The most memorable phase in my short but eventful stint in the IT world came by in the last month when I was been tagged the proverbial ‘OB’… The “On-Bench” phase which attract a variety of reactions from the techies around you; depending on subset they belong to. The not-so-average Joe won’t mind being an OB lifelong; while the alpha-geek looks down towards the OB as a NPA.
Being OB was something I always longed for since ages. Although I was apprised by the other experienced OB about boredom that creeps in while in the phase; I somehow tend to enjoy my days quiet literally on the bench. After all, it was a much needed and much sought for sabbatical from the grueling project which like a vampire seemed to suck the last drop of blood from almost lifeless body of mine.
The rule “birds of same feather flock together” quiet rightly epitomizes in here, as you could see the gang of OBs hoping from the pantry to the gym and into the cafeteria quiet like the bee squatting from flower to flower taking essence of each and everything. The idle phase oozed out the artist in me and I penciled quiet a few cartoons/sketches. So much so, that I had demands flooding in from my colleagues to sketch out something for them which I readily agreed to. I even substantially added to literally prowess in the free time I got by scribbling a few articles. No wonder my blog was suddenly sparkling with the new write-ups and was no longer web-space hogger cobweb site that it was till very recent past. I also spruced up my TT skills; not that I got transformed into a giant-killer TT ace but nevertheless I would not be a cake-walk any longer. Thankfully my non-affiliation to computer-games spared me from the Tetris elbows that others in the clan did suffer from. Virtually, I had jotted some alternative professions for me.
And as the liveware in the clan tend to accumulate the extra fat, so does the system. With system usage generally dropping to significantly low levels and in most cases limited to the World Wide Wait(read surfing), the peripherals too slip into some kind of ailments. I could witness bad case keyboard plaque; while the rest system screams for some percussive maintenance.
But like every other thing, the OB phase too comes with its ills. Being idle when the general industry sentiment is poor and when news of lay-offs and bankruptcy line up to grab the share of the print and the electronic media; it goes without saying that the OBs tend to become the sitting ducks. In times of recession, the tag OB promotes oneself up the hit-list and you are always amongst the first to be uninstalled. Even during boom time, it might spell doom to those who are benched during the appraisal time. Its just going to be a salmon day for the OB even when you have been the stress-puppy for the better part of the year and ends up being a CLM (Career-Limiting Move).
All in all, I enjoyed my limited time on bench and it was indeed much needed to charge up my fully drained batteries before I could take up some other assignments. And I personally believe a limited experience in OBism might quiet augment one’s resume too; though one should see to it that one don’t become ‘OB’solete or ‘OB’noxious.
Being OB was something I always longed for since ages. Although I was apprised by the other experienced OB about boredom that creeps in while in the phase; I somehow tend to enjoy my days quiet literally on the bench. After all, it was a much needed and much sought for sabbatical from the grueling project which like a vampire seemed to suck the last drop of blood from almost lifeless body of mine.
The rule “birds of same feather flock together” quiet rightly epitomizes in here, as you could see the gang of OBs hoping from the pantry to the gym and into the cafeteria quiet like the bee squatting from flower to flower taking essence of each and everything. The idle phase oozed out the artist in me and I penciled quiet a few cartoons/sketches. So much so, that I had demands flooding in from my colleagues to sketch out something for them which I readily agreed to. I even substantially added to literally prowess in the free time I got by scribbling a few articles. No wonder my blog was suddenly sparkling with the new write-ups and was no longer web-space hogger cobweb site that it was till very recent past. I also spruced up my TT skills; not that I got transformed into a giant-killer TT ace but nevertheless I would not be a cake-walk any longer. Thankfully my non-affiliation to computer-games spared me from the Tetris elbows that others in the clan did suffer from. Virtually, I had jotted some alternative professions for me.
And as the liveware in the clan tend to accumulate the extra fat, so does the system. With system usage generally dropping to significantly low levels and in most cases limited to the World Wide Wait(read surfing), the peripherals too slip into some kind of ailments. I could witness bad case keyboard plaque; while the rest system screams for some percussive maintenance.
But like every other thing, the OB phase too comes with its ills. Being idle when the general industry sentiment is poor and when news of lay-offs and bankruptcy line up to grab the share of the print and the electronic media; it goes without saying that the OBs tend to become the sitting ducks. In times of recession, the tag OB promotes oneself up the hit-list and you are always amongst the first to be uninstalled. Even during boom time, it might spell doom to those who are benched during the appraisal time. Its just going to be a salmon day for the OB even when you have been the stress-puppy for the better part of the year and ends up being a CLM (Career-Limiting Move).
All in all, I enjoyed my limited time on bench and it was indeed much needed to charge up my fully drained batteries before I could take up some other assignments. And I personally believe a limited experience in OBism might quiet augment one’s resume too; though one should see to it that one don’t become ‘OB’solete or ‘OB’noxious.
