R2I diaries - Day 7 - First Half ;)

Monday

I thought I'd write a diary for the first week and then take individual experiences and incidents and get along with my blog. After all who wants to red a daily runt?;) So today is the last day. We landed late night last Monday. And today we finish a week.

Morning was pretty routine. We didn't get coupons for milk on Sunday so we went for yet another early morning walk (:D) to get some milk. After that we got ready and ate Chocos (:D :D :D) and left for work. Incidentally since we got married, this was the first normal day for us. Each going our way for work and coming back home in the evening. So we got off. Today is going to be a busy day. Our appliances were going to get delivered in the evening and so I thought it would be a busy day. If only I knew!

We took an auto outside the apartment complex (its like a mini city) and headed to work. Subhash gave me a list of things to do when people called because he was leaving the phone with me today, since I was going to go home early for the appliance delivery.

Now I have to mention my commute :D 10 minutes flat! 4 KMS. Thank God we moved closer to Cisco. Else those 1-1.5 hr commutes although exactly were not killing me, they were beginning to get weary;) We walked till the front of the apartment (maybe 0.5 KMS?) and then I got off at the entrance to the IT park where Cisco is and walked to the building. I was sweating so much by the time I got in that the AC felt good. And I wanted to drink cold water!! Yay!!! I am back to my old self. I used to love drinking cold stuff till I went to the US and anything that was not boiling hot used to make me shiver. Damn those winters and those cold nights! So long as you don't think I am insane you are free to assume that I came back for this heat :D

After I got to work, I got a call from the broadband guy saying they can install it today itself! Wow! I had heard that the turn-around times are around a week. This guy not only promised it to us in three days, he beat his own estimate and said he was going to give it to us the very next day?! I must be dreaming!! I told him I was at work and cannot come over immediately. I asked him to send the technicians over at 4PM.

I got to work. Then I got a bunch of calls thanks to keeping Subhash's phone with me. Then I got one call from some technician at LG saying he was going to come over in half an hour to install the washing machine. I was shocked. This cannot be. They said they were going to deliver at 6PM. How can things be faster than promised? I told him that I was at work and they were originally supposed to come at 6PM and he said he was around this area and that later he wouldn't be able to come all this way. So I had no option but to leave immediately. Thanks to my 4KM commute now, I was home in 15 mins.

I have to snippet a conversation with the auto driver. I was thinking I'd have to walk all the way to the gate of the campus to find an auto, but i found a guy right there. I said my thanks to god and asked him if he would go. He asked for 60 and this is how the conversation went

Auto: 60
Me: Yaake kod beku 60? 4KMS ide ashte alla?
Auto: 50
Me: Meter 30 uu aagalla.
Auto: 40 kodiri
Me: Meter yeshtagatto ashte kodtini.
Auto: Sari.

Basically means Auto guy asked for 60, thrn 50 then 40 then noticed I wouldn't pay and agreed to go by the meter. Wow! Me and my Kannada :D Its a proper mish-mash of Telugu works mixed in with some Telugu-ish accent. But hey! I am trying;)

The guy came well over 45 mins later. And he asked me to show him where he must install it. I showed it to him. Then he asked me "Ok, where is the machine". I went whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? You said you were going to come and install it. He said he was just going to do the installation for a machine that already existed. So we decided he should come back tomorrow when the machine is finally here. Same time, same place. I called the broadband guy to see if he could send the technician over now as I was home anyway and he said he couldn't. So I got back to work (no internet at home => no work done there => have to go back to work) after unpacking the last clothes suitcase (yeah that guy took so long to come!). Rs. 75 gone for this exercise in autos. Plus the auto guy on the way back was nasty. I insisted on paying by the meter so he challenged me to pay by the meter, will you pay me whatever the meter shows? I said yeah, and he was in such a rage that I was pretty sure he was going to mess with the meter. I muttered to him "Kyon, meter bhagaoge kya?". Rightly so, his meter showed that my campus was 6KMS from where we started which was a good 2 KMS over the actual distance and I had to pay him 40 which is what the meter said, and I told him I knew how he messed with it. But what cannot be cured has got to be endured.


Since too may things happened today, I shall write another post on the second half of the day. I got back to work and went to lunch with a big group of women (girls) and generally got to know some more people. They looked like a fun group. Hopefully I won't stick out ;)