"I'll be seeing you tomorrow in the Socrates Conference room at 8.30 am."
What I said: "Yes Ma'am, I'll be there."
What I was thinking: "How cool is it to name a conference room 'Socrates' ? Beats naming it something like Aryabhatta-II or Takshashila-B."
Yes, that's the first thing that came to mind when I thought about my first day at Amazon. Until I become mesmerized by how sleek my new laptop is, of course.
Yet again, I was stuck with the question of what this post should be about. While taking a late night shower, I thought of sharing some corporate flavor that I noticed on my first day. Mind, no specifics will be given since I'm supposed to remain confidential about the details of my job. (No, I do not fetch and pack the stuff that you order on Amazon. At least, not most of the times)
1. Infra is posh: Not to mention, my definition of posh changed today. Wow. Huge buildings, tall pillars, archways: they all give you a feel of being small, really small (considering how big I am). To get in anywhere you have to swipe IDs at automatic doors. Elevators are huge and spacious, and the upholstery in the offices are like something I read about in Digital Fortress.
2. People are always running: And I mean, literally. Even the ones that are sitting at the desks and at receptions appear so busy that their motion undergoes some kind of space-time warp and they seem like running. What I was glad to see was that at least most people had their phones inside their pockets and were having proper conversations in the stairwell, elevators and corridors. But, they were running. A little unnerving for me (for obvious reasons), but I think I can get used to it. Not the running. The dodging part.
3. Everything is Corporate-ish: Not that I have something against it as such. I may proclaimed myself a Marxist and Socialist before, but I leave my political ideology and philosophy in the cab and to Existential Comics, respectively. (Do check: http://existentialcomics.com/comic/82 )
The tiles have that sheen that you just do not see in the Bhilai Steel Plant, the clothes of the employees are somehow both informal and classy, the lunch packs given to us were packed too primly, with the chappatis rolled around in aluminium foil too well. You get my point. These things don't really scream up at you, but if you ever wonder what that tiny thing pricking your conscious is, this may be it.
4. In spite of what they say, everything is worked out: People often they say they like to be spontaneous, that they take on challenges as they come. I'm sure that this philosophy doesn't exist when it comes to the day-to-day functioning of corporations. Everything, from transport services, to TShirt sizes are carefully organized with protocols existing for all of them. It's really cool to see the blocks fall into place and things working out as intended.
It's only been Day 1. Some new facilities to visit tomorrow and new people to be met. My life seems to be at this interesting cross between Heidegger's Dasein and Plato's Metaphysics. The intent of the last line was just to show off the fact that I have just completed a course in Introductory Philosophy and how abstract it really is (in case you Googled Dasein). All I meant was my life seems to consist of both, elements of common life as well as something beyond than what I physically realize. Still too pompous? Lite, then.
Something that will stick with me for some time to come is this: there was this small caption at the bottom left corner of the Amazon slides that they were using for the Orientation today: "It's always Day One." Until next time!
What I said: "Yes Ma'am, I'll be there."
What I was thinking: "How cool is it to name a conference room 'Socrates' ? Beats naming it something like Aryabhatta-II or Takshashila-B."
Yes, that's the first thing that came to mind when I thought about my first day at Amazon. Until I become mesmerized by how sleek my new laptop is, of course.
Yet again, I was stuck with the question of what this post should be about. While taking a late night shower, I thought of sharing some corporate flavor that I noticed on my first day. Mind, no specifics will be given since I'm supposed to remain confidential about the details of my job. (No, I do not fetch and pack the stuff that you order on Amazon. At least, not most of the times)
1. Infra is posh: Not to mention, my definition of posh changed today. Wow. Huge buildings, tall pillars, archways: they all give you a feel of being small, really small (considering how big I am). To get in anywhere you have to swipe IDs at automatic doors. Elevators are huge and spacious, and the upholstery in the offices are like something I read about in Digital Fortress.
2. People are always running: And I mean, literally. Even the ones that are sitting at the desks and at receptions appear so busy that their motion undergoes some kind of space-time warp and they seem like running. What I was glad to see was that at least most people had their phones inside their pockets and were having proper conversations in the stairwell, elevators and corridors. But, they were running. A little unnerving for me (for obvious reasons), but I think I can get used to it. Not the running. The dodging part.
3. Everything is Corporate-ish: Not that I have something against it as such. I may proclaimed myself a Marxist and Socialist before, but I leave my political ideology and philosophy in the cab and to Existential Comics, respectively. (Do check: http://existentialcomics.com/comic/82 )
The tiles have that sheen that you just do not see in the Bhilai Steel Plant, the clothes of the employees are somehow both informal and classy, the lunch packs given to us were packed too primly, with the chappatis rolled around in aluminium foil too well. You get my point. These things don't really scream up at you, but if you ever wonder what that tiny thing pricking your conscious is, this may be it.
4. In spite of what they say, everything is worked out: People often they say they like to be spontaneous, that they take on challenges as they come. I'm sure that this philosophy doesn't exist when it comes to the day-to-day functioning of corporations. Everything, from transport services, to TShirt sizes are carefully organized with protocols existing for all of them. It's really cool to see the blocks fall into place and things working out as intended.
It's only been Day 1. Some new facilities to visit tomorrow and new people to be met. My life seems to be at this interesting cross between Heidegger's Dasein and Plato's Metaphysics. The intent of the last line was just to show off the fact that I have just completed a course in Introductory Philosophy and how abstract it really is (in case you Googled Dasein). All I meant was my life seems to consist of both, elements of common life as well as something beyond than what I physically realize. Still too pompous? Lite, then.
Something that will stick with me for some time to come is this: there was this small caption at the bottom left corner of the Amazon slides that they were using for the Orientation today: "It's always Day One." Until next time!
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