Authority - really ??

First day of class, a punishment to write a report for 1600 words and a boring 1.5 hour session later I was sipping on chai, just to shirk off the yawn that might have engulfed all of Singapore at least if not the Maldives. Leadership, vision and blah blah was the name of the next lecture - to be honest, this term was supposed to be a fraud competition to see who can choose subjects that do not require one racking his brains and losing more hair ;) So there I sat, smiling, because hell if a leadership and vision subject isn't fraud, I got no clue what is ! Ambling back to the lecture hall, climbed up to the second last row, corner seat to stay away from all attention while I slip into deep slumber. Just to complete the context, I have missed around 4 days of school, and as a result missed the screening of "the making of the Mahatma" - a movie on how M. K. Gandhi became a Mahatma.

In general, ask an engineering graduate who is doing his MBA to participate in such a discussion, like me he would just tilt the head either side and gently close his eyes, with an open mouth, wide enough to slip a ciggy in and not blow a whistle or snore. Well of course I followed suit, but unfortunately, the students presenting chose to beat the crap out of my eardrums and the sounds of "Raghupati Raghav" reverberated with the sound of drums beating against the membrane of my inner ear (XII standard Biology HL - A+ - pat pat eh ? ;) ) A boring monologue that lasted 30 miserable minutes of a guy dressed up in a khadi kurta and blabbering something that sounded more to impress the professor than show his true feelings or opinions - why, you ask ? Well you judge for yourself, if the guy actually states "Gandhi's doctrine of showing the other cheek if slapped on one should be applicable to the Kargil War" - OMG, how ignorant can one be ?! I'll let that pass too, since hypocrisy breeds in a lot of pockets here, but then if one of the curious members in the audience goes ahead and blurts out - "Gandhi was responsible for nearly half as many deaths as inflicted by Hitler", am sorry but I just lose it ! I am not a Gandhian or an anti-Gandhian for that matter, but there is a line which you need to draw between reasonableness and total arbitrary bull!

I chose to keep mum. Was the best policy. You can only reason amongst a bunch of people who understand what "listening" means - but apparently our young age extrovert junta (public) has forgotten to exercise the cochlean muscles :*sigh* - such a pity. The discussion ensued for a bit, nonsense corollaries were presented, to the height of Gandhi being called a selfish fool. Oh well, agreed some of his principles might not get us anywhere in today's cut throat egotistical existence, but we need to consider the context in which we adjudge him to be a fool or a Mahatma - nobody can be God - hell am an agnostic so no-bloody-one can ! ;) What surprised me was that how easy it was for all of us to judge a man who stood up for something, who had the balls to speak up, whatever be his motives. We often fret for our own sorrows and issues, not giving a rat's ass for the sufferings others go through. Where does our sense of judgement go then? The Mumbai blasts evoked national sentiment, then a headline in HT and TOI came that read something to the effect of - "one month hence, Mumbai goes back to normal and is coping with the horror of 26/11" - and voila, people rub their hands off the tension and their share of being compassionate or concerned is taken care of - "humne apni moral responsibility poori kar di hai bhai" (we have fulfilled our moral responsibility). Strange. Is this the same public which discards and demolishes the idea of Gandhi as a Mahatma for his want of being popular? Is this the same public which says that Gandhi was responsible for so many deaths and yet turns it face away after some time thanking God it wasn't them in the massacre or terrorist attack? I never thought benevolence or anything even remotely related to it was a prominent trait of us humans - but to realise the levels of hypocrisy we have reached - its a shame.

Wonder what authority we have to even embark upon a discussion of whether or not Gandhi was a Mahatma. Call it the whine of a young Indian, a complaint of the previous GenX, or a momentary lapse into a dying conscience, but this fact shook me a little - but as always, am gonna think over it for a bit, gulp down a paracetamol and go off to bed, praying not for the souls of those who got lost in the Mumbai attacks but for me to get well so that I can go sleep through my lectures tomorrow morning.

Forgot ..

Oh yes, there's another thing I love about Leuven - no Starfucks .. I mean Starbucks here !! :P

How it all starts ..

I am doing something very different this time around by skipping on fables of misery from Eindhoven and Maastricht, enroute Leuven. Why? Lets just say that there's more to tell on the wonderful time in Belgium, than there is to report on some weird and awkward experiences in Netherlands - and I couldn't keep my fidgety fingers from picking up the laptop and typing. From tall tales of "uh oh"s and "damn"s, this is a welcome change - for I want to let you all know what happens in this Flemish town of Leuven - I might be wrong but shut your piehole because Leuven sounds better presented that way!! :P

The horrors of the journey afresh, a closed series of stores just outside the station, and a nerve-wracking cold, the only thing keeping me from picking the next guy and yelling at him for no apparent reason was the need to get in touch with my friend so that she could dawn the guise of my fairy godmother, come and pick me up - of course not in a horse carriage made of pumpkins like Cinderella! Humans have a tendency to be abrupt in their neck movements, but when you're so bogged down, the energy barrier to get that sudden movement goes sky rocketing and instead you croon about as if your neck was a periscope of a Russian submarine. Left, right, up, down - nowhere could I locate a telephone shop - but then a sudden flash of lightning struck me - ah who am I kidding - it wasn't lightning of wisdom - 'twas my tummy grumbling so I went into Carrefour to pick up some grub. I think guys have either a huge mental block or they are genetically designed to be indecisive when it comes to basic stuff like food and clothes. After a 10-minute scrutiny of all the waffles in the line near the counter, I moved on ahead deciding against eating - well hullo - I was going to be eating with my friend - can't be an inconsiderate twit! Now the lightning struck - honestly it did - and I thought of asking the Carrefour counter if they had any GSM SIM cards - why did I use the word GSM in that question to him, I still don't understand - so after much confusion he gives me a Carrefour SIM card - I happily scratch it, insert it, switch my cellphone on - and voila - I have a signal!! BUT, like all cards, it needs to be registered so I have to send a text message. Instructions are in Dutch. Great.

I hurry back to the bloke, he tries hard to help me, to the extent that he forgets about the queue and instead starts reading and calling and messaging, with a disgruntled public mouthing grunts and sighs at him - what do I care - I got my very own Santa's lil helper working the problem. :) I do not mean to brag, but eventually my German proved more fluent than his Dutch and the mobile was officially online - congratulations you have 15 euros in your account! Woohoo.

After calling her up, I waited impatiently at the train station - I am very unreasonable at times and I do not know why but I expected her to be there to welcome me - how in gawd's name could she do that - she didn't even bloody know when I was coming - me and my 'great expectations' ! Oh boy is it a relief to see her walk from the distance. Home, finally. We walk, chat, I crib, she laughs, and I stand agape in front of the Stadhuis - not budging for a few seconds. We move on for some dinner - Amici Miei - an Italian restaurant - a favourite with "my friend and her band of merry maids" - talk bout "Robin Hood and his men in tights" being a funny title - beat this ! :P A Mexicana for me and a De blah blah for the lady, please, and could you also get us a bottle of red wine? Order placed, we catch up on stories. Me red with anger, she pink with laughter - oh da agony. Two wine glasses, the bottle comes and the guy pours some into her chalice - "would you like to taste the wine first?" - well it doesn't happen at a restaurant with a 'student menu' - so we're a little taken aback and *sip*, she tastes it. A frown. Looks upwards, shakes the head gently, looks my way, I taste and like a brute blurt out - "faltoo hai" (is crap) and make a piggy face - how dumb, I know. Well we order the house wine - a whole bottle of it, which is better than the previous one.

Awesome pizza, lovely wine, and a hearty meal later, we walk towards home. I guess the one thing I love about Leuven is how carefree you can be walking around, and how much fun it is to be in such a place with friends all around. They say physical attraction is superficial, but really, it could be the first step forward. Leuven's dynamism, and its liveliness left a mark, and that is how the Belgian affair started. ;) The second date is with Brussels, more on it later - right now have to rush off to meet my friend :)

When darkness turns to light ..

.. it ends tonight .. it ends tonight! Check-in - hurray !! "The plane is SUPPOSED to land here within 2 hours and HOPEFULLY we shall reach milan 5 hours from now" was the response I got from the check-in counter. What was the question you ask? "Hi, what time is the flight expected to land in Milan?". Simple isn't it ? Wonder why the suppositions and hopes were still a part of the answer I got, wasn't 8 hours enough of a buffer for the incompetence of Myair to be taken care of? Ah well, like any normal being, my follow up question was - "Well if the initial flight was supposed to take 1 hour 40 minutes, why is the new flight going to take double that time?!" - did the time-space continuum freeze for them, or is it because the God of Time is yawning in the morning so it gets stretched to the extent of making things happen doubly slow ? At this point in the conversation, in a cartoon a light bulb would have lit up on the lady's head as she understood the question, but that's cartoons, in reality what I got was an "I dunno" with a shrug of the shoulders and a "have a nice flight" with a pretentious smile - I don't care if am being obnoxious or negative - I deserve to be all that and even more especially after tonight!

I guess if its 5 hours from now, the connecting flight is screwed, lest it be late too following in the footsteps of this one. Totally exhausted and literally yawning while writing this post, I wonder what makes these people tick like clockwork - the enthusiasm is bubbling as if the Italians were waiting to get their hands on all the duty-free goodies. People buying boxes of Turkish delight, baklawa and what not - hell there's even a Turkish lady who now has 5 bags in her hand and is trying to control her 3 bratty grandkids! For want of change, and pretense, I amble into the duty-free shop, picking up colognes and trying them on, as a towering lady stands right next to me and out comes a heavy Turkish voice - "can I help you with anything?". When you're half asleep, groggy and pestered for the past so many hours, even the slightest of sounds feels like echoes in the head, and this one was like shouting in the Grand Canyon !! I get up with my reverberating ears, and drowsily walk back to my lappy to write this adieu.

Great - a woman just started the beep system because of a Red Bull - why would someone be so dumb to hand out a Red Bull to a friend outside without paying for it and ask if its cold enough - i thought cold was a binary expression -it is or it isn't !! Well when in Rome do what the Romans do, but when they're in Istanbul, never follow what the Romans do ! I do not know why but apparently the lady next to me seems really interested in my screen, am giving her a mention so that she can be happy reading while i write this.

There is a lot more to tell, especially on what happened just before and after check-in, but for now am praying I catch my flight from Milan on time, so that I can crash on the bed, and sleep all day long! Am sleepy, groggy, bored, tired and very angry, so I guess the funny is out the window, so no bad jokes - I bid adieu, till next time am conscious and in a frame of mind to complete the tale of the night that never ended - almost ;)

Word of advice ..

When waiting to pee, or writing a blog about peeing while not doing it, DO NOT listen to "driftwood" by travis! Reasons:

"floating"

"drifting into water"

"floating underwater"

"long long time"

"drifting now forever and forever more"

"you really didn't think it would happen"

"everyone has to go"

"but it really is the END OF THE LINE"

What is he trying - to figuratively deconstruct my attempt to control and make the pressure build up ?!?!?!

The good news is ..

.. that the flight is still 8 hours late, thankfully no more delays - I know, the dark humour that has become my life !! *sigh* After two of my friends laughing at me, one telling me to see the silver lining, and another telling me to "cheer up" - I think am pretty much at the stage right now to have a go at four bleeding noses in one hit ! The long drag back to the international departures section was not as simple as I had anticipated, especially with one hand busy moving the mouse on my open laptop so that the free internet does not go away if the lappy falls to sleep - technology - am telling you, it maketh numbnuts of us all !! So with the charging cord dangling and intent on trying its best to make me trip and fall, the lappy balancing on my right palm, the camera sliding off the left shoulder, and the heavy elephant on my back - stupid presents - for once felt like eating them myself and lightening the load ! But then again regular gymming pays off - is someone out there listening ?! :D

After dragging myself to the information desk, rather reluctantly I had just muttered the word "MY.." in a suppresed voice when pop came the magical words, as if it were something the snob behind the specs was proud off - "Sir you wait" - oh great so they DO know the word "Sir" as well ! Wonder why that makes me happy - think am holding on to every shred of hope too strongly. With drooping shoulders I turn, and sluggy back - yes its not a word, I invented it to describe the slow movement of a slug - now shuddup and read on. Well what do you know, the Devil's probably winning at chess in the heavens because even my place is gone - the one close to the power socket. Ah but there is a catch - like in every fairy tale, I have a fairy godmother too - the masticating cow - no offence to her, apparently liked me better in that place and what I believe, or would like to believe is what she told the guy was to get lost as I was there first - I smile, and cozy up to the cold, uninviting floor - ironical eh ?

I know at this stage I should not really be choosy, and make do with whatever the airport has to offer me, but believe me you - the worst part in such a situation is when you have to pee. I know, I know, why the sudden fetish for pee posts - I cannot help it - its an important human function and its cold - so live with it ! So as I was saying, the pee, yes, to pee is one of the worst feelings, in this situation, and am having it right now. Why bad? Why BAD ?! You try walking in with the elephants and an open laptop with dangling wires - now there's even headphones attached - oh da glory ! How the hell am I supposed to follow "Dear passenger, kindly take care of your luggage and personal belongings at all times", when the urge to pee is there, the necessity to keep the lappy awake, and the anxiety to keep an eye on my luggage ?!

Time for another break, will gather all my stuff and go get the sweet release of osmoregulation - hey I can't use the word pee too much - let this post maintain some sort of decency ! Till we meet next - au revoir - yes there is going to be another meeting - still under 2 hours to check-in.

Why does it always happen to me ?

Yes, patronise me on whining and I swear I'll give you a bleeding nose in no more than 5 seconds! Sitting on the floor of a filthy airport with my legs crossed and painful, on a cold evening, does NOT leave me in a happy frame of mind. An 8 hour delayed flight, a misinformed information desk whose only English vocabulary apparently is "You wait!!", an Italian stylist who just cannot stop his "mama mia" from sucking my brains out through the ear with the straw-of-a-mouth he's got !! Why am I on the floor ? Am glad you asked - well because there is no friggin' power point except for the lobby ! The lady in the small convenience store right next to where I have camped for the night has been masticating - yes, masticating NOT chewing on her gum for the past 20 minutes and staring at me as if am some sort of experiment God's having on frustration levels. Okay, the lady might not be thinking that, but hell I feel like that hamster toddling on the giant wheel right now - the vicious bloody circle !! Am hungry, so hang on while I try to get some grub with the measly change I have in my pocket - stay tuned.

Oh sweet mother of all that is good and pure - food - at last. The glucose melts on my tongue as the sugary bit satisfies the craving within. What am I having - the cheapest biscuits available which I believe only kids have because of the high sugar content. Don't judge me, that bloody nose is still very much possible, and what do you expect from someone who has only 2.65 YTL to spare ?! A few girls just walked by, laughing, dare they mock me !! You better wipe that snug smirk off your face too or else don't say that you didn't see it coming ! Anyways, back to the venting - so, here I am, and I think my left foot has already gone numb and the right one is following closely, to give it company - blimey !! I know, have been watching too much of Brit comedy lately, so the effects will show - ignore :) As I stay put in one position, think the pain will eventually fade away, even it will get bored after some point of time.

I would have loved to say that when you are sitting on the ground, just observing, you can appreciate the little things at the airport that we usually ignore - but no, when you're on the floor, you get disgusted with how unclean it is, and the crawling insects that just might get into you baggage, and the irritating sound of women walking right across in high heels !! I am a bitter, bitter man - so put a sock in it and read on. 23:55 is what my watch reads - still 5 hours to go *sigh* . I have noticed one thing though, the Turks seem to have lost their cool knowing the flight is delayed by a whopping 8 hours, but the Italians seem pretty cool about it - not to be prejudiced in any way, but are they actually aware of such delays - makes me wonder about the horrors I am up for the next week of visiting Italy after Belgium. I am going to Belgium - yay !! :) The cleaning guy on his motor ride just waved at me - not to ask me to move - but as a gesture of acknowledgment that my bum is helping him clean the floor - oh da humanity !!

Think that is enough for the current update - feels like an aeon has passed and am identifying with Tom Hanks in Cast Away. Wait for more - shortly ;)