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Completing my Tag about me

I think this is going to be a long story. Accidental Diva tagged Siri and Siri tagged me.
9 things about myself of which one has to be a lie.

My Time starts now ..

• I think in the English language. I pray in Kannada and sometimes in English to Hindu gods. I am hoping God does understand what I have been saying all these years. My mother tongue is Kannada. I can speak Telugu, Tamil, Hindi and I think I can manage Malayalam as well.
• I love Sweets, I cannot resist eating them at any time of the day. I have been notorious for stealing sweets from when I was a kid (I still do).
• I have hurled a packet of food at my lecturers house for pure fun. This is what my friends believe. They had dared me to throw and I said I would throw and asked them to run. They ran and I threw the packet of spoilt food towards the house but a little away (I am not all that brave). The packet landed beside his house. They still think I am a Hero who threw the stale food at the Physics lecturer's house.
• The first letter I got from a girl is with my school principal. I cannot even show it to anyone. Sob sob.
• I am scared of Electricity.
• I learnt to cycle very late. I was in my 7th Standard when I learnt to cycle, from then on I have never walked.My bro did not want me to learn as he would have to share the cycle with me.
• I got a 100 in maths in my board exam, but I cannot live without Calculators :)
• I love movies and I always wanted to be a Movie Director, but I am not sure how Software Engineering happened to me.
• My first job was with Times Of India as a Reader Relation Executive. I had to convince people to read the Times of India instead of their existing paper.

Ok I managed to complete the tag and I pass on the ball to Suju.

My voice against British Airways

When there is no one in particular you want to talk to, you post on your blog and let the world hear. About 2 and a half months back I had the misfortune to cancel a ticket on British Airways and that was the start of my problems. With the internet it is so easy to book a ticket. But users should take care that the reverse is not really this easy. To cancel a ticket be prepared to wait patiently till the time arrives. It may be easier to get Drashan at Lord Balaji's feet in Tirupati but the refund doesnt land in your credit card account that easily.

On March 4 I called the BA helpline(supposedly) to cancel my ticket to Montreal on British Airways. The ticket was cancelled aliright fine. But for the refund I had to send an email to an email address that they gave me. I sent an email too on March 6th to have the refund processed. I did not get any confirmation or any response. I waited for 15 days before I called the helpful helpline again. They claimed that there is nothing they could do and I have to wait. I was told to add in the subject line "Please Reply Very Urgent" (I guess a lesson they forgot in the induction to reply to refund mails). I did get a reply when I added this in the subjet to ask for the status. I was told the refund will be processed within 60 days.

I waited some more days. I had no choice but to wait. There is no number that I can call to check the status so I again emailed with the same subject. After a couple of days I got a response asking me for my credit card details. Towards the end of the mail it said "Your refund is just about to be procssed". I was hopeful. Waited another 15 days still no sign of my refund.

I sent them another mail after 70 days explaining that the Credit Card company has charged me finance charges and interest so kindly arrange for my money. Still no help.
Then I got a mail telling the refund was made. I checked with the credit card company but I didnt see any cash in my account. So I sent a mail asking about when the request was processed but alas no response. When I got the response I was told last month. Another round of exchange and enquiries. I got a mail telling that the refund is already processed and the money will be credited in a weeks time. Another week has passed and the credit card company is just about process another bill and charge me. I dont know which bull I should charge and get my money from an email id!
Thank you British Airways for the excellent service. If not a phone number to shout into I can atleast Blog about it.

Tomorrow never comes

One morning I was reading the newspaper and one item was a little futuristic. It had photos of how things to come in the year 2020 would look. When I was a child people chose the year 2010 as a really futuristic year and how things would be drastically different in the year 2010. We are at 2007 and I still have two eyes and I hope my kids will too. A quick re-check in the mirror confirms that I am not growing any horns or becoming green in color. I just looked out on the street and I see humans the same way as they used to be back when I was a kid. Yes, we have a lot more channels to watch on TV, but we still buy DVDs of those old serials and continue to watch them. The new age year now happens to be 2020 and I am sure things will remain much the same way as they used to be and as they are. So all you kids will need to cram for those exams and complete your assignments. As a kid I used to hope for a “free economy” where I didn’t have to pass exams and I would get all the money starting from the year 2010. Well none of that is happening and I need to work and earn my money the legitimate way. Cheers to 2020.

The Perfect Clock

I might have put the readers of the post a little off-track with the subject. Did you folks read the subject and started thinking of those Swiss Watches? Or probably an atomic clock which does not miss a beat. If yes then sorry I am not talking about that. If the search engine results threw my post for the best clock in the world, I still think it is correct. I am not talking about Quartz or Diamonds here neither it is the latest Eco Drive that never requires a battery change.

I am referring to my pet Fluffy. Fluffy was (he is no more in physical form) a real time keeper. Every day just before the clock would strike four in the evening he would be right at my feet with my footwear in the fond hope that he would be taken out for a walk. He would look up at me with his head tilted at 45 degrees and wondering what can be more interesting than taking him for a walk. He would jump up and down to draw my attention from the books that I would have in my hand and expect me to notice him. If I didn’t he had an alarm a kind of Chronograph. Every couple of minutes he would let out a shrill bark. This would annoy anyone in the house to the extent that they would definitely volunteer to take him for a walk to just keep him quiet. He did this like clockwork 24/7 and 365 days a year except when he was ill.

Fluffy was smart and dumb at the same time. Irrespective of how heavy it rained outside, he would want to go out. I guess he really did not understand the concept of rain! I still miss those 4 O clocks when Fluffy would be most active and all excited. This was really the high point of the day for him. For many days after Fluffy passed away I would look at the clock when it struck four and wondered if Fluffy would get my Sandal and force me to take him for a walk. I wish he does. I would want to tell him that the walks were really interesting for me as well compared to those Engineering Mathematics or Cobol Text books.

Thread of hope on the road

The global traveler might see a rather rare sight when they arrive in India. Some cars may have a small Lemon dangling in the front, right below the Bonnet. No, this is not to shift the center of gravity to some other position nor it is for a quick lemonade when the driver gets thirsty. It is to just ward off the evil eye. I am not sure how the Lemon wards off the evil eye, some research required here. You may also find some Green Chillies hanging or a combination of Chillies and lemon. What ever it is, I am sure it is for the same reason.
I must talk about what happened to my car when I had got it mint fresh. The first day I was all excited and wanted to take my dad around for a drive. Told dad that driving was a piece of cake and he got the courage to sit alongside me. I started the car and I had to reverse the car to take it out and right behind there was a Honda City. Before I knew it my car was kissing the other car. Talk about how magnetic Honda City was, the Fiat could not resist it. It took my dad three months before he sat with me in the car again.
Soon after this incident my bro took the car to his friend's house and it returned with a nice black thread hanging in the front. Yes yes readers are so clever they guessed it. It was a small rope to ward off the evil eye. His friend's mom had got it from a far off place for her son's car and ours (very sweet of her). After the first day's incident I doubt I can recall of any other incidents. With the kind of traffic on the roads of Bangalore, lemon, chilly or a small thread of hope is enough to hang on to. We need it.

Rapunzel let down your hair

It was the weekend chore that I had to do, orders from my boss (I am married you see). I was told I need to chop that hair of mine and it better look good this time. So I paid a visit to the barber. This barber is a truly integral and important part of the society. Imagine a world without barbers. We would be dressed in Armani suits giving presentations to a room full of guys with hair which would put Rapunzel to shame. Also one really needs to respect the barber, after all he has a Blade and a pair of scissors in his hands. My barber did what he is best at. Snip and Snipe and I was in ship shape (I thought). One never really knows what transpires in front of the mirror. Anyhow he cuts; I would think it looks all right. Only till the time you reach home and see that look on the face of your beloved. I really had it messed up today. Gel can spike it up a bit. Or a heavy dose of Hair Oil might help. But my wife found the best solution to the problem she gave me a cap.