Severances

Since the beginning of this month I have been keeping busy as hell. I have been getting 6 hours of sleep only. Office work is too damn challenging and managing a team being a new ball game altogether I am always on my toes. So much, I see myself loosing my cool at times. I am not a person to react - in fact I feel I am too lazy to react. But lately I see myself, reacting on a fraction of a second to people. There was a point where I was about to be very caustic in my reply to a person pretty high up - because the facts he demanded were completely meaningless and a waste of time. Then perchance I remembered rule no. 1 of professional etiquette "Respond- do not react to emails." And thank God I excercised restrain else there would have been some good music high up.

With K also keeping an equally busy schedule, we hardly had time for each other for that matter. Again Thank heavens for cell phones that we were able to be updated about at least what was happening in the other person's life.

Thanks to the cooperation of my team members, we were able to pull through something which was more or less resigned to be unachievable. We won accolades for the same and it was all kinda going to get a relatively smoother track. But then last Thursday, as I was thinking about how badly we were slogging our a**es(excuse the term) off, I got a news which completely threw me off balance. The onsite coordinator (let me call him FB )who was such a charm to work with was being replaced. He was being moved out of the project and another person was supposed to take up extra responsibility of his tasks. FB was sheer pleasure to work with. I had even mentioned about him here. His moving away came as a total shocker. Someone who was 44 years of age, had given 25 years of service to the firm that he was with, who had exceptional technical skills, was very adept at process related work and immensely talented at people management - he was being released. I suppose it was the first time, I felt sad to have someone leave whom I had no personal touch with. Over the 9 months, without even meeting, just over emails, phone calls and chats, he had build such a rapport, that it was completely unbelievable to imagine normal work without him. I always consider him as my idol - some one like whom I would like to be when I reach that point - and we always saw him as someone indispensable. But the way he was being unceremoniously removed due to budget constraints just made me wonder - what a bloody dog eat dog world is this.

My parents are from the government sector so I am kind of used to seeing the kind of respect society and their job arena places on them. The private sector does not have time or patience for those peripheral benefits. It has a different aura of its own where "performance" matters - period. I always thought, the kind of person and performer FB was, he would withstand the ravages of any recession - cause his are big shoes to fill in, he is nearly irreplaceable. But when he also bore the brunt - I thought - where do I stand? Some one who is echelons below him in every domain. I still am shocked and disillusioned - but then F's optimism only brought a smile on my face. When I asked him what were his plans going forward, with his characteristic smile he replied - "Not a worry Aamreeta ( thats how he pronounces my name :) ) I will look for avenues outside the firm, if need be. Else when authorisations are back, I will come back and join you guys in this project again"
Attaboy! Hope you get back to this very account FB.