Getting to Know the Man

I have to say, life is pretty damn good right now. Despite the economy, recent celebrity deaths, and overall glum state of the world, my life and my friend's lives seem to be picking up. I am currently at Heathrow airport on my way back to Chennai. I just had the best week in London: I was invited to come for work, was put up in a decent hotel in a really cute part of town, I met some new friendly people, saw an old friend, and most importantly, I got to know my boss.

I'll start at the beginning. My original flight back to Chennai was supposed to be on July 8th from SF to Singapore to Chennai. I got an email from AR at the last minute asking if I would like to stop in London on my way to India for work. Sure! I said. Although I knew I was going for something work related, I really had no idea what I was going to be doing there. The whole thing was oh so Mission Impossible: a strange vague request to fly to a different continent. Picked up at the airport and dropped off at the hotel by a man who had no idea who had employed him to do so. An envelope on the night stand with money in it. Well.. the last part isn't true. But how cool would that have been? (The money was given to me in hand Ha!). You have to understand, these are many firsts for me. 1. I've always wanted to travel for work - I've never done anything important enough to be paid to go anywhere. More importantly, I love saying the phrase "I'm here on business." 2. Being chauffeured around London is delightful. 3. Having my meals paid for is wonderful, but dangerous. Note to self: be wary of senseless gluttony 4. Wearing a suit. Oh how important it makes one feel!

I got a mysterious email saying "We will pick you up at 2 pm. Please be ready." So I was. They came for me at 4. Where did we go? To AR's honorary graduation at Middlesex University! They presented AR with an honorary doctorate degree. We got there and I was shocked to see the police had been called. We walked in as a group, but immediately after we did so, someone literally shoved me out of the way and started clawing at AR. I've never seen such hysteria up close. People were crying, taking pictures, hugging him, screaming, shaking etc. etc. It was a crazy experience. He accepted his degree graciously and gave a heartfelt and moving speech. We all applauded. The next day we returned to Middlesex to talk about the possible affiliation between them and KMMC. The process will be lengthy, but I think it will be really good in the end. What's great is, middlesex was already looking into broadening their music program to include world music. How perfect. The work part was fantastic because I actually for once felt like a significant part of the KMMC team. The best part of the whole trip though, was getting to know the man. After his graduation we went back to his home and watched the Michael Jackson memorial concert. Anyone who knows me knows how much of an MJ fan I've always been - and how genuinely devastated I was when I heard of his passing. It was probably the most surreal experience of my life to be sitting on a couch in AR's house, watching the memorial, holding hands with his assistant and friend, with tears rolling down our faces,. And I know I caught the tear in his eye when Paris gave her speech about her daddy. Michael Jackson, even in death, can bring people together. There's no going back once you've bonded over MJ.

Afterward, we all went to dinner at an Indian restaurant called Quilon which the big Amitabh B. frequents. AR's lawyer, and a man named Hossam Ramzy who is apparently a very famous arabic songwriter met us there. We talked about MJ all the way there and most of AR's sentences started with "When I met him...." or "When I called him a couple weeks ago..." Um... Whaaaaaat? Unbelievable. The dinner was delightful and when they asked AR to sign the guest book, he asked me to write the message, which he then signed. Ha! (I get such a kick out of these tiny things).

I've hung out with AR on many occasions now, but this was the first time that I actually saw him for himself. He is ridiculously down to earth. He handles fame extremely well, but doesn't let it go to his head. When we went to Middlesex, he wouldn't let me carry my laptop case because it was heavy. He was carting it around the whole campus! Spirituality enters into almost every conversation with him, but not in an annoying or threatening way. It's even non-denominational. He doesn't hesitate to talk about his life - tell you stories, even ones that make him seem vulnerable and small. Considering the number of snakes that surround him at any given moment, he always makes you feel like you are trusted. In essence, he's a great, humble man, and truly, innately good.
That, I am sure of now.

Leaving on a Jet Plane!

And once again, I am heading off to the motherland for many many more crazy adventures! I leave today at 5 pm and am stopping in London for five days. What am I doing there? I have yet to find out. We'll see. Then I leave for Chennai on the 10th.

Cross your fingers.

Sigh...

Ahh... I'm sitting at Logan airport, waiting for my flight and pondering the last tumultuous 24 hours. Do you ever have one of those days where it feels like the entire universe is against you? One of those days where everything just goes wrong... one thing after another... leaving you feeling dumbfounded and questioning how you got this far in life with minimal scrapes and burns? What a roller coaster.

So my story begins at 12:30 am in Boston. My friend Susannah and I were meeting friends and going from Washington Square to Commonwealth and Harvard. Instead of taking the T, we figured it would be faster to take a cab. 8 dollars later, we reach. We pay the driver. Susannah steps out first and heads to the nearby ATM. I, with my sweater in hand, step out of the cab, shut the door, and realize... I don't have my purse. I reach for the handle as the cabby speeds off with a violent squeal. UM. Seriously? I proceed to stand on the corner for the next 2 1/2 hours hoping that the man will sympathize and return. No such luck. I repeatedly call my phone.. which.. he actually answers multiple times, but eventually turns to silent. I yell over and over... "Pleeeeeaaaasseee... I'm standing where you dropped me off, I will pay you if you bring my purse back! For the love of humanity, pleeeeeeeaaaaase come back!" I hear him clumsily pressing random buttons and then.... the line goes dead. I call every Independent cab company in Boston, but to no avail. [freak out moment]

The damage?
Mobile phone
IPod Mini & Earphones
1 Credit Card
2 Debit Cards
California Driver's License
Social Security Card
Health Insurance Card
India Employment/Resident Pan Card
8 dollars
1500 Rupees
A good luck pyramid that my hand reader gave me to ensure responsible money spending.
My dignity
And.... drum roll please... Susannah's apartment keys. [Nooooooo!]

We get home and call a locksmith. He tells us over the phone that the charge will be 30$, which Susannah has. [Victory moment]. The guy comes after 40 minutes and we head upstairs. We reach the door and he says.. "Ohhhh... you didn't tell me there would be a dead bolt. I'm going to have to drill through them... it's going to be 200$ each lock... 400$ total." [Freak out moment]. We think, "HAHAHAHAHAHHA". We say, "Um, we don't have that." 'What do you have?" "40" long pause. "Ok. That should be fine." [India moment ???????????!] He pulls out the drill and Susannah says, "Wait a minute, if you drill through, I'm not going to be able to lock my door, and I'll have to get my locks changed!" "uh.. yeah." We say nevermind and tell him to scram. We still have to pay him 30$ for coming over. We then call the management company and the guy says it's going to cost 50$ to send someone over. We say "we don't have 50$" and plead with him to let us in. "How much do you have?" "30$" "Hmm... alright I'll be over in 15." [Again, India moment ???????????!!!!]. 45 minutes later, he comes, opens the door in about 2.5 seconds, and we're in. [Victory moment]

Total damage:
60$
4 hours of sleep

I go in, and with a sudden sinking feeling, realize that I can't fly to DC at 10:30 am in the morning because I don' t have ID. [Freak out moment]. I call my parents who are sleeping peacefully at 4:30 am and ask what I should do. They tell me to sleep in, stay put, and we'll worry about it in the morning. I frantically call Liz who is picking me up in the morning and tell her it probably won't happen and to stay at home unless something changes.

I miss my 10:30 flight, but spend the morning calling every cab company in Boston for an update, filing a report with the Boston PD, calling Airtran Logan airport, and airport security repeatedly to figure out my options and they take me on a whirlwind of finger pointing: Airtran - "It's the jurisdiction of the airport to let you get through security." Logan - "You need to call the airline, it's their decision." Airport Security - closed on weekends. [Freak out moment]. Airtran - "It might be worth a shot to try and get through security with a copy of your birth certificate and passport on standby. But there are no guarantees." Ah! Finally an answer. [Victory moment]

I pack and go to Kinkos where my mom faxes me both documents, borrow 60$ from Susannah, and head to Logan airport by public transportation. We take the green line to the blue line and low and behold.... the blue line is under construction and is closed. [Freak out moment] But! We realize that there is a blue line shuttle that leads to the airport shuttle which takes you to the airport. [Victory moment]. 45 minutes later we reach the terminals. We're sitting on the edge of our seats with clenched fists because the next flight is in an hour. The bus then decides to make 3 extra stops than normal. We finally get out at Terminal C, and run to the airtran counter. [Freak out moment].

Damage:
60$
4 dollars at Kinkos
5 dollars at Starbucks
My mind

We get to the counter, I put on a sugary smile, open my eyes real wide, flutter my eyelashes, and look like I'm about to cry and relay the sob story to the dude. He barely looks at my documents and gives me the go ahead. [Finally! Victory!] He confirms my seat on the 7 o'clock to DC. With a smile I walk confidently to security.

They have to call a supervisor. "You can't get through with these documents, I'm sorry, he says coldly. I sputter... "But.... but.... the guy said... I talked to....but..." "No. I'm sorry, he says. I can't let you go through." [Freak out moment]. They must be told to be difficult at first but eventually let you through upon interrogation. By my slumped shoulders, maybe he figured I wasn't a terrorist. I was asked all the normal questions, "where are you from, what's your full name, birth date, birth place, who lives at your current address, what is a street leading off of the road I live on? etc." After being searched extensively, I finally, FINALLY got in. [Victory moment]

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Where am I now? Still at Gate C40 in Logan airport. My flight is delayed 2 hours and counting.... [too tired to freak out anymore.] Hopefully this is it and I don't have to add more to this entry. I would have documented my updates on Twitter, but alas.
No cell.