Murphy's Law at its best....

Jet Airways wreck havoc...

Epicenter - < My Company >

I had fore planned my visit to Chennai this weekend and for almost one of the first times, I had booked my tickets 1 month in advance. I was all set to start to Chennai on Friday evening and get back to Hyderabad on Tuesday morning. The day had come and I was so excited to start home. Sis was supposed to be leaving on Sunday (today...well...she has left now) to UK to do her masters. The last time I can catch a glimpse of her for what could probably be another 2-3 years - the weekend !!!

Friday - Sep 11 '09
Got up really late on Friday morning and ended up taking the 8.40 AM shuttle instead of the 8.10 AM. Well, we are supposed to have at least 6.30 hours to make one full working day. Otherwise, half a day's leave would be deducted. I knew I wasn't going to have 6.30 hours for I had to take the Chennai Express at 4.45 PM, which meant I had to leave my company as early as 3.00 PM, go to Lingampally, catch a train, get down at Secuderabad, meet Chinnana and give him stuffs that I have been stocking for almost a month now (Kolkata Rasagullas, Laughing Buddha, Footwear for Swetha and Rekha).

Packed them all in my backpack along with 3 sets of dresses that I possibly can't afford to wash at my home in Hyderabad. Well...I'll tell you why...
point A - They are too good a dress to be washed by ME.
point B - I aint that good at washing clothes. The first thing that I suck big time is at Math, second - Directions, third - ok...now...Washing Clothes.
point C - I am too lazy to wash them at home, all by myself !!! I can't put them on the company's laundromat, coz they are really high powered and I am sure my clothes would come out crumpled rendering it absolutely useless for a pressing !
point D - Well, a reason to get back home and have good food :P

Swiped in at 9.15 AM and walked towards my cube, all set to finish off my work well before 3.00 AM. I had a half hour session scheduled on Friday for the training batch. I was supposed to be taking them through a topic that was very important for them in the POST Project. I wanted to go for the assistance in the afternoon too. But I knew I wouldnt find the time.

At around 11.30 AM, my lead arrived. I told him that I was leaving home in the evening's train to Chennai and that I was taking Monday off. Well, hear this before I go ahead. I dont report to my project's PM coz I am a buffer. I report to a different manager and he had granted me leave. I had just wanted to convey the information. Saturday was working, coz we were given a day off on Sep 4. That's when YSR's body was cremated. And we weren't working on Sep 3 as well coz there was a Ganesh Idol Immersion ceremony in the Hussain Sagar Lake. This ceremony is considered sensitive here in Hyderabad, coz every year there are riots between Hindus and Muslims in some part or the other.

I wore a salwar and a kurthi to the office. This attire is always convenient for train travels. Friday s and Weekends have informal dressing. I hadn't even considered wearing my Jeans and T-Shirt and of course my brand new shoes.

Ahh...now getting back to the scene at office. What was intended to be just an information turned out to be getting permission. Well...it happens with me all the time !!! My Lead wasn't granting me off and he had wanted me coz there was a team mate of mine who had taken a sick leave and was out of work. So, he was planning to fit me in there coz he was running short of resources.

Scene - Discussion about my leave.
End of Scene.

Result - Leave not granted.

I could have at least worn my Jeans and new shoes !!! Frustration X-(

So, I had to cancel my train bookings, call up Sis and tell her that I wasn't getting my leave granted. Sis immediately booked tickets on Jet Airways. Hmmm....We thought the discussion between the pilots and the authorities were turning out positive. At least the news items gave us some hope. Jet Airways was by far the cheapest flight that we could find of all the flights at the last minute. Fingers crossed, we booked the tickets.

This was going to be my first ever flight journey and I was extremely nervous. I am altophobic and Hydrophobic by the way. I was firing away questions to Vidhya coz she had taken her first ever flight last month. She was patiently explaning stuffs to me. The Shamshabad Airport is almost 35 kms away from our Company. I had to book a Cab Service. Well, that could cost me around 350 bucks. Not willing to take up the entire expense, I had posted a mail in the BB asking for somebody to share the cab expense in case they were planning to go to the Airport at around the same time.

Saturday - Sep 12 '09

95% of the floor was empty ! 75% of the office wasn't working. Saturday was made an optional working day. Our project was one among the very few that was working on Saturday.

I jumped at the oppurtunity of working on a Saturday and tried my new shoes on along with my tennis sock. Well...they looked real great ! I was happy to be wearing my new shoes and all the more glad at the idea of reaching home at around 10 PM. I was looking forward to it.

There were 2 objects assigned to me. I completed one and the other required an analysis and code. I checked my mails and the BB for somebody to respond to my Cab sharing idea till the Airport. Well, what can you expect out of a 20% crowd at the company. No response at all !!! I didnt like the idea of going to Madhapur and taking the Aero Express. Well, Shilpa Ramam is almost 30 minutes from my company. FYI, it was sunny !!

At around 3.00 PM, I booked the City Cab Service for a pick up at 5.00 PM to the Airport. At around 4.00 PM, I called the Airlines to confirm my flight. Bang......my flight got cancelled !!! dishhhuuuummmmm....my heart explode !!! Called up the toll free number again and asked them the procedure for cancellation of tickets for a complete refund. Sis was simultaneously checking bus travels. Cummon...I had to get back home !!! My Sis was leaving !!! Well, as a matter of fact, her airlines was also Jet Airways :P A connecting flight from Chennai - Mumbai and Mumbai - Heathrow. The international flight was flying for sure. The domestic flight was doubtful. But come what may, if her flight got cancelled, she would anyway leave this week. So it was necessary that I got back home.

Sis booked the tickets at Kesineni Travels at about 4.45 PM - AC Sleeper. The bus was scheduled at 6.10 PM.There were just 2 tickets available. And the fare...1000 bucks :-|.

At around 4.50 PM, I called up the Cab Service to cancel my booking. Well, he had arrived by then and was demanding 100 bucks as cancellation charges. So, I had to walk out to the entrance from my building (that's a tedious 15 minutes walk) and pay him 100 rs. I had to walk back to my building again, send across a copy to Raj so that he would take a print out. That was a 5 minutes walk to his building. Raj was literally rotfl. Collected my bus ticket and started walking towards the entrance again. En route, went to the supermarket and collected some bread to eat for the night. Before that, got myself a juice (where I had to wait for almost 15 minutes to get my juice !!!the time was 5.15 PM).

5.30 PM
I walked out of my office, tired and totally worn out. Got into an auto till the main road. The auto fare is generally 5 rs in sharing. Either they wait for eternity to full the auto or demand 20 rs from the passenger if there are no extra people. I had to wait for 5 minutes to convince him to start the auto. Fortunately, the auto was filling. I ended up paying only 5 rs.

5.35 PM
I took an auto to Lingampally (to my house....I thought I could change my dress...Well, I was in my new shoes....I didnt want to wear them for the bus journey !!! They would be stained obviously...) There was traffic, a scuffle between my auto driver and a scooterist, railway crossing and what not !!! 6.10 PM was my bus departure time at Chandanagar, which is actually 5 minutes from my house in an auto. I got down at Lingampally at around 5.50 PM and rushed up the stairs so that I could change my dress and put back my precious shoes. Hmmm....the house was locked !!! Christina akka had left 10 minutes back to Kondapur to collect her dresses that she had given for stitching. I was fuming at the course of happenings. Fortunately, the slippers were all out coz akka had cleaned and mopped the house. I removed my shoes and put on my slippers.

5.55 PM
Found an auto for which I had to pay 20 rs (a distance that didnt deserve even 5 rs !). All that was running in my mind was to call up Divya and ask her to put back my shoes and sock in a cover on the shelf so that they dont dust. Got down at around 6.05 PM at Kesineni Travels. Soon after, I gave a call to Divya asking her to take care of my precious shoes.

6.05 - 6.35 PM
Well, my bus hadn't turned up as yet !!!

6.35PM
Boarded the bus and found that I was allotted the Upper berth. The berths were perpendicular to the travel direction and any kind of a minor jerk was getting manifested inside and I was in a constant state of fear of falling off from my berth. Well, to add on more, I fell sick of the closed space. I was getting claustrophobic. I wanted to get out of the bus at one point and run away. Had some Lays. Sivasankari called up. She had conceived and had called me to say that. She also asked me not to drink much of water. Ooopss...only then did I realise the danger. I had a juice at 5.00 and lots of water after that. Didn't want to think much about the consequences. Fell asleep. The bus halted at 9.30 for dinner and I was way too lazy to walk out of the bus and of course, given the fact that I was travelling alone in that dubba, I was scared to get down. So fell asleep again. Didn't have my dinner (the great great bread...and was careful enough not to drink water at all !)

Sunday - Sep 13 '09
8.30 AM
Got down at Central (Not exactly the Railway station but in a lane that led to the Station which I had no clue about. ) Given my inadeptness at directions, you could have imagined !!! I took an auto for 20 rs, again for a distance that was not even worth 5 rs coz the station was just 5 mins walk from where I had got down from the bus. And the auto driver was clever enough to cheat me and take me through another lane so that I was convinced about the 20 rs. Well, even that distance wasn't worth 5 rs. First mokkai at Chennai - 'Entha' (how much?)....Was speaking in Telugu with the auto driver !!! I was confused myself as to which state I was in !!! And then had to get back to my senses and realize that I was in Chennai.

9.45 AM
Reached Home declaring 'Finally !!!! I am home...'. The pilots withdrew their strike and most of the flights were running as scheduled. Sis' flight was flying ! She has left. Now, at 1.17 AM, she should have boarded the international flight to London. Sis....I think I will miss you. :-)
I only wish we had more time together and for each other.


P.S
Murphy's Money Law at its best.

Train Ticket Cancellation charges
Onward - 22 rs
Return - 60 rs
ICICI Gateway charges whilst booking - 25 rs
Kosuru (Tamil...slang for 'Additionals') IRCTC charges (Onward and Return ) - 11 + 11 = 22 rs

Flight booking charges
Round Trip - around 5K

Bus Booking Charges
Onward - 1000 rs
Return - Tatkal booking by train - 500 rs

Aaaah...yes...the Cab Service Cancellation charges - 100 rs

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am speechlesssssss................

I was dead when I reached home !!! Totally worn out !!!
I am now checking my bank statement.