Thursday, January 1, 2009

Fond Farewell To 2008, Warm Welcome To 2009




So yesterday night we all gave a very fond farewell to year 2008 and welcomed 2009 with a cheer, hope, dreams and expectations.
But today on a very first day of a year, I am still feeling the same emotions, which were there when I had started 2008, only places have changed, last year I was in Bangalore and this year I am in Dubai, but still emotions are same.
For me year 2008 was an exceptional, I had started my last year with a ray of hope and expectation in my mind and I am finishing it with a same hope and expectation. 2008 has left a mark in my memory and I will never forget it for many reasons.

Lets start with very beginning of the year. For me month of January 2008 was the month of hope, I was desperately waiting for my interview result, which I gave in December 2007, An interview had went very well, chef offered good position and I agreed to that but whole month went in the hope of receiving an offer letter, which never came. Till date I really don't know what went wrong and where, is it that they did not liked my profile or I had asked for too much or I had kept too many expectations from myself and from them.
Then in the month of January only a milk incident happened. In the night of 31st December one couple guest gave a parcel to butler to keep it in deep freezer and he kept that. On 1st I was off, on 2nd when I came, I saw that parcel in refrigerator but I did not opened it (as it was mentioned on it), same happened on 3rd, 4th and in the evening of 5th I asked my butler manager about the parcel because it was looking wet from outside and then we both opened it and to our amaze there were small packets of white liquid which looked like curdled and later we came to know that it was breast milk and suppose to be frozen. (Till that moment I had never seen breast milk in packets). So during checkout time when guest came to know about that, they created huge hue and cry, but management handled it and later all of them screwed both of us (me and manager). That was the lesson learned, that do not take a single needle also lightly if its in your area.

Then came February, I was very happy for the very reason of meeting my parents after a year. It was my annual leave, I flew from Bangalore to Delhi and then from Delhi to Chandigarh by bus. As soon as I kept my foot down, it was chilly outside, So much fog that i was not able to see across the road. while living in Bangalore I used to miss this winter chill, drinking hot tea in warm cozy quilt. At home it was like a festive time, everybody was happy, all my very close relatives came to meet me, it was like a spa treatment where everybody tries to pamper you. February is also important because in Feb only i got my flat registered which I had bought in 2007 (obviously with the help of home loan). I really feel proud that I have bought my own flat with my own hard earned money. Then came the day when I had to leave back to Bangalore and that was the moment when every year I feel mushy. There were tears in every bodies eyes and i did not knew how to stop them.

So I am back to work, back to normal life of hotel, food, guests, my staff and my kitchen. In the month of March Le Chaîne Des Rôtisseurs opened its first chapter in Bangalore and I was the in charge for that very high profile function. I planned special menu, presentations everything. Then came the day, I was confident but nervous too because group corporate chef was specially coming to attend that particular function and at that very moment you want to prove yourself as the best. Everything went very well as per the plan, everybody appreciated the food and i was on the top of the world when corporate chef asked my executive chef for the recipes of that special menu.

In the month of April and May was feeling very restless, there was nothing major happening, Kitchen was going for renovation so i was busy with much of pre renovation things, like paperwork, Shifting of the equipment, Arraning new temporary kitchen and so on. But in the month of May only i again started my new job hunt.

I kept my job hunt continued for the month of June also and within few days I got an offer from Maldives, as I was thinking and taking suggestions from my friends about the offer, One more offer came from cruiselines with good money and good position, Again I was in dilemma what to do, which one to take, which one to leave and to my utter surprise after few days i got an email asking me for a new job. I replied to that email and very next day HR manager called me and took my interview and after two days to that executive chef called me and took telephonic interview. All this was happening so sudden that i could not believe that is this a real job offer or somebody is playing prank with me. Again I am in much more dilemma (woh kehte hain na bhagwan jab deta hai to chappar phaad ke deta hai). After few days i got an offer letter from my current hotel and then I thought those interviews were not a prank. So then first I refused to Maldives’s offer, then to cruiselines. Month of June was a busy month, everybody in hotel have got the hint that very soon I am going to resign but I was busy with preparation all documents for visa and medical.

Then In the Month of August, that day came when I had to submit my resignation. It was very emotional moment for me, I really did not knew whether I am doing right or not, because this is the place from where i had started my career, had given 6 years to that company and when you work for so long with one company, you used to the culture and system of that. But today I was leaving, with lot of courage I entered my executive chef's office and told him about my decision. He denied accepting my resignation, but I kept it on his table and left, for next 15 days my executive chef did not spoke to me a single word. I was really feeling frustrated due to his ignorance and then I went to speak to him and the things which he told me after hearing that it was more like a emotional bond. Now everybody knew that I have resigned, so they planned my farewell and I planned my party for my colleagues. On very last days of August my staff gave farewell to me and to every bodies surprise I bloody cried in that farewell, which I did not expected from myself also and day later I gave party for my colleagues. But here I would really like to add that I thoroughly enjoyed every bit, every moment of my four-year tenure in my previous hotel. I still miss my colleagues who later became friends, my staff and my kitchen.

Then on 7th September I landed in Dubai, new place, new world, new hopes and with new dreams. I reached my hotel at 11.30 pm and they allocated hotel room to me. Next day I reported to HR and they took me to my new executive chef, I was really worried how he will be, how i will approach him, but thank god till date my equation is very well with him. Now again I am in situation where I need to prove myself and that process is going on.

One very important reason for which I will always remember 2008 is, this year I lost my friend Hemant Talim in November month's terrorist attack. I will always miss him.

Now its been almost 4 months, I have almost settled down, but some how I am not getting that inner satisfaction for which I had left my previous job and for which I came to Dubai. I still found myself standing on the same situation, same stagnation, where I was in the starting of 2008 so my job hunt is still on for a place where i can get my inner satisfaction and solace.

Hope year 2009 gets new hopes, dreams and everybody gets their solace...

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