The Barcelona trip,Feb 2007

I have been meaning to write for a long time, but haven’t had a chance, owing to the lack of time; or should I say lack of ‘me-time’.
I have been busy with a lot of things, a quick trip to Barcelona for the 3GSM congress, being just one of them. And the trip has compelled me to write this piece – at the cost of suspending the other post that I was so engrossed in.

So in effect, while you may get to read this post before the other one, the latter was conceived much before.

Back to the point – this post is about the Barcelona trip. No, this is not a travelogue – for various reasons. For one, it misses the description of (beautiful / scenic) places that form the essential ingredient of any travelogue. Why? – Just because we didn’t see any places!!!!
I will tell you what this is – this is about keeping your spirits alive when you are at your all-time low. This is about how life changes your attitude in a matter of 4 days. It’s about being locked in the same house with someone you thought you couldn’t stand, only to discover that life isn’t so bad after all! This is the transition from not seeing eye-to-eye, to knowing each other a little better; about accepting to yourself that there always is another side to everything – what matters is, which side you are on!

Fact- 1:
The trip started with a 2 hour wait at the airport, only to realize that we have to shell out 72K for excess baggage (this is when we weren’t even carrying enough clothes to keep us warm!). What a beginning! I offer no comments regarding the flight, save one – “given an option, I would never fly Alitalia again!” We landed in Barcelona with 280Kgs of luggage amongst the 5 of us! Spent 4 hours on the roads, while an apartment was arranged; Skipped lunch on 4 out of 5 days; carried more luggage on our backs than the weight of all us combined; did the dishes (I am sure my husband was a part of the conspiracy, just to ensure that I learn some household manners!!); vacuumed the carpet, and the list is endless (& useless).

In short – after spending 70% of my corporate-life travelling, this was the worst trip I have had.

Fact - 2:
Even when we were dazed, tired, sleepy and hungry, smiles never left our faces. While, I firmly believe that individually we would have lost it, collectively we laughed it off!! I still smile when I think of the time we spent discussing our misery and standing up for each other.

Things I won’t forget in a hurry:

- The “toilet in-out register”: We had to sing while using the loo, to avoid double-occupancy.
- The 5.00 am loo encounter! Also the R & A loo encounter!

- “Shant Gadadhari Bheem, Shant” was the most commonly used phrase, almost always followed by a deafening laughter!!!!!!

- The M “dangling” S, and her loo preferences
- Especially the “10-champagnes-down” M!!! And how M almost “froze to death”!!!!

- AH refused to come home at nights, for reasons best known to him (and to all of us!) The rare nights when he WAS home, his phone battery would drain out!!! And we enjoyed the way his face would light up when he received “the” calls, and he would sneak out of the room, while we tried to eavesdrop.
- The “Oil Vs Gel” and the absolute necessity to use them (it’s for his hair!! Not your fault if you thought otherwise; if you know AH, you are bound to think that way!)
- We learnt that the sky can be grey, blue and even scattered with berries on some days!

- “Ek sookhi nahi hia” I won’t elaborate on this one, lest AJ kill me.
- The superman T-shirt and the superman song!- “dheden, dheden”
- AJ scared the shit out of me, when he walked in drunk, and almost collapsed (on me)! And he still refuses to accept that he was "tipsy".

- How the yellow paper folder was ‘heavier’ than the 42” plasma TV!!!
- Not to forget the “Maria shots”

- “Big brother” was almost always the big bro, keeping the group together, and trying to sort out the tiffs. And how there was “1 ka 5 big-bro”

In short – after spending 70% of my corporate-life travelling, this was the best trip I have had.

Lesson Learnt:

Two hours with the ones you like to be with, can relieve you of the day's stress and recharge your soul!
We are a team, we work as a team and we live as a team!!!!!!