Happy Weekend...

Shame on myself. I never do things on time. But I always blame Baba that I do not get my things on time. I had written in my last blog here that I have been waiting for the decision from Columbia Business School for more than a month and how I was at loggerheads with him for that. It was not just that. My annual performance review at work was conducted on Oct 1, 2008 and I had been receommended for a promotion as General Manager. I wrote my last blog on Dec 3rd. Was I sore? My company had sat on issuing me my promotion for 60 plus days. Why would I not be angry with Baba? "Why is it that things never happen on time for me?", I would ask.

Friday Dec 12, 2008 changed all that. A normal day at work it was and I was chugging along, one conference call after another. At 3 PM, I had a feeling of conquest as most of my work was done and it had actually been a day when work got done. I was just cleaning up to get ready for a big weekend, when it happened. At 3.30 PM, my phone rang. "Unknown Number", flashed on my phone's display. It usually says that when someone is trying to reach me from my company in India through the dedicated telecom links. "Who is it now?", I thought. And I answered the call with a rather stiff, "Lakshmi". "Hi", said the sweet voice from the other end, "this is the Associate Director of Admissions from the Executive MBA program at Columbia." I sat up with a start, but stayed gentleman enough to wish her back and say, "Hi, how are you?". "I am fine, thank you", she said, "how about you?". "I am fine too, thanks for asking", I said.

"I called to let you know that the admissions committee met again today and that you have been admitted:, she said. "Oh yeah, alright!", I was thinking, but it hit me in a moment. "Thank you so much, I really appreciate your call", I said. "You will be receving more information from us next week, but I thought I should let you know that you have been admitted", she said. I wasn't listening any more but my brain sent out an automated response which made my mouth repeat, "Thank you, I really appreciate your call". "You are welcome, and have a great weekend", she said. The call was over and the phone went dead.

My wife was standing right next to me and trying to figure out whom I was speaking to. I don't think she could have guessed much from what I spoke on the call. "I am going to Columbia", I said, and explained to her who had called and what she had said. She was thrilled. She has worked equally hard to see me through this journey and she was rightfully thrilled. The next half hour was spent in the elation that this call had created. What an excellent news to get at 3.30 PM on a Friday!

Only another half hour had gone by and I got the next call. That was my boss and the last thing I wanted was a surprise meeting for the weekend. So I was equally anxious when I picked up that call. "Hey Lakshmi", he said, "I am just calling to let you know that I just approved your promotion offer and our HR head should be sending it to you in the next 30 seconds". "Give me a shout if you have any questions", he added and he was off. I had hardly disconnected the call, when a pop up appeared on the right hand bottom corner of my computer, announcing that an email had arrived. No surprises. There it was, my letter of promotion.

This time, my wife was right there with me, waiting for the email (which we had been waiting for over 60 days). I opened the attachment and started to read it. "Dear Lakshminarayan, We are happy to promote you as Director - Transitions...", it read, and we did not have to read the rest. I am not lying that I did not expect this. I had been told at some point in the process that the right title was Director and that is what I would be promoted as but that only increased the anxiety and the desire to see it on paper. This time my wife blurted out. She could not control her tears of happiness.

The first thing we obviously remembered was Baba and we thanked him profusely for the same. I was reminded of the story where Baba asks someone who is about to retire how much he wanted as pension and then he receives more than what he actually asks for. It was also the second day of Karthikai deepam, so soon my wife had lit candles all over the living and dining areas (where the puja is also located) and we prayed together, thanking Baba for the double blessing. We spent the evening calling family and friends and letting them know the news.

It couldn't have happened at a better time. This was Friday evening. Saturday, Dec 13, was my son's birthday and Sunday, Dec 14, was my wife's. A double birthday weekend and a double treat for the same. Was I elated? Sure I was. Though I spent all of Saturday morning running around doing stuff, I was always thinking about the previous day and how within one hour I had got two phone calls that changed my world upside down.

Realization hit me at 4 PM. My son's birthday party was at 4 and we just reached the venue at 4 only to realise that we had forgot some stuff back home. As I drove back home to get the stuff, I realised how self-consumed I had been. It had been about me. About my promotion and my MBA admission. It was my son's birthday and instead of focusing on him, I was thinking only about myself. I apologized to Baba and told myself I will not spare any effort to make the weekend memorable for my son and wife. I did everything I could to make their moments great and I hope they had a good time.

Well, didn't I start this piece saying, "Shame on me!". Today is the 17th of December, 3 days have passed since the weekend went by and I am only now writing this thank you note to Baba (that I promised I will do instantly).

Thank you Baba, for one of the most memorable weekends I have had in recent times (perhaps after my Mother's Sixtieth Birthday weekend). If I still think that things never happen on time for me, could both these pleasant events have happened at a better time? And if i still don't understand that everything happens for a good reason, shame on me, indeed!