Onsite trip - part 2

part 2 onsite trip:

And so, i finally reached Dubai. Phew!! I did complete my half marathon or so i thought.
Little did i know a 14 hour flight would feel like 14 light years!
And so i start taking in the feel of the airport. The aha experience was no doubt there...and each little thing i saw, i saw it in wonder :)
A gang of girls were ahead of me to collect their boarding passes.
They mostly looked like gypsy to me :P
They all travelled with me from Blore...and had all the so-called-Indian stuff on them - Mehandi, Kurtas and what not!
It was weird, i was wearing all US clothes(all thanks to my sis :D ) and standing in line and they wearing Indian clothes...
Maybe that's what is called globalization :P
And so i finally get my boarding pass...
go through a security check...well lucky me i didnt have to remove my shoes there :D
ok so i drag myself and my big fat luggage onto my gate...
oh ya it was a long walk...nice one though...
it hardly looked like an airport! it had all sorts of stuff...it was more like a mall...
there were these cute cars to take people inside the airport...
i so wanted to ride it...but i chose 2 walk....
and then...there were these hugeee palm trees all around me...i just loved the sight....
u name it and u have it...all kinds of stuff to shop...none of which i shopped though :P
a paradise if u wanna buy liqour i guess...well it did look like most people were enjoying just the sight of it... ;)

and so finally i settle down there...with all kinds of people around me...
i was both excited and nervous...
i still had almost 45 mins to take off....
so just like the rest of them, i open my laptop and try to see if i can connect to the internet...
well no...thanks to my screwed up laptop....it just would not connect!
i hate it when machines get moody...arrghhh :(
what else do i do...
sit and play solitaire...i played and played and played...
and finally we are called for boarding...
in the order of our zones....
since mine was in zone 4, i wait till the very end...
one very nice thing about Americans is that they are very gentlemanly...good for girls like me...
who carry luggage more than their weight :D
so i get quite a lot of help in settling down :D
here too i get a window seat...next to the wing...
i loved the sight...
this flight was indeed huge to say the least....
sitting next to the wing gives u a feeling of flying...
u suddenly feel the wings belong to u and ur actually touching the clouds...floating weightlessly through it...
to say the least...felt light...
so all the regualr announcements start..and so does the services on flight....
taking advice from mom and sis..i order ginger ale...to keep myself off the air sickness if any.. :P
and so they ask for food preferences...and i said asian veg...
and so when i get my meal...i realized the gravy didnt look veggie...and turned out to be a chicken :( :(
well..
so all thru the 14+ hours i survive on tea, pepsi, fruits, and water...
and so i tasted my first boredom on this journey...
i explore the movies...
watch some...
play some games...
sleep..wake up...sleep...groggy...a stiff neck...and then finally my body needs a stretch...
and so i had to wake up both my neighbours...:(
go for a walk on the plane...
i sometimes wonder how can they keep so few washrooms for so many people...
what algorithm made them decide to have just 4 bathrooms!?! phew!!
so we all wait and wait and wait...
the whole flight thingie started getting me a weird sick feeling about cramped spaces...
the strange thing about such places is that, it makes me feel i m out of breath!
anyway so what else do i do in-flight...
i keep checking out the map...
it was exciting...seeing Greenland, Canada and finally US.
it actually doesnt make a difference..all through you just see the clouds and the feeling of floating persists :)
so then we all start filling our immigration and customs forms...
the journey was a thrilling one...and more importantly for me a very introspective one...
all that went through my mind...i wanted to have the time of my life here...

and so we land in the Hartsfield–Jackson airport :)
and then i just went with the flow, got done with the immigration...
and watching the signs...go down the escalator to collect my baggage...
i load them all onto my trolley and start proceeding only to know that i need to check in again before getting out of the airport!
good lord...
so after checking in...i go through another security check...
keeping track of all my items and collecting them was a pain...
i was exhausted to the core...i was so disoriented i just wanted to crash somewhere and get some good sleep...
and so i thought i will get my bags after the security check...
surprise surprise! i need to catch a metro...go 6 stations away...
and then get my bags!
i was sooo distraught...i couldnt decide if i was hallucinating or was it happening for real...
and so i go...and climbing through the escalator...i saw somebody smiling at me...
and then it struck me...my colleagues have come 2 pick me up...
aaah...finally the day starts to get better...i m so thankful they came :P
i don know for what reason...i just wanted to see some familiar face...what a relief..
and so my colleagues get me to my hotel...get me checked in...we have breakfast...
and i come to my room...
wow..it was quite a room :)
i tried to do everything to keep myself from sleeping...
the first thing i wanted to do was to get my net up and running...
so that i can inform family i have reached....
got that done...
but the sight of 2 huge bags to unpack kept me restless...
and so i start unpacking and simultaneously start setting up my new home :)
its almost like u have started a new life....
everything is new except urself...

and so for now...will keep posting more on my exps here...
thatz all for part 2 :)

--Shreya

My Onsite trip :P

So here is my story of my ever-so-dream-of-an-onsite:
i just yearned for it for so long, never saw it coming. And so it all started falling in place, or so it seemed ;)
This year has been eventful to say the least :)
My mgr got my visa processed. It happened with least of hassles, maybe thanks to the prayers of so many ppl :)
And i was to fly to Atlanta on 26th June. We(my parents and me) start packing, packing and more packing. The FIFA world cup was on. Dad and me would sit up late in the night to see FIFA and do my packing as well.
Incidently 90% of my predictions of the world cup came true. I almost acted like a clone of Paul ;)
And then 2 days before my travel, my client tells my mgr, I need to travel 2 weeks later!
Good god, was i dissappointed. That would be the least to explain my plight.
Ok, so i send multiple mails, to travel desk, hotel bookings, everyone, to reschedule my travel date.
The new travel date - 11th July.
So what do we do with the loads of snacks i bought.
Well, with FIFA around, late night TV viewing, dad and me - started hogging.
One packet at a time, thinking that would be the last. But soon we realise we have exhausted all snacks :D
Now, since most of my "nice-dresses" were all packed, i started getting them out and before i realized one suitcase was totally unpacked. :D
And, now i m almost there. The 11th July is just a few days away.
And so, i start packing again and start shopping for snacks too..
As they say, history repeats itself - 2 days before my travel i get to know 'again' i am not travelling and it would be on 2nd of Aug!
Good lord!
what the hell is what i was thinking.
My mom was furious - more worried of my dad's cholestrol increase after eating a 2nd round of snacks ;)
Ok, So this time, i m less dissappointed as i had been there, done that; kind of situation.
This time i unpack everything consciously and empty snacks too...
Finally and once for all the travel for 31st july does get confirmed!
Can you believe it! :P
So i was to set sail on 31st July 2010.
I just had 2 days to pack and finally and thankfully the pack unpack melodrama ended.
The last 2 days got sooo tense, i had to take backups of 2 machines, pack stuff, "shop" and what not!
And finally the D-Day arrives.
We book a cab, goto the airport. Well thatz what we thought we were headed.
My flight was at 615 IST.
We leave home by 2. Just to realize almost the entire blore is in a big jam.
I am yet to discover why the jam!
So our good good driver, keeps wading through different roads and finding more jams and trying really hard to evade them. So its nearly 4 and we are not even close to the airport.
My heart beat is racing, and my mom is saying a lot of stuff, none of which i could comprehend.
We finally reached the airport.
And then we dump everything, all my stuff onto the trolley...
Mom dad look a little distraught...i assumed probably they were tensed too..But in retrospect now, i think they were already missing me.
And then without even a second thought, i just drag the trolley inside and run off to check in et al...
Dad is frantically walking up and down outside only to find out where i am.
I finally finished my check in.
And then i try to go out. All this while, i dumbly assumed 'i' can go out even after check in. Well, hell no. I couldnt. :(
Damn dissapointed.. I wanted to hug mom and dad.. i couldnt :(
Anyway we spoke through the glass pane...and finally i set off to do my immigration and run towards my flight...
Finished it all without much hassle...
And then, i reach the gate. A lot of people just like me were all seated, waiting for them to all us board.
I was excited that it was really happening. Geee...I was a little shaken up, coz i wont be able to see mom and dad for another 3 months.
Anyway finally i get to board.
I got a seat next to the window...i was happy :D
I was like a little kid, all excited and happy to see the world first hand. This i would call my first flight. That last time i flew was when i

was 8. I can hardly recall the experience.
And i saw the containers containing all our bags. I was super excited to see them. The product i am working on actually does exist!!! lol
The flight then is about to depart, the engines start rolling and we start crawling on the runway and then in just a couple of minutes our flight takes off. Phew! what an experience....
I flew leaving the sunset behind me...well did i take it along with me, i wonder..
The best view was when we were still in an inclined position and i saw my lovely city and an even better sunset next to me...
The view is imprinted in my mind...an image i would never forget...
And then we flew and flew and flew...
Midway, over the sea near Pakistan, due to some rain or something, the whole plane starts wobbling...what a scare.. :P
And after some 6 hours we finally reach Dubai.
One of the best things of flying i found was that, the geography we studied in school, does exist big time...gee :D
Oh ya, midway from the flight, i did get to see some of those tiny islands near Dubai...

So this is part - 1 for now...
will post more ;)

--Shreya