The VMware Chapter: Moving out of home for the first time [After 2 Years]

2021 was the year when my final year of engineering started. Towards the end of first semester companies started visiting our college to offer job opportunities to the students. Among them was VMware (https://www.vmware.com). I remember attending their pre - placement talk over zoom on phone while I was at my friends home, it was poring down heavily that day. I never expected I'd make it through the interviews and join this amazing tech producing giant. I appeared for the interview in September 2021. It consisted of 5 rounds. Screening, 2 technical, 1 managerial and finally HR. I will write detailed interview experience in upcoming post. I cleared all rounds of interviews and was offered a 6 month internship beginning from January '22.

I completed my internship with a good recommendation from my manager which helped my get a full time offer from the same team and I joined here. I appeared for my final exam and started working full time from July. It was only in September where all my formalities with college  and relocation process with VMware was completed. My manager was nice to allow me to work from any location of my choice. My team worked from the Bangalore office though. Working from Pune would mean only virtual interactions and difficulties in smooth collaborations. So I decide to shift to Bangalore and I did in September. A bit of context: I had never lived alone. I got a studio / 1 RK apartment from facebook and asked my friend in Bangalore to inspect it. My friend said it was okay so I went ahead signed agreements with the land lord. All this remotely when I was still in Pune. So my living arrangements were done, flight booked and I was all set to leave.

I arrived on the Bangalore airport on 2nd September 2022 morning. It was a lovely day, ate dosa at Nandi Upahar at the airport and took a cab. My flat is about 44 kms from the airpot. It took about two hours to reach (yeah yeah Bangalore traffic, right!). This was the first time I had travelled alone for such a long distance. I was feeling accomplished. I was in a different land: Huge airpot, Kannada sign boards, Lamborghini showroom that I saw on the way, air force and 24/7 on call cab driver. About 2 kms away from my flat I saw IIM Bangalore for the first time the college where 3 idiots was shot. Finally I reached my destination, unloaded my luggage from the trunk. I went into the building of which I had seen pictures only for the watchman to tell me that it was the building next to this. A bit disappointed because of the false information I went to the next building, climbed 3 floors and there was my flat and the caretaker, He handed me the key, showed what all things were there and left. I had made it. All cool. All good. I had to reach office in half an hour and meet everyone for team lunch. I took an auto to the office. My manager was generous enough to wait for me at the office and offered me a lift to the place we were going. Good people! . Everyone seemed very welcoming and kind. We had lunch, I met and greeted everyone in the team. Good food, good people, good life. I came home in the evening. There was no furniture in the flat. So I went hunting for sleeping stuff. My mom had already packed my blanket. I got a mattress delivered to my home, had dinner at an udupi restaurant nearby and slept. All alone away from home for the very first time in my life. I couldn't sleep for a while but as the night passed I managed to sleep. The next morning was a pleasant one all excited to go to the office and work with the smart engineers at VMware. 

The next 2 years were pretty much very solid, I did come back to Pune every 3 months stayed for a month and then went back. It was a good routine. Along the way I made an excellent friend Mukul without whom Bangalore woudn't have been the same. The introvert that I am Mukul made it very easy for me to interact with the people at the office and with his firends outside the offce. He is a year senior to me and best person I have met in Bangalore. VMware visited his campus for several years so there were a bunch of people from his college working there. I became friends with them too. All cool and smart people. Explored food places across Bangalore, worked together on almost all the projects at VMware as we were in the same team. He had a nice flat and flatmates with a PS5 and AAA games where we'd spend our weekends. We did a lot of problem solving together as well. Bangalore would be very boring if it wasn't for him. My good old friend from univeristy Anant also worked in Bangalore but stayed far from my place. There was a sesnse of security because of that. I did spend a couple of weekends at his house too. Again a very very cool guy and the best person I met at the unviersity. I could write more about him later.

VMware has one of the nicest office with a stocked Pantry having muffins, noodles, pasta, tea, coffee, lassi, milkshakes and so on. There are table tennis tables, pool tables on each floor and I just enjoyed hanging out here. In fact I learnt both these things after I joined VMware. The culture is amazing and tech is awesome. The folks are talented and there is a lot to learn from each one of them.  I have transistioned from an engineering student to an engineer with a lot of curiousity and eagerness to learn. This is the most amazing feeling one could get while following their passion. 

All and all Bangalore was difficult in the beginning but I was lucky enough to meet the right people at the right time that made living in Bangalore delightful. Kudos to my very good team, manager at VMware and kudos to Mukul! I am working here and my have learnt to survive on my own without depending on my parents [mom specially]. I have learnt to cook[well swiggy / zomato incl :p], do laundry[well laundry shop :p] and be on my own away from home while trying to do my best work.