Ah, the crispiness of life....
Life's Great!!!
I am loving my insanity!!!
:-)
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Yo Health Services!
Now that I have settled down into my daily schedule of life of a grad student in a US school, some things have begun coming naturally to me.
I cook in huge quantities, when I cook. I happily eat old food, and conveniently forget how old it is. I wash utensils, I fish for quarters every week to put in the washing machine. Yes, I shop for groceries, and lug inhuman masses of groceries back home, in a hope that I won't have to go again for a long time. But I seem to be eating a lot, because I need to buy more veggies, milk and yogurt every week..
Oh yes, I check weather forecasts, before I leave home everyday!! Back in Delhi, we used to check the temperature of the day before, to reinforce our judgment of how hot or cold the day had been.... Life's sure changed a lot.
As a grad student, I take courses (not go to classes), take weekly quizzes (not give tests), do homework ( and hope some arbit form of plagiarism ( there are many kinds defined) may not plague it), grade homework and quizzes for undergrads (not check them), hold recitation sessions and so on... The week passes by so fast, and packs in so many to-dos, that by Friday evening, I feel victorious that I survived the week.
Friday evening is BIG here, party time... Everyone parties, except Indian Grad Students, who shop for groceries... :-)
Weekends are times for movies( watched online by live streaming), lots of sleeping, mass cooking for the week, potlucks, calling up family and friends in India; and yes, catching up on the week's studies, and homework.
The lectures here can be compared to Helicopter rides over Delhi for a geography lesson, and the quizzes would then ask for exact directions from Connaught Place to Paranthey Wali Gali in Chandni Chowk. So, lots of catching up to do over the weekends.
You can imagine that I would often goof up, what with so much at hand, and so little RAM. ( I refer to my extremely fickle memory here, that most of you have had trouble with at different times)
Now, let me come to the Subject the title promises, US health services.
I was in a tearing hurry last tuesday, not unlike the other days of the week, prone as I am to postponing essential activities till the last minute. I was putting on contact lens, when the one in the left eye just disappeared. I searched all over, as well as I could with one good eye, and one eye full of tears... groped stupidly all over the carpet and all.. 7 mins to go for the class, and I suddenly realised, that the contact lens has disappeared into my eye... I blinked hard, stared hard too, in hopes of coaxing it out, but to no avail.. I had no option but to run for the class, with my eyes...
I sat through the class, half shutting my left eye to get a clear, non-blurred view of the whiteboard. I shot an sms to my roomie, telling her the issue at hand... Poor girl, she got all worried and panicky... and advised me to rush to the Student Health Center, whose personnel gave us long and tedious presentations in our Student Orientation, as to how anxious they were to be of use to us. She was right ofcourse, but after hearing all the stories about medical processes in US, I was apprehensive of how seriously they would take this. If they referred me to a specialist in New York, and delivered me there in an ambulance, I would be too embarassed to return to school afterwards.
I nervously scanned all the possibilities, and fervently prayed to the lens to emerge out of its hiding place and save me a whole lot of trouble. The lens was obviously having fun at my expense, and did not budge from its place under my eyelid.
I finally decided on the Health Center. But I had a class to attend directly afterwards. I shot a mail to the professor, saying I was feeling unwell, and if my presence in the class was not indispensable(I am a teaching assistant in that class), I would like to visit the health center. The sincere Swissman replied promptly, asking me to take care of my health, and that he would pray for my quick recovery.
I never felt more dishonest in my whole life. But what was done was done, that too in middle of another lecture, where I was taking notes and asking doubts aside of my sidey activities.
We have still not reached the Health Center, and I can see many of you shaking your head...
"Classic Sruthi Tales"
Fast forward to Health Center now...
The nurse at the Health Center took me into an examination room, and returned with my file.
N:"Do you have TB?"
Me: ( showing last week's TB test spot on my hand) " No TB !"
N:" Tell me about your Alcohol and Drugs Usage"
Me: :" I don't take either, and I have something in my eye that irks and hurts. Can you help me with it?"
N: ( undisturbed) " How active are you sexually? "
Me: (still more perturbed) " I am not sexually active ! "
N: " Honey, If you ever change your mind, do come back here for tips on safe sex"
Me: ( What are you trying to do here?? ) " Sure, I will."
N: " Do you wear a helmet to ride a bike?"
Me: "I have no vehicle, I walk to school, and take a bus to farther places."
N: " Excellent. Do you wear a seatbelt when you drive your car ?"
Me: ( Lets try a proactive answer now) " I dont have a car, but when I buy one, I will surely wear a seatbelt when I drive it. "( one big smile)
N: "Excellent, wearing a seatbelt is a very good habit."
Interogation ended, but the lens was still lodged inside.
Me: " Aren't you going to anything about my contact lens?"
N: " Lets check your BP and vision first."
BP is checked by a automatic machine, and cross-checked by a manual instrument, and I am praised for my excellent BP.
We proceed for the vision test. I read right with my right eye, but not left with my left eye. She says: " This means your lens is not placed right on your eye." ( Aunty, I told you this as I came in, You spent half an hour more rediscovering it??? ) I meekly nodded and followed her back into the examination room.
Nurse: " Honey, I realise these are tough times for you, please be brave. I guess you would be in much pain, let me see if there are any doctors who can help you out. Please sign this form where I filled all the info you gave me."
Interesting part ends, but story must end happily, so here goes.
A doc came in, they switched off all lights in the room, shined a light into my eye, opened it a little wider, and the lens came out. I removed it, thanked them profusely and ran away, vowing never to "fall ill" again!
I cook in huge quantities, when I cook. I happily eat old food, and conveniently forget how old it is. I wash utensils, I fish for quarters every week to put in the washing machine. Yes, I shop for groceries, and lug inhuman masses of groceries back home, in a hope that I won't have to go again for a long time. But I seem to be eating a lot, because I need to buy more veggies, milk and yogurt every week..
Oh yes, I check weather forecasts, before I leave home everyday!! Back in Delhi, we used to check the temperature of the day before, to reinforce our judgment of how hot or cold the day had been.... Life's sure changed a lot.
As a grad student, I take courses (not go to classes), take weekly quizzes (not give tests), do homework ( and hope some arbit form of plagiarism ( there are many kinds defined) may not plague it), grade homework and quizzes for undergrads (not check them), hold recitation sessions and so on... The week passes by so fast, and packs in so many to-dos, that by Friday evening, I feel victorious that I survived the week.
Friday evening is BIG here, party time... Everyone parties, except Indian Grad Students, who shop for groceries... :-)
Weekends are times for movies( watched online by live streaming), lots of sleeping, mass cooking for the week, potlucks, calling up family and friends in India; and yes, catching up on the week's studies, and homework.
The lectures here can be compared to Helicopter rides over Delhi for a geography lesson, and the quizzes would then ask for exact directions from Connaught Place to Paranthey Wali Gali in Chandni Chowk. So, lots of catching up to do over the weekends.
You can imagine that I would often goof up, what with so much at hand, and so little RAM. ( I refer to my extremely fickle memory here, that most of you have had trouble with at different times)
Now, let me come to the Subject the title promises, US health services.
I was in a tearing hurry last tuesday, not unlike the other days of the week, prone as I am to postponing essential activities till the last minute. I was putting on contact lens, when the one in the left eye just disappeared. I searched all over, as well as I could with one good eye, and one eye full of tears... groped stupidly all over the carpet and all.. 7 mins to go for the class, and I suddenly realised, that the contact lens has disappeared into my eye... I blinked hard, stared hard too, in hopes of coaxing it out, but to no avail.. I had no option but to run for the class, with my eyes...
I sat through the class, half shutting my left eye to get a clear, non-blurred view of the whiteboard. I shot an sms to my roomie, telling her the issue at hand... Poor girl, she got all worried and panicky... and advised me to rush to the Student Health Center, whose personnel gave us long and tedious presentations in our Student Orientation, as to how anxious they were to be of use to us. She was right ofcourse, but after hearing all the stories about medical processes in US, I was apprehensive of how seriously they would take this. If they referred me to a specialist in New York, and delivered me there in an ambulance, I would be too embarassed to return to school afterwards.
I nervously scanned all the possibilities, and fervently prayed to the lens to emerge out of its hiding place and save me a whole lot of trouble. The lens was obviously having fun at my expense, and did not budge from its place under my eyelid.
I finally decided on the Health Center. But I had a class to attend directly afterwards. I shot a mail to the professor, saying I was feeling unwell, and if my presence in the class was not indispensable(I am a teaching assistant in that class), I would like to visit the health center. The sincere Swissman replied promptly, asking me to take care of my health, and that he would pray for my quick recovery.
I never felt more dishonest in my whole life. But what was done was done, that too in middle of another lecture, where I was taking notes and asking doubts aside of my sidey activities.
We have still not reached the Health Center, and I can see many of you shaking your head...
"Classic Sruthi Tales"
Fast forward to Health Center now...
The nurse at the Health Center took me into an examination room, and returned with my file.
N:"Do you have TB?"
Me: ( showing last week's TB test spot on my hand) " No TB !"
N:" Tell me about your Alcohol and Drugs Usage"
Me: :" I don't take either, and I have something in my eye that irks and hurts. Can you help me with it?"
N: ( undisturbed) " How active are you sexually? "
Me: (still more perturbed) " I am not sexually active ! "
N: " Honey, If you ever change your mind, do come back here for tips on safe sex"
Me: ( What are you trying to do here?? ) " Sure, I will."
N: " Do you wear a helmet to ride a bike?"
Me: "I have no vehicle, I walk to school, and take a bus to farther places."
N: " Excellent. Do you wear a seatbelt when you drive your car ?"
Me: ( Lets try a proactive answer now) " I dont have a car, but when I buy one, I will surely wear a seatbelt when I drive it. "( one big smile)
N: "Excellent, wearing a seatbelt is a very good habit."
Interogation ended, but the lens was still lodged inside.
Me: " Aren't you going to anything about my contact lens?"
N: " Lets check your BP and vision first."
BP is checked by a automatic machine, and cross-checked by a manual instrument, and I am praised for my excellent BP.
We proceed for the vision test. I read right with my right eye, but not left with my left eye. She says: " This means your lens is not placed right on your eye." ( Aunty, I told you this as I came in, You spent half an hour more rediscovering it??? ) I meekly nodded and followed her back into the examination room.
Nurse: " Honey, I realise these are tough times for you, please be brave. I guess you would be in much pain, let me see if there are any doctors who can help you out. Please sign this form where I filled all the info you gave me."
Interesting part ends, but story must end happily, so here goes.
A doc came in, they switched off all lights in the room, shined a light into my eye, opened it a little wider, and the lens came out. I removed it, thanked them profusely and ran away, vowing never to "fall ill" again!
Yo USA!
I arrived in the US of A about a month ago, and I am loving it so far!
First 2 weeks were indeed tough, though I am now getting adjusted into the new lifestyle. This place isn't too different from India, except that they drive on the wrong side of the road. One month in here, and I still look on both sides of the road(sometimes even up into the sky, just for symmetry) before I cross,coz i cant remember which side to look. :)
Another big difference in my life is that I have to do a lot of shopping. Right from veggies to trash cans, everything has to be preplanned and bought. There are 2 big supermarkets which are 10 mins away by bus. One has food stuff and another has everything else. Bus has definite times, and is free for university students. We take a bus, and as soon as we reach, we decide which bus to return by and time our shopping accordingly. As soon as trolley is full, we take stock of how much we will be able to carry, which limits how much we can buy in one go. I have made endless trips to both the shops to buy just the essential stuff. I so loathe the fact that I will have to keep shopping every week, to keep the pantry stocked up, a thing I never worried about at home.
Univ is great, profs, staff and students are really friendly. The way treat students is amazing. If the professor interviews you, he also tells you all about what he can offer you, and also gives you the right to take the final decision of whether or not to join his research group. I like way these professors work with open doors to their offices.
Lots of chinese here, 8 in my class of 13. I am still struggling with chinese names and chinese english, both of which demand concentrated listening effort.
My roomie is really nice, and we gel well together. We are both crazy, and laugh a lot...
Troy is a really small place, uphill Troy has nothing except the university. The lone eatery is a Pizzeria, which has 3 veggie choices. But the pizzas are tasty. :)
A great place to live for 4 years.And attitude is everything, I realise... :)
First 2 weeks were indeed tough, though I am now getting adjusted into the new lifestyle. This place isn't too different from India, except that they drive on the wrong side of the road. One month in here, and I still look on both sides of the road(sometimes even up into the sky, just for symmetry) before I cross,coz i cant remember which side to look. :)
Another big difference in my life is that I have to do a lot of shopping. Right from veggies to trash cans, everything has to be preplanned and bought. There are 2 big supermarkets which are 10 mins away by bus. One has food stuff and another has everything else. Bus has definite times, and is free for university students. We take a bus, and as soon as we reach, we decide which bus to return by and time our shopping accordingly. As soon as trolley is full, we take stock of how much we will be able to carry, which limits how much we can buy in one go. I have made endless trips to both the shops to buy just the essential stuff. I so loathe the fact that I will have to keep shopping every week, to keep the pantry stocked up, a thing I never worried about at home.
Univ is great, profs, staff and students are really friendly. The way treat students is amazing. If the professor interviews you, he also tells you all about what he can offer you, and also gives you the right to take the final decision of whether or not to join his research group. I like way these professors work with open doors to their offices.
Lots of chinese here, 8 in my class of 13. I am still struggling with chinese names and chinese english, both of which demand concentrated listening effort.
My roomie is really nice, and we gel well together. We are both crazy, and laugh a lot...
Troy is a really small place, uphill Troy has nothing except the university. The lone eatery is a Pizzeria, which has 3 veggie choices. But the pizzas are tasty. :)
A great place to live for 4 years.And attitude is everything, I realise... :)
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Are We Living a Mediocre Life?
I met some of my old friends sometime ago. My class topper was also there at the meet. I was always in awe of her intelligence and ambitions, and knew that she would go places. She finished her graduation from a good engineering school, and joined a KPO. She admitted not liking her Job Profile, and also said she used to like her subjects and would have liked to study further. Somehow, her lack of ambition disappointed me.
When I asked her why, she said she was comfortable here, and doesn't want to take the risk of leaving the job, getting admission into an educational institute, and facing job interviews all over again. Fair enough, you would say.... But, given her ability, none of the above is a daunting task, but she seems unsure of herself…
There are thousands of people like her, who choose the easier options, and escape the struggle of getting what they really want out of life. Why do brilliant people choose a mediocre life? When you have it in you to do better, I can’t see why you would choose not to put in your best effort and achieve what you deserve? Why is it a mediocre world?
A friend of mine answers: “Because the thing it takes to strike something out of the ordinary demands a lot from you. For starters, it means not following others in a queue, but starting one yourself. It also means you have to overcome the social issues, family pressure and most of all your inner fears.”
You have to step out of your comfort zone, and believe on yourself. You have to demand of the universe “I want it, and I WILL have it, whatever it takes.” The fierce desire to for something can work wonders, and that desire pushes you, goads you on and keeps you motivated in your struggle.
Satisfaction and contentment are good things, but if you choose to be satisfied with something lesser than what is your potential to own and enjoy, you slip into mediocrity. It’s all about going that extra mile….
At the end of the day, I want to be proud of my choices, and I want to feel contented about a life well lived.
This philosophical post is slightly out of the line in my humorous blog, and I promise to return to mainstream buffoonery soon. :-)
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Mouse in the printer!
Before you assume I am a Zany inventor of a mouse operated printer or a TC who managed to insert the mouse inside my precious laser printer, let me clarify..
A real mouse got into my printer!! A tiny mouse, which I would call cute if I wasn't Animal-phobic... My animal phobia encompasses all species of animals from rats to pigeons to dogs... I am just plain scared of them...
Anyway, back to the story of the printer....
I landed home yesterday.. and saw all things which used to lie about on the floor, propped up on stools. It wasn't a sudden cleaning spree, I was told, just a reaction to little mice, which were sharpening their teeth on our things.
There I digress again....
I woke up today, and switched on my computer and went off to brush my teeth... When I came back and logged on to Gtalk.. I heard thak-thak.. the sound that Yahoo Messenger makes when someone comes online... another thak-thak... and another one..
Subah Subah itne log online kyon hain.... its a Monday morning...
I know all of you have figured out that the mouse was knocking inside the printer, and all this build-up is wasteful...
So, I opened the printer cover.. and the tiny fellow peeped out... light brown, smaller in length than my little finger.I shut the cover again in horror, to collect all my courage to open it again and peep in.I had no option; it nibbled at something inside my mom's precious laser printer, my fear of the mouse won't count as a good enuff excuse...
The mouse had gone deep inside the printer, only its wagging tail was visible..
I made my next logical move... screamed at the top of my voice!!!! Our maid servan, Sarasa came to my rescue... You see, she knows my usual routine for animal emergencies, so her first question was.. "kahaan??"
By that time, I had pulled out the printer cords, and got as far away as I could from the printer and the mouse, and was standing up on my bed. Sarasa is usually very competent in such situations but she had never seen a printer before.
She lifted the printer and walked out, placing it on the floor outside the house entrance. As soon as someone takes charge, I get lots of courage. So I followed her.
Method 1: Cajole
We called to the Mouse in the printer, wishing all the while that it understands Hindi/Tamil, listens to us and gets out. Predictably, this method failed.
Method 2:Threaten
Sarasa decided to poke the mouse with a thin stick and coax it out. This only made the mouse search for and hide in unreachable depths inside the printer.
Method 3: Bait
I frantically searched the refrigerator for foods mouse would like. Only found a bowl of papaya. I reasoned, that I don't like papaya, so the mouse must love it. I placed a piece on the edge of the printer cover. I and Sarasa settled down, squatting on the floor near the printer, attracting weird looks from passersby. Unfortunately, mouse did not find the papaya too tempting, so it persisted in its hiding place.
Next food to be tried was Mysore Pak, which also met with the same result.
Method 4: Shake Out
One passerby now stopped and began to laugh at our futile exercises, and decided to help out. He took the printer and started shaking it vigorously, face down, so that the mouse would fall out. I was damn scared, for the mouse (my friend by now), and the printer.. because he was holding the printer outside the second floor lobby of my flat.
The mighty mouse clung to the printer and hung on, till this fellow gave up.
Lest more people stop by, and try crazy tricks, we carried the printer into the house.
Method 5:Let It Be
We kept the printer in the balcony, and placed the Mysore Pak there too. then we went about our work. About 10 minutes later, the mouse peeked out cautiously. And being satisfied, it ran out of the printer, and began to devour the Sweet. By the time we reached to pick up the printer, it ran into the printer again!!!
3 more trials of "let it be" were performed, and 3 more pieces of precious Mysore Pak were placed at increasing distances. Distance optimization had to be applied here. Too far away, the mouse would not be able to sniff it out. Too near, we would not have the time to decamp with the printer, on which the mouse had by now, laid an ownership claim.
Finally, 2 hours after the discovery of the mouse, it left its snug quarters and we restoed the printer to its rightful place, covering it with 3 layers of plastic.
Phew!
A real mouse got into my printer!! A tiny mouse, which I would call cute if I wasn't Animal-phobic... My animal phobia encompasses all species of animals from rats to pigeons to dogs... I am just plain scared of them...
Anyway, back to the story of the printer....
I landed home yesterday.. and saw all things which used to lie about on the floor, propped up on stools. It wasn't a sudden cleaning spree, I was told, just a reaction to little mice, which were sharpening their teeth on our things.
There I digress again....
I woke up today, and switched on my computer and went off to brush my teeth... When I came back and logged on to Gtalk.. I heard thak-thak.. the sound that Yahoo Messenger makes when someone comes online... another thak-thak... and another one..
Subah Subah itne log online kyon hain.... its a Monday morning...
I know all of you have figured out that the mouse was knocking inside the printer, and all this build-up is wasteful...
So, I opened the printer cover.. and the tiny fellow peeped out... light brown, smaller in length than my little finger.I shut the cover again in horror, to collect all my courage to open it again and peep in.I had no option; it nibbled at something inside my mom's precious laser printer, my fear of the mouse won't count as a good enuff excuse...
The mouse had gone deep inside the printer, only its wagging tail was visible..
I made my next logical move... screamed at the top of my voice!!!! Our maid servan, Sarasa came to my rescue... You see, she knows my usual routine for animal emergencies, so her first question was.. "kahaan??"
By that time, I had pulled out the printer cords, and got as far away as I could from the printer and the mouse, and was standing up on my bed. Sarasa is usually very competent in such situations but she had never seen a printer before.
She lifted the printer and walked out, placing it on the floor outside the house entrance. As soon as someone takes charge, I get lots of courage. So I followed her.
Method 1: Cajole
We called to the Mouse in the printer, wishing all the while that it understands Hindi/Tamil, listens to us and gets out. Predictably, this method failed.
Method 2:Threaten
Sarasa decided to poke the mouse with a thin stick and coax it out. This only made the mouse search for and hide in unreachable depths inside the printer.
Method 3: Bait
I frantically searched the refrigerator for foods mouse would like. Only found a bowl of papaya. I reasoned, that I don't like papaya, so the mouse must love it. I placed a piece on the edge of the printer cover. I and Sarasa settled down, squatting on the floor near the printer, attracting weird looks from passersby. Unfortunately, mouse did not find the papaya too tempting, so it persisted in its hiding place.
Next food to be tried was Mysore Pak, which also met with the same result.
Method 4: Shake Out
One passerby now stopped and began to laugh at our futile exercises, and decided to help out. He took the printer and started shaking it vigorously, face down, so that the mouse would fall out. I was damn scared, for the mouse (my friend by now), and the printer.. because he was holding the printer outside the second floor lobby of my flat.
The mighty mouse clung to the printer and hung on, till this fellow gave up.
Lest more people stop by, and try crazy tricks, we carried the printer into the house.
Method 5:Let It Be
We kept the printer in the balcony, and placed the Mysore Pak there too. then we went about our work. About 10 minutes later, the mouse peeked out cautiously. And being satisfied, it ran out of the printer, and began to devour the Sweet. By the time we reached to pick up the printer, it ran into the printer again!!!
3 more trials of "let it be" were performed, and 3 more pieces of precious Mysore Pak were placed at increasing distances. Distance optimization had to be applied here. Too far away, the mouse would not be able to sniff it out. Too near, we would not have the time to decamp with the printer, on which the mouse had by now, laid an ownership claim.
Finally, 2 hours after the discovery of the mouse, it left its snug quarters and we restoed the printer to its rightful place, covering it with 3 layers of plastic.
Phew!
Baggage Trouble
As i stood waiting for my baggage near the conveyor belt at Delhi, and saw a torn and dirty bag passing by.... to my horror i realized it was my bag, mutilated beyond recognition!!
I hastily retrieved it from the belt, and got my hands full of oil and mustard in the process.Yes, I admit I was carrying a weird medley of things in that bag, but I have done it umpteen number of times, and escaped without accidents. Don't most of us have one sturdy bag which holds all the things dropped in last?
I went numb looking at what had happened, since the bag contained most new vessels, supplies, and clothes i had bought in Chennai. I looked around for someone who would give me an answer.. and spotted a customer services counter. I dumbly stood in the queue there, until someone behind the counter saw my distress and beckoned me forward.
I showed them the bag, and they reacted as if people come there everyday with bags they have torn. I felt that moment like a naughty child, caught in my act... but suddenly i realised that it was their fault, not mine.. for God's sake, I was inside the aircraft,after handing over to them a locked, zipped bag. Ironically, the lock and zip was intact, and I had to hunt for the keys, to assess the damage.
By this time, I was getting angry about my own stupidity.. and this anger returned me to the world where behind a counter stood incredulous, indifferent but polite men, waiting for me to say something.
I finally found my tongue and launched a harangue about their mishandling of my baggage. As I opened the bag, millions of mustard seeds rolled out, all over their counter, in a pool of ridiculous smelling hair oil. The oil was a present for some relative in Delhi, from some relative in Chennai... but presently, it was causing a sticky-smelly mess at the airport.
After then, it was routine boring task, of making a list of all damaged items, and totaling the financial loss. The stocktaking was greatly helped by the fact that all items were brand new with price tags intact.
The funny thing was, Indian Airlines people took half an hour to find me a plastic bag to put these things. For me, the best thing about shopping is the glossy, colorful bags that stuff comes in. So I had lots of carefully folded empty bags in my luggage. All these bags were pressed into service, with things sorted as oily, not oily,broken and beyond redemption.
After all the mess up, these guys cleaned up their act admirably, settling the compensation claim immediately, and in cash. They filled out the forms themselves for finishing these formalities.
After everything was done, I began to cry, tears coming unbidden as usual...
All the shopping was for my US Trip in august. I am going to set up a new home there, and I had bought cute vessels, nice clothes, even some groceries with the enthusiasm of a child buying coveted toys. I started feeling bad about the inauspicious beginning to a new, ambitious project.
What was this incident but an "Apshagun"?? As soon as that word clicked, Came images of ridiculous K-Serials, where apshaguns happen all the time.. Photo frames falling, bangles breaking and the works...
I smiled instinctively at my my own crazy line of K-thought, and then the mist of worry and sadness cleared up, and I began to feel upbeat at the prospect of getting back home after 2 weeks, and giving everyone the gifts I had bought for them, and kept safe in the other suitcase...
I hastily retrieved it from the belt, and got my hands full of oil and mustard in the process.Yes, I admit I was carrying a weird medley of things in that bag, but I have done it umpteen number of times, and escaped without accidents. Don't most of us have one sturdy bag which holds all the things dropped in last?
I went numb looking at what had happened, since the bag contained most new vessels, supplies, and clothes i had bought in Chennai. I looked around for someone who would give me an answer.. and spotted a customer services counter. I dumbly stood in the queue there, until someone behind the counter saw my distress and beckoned me forward.
I showed them the bag, and they reacted as if people come there everyday with bags they have torn. I felt that moment like a naughty child, caught in my act... but suddenly i realised that it was their fault, not mine.. for God's sake, I was inside the aircraft,after handing over to them a locked, zipped bag. Ironically, the lock and zip was intact, and I had to hunt for the keys, to assess the damage.
By this time, I was getting angry about my own stupidity.. and this anger returned me to the world where behind a counter stood incredulous, indifferent but polite men, waiting for me to say something.
I finally found my tongue and launched a harangue about their mishandling of my baggage. As I opened the bag, millions of mustard seeds rolled out, all over their counter, in a pool of ridiculous smelling hair oil. The oil was a present for some relative in Delhi, from some relative in Chennai... but presently, it was causing a sticky-smelly mess at the airport.
After then, it was routine boring task, of making a list of all damaged items, and totaling the financial loss. The stocktaking was greatly helped by the fact that all items were brand new with price tags intact.
The funny thing was, Indian Airlines people took half an hour to find me a plastic bag to put these things. For me, the best thing about shopping is the glossy, colorful bags that stuff comes in. So I had lots of carefully folded empty bags in my luggage. All these bags were pressed into service, with things sorted as oily, not oily,broken and beyond redemption.
After all the mess up, these guys cleaned up their act admirably, settling the compensation claim immediately, and in cash. They filled out the forms themselves for finishing these formalities.
After everything was done, I began to cry, tears coming unbidden as usual...
All the shopping was for my US Trip in august. I am going to set up a new home there, and I had bought cute vessels, nice clothes, even some groceries with the enthusiasm of a child buying coveted toys. I started feeling bad about the inauspicious beginning to a new, ambitious project.
What was this incident but an "Apshagun"?? As soon as that word clicked, Came images of ridiculous K-Serials, where apshaguns happen all the time.. Photo frames falling, bangles breaking and the works...
I smiled instinctively at my my own crazy line of K-thought, and then the mist of worry and sadness cleared up, and I began to feel upbeat at the prospect of getting back home after 2 weeks, and giving everyone the gifts I had bought for them, and kept safe in the other suitcase...
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