First lesson of professional life : Amazing experience, A Great lesson learnt! :)

This funny incident(Thankfully funny..else it could have been a disaster as well...) happened during my early days in IBM ISL..I was working for a product and then I was asked to work on some incubation project with my colleague who is a very senior person and one of those techy geeks in ISL..whom I respect a lot and I always forward to do things as he has been doing..He is just a phenomenal person.(Let me not reveal his identity..let me name him 'ABC' :P )..Well he is my mentor now as well as recently he has joined my team as lead(Feeling fortunate to work again with him..)

So the incident goes as follows...It was (as usual)a very sleepy afternoon after having lunch..but cannot help it..had to work because my manager use to sit just a seat after mine and if even used to get up from his seat he can easily see my TP( BTW, TP means IBM ThinkPad..i.e laptop..)So, cannot even open orkut and other TP stuff(TP now means Time Pass :P )

Now, working with 'ABC', was a very good chance for me to learn lot of new things..But he and one more senior person working on the team(another technical geek of IBM...) , used to discuss things in meetings which appeared as 'Urdu' to me..I swear, I could not get a single thing out of it..(not blaming me ..and not anybody else as I had just joined and it takes time to know new products and technologies..)and then just after the meeting, 'ABC' used to tell me 'ok..Ankita..you need to write this script which will do somethng somethng somethng..' Poor me..passed out from one of the best engineering colleges of Pune, had to nod my head saying 'ok ok'. and I used to complete it right upto his expectations..But one thing which kept troubling me even after completeing the work is the question "WHY I am doing this?? What is the logic??" I have got this good habit (I am sure my professors would call it worst as they were the ones to answer all my questions..:P ) of knowing things to the depth before doing them ..but here , I was falling short of time to complete things..and hence, had to do stuff without understanding 'Why' ..

And I was getting very frustated..I had to share this with somebody(Recently heard from somebody that the extra energy needs to be utilised somewhere..hence I had to talk to somebody..I was not wrong :P)..But as mentioned my manager's seat was a few steps away and I have a God-gifted voice (which can reach at any corner of the floor even when I am talking normally..:P) ..so the option left was Lotus SameTime(messenger like Gtalk)..I pinged my friend sitting right next to me..and started with all my frustation..(forgot to mention I had some 5 chat windows open..among 1 which was ABC's and 1 was my friend's sitting next to me...:P )..

Imagine the worst that can happen..I wrote about all my frustation in ABC's chat window instead of my friend :P:P:P ....(as I was just out of my senses :) ) I wrote everything possible about the work I was doing....I wrote that only they both(ABC and another senior person..:P ) talk in the meetings and I sit like a dumb..and just everything I could write that time in frustation..Oh My God!!..now what..my heart beat went to the highest it can be..and I locked my TP and left my desk and called my friend(Tanvi) in the rest room..For more than an hour , we did not return back..I was wondering what would he react and how will I face him..I swear I have never ever been in such a situation..Now, my mind had all possible questions in the world."What if he gets angry..What if he throws me out of the project..What if he takes otherwise..and so on and on and on.." I needed lots of guts to back to my seat as he used to sit just diagonally opposite to me..

And next I had to go back to my seat..My facial expressions always talk clearly about my mind..so I was really worried what if he catchs me before I reach my seat..Finally I got back to my seat ( safely :) ) ..Guess what he pinged me with a smiley :) :) :) :) ...ah..and his reply.."I don't take thinsg otherwise..:) " made me just normal..and he explained me that the onus is on you to understand things..(I thanked every God I knew under the sun! :) )

Hats off to him!!..He taught me a great lesson "Not to take professional things personally!! :)" ..My respect knew no bounds for him and I will continue that..He is a great leader, a great person, a great mentor!!