O'Hare Chicago...

I din't really do much in the flight to Chicago...was so tired from the earlier one that I slept almost for 6 hours or something...and whatever remained of the time, I spent it either watching some movie / eating / brushing etc...not very interesting...hmmm...but then we FINALLY crossed the Atlantic and then came Lake Michigan...it is huge...Oh God it is...it took us about 10 minutes just to fly across the lake...wow...anyways and then in about 20 mins, I FINALLY got off at Chicago...and like they say the last few steps are always the toughest to climb...and my patience was being tested for sure. The inspector at the immigration counter kept staring at my passport and his computer for about 6 or 7 mins and I had no clue why...and then I realized that he wanted to be sure I was going to go back to India...hmmm...luckily I had my "business card" that I flashed at him ;-) (full to heroine pose I gave...hee hee)...anyways...I got out of there, got my luggage and ran to the exit gate...

My uncle and my little cousin, Vijay, had come to receive me...I was so happy to see them... :) my uncle had moved to USA about 15 years ago and he's always been asking me to come over...and I finally made it...and I was so glad I did. Anyways...we reached home in about 20 mins and it felt so nice to be home again after so many hours of sitting in a flight…I was so happy to see my aunt and my cousin, Pooja, who were waiting for us to reach home…Pooja was in fact waiting in her room upstairs and staring out of the window waiting for us...my cousins then showed me around the whole house…a very cute and cozy house they have…not too big, not too small…it felt just perfect. I must say my aunt and uncle quite tastefully decorated their house with artifacts…the bets part about it all was I did not feel I was in another part of the world…it felt like Home!

I was in Chicago for 4 days - a short trip I must say…but it was amazing how in those four days I spent time with my uncle - and by time I mean quality time - went out with my aunt, went for to a fest (meal) with all 4 of them, spent a lot of time with my cousins playing - we played cricket and we played catching the ball…it's quite difficult to catch a ball with a baseball glove on…much to the amusement/amazement of Vijay, I found it much easier to catch the ball without the glove - I even went for a nice long walk with my aunt around the neighborhood and we had quite a long chat about "life" with all its goods and bads. And that does not finish the list of things I did in Chicago…I also went on the "Metra" - the local train - all the way to downtown to meet one of my friends, Kesari. It had been about…hmmm…I don't know…may be about 2 years since I saw him and it was really cool to see him again. We walked around Downtown, shopped, fought over who pays for what (hee hee)…we ate at Cheese cake factory - but guess what, by the time we finished our pizza and pasta, there was no space left in our tummies to eat a cheese cake…bah!! - anyways, we then started walking back to the Metra…when we realized that the "Magnificent Mile" - a mile long road filled with stores of all the leading brands and it ran right through Downtown - was filled with people…if only I had a better word than filled…the reason for all the people crowding there was that Oprah Winfrey was doing a Season premiere show on the Magnificent Mile…while she waited in her RV giving interviews and getting ready for her show, a rock band was entertaining the crowd…and people just stood there dancing. The funny part was that they were only going to catch a glimpse of Ms. Winfrey and hear her…but it seemed like that is all they needed. Kesari and I "waded" through the crowd trying to get to the other end where the station was…meanwhile the new sandals I had bought decided it was the apt time to start biting on the backs of my feet, and it was a very very unpleasant feeling…so we squeezed into one of the departmental stores to buy some band-aids…we took our time to take stuff and got out, only to find that I wouldn't be able to get to the station in time to catch the earliest train…and since the next train was only about 30 mins later, we decided to take the longer route out. We took a bus to the station and finally got to the train…I felt sad that I was leaving, cos Kesari is a really good friend and we hardly got to spend much time together, it was really really nice to see him and spend time though…

So then I got on to the Metra and went home…when I reached home, my uncle and aunt were all dressed up to leave for the meeting they had that evening…so I baby-sat my cousins, and it was a lot of fun…we played, studied math, ate, watched TV…and then came the difficult part - putting them to bed - Vijay would just not sleep…after a lot of talking and laughing and teasing and "ok…that's enough…to bed now"…we finally fell asleep…

The next morning was really exciting…we went to a fair where my cousins and I went on some of the rides - which were AWESOME!! - and we ate sugar candy…though it was really really hot, we only complained of it after we were done with all the rides :) so anyway, we got home, got some rest and then headed out again…we went to eat the 'oh so famous' Chicago Pizza…and only after seeing it did I know why it was so sought after. It was this BIG-A** pizza - 2 inches thick, about 1 foot in diameter and STUFFED with cheese. So much so that you can't pick up a slice in your hand, you've got to use a knife & fork to eat it. There were 5 of us and 6 pieces of Pizza…My uncle, aunt, Pooja and I were done after eating 1 piece…Vijay on the other hand, gulped the 2 pieces down and was mocking me as I whined about finishing my piece…but I've got to say this…it was DELICIOUS!! Anyway, after that we headed towards downtown, and as we drove into Downtown this time, I was surprised to see that I couldn't recognize it, even though I had been there just the previous day. It just seemed to be like a whole other world by night and "Magnificent mile" looked all the more magnificent with all the lights. We went up the Sear's Tower - Willis Tower as it is called now. We bought the tickets and went into the elevator…and as it went up, we felt the pressure on our ear drums. The elevator kept going up - 15 floors…kept going - 50 floors…kept going - 90 floors…it just kept going up - and we finally stopped at the 103rd floor where the new skydeck had been built. Now the skydeck is a glass chamber, built off the building…as in it protrudes out of the 103rd floor on the building…and like I said, it's all glass…top, bottom, sides - all glass. We were terrified to step into the deck, 'cos it really felt like we were stepping into thin air - we could see traffic on the road a 103 floors below us…but we finally got ourselves together and stepped into the deck…and once we did, my cousins & I wouldn't even hear of stepping out of it. We could see my uncles SUV parked by the road and a couple of other things that we recognized - it was a lot of fun. And then…as I "grew up", I stepped out of the deck, went to one of the windows and looked at the beautiful Chi town…it was breathtaking…What caught my eye were the roads, that looked like they were drawn on the ground with a scale - absolutely straight lines which went so far as to touching the horizon. It was really beautiful. From Willis Tower, my uncle drove us to one of the "Skyline View" points…WHOA!! That was amazing too…it was the first time I ever saw a skyline in my life and it was a beautiful moment…and I was so glad that I was experiencing it with people I love :)

The next morning was not exciting at all, cos I had to leave - I mean I sure was happy I came, and even though I did a LOT in 4 days, it just didn't seem enough - but then again…I was going to see my brother and spend time with him…which somehow wasn't good enough to stop tears rolling down my cheeks when I was saying bye…

I boarded the flight, wiped my face, looked out the window, took a deep breath and said "Bye Chicago, until we meet again…California, here I come!" :-)

Heathrow...here I come!!

Everyone told me to sleep once I got on to the flight so that I don't suffer from a "Jetlag"...well...am on a flight to London...you think I would sleep?? NO WAY!!! So anyways, I got on to the flight and was WIDE awake for like an HOUR, watching some movies and listening to music and peeping out of the window once in a while. And then I slept like a baby...come on...I slept for like 3 hours the previous night and i was tired from all the packing and the driving to the airport...I needed some sleep...psshh...whatever...

Anyways, when I got up, I looked out the window and oh my god!! The view was beautiful...the flight was 10,632 meters from the ground and in front of me were mountain ranges. I looked at the route map of the flight and found that we were somewhere over Afghanistan...and some of the mountains were snow-capped. Well, if you really break it down, they were just some black mountains with some snow at the top...and there were some clouds around...but imagine, looking down at a bed of clouds with a clearing in between them which had these snow-capped black mountains...it was beautiful.

I kept looking at the same scene until my view got cut off, 'cos the window was small and I could only see so much...and then I could only see a bed of clouds and nothing but that...so...I went back to sleep :D...but I woke up cos the really sweet flight attendant guy woke me up for food...grrr...so ya...got up, burnt my mouth, food pipe & stomach cos the upma they served was (BEEP) hot...after eating, I watched "The Proposal" and then slept again...

This time when I got up, we were flying over Africa...and what did I see? You are right...the desert...huge, sandy and black!! So, huge, sandy deserts I have seen...on TV and internet you know...but this was amazing...black sandy deserts - it was beautiful...and then the same thing happened, I kept staring...and then the clouds came and then I slept...except that the desert dint go out of my view...it's kinda too big for that to happen right...so anyways...the next time I got up, we were over some place in Europe...I have NO CLUE what the name of that place was...but what was interesting about that place was the agricultural fields...you know how they are in squares and rectangles here, well they are in circles...I wonder why...hmmm...

Anyways and then finally after more movie watching, song listening and sleeping, we reached London...well, flying over London was NOT exciting...now who would ever say that, right?! Well, no offense, but London looks SO unorganized from up there, you have NO IDEA...there were like a million houses there scattered all over the place. I mean even in India, you would be able to see the roads and see the areas where there is civilisation...but in London...no no no...it was all mixed up...I had no clue where the roads were...before I could criticize the place anymore, the flight landed in Heathrow...the airport that is a world within itself.

Luckily, or not so much, I had to board my next flight to Chicago in the same terminal. So Terminal 5 was all that I saw in Heathrow. And it was nice...there were some fascinating cars displayed. And I couldn't take another step without drooling over them. It took me 10 mins to regain my senses and get back to the real world and realize that I had to find the gate that I had to board my flight at. So I tied some imaginary fliers to the sides of my face, so I wouldn't see any of the stores in the airport and just kept walking until I reached A13...my gate to Chicago :-) and then I got the fliers off and ran around from store to store like a little monkey...that was when I realized that in all my life so far, what I had seen was not even close to what is called "Fashion"...Heathrow actually re-defined the word for me. Age no bar, color no bar, "weight" no bar (am sorry of I am being rude...but I was amazed...) everyone was wearing clothes that were sexy...and am not talking only about the women...no...ofcourse not...everyone even the guys were dressed so well...I mean, there were casuals, formals, semi and everything possible...boots, stilettos, flip flops...t-shirts, shirts, tank tops, sweat shirts...capris, jeans, pants, skirts, shorts...phew...basically, name it and you see it there...it was bootyful...sorry I meant beautiful... :-p

The stores around were the best brands in the whole entire world...Prada, Gucci, D&G...oh man...it was awesome...then I walked into this huge Chocolate store and picked up a couple of them for my cousins in Chicago and then I got bored. So I kept walking around waiting for the boarding call. I dint want to sit in the airport, cos I had 6 more hours in the flight and my butt hurt from sitting so long. After a half hour or something, they gave the boarding call...and the British Airways flight waited to fly us across the Atlantic to Chicago...

My Trip to USA

I created this blog like a million years ago, but never found anything to write about...but here I am, waiting with a hundred billion things in my head to write about - all about my trip to USA...

So if you asked me two years ago, I would probably say "USA...me?? haha...no way"...well, but ya I am here in USA...for a one month vacation...away from work, away from life, away from everything...do I miss it, hell ya I do...I miss it all a LOT...but it is good for everyone to take a break from life and from themselves. It really helps in gaining back all the interest in life and the zeal to move on...

So, Sept 06th 2009 was when I got on to my second International journey in my 25 years of life...I know I just gave you my age...and I forbid you, and everyone else to spread the word around...so anyways, coming back to my flight...my parents came to see me off at the airport...did I cry? NO...what are you saying...pshhh...I'm going to be away for only a month...come on...but my mom did cry...cos she would miss me...I miss her so much too...cos on a routine day one would see me following my mom all thru the house after work telling her about my whole day / what I ate / did / saw etc etc... :( awww...I miss you mom...

Anyways...so when we got to the airport, there was this machine kind of thing where I have to put my suitcase and it wraps it all up in plastic and also insures each box for Rs 200...cool huh...well it was super cool, cos everybody at the airport kept looking at my suitcases and wondering how cool the idea was :-D So the time was like 3.45 AM and I was so darn sleepy, cos it was in the middle of the night...so I finally said bye to my folks and walked thru the immigration counter...I kept walking around in the airport like a Zombie 'cos my flight was at 6.30 and I dint want to fall asleep...so I walked around and saw that they have some interesting stuff to sell. The stores in the city dont have the collection they have in the airport...apparently they have some special stuff cos there are foreigners and ppl traveling abroad who can buy the stuff...pshh...whatever...so after seeing all that, I found the gate I had to board my flight at and then I just walked around...and I found an interesting counter named "Khao Gali" - the ONLY Indian Restaurant around there...with "affordable" prices. SO I had the nice hot Filter coffee...which was awesome :D and then I sat waiting for the Boarding call...I was so bored that I just kept looking at everyone around...and there were quite a few families with kids...AND THAT SCARED ME...cos I hate it when poor little kids keep crying all thru the flight cos they get annoyed of just sitting and doing nothing...atleast the older guys could see some movies and stuff. So ya, and FINALLY, they called for boarding...and my heart skipped a beat (that was soo melodramatic :-p...I know...am just trying to learn the art of writing you know, maybe someday you will see my book on the Best Seller's list...hmmm...I wonder...)

So anyways, I was on the flight to London and there was no looking back...

Little did I know that the "no looking back" was going to be forever :D

About this Blog!

Hey everybody,

Well...just wanted to talk about why I thought of starting off this blog...Actually, it started with this thing of "even I want to have a blog of my own!!" feeling...but gradually faded down to "I want a blog to write my feelings". So, here it is. I didn't know what to call this Blog, cos I didn't want to limit it to a particular topic.

So, keep dropping in to check new posts. I hope u have fun reading this blog.

Gayatri