The C(h)omical Engineer

“So you are a Comical Engineer, Mr. Mahadevan”, Said Mr. Bose while interviewing me for my first job in a reputed software firm.

I chuckled thinking that all Chemical Engineers are Comical breeds of Engineers is what Bose intended to say..
“No sir. I am a Chemical Engineer..” I said
“That’s what I am saying, you are a C(h)omical engineer..” Bose said a bit aghastly. This time the ‘H’ was more profound and audible. Still baffled I went on to argue
“Sir I am a Chemical Engineer.. C-H-E-M-I-C-A-L (spelling every letter in the word) Engineer”… Bose was furious and it was later I realized that his Bengali Accent made him pronounce Chemical as “Chomical”.. Somehow I was through with the Interview but 2 years since the escapade I still appreciate Bose for his forecasting power and predicting my true identity – “The Comical Engineer”..

Bose’s Comical Engineer ended up joining the Software Firm (with many other Comical Engineers… off course). The firm boasts myriad of associates from a versatile academic background, different geographical locations and varied culture but having one common trait.. Each one is turely, deeply and totally a Comical Engineer. In fact we could have easily nominated ourselves in the ‘Guinness’ for staying in a place with highest density of population of invalids (that’s what Comical Engineers are best at..).

One of my first experiences of meeting yet another comical engineer happened to be my Project Manager. The work in any IT industry is measured in terms of Person – Days.. So if a work is allotted 10 Person – Days, mathematically it is equal to 10 Persons doing that work in a day or 1 person working on it for 10 days or 2 persons working on it for 5 days. Fortnately he was nt a Comical Engineer to the extent to have allotted 3.33 persons working on it for 3 days or to go to the extreme allocating the work to 4.5 persons for 2.35 days.. huh.. I somehow don’t digest the logic.. Can 9 pregnant women deliver a baby in 1 month.. “Mathematically Yes” is what he told me and started grinning.. Comical Engineers at their best is what I would describe it as.

There is a Golden Rule for Chemical Engineers by the way. Since we are neither adept at Chemistry nor in Engineering, we make it a point to talk Chemistry in front of Engineers and Engineering in front of Chemists..
“What if both are present”, asked one of my smarter colleagues in the Software firm that I work.. Stunned and clueless for a few seconds.. I replied..
“huh,,, We ‘ll talk Politics..(he he)…” (as its something the other billion Indians cant..)

22 months into the IT business after graduating in Chemical Engineering and now quitting the firm (before being kicked out..) and planning for a MBA in Marketing. That’s a real case of Identity crisis. And for the junta coming under such conundrums, there is one clan which will always welcome you - “The Comical Engineers”

Being ThoughtFOOL

"The biggest room on earth is the room for improvement" - Driven by such inspirational German Paradigms (The paradigms are inspirational and not the Germans I mean), I ve finally decided to strain my sluggish forelimbs to type out an article for this blog because of two very important reasons:

1. I have nothing else to do

2. Even the idea of doing something makes me tired.

I have always been known as the person who has been blessed with the laziest set of bones the civilization has ever produced and the effort taken by me to type out something that about half a dozen visitors / year (you see I am a big time optimist...) would care to look at should be comprehended...

The Name that I had to choose for the blogger consumed atleast a thousand kilocalories (Medical Encyclopedias say an Active Brain consumes Hell a Lot of energy.... but only while it thinks) and I could not come up with any better than the one I chose - "Being ThoughtFOOL". I would have loved to prove how apt the Title is but as I ve already stated... I am too idle to think of an explaination right now. My Idle attitude towards life surfaced from my school days itself.

"Mahadevan, You are an Idol (or Idle,, huh)" is what one of my Class Teachers told me on my dismal performance in the exams that included a 3/40 in Biology. For ages I tried deciphering why did my teacher eulogise on my pathetic performance. Its only later that I realised that she would have meant "IDLE" and not "IDOL"...

There is a Golden Rule of being Idle, as Jerome K. Jerome puts it..."It is impossible to enjoy idling unless you have plenty of work to do." Well unfortunately we had a difference of a century between our births else I bet a 100$ that we would have been the best of buddies. I have adopted this principle of his in my daily routine to a great effect. The real joy of being lazy and Idling is when you are down with maximum work, when the Inbox is full of High Priority Change Requests (Guess I ve given clue that I am a Programmer..) or you have other important commitments. And suppose I am to get up early in the morning for some reason, that is the time I feel like spending an extra hour on my bed.

Now that I ve given a hint of what to expect from this blogger, let me now explain how did I come with an idea to create one. I was dawdling and chatting with a friend who regularly posts articles on his blogs (as long as I read his articles, I have a feeling mine is the Second to Worst blogger in this Universe...). I told him that I too was planning to explore this unchartered territory and said "I am planning to put up articles on something that no previous human being has ever said a word - a subject that will stimulate, freshn and invigorate all men (it cant invigorate women as it requires brains to be invigorated…)reading it..". He laughed and appreciated my sense of humour. Now thats my rotten luck. When I make serious observations people chuckle; when I attempt a joke nobody sees it. Thats my incident of "being thoughtFOOL"....

Welcome Aboard!!!! And watch out the space for more thoughtFOOLness...

(p.s. If you happen to read it till here, thats Your Quota of being thoughtFOOL.. common you have a lot of productive work to do... )