And that’s how I passed my journey…

Usually, I don’t find myself  among the first few passengers boarding the flight – most of the times, I happen to be among the last few people to enter the plane; just before those who come sprinting down the skyway or tarmac(depending on the carrier). I thought it was a good sign indicating that my journey was getting a bad start. I believe that if things go well in beginning itself, there is something unpleasant waiting for me at the end. Well, I was proven wrong… at least partially!! As usual, against the usual window seat preference, I was sitting on the aisle seat. I prefer it not because I am too tall (i m short by the way) but because it allows me to get up once in every 0.5 hrs to allow smooth passage for the bearers of other 2 seats beside mine. Moreover, I can take a walk whenever I want.. i don’t have to disturb others which, incidentally, is few of the many things I hate. In a long journey, I need frequent walks since I find it impossible to find myself in dreamland while I am inside a plane. It is weird because I can sleep immediately in my bed once I decide to do so 😉

I was settling down in my seat when I saw my neighbour for that journey. I didn’t pay much attention because of some incidents in my past and sat down reading an in-flight magazine of KLM airlines. The neighbor on the window seat had a beard and it looked like he was on his way to Haj. He prayed for few seconds before settling down and that gave me a hint about his possible motive for journey. Anyways, I was talking about my immediate neighbor..isn’t it? There was a large bag which hung around the shoulders of my immediate neighbor and it was too heavy …. I helped to install it properly inside the luggage compartment. And that resulted in the sound of a word so common in English language.. ‘thanks’. The word didn’t make any impact but the sound of it did make my ears attentive. She had a nice bunch of vocal cords!!

For the first 30 minutes I thought of various ways to break the ice further(her thanks opened a crack ;-)). A dialogue from ‘Hum Tum’ movie also crossed my mind. But I kept it simple. ‘I am V*&**^$$…. what’s your name?’. That’s how it started. She told me about her job, her studies, her hobbies(that surprisingly didn’t include shopping, watching movies… in fact, she didn’t have any except sleeping) and her BROTHER. Why do Indian girls never forget to mention their brothers? 😉 She was a Dixit by the way and pure vegetarian. Wow… how many girls are really vegetarian these days… not many I guess. It was her first flight in life and unfortunately a very long duration international flight. She was transferring in Amsterdam to catch another flight to US(Detroit I think). Too bad… we were together for first and the last time. Because it was her first flight, she was pretty anxious about take off. Even when the plane was just taxiing she closed her eyes and asked me several times whether we were already airborne. My answer was not affirmative for at least 15 minutes.; -) You know they usually decrease the temperature after getting stabilized. The temperature went down so low that she was shivering. Luckily, I kept my heavy jacket with me outside to reduce the cabin baggage weight. I offered her my jacket when I saw her shivering but she declined. Two hours later she was wearing the same jacket!! Girls always show some weird attitude first time around 😉 After 7.5 hours of sleepless journey we finally reached Amsterdam and I finally asked her email id. She wrote it down for me and I for her. The only difference was: I wrote my own id…and she gave me her brother’s id. Damn it… brother again!!! After that we got down from the plane and took our own …opposite ways!! Without saying even goodbye! It was as if I never met her. Girls can be so ir*t***t&g……..By the way, I didn’t forget to collect my jacket 😉

Last days in Singapore- Part 1

It’s been 26 days, 5 hours and approximately 20 minutes since I landed in Netherlands and it’s been 26 days 14 hours and approximately 20 minutes since I thought of writing a new post on my blog. If there was any competition for procrastination, I would have definitely achieved one of the top ten positions, assuming I am not the only person in this world who succumbs to this dreadful addiction of procrastination. Anyways, better late than never, this post will at least break the jinx. My friends may not believe it but I have written nearly a dozen posts in last 2 months- the only problem is that I have no proof vindicating my claim, for those posts remained the sole property of my gray cells. How I wish there was a device that could translate my thoughts into words and sentences!!!

Since there are many gaps to fill before I start writing about my new place, I am going to pen down the events that occurred during my last couple of months in Singapore. So, like it happens in Karan Johar movies, we go back to past and start this post from the 2nd day of June 2008. Why 2nd june and not any other day? Well, that’s when my life took a sharp turn and crash-landed in a deep abyss. It took me few days (16 exactly) to come out of that harrowing period. I can’t remember exactly what all happened on that day because I was hungry all day with a fading memory of trees and vehicles flying away. I was in sleep mode, I remember, while traveling a distance of more than 1200 kms in a ferry, a couple of buses and few taxis!!! Thinking about what happened later, this long journey seems like a pleasant escape from the troubles of normal life where one has to deal with accommodation and daily chores.

To continue with story without reflecting back on its causes and effects will be quite mundane so I am warning the reader in advance- there may be diversions from main stories but I promise to get back on track as soon as reflection becomes too lengthy  Back to story- I reached Singapore back in the night after having a wonderful time in Langkawi(Malaysia) and not so great time in bus. Friends, there is always a period after your trip when you just want to reach your home, take a shower and find yourself in deep slumber as soon as your back touches the bed. I was missing my bed so much that I paid a large sum to reach my home from bus stop- a sum that would have got me a return ticket to Kuala Lumpur from Singapore. I went back, slept in my bed and got up mentally refreshed only to find a shocking reality: ‘there was no washroom’. The washroom was gone and so was everything in kitchen(i don’t understand why they make washrooms within kitchen in Singapore).

Just after getting shocked I had read the message from my landlady that they would be getting out to allow the renovation of house and that I should also find a temporary accommodation for few days- 4 days precisely.  But I didn’t know it would happen so fast. Fortunately, I found a temporary accommodation for 3 days and I hoped things would be fine by that time. Turns out they didn’t!! My days in exile went on increasing from 4 days to 10 days and from 10 days to 30 days. After 16 days, my patience ran out and I called quits!! I lost money but I found mental comfort in the fact that I now had a room that was not in range of any source of noise. Back in my old room, where renovation was going on, I would get up in the morning very early(unusual for me) because of a drilling sound from the other side of wall that stood between the bed in my room and rest of the apartment. If that is the start of a research student’s day, it can only get worse from here. I was not an exception unfortunately and because I was writing my thesis at the same time, it was double torture for me.

There is a chance that a thought might have popped up in your mind at this point, “why didn’t this guy try to live somewhere else?”. Well, there were friends and colleagues who offered their help but I was not ready to disturb their normal life. Even I didn’t know how long I would have to live with them and with this uncertainty camping in my mind, there was no way I was going to be in peace anywhere else. Meanwhile, I tried sleeping in lab, the pantry and the study room but they all were too uncomfortable – a common problem plagued all of them. They were too hot and suffocating in nights  That’s when I realized how important my room was to me. All these tortures came to an abrupt end when I made several requests to Student Affairs office in NTU and they offered me a room in Hall 11. Sometimes, it so happens that we wish for something unconsciously and somehow we are granted that wish in disguise- “a blessing in disguise”. During my stay in Grad Hall, I always wished to stay in Hall 11 but never got the chance to realize my wishes. And suddenly, out of nowhere, I was getting the chance to stay there in last few days of my studies in Singapore. I was ecstatic!!

The next few days were going to be more interesting.  There were many more realizations, parties, sadness and yeah…fun!! All this will follow after a small break  To avoid long posts, I am splitting one post into two. The 2nd part will follow soon. Go have some rest!!