The Increment.

"I LOVE YOU", they say are the best words forever but "Your account has been credited with INR  XX.XX", in my opinion, do a better job.

Well, I got a similar SMS today and was just about to feel ecstatic when I noticed the figure with which my account was credited. It was more than usual. Ecstasy was replaced by curiosity and I enquired the accountant about the same...I was told that it's been one year since I joined my articleship so the hike in the stipend!

WOW.

Pure bliss.

What's better than being paid for doing nothing after all? :D

Just kidding...about the doing nothing part, I mean...CA and doing nothing = oxymoron.

To put it in self- explanatory words, Bakre ko halaal krne se pehle khoob khilaya jata hai...so the hike perhaps indicates what the further years of articleship have in store for me...I am the bakra here, just FYI.

Anyway, what baffled me was the fact that it took an increment in my paycheck to make me realise that it has already been one whole year since I joined my articleship ! 

1 year...12 months...365 days...8760 hours...525600 minutes...3153600 seconds...

Time flies by fast!

Now that I come to think about it, I feel that this last one year has been a total roller coaster ride. Life changes drastically once you get out of college.

Baba Ranchoddas Chanchad RDB mei bhi sahi gyaan de gaye hame -

College de gate de is taraf hum life ko nachaate hain...te duji taraf life humko nachati hai...

If I get a 10 marks question on college vs office life, this would be my answer -

	BASIS	COLLEGE		OFFICE
1	Attire	You can wear absolutely anything  (I have been to college in my tracksuit)		You wear formals day after day.
2	Truancy	You bunk college to take a break		You bunk office and have to do twice the normal work the next day
3	Weekends	Weekends are for hanging out		Weekends are for catching up on sleep
4	Deadlines	You have deadlines just for submitting that assignment which you will copy at the eleventh hour from somebody		You have deadlines just about everything. Delay on your part means extra work on Sundays.
5	Meeting Friends	You meet your friends daily		Just like the financial statements that you work upon, you meet your friends annually.
6	Topic of Discussion	You talk about the new movies that have released		You talk about the new Companies   Act
7	Fantasies	You fantasise about life after college, of financial independence, of formals, of professional ethics.		You are nostalgic about college beyond words. Screw formals, screw professional ethics, you miss college like anything.
8	Surbhi- specific behaviour	Manage to reach late everyday despite getting up on time.		Manage to reach late everyday despite getting up on time.
9	Who cares	Nobody cares about what you believe/say/do.		Nobody cares about what you believe/say/do.
10	Studies	You don't study.		You don't study.

(7/10...#8, #9 and #10 are not really points of difference :P)

To sum up,

एक वो वक़्त था जब हम सोचते थे कि हमारा भी वक़्त आएगा...
एक ये वक़्त है कि हम सोचते हैं कि वो भी क्या वक़्त था...

True, albeit hackneyed, life after college sucks but office has taught me the rule of thumb of the corporate culture and of life in general - There is nothing of any importance in life - except how well you do your work. Nothing. Only that. Whatever else you are, will come from that. It's the only measure of human value. (#Atlas Shrugged)

Three cheers for my increment  :D