The Homecoming - India visit Dec 05

"There is no place like home " and I could not agree more. I was excited at the prospect of visiting my hometown in Pune this December. It is always a special feeling to be amidst your near and dear ones especially after being away from them for a reasonable length of time. You realise what it means to be a part of the family when you spend some time away from home. I was certainly feeling homesick and was eagerly looking forward to get back to where my heart is.

The countdown had begun but time was passing by rather quickly thanks to some enterprising activities at our residence. "Shop till you drop" and I was definitely living upto it. We rented a car (Mercury Grand Marquis) one way to JFK International Airport from Binghamton. We had four large suitcases with us and doubts started creeping into my mind regarding how they could be accomodated in the trunk. Dheeraj, Raja, Krishnan, Musa helped our cause and we somehow managed to fit everything in the car. Renu and Aishvarya had some difficulty sitting behind but it was just a matter of time. The weather prediction was gloomy with rain and fog to thwart our progress. Conditions did get a little tricky but we smoothly made our way to JFK by 2 pm. Our flight (Swiss Intl LX 154) was scheduled to depart at 6.30 pm. I had to rush to return the car at Avis after offloading the luggage. The rental car return was rather far from the departure terminal but the ride back in the airtrain more than made up for it. It was an amazing experience to watch airplanes at close quarters via the airtrain. We started the baggage check-in procedure at around 3 pm. Things were moving on and within 30 minutes we were done with the routine.

I was peckish. I was surviving on Glucose buiscuits since morning and wanted to have a substantial lunch to help my cause. I relished having a meal (General TSO Chicken, Sweet & Sour Chicken with Fried rice) to satisfy my hunger.

After calling up a few close friends I decided to bid goodbye to United States of America. Our flight took off at 6.30 pm sharp. I made myself comfortable on the seat and anxiously awaited the next move. As the flight soared high over the Atlantic, I was getting irresistably impatient to see my folks. I knew it was not going to be a long wait after all. On board I listened to some melodious tunes from Salaam Namaste and Dus. I sat through a painstaking movie experience with Dukes of Hazzard and a rather crass comedy "40-year old virgin" .. I have this thing of not getting enough sleep while travelling but I did not mind it ... We were served pasta for lunch. After exactly 8 hours we touched down at Zurich International airport. It proved to be a dampener as I could hardly see anything due to snow conditions. We had a transit time of 2 hours for the next flight from Zurich to Mumbai.

I leave this one incomplete for the moment .. More later ..

Lights, camera, action -- Its showtime

Recently, a new wave is sweeping across the corridors of 259 Main Street. We are celebrating a week long "film festival" ... As crazy as it might sound, it is that much more fun to be a part of it. This idea dawned upon a few enterprising individuals who rented a projector from the Audio/Visual communications department in school. It was a novel concept and one that will find support in any mortal who wants to have some fun. There is no dearth of "josh" in the residents over here and it seems like everyone is bent on having a gala time after a hectic semester.

Cooking has taken on new dimensions. Yesterday, a Bengali couple served up some mouth watering fish curry. I am really gonna miss out on the fun and frolic as I would be visiting India in a short while from now. This is the only time when folks get together and try and make the most of it. Once the semester commences it is very difficult to have such a gathering except on birthdays. I have been lucky to escape the shock treatment metted out on birthdays. Birthdays are "memorable" in the true sense of the word as they an leave everlasting pain in the butt that reminds you of how special your birthday was. I frankly do not support this practice and refrain from it as much as I possibly can. It is a whole lot of thrill for others who cant help enjoying the suffering at the cost of the victim ...

Each day heralds a new beginning and I wonder if ever there can be a boring moment amidst the merriment. I hope this trend continues for the future so that no one misses their near and dear ones badly.
It can get really lonely and depressing over here if you do not have good company around you. I am glad that the fervor manifested by new blood is exemplary and can go a long way in demonstrating how one can enjoy without indulging in gossip or idle talk which has unfortunately become a part and parcel of the life of desis out here.

Devil Amol

I have been noticing of late that I have become quite irritable. I have been nitpicking over petty things. I think I need to chill down and take it easy.

My friend made her way to Chicago safely after a few hiccups. Now that she is busy, I cant seem to get enough of her. So whenever we do get a chance to talk, I keep talking about what needed to be done to meet my expectations rather than the conventional stuff. This attitude of mine is getting increasingly evil and I need to get my act together real quick. This happens with me ever so often. I always feel that when I can be available for my friends 24*7 why can't they reciprocate likewise.

To beat the frustation, I decided to spend the day talking to all my other friends. It was nice to catch up with a few folks. Towards the fag end of the day my housemates decided to have some booze. We spent the night talking some crap and watching VVS swish his blade with panache. Cricket is in the blood of every desi and I am no exception.

The focus of this post was on the irritating nature being manifested by me of late. I need to work upon that and make sure I maintain harmony and peace of mind.

It's snowtime

I am back in one piece ... I am grateful to the almighty for giving me the strength to endure my most challenging drive of the season. I hope I am not giving an impression that I was participating in a race track event but trust me it was a harrowing experience to say the least. So the story goes ....

Date: 12/15/05. Time: 8.00 AM. I was rushing to the bus stop to catch the earliest possible bus to my friend's house. A heavy overnight snowfall didnt make it any easier for me to make it any
faster to the bus-stop. I left my house at 7.50 AM since the scheduled time of the bus was at 8.00 AM but to add to my miseries, I could not make it in time to get on board. So, with a heavy heart and a rather comprisingly coy attitude, I decided to walk it up to her house. I had promised her, I would be there first thing in the morning after a rather unnecessary argument overnight.

So I started walking the glorious path with my indefatigable spirit to live up to my words. I am sure she didnt have the slightest idea what that effort meant but I was bent on my promise. Earlier, the plan was to drop her off to a local bus station but I was in for a big surprise. I made it to her place by 8.15 AM. She was still busy deciding what stuff to pack in and what to leave behind. I love it when girls have that confusion interspersed with despair .. it is a happy situation for a keen observer like me .. i m being too mean here but I decided to offer a helping hand to make her feel better. She was her usual self .. lost, confused, desperate, unsure etc... and then she let the cat out of the bag ..

It was brought to my notice that I had to drop her off to JFK International Airport in New York. I was completely taken aback by her decision and for a moment my mind went blank. I had a meeting scheduled for that afternoon and I did not know what needed to be done about that. I feel she should have asked me once before deciding but sometimes it is understood amongst friends. I knew her nature too well and I suspect the rationale behind her decision.

So we were off to Enterprise to pick up the car. The feeling hadnt quite sunk in and there were more surprises to come. I would not like to state any more episodes that transpired that morning as I know she would take offence to those issues. The morning had been one helluva experience but it had some sweet moments in between.

We packed our breakfast from IHOP .. I appreciate this gesture of her's since she made sure that we indeed got there inspite of the limited time we had. After stuffing a delicious Chicken Fajita omlette (my mouth still waters when I think about it) ... we moved on. I decided to drive since the weather was unfavorable. So we were on our way to JFK :)

Surprisingly, we managed to get there well ahead of time. It took us some time to beat the traffic at George Washington Bridge but it wasnt as bad as it can possibly get. We touched JFK at around 5.15 pm. It had already got dark and I knew I had a lonely drive back home.

What awaited me was a complete shocker !!! I got stuck in a major traffic snarl on I-80 W. The traffic was moving at a snail's pace ... Driving conditions were appalling and visibility was next to nothing. In such a stop-and-go scenario, my knee started to give me more problems leave alone the stiff back that I had been putting up a brave front with. It took me nearly 2 hours to get through that traffic but it kept getting worse. The defrost was screwed up and I was running low on gas .. I kept praying in between to comfort myself. Monster trailers buzzing past my modestly sized car made it difficult to maintain stability.

Things got so worse that at one point in time, when I decided to change lanes I was automatically routed with minimal steering movement. It all sounds funny now when I look back at it but I was in a miserable state. Besides driving the car, I had to navigate single handedly .. which I was not quite used to .. It always helps to have someone besides who can navigate and I really missed one then. I entered Pennsylvania and was greeted was pitch darkness. Driving on 380 North was unimaginable in that kind of adverse weather. The accumulating ice on the windshield made visibility extremely poor and I had to swing sideways at times to get an idea of where I was. It was absolutely crazy and I felt like a weirdo doing that stunt.

I was destined to get home as I had to return the car the next morning. Inspite of being physically challenged due to my back and knee pain , I did not give up and decided to weather the storm. The sight of the vehicles off the road lying under piles of snow was indeed scary. I reached Crossings Mall and decided to fill up some gas .. I found a Mobil gas station but it was defunct. I kicked myself for having taken the exit but I knew I needed some gas immediately. It was blistering when I got out of the car to fill gas and it was difficult to stand out even for 10 seconds. Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to keep moving forward .. I found another one and got a much deserved break from driving. I spoke to a few friends who comforted me and wished me luck in the remainder of my expedition.

I quickly got my act together . I was still a good 75 miles from Binghamton but I wanted to make sure I get past this patch on 380 N ... I do not remember what gave me the strength but somehow I made to Scranton and got onto 81 N. I felt I had done something as spectacular as conquering Mt. Everest ... I pulled over at a rest area after Scranton and took some time out to reflect on what I had been through ... Eventually, I was a tired man when I got back home. Binghamton had turned into a mountain of snow and with a few tricks I managed to park the car safely. It took me freaking 7 hours to drive as against 3.5 hours in normal conditions but I was glad I made it safe and sound.

I was not worried about myself but I was getting increasingly anxious as I have not heard back from her. I just pray to God that she is safe and I hear back from her as soon as possible.

I got up today morning and returned the car ... I could not help convincing the Enterprise rep who dropped me home, how difficult it was yesterday night. I decided to write all this down as it was one of the most memorable adventures in my life span...