23.8 .. Curse the weighing scale .. Open the neatly packed luggage again rummage through it and try to decide what to throw out.. hmm the medicines alone weigh 750gms.. But thinking of the pharmaceutical bills of beutel . It goes in again. appa looks at the earring box . why do u need 30 pairs of earrings . they never get it do they . kanji mavu packets hmm they seem like a good choice. from there amma goes into a tirade on how much vitamins , calcium , protein and her painstaking efforts go into it ..Sighh its 11.45 and i have a flight to catch at 3.30 . I should be a pro at this luggage packing now but sadly not. I think i would rather pay for the extra weight . Resigned i try to fit back in watever i have packed . Gesture my sister to sit on that overflowing suitcase while i try to close it. Athu samsonite bag . Pathu scratch vizha poguthu . Hmm wonder what he will say they see how they throw the luggage into the cargo .
Chennai airport . A teary farewell despite the fact that i will be coming home back in 4 months.
Security check . Indian custom officer : Why did u come 2 india . duhh . its my country , and now i need justification for the visit .
From their the guy who carried my luggage in , lingers around . peel off a couple of hundreds and send him off. somethings in india never change do they .
darn its 2 hrs and some ideas to kill the time.
Airtel booth - call mom and dad despite the long farewell .
Go to the snack bar - but be warned ! 100Rs. for the burger . 50Rs for a bag of chips . Pagal Kolla ( daylight robbery )
Try to be nice to the uncles and aunties sitting next 2 u and patiently answer their question regarding ur life history
Try to sleep despite the incessant noise around you
Patiently wait for the BA flight attendant to call for the lines
Try to shove past the immediate throngs of people and vow to get ur executive club membership next time so tat u can skip the queue
Board the flight past that handsome Indian male attendant who says vankam in a wierd accent .
Resign urself to that fact that u are to be seated btw 2 screaming 6 month old kids , one who can just stop drooling on ur hair and control the urge to shove the ceralac into another one who refuses to eat it but cries still from the hunger. Dont get me wrong i am no evil witch kind , but a long 12 hr flight with kids all around u is bound to kill any sisterly/motherly/kindly instincts in u . Curse BA for the absence of on-demand movies and watch harry potter and 500 days of summer alternatively. Though some say flight food is bad i contradict the same :P .. thats the only saving grace on board . Hot decent meals and chocolates from tuck boxes.
Heathrow- Once one gets past that pain in the neck security check . U c a bustling airport and a almost cinematic picturesque scene. Head straight to that coffee shop in gate b . for an espresso shot 2 get rid of the nagging headache. roam around the duty free shops and wish u could just raid it.
Onboard 2 US - Its indeed ur lucky day when the cute guy with his big backpack-- obviously going back from a Euro rail trip is sitting next to u .. Quick turn of events makes it the worst of the days when a 60 yr old uncle comes and makes him shift 2 the next seat saying its his. Even worse when he has ordered sea food meal plan and every meal s painstaking effort for u not to puke at the sight of raw shrimp .
Landing in houston and waiting in a long queue ur almost asleep by the time u visit the immigration officer who always seems to be a longhorn and is indeed funny but sadly it doesnt get past the cerebral section of ur brain due to an after-effect of a caffeine overdosing and acute lack of sleep and the extreme desire for a long hot bath.
And by the time u reach CS, u wish u had caught the same flight back home. !
