time I left. And that’s because when a couple of people left the organization for better opportunities & in one case due to marriage, cost cutting at the firm meant that I couldn’t replace them yet the organization wanted the same work + a whole pile of shit more stuff to be done with lesser people. And – wait for it – they feign ignorance & selective amnesia when it comes to proper remuneration. I have seen first hand how the organization cheats employees of due raised and benefits just so that pampered asshole VPs, GMS & DGMs can still get company sponsored stays in the finest hotels, eat expensive meals, travel to and fro in the latest cars as taxis and only travel first class by airplane. I’ve seen them do meetings/discussion on how to cut costs – not by sitting in the office board room and ordering food from the cafeteria, oh no not them! Instead, they get a couple of taxis, hire a small hall in a 3 star hotel with all amenities, snacks, drinks and then a big buffet lunch!
I miss the real people in my office. I miss the morning coffee banter. I miss the gossip at lunch and evening tea. I miss the little games we played. I miss the jokes and ribbing we do in good fun. I miss the team spirit and the happiness at achieving something within the team and outside. I miss planning outings with the team for lunch. I miss the natural camaraderie we had. I miss going for pizza on the way home or stopping for coffee. I miss the people. Damn I miss them! My farewell party, was very touching for me, tears in my eyes and tears in the eyes of members of my team, a lot of surprise at what people said in way of praise about me and the gifts I got. I remember being so lost & lonely that evening when I came back home.