November 21, 2008

Oh God it's Fry-day

Fry-day because of the bheja-fry (mental trauma of sorts) that I have endured today

Some days it just doesn't pay to get out of bed. Today was just one of those days when Murphy reigned supreme and as always I was left powerless to witness the unfolding of the events. I got up earlier than usual in the hopes of having my tea and breakfast rather than one or the other. Of course there were other plans in store for me. The kitchen gas (hot plate) kept tripping the circuit for some vague reason. It used to do that before and had stopped. But today it flipped with every turn of the knob. And I had my heart set on the tea. And so after various trials and combinations, I had it working and had my tea ready. Which meant I had forsaken the time for breakfast. No biggie. I stepped out of the house to pouring rain, a malfunctioning umbrella and a delayed bus. And I usually time my routine so well that everything matches... i.e, the time I get to the station is just in time for the train and so on. With the rain and delayed bus, it meant I was either going to have to make a run for the train or wait 15 minutes for the next one. Luckily (or so I thought), after a full sprint, I managed to get into the train even as the siren blared and the doors shut. Aha - beat you, Murphy! But I was unsuspecting of the sprawling plans that lay ahead for me. The next station is where I change trains and usually there is a train almost every 5 minutes. Not today. After having made the run and caught the previous train gasping for breath, I found myself waiting over an hour for the next one. And the platform filled up steadily from other arriving trains for transfers on to this one. And I counted 13, that's right thirteen trains pass by on the other side while about a million of us on this side waited in frustration for either a train or an announcement or some information. Just like the grass is greener on the other side, the trains are far more frequent on the other side as well, no matter where you're going, just notice.

Finally, a train arrives. And it's bursting at it's seams with passengers who'd endured the hour long wait at the previous stations. And more people squeezed into this one from our station as well. I wanted to get to college alright, but I had to get there alive. I thought I would smartly give this train a skip and wait for the next one, hoping it wasn't far behind. It wasn't. But it was just as crowded and this time everyone who'd skipped the previous train in favor of this one decided they weren't waiting anymore and squelched into this one. It was like a rollercoaster ride, only slower and long-drawn. Only instead of safety belts, it was a million people crammed up against you so you couldn't move a millimeter anyways. In all this struggle, I forgot to put my Ipod away. And it's a tiny Shuffle, mind you and it wouldn't take half a second to vanish or get broken to pieces in that sort of a stampede. Luckily it survived. As did I. And as we all spilled out at the school station (the train practically empties here), we all looked bedraggled and straight out of a hair-raising ride.

And here I am in school. And guess what? The cleanroom is closed for a couple of hours for maintenance. Some days, I tell you, it just doesn't pay to get ot of bed.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Call me sadistic but I think your true writing potential is exposed only when u r frustrated or angry. i love the posts that u end up complaining about something. lol. though I have had my fair share of murphy interferences also.. yrs sounds like a bad start. hope the rest of yr day is good. keep writing!

Ram said...

Ha ha ha... I am sure you are laughing at it in review yourself... watch out for the Heavy Snow Showers predicted over the weekend.. better get that umbrella fixed by then.. and yes, Europe circuit breakers suck!

Jaya said...

Krish -> A tad sadistic :X. But I guess u mean my temper keeps the flow going... so I'll fish out the compliment and keep it either ways.

Bala -> No snow in Ile de France.. I am yet to cool off.. but in retrospect, everything is laughable :D

Anonymous said...

because u mention murphy's law.. http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/rajm/toast.htm

read it.. it's hil-'waitforit'-arious!!

Shiva kumar Shankar said...

oh my God, Mr.Murphy went colonial on your A**. Looks like you had his undivided attention. Have to say this. U have captured the helplessness and/or frustration extremely well. It was very captivating to read this. Now that I am about to embark to Vegas, Zion NP and Bryce for the T'giving with my P, I hope Murphy forgets I exist!! :D

Jaya said...

Shiva -> Thank you. I think Murphy has a bi-monthly 'Jaya day' where he dedicates his whole attention to me. But it was just a half day let me tell you, because the journey back was absolute perfection. It was 22 minutes from the Cleanroom in the far corner of the school to inside my house, a record of sorts :). Have fun over the long weekend!

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