Its Okay to be NOT Okay!!!!

                                                   Its Okay to be NOT Okay!!!!

18th Feb, and I think after a year that the LeoBond has taken a sigh of relief and it is one of those Sundays where there is no Study. As a child I have always been a curious one and keen to learn but I wish we had flexible number of hours a day - not just 24 Hours :). Sometimes work does overwhelm me and I am sure you all will be able to relate with it in my last post.

Okay, so let me share with you what I meant when I said its okay to be Not Okay. One of the complex projects I was working on was getting winded up in 2022 and to be honest with you all readers, I was personally at a very low point in my life while for the world I was the strong and super strong Leobond but I was within myself fighting multiple battles and I guess loosing all of them. Time has always been a witness that my lowest points in my life have given me a new direction to think and be a positive soul while we all carry our own baggage's, isnt it?

I was still not done with my project and in Oct 2022, I wanted to pursue another masters and this was exactly when in Nov 2022 ChatGPT was introduced in our lives and by Dec and I think a topic in the world of technology which everyone on this earth had started forming an opinion. I wanted to invest my time and energy which made me learn new nuances of the data world.

I researched 7-8 colleges and went through the videos of how the learning was imparted as we were still under COVID after effects and in hybrid model. This was also a commercial investment of money but the most important was the time. Infact of all the lows at the personal front, how can I forget a memorable moment when after delivering a critical project in Amsterdam for a month, the minute I landed in India - I got a call from my boss and my mentor - I call her my Legendary Lady Amitabh Bachchan(AB) of IT. As the bell rang w/o a slightest clue I started explaining to her how I will complete a deliverable the next day and she said STOP - :). She said I wanted to congratulate you as you have been promoted to the next level and this was a back to back one for me.  Have you ever seen a small kid weeping ounces of tears and suddenly smiles the minute you show a chocolate, that's the smile I had on my face, at least I literally had wings, offcourse invisible one!! 

A new Exec role comes with new responsibilities and expectations and this is where my heart and brain battled each other & in this battle Leobond has always been biased to listen to her heart. So as a dialogue of Salman Khan's movies -If you watch Bollywood movies and a fan of him - A commitment once made, you dont even listen to yourself untill you finish it. Yahh, you may wonder and also call me Lady Salman Khan, I dont break my commitments atleast in my work till date. Future I dont know but atleast I assure that I will do my level best to never give up on that.

So, since we had a winner in the battle so I applied to Purse my 2nd masters in Data Science & AI and ML and my journey started exactly a year back in 2023.

Now what did this mean to the Leobond, I had no breaks - no Sats or Sundays as weekdays was completely focused on work and weekends on study's and mostly mornings used to be 5AM waking up to make up for my studies. I had 2 new roles in 2023 and both in the incubation areas and completely neck breaking in pace. 

There have been almost 300 days out of 365 days that I thought, I will die out of WORK - DEATH BY WORK, I wonder if we ever had such a phrase and that I am failing every step coz - a) Why will anyone care whether you rest or you don't over the weekends as that was the choice and decision that you took and b) I have hardly have time to do anything for myself or even blink to weep and trust me these are lessons which have made me thick skin.

Like we all say time heels us and definitely the lessons we learn during this time stick to us forever. There have been times when days after days I have only wept, not slept but one thing that I know people who care for you, no matter what they will support you always and I am thankful to many, infact the list is never ending - be it work, family or friends and that's what defines the strength of LeoBond.

Sometimes people say I am overambitious, I am really not sure if I should take that as a compliment but I always set benchmarks for my own self in whatever I do. Like competing with oneself and i dont think there is any harm in that, also its not always about work in your life!!!

Let me share an interesting one with you. Since childhood - besan ke laddu are my all-time favorites but my laddus are never round. HUH!! last year on 17th Nov, I made the best ones of my live, I have baked, mastered non vegetarian cooking, hello doesnt mean Veg is nowhere, I was always good with that, so that's also an achievement for me. During my hostel days, my mom used to always make them and send them to me and I always imagined that if I ever had a family and kids, they will never be proud of me as I could never be able to make one for them but I am happy that I will not disappoint them if I had one. These little things in my life are like big achievements and medals for me, so as a housewife, as a professional, as a daughter, as a colleague all of these instances make it special for me.

Now, coming back to today's date, I was completely not okay at all but I think it was also ok sometimes. I am closing the year long journey of studies till I think of a new passion and  I suggest you all to do the same and inspire to realize all your dreams, its never late ever.

Raasta mushkil hai to kya, manzil ka pata-thikana na ho to kya,

Tera junoon hi tere raste aur teri manzil ka mukammal pata hai !!!

In short sometimes to achieve something, its OKAY TO BE NOT OKAY!!!

Signing off for now

Love LeoBond

                                                        Maturing my Own way 

Dear Readers, Its not that I have not wanted to write earlier, I have several times and trust me I have multiple drafts in my posts with titles only. Yes penning down after a very long time, may be years.

Anyways since childhood I always had this thought as a common man we should have our own diaries to read after we are not there for our family trees. I know weird me!! But yes that's me - the Leobond in her own world of wishes and dreams and emotions and what not. Also I had not known that by this time technology will advance so much that every now and then I will capture the moments of my life.

Usually I share the moments with all of you bitter or sweet of my life since I was in my 20s and now even in 40s, so yes its Feb 10th today and sharing how the world is changing and I think I am maturing my own way.

Its been 2 months that I have not seen my own office's face coz we have been hit by something the Leobond calls as Robotic Age and Generative AI. Technology has always fascinated me to the core but will Technology kill me, that I am yet to explore but trust me on the verge of it. Really not kidding at all. BTW what are you all upto in the week of ROMANCE - I am doing client visits, yes and someday infact I do want to write a book just like Chetan Bhagat but only on the life of IT people , every strata , every strata and every level of human will love me for doing that. 

Hello!!! I love my job dearly, don't think I am frustrated but every weekend I think and ponder, where is the creative Leobond - I think that's what I also want to revive in me. Back to the point of love week, Leobond is very romantic at heart, no doubt about it but someone once told me - "Life is not a fairy tale of love". Yes, talking about that "Hidden Love" is a Chines Drama series, anyone in love - highly recommended and you will relive the teenage love in it - there you go, watch it :).

Okay moving on, since I have started writing back every time I would always like to close with short remarks - Are you living the life you planned for? If you ever feel the answer is No, then take a step to fulfil it now.

That's what I am doing now by writing this post and till we meet and talk again have a good and enjoyable weekend.

We live once, so lets do the best and have no regrets in life - That's what I want to share with all of you today! On a closing Note - In the search of almighty which lives inside all of us - 

Sukoon mere dil ko kabhi aayega nahi,

Pursukoon ho jaun agar mil jaye tu kahin!!

Loads of Luv

Leobond

INTEZAR : WAIT, AN ENDLESS ONE

 

                                              Intezar (wait, an endless one)

MERI JEEVANI, MERI JUBANI

 

                                            MERI JEEVANI, MERI JUBANI

                              Staying Alive - HOPE is my best friend!!!

14th May, 2021 sitting in my study room I wonder if I ever had a thought of the nightmare that surrounds all of us, the type of mindset we are all into now. We don't know what future has in store for mankind and what kind of world are we heading towards.

Who would have imagined 2 years back that our lives will be confined to our homes like a 'Home Arrest', the country where we cannot survive without meeting our dear ones every other festival, will no longer have that privilege's. At this moment we all feel that surviving each day healthy is what we need to be thankful about.

I have not met my parents - since December and its May now! We were never so helpless in our lives. I wonder what our new generations will have in store for them, school no longer means playground, playing football or having sessions today, we are too much virtual now. Creativity is at it best to make things normal for us but is it really making an impact?

Birthday parties are no longer gathering friends, playing games together, so many questions rushing through the adrenalin - what about sports like cricket, Long tennis, swimming which were our outdoor activities, will the kids ever enjoy the freedom again!

There are dreaded stories in the lives of people, sufferings and pain which people cant bear, what can only make us live on and on is only one thing - HOPE, our best friend. We have almost become numb now with the deaths around us and the sadness that prevails.

Every human being has his/her own story of this journey and the Leobond wonders if the time will ever change for worse- we dont even know if the times to come in future will be more dreaded but I really HOPE that peace will prevail and Humanity will triumph over all sufferings. May the love in mankind always overcome this dreaded COVID age forever💗💓🙏

A memoir of Lisboa - toast to friendship!! - Part 2

Life is a series of 'Hellos' & 'Goodbyes' but in the end they say, what matters are the memories that we capture in our hearts and this blog is a testimonial of the days we all spent together in Portugal.

Lets start from where we had left in part 1, where we were all trying to have work and fun together and a visit to Cintra was one such Selfie affair. The team was expanding and we had Natascha come to Portugal. We met in person, this gem of a person full of life. We had Marina join us and I think there were discussions, talks, arguments on designs and lot of things going around - People around the office really felt we made a lot of noise😈😈.

As our teams were gearing up, we were eagerly waiting for one the team members - Neha. Our days were full of tremendous pressure where we were constantly working to make the solutions update to date in our pre-live and live environment - not using the IT jargons for all the readers out there. 

The music in our ears was only full of chaos at the moment and we all trying to work together to meet the goal and trying to calm ourselves. 

If solution worked well, the other would say mend me now as I found the bugs- huh! The Leobond knows that this is a normal IT life which we all live but the rush in our adrenalins at these times never change as its human nature that at the end we all want things to work and never fail because of the hard work and the sincerity we put into something.

Out of all the uncertainities, the fear of not meeting the data needs and Go-live getting on hold is the worst and the days looked gloomy always. Amongst all this chaos, it was time for the last team member in our army to arrive and our team was comeplete with Neha's arrival. I want to mention about Shristi, who is from Pune and in a different team but was in Portugal, so we had a new friend in addition to all the people we were meeting - Destiny also has surprises for us in store!

We saw positive rays of hope, as time was flying and the approvals falling in place which were making us digest the anxiety each one of us had but in the midst of all this chaos there was one person who was leaving us and the project and trust me the decision was equally challenging for her but life does give us choices and so we should grab it when it comes.

As the days went by, it was the time to say goodbye by one of the backbones of the crew members.Our hearts were full of emotions and the chapters of life had lot of pages of memories with selfies all over and courtsey Aravind, we still have them.

It was overwhelming for all of us but c'est la vie and with a heavy heart, we again pulled up our socks to get back on our journey. The weather also started to change and Diwali was round the corner and the project was going live just after that. With all this happening, we had one more crew member leaving, this time of 'Queen of Talent' as we all call her. At one point of time, we know we are all professionals but at the same time, we are humans, so with a mixed feeling we were all moving on.

We were slogging and finally the Go- decision was given and all our efforts were appreciated and 

D-day was final making our hearts beat faster!!

It was not the 1st time that Nishant and I were not together during Diwali but usually it used to be with close friends and family and this time it would be at the airport. Diwali didnt look like one and when you miss a flight not because of any fault of yours , you tend to be pissed and it was 27th Oct when Aravind and I spent the day at the airport while on our way to Bucharest. It was the final count down and the days were never that busy while the nights were dining together with folks all over the globe, different cultures but very grounded.

I kept saying to myself , hopefully this should be the last week where we will have sleepless nights and things may slow down as the last 3 months were crazy. Finally on the night of 31st, we were all awake ensuring that the operational and logistics pre-requisites are all met and worked the night till 4 am to make every single thing in place and Finally on 1st Nov at 9:00 AM, we had our moments that we were waiting and slogging for months. My heart was relaxed and had a smile and in the noon, the Leobond took a short walk in the winters of Romania and had a huge sigh of relief.

The leobond was back to Lisbon after a week and we had celebrations with hypercare for a month and folks in the office.

I was happy when I was visited by Nishant and had my share of enjoyment in the whole journey with my friends all around.

Christmas was approaching and our time to leave the country was also nearing. It was also the moment to say adieu to our buddy from Germany. Before that we planned for a great trip to Algarve and capture the beauty and enjoyment in our eyes and all the fun.

It was time for all of us to leave in sequence, Anna, Natascha and then us and with a heavy heart we all were bidding byes to each other and promising to meet each other in future. While the Leobond pens down the details, the memories flash infront of my eyes and makes my heart heavy so here's a toast to the friendship we all have and till me meet again, let the memories in our heart be cherished for ever.

With all these moments and Christmas markets open all over, we had a wonderful last night in Lisbon and enjoying the laughter, smiles and making memories, we cam back to India in December and rejoiced with our family and friends.

Leobond believes in friendship and survives on it I think nothing better than ending the blog with my favourite quote below. Till we meet again Friends, cheers to each one of us😃😃

Interviews - Yayyy or NAAAhhh

 Don't be scared, I am not going to bore you with the title or even talk about the process but we will ponder a bit around the emotions it triggers in all of us - the hope , the despair, the anxiety and others.

Oh, btw, Happy New year - 2021 as the Leobond today takes you through a topic which you all are familiar with, so why not share an interesting incident around it here?

Situations can drive you with immense anxiety at time. So, lets start from the beginning where you are actually looking for change? or let me take a step back, are we always looking for change?

In my opinion, my not, there is no harm in exploring opportunities that come our way and we are all human, so progressive nature is in our DNA. I would agree that the pace might be subtle or rigorous depending upon how  we are doing in our current organizations?

Now, what I wanted to discuss with you was on the emotions it drives. Well it will also differ from person to person and the need of the hour. What matters the most if how to react!! 

I am sure most of you will agree with the Leobond that in our initial days of career since the interviews are more related to our specific work and due to our age groups, we usually tend to have fears, apprehensions which we mostly are unable to express but reflects very much of us during the interview.

That one person - Interviewer becomes GODDD of the moment. S/He might even not remember what they ask but those 30 mins to an hour are MOMENTS that change our LIVES.... 😏😋

With passing years, comes stability in our roles and growth but does the fear still remain? Well, this will again vary from person to person and situation but this never stops us from thinking BIG! 

Our human nature never teaches us to accept rejections positively though I have personally seen people behave saintly in this area as well. What do you say, are people really so cool😈? I will let you all think and smile for a moment.

See we all know that if we get through the interviews, we have Happy moments mostly but what astonishes me are REJECTIONS and a topping on it are the reasons provided. My experience on this is not too great and I like all of you, I am no saint trust me and rejections do affect me 💥💥.

The hilarious part are the reasons which can truly make you laugh at times. This is where I have few examples to share:

1. In 30 mins of an interview , the God here knows that you will not be able to handle the pressure of the job - is there a scale to measure that🙉. You never asked me that👿👿

                2. Oh, your skills match the requirement, but this is a high profile role, so sorry - Really and                        what on earth made you think i cant handle high profile, huh.

               3. Not to forget, no matter how much we talk about gender diversity but at the higher levels,                       you can catch and sense the tone of the rejection message.

Well, there are thousands of such examples that we all can quote and laugh about but the bottom line is stop, lets get real with real reasons and give people a morale booster to improve. 

If you have any such funny, overwhelming, anxiety full, nasty or sober reaction, please share and make the readers laugh and smile.