Last week of December
2022
So precisely about a year ago, I took one of my life’s life-changing decisions. At the time, I was an engineering undergraduate at ECU who was thinking about leaving Sri Lanka and starting my second year of university life in Perth, Australia. I got a phone call from one of my friend’s (Pankaja’s) father telling me that there’s a small position available at SLIC — Kirindiwela brach and asked if I knew someone who could work there for a few weeks. Somehow, I was the one who took the job. So, on Dec 27th 2022, I started as a trainee Underwriter at SLIC.
2023
I have worked with people before, but working at SLIC opened my eyes. It gave me a perspective on how hard it is to live and how much people suffer. So, my job was extended for a few weeks and then 6 months. During those 6 months, I met some of the fantastic people I have ever met. This job helped me overcome my fear of talking to people. As part of the job, I had to speak to customers, agents and many other parties. I’m proud of the way I worked during those months.
Then, for a few months, I started a podcast with two of my good friends and did about 7 episodes. I had to stop it due to my friends’ busy schedules, but it was an outstanding experience and gave me a lot to think about.
Uni
So, before becoming an Information Systems undergraduate, I was an engineering undergraduate. When I got selected for UCSC, I was happy, but it was a hard decision to make with the work I had put into the other program. After talking to many people and doing research, I decided that staying here and completing the Information Systems degree program was the better choice. After a semester and a half, I think I made the right decision. Up to now,
- Made some great friendships.
- Met students who had been in the same school for 8 years together but never met. (Actually, 3)
- Joined ACM, IEEE CS Chapter.
- Learned the signatures of a few friends.
That sums up the work I did during the last semester.
kode
Even as a grade 6 kid, I knew I wanted to be a business person. Not an entrepreneur but a businessman. My father has a small furniture business, and I worked there for a few months when I was in grade 8. I think that hardcoded into my mind that starting a business was the only way to be free when I was at my father’s age. After A/Ls, I worked there and helped to do a few day-to-day tasks. Those small things made sure that my passion was not to work at a desk from 9 to 5; it was to start a business and provide job opportunities to people.
So, I started kode with so many hopes in my head. Initially, it was the name of the team I used to apply to the competition. So what we do is coding, and my name starts with K, so code + K = kode. That’s how the name came. Anyway, it is more challenging than it seems when looking from the outside to make a startup work. Currently, we’re not working much but applying to competitions and promoting our two primary products to the market.
2024
So It’s the end of 2023 and starting the next in a few days. What I did from 2002 to 2022 really did not matter. I know those things made me who I am, but 2023 and 2024 are the years that are going to change my whole life. So, if you’re here after reading all the boring stuff I wrote, I wish you all the best and good luck in your work next year.
