Milestones

After three years of focused effort, this July 5th, I will be taking the Oath of Office as a Foreign Service Specialist. Super thrilled! The last twelve months has been crazy busy with lots of travel amidst heavy uncertainty. And our PCS move last week has been nothing different. We’re still waiting on Travel Order amendments but we were able to cost-construct our travel with some timely help from the GSO at the Chennai Consulate. A week of festivities in the family and we should be moving to Virginia for the next several weeks. Can’t wait to know my posting on Flag-day! ...

Today marks my last day as a Certifying officer with USAID. Quite typical with my previous career moves, there was a fair share of uncertainty when I signed up for this position. I wasn’t very sure what exactly I was getting into and I guess that was likely the draw too. It’s been a terrific year and a half - Timing our relocation amidst the pandemic, Sifting between remote and on-premises, moving from the States and between the States, Balancing team and personality dynamics and over the last couple months - making the most of our time in Delhi. I’ll cherish my time here over the next several years and walk out having met and worked with some awesome colleagues. ...

Meena, Shasta and I moved back to India from the US a few days back with bags and no baggage! With most of my family in the states, this was one tough decision to take and it has been on our minds for the last three to four years. Our 2018 vacation in Uganda solidified our resolve to enter the Foreign Service and work towards a more holistic life that involved sustainable travel. During one of those long car rides, we decided it was time and planned to ‘initiate exit procedures’ right after our vacation. Just as we were finalizing things back in the US, we’d realized that we would be having Shasta that year and decided to push the move to next year. Come 2019, once we had Shasta’s paperwork in place and she was ready to fly, we head back to Uganda to spend a few months there with Meena’s father and finally made our way to India with a short stay in Dubai. ...

It’s about 2 AM and I am on a side bed in Sinai Hospital. Earlier today (yesterday) Meena and I brought into this world a sparkingly beautiful 7lb 5oz girl. I remember seeing Meena during the institute at TFI with some of her school kids and thinking she would be a wonderful mother one day. Eight years from then, as I see this little munchkin in the crib beside her, I am more than thankful for all that has led to this day. I’m thrilled beyond limits. ...

Photo taken at: Charles River, Newton, Massachusetts That sums it all up. Psyched!

Over the last 12 or so years that I’ve been hiking now, I’ve learnt a ton from my goof-ups. I believe in taking calculated risks and am reasonably okay with ‘winging’ a hike as long as I have the right gear and know what the game-plan is. Still, every hike that I’ve been on and the deeper I’ve been into the wilderness, I’ve always pondered what would happen if either me or someone in the group needed medical attention. ...

It all winds back to a random October afternoon in 2012. Meena and I were driving around in Chennai finishing up some printing errands when we have this discussion on students, schools and graduate programs. We were trying to figure out tier A, B and C schools for a student whom her dad was counselling and midst that discussion, I happen to mention I should apply to schools just for the heck of it. The moment freezes and she gives me the typical ‘Meena-look’ and says - ‘Let’s do it!’. ...

Cleared the second Actuarial Exam today! Set the chopper as an incentive for me to pass some months back. Eventually grew out of it and was later gifted a fitbit by wifey. The chopper here was gifted by us to a roommate who’d cleared this exam earlier. For some reason, this one exam took quite some effort to clear. Thrilled and am just not able to sleep. Here’s to the flight on a dark crystal night! ...

Today was my last day in Infosys - An end of 2.8yrs of learning to be a software engineer and trying to ‘fit in the groove’ for having followed the mass psyche…Thankfully before it got too late, I realised IT wasn’t really my cup of tea and decided to trust my instincts rather than follow the herd. There’s so much that Infosys as a company has taught me in this short span that I’m sure I’d reflect back to those wonderful days and experiences over time as I switch roles and careers. ...

I’ve always wanted to wake up in the morning and find the day ahead unpredictable. I wanted to think on my toes and look for a challenging day ahead that would need me to take decisions on the fly. I wanted to have a slice of ‘adventure’ every day in my life. Over time I realised its more promising to trust your gut instinct than anything else. I personally feel relying on ‘gut instinct’ is not just doing things impulsively but It’s more about taking decisions on the fly which inherently is strengthened over time based on your past experiences through a subconscious thought process. A year and a half back I signed off my ‘one year in IT’ post with this statement- ‘Probably I’ll be doing something starkly different next year or for all you know still be eluded by the mirage of recognition all the way lamenting ‘C’est la Vie ‘ and keep moving.’ Little did I realise what was concocting. I should have seen this coming way back then. Three months from now I’ll be making a paradigm shift in my career and what else do I attribute this to but for one of Rohan Kini’s tweet! ...