My last Post

The first post in this blog starts off by describing my aspirations in life and the purpose of my visit to USA.

Personal goals and preferences change with time... and so does mine. After a fabulous 7-year stay in United States, this may be the perfect time for getting back to my homeland (India), and achieve my entrepreneurial dreams while staying close to family. So, here I am in Chennai - India.

March 15 is my last working day in American Airlines as a Programmer Analyst. Now, I'm marching towards creating something BIG by entering into the world of business.

This is the last post for this blog... to mark the end of my stay in USA. Now, this blog of mine can be regarded as biography of my life in United States. I will keep you all posted of my ventures in India with a whole new blog (Cognitive Insight).

Thank you all for reading my blog... and Au revoir :)

This blog statistics as on March 18, 2010:
First Post was on Aug 9, 2003
Last Post on Mar 17, 2010
Total Posts published: 471
Total unique visitors: 68241

UPDATE: My new posts are at "Cognitive Insight"

Sanskrit Voice on NDTV

My non-profit effort to revive Sanskrit to the modern age has now been acknowledged by NDTV. Yesterday, NDTV profiled my website SanskritVoice.com along with the viewpoints of a few people in Sanskrit Vidyapeetha. Thanks to NDTV for featuring this website, and I'm honored to be of service to the country.

You can read the full article, or watch this video on NDTV. Here is a snippet on YouTube.

References:
Cover Story on NDTV
Video coverage on NDTV
YouTube video snippet

One step up

Today, I was informed about being promoted to 'Software Engineer 2' position at Intervoice, Inc. It was brought into effect from June 1, 2007. I'm filled in with a mixture of emotions... feeling happy, encouraged, and thankful. Thanks to my boss and my colleagues for bringing out the best in me.

Techtribe's Blogging Challenge

A few weeks ago, Techtribe organized a "Nationwide Blogging Challenge" with 3 topics to select from. The winner for each category can choose either an iPod or Xbox-360, while the 2nd, 3rd and 4th winners will receive an autographed copy of "How Innovators Connect".

The topics for the contest include...

• How has networking helped your career?
• What makes you unique / How does your personal brand differ?
• What innovation do you believe will help India?

I picked the one that revolves around our personal brand (2nd topic in the list), as it involves some degree of introspection in the process. Today morning, I was delighted to receive an email that announced the results of the contest. My article was chosen to be the top winner in its category.

Writing about self is always fun, and even better is to get rewarded. Once again, my sincere thanks to Techtribe and the selection panel for counting upon my article.

Check out my article: My Personal Brand at Techtribe, or you can read it here...

My Personal Brand
Posted by Seshu Karthick (Cosmican) on 20 Mar 2007

Sensing a personal brand usually starts from within. We subconsciously agree that everyone of us is unique. Its only when we consciously realize that we can accomplish a task or excel others in a particular domain, the notion of self-confidence arises. My own personal brand starts with acknowledging the roots of self-confidence, which is to identify the object of passion. I am passionate about Computer Science, and thats my strength. Since childhood, I've been a good software programmer, and often the first one in my class to get the program working. Having gained insight on what my passion is, I established my personal brand as "An exceptionally good programmer".

We can regard one's personal brand as the brand of a company (with size one). Integrity, Excellence, and the Can-do Attitude are the highlights of my brand. Personal Integrity is one thing I always treasure, and shall never trade it for anything. I firmly believe in honesty, candidness, and living life with a set of strong principles.

In showing excellence, I prefer to differ from the rest. So, I aced a couple of SUN certification exams, and proved my ability to write high quality industry-standard Java code. This gave me an edge over other buddies in getting internships, and the job of my choice. Recently, I developed a few web-applications using latest development techniques, just to catch up with the buzz in the industry. I feel unique in my ability since none of my friends have accomplished what I did. This tendency of mine to stand-out from the rest is now an integral part of my personality. Thankfully, it got me far away from the "Me too" model of existence. Probably thats why I bought a German car when all my friends preferred Japanese.

The attitude at which we perceive things plays a crucial role in determining what is in store for us. My Can-do attitude includes the positive aspects of being headstrong and relentless.

The word "Headstrong", when perceived in positive light is one of my favorite words. It describes my own personal mindset and inner confidence. I believe that a wavering mind can not make big decisions, and eventually can never make it big in life. So, I make a decision once, but make it with confidence and sufficient analysis. I get advice from all, and decide on my own with the help of cumulative intelligence. It further facilitates me to have a backup plan-B for every action/decision I take. This is a crucial part of my success-story.

Being relentless is yet another quality I am blessed with. Without this energy, I would not have gone out of my way to possess certifications, create amateur web-applications, and keep up the pace with technology. I practically follow the wise words "Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached". My graduate degree is an exemplification of my relentless attitude towards gaining expertise in Computer Science. In simple words, I just love what I do, and do what I love with tremendous energy.

The last piece of the puzzle is my tendency to always be on a lookout for improvement. I take up suggestions and opinions from others, and consider them for my betterment in a total egoless fashion. Usually when ego makes friendship with self-confidence, the result is very unpleasant... its called over-confidence. Having understood this concept, I am able to ward it off with humbleness and acceptance.

Sony Vaio at my doorstep

Today, I purchased a Sony Vaio Notebook at Circuit City that came with an instant rebate of $250. It seems to be a hot deal that is valid until this month end. Its VGN-FE880, a high-end configured system that serves as a multimedia powerhouse with 15.4" screen, 2 Gig RAM, 160 Gig Harddisk, Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T5500, and DVD double layer writer. It also comes with a free Lexmark All-in-One Printer.

First draft of my Web2.0 company

Made my first draft of my web2.0 application. Still, I've not given it a name. It revolves around the concept of social blogging of ideas & opinions. The draft is just about requirements gathering.

[Update]: I abandoned the above idea, and came up with much better ones.

Certificate for Information Assurance

Today, I got my certificate for concentration in Information Assurance granted by ‘UTD CyberSecurity and Emergency Preparedness Institute’ in association with CNSS and NSA.

The details of the program can be found here.

Silver Anniversary to my Parents

I wish my parents a very happy Silver Anniversary. I wish them boundless happiness on this special occasion and forever. I love you... Mom and Dad. I had a video-chat with them, and shared the joy in celebrating this occasion. Thanks to technology for making the world look smaller.

Going BACK on my Time-Machine

If I have a time-machine to move back in time, and if blogging exists at all times, what would I be blogging during my stay in each of the time-periods? Here it is...

10 yrs ago (Year 1996)
Just started my high school days and its so much fun already. The study load is definitely much more than before, but its not a big concern if accompanied by friends. There are mid-terms, half-yearly exams, pre-finals and the finals on each of the 8 subjects... wow! Thats sooo much~

Inspite of all that, I play cricket with my friends in the weekends. Watching television takes away some portion of evening, and I read around 2 hours per day before dinner. Every morning, I get up way too early and go for the Martial Arts class. I have my best friend to accompany me for this too. Hmmm! Its good to realize the amount of time I have in addition to daily schooling & homeworks.


6 yrs ago (Year 2000)
I'm now a sophomore at R.M.K Engg college, which is known for its campus-rules, strict attendance policy, and good food. There is very little or no scope for quiting classes or chatting with pals. Good news is that the class strength is just 32, making it easier for the teachers to concentrate on individual students. I fit into a group of 6 friends, and we usually have fun together.

My daily routine starts at 5:30 in the morning by trying to get up from bed and catch my college bus. Its a 1 hour drive to the college campus, and the breakfast is offered before the classes start. At 12:30 pm, its time for a very good lunch whose items are different everyday. I reach home at around 6:00 in the evening, giving me less time for all my other activities. I would dream how different my life was 5 years ago, with more time than I could ask for.


4 yrs ago (Year 2002)
Getting closer to the final year in college... but my daily life is all the same as my sophomore year. The only difference is that I'm preparing for the GRE exam and have started my research on which US universities to apply for my Masters degree. All my weekends and every frame of time on other days goes in preparing for the GRE (especially verbal portion). As usual, exam preparation is just 2 days prior to the exam... (1 week prior in some cases). All my friends are also taking up the GRE... and hence, a lot of competition among us to excel.


2 yrs ago (Year 2004)
Its a different story altogether... Getting used to life in US (far away from my homeland), making new friends, adapting to the new culture, self-cooking everyday and trying to excel in my courses at the same time. Its like starting a whole new independent life. I started appreciating the life style in US, and continue to blog my thoughts/experiences regularly. I end up spending most of my time on my programming assignments, and work for 20 hrs per week as a computer-lab assistant in my university.

This summer (June'05 - Sep'05), I am spending my time learning Java and preparing for Sun certifications. I opted to take certifications as I have nothing better to do at home... and also in the hope of finding an internship at the earliest.


1 yr ago (Year 2005)
Got my first exposure to the job life (an internship at Viewlocity). I'm very excited and showing a lot enthusiasm at work. In the mornings, I go to work atleast 1/2 hr before the rest of my team, get my work completed well before the given deadlines, and ask for more work. My team lead and the senior developer in my team seem to be happy with my performance. Having taken just 2 courses this semester, managing work and study is no problem. This being my first job, there is indeed a steep learning curve involved. I am absolutely enjoying my work...


1/2 hour ago (Today)
Sitting in front of my PC, writing this blog.

Owner of a Jetta - Its me.

Yesterday, I became a proud owner of the new Volkswagen Jetta 2006. It was a much awaited purchase ... and the biggest one of my life as of now. The car has metallic silver color on its exteriors and black leatherette finished interiors. It indeed has a touch of luxury and comfort. The ride is smooth and splendid. The Best part is that I purchased this car on an auspicious day of the year - Its Vaikunta Ekadasi. I am very glad and excited about my new purchase.

Big Moment For Me

Guess what? ? ? I completed my coursework... and had my graduation ceremony today. It was exciting to walk across the stage in a black-graduation-gown, and receive the certificate from the Dean. However, its a sad feeling to say good bye to student life... Lot of photos were taken, and u can check them out here.

The whole graduation ceremony was webcasted on UTD website. So, this allowed my parents, sis and all my relatives to witness me receiving the graduation certificate on stage. They were indeed very happy and celebrated this occasion.

Company Dinner

The R&D dept at Intervoice sponsored a dinner tonight for announcing the quarterly results and developments made this academic year. The head of the dept also announced the list of promotions in this year 2005. There were a total of 19 promotions... and the quarterly results looked fairly good.

What excited me is that my name was mentioned while listing all the promotions. I was promoted from Co-op position to Engineer-1 position starting Dec 10. Anyways... I am very happy and excited abt it. I had dinner with many of my collegues including Gopal Kesavan.

After the dinner, we had a casino-night organized. Here, we play with fake money and there are 4 prizes for the top 4 winners. We played for nearly an hour and a half... and surprisingly, I am the 4th prize winner. I got a $100 gift card that can be redeemed at Best-Buy stores. It was a wonderful night...

Last Exam Of My Life

Today, I had the last exam of my academic life... Its Telecom Software Design term exam. I've technically reached the end of M.S program. Hmmm... I'm feeling good, while also feeling bad for having reached the end of my student life. Now onwards, it will be a different way of life all together... Its JOB life. I will have to wait 10 more days to get my Masters degree in hand. December 10, 2005 is my convocation day, and everyone is invited :-)

Full-time employment offered ...

I am glad to inform you that I've been timely blessed upon with a full-time employment (Software Systems Engineer-1 position) at Intervoice Inc. in Dallas. Its the same company in which I am currently working as an intern. I guess... its now time for me to take up more responsibility at work, and miss out on that little extra fun.

http://www.seshukarthick.com

Hey... I got my website a new domain name... It is http://www.seshukarthick.com . I got this for a low price (less than $10) from "godaddy.com". Its definetely worth the money. Hmmm! I'm feeling excited on having a website address with my name ~

Moved to a new house...

After 2 years of stay at on-campus Waterview Appartments, I moved to a near-by off-campus 2-bedroom appartment on Aug 6. The new one is more luxurious and comfortable than my old one. Here, I live with 2 of my friends. It was indeed a pain to shift my belongings to the new place... it took nearly 4 days. We rented a U-Haul (kind of a large truck) last weekend for moving all my furniture. Huh! Atlast, its all over.

FIRST DAY AT INTERVOICE INC.

It was a good first day experience... All the new interns(including me) had an orientation for nearly 4 hours. Then, we met our respective managers and discussed about the product overview. The work ambience is very friendly and co-operative. I was given a cabin (small room), a phone and a system... thats all I need to start off with. I was also educated about the product on which I will be working on, and I feel very comfortable with it. My work is very interesting, challenging, and has a lot to learn. Hmmm! Greatly looking forward to start off with some coding stuff as soon as possible~

MY LAST DAY AT VIEWLOCITY

It's been a memorable experience for me to work as a developer intern for the last 4 months at Viewlocity. Today is my official last day here, as I've been offered to work as a co-op engineer in the R&D department of Intervoice starting from June 1, 2005.

I Posted a farewell message to all the employees of Viewlocity, and had taken photos with all my colleagues. I thanked every one of them for making me a good developer and a better team player. My team lead (Murali) took me for lunch as a token of appreciation of my work. Just before leaving the office, I met all of them in person to say good-bye. Its sad to depart from the company that offered me the first job in the industry... but I told myself that I need to keep moving to achieve my career goals.

GETTING INTO INTERVOICE INC.

Great to get the offer-letter from Intervoice Inc. for a software developer co-op position. I feel lucky and happy about it. Thanks to Intervoice ~

FIRST DAY OF INTERN

Hey... Today - my first day at Viewlocity was cool~ Not much of coding or designing to be done; Ofcourse, NOBODY does it on the very first day at job. I am among the 3 newly recruited intern workers for the company. We three of us were asked to work in a big common cabin for the time being. The cabin had 1 PC for each of us to work with.

There was a meeting at the start of the day (8:30 am) followed by some paper work and setting up each PC at our cabin. Then, we were asked to go through the coding conventions of the company. There were also 3 seminars delivered by 3 different people about various aspects of the company and the projects. I and my collegues will be assigned work tommorow ... I guess~