Saturday, January 16, 2010

Does it have to be so obvious?

I have been busy for almost 19 hrs a day with work; for the past week. But yes, I could still find time to blog. :-)

My state of my mind is utter panic and chaos just like the servers I am working on. I want to come out of this ordeal soon as I have my vacations planned coming Saturday.

I am working even at this moment. But I still wanted to write this away. What made me to write is the phone call 10 minutes back. I was getting this call incessantly while I was busy talking with my manager about how to overcome this critical juncture; about our product. As I was done with my manager, I had to call up another engineer to discuss about few things. While I was pressing the keys on my cellphone, I again get this call.

I picked up the call; it was one of my mom's old friend. Her daughter is doing her engineering in computers.
She wanted my help as her daughter had some doubts. Her daughter spoke and informed that she had her exams on Java and need to clarify few doubts. For the uninitiated, Java is a platform independent language developed by Sun Microsystems.

I absolutely don't have time for this nonsense now. Pardon my language, but this is my state. I am working day and night to solve a potential issue and someone wants to clear some queries on the phone!! These people can remember only when they need help. I still ended up listening to her, thanks to my charming ways and the disability to say a firm NO.

She wanted me to explain some technical concepts. Excuse me!! I am done with my engineering 4+ years ago and after college, I have never seen the face of Java. My domain is entirely different. I tried explaining to this educated poor girl that I have not worked on Java since a long time and have long forgotten everything about Java. She still persisted.

I did explain a few technicalities about my work and that Java, or any relative of Java's shadows don't come in my line of work!! Her mom grabs the phone and asks "You are a compooter engineer, you should know everything about compooter. What sort of engineer are you, you cant solve my daughter's doubts. You also learnt all these things in engineering right?

Yeah right!!!! Is it that obvious? I ask, tell me people, is it that obvious?

Just because I am a compooter engineer as that madam said, should I know everything?

Something similar happened during my initial months as a new joiner at work. I flaunted around and went about saying to everyone and anyone how I got a job in a large organization who are leaders in advanced technology and all that.

Some time later, a neighbor came to my home and earnestly asked me to fix his printer. Why? Because I was working for the same organization that has manufactured his printers as well!! I had tough time explaining its an entirely different thing and let alone fixing printers, I cant even insert a paper in the right tray of the printer!!

His looks were so mocking!!

"How much do you earn ma?"
"My monthly take home is XXX Rs Uncle"

"Oh...nice!! Just out of college and you are earning so much!! Call centre is it? "

Is it that obvious that only call centres pay you good? Or is that obvious that anyone can get into a call centre right out of college and earn good?

And this "You don't know that place huh? You say you were born and brought up there?"

So what?? I don't know.Is it have to be so obvious?

Period.

55 comments:

  1. baap re...

    I agree with you re...many people come and ask me too about certain laws and they make faces when I say I will check and let them know...there are 100s of different Acts..am i supposed to know them all?

    on a lighter note, I found your rants pretty hilarious..compooter engineer - hahahaha...poor u re :P

    hope everything is sorted out pretty soon before you go for another "HOLIDAY"..I so envy u :-S

    ReplyDelete
  2. They are just jealous of you dear.

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  3. aaaaaha..!! see you missed a point
    you should have told her..theres something called GOOGLE!!

    that was quiet obvious period

    ReplyDelete
  4. ya printer....this happens all the time, unakavathu parava ila, they asked me to check the monitor bcos it was not working and all i did was a simple power on :(

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you.Now I know whom to contact when I get into trouble with my cmpoooooterji.
    What are experts and friends for?

    ReplyDelete
  6. I can understnd..I'm in third year of computer engineering and people expect me to solve every hardware related problem for them...Poor Compoooter engineers!!
    Hah!pEACE!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hey I have this problem.. how do i get a datefield from one table and a few distinct ones from the other table .. but only distinct ones ...

    and also i went to this shop to buy a new compooooter .. no woh nahin aree woh jo lap pe rakhte hain.. woh.. which one

    you are a compooter engineer so let me know jaldi jaldi .......

    he he he he ok now that you are fuming and vowing to kill me at first sight.. i can understand what u are saying I get this so much, especially if someone in india wnats to buy a compoooter.. they have to ring me to ask which one they should cause i work with them and i live in UK so I should know about deals in India.

    And yes i should also get there sons the visa to come her, get them jobs and if i dont then i am a BAD MAN.. i dont want them to do something in life cause i am jealous yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

    so btw please answer .. i am shouting for HELPPPP here :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Nice post. I loved it.

    I am sorry you have to work so long hours before your vacation. I hope they compensate you somehow like a comp time. People remember you only when they need something. That is so sad.

    Looks like asking someone how much you earn is a common thing in India. In these past years, many people have asked me.

    The other incidents are very hilarious. It happened to me a few times. When I told someone I am in “Financial Operations” he asked me which stocks to buy. Another lady asked which hospital I practice. The best one is when I visited India last year. My 92 year old uncle asked me if I have lunch with George Bush once in a while. What can I say? I said “maasam oru thadavai mama” (once a month uncle).

    ReplyDelete
  9. thankfully this has never happend to me...media k baare mein jaanke kya toh karenge...but yes my neighbors are ever curious to know my salary :)

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  10. forgot to add in the previous comment...hope u have a great vacation ahead!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oops. He is not my uncle. He is my uncle's dad (great uncle).

    ReplyDelete
  12. Compoooter engineer.. lol... :D
    I've not faced that many problems, but I certainly have my moments. Especially from relatives. Gosh! It gets on my nerves.
    Hilarious post (for me. I don't think it's funny for you). Enjoyed it. :-)
    Have a great Sunday!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks Neha. You can understand my plight! Was it hilarious...:-|...hmmm
    I just hope everything is sorted...but it doesnt seem so. Lets see..
    Dont envy me, I am stuck in a deep muck.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hmm..are they sweety? Then they are all such fools, ain't it?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Sorcererji,

    Then I might have had to explain what Google is and what search string to give!!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hary,

    You are a true compooter engineer. Hahahaha..Whatever it is, you could make things work for them and I couldnt....:-|

    ReplyDelete
  17. Jaunty,

    :-D do they? I feel its not all over. You would face all sort of absurd queries and you dont answer...then they will say that you got your degree after paying bribe...cos you dont know anything about compooters...

    Hehehehe....

    ReplyDelete
  18. Bikram!!!!

    What is a datefield? Now what is a table? The one that food is served on?

    Meri lap mein jo hai woh "lappytop" hai..dusra koi compooter hai kya?
    Arrey, en lappytop bhi compooter hai?


    Getting on to my nerves already!!
    I know, you become one stop shop for all queries..

    Mr GOODMAN, get me a visa now; I know you are not jealous :-P

    ReplyDelete
  19. Thanks SG.

    We do have compensations but we dont get time to take them too.
    It is quite common in India to ask how much one earns. Not all do that.

    Hahahaha,, call me next time you have lunch with George Bush. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Karthik,

    Yes, compooter engineer :-)
    Was it hilarious...hmmmm.....

    Great Sunday? I am working sir!!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi Gayathri,

    Glad that you never face these things. Believe me, its irritating.
    My newspaper wallah also wants to know my salary. :-o Cant help.

    Thanks a ton for your wishes. I will sure leave a post before vacation :-)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hi

    " The ability so say firm no "
    Young Engineers with a good pay should cultivate it more.

    Recently i was bullied by a senior engineer in my field about my first year mechanics during a site visit in a far odd land.

    I studied to be a mechanical engineer failing which i became a computer hardware technician and c++ instructor for 2 years.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hi

    " The ability so say firm no "
    Young Engineers with a good pay should cultivate it more.

    Recently i was bullied by a senior engineer in my field about my first year mechanics during a site visit in a far odd land.

    I studied to be a mechanical engineer failing which i became a computer hardware technician and c++ instructor for 2 years.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Off course you should also know how to play cricket on computer!

    Once in my office someone's key board was stolen and they all blamed HR for it!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Inability to say NO? Get the habit right away from an expert at a fee not less than aX ; a>1 and X=your salary :D

    Its not always with Compooter engrs even Electrical engrs are not spared from asking to repair printers :D

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hi scarlet,

    :-) Many young engineers have cultivated the habit of saying NO right from their school days. Few fools like me dont learn a lesson whatsoever.

    Aww...he who bullied you lacks culture!!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hi Pesto,

    Ooooops!! I hate computer games!!
    Lol!! Why the heck would anyone want to steal keyboard? You install virtual keyboard software right away; what if its your keyboard tomorrow? :-D
    :-P

    ReplyDelete
  28. Hi Quest,

    Hahahaha...Fee is very very exorbitant....:-P

    Ummmphh!! Any engineer can design buildings!! you know that? :-)

    ReplyDelete
  29. The last one was the best: because you are born and bred there, you have to know each and every corner and gulli !!

    ReplyDelete
  30. hii

    ya right, such stupid pple come only when they need help and ask for it so shamelessly too...nice post :)

    ReplyDelete
  31. Oh dear..your post was hilarious and had me smiling! I'm sorry mostly at your expense.

    Can relate to most of it, especially the fixing of the printer. Since I studied electronics in college , I'm asked to fix tubelights, PC's, printers by neighbours often. Or even worse, fix software installation problems etc in someone's PC.

    Guess something's never change. Cheer up. Remind yourself of the upcoming vacation!

    ReplyDelete
  32. It happens very often.
    Engineers are considered to be the baap of everything.
    Being an Electrical i have to go and join INFOSYS.
    Don't know what will people do then?
    Just came across your blog.
    Its awesome..

    Cheers

    Nuts
    www.nipunmittal.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  33. very interesting
    the situations are so critical it just depends on that particular moment.
    felt all the emotions

    ReplyDelete
  34. Haddock,

    Exactly!!!! Thats what's expected. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  35. Hi AS,

    True. Thank you for the comments :-)

    ReplyDelete
  36. Lostworld,

    I m glad that my struggle also makes everyone smile :-P

    Its true, An engineer is GOD...:-) We can fix anything!! from skirts to shoes to buildings.....

    Thank you, I am constatnly reminding myself of the vacation ahead :-)

    ReplyDelete
  37. Hi Nipun,

    Welcome to B Log. :-)
    Glad, you can relate to how I feel.
    Yeah, Engineers HAVE TO fix everything, what else are they for?

    Thank you for the comments. Keep visiting :-)

    ReplyDelete
  38. Hi sm,

    Thank you. Very right. But then few things like this are always irritating no matter what the situation is. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  39. OMG>.....you have said it all


    People ...I cant explain how do i convince them that ..same story..

    forget about fixing printer...even i am not able to make a simple instrument work.. supposed water motor is not working.....
    how am i supposed to fix it becoz ..i am some thing called Engg.

    ufffffffffffffffffffffff

    ReplyDelete
  40. :-) We have to fix it Makk...we ARE Engineers!!

    ReplyDelete
  41. LOLs. Poor compooter engineer:D
    Its across all platforms. I am a copywriter and they never understand the job. If I tell them I work for a software and websolutions firm, next they ask,"Are you a programmer?"

    ReplyDelete
  42. :-D

    Hahahahaha..You too have faced it hmm....Life's tough!

    ReplyDelete
  43. the best way to avoid these requests, mention in the beginning as per your contract with the company, you would have to be paid xxx amount plus service tax for any help you render.
    if they get upset, smile and say sorry , you agree this is a stupid company rule but what to do, you have to follow the rules..
    if they are willing to pay, google the answer and pocket the money..

    btw since I have solved your crisis, I will be sending you a bill by email..

    ReplyDelete
  44. Hi wise,

    Hahahaha...hope it were that easy. But everyone are so wise nowadays...its a great thing if we are not taken for a ride...

    Oops!! You are gonna bill me? Hmm....Please...I shall receive them :-)

    ReplyDelete
  45. kheekheekhee! :)
    sorry but cudnt stop laughing...

    it feels seriously disgusting when someone calls u when u r the busiest and then challenges your education! :P but its humorous!

    hehe

    keep enjoying :)

    ReplyDelete
  46. Hey Abhi,

    Exactly!!! Yeah but it is humorous :-)

    Thank you. I am definitely enjoying. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  47. some people just don't get it:p

    ReplyDelete
  48. when i was in first year college.. amma frnd came and asked me to teach her daughter math,coz i had got into nit it seems.i took the offer coz the girl looked good.turned out to be dumb.scope da saami.. intha mathiri aalunga thollai thangla..thirupi yethavathu yedaku modaka ketrunum..free

    ReplyDelete
  49. Hahahahaha...hmmm...win-win situation huh?

    Thanks for sharing soin :-)

    ReplyDelete
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