Finally, Harshil got married in Decemeber, after a long courtship!
DPT and I(aka JT) both worked in a remote setting, but after my cousin’s February wedding, we decided to relocate to Bengaluru. The fact that we were not spending quality time together at home was the primary factor that made me consider making this change. It was an arranged marriage, so we were yet to discover the genuine elements to live together under one roof, and everyone desired time from the newlywed pair, or rather just DPT’s time.
Living with three generations under one roof, especially when a new member of the family has no idea what to pay attention to and what to tune out, can be challenging. I suggested we move to Bengaluru, where I still had a rental apartment so that we could spend more time together and get to know each other better.
The first thing we bought together was a two-wheeler that we could both drive around the city on. It has served us well beyond its intended purpose because owning and driving a scooter is far more convenient than a car in Bengaluru.
And the car that I had left with a friend was apparently in bad shape. It was preferable to sell it because it was manual and had been driven for over 18,000 kilometers without proper maintenance over the past year and a half. Also because of my experience with DCT automatic in my new car, I was not keen to drive a manual in the dense traffic of Bengaluru.
People began to return to Bengaluru at the beginning of February when the return to office period began, but the rent remained under control. In a simple comparison, we believed that purchasing a new apartment would be a better or equivalent option to paying high rents. With this in mind, we searched for all types of apartments and plots in Bengaluru’s South, East, and North regions. It was a weekend ritual for us to visit all of the building sites that we had chalked out throughout the week. On one occasion, we were close to booking a property but had to wait for a corporate deal that never materialized.
My brother-in-law was then in Bengaluru for a business trip when he gave me some crucial advice - Always stretch a bit while buying a home or a car, as they remain with us longer than we anticipate.
I quickly shifted from looking for a 2BHK to a 3BHK, but by that point I was pretty much done looking for a flat/plot in Bengaluru because it was the same scenario everywhere I went:
Right immediately, I made up my mind that I would not be purchasing. After much consideration, I have concluded that the best option is to obtain a remote position and relocate to tier-2 cities. In tier-2 or tier-3 cities, housing costs will be low, the air quality will be high, gyms will be less crowded, and you may even be able to design your own dream home.
In the middle of house hunting, I was approached by Amazon out of the blue for the role of FrontEnd Engineer 2(Still not SDE3). In my previous Amazon experience from completing 5 rounds of interviews, I was sure it would be the same this time as well, so I did not pay much attention to it but still agreed to appear for it.
I am not good in DS and Algo interview. This narrative holds me back.
Eventhough, I was not preparing for it, I made sure I would appear and did not chicken out. First, it was a screening round, and the interviewer asked me all the Javascript questions - WHAT A SURPRISE!! I aced it!
I am good at Javascript. This narrative pushes me forward.
In the screening round, I inquired about the further process and types of interviews in the loop and it made me interested in giving the interviews as all the rounds were focused on Frontend Engineering which is my forté (Some companies still have a generic interview process for both frontend and backend engineers).
All of the succeeding rounds went as planned, and I gained confidence with each one and suddenly, I found myself staring at an offer from Amazon. It is a dream come true.
One thing that worried me was that I’d have to commute again, but Amazon provided pick-up and drop-off, so it’s OK to go to the office twice a week.
Spending time together, furnishing our 1BHK, traveling great miles on our scooty, and beginning a café or bar hopping on weekends all contributed to DPT and I becoming closer. We invest our time together in hobbies like reading, painting, or non-essential activities like desk setups, making lamps.
I tend to rise early while she finds her vigor in the late afternoon. She describes in great detail her day at the workplace, but I am less likely to talk about what I do or how my day went. While I enjoy a moment of quiet when I get home from work, her joy is attractive. Even if I avoid sugar, she always seems to have plenty on hand to last the next few days stashed in the fridge. While I enjoy an early meal, she’ll be hungry again before bedtime if she follows what I do. While I enjoy taking apart and building new pieces of technology, she prefers to read and paint.
It is not always 50:50 partnership, sometimes you are in 90:10 situation.
We both enjoy playing video games, and she particularly enjoys racing games such as ‘NFS,’ which we played in co-op, with me handling all of the big events and stories in the game and she doing all of the side missions.
As a result, I got a PS5 as a gift from her on our first marriage anniversary. Good Wife! We celebrated it while sitting in a stew of our own filth(TMI) 😆
We go throughout Bengaluru in search of the best coffee, and I can honestly say, It is a blessing to have someone believe in you while you are not able to do it yourself.
It was uncontrollable booze time during the Diwali, when I was back at home for 15 days. I was drinking every other day and not in any regulated amount. I was worried because I was overdoing it for no reason.
I had to take charge, and for the first time in my life, I had entirely abstained from alcohol for a month (drank 2 pints in between at an office party).
On my first marriage anniversary, I had a full body examination, and not surprisingly, my HbA1c level was close to pre-diabetic levels(my father and grandfather have diabetes), which is not concerning at this age but is a signal for the future. It was time to rethink my living choices.