Oh yes I do. I’ve got guardian angels guarding me ever since I can remember. They are always somewhere close by.
Me – I am this incorrigible person who keeps getting herself into “situations”, if you know what I mean. And if I’m lucky, I don’t pull others along with me. But then, I do get out of those. As naturally as I get into them. It’s as simple as going through a revolving door.
Yes I could take the credit by saying I get myself out unscathed, uninjured, unaffected… so on and so forth. But one, I was born with this huge amount of modesty. And two, I know if I tried to pull that stunt all by myself, the least I would end up doing would be screwing up another 4-5 lives. And that’s where these angel fellows come in. In different forms, assuming different roles, but doing the same work. All of them.
There are times when I think I don’t really need them… Oh well… so much for my thoughts… not even a penny actually. For every stupid hint of a thought worth any foul penny which says I can get along well on my own, there are about a million flashes worth a grand each, if not more, which tell me to basically shut up.
All the times at home when I’ve been lost as a kid or other-wise, through school and college where I was this notorious woman, the 3 months of training in Infosys where I managed to goof up in every possible way, then all the way to Chennai, where again my mad luck (no typo here) got the better (or worse) of me, and then here in Detroit where I arrived a little humbled, but stupid nonetheless, it’s been these g.a’s who’ve kept the show running. Sometimes at “breakneck” speed. But cruising all other times.
Sometimes I think I should sit up and thank all these wonderful creatures, who keep popping into my lives at just the magical moments, as if on a wonderfully directed cue. Only I’m scared they might think their job is done and move on to another specimen like me. So I guess, when my job is finally done, I’ll send them all a little I.O.U. with a thanks and a mmuah. And until then, I’ll put in another word with one of those divine powers which are supposed to exist to keep taking care of these much more realistic (and down to earth) characters and keep hoping that they enjoy working with me.
ps: yeah yeah… one of those days.
~K.
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Sunday, October 23, 2005
4 guys, a girl and a minivan
No, it’s not the name of any new sitcom. Nor is it a crime report. Unless of course you consider having lots of fun criminal.
Ok, back to the story. 4 guys, a girl drove to Pittsburgh in a minivan. The travelers – Mehul, Sandeep, Shashi, Anil and I. We’d intended to start obscenely early... at 4 in the morning. Thankfully, we got late. Hallelujah!! After me preparing some sandwiches for the way while the ‘men folk’ were still getting ready, we finally left at 6.
The drive was, to say the least, awesome. We started on a great note. Mehul kept getting constant reminders to slow down. Then we got a little lost in Ohio. ;) But thanks to the great navigation skills of Anil, we got back on track in a jiffy. Throughout the drive, it was music, leg pulling and a LOT of laughter!!! Even though it was raining ever since we reached Cleveland, we managed not to let our spirits get dampened. Between the fights over what music should be played, finally switching cd’s, changing seats, some snaps and of course the stops at the service plazas, the mood stayed bright and sunny inside the dodge even though it was anything but outside.
Finally, we reached Pittsburgh at around 11.30 in the morning. The view of the downtown was stunning. It was then that I shot my first curse at the rain. We headed straight to the Sri Venkateswara Temple. And I must say I felt humbled after a really long time. Now I don’t know if it was because of the nostalgia attack that I got there or anything else. Let’s leave that as one of the unexplained phenomena that life hurls at you every once awhile.
Out of the temple and it was still raining. I suppose none of us bothered to pray for the rain to stop. Lesson learnt – be practical while praying. You never know when your prayers get answered. And another lesson – be careful of what you wish for. For all you know, it might come true and in a much larger scale. For explanations on this, contact Shashi. :D
Again, (no) thanks to the rain, we couldn’t stop at downtown. After a little mix up on our way out, we again got back on track. By now, we had gotten used to mix ups and straight ups. Experience teaches you everything. This time, even the music scene was a lot more peaceful. Reason one – the junta had grown accustomed to whatever music would be played. I guess it didn’t make that much of a difference. And reason two - the controls were in the hands of yours truly. Reason three – the driver was Sandeep. Between the two of us, we managed to play the discs that suited our interests. Talk about monopolies.
Return journey was just as rainy as the ongoing one. More, rather. Nevertheless, the inside atmosphere still remained as charged up as it was in the ongoing journey. The cartoon network road show was still playing a ‘Best Of’ series.
I guess the pattern had been established. Because on our way back we again got lost at the same place where we’d lost ourselves on our way to Pittsburgh. But then, before Mehul starts abusing me and accusing me of defamation, let me add a minor detail. Some exits on the freeway were closed, and we had to take detours. I wonder how I forgot to mention this small point the previous time. Oops! My apologies. ;)
All in all, 4 guys, a girl and a minivan had awesome fun. Came back dry, tired and still charged. A day well spent. Next trip on the cards – anywhere. When – anytime. Only improvisation required – a little more sun. Will pray for that before we start our next journey. Mr. God, you listening?
~K.
Ok, back to the story. 4 guys, a girl drove to Pittsburgh in a minivan. The travelers – Mehul, Sandeep, Shashi, Anil and I. We’d intended to start obscenely early... at 4 in the morning. Thankfully, we got late. Hallelujah!! After me preparing some sandwiches for the way while the ‘men folk’ were still getting ready, we finally left at 6.
The drive was, to say the least, awesome. We started on a great note. Mehul kept getting constant reminders to slow down. Then we got a little lost in Ohio. ;) But thanks to the great navigation skills of Anil, we got back on track in a jiffy. Throughout the drive, it was music, leg pulling and a LOT of laughter!!! Even though it was raining ever since we reached Cleveland, we managed not to let our spirits get dampened. Between the fights over what music should be played, finally switching cd’s, changing seats, some snaps and of course the stops at the service plazas, the mood stayed bright and sunny inside the dodge even though it was anything but outside.
Finally, we reached Pittsburgh at around 11.30 in the morning. The view of the downtown was stunning. It was then that I shot my first curse at the rain. We headed straight to the Sri Venkateswara Temple. And I must say I felt humbled after a really long time. Now I don’t know if it was because of the nostalgia attack that I got there or anything else. Let’s leave that as one of the unexplained phenomena that life hurls at you every once awhile.
Out of the temple and it was still raining. I suppose none of us bothered to pray for the rain to stop. Lesson learnt – be practical while praying. You never know when your prayers get answered. And another lesson – be careful of what you wish for. For all you know, it might come true and in a much larger scale. For explanations on this, contact Shashi. :D
Again, (no) thanks to the rain, we couldn’t stop at downtown. After a little mix up on our way out, we again got back on track. By now, we had gotten used to mix ups and straight ups. Experience teaches you everything. This time, even the music scene was a lot more peaceful. Reason one – the junta had grown accustomed to whatever music would be played. I guess it didn’t make that much of a difference. And reason two - the controls were in the hands of yours truly. Reason three – the driver was Sandeep. Between the two of us, we managed to play the discs that suited our interests. Talk about monopolies.
Return journey was just as rainy as the ongoing one. More, rather. Nevertheless, the inside atmosphere still remained as charged up as it was in the ongoing journey. The cartoon network road show was still playing a ‘Best Of’ series.
I guess the pattern had been established. Because on our way back we again got lost at the same place where we’d lost ourselves on our way to Pittsburgh. But then, before Mehul starts abusing me and accusing me of defamation, let me add a minor detail. Some exits on the freeway were closed, and we had to take detours. I wonder how I forgot to mention this small point the previous time. Oops! My apologies. ;)
All in all, 4 guys, a girl and a minivan had awesome fun. Came back dry, tired and still charged. A day well spent. Next trip on the cards – anywhere. When – anytime. Only improvisation required – a little more sun. Will pray for that before we start our next journey. Mr. God, you listening?
~K.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Home... Suite Home
Life in fast lane??? Hmmm ... well.. true... at least in the day time... night time is more like 'Life in the Last lane'... and what a lane... whooo boy!! Slowpoke!!!
Today I was lucky enough to get out of office at 6... a feat I was never able to manage in Chennai... And considering that the weather was kinda nice all day today, it seemed such a blessing... Ah well... I kinda counted my eggs pretty soon... should have at least waited until i reached home... er the suite rather...
Once you are back from office there's not much that you can do... without a car that is... which is what I am currently... It feels nothing less than a house arrest... again... suite arrest.... and there's NOTHING sweet about it... bahhh !!! Am I cribbing??? Well no.. not really... coz I have friends who are gifted with a car (read SSN) and a credit card (read SSN)... and are also gifted with a couple of have not friends like me who dont have a ... yeah yeah... you got it... getting smart or what....
So now I'm just coming back from the community center... after a game of pool... and guess what... I managed to pot in some 8 or 9 balls in just 4 games!!!! Am I a pool shark or what... ;) And that was followed by a game of table tennis as well... Now I dont want to show off my sporting abilities... but I'm atleast a good sport... and I guess that's all I will say....
Am back in home.. suite home... trying to figure out what to do with my time until I fall asleep. I can read... but I'll start crying coz I'll be missing my glasses so badly... I can watch TV... but somehow.. after 2 years of CAS infested Chennai, the idiot box doesnt interest me much... I guess I HAVE become smarter... or so I'd like to believe... Hence I turn to what I like doing.. writing... typing in this case... Thank God for broadband.. and the company for the laptop... ;)
I guess I could try and cook something up... something edible I mean ... but nahhhh... too lazy... So a glass of milk will have to do... I'm making up in advance for the days ahead that I will spend gorging on all sorts of awesome food.... If gluttony IS a sin, let me atone for it now itself...
All you who have the privilege of getting good food on your tables and into your mouths right down to your stomachs... stay reeeeeeeeeeally really away from me.... because just in case gluttony is not.. i know violence is most definitely a sin.... But anyhow, I shall avenge myself at lunch tomorrow...
That's all for now.
Hungrily, sleepily, lazily and bloggily yours...
~K.
(in local parlance... Khalley)
Today I was lucky enough to get out of office at 6... a feat I was never able to manage in Chennai... And considering that the weather was kinda nice all day today, it seemed such a blessing... Ah well... I kinda counted my eggs pretty soon... should have at least waited until i reached home... er the suite rather...
Once you are back from office there's not much that you can do... without a car that is... which is what I am currently... It feels nothing less than a house arrest... again... suite arrest.... and there's NOTHING sweet about it... bahhh !!! Am I cribbing??? Well no.. not really... coz I have friends who are gifted with a car (read SSN) and a credit card (read SSN)... and are also gifted with a couple of have not friends like me who dont have a ... yeah yeah... you got it... getting smart or what....
So now I'm just coming back from the community center... after a game of pool... and guess what... I managed to pot in some 8 or 9 balls in just 4 games!!!! Am I a pool shark or what... ;) And that was followed by a game of table tennis as well... Now I dont want to show off my sporting abilities... but I'm atleast a good sport... and I guess that's all I will say....
Am back in home.. suite home... trying to figure out what to do with my time until I fall asleep. I can read... but I'll start crying coz I'll be missing my glasses so badly... I can watch TV... but somehow.. after 2 years of CAS infested Chennai, the idiot box doesnt interest me much... I guess I HAVE become smarter... or so I'd like to believe... Hence I turn to what I like doing.. writing... typing in this case... Thank God for broadband.. and the company for the laptop... ;)
I guess I could try and cook something up... something edible I mean ... but nahhhh... too lazy... So a glass of milk will have to do... I'm making up in advance for the days ahead that I will spend gorging on all sorts of awesome food.... If gluttony IS a sin, let me atone for it now itself...
All you who have the privilege of getting good food on your tables and into your mouths right down to your stomachs... stay reeeeeeeeeeally really away from me.... because just in case gluttony is not.. i know violence is most definitely a sin.... But anyhow, I shall avenge myself at lunch tomorrow...
That's all for now.
Hungrily, sleepily, lazily and bloggily yours...
~K.
(in local parlance... Khalley)
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Right here. Right now…
I’m trying to get used to this laptop. And I’m trying to let the fact sink in that I’m going to the US. And I’m also trying to get a lot of things sorted in my head… regarding a whole lot of things which I’m pretty confused with…
Right now… I’m sitting in the departure lounge of the Indira Gandhi International Airport, relieved that the procedure till now went smooth enough and also trying to get all the instructions in my head in order. Funnily, the most prominent of them is that I should keep having lots of fluids during the flight and no liquor.
It all started on Thursday, when Ramesh, my SPM came and told me the first thing in the morning that I was required to travel to US on Saturday night. That was two days ago. Since then I’ve had a roller coaster of a time. All day Thursday, it was raising requests for tickets, forex, laptop and whatever else that you can come up with. Thursday night was party time. One of those helluva lively, boisterous evenings that make the world seem alright after all. Courtesy – Bond, Luv, Sandy, Nimisha, Ashish, Neena and Ajayjeet. After the party was pack up time. Special thanks to Nimisha, Divya and Neena. Sweethearts, without you I’d probably still have been packing my stuff up. Whew!
Then, a catnap (really) and an almost tearful farewell later, it was time for some real action. As if it wasn’t enough until now. Yeah right. Ok, I was supposed to meet Ramesh at the airport for a brief briefing. But thanks to a maddening crowd, it didn’t happen. What happened instead was me paying a fortune for my excess baggage. Excellent. Convert it to USD and it really didn’t matter much, said Mr R. Quite a consolation sir. Anyhow, the flight was uneventful, coz I slept through it. Had to make up for the catnap (really really). Reached Delhi, only to learn that one of the 6 pieces of luggage I had checked in was missing. And a quick investigation revealed that it was still lying pretty next to the x-ray screening counter for the baggage that has to be checked in. See I’m smart. That was how I basically escaped paying even more for that freight I was carrying.
Thursday Thriller turned into a Freaky Friday!!! All day Friday was a shopping spree, which I would have loved if the sleep had been more than what I managed with. And if there wasn’t this feeling of impending doom, which I’m still trying to hide. Saturday again saw me and mommy finishing the leftover packing, and then me and mommy and mausi and mami and daddy and mama doing my packing. Awesome show of teamwork I must say. Family planning at its best!!!!
Things have been a little quiet ever since, but for the small altercation between our taxi driver and an auto driver, which actually made me shoot a curse and a prayer to Mr Murphy.
At the airport, it seemed that my prayer actually worked. *touchwood*. The procedure until now, like I said, went on smoothly. But that makes me even more wary. Gives me the feeling that something else might be sneaking up on me. Paranoid? Oh you might say that.
And now I’m inside the aircraft. My first international flight. British Airways. And already I’ve seen so many speaking with an accent and so many faking one, that I want to run back home. But then, there are a lot many reasons why I want to run back home. Then again, I guess it’s pretty inconsequential.
Ho hum!! Will ditch this right here, right now. There are a couple of more things I want to write about, but it’s in a different flavour, so we’ll deal with those in a different article. Meanwhile, I’ll wish myself and all my pieces of luggage a nice and safe flight. Catch you all later.
Love, luck and hope.
Kali.
Delhi.
09 Oct. ’05.
PS: Someone left a gray jacket at the security check. It wasn’t me. Mine’s black. ;) :D
PSS: My date with Mr. Murphy isn’t over yet, I broke my glasses in the flight from Delhi to London. :(
Right now… I’m sitting in the departure lounge of the Indira Gandhi International Airport, relieved that the procedure till now went smooth enough and also trying to get all the instructions in my head in order. Funnily, the most prominent of them is that I should keep having lots of fluids during the flight and no liquor.
It all started on Thursday, when Ramesh, my SPM came and told me the first thing in the morning that I was required to travel to US on Saturday night. That was two days ago. Since then I’ve had a roller coaster of a time. All day Thursday, it was raising requests for tickets, forex, laptop and whatever else that you can come up with. Thursday night was party time. One of those helluva lively, boisterous evenings that make the world seem alright after all. Courtesy – Bond, Luv, Sandy, Nimisha, Ashish, Neena and Ajayjeet. After the party was pack up time. Special thanks to Nimisha, Divya and Neena. Sweethearts, without you I’d probably still have been packing my stuff up. Whew!
Then, a catnap (really) and an almost tearful farewell later, it was time for some real action. As if it wasn’t enough until now. Yeah right. Ok, I was supposed to meet Ramesh at the airport for a brief briefing. But thanks to a maddening crowd, it didn’t happen. What happened instead was me paying a fortune for my excess baggage. Excellent. Convert it to USD and it really didn’t matter much, said Mr R. Quite a consolation sir. Anyhow, the flight was uneventful, coz I slept through it. Had to make up for the catnap (really really). Reached Delhi, only to learn that one of the 6 pieces of luggage I had checked in was missing. And a quick investigation revealed that it was still lying pretty next to the x-ray screening counter for the baggage that has to be checked in. See I’m smart. That was how I basically escaped paying even more for that freight I was carrying.
Thursday Thriller turned into a Freaky Friday!!! All day Friday was a shopping spree, which I would have loved if the sleep had been more than what I managed with. And if there wasn’t this feeling of impending doom, which I’m still trying to hide. Saturday again saw me and mommy finishing the leftover packing, and then me and mommy and mausi and mami and daddy and mama doing my packing. Awesome show of teamwork I must say. Family planning at its best!!!!
Things have been a little quiet ever since, but for the small altercation between our taxi driver and an auto driver, which actually made me shoot a curse and a prayer to Mr Murphy.
At the airport, it seemed that my prayer actually worked. *touchwood*. The procedure until now, like I said, went on smoothly. But that makes me even more wary. Gives me the feeling that something else might be sneaking up on me. Paranoid? Oh you might say that.
And now I’m inside the aircraft. My first international flight. British Airways. And already I’ve seen so many speaking with an accent and so many faking one, that I want to run back home. But then, there are a lot many reasons why I want to run back home. Then again, I guess it’s pretty inconsequential.
Ho hum!! Will ditch this right here, right now. There are a couple of more things I want to write about, but it’s in a different flavour, so we’ll deal with those in a different article. Meanwhile, I’ll wish myself and all my pieces of luggage a nice and safe flight. Catch you all later.
Love, luck and hope.
Kali.
Delhi.
09 Oct. ’05.
PS: Someone left a gray jacket at the security check. It wasn’t me. Mine’s black. ;) :D
PSS: My date with Mr. Murphy isn’t over yet, I broke my glasses in the flight from Delhi to London. :(
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