So it has been almost a year that I have been working here in Cyprus. But before I begin let me take a deep sigh. A sigh is usually taken when you get a feeling of relief or some kind of sorrow but this one was for neither of them. This one was for all the moments which I have missed sharing with my friends and family and not knowing how many more I am going to. First thought I had in mind before writing this blog is that I will not write it from the beginning but I would rather interweave it. You will get to see what is going on in the present with some flashbacks of past, shedding light on unknown things, and may be some bits and pieces of future.
Today it is 1st of October, the Independence Day of Cyprus, a public holiday here but not for me. Not that I was not given a chance to take a holiday but it was me who decided to come to office and work which was much more preferable compared to what I do on holidays. The day was just not like the usual ones had many ups and downs (downs more!) moreover I almost had a war but life goes on. Cyprus has always been a war land - 'yudhbhumi', where everyone has always been on a war, sometimes it is the Greek v/s the Egyptians, sometimes it is the Turks v/s the Greeks and sometimes it might be you on a war with yourselves. War against your past, your present and future. Not every war demands blood, some demand sacrifice and patience. Not every war is fought to become independent; sometimes it is fought because you have to become dependent on the situations around you and get used to it. Not every war is fought to win; sometimes it is fought to lose. Right now, even I am on a war to finish off this blog, similarly I see that people around me and every single person - everyone is on a war.
Everything started off like a dream. It was after my exams of final year engineering in Information Technology. I was already recruited by a renowned I.T. firm and hence I was enjoying my time back home with friends and family. I do not exactly recollect, since when, but my father always told my mom to get used to stay alone because he knew that I was going to leave them soon after my final year. We always laughed off his comments but not anymore. One evening, one of my friends gave me call and told me that off campus interviews are being conducted by an I.T. placement firm for an I.T. MNC from Pune and if I was interested I should call them. The criterion to appear for the test was to have secured 60% in all your semesters. Now out of the six semesters which I gave for my engineering there was one, the very first one, in which I had not secured 60%.I called up Sampoorna (the placement firm) and explained them about the situation. While still writing this blog, I am trying to remember the lady's name who picked up the phone at Sampoorna's office (I also performed a search in my Rediff mailbox for this!).I tried my best to convince her that I was eligible for the aptitude test, and the reply that I got was the usual one. I don’t mean 'yes' or 'no' by using the phrase 'usual one' here. But it indicates ones willingness to help, but cannot under the present circumstances. Then I hung up the phone hoping for her to call back again. Suddenly I realized that it is only hope that we can hold on to. And it is only because of hope that these wars go on. By the way I forgot to mention that in the mean while I was also busy with my call center job. After two days I got a call, asking me to appear for the aptitude test at the Don Bosco College of engineering on Thursday. So there begins a war.
I started with all my preparation while continuing with this call center job. I had not started taking calls yet, was just undergoing classroom training. It was a good experience, got to know about the culture in call center industry. About how it helps one become independent, how it can get you into wrong things, how it make you pronounce mate as 'maite' and today as 'to-die’. The best part was my working hours, 10:30pm-7:30am.Again a friend of mine had given me a reference for this job. I did not face any problem clearing this interview at least did not screw up as badly as I had when I went for my first call center interview three years back. I passed out from my diploma in computer technology in 2003.The admission procedure for engineering was about to change and was taking hell lot of time and I just could not waste all that time back home warming the chair in front of my computer. 'You have convincing skills but you need to improve upon your communication skills' - these were the words of the interviewer which was my first ever interview for an International Outbound call center job. After three years, I was back to square one, again in same situation just that the company was different and I am not trying to flatter my selves but even I was rather in a very good situation. ‘You are in' - were the words of the interviewer this time. It took roughly around thirty minutes to complete all the formalities and there I was - another victim of the call center boom.
I am getting very bad with names is my complaint. Usually I am not that bad.I,actually, try and remember a persons name because I believe people usually do not like it when others forget their names or even if they do not care, but at least if you remember their names it shows interest. I am trying hard to recollect the trainer’s name who was giving us the training on Australian accent, culture and English vocabulary and grammar. This time I cannot even search for her name in my rediff mailbox because I never e-mailed her. She actually did not fit in there as a trainer but rather appeared a lady who is in her early thirties, trying to prove everyone how much independent and confident she was. I do not intend to write much about her but it is what I did to her that makes me feel sorry.
To be continued … :)
Today it is 1st of October, the Independence Day of Cyprus, a public holiday here but not for me. Not that I was not given a chance to take a holiday but it was me who decided to come to office and work which was much more preferable compared to what I do on holidays. The day was just not like the usual ones had many ups and downs (downs more!) moreover I almost had a war but life goes on. Cyprus has always been a war land - 'yudhbhumi', where everyone has always been on a war, sometimes it is the Greek v/s the Egyptians, sometimes it is the Turks v/s the Greeks and sometimes it might be you on a war with yourselves. War against your past, your present and future. Not every war demands blood, some demand sacrifice and patience. Not every war is fought to become independent; sometimes it is fought because you have to become dependent on the situations around you and get used to it. Not every war is fought to win; sometimes it is fought to lose. Right now, even I am on a war to finish off this blog, similarly I see that people around me and every single person - everyone is on a war.
Everything started off like a dream. It was after my exams of final year engineering in Information Technology. I was already recruited by a renowned I.T. firm and hence I was enjoying my time back home with friends and family. I do not exactly recollect, since when, but my father always told my mom to get used to stay alone because he knew that I was going to leave them soon after my final year. We always laughed off his comments but not anymore. One evening, one of my friends gave me call and told me that off campus interviews are being conducted by an I.T. placement firm for an I.T. MNC from Pune and if I was interested I should call them. The criterion to appear for the test was to have secured 60% in all your semesters. Now out of the six semesters which I gave for my engineering there was one, the very first one, in which I had not secured 60%.I called up Sampoorna (the placement firm) and explained them about the situation. While still writing this blog, I am trying to remember the lady's name who picked up the phone at Sampoorna's office (I also performed a search in my Rediff mailbox for this!).I tried my best to convince her that I was eligible for the aptitude test, and the reply that I got was the usual one. I don’t mean 'yes' or 'no' by using the phrase 'usual one' here. But it indicates ones willingness to help, but cannot under the present circumstances. Then I hung up the phone hoping for her to call back again. Suddenly I realized that it is only hope that we can hold on to. And it is only because of hope that these wars go on. By the way I forgot to mention that in the mean while I was also busy with my call center job. After two days I got a call, asking me to appear for the aptitude test at the Don Bosco College of engineering on Thursday. So there begins a war.
I started with all my preparation while continuing with this call center job. I had not started taking calls yet, was just undergoing classroom training. It was a good experience, got to know about the culture in call center industry. About how it helps one become independent, how it can get you into wrong things, how it make you pronounce mate as 'maite' and today as 'to-die’. The best part was my working hours, 10:30pm-7:30am.Again a friend of mine had given me a reference for this job. I did not face any problem clearing this interview at least did not screw up as badly as I had when I went for my first call center interview three years back. I passed out from my diploma in computer technology in 2003.The admission procedure for engineering was about to change and was taking hell lot of time and I just could not waste all that time back home warming the chair in front of my computer. 'You have convincing skills but you need to improve upon your communication skills' - these were the words of the interviewer which was my first ever interview for an International Outbound call center job. After three years, I was back to square one, again in same situation just that the company was different and I am not trying to flatter my selves but even I was rather in a very good situation. ‘You are in' - were the words of the interviewer this time. It took roughly around thirty minutes to complete all the formalities and there I was - another victim of the call center boom.
I am getting very bad with names is my complaint. Usually I am not that bad.I,actually, try and remember a persons name because I believe people usually do not like it when others forget their names or even if they do not care, but at least if you remember their names it shows interest. I am trying hard to recollect the trainer’s name who was giving us the training on Australian accent, culture and English vocabulary and grammar. This time I cannot even search for her name in my rediff mailbox because I never e-mailed her. She actually did not fit in there as a trainer but rather appeared a lady who is in her early thirties, trying to prove everyone how much independent and confident she was. I do not intend to write much about her but it is what I did to her that makes me feel sorry.
To be continued … :)
1:43 AM |
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