Credit Suisse - THe journey so far... Part 1

So DB had said "no", ZS had said "no" JPMC had said "probably not" and I was all ready to work my butt of learning linux drivers and firmware coding. Then on Wednesday, 26th Aug. I get a call from SS from Credit Suisse about an opening. Looking at the JD, I was sceptical. Sent it to R for a review, not thinking much abt it. SS called in the evening but i missed her call and she did not reply when I eventually called her back. Late in the night i get R's mail saying it was a good position, I should go for it. Still not perturbed against my decision to focus on the present job, still din think much of it. Thursday morning 9:30 SS calls to say I had a telephonic interview with the Sing panel at 12:30. 3 hrs to prepare and only place to do it - my cubicle right next to my manager. Yikes!! Spent the remaining morning reading on wiki, tabbing between the pages and always pausing on the "Device Driver Tutorial" page to look around to see if I was still safe. 12;25, my heart pounding, I went to the pool to take the call in silence(relatively). Finance aptitude, HR 45 mins of questioning. Sucked at the HR. Was surprised at how much I enjoyed the interview even though I did not get one question (25 horses). Went back to my cubicle worked real happily on device drivers for the rest of the day. Round 2 on Thursday went smoothly, albeit only 30 mins. Was sure would get to round 3. V-Conf. interview on Tuesday. Was bothered they had not arranged for my transport. Taxi I ordered, incredulously did not know how to get thr. Tried not to get psyched, reached just in time. Again surprised that SS did not receive me. Got someone I found to have her call me. VC was set up, waited in the lounge trying to breathe, waited in the VC room, smiling at the 2 empty chairs on the screen, just in case I was being watched from the other side. When the first two members of the panel appeared on screen, I got up politely, waiting for them to sit. Suddenly I realized all the cam transmitted now was a shot of my crotch (lol) - quickly sat down. Interview went on with a lot of mistakes, but no panic from my side. Gordon was quite friendly, Richard did not speak much. I was amazed at how at ease I was and how much I was enjoying myself. A lot of information about the position was shared. Gordon said it was not the "sexy" work tht was usually the image of the finance industry, tht it was repetitive at times, learning depended on self interest rather than a job requirement. That did not bother me - I had enough enthusiasm to learn on my own, what made my ears perk up was when Gordon said, the experience on the job would not count for the CFA charter. I was told I would get a reply by the end of the week, "if I was made an offer" - I was pretty sure I would be :)
The wait until Friday was excruciating. First thing at work, I checked gmail and there it was. My hear skipped. Compensation was exactly what I asked for. (I should have asked for more :P :P )