Sweet memories@Google

Last week my team gave me and Akshay a farewell party as we are heading to IIM B. It was a very sweet gesture on their part and I thank one and all for that evening. During the dinner, some of them asked me to share some of my sweet memories at Google. Initially I thought it to be a very simple question to answer but when I started answering, it got very tough. Its not like I do not have many sweet memories there, but I had so many that it took a long time in scanning all of them and shortlisting only a few for sharing at that moment. It was then, that I thought of writing a blog for the same. So, here it goes:

As I go into the flashback, I can still clearly remember the first day. The feeling of going to “the best company to work for” (Fortune) was great. My cab came a little late to pick me up and when I reached Google, the induction had already started. The receptionist told me that its going on in Mumbai. For a moment, I was shocked, how will I get to Mumbai now. Then I learnt that its just the conference room name. The naming conventions of rooms and printers (based on city names, lakes, cartoons, movies and stars) is really cool and something which I would always remember. And believe what, the induction wasn't so boring as in other companies and was over in just a few hours. I got a laptop too, my first one and a goodie bag which had a T-shirt and a cool noogler cap with a fan on its top. I also got two 24" monitors which were looking so huge and I felt like watching movies on them instead of coding. The way other engineers were coming and greeting me, I was already feeling at home. They helped me in adjusting at Google soon enough by providing assistance whenever required. The manager gave me an overview of all the work that we were doing in Hyderabad(though he could have just told me about my project). I loved this openness and trust amongst the Googlers

Having the first popcorn on the bean bag, making maggi, enjoying coffee day express, munching all kind of snacks and chocolates for the entire day, help in foosball from other pro players were some of the things which attached me to Google and Googlers. And how can I forget the most important part: free meals which were wonderful. They had everything in lunch: North/south indian, chinese, italian, subway, salad bar, fruits, soups, deserts, blah-2. That was simply amazing and soon I gained a few pounds which was like a dream come true (you should see my college pics to understand this :P)

Then was the chance to see the dreamland: Google MTV(Mountain View) office. The feeling of stepping out of India for the first time was great. Got to see the beautiful Singapore on my way. Got a wonderful team and learned the pair programming art in MTV. I got a chance to pair with one of the smartest brains of the world: a guy who was world champion in rubix and had been coding since the year I was born. Others were also great and it was a tremendous learning experience( can write a complete blog on this itself). And yea I even had the much heard about Google onsite massage. It was so soothing that I was able to work till 2 am in night on that day without any complaints of head/back ache.

Then one day I went to the main buildings of Google; saw Larry and Sergey's cabin. I was also thrilled and excited to see the cabins of Orkut and some of the great Googlers(Google fellows). I could feel something different in the air and felt like working there for my entire life. Also, did I tell you that I got a chance to talk to Sergey face to face(though for just a minute) and also saw our CEO and Larry many times over. It was really a wonderful feeling to hear the company updates along with Sergey's PJs and some beer in TGIF. I loved the trust shown by the senior management on each and every Googler. The greatest learning in one year from Google was not any technology or language but the organizational behavior.

I also had a blast outside the office, went to so many beaches, mountains, valleys, Los Angeles that my picasa album was full of them. I loved driving there, had some beautiful scenic drives and went upto 80 mph on some freeways. I loved the Indian food there and of course Starbucks was the best. The trip also gave me some wonderful friends for life time. I must say it was a nice team building exercise :). To summarize, it was a wonderful lifetime experience and got to learn a lot from the US people: to be organised and patient(was evident in their driving itself).

Life at Hyderabad office was also fun. We loved the transition to the Google building. It's beautiful. To add to the colors, we had the cube decoration competition which was complete fun. Decorating the cubes as jungles, islands, villages, bars etc and showing all our engineering creativity was a good change.

Coming to offsites and parties. The offsite to Goa and Dandeli was too good and deserves another blog itself. Loved the first time rafting, trekking and water sports. We still tease Rahul for the wonderful dramas he did during all of this. The picnic party and rock night with Atif rocked!!

When I think of all this, I really feel nostalgic. I am sure I am gonna miss the fun of pair programming and the close foosball games. I am gonna miss the humorous Hindi phrases from Krishna and Sachin. I am gonna miss the leg pullings and the bumps for any and every reason. I am gonna miss my daily papaya servings and numerous dish choices in all the three meals. I am gonna miss the excitement that I used to get on learning about the latest Google inventions before the rest of the world. I am gonna miss the learnings from my peers and managers. I am gonna miss this lavish work environment and working with the smartest people of the world who have perfected the art of not being Evil.

I just wish that I continue being Googley!!