Limping back... (contd.)
It was a damn long week that passed by. Okay, I'm not the kind of guy who's known for enjoying a hectic workstyle, so such cribbing isn't out of character and means I have less credibility attached. But yet, this is a general protest, flung out to no one in particular.
My project group had to put in a lot of extra hours over the last seven days to provide a new piece of software code to our clients. We had to forgo a holiday (in my case, I regretted that my much needed rest that I look forward to was lost) too. I don't mind working hard, but doing so each day for over and beyond the required hours and finally ending up with a result that didn't come up to our expectations can be too much to swallow. Someone's shortsighted approach somewhere in the whole decision-making chain results in an unreasonably aggresive deadline. We get at the receiving end the equivalent of what my colleague called "producing nine babies in one month". Why? Quality suffers as a result, no surprises there. So why provide something which is pretty bad, just to spend time later in fixing the fires you helped start? The net result is that one spends roughly the same amount of time in that activity, but with the side-effect of leaving a bad taste in everyone's mouth.
I'm probably over-reacting, many people have to work really hard, and don't get half the amenities I do. But it just doesn't work out for me. I want to try and have a life outside my work (which admittedly isn't my first love, so all the more reasons to keep the times shackled).
Aggressive scheduling happens everywhere, especially during higher education, I am told. Why are management students or engg. students made to slog as if they were in a commando course? Is it to improve their performance under pressure? Does that mean they will have such a lifestyle for the rest of their working lives? Only to buy expensive self-help books and take in seminars in their frustrated forties which advise taking life lightly, to spend more time smelling the roses. What about all the missed time of the last few years? Damn the idiots who have no lives of their own and push the boundaries of work, cranking up the speed at the rat races. Probably, if I can't keep the pace, I should drop out of this spinning orbit. Makes my head hurt.
I don't see the point of it all. Anyway, the outcome was that I sort of lost all contact with the rest of the world. I could've been living in a submarine and not known the difference. And yes, I now know that I can go without eating for twelve hours (yes, not even cheating by having sabudana khichdi on the sly). Probably should've declared it for the cause of the Cauvery to give it some importance. Move over Rajini, hungry coding ape coming through.