Jan 2, 2014

2013 - The Year That Was

Year 2013 turned out to be a difficult and trying one - both on the home and work front.

Much of the year was spent in trying hard to survive and deliver in a very difficult work environment at Thomson Reuters. Fortunately for me, one of my social contacts made through Cloudspokes helped me land an interview at Salesforce Services in early August. A speedy interview process and early relief at Thomson Reuters enabled me to join Salesforce Services in early October. 

It's been close to three months at Salesforce now and I have to say that this truly is a #dreamjob. In the few months I have been here, I have been part of multiple successful customer projects. I have been a key contributor in the migration of Salesforce developer discussion forums from Lithium to Chatter Answers. Check out the new forums. What tops the work is the team dynamics - blessed to be part of the wonderful team at Salesforce. 

On the home front, demise of my father in law in September after a short bout of critical illness meant a lot of stress and pain in the extended family. Support came from within and outside the family. This has been my closest encounter with death so far. Strangely I was quite calm and my belief that death is just a part of the whole cycle helps deal with the loss. 

Few more highlights of the year: 

  1. Road trip to Chennai and Mahabalipuram with Sanjeev was wonderful and truly the only time I really felt free this past year. 
  2. Got my Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500 in June. Haven't gone on any really long trips myself but my brother and his friend took it out to Karwar and back during last week of December and enjoyed it. 
  3. Sanjana got enrolled in German Exchange program at her school. We had a German student from Augsburg stay with us for two weeks in Sep/Oct. Sanjana herself will be visiting Germany in April this year for two weeks. What a wonderful experience at this young age. 
  4. Shobha is getting better at her drawings and paintings. I still have to build a site for her - need to get on with it quick!

A recap of my wishes for 2013:

  • Improve fitness and restart cycling - failed miserably - just 387 Kms cycled in 2013 
  • Learn to play Guitar - failed - didn't even start
  • Be a better person - I sure tried but others have to say whether I succeeded
  • Decide between getting a Royal Enfield Thunderbird or Harley Iron 883 - Got the Thunderbird
I've been pretty bad this year in connecting with friends and family. There's just been so much going on. Need to get better at this. 

Some wishes for 2014:

  • Improve fitness - cycling or otherwise
  • Learn to plan an instrument
  • Improve professional competence and credentials
  • Blog more often
  • Contribute more at home
Wish you all a very Happy New Year - 2014. May the year bring with it your share of joy, happiness, opportunities, challenges and the strength & resolve to deal with them. Be different, be adventurous and above all have fun.