napster at work

Catching a nap at work is not just the trait of college students. It doesn’t matter if you are a professional or a student; irrespective of age, the temptation for sleep is irresistible. This is one valuable lesson I learned after getting out from college.

People who know me well also know well how good a class sleeper I am. It is more comfortable and easy for me to sleep sitting in a chair, with someone shouting at the top of their voice, than say, in a bed in a quiet room. I can proudly claim to have dreamt during some of my drooping sessions. Ok hope you all get the picture.

When I landed a job few months back, the only thing I carried over from my college life to my professional life has been this small naps (Of course frequenting the restrooms in the pretense of loo breaks is also there, but hey, most of the time it is for real!) On most of the mornings, during my part time employment on campus at UC, I have had this thought of taking a nap in the restroom. But I did not resort to such ‘gross-some’ activity. Hence, I have had many mornings at work where I have struggled to keep my eyes open with dose after dose of strong coffee. I believed I had got a grip over my addiction to sleep till I started working full time. Not only my tendency to sleep in front of the comp. reappeared with more vigor and venom, but, being at work more time than ever before, it happened more frequently too. Big and clean restrooms became too much of a tempting for me. I had all planned that if I cannot get over this sleepiness in a weeks time, I am sure heading to the restroom.

I was all set to perform the test act, till my colleague returned from restroom the other day. He was all giggling “Someone is sleeping in the restroom”, he said. I was pleasantly taken by surprise to know someone was already putting my idea to use. I was in complete taken aback when I heard his next sentence “….and he is snoring”. Wow now this is called taking it to next level! The person in the restroom was not napping, it was a solid ‘sound’ sleep! This also means my idea is discarded. Being notorious for my snoring, I am pretty certain that there would be snoring, irrespective of where I sleep. This means more coffees and back to the drawing board for fresh ideas (isn’t it an irony that I am looking for fresh ideas to be lethargic)

(If anyone is wondering how come a person who’s blog - which was on the verge of extinction; where the longest posts, off late have been at max. 2 lines- has two quick updates, it is due to those work-less mid-week days. Most of the sites are blocked here and all I can do to act busy is ‘draft emails’! Or maybe I am out from the drawing room with a new test run :)

AVS

stupid is as stupid does

My relation with the HRs of this company is jinxed. Whenever I have been in need of help they have let me down. The first person who handled my hire has already quit when I wanted to process my OPT; followed by another who took up from him, who too quit at a time when I had to get my full time employment details and I have had hold ups in getting things done including the denial of my relocation amount which was promised initially. For the last 3 months till date I have been after my current HR person to get some tax refunds and every time she has carelessness or excuses. So it was just a matter of time before the present one quit or go on indefinite leave and she chose the day to be today.

I have not been doing well with a sore throat and congestion for the few days and being a total anti-hospital guy, I was managing myself with some home remedies and self suffering. Since my situation wasn’t getting much better even after a week, I decided may be it was time I utilized my insurance. After all, I am now a professional and paying more to my health care than when in college! As a first step, I decided to figure out the list of physicians and hospitals which work be ‘within the network’ for my insurance (My vision has gone from bad to worse and my wait to go to India to new eye check and glasses isn’t seeing any light).

When I called up the health care providers, I was told that they could not locate my records and I contact my HR. I was not surprised and was sure that my HR person would definitely have messed up again To add to my misery, she had gone on maternity leave (she would have anyway gone on maternity leave even if it was just her 4th month of labor… thats how jinxed stuffs work)

I conveyed my issue to the lady who was in the next cubicle and hearing me 2 more ladies joined her. They searched all around the place to find my record without finding anything. They asked if I submitted it to my HR person or not and I went in detail how I had opted for ‘Plan A’ and not ’Plan B’, how I filled up the 20th rather than wait till the 23rd etc etc. The ladies started worrying if my benefits were submitted of was misplaced from their record and a series of phone calls and email searches ensued. To substantiate the claim for irresponsible attitude I have had to bear from my HR-on-leave, I poured out my chapter of 3 month old struggle to get my ‘un-refunded’ tax. When the ladies were not able to lead anywhere and I was sure that they were convinced of my HR's incompetence, I decided to make their life easier and offered to go up and get the copy of my enrollment form I had submitted for that they can redeem their department in general.

To my utter dismay, what I found in my folder was not the copy but the original health insurance enrollment forms. I never made any copies of them and what I had filed were THE originals and the truth was I never ever submitted it to the HR. Its true I filled it on 20th and I opted for Plan A; but all these matters only had I submitted them.

I ran down with the documents and backed it up with lots of apologies to all 3 of them and was told by them that they were almost starting to censure my HR for her ignorance. Thank god that she had gone on leave, or else she would have killed me for my allegations. I had made a complete fool of myself today and felt like a stupid for wasting good half an hour or more of 3 others. For all my complaints about carelessness and irresponsible behavior, I ended up on the receiving end today.

Mistakes are bound to happen with anyone, after all we are all humans (verbatim: one of the HR ladies); but what is more scarier is that all these months, I have been driving around without insurance in a country where having a health insurance is the first thing a person has to do after arriving in this world. Fortunately, by god’s grace, I have been safe and driving defensively so far; but the very thought of what did not happen freaks me out. This would also mean that till I get my paper works into the system (which might take from a week to two), it would be all walk in the park. Not having an insurance will always weigh in my mind and I don’t want to risk anything now. I would not have given a damn about such things if I were in India, but not in US!

Well, I think this is what insurances are meant to be, isn’t it? Not something which you should expect to be utilized, but something which is there on your back as an assurance that nothing would go wrong with you.

AVS

'pet'ty thoughts

From my childhood days on, we have had a pet; be it a cat or a dog. May be my love for the pets have generally extended to a love for animals. I love seeing animals or interacting with them. May be that’s the reason, when people used to ask me about what is so great about Cincinnati, I used to say very high about the Cincinnati zoo and been the recipient of many a weird looks from the listeners.

In fact, one thing that I am so glad and proud about my upbringing has been our love for animals especially dogs. And it just baffles me when I people say they hate pets….how can someone just hate pets? It is one thing not liking pets and hating them! I have many close friends and relatives who freak out or panic as if on seeing a monster or a ghost while visiting our home. Imagine someone scaring looking at a door behind which we have locked our dog and worrying what if it comes out…and that too for a dog who is scared of news paper!!

There are few who refuse to come to our house for the same reason and I am more that glad they don’t. I treat my dogs like my family member itself. In fact Veeru and I used to eat together. He would eat anything if I act as if I am giving it from my plate!
Why such a senseless post? Having not gone home in 2 years, I miss seeing Veeru the most (it not the ‘mostest’!) To add to my misery my lab dog, Jean, gave birth to 5 puppies last week :(...had to take my helplessness out on someone!

AVS

happy new year!!!

Wish you all a WONDERFUL AND MIND BLOWING NEW YEAR!!!!

Yet another year as passed by. Was a theek-thak year for me. Not the greatest one, if I could script it again, I would have done a much better job. But, hey...how can a year be tat bad in which you got a job and brought a car for the first time in your life. It was indeed a milestone year on a personal note.

For me New year comes with some roll-over unfulfilled challenges from 2007. Few resolutions which I have to address in the beginning on the year itself.
As I have been wishing all...may this year be the bestest all have had in our lives so far!!!!

WELCOME 2008!!!!!!

AVS