To Infinity & Beyond

After the interview with the guy behind a bullet-proof glass, who wanted to just look at my academic record, and thankfully, not my criminal record, my visa got stamped. Yeah, i understand, no major incidents, just go to chennai, meet up with friends, meet up with embassy officials, get visa and come back the very next day. peace. fun always begins later with me.

first things first. packing. all this hype about the world being a smaller place with the internet is nothing. if the world had been so darned smaller, why would i have to buy two oversized suitcases which can actually fit in two-slightly undernourished adults ?? And if you thought buying two suitcases and later buying stuff to fill it up is trouble enough, just wait till you have to stuff it in. It throws up a peculiar problem. First, you find the suitcase is big, so you make a new list of items to carry and then you realise the new list would need few more suitcases. now you cant go and cut down on your items coz you have made the list after careful scrutiny. Eventually you give up coz if you think of taking anything more you will have to be couriered through DHL on cargo.

the second is the travel plan. in my company, the current emphasis is on saving costs. saving people from gruesome death by being crushed by co-passengers comes a distant 23rd. so our travel desk finds this route that no one had ever heard of and route me through it. bangalore-bangkok-tokyo-san francisco. did i hear you sneer ?? more than the trouble of flying this route, its the explanation you have to give people who suddenly develop such an interest in your itinerary and grill you as to why you arent flying through frankfurt or singapore. "daringly different" is a decent enough answer, but hey, i also get to play marco polo doing all this multiple hopping across asia.

The third part is keeping up with your folks. It doesnt help if you are the first in the family (the first circle of blood relatives) to fly across an ocean. The tens of cousins who flew in and out like it was an evening movie are stale news and are not considered for the time being. A barrage of tips as to what to eat, what not to, where to eat, w.n.t, how to eat, h.n.t can cause severe repulses in your already clogged neural system. Universal facts gain unprecedented importance and you are recited them regularly by every family member in turns. "Dont ask for strangers for directions", "get home early", "obey all traffic rules", am so glad they skipped toilet-training me again.

the fourth and final part is the toughest part, to pretend you are all excited about this trip. If you can fake it, yep, you are there. no puli kaachal (tamarind gravy), no paatti (grandma), no mom to fight with, no folks, its actually pretty difficult to look excited you know.