Being a root is like Being a Superman

Being a root (under Unix) is like Being a Superman.
Statement Caught my eye in AT&T's Unix Book.(1984 Edition)
Coincidentally Superman has been my Idol since the beginning. This sentence triggered me to learn & use Unix/Linux on my Desktop.
I got this book from a girl who was my neighbour.
She contributed in a big project (probably at NCR), it was about ATM machines, back in 1990s ATM machines was like fantasy. My dad & uncle use to show me their ATM Cards as prestigious asset (which use to lie in their pocket all the time). I saw her name in local newspaper & came to know she was brilliant.

I was in the 8th grade & got this book when she left her place. She just dumped all the books front of her door & probably went to America after that.
In India PC Quest released Linux Kernel 1.0.2 CD in 1997. When I came to know that Linux is almost like a UNIX, I started using it on my Desktop. I installed it using a 2X CDROM drive which I bought for Rs. 3000. Installation was an experience. Whole SWAP partition & X window system was quiet amazing. I use to hear about such stuff from my colleagues who were working at Tata Consultancy Services, Tata InfoTech & Patni etc.
Being a Commerce student it was all like an achievement for lifetime. Never really understood the importance of it but it gave me a good break & boost in my career. It has been 9 years & I have been working on Linux on & off.
After such a long duration it doesn’t really feel so important to learn everything about Linux & get Certified etc. but I definitely feel proud that I have used Linux for such a Long time.

Living with Jinx for Two years

Finally I am writing it down on my Blog.
It has been One year and four months I left the Jinx that some day I might change my Department to SAP & will get a chance to study one of the greatest Software on this Planet.
Unfortunately it never happened.

This chapter started near end of year 2005 when I was about to join Capgemini. Couple of weeks before joining date one of my firend was telling me about his friend's expirence at Capgemini. His friend was absconding as he was told to look after DB2 Databases. He is a certified Oracle DBA & he did not like the idea of doing something else then Oracle. Ironically same thing happened to me & I lost my track of Oracle + Solaris. But it was fun to have a wierd managers & bureaucratic Environement. It took almost a year to get used to typical Corporate enviroment in Indian companies. And now I am an employee of Cognizant Technology Solutions & a contractor for one of the reputed Bank in this World. When I look back I feel what I did was wrong or I am a VICTIM of my own SUCCESS? When I felt that I have lost my track completely I got depressed because I was too much intense to learn SAP. Probably "desperate" is the word. Well..... I am out of it now & since last one and half year my resume has a different Objective. Sometimes I feel a shine in my own eyes when I see a mail with subject "SAP", I feel like I am still searching for something in that mail for openings, and then those two years flash at back of my head & I laugh at myself .....I was foolish to have such an ambition. Perhaps I am made for System Administration. I am feeling already better as I write this paragraph.
So trust me guys as Marcellus Wallace says in movie Pulp fiction...."you may feel a slight sting. That's Ambition f--king with you. F--k Ambition. Ambition only hurts, it never helps."

Concentrate on what you are good at & you will have time of your life. That does not mean you should stop exploring other opportunities for your career growth, but then get over it before it becomes too late & you end up getting frustrated.

Now I am a "happy man" who has a Happy Manager, impressed colleagues and what else do you want?

Jinx free Manoj :-)