JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes

Hey everyone,

I'm writing to you to ask for your support in a very special cause.

This year, on October 27th, I'll be taking part in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's Walk to Cure Diabetes along with a half-million other walkers across the country. Our goal: To raise $90 million to help fund research for a cure for type 1 diabetes and its complications.

For those of you who didn't notice, yes, October 27th is my birthday. For this special reason, I would like to defer any money which would normally be spent on birthday presents towards donations to the JDRF. Of course, all donations are tax deductible. Upon donation, you will receive a tax deductible receipt via email. Also, many companies will match employee donations to charitable causes such as the JDRF.

All donations, large or small will be greatly appreciated. Also, please pass this message on to any members of you families who may be less technologically inclined and have not already received this message.

Type 1, or juvenile, diabetes, is a devastating, often deadly disease that affects millions of people--a large and growing percentage of them children.

Many people think type 1 diabetes can be controlled by insulin. While insulin does keep people with type 1 diabetes alive, it is NOT a cure. Aside from the daily challenges of living with type 1 diabetes, there are many severe, often fatal, complications caused by the disease.

That's the bad news... and yes, it's pretty bad.

The good news, though, is that a cure for type 1 diabetes is within reach. In fact, JDRF funding and leadership is associated with most major scientific breakthroughs in type 1 diabetes research to date. And JDRF funds a major portion of all type 1 diabetes research worldwide, more than any other charity.

I'm writing to ask for your support because now more than ever, EACH of us can be a part of bringing about a cure. Each of us can make a real difference

Won't you please give to JDRF as generously as you're able?

Together, we can make the cure a reality.

Thank you,

Vijay Tolani

Please visit my Walk Web page if you would like to donate online or see how close I am to reaching my personal goal:

http://walk.jdrf.org/walker.cfm?id=86785097">http://walk.jdrf.org/walker.cfm?id=86785097

The Crib

If I haven’t already mentioned and you didn’t already know, the cost of living in Raleigh is DRASTICALLY different than California. I live in a BRAND NEW, LUXURY 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment in an area of Raleigh called Brier Creek. We have a resort style pool, hot tub, gym, indoor basketball court, etc which are all to die for. To be honest with you, I cannot believe I live in such a nice place at this point in my life. I honestly do not think I could be doing much better 3 months removed from college. I walk into the lobby and I am greeted by a professional staff who address me as “Sir”. Then I look around as I am surrounded by computers and plasma screens in our lobby area. Everyone is super nice to boot!! And if I have to wait for anything, they are always there with fresh made lemonade and baked goods. It’s pretty ridiculous.

Here’s the crazy part. A place like this would easily cost $2500 - $3000 per month in California. Not in Raleigh!! Our apartment costs $866/month. Split that between my roommate and I, and I think you’ll understand what I mean when I say your money goes further out here. The part I am really having a tough time getting used to is we are the “rich kids” here. I am really not used to that. I am not used to going to get my truck washed and being escorted to the lobby where I wait, watch the plasma screens, use the free WiFi, and drink the free coffee and 5 people go to town on my truck. That is just an entirely new concept for me. Paying $400/month for rent in Raleigh is pretty ridiculous. Most people will pay somewhere around $200 or so. Our place is very expensive for Raleigh, yet it seems dirt cheap compared to California. For reference, I pay $500/year for auto insurance, that’s 40% of what I paid in California. It’s extremely eye opening as to what the rest of the US has to offer.

Brier Creek is awfully nice itself. The whole area is new, which is nice. Nothing in the area is more than 5 years old and it has just about everything I could possibly want or need. There are apartments, as well as a movie theater, and just about every restaurant or store you could possibly think of. If I want to shop, there are 3 upscale malls all within 20 minutes. If I want to party, Duke, UNC, NC State, and Wake Forest are all within 20 minutes too, so there are plenty of areas for that. And I cannot even begin to tell you how nice it is to have a 5 minute commute to work each day J A 5 minute, traffic-free commute will really make you happier person and make each day that much nicer. And if I want to go anywhere else, Raliegh-Durham International Airport is only 5 minutes away from my apartment.

The other really cool thing about Brier Creek is the people. Most of the people who live in Brier Creek are not from around here, so there is a very cool mix of people. It is a nice little comfort zone coming from California to have such a diverse blend of people around. If you walk through the parking lot of my apartment complex, you will see license plates from everywhere from California, to New York, to Indiana, to Ohio, to Quebec. It’s crazy! It’s really cool to be around people with such different backgrounds. Everyone is very open to new things and it is no trouble at all to find people you have things in common with

The Job

When I moved out here for this job, my expectations were through the roof. Everyone had done such an amazing job of hyping up this program that I could not help but be excited about it. And much to my surprise, once I got out here, I was absolutely blown away. They somehow managed to blow my sky high expectations out of the water. I get up at 5 AM each morning, pop out of bed after 3 hours of sleep, and am legitimately excited to go to work. I can honestly say that I love my job and I am good at it! Not many people can say that.

The program itself is truly WORLD CLASS. There is nothing else like it. The training I am receiving is amazing! Cisco pays $170,000 per student for this program and it is well worth every penny. Each instructor that teaches these classes is an expert on the subject matter and I feel I am receiving the absolute best training possible.

The people I work with are amazing too. In North Carolina, we have 120 engineers and 80 sales people, all of us right out of college, but all with different backgrounds. We have about 15 people from China, another 12 from Canada, 4 from India, 4 from Korea, and the rest of us are from all over the US. The diversity is amazing. The managers are first rate too. They are all really young and most of them have been through the program and were in the field at one point, so they relate really well. I really like my manager Garrett. He went to BYU and was a member of the 2001 Sales Associates Program. He then worked as an Account Manger for 5 years. Last year, he managed sales people and this is his first year managing engineers. I have a lot of respect for him as a person. He has the discipline to get up and play tennis with his manager at 5 AM each day. He also insists on leaving the office promptly at 5 PM each day to be home with his wife and 4 kids. At the same time, he always checks his SmartPhone and is there for me immediately whenever I need him. I’ve been meaning to setup a meeting with him to talk about how he manages his life because he really seems to be one of the few who has found that ideal balance and has his act together.

As I hinted at earlier, I have somewhat let my job take over my life. I get up at 5 AM each day and get into the office by no later than 6:30 AM. I read in the mornings before class, which starts at 9:00 AM. Then after class, around 4:30 or 5:00 PM, I have a study session until around 7:00 or 7:30. Then it’s time to go home for dinner and a little break. Then come around 8:30 or 9:00, I either take care of personal business or go back into the office for a few hours. I’ve been trying to get to bed by around 11:00, although for a while there, I was going out until 2:00 AM, but that is finally catching up with me. Oh, BTW, I work Saturdays and Sundays too :) The moral of the story is that I legitimately LOVE my job!! There is no way I could put in the amount of work that I do if I didn’t. Now don’t you worry, I don’t work ALL the time. I have found time to play a little golf and go out and party here and there, but my focus has definitely been work, and that is an understatement.

As much as I love my job, I can’t wait to get out into the field. That is the life I really want. Cisco definitely treats their sales people well. When I showed up, they had me setup with everything I needed: laptop, laptop bag, headsets, handbooks of local attractions, directions, reviews, and phone numbers of local amenities, etc. You name it, they have thought of it and made it easier for us. And come next year, it’ll be even better. Hell, I already have a corporate credit card. Cisco also pays for me to have WiFi access anywhere, including paying for my Internet Access and VPN at home. Come next year, they’ll even pay for my cell phone too J

They are really giving me all the tools to be as successful as can be, and it shows in the results of this program. The AVERAGE person leaving the Sales Associates Program sells 110% of goal their first year out. Now that says something, when Sales Associates are consistently exceeding the ever rising expectations!!

With success, comes hard work, that’s just part of the gig. We work at a fast pace, that is for sure. We went through our coursework for our first certification in TWO WEEKS. That would take two semesters at any university. You have to look no further than the 3 500 page textbooks we go thorough EACH WEEK of our technical training to understand the intensity of this program. The analogy all the managers use is we are “drinking water from a fire hose” and it seems pretty accurate. When we are not in technical classes, we are learning and practicing our skills in sales, presentations, and business acumen. I am learning the power of social networking. Hell, I drop the Cisco name wherever I am, and believe me, it is powerful. I cannot even begin to tell you the level of respect that is commanded when I tell people I am a Cisco engineer. And things get done, and get done fast, because of the power that the Cisco name brings with it. I leverage Cisco in my daily life to get ahead. It’s truly a great company to work for and I am loving every minute of it!! This is one year of training to setup the rest of my career and the opportunities are limitless!!

The program itself is extremely well organized. You can tell they have put a lot of thought into everything we do. They have our first 6 months completely planned out for us. I just have to go to work, check my calendar, and see what I am supposed to do for the day. It’s great. They also truly understand the concept of innovation, whether it is our own YouTube called CSAPTube, or our own Wiki, or the Ambassador Program, management is always looking for our ideas and feedback and allow us to shape the future of the program, allowing it to evolve as necessary for success. Management also really cares about the education we are receiving and it shows. They are there for us 100% of the way to do everything in their power to make us the most successful in our lives. It’s very nice working in that sort of environment.

Everyone has a lot of faith in this program and I can’t help but get excited about it. It filters all the way down from the CEO, to management, to the associates. Everyone has so much faith in the program that it is bound to continue to be a raving success as it has been for the last 7 years. Not to mention, everyone in the program really seems to love their jobs. Many of the managers have explicitly said to me that they think it is the best job in the world and I am yet to hear one negative thing about it. The talent within the program is pretty amazing too. They hired 120 of the over 10,000 applicants for this position and it shows. Everyone brings something a little different to the table, but as a whole, it is quite the impressive group of individuals. To be honest with you, I can’t quite believe I made it here. I have wanted this job for so long and now I actually have it. I often find myself thinking to myself “So, when is the next round of interviews?” only to realize that I actually have this job. I get up each morning and am legitimately excited to go to work and each day when I leave work in the evening I think to myself, “WOW, I really get paid to do this? I can’t believe it!!” It’s truly a dream come true J It’s pretty unreal!!

Differences Between Raleigh and California

1. We don’t have sourdough bread!! It’s weird, it never occurred to me that sourdough bread was a San Francisco thing. I’ve looked everywhere. No dice. Straight White or Wheat!!

2. We have Thunder Storms!! It’ll be 95 degrees and sunny one minute, the next its pouring rain, then 5 minutes later, its sunny and clear again. Then after the thunder storm, you go outside and it feels like its 110 degrees because of the 95 percent humidity. The crazy part is if you are driving through a thunder storm, after the storm, the water on the roads evaporates within about 10 minutes so there is a huge cloud of steam above the roads. It’s weird. I now understand why we have a 24 hour news channel and weather reports every 10 minutes.

3. People don’t understand the concept of traffic here. People complain about the traffic here and I get on the freeway to find traffic flowing smoothly at 25 MPH. no stop and go action at all. To be honest with you, there is more traffic on the one lane roads getting to and from the freeways.

4. At night, it’s the same temperature inside and out!! It’s crazy, if you walk outside at 3:00 in the morning, it’ll be 70 degrees out. It’s nuts, the LOW is 70. Definitely different that California, that’s for sure. It’s weird though, you’ll be in a bar and it gets hot and sticky since there are so many people there. Then you walk outside for some refreshing night air only to find it’s the SAME TEMPERATURE inside and out. You have to experience it to believe it. BTW, move to the East Coast and humidity will be part of your daily vocabulary too. I don’t think I even understood the concept when I lived in Cali.

5. Freeways are WEIRD in North Carolina. I’ll be driving down the road, doing whatever my GPS tells me, and boom, I’m on the freeway!! No onramp, no sign, nothing, the road I was driving on turned into a highway out of the blue. 5 miles later, there’s a stoplight and it’s back to city road again. It’s strange.

6. Sports!! And by sports, I mean Nascar and Hockey. The closest thing we get to professional baseball is the Durham Bulls. For those of you who have seen Bull Durham, yes those Durham Bulls!! They’re huge around here. See the stadium, and you’ll understand they are far more than a minor league baseball team here. And don’t clown on Nascar here. People love their Nascar around here. It’s no lie. And hey, if you are a diehard sports fan, you better not be much of a fan of sleep. I was out at a bar one night, I check out the plasma and see the A’s playing. I see that it’s the 2ND INNING, the I look at my watch and it’s 11:00 at night. CRAZY!! Hell, the other night, I was in bed, ready to go to sleep and I turn on the TV only to see the KICKOFF of the Niner game at 10:30 at night. Now that’s just ridiculous. I would’ve had to stay up until 1:30 AM to see the end of the game. Hell, sports bars are open until 2 AM every night of the week.

7. You have In N Out, we have Waffle House!!

8. Land is cheaper out here, so everything is bigger and more spread out. We don’t just have Walmart, we have Super Walmart where you can buy just about everything you could possibly need: groceries, clothes, kitchen supplies, tools, etc. It’s like a full on grocery store/hardware store/department store/Walmart. It’s crazy. And parking, no problem. Parking lots are HUGE around here. They wouldn’t even think of building a parking structure around here, they just have giant lots everywhere.

9. You can only buy liquor from a liquor store. You can buy beer and wine from a grocery store, but that’s it. And on Sunday, you can’t even do that before noon.

10. The phrase “our neck of the woods” takes on a completely different meaning here. There are trees EVERYWHERE!! I feel like I live in the middle of the forest. I’ll be at work in a conference room, look out the window and see a small forest and a lake. Our campus is basically cut into a forest. We even have 2 lakes on campus. It’s kinda nice, I feel like I am camping when I am at work sometimes :-P

11. Smoking in public places is legal!! I hadn’t been asked “Smoking or Non Smoking?” in years, but now I get it all the time.

12. Tipping a waiter of waitress “Double Tax” in NC doesn’t work, since the tax is only like 3%.

13. Gas costs $2.79/gal here, not in Cali.

Welcome to the Blog!!

Hey everyone,

First of all, I must apologize for my horrific response time to all of your emails and phone calls. I have been trying to send you all personal responses to all of your questions, but I have simply fallen far too behind to ever dream of catching up. I guess that's what happens when you get up at 5 AM to go to work and don't get home until midnight :-P ...I'll get to that later. Anyway, I have decided to setup this blog so y'all can read up on how I am doing in one place on your own time rather than wait for me to actually get to answering your email :-P You can check in here periodically and see what I am up to in Raleigh. You can even leave me comments and questions which I will answer so everyone can see. It's pretty cool for anyone as busy as I am. Anyway, I'm about to get on a plane to come out to see y'all in Cali. I'll see you soon!!

P.S. I'll be summarizing the last month of my life on the plane. It'll be a jolly good time!! See ya soon.