I have the Visa Power!

And I m back.. lazy bum.. arent I? Glad we agree! :D
I mean really, a lot has been happening in my life, but I still prefer watching movies and playing games as opposed to penning down the thoughts I have.
So 8 months back, when I got the news every n00b in IT field wants to hear, (I am going onsite!) I was ecstatic. Hell, I was not even able to get a visa date at the beginning. It was August, the time when all MS students want to join their universities. 1 month down the line and still no luck with the dates. Then some page sprung up in my google search giving some valuable tips regarding visa dates. It mentioned that if u r going by indian time, u might as well try for dates after midnight or before 9 am in the morning. It worked!
Onto the next step.. the dreaded Visa Interview.. a couple of my friends even made a point to visit Birla temple.. they say ppl who visit it clear their visa interviews for sure. No such luxury for me. I was here, wither working my ass off in the office, or sweating it out in the gym. So Sept 20th was the day, when I took at taxi to US consulate in Mumbai, and waited in that line at 7:30 am in the morning to enter the consulate.
There was this gal (about my age) wearing specs, and a CURT uniform like dress (light blue shirt and black skirt.. old school style), with a "DONT FUCK WITH ME" kinda thing stamped on her forehead. Well, my intuition wasnt wrong. She was a pain. Besides it was my first shot at visa.. and poor me was fumbling to get 4-5 things out in a flash. Appointment letter, HDFC pink slip, blah blah... I was back in school days where the teacher would spank you if the correct book was not upon your desk with the correct page opened. I wanted to ask her if she was getting periods or something.. to make her this miserable.. U know what mad cow disease can do.. but i refrained. After all I had come to give an interview.. but surely the consulate should think of appointing some airhostess like cutiepie who can put ppl at ease.
Moving on, I was in! Metal detectors did not blare. I submitted my passport and blah blah things in a green SHREK like envelope.. and they parcelled it off somewhere. And i huddled myself in some chair. Soon announcements started. I dont understand why the hell those interviewers cant pronounce those numbers correctly. They sound as if they are gobbling some breakfast, when they were hoisted on their feet and made to stand infront of the interview window. No wonder those poor souls are cranky even before the interview begins. To top it, there were a couple of kids running amok. Their moms seemed relaxed.. (soccer moms i guess).. I reckon they were confident that the cute faces of their kids and their demure smiles wud win the heart of any visa interviewer, and grant them visas. But wat about the rest of us who couldn't even hear those numbers being called.. (by breakfast choked announcers)? I guess the relation between whining kids/wailing babies on important occasions is similar to that of mud being splattered on u when u r well dressed in rains. Never mind!
So i heard my number.. yup I DID! and bang I was first in the line. Thru the glass window in the wooden door, i cud see a cute american lady. She atleast smiled during the pleasantries.. (I guess the specxy gal ooutside the consulate could take a lesson or 2 from here.. maybe she wanted to be an interviewer and was rejected coz she was a meanie). She asked a couple of irrelevant questions.. then a couple of relevant ones.. and gave the answer I had been waiting for.. (U have been granted the visa).. muahhhhh.. I like cutiepies!
So all set for the houston trip, I was going to fly with British Airways, via London to Houston.
For the details of the trip and the airports and everything.. I will be right back!