The Twenty-Eight, clear

Its been long since I had blogged. So many things happened, so many things forgotten. February is a short month indeed, not for me though. I started February with the hope of a few things like returning back home, wearing skirts for the whole month as the snow was just starting to melt and days were getting longer. As an approval, the clothes that I had brought from India started to shrink..... Of course I am not growing fat!!!. Its because of the heat in the dryer. Or Am I??? Well guess what, you guys have to find out when I come back home. But I'm really in love with the skirts here, gonna buy a bunch of them on return.

Chakri's First Day.

Monkey Capped Chakri

That is Chakri. After a horribly drab month of no fun and laughter, Chakri's arrival brought back the life, atleast to an extent. (Karthik Sundeep and Hema are not here duh!!!) His first few days in office were hilarious. With painful two fingers, he escaped from sharing work at home and he had a good few days comfortable stay here because of that. His second day to office was all the more hilarious.

Chakri's Hair Raiser.

Asked him to remove the cap so that
I could take this picture :) 

Waking up on usual alarm which goes on at 6.00 am, I opened a groggy one eye and switched on the laptop to hear the music I hear everyday in the mornings. Did not notice the beeping mobile with almost no charge under the pillow. I had already asked Chakri to come to the bus stop around 8.15 ish. "He is not a baby, He would come", I said to myself. Did all the usual less hectic morning chores and got ready and was out of the house. To check on Chakri, I pulled out my phone to call his roomies moblile. My mobile went dead - Absolutely No charge. Wow!! What a timing. I always have this problem of forgetting to charge mobiles, Even back home Mom yells, Alwin thows my mobile at  walls. But still I keep forgetting.Yeah... That me. The forgetful one.

Well, That was supposed to be a flashback, Now Coming back to this situation, as usual, I waited for the bus, got into it, said "Good Morning" to the driver with my sweet, ringing voice( Common!!!, I can flatter myself), hoping Chakri would be waiting in the bus stop, I got in and took my usual seat. The bus just moved out of Franklin drive, Chakri was not there. Oh Oh... Thats Bad. It was raining, snowing, freezing almost a very messy day. I reassured myself, Maybe Chakri is coming with his friends by car.

I went to office, and started with my usual work. Glanced at the time, Oh dear!!! Its 9.30, he should be here. Is he coming? Did he get into the bus ? Did he get down at the right stop? What if he had  gone all the way to Trenton? What if had got mobbed?  were the quite "What Ifs" which did a horrible ballet in my beautiful mind.

At ten minutes to ten, Chakri comes into Office, with all his hair standing straight... Practically STRAIGHT. Boy!!! was I relieved to see him. The poor guy had been waiting in the bus stop in freezing temperature and rain mixed with sleet for more than an HOUR as he had missed the bus which comes to stop at 8.22am!!!He had seen the bus schedule on the wrong side.

600 College Road East

We were going back home in the evening, and I had told him how things work here, Not that I know of those much, I really did not have much of practical experience in doing all that stuff.Guess I get lucky, People around do it for me, and I just enjoy it. For Instance pressing the "Stop requested" button in the bus, Govind, my collegue used to do it for me, nowadays, a sleepy guy does it for me. The thing is he sleeps in the bus and gets up  at the exact place where he has to get down and luckily I have to get down there too. So he gets the honor of pressing the "Stop requested" button.

Oh! where we left.... Ya Ya that was a flash sideways (People seen LOST would understand.. he he), I asked Chakri to press the "Stop Requested" button as we were nearing his stop, He gets up peers around to make sure that he is getting down at the right stop and goes forward to speak with the bus driver to request him to drop him off at Franklin Drive, while the bus whizzes past his stop. That was Chakri's first lesson on how to ride on a bus in USA. Lesson  no 1: only if the "Stop Requested" button is pressed, the bus stops.

Chakri had to walk his way back to the previous stop to go home.

@ Trenton

Me @Trenton

I was waiting for Chakri for two reasons. One, he is funny.Two, I had to get my SSN. I needed company to go there. Did not want to go there all by myself.
 This time I turned out to exhibit stupidity. After the usual "Get Ready" process  I skipped outside in my skirt, The climate was good, I need not look inhuman with the huge snow coat around me, went to the busstop at 7.55 am to catch the bus. The SSA office was in Trenton.With a series of instructions to Chakri ,I came to the bus stop at the exact time humming my favourite tune, And then I realised it. I had fogotten to bring my Passport and that  is the most important document to apply for SSN!!!

What Trenton Makes. The World Takes

I hated myself when I had to tell that to Chakri. Me being "stupid" was supposed to be secret. Of course Alwin knows. He should, after all he has put up with me for 7 long years.Well, I had to return back, pick up my passport and returned back to the bus stop after an hour.This time I had everything, I got into the bus and prepared myself for the huge 1.30 hours of travel. I started to feel dizzy just the way Alwin used to feel when he travels up hill to Ooty. I should have caught this from him. We reached Trenton, and then we realize that we did not have the "ADDRESS" of the SSA office in hand.

I had the idea of going to TRENTON and then taking a cab to the SSA office. Chakri was strictly against it for some unknown reason. The whole place was filled with 'கருபனுங்க' and I started to feel a bit queasy. "Thank God I came to this place with Chakri, I have someone to protect me atleast", with such a though in mind I glanced at Chakri, He sounded and looked more tensed than I was. OMG!!!!!

The River Train

He further goes on to explain "You know, This is where shootings take place". I could have taken a cab from Princeton and finished the work and gone home. Atleast I would not be shot at. I have to live to wear my skirts and the pretty  little grey boots that I had just bought for 30$!!!

We did not know where the Office was and went up and down  "EAST Street"  a few times. Finally giving up, I suggested we  take a cab. His suggestion was the "River Train". Its cheaper, just 1.50$  he said. But Im sure if we had gone we would'nt know where to get down as we were visiting the place for the first time.With me nagging him to take a cab, he succumbed and we went to the SSA office by Car. "Wow Nagging works fine, and I'm good at it".

The work was done and, return was better and cheaper by 6.00$, by the River Train. Again in the NJ Trenton Transit center we had to wait for more than an hour. The "கருபனுங்க" there looked so weird and scary and horribly huge. Chakri was murmuring , and I was too freaking out a bit. Oh it was not obvious. "The Inside Me", If u guys would remember. That was the one which was freaking out.

Finally the 600 bus came in. We happily got in, we were the only ones in the bus and I sat in my usual first corner. Chakri sat behind me. I heaved a sigh of relief just to hold back my breath. A whole bunch of "கருபனுங்க", that too loud boistrous ones got into the bus. There was just the two of us and a whole bunch of them. Chakri started to murmur, He does that when he gets tensed. keeps babbling or reading whatever he sees. He will deny it though. He even read what was written on a wig shop and asked me to get a wig too.

Anyways... It was a big day, we came into office tired and hungry but safe.

Threesome in 2011

My Sweet l'il Child

Dheera turned 6 in February 2011 and its a bit depressing not to be there when she cut the "Choota Bheem" cake. May God give her the very best. Alwin took beautiful care about her B'day made all the arrangements perfect. He surprised me this year by being "Mr Perfect Dad". Great!!! "Hats off" to him. But anyway Baby, Im coming next month.
The morning dawned with the mail box flashing in a new mail, A "Congratulation " mail form Syntel. Its been three long years in Syntel and the client that I am working with. Turning back, I see two pairs of "Footprints" in the sand.

Alwin and Dheera on Web Chat.

A kindle, a new Laptop, a leapster for Dheera, and an XBOX Kinect where a few of the priced things I had longed for. Being with Alwin, I picked up a liking on such stuff too. February saw me buy 'em all. I was really exited  to go home and enjoy them all with Mom and Dad, Alwin and Dheera. Just a few more days, I kept saying to myself.  When I got "The Call" Project is extended by a month again.......Not another month of Web Chat!!!!!





The Church Bells

The day dawned with a red tinge in the eastern sky. Shining down directly on my face, I was rumpled out of my beauty sleep. Starting the day with the usual phone call  to my mother, I decided, I would go out today for the Sunday Worship Service at a church I found on the net. I rarely miss Church on Sundays. My Daddy was particularly strict that we attend church and that too on time. I remembered the days he used to be mad at me when I wanted to watch 'He-man' or 'The Jungle Book' that was telecast on Sunday at the exact moment we had to start to church. This was during childhood though.

I was not yet familiar with Plainsboro and I did not want to sit at home on a Sunday instead of going to church. Dad helped me develop that habit. And today I am glad that he did.

So I set out, with the map in hand (although I did not know much to make out of that map) to find the church at Plainsboro. I walked, praying in my heart that I would find the church without much trouble, I walked, and walked. It seemed so never ending. The service was supposed to start at 10.30 am, and I was already late, late by an hour.The snow was still piled up after a twelve inch snow storm and it seemed there was not much way to walk down. I crossed the road and walked. Took a turn and walked..... the wrong turn..... Common' you should have guessed, after all, "I" interpreted the map. 

The roads seemed so deserted, a new fear rose inside of me. I retraced my steps, and then it occurred that I had come the wrong way. I rechecked my map and walked a little further.... The cold freezing wind was blowing right at my face, and by now I was exhausted and scared. The little voice inside my head too sensed it, it said "Better return home now, You are alone remember". I stopped; and turned back; to go home, when the bells rang, The Church bells......

I was not alone. I turned and walked towards those ringing bells which said "COME".

Gospel Fellowship Church Plainsboro

Around the world in 100 hours

I had to prepare for the trip to US again on 26 December 2010. The Christmas was a hurried one, and I was getting prepared to catch the flight on the early hours of the Boxing day of 2010. Alwin dropped me off in the airport. With stolen tears,I bid farewell to the dear. Hoping the period of separation would be just for a month, I headed towards the immigration

 Boarding the British Airways with the i-pod glued to my ears, searched for my seat, made myself comfortable and braced for the huge travel for around 18 hours. Turning around, I saw an American smiling at me. Jim did not sound like the Americans in the movies, He was so different, just like the Indian grandfathers filled with lots of love and family values. The conversation between me and Jim probably sped up the travel. London, Heathrow airport was approaching, and we said our good byes and good lucks. Little did we know that we would be seeing so much of each other in the next few days.

 The flight landed in London's Heathrow airport at 9.45 am. Well braced for a six long hours of wait at the transit, I moved on towards the lounge to get myself on the Internet highway back to the arms of my husband. He was waiting for me there. "Your flight is canceled due to the snow storms in the east coast of North America" said a lady in the original British airways uniform. I looked at her with a mixture of disbelief, panic, and confusion.

After a lot of running around, between the BA officers I got myself a hotel voucher for the stay overnight and 24 hour transit visa into London. Hoping  I would be bound towards  US by the next day, I hobbled out of the airport cold, tired and hungry at 5.30 pm, clutching the baggages which the airlines returned back to us as they did not have place to stack them up. It was a typical Chennai travel in the bus bound towards the Holiday Inn in Sipson Way, London. "Things were supposed to be different here" said a little voice inside my head. 

26 Dec 2010

London Streets in the cold weather

Communicating to the near and dear was our major concern. We were completely not prepared for London and we did not have means of informing people back home that we were safe - almost. Things were pretty expensive in London. Somehow squeezed a call home and asked them to call back. My folks were relieved. and also they checked out the flight status and said something that I never wanted to hear. "Tomorrow's flight too is canceled" 
Though no means of communication, It was the best English dinner and breakfast I ever had. It was a royal  and a welcome one after skipping lunch.

27 Dec 2010

My stranded friends

The next day 7.30am , we stood at the bus stop for the bus. That's where I met him. Our angel in the darkness. Uncle Thavamani. A small group joined together to fight our way towards the destination - "The USA". Unknown people started helping one another as a family. We stood in quite a long and a slow moving queue and successfully got a standby  ticket to Washington DC. We had to report to the counter by 2 .00 pm for  flight taking off at 2.50 pm to get our boarding pass. Keeping our fingers crossed that we would get the ticket, we ran back to the counter at the exact time just to return back disappointed. Having learned our lesson on standby tickets, a tired and a hungry group (we) stumbled back into the crowded bus in Chennai ... Opps Sorry!!!,I meant  London . "Everything is premier but the price" was the tag against Premier Inn, the worst hotel in all of London.  Food was horrible and none was worth of even tasting. That ended the next day.We tucked ourselves into bed tired and hungry with no lunch and no dinner.

28 Dec 2010

Will add caption later

London was misty and foggy and showers of rain  poured in. We were at the bus stop at 7.30. Buses were once in half hour and this time we intervened into a  group. The girl wore a heavy make up and her boyfriend, a flowing haired not so appealing fellow was constantly kissing her while waiting in the bus stop. Oh! Would they ever stop!!! The lady and the gentleman in the group were a bit older and seemed to be the well bred types from the classics. They scowled at us and swore on Indians when my inner voice screamed "Meri Bharath Mahan!!!" 
I did not realize that It was too cold and rain was pouring down,  as we were standing there in the bus stop hoping that we would get into the next bus which never happened. We had to go one by one as they did not allow many baggages in the bus. Each in our group had two or more.   I watched sadly as the bus moved when Uncle Thavamani  stood at the bus stop  waiting for the next bus after making me board the bus with my luggages. We regrouped at the airport, got the hotel vouchers for the night at Hotel Renaissance. 

The Hall Way in Hotel Renaissance

 Hotel Renaissance - The place where we breathed relief.

 

My English Lunch

It was here we had our first lunch in London. Lunch was  a welcome break after frustration from  three days of long queues.

The English Pub

We went out for a stroll, visted "The Three Magpies", the english pub (of course from outside and resolved that I would come there some day with Alwin), saw Patni, had the devilish desire to give my resume there, but restrained, and set back to the hotel to have dinner. With the twilight nearing, I fell into a shivering fit, I realised I was down with fever.

29 Dec 2010

Getting into the bus at last

All exited that we were flying out of London that day and  my head spinning with the drowsiness that paracetamol had caused (I had taken some to ease my fever) , I got ready for the travel to the US of America. We boarded the bus in the early hours of Dec 29 2010 and went into the Heathrow airport with all hopes that we were leaving London. With the longest wait of my life for 7 hours,  without lunch or water, we heaved a sigh of relief when we boarded the plane towards Washington DC. Uncle Thavamani was waiting there to pick us up as he had already gone on a earlier flight. A to be wed couple was sitting behind us, they had thier share of fun during the flight. Too drowsy to mind any of that, I fell into a deep sleep. 

Waking up,I cast my first sight on the US of A  as the BA Boeing was hovering above Portland. Wondering what memories would US give me to take home. I was happy that we just had to land.

Friends from Trinidad and Tobago

Looking back, I'm glad I had these days in my miles, as it thought me two important things:

"Panic or hastiness costs. Keep your  cool in all situations - This helps to think".

and the most of all "Lend a helping hand it helps you inturn".

View from my room in USA

With happiness, that I  made friends for life and knowing the strength and courage  that was built inside of me in three days of December 2010, I smiled inward when I knocked on 216, Hampshire Drive, Plainsboro.

The Flight not taken

A million butterflies fluttering in my stomach woke me up on 18 Dec 2010  My flight to the U.S was scheduled at 4.00 AM on 19th and I was a first timer. There were so many things to be done, a huge shopping list, Packing, Prearrangements, Advices to be given, Advices to be taken. Omphh..... This was pressure.

Dheera too was travelling to Ooty for her Christmas holidays and the same huge list ( infact bigger than mine ) had to done for her.

All people were shuffling here and there busy doing nothing as  the list was so huge that nobody had any idea on how to priorotize.

Some how Dheera's stuff was done. and we hurried to the station to catch the train.. We had said our byes and Happy Christmases,  and Dheera was all set to enjoy her Christmas at Ooty.

I had to come back and pack up everything and hurry back to the airport to catch my flight. On the way back, I realised that I was bushed and just wanted a beauty sleep. Imagining myself  with my head tucked inside my pillow on MY bed and dearly hoping the flight or the trip would get cancelled in a quite corner of my heart, Alwin and myself  bound towards home.

Exchanging romantic "How do I live without You" on the trip back from the station in the car (Although God knows what Alwin was thinking deep down....). and the loving glances, we reached home a tired and hungry pair.

Offering to make nice dosas for the dear hubby, as I would not be making dinner for him for quite a while. And in turn, he offering to wait so that we could have dinner together for the 'last time' (in the next month), we setttled to have a quite dinner when the phone rang. The voice on the other end said "This is Gertrude from BA, Your flight is cancelled..."

Alwin looked up with a mixture of feelings: Shock, disbelief, relief,  were a few.He had planned a party with the Big Boys the next day.

The Girls must be Crazy

Pizzas and Desserts.

Almost released from the project that I was working in, there was nothing much to do in the office front, Anusha and myself, got into a food fit; such a craze that we wanted to eat all junk stuff. With a wish list of mouth watering desserts and pizzas, we went to pizza hut during the lunch hour.

Normally one small pizza is enough to fill up our hunger. We finished our pizza and went about hunting for a dessert. Googled on a pastry joint not so near by we set out to find it. It was a long travel by two share autos . Finally found the place. Out stomachs were so full that we were really tired enough to walk back. The return was by an auto and then by bus.

We realised we were crazy enough to have eaten so much and crazier the pain taken to  travel to the dessert joint

Tea with Balaji

Tea shops in India , prominently on the roadside is the most polluted with cigarette smoke, Fifty percent of the men population can be seen there as they relax with a smoke outside the tea shop. Definitely not a place for conservative girls like me.

Balaji invited us for tea, again, with not much work on hand, we agreed and the whole set of girls were  beside him exited but cribbing that he was taking us to a normal tea shop and not a nice, grand exotic one.

Anyways, for the first time in life I tasted the hot piping tea in a small paper cup with some cookies in a local tea shop.

Lunch in a mess

Alwin bragging on how he used to have lunch in Andra mess always indulged me to crave for the lunch there. Andra mess is basically a food joint, not exactly a very nice place for girls as it is always crowded with boys. Teaming up with Anush, I was indulging in one of the spicy lunches I ever had.

The Second Chance.

Nov  29 2010

It was a wonderful Christmas program in church, and I was returning along with my grandmother. Dheera my daughter out of exhaustion had already slept. The auto guy had stopped a bit further away and I had to just walk down ten steps to reach my home. With a whole lot of overconfidence, I took Dheera in my hands and started walking down towards my home. And there it happened my worst nightmare. I tripped over a stone and fell. Dheera sleeping on my shoulders, with a wasted attempt of trying to stop my fall, I landed on my knees Dheera was also going down to hit her head. And then I heard it. Her SCREAM.

I came home to examine the hurt, I thanked GOD from the bottom of my heart for the hurt was small.

God was gracious enough to give me a second chance in life.

Happiness

This post is one of the serious types so much unlike my previous ones. The 8.5 miles of travel up and down from office everyday probably had brought me to have such a philosopical thinking.

Oh!! but its all right once a while.

Mornings in the local train is always a exhaustive experience. crowded trains, impatient and rude people, and trains always running late. I sit in my usual corner with the I Pod stuck to my ears,  looking around observing the crowd in the train. There she was the young mother carrying a 12 year old kid.I seem to bump into them almost everyday. She was a soft pretty young lady exhibiting the utmost patience. I looked up to see the kid's face. She was one of those mentally challenged kid. The mother was struggling to carry her as well as maintain her balance with the hustling and pushing of the people around her. There it struck me, "Im Blessed".

Evenings it is a different scene. A tired looking mother should be in her late forties, relaxing on her novel is a very usual sight in the chennai trains heading towards Tambaram ( The place where I stay). Her eyes seemed to be tired and exhausted, skin seemed so lifeless, lips always curled to a frown. She too was my co-traveller almost everyday. Something about her interested me - Her Son.

A little boy around six or seven years, full of life doing his homework in the train beside her, with sharp little eyes, which take in everything it sees and figiting over his mom's mobile phone, is again a usual sight. The mother pulled the mobile from his hand and with elaborate gestures she asked him to stop figiting with it. It was then I realised ,the boy was both deaf and dumb. There ended my vanity of wondering on the deep frown and frustration across the lady's face.

I also see people who inspite of having almost every comfort of  life complain about how very unfortunate or pathetic thier life is.

I would not have written this post, but wanted to for one ardent reader of mine- ME, lest I forget the art of feeling grateful and join the group of pathetic people who imagine they have a pathetic life.