One Night @ The Call Center

 

For Starters, NO, this aint about the book. Sorry if I disappointed you, and am thankful to those who were cheered up by this info! ;)

Anyway, this is about my first night at a call center, an experience I will never forget in my life! So, I recently started working, and I am in the training period, and the shift they gave me was a night shift - 11 PM to 8 AM. A sad timing, I know!

Anyhow, I was up and ready by 9 PM, mine is the first pick up and the last drop by the cab - again sad, I know this too! :D The cab came in and started honking at about 9:15 PM, and soon, I was on the busy roads....making my first "Official" Night Out!

After all the pickups, we reached the office at about 10:15 PM, and I still had like 45 mins before my shift began. Since it was the first day, I didn't know anybody, and I must say this, It gets kinda sad when you are in a new place, and you know no one. But the jolly character that I am, I was soon talking to my fellow trainees, and we decided to check the entire office premises.

We soon reached my favourite place there - the sports room....Not that I am a very sporty person, but the atmosphere was as if it was a night club of some sort - trust me, it really was. Anyway, I, and a few others ended up playing table tennis for some time. Soon it was time for the shift, and we headed to the training room.

Now, I must confess, My trainer is like WOW! I mean, she is amazingly amazing. And the way she speaks her "AMERICAN" accented English, anyone would fall for her....and she is smart as well....and when I say smart, I mean "The Lara Dutta in the Miss Universe pageant" kind of smartness!!!! She started the day by saying that there was a musical event to take place in the cafeteria, and that, if we wanted, we could go see it, and so, the training would start at about 12.

The musical person that I am, I was the first person to enter the cafeteria, and take my seat amongst the audience. I had never seen such an atmosphere in an office, where everyone is enjoying and chilling out, screaming at the top of their lungs, whistling....you get the picture! The show started, and I enjoyed like anything....it was amazing!

Soon I was back in the training room, with my fellow trainees. It was somewhere around 1 AM. The trainer started telling us about how put stress on words, and some stuff like that. The class went on, with sleep coming in and knocking at the doors time and again....but thankfully, our trainer being fun and sweet, always asked if we needed a BREATHER! And of course, thanks to Nestle'  for introducing Nescafe' to our lives....that kicked the sleep out!

We also discussed about our lives, and knowing about everybody in the room was fascinating in itself. I learnt that my trainer preferred working in Night Shifts so that she could spend time with her 6 month old daughter during the day - Now that's the sweetest and the most adorable thing any mother can do - Sacrifice her sleep! But this sacrifice couldn't harm my trainer in anyway....I mean....No dark spots under the eyes....Vibrant skin....and full of life....Why would anyone want to sleep....ever? :D

Soon she gave us an exercise....she asked us to assume that we were 80 years old, and that we had to look back in time, and state what we had gained and what we couldn't. I thought about it really hard, and realised that it was not easy predicting what wasn't there. It was more of an imagination thing going on, but yes, it was mixed with the feelings of what I wanted to gain in the future, and what I will be able to achieve.

I reached home at around 9 AM, my mind still pondering over the last exercise that I did....Will I be able to do what I thought I wanted to by the time I was 80? Will I be able to leave a smile on the faces of the people I am associated with in one way or the other? Will I be able to be Happy? Yes, Life can be so unpredictable, but isn't this unpredictability that makes it even more fun to get up the next day? Doesn't not knowing what is about to happen give us the energy to work even harder to know what is about to come? And doesn't the fact that we don't know what will happen next gives us a chance to dream....and work even harder to make them come true?

Yes, I had learnt what it was like to dream - and to work to get that dream. My one night at the call center taught me that....to never give up....to never loose hope....for it would be soon....that everything would come....right in front of the eyes!

Are You A Superhero?

Ever wondered what it was like to be a super hero? To be actually in a state of possession of those mystical powers that gave you an extra edge over the others - to be in the state of art to do almost anything insanely possible? Well, I don't want to sound too cliche', but provided the kind of movies coming out this summer, one is bound to think this way!

I was lucky enough (or you could say idle enough) to be able to watch two cool flicks back to back this Monday. First stop was Hancock, a tale about a drunkard superhero, who finds love in the most unusual of ways, and then is forced to leave it behind - for good! What I liked about Hancock was the fact that he was an unlikely hero, but still cared enough to save the day, even if it meant damaging the property worth million of dollars, and all the thankless people hating him. But he didn't care enough, because all he had to do was save the day - and he did! And when its Will Smith playing Hancock, you better expect something really good....

                 

Next stop was Kung Fu Panda, a heroic tale of a dumb, but funny Panda, who learns the art of Kung Fu, and defeats the enemy. Po, the panda, could be the most unlikely hero, who would step into the picture and save the day, for he only dreamt of it, but never could actually implement it - He couldn't see his own toes, for crying out loud, let alone hitting some one with them. But He did, and he did well!

What I most liked about the movie was the fact that it dealt its cards really well. I mean, you don't go to a movie thinking what message is it gonna pass out....but if you do get the message, and the message is beautiful, all you do is applaud!  Kung Fu Panda told me in my face to "Just Believe". You see, the secret ingredient in the secret ingredient noodle soup is that there is no secret ingredient at all. Anything you believe in becomes special by itself, and there is no need for the secret ingredient anymore. Pretty amazing, considering the fact that it all came out of a fat Panda. :P

There was another thing that took me back while watching the movie, in a good way that is. A turtle named Master Ugway said something remarkable, which I thought was simply awesome, given the price I paid for the tickets! He said, "Yesterday is history, and tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift, and that is why it is called Present".

So, I came home pondering over what a beautiful day I had, and when I looked at it, my day was good because I believed it to be good. There isn't anything we can't do, and the methodology for doing any task is the same, and simple too....All you need to do is to just believe that you can do it, and then do it. The secret ingredient will automatically stir up your task, and your life - and you will become your very own SuperHero!

So, where are you gonna fly today, eh?

A Lovely, Special and a long awaited Reunion

So, it is after a long that I am writing. And the reason is simple enough....I needed time to heal from my misery, which I proudly have. I can now proudly say that I have Finally Got Closure!

Anyway, I am enjoying my vacations these days, and so was browsing the old photo albums of my childhood. That reminded me of how blessed I have been by God to get so much love from everyone around me. Its not everyone who gets all that love, and care, and I just feel really Blessed.

I was seeing the pictures, and came along the picture of a birthday party of a boy named Bryan Birget. Now, Bryan was like my best friend when I was young. We used to hang out all the time. The moment the day began, we were either rushing to school, or if it was an off, we were getting ready to hang out at either one of our places. We would leave only at around 6 PM in the evening, because that's when our dads used to return from their offices. Anyhow, a time came when the Birget family got transferred and moved to Taiwan. I was around 10, and Bryan was 9. A little later, we lost all modes of getting in touch.

Time passed. Memories became elusions, elusions became fogginess, fogginess became mist, for the time had now come that I believed we will never meet again. But this belief couldn't kill the determination of finding one of the best things that had ever happened to me. Soon Internet came into existence, and the power of Google could not be undone. I kept trying, every now and then punching in the keywords "Bryan Birget" in Google, but found no results. Soon a time came when I posted our pictures on Orkut, and wrote in the captions that I had lost Bryan and missed him. Ideas and comments started pouring in, and then one day, one of my friends asked me to search him on FaceBook. I did, and alas! I had found a Bryan Birget!

After 13 y ears, I finally had a profile that belonged to someone named Bryan Birget. I wasn't sure whether it was him, because the picture wasn't clear, and I wasn't authorised to enter the profile. So, I messaged him, taking my chances. I felt the stakes were high, but I had to take my chances. I wrote to him, saying, "I know it would be weird reading this, because its weird for me writing it too. But I got to do this. I had a friend named Bryan, and I am looking for him. My Bryan's Dad worked in Nestle, and his Mom's name was Lu, and ya, His Birthday falls on March 13. So, if you are him, please reply back! Regards, Gagan".

I sent the message, and waited for a reply. It was not more than 30 minutes later that my MSN messenger window popped up saying "You have a new message from Bryan Birget". I was excited, and a little scared too. I wanted him to be the Bryan I was looking for. I opened my mail, read the first line, and closed my eyes to Pray. The first line read: 'Oh My God! Gagan, I am "your Bryan".'

I was so happy, that the happiness of finding a treasure chest felt nothing in front of it. I replied to him, and soon we were chatting. We were onto each other for a little more than 2 hours, we had a lot of catching up to do. I realised we've changed, and grown since the last we knew each other. He used to be this tiny little person, and now, he stood 6'2 feet tall. But our hearts hadn't changed, and we still loved each other. After I finished talking to him, I called his Dad and Mom up and talked to them. It was getting so much better minute after minute. I was convincing them to pay a little visit to India, and they agreed on planning a trip. I don't know when that will be, but I sure want it to happen soon, and trust me, when that happens, there will be a picture of him and me together, right here!

I had a beautiful day because I've finally found My Long lost best friend, I've found My Bryan. And I know, that I will finally be able to sleep a good sleep tonight.