April - September 2013: On the professional front, in April, I took a step outside my department to one in which I had to face clients, attend team meetings and stick to the agile methodology of sprint based development day in and out. This not only forced me to be on my toes but also push my stamina to the hilt; after all working for a minimum of 12 hours daily with on demand requirements is not something I was used to. The experience made me believe that I had stamina far greater than what I thought and able to live up to the challenges of client side development.
May – June 2013: In early April, my family was dealt with a severe blow of my father’s illness. In May, things got worse and complicated. Taking a recuse from work I flew home, the same with my sister from the states. Spending a month in hospital, battling emotions and managing people, dealing with medical terms I never heard of and arranging for funds to keep the treatment on, was something I had to learn in quick time. Thankfully all is well now and my father is in much better shape.
September 2013: In spite of all that happened, I kept alive my dream of having my book 'State of the Heart' published. And all I can say is I’m happy achieving the one dream I had all my life. Though my dream was only limited to having a book published, it kind of took me a couple of steps forward. Through my book, I developed my first ever mobile app – State of the Heart app for Windows Phone 8, and have my own Nelton D’Souza brand store. I was covered in print and on air as well. The icing on the cake is that the book not only scores a 4.05 out of 5 on Goodreads (as on December 26, 2013) but will soon be out in its second edition after getting sold out thrice online. The Kindle edition is also growing in success overseas.
The eBook and the exclusive State of the Heart 2014 calendar is available for download on Facebook.
