Back to Earth

The last 10 days have been just amazing. Too many things happened too fast and I was literally in heaven. My sis visit was a blast and I thoroughly enjoyed it! So much that it has taken me 2 days after she left, to come back to earth. To give you a gist:

Day 0: The night before THE arrival. Havent been so excited abt anything like this, for long. Damage limitation exercise in full flow as I sought to keep everything out of reach of the kids.

Day 1: Went to airport to receive my sis, her hubby and the two kids, Pratul (6 yrs) and Jayanth (2 yrs). From the start, the trip was all about the kids. Jayanth insisted on pushing the empty trolley all the way to the gate where an alarmed guard had to coax him to leave it. Came home and immediately went for dinner in Komalas (one of the many visits there). Came back home. Jayanth showed me a glimpse of why he is a terror back home. In 30 mins, there was nothing to be seen on the floor (btw, its a typical bachelors' apartment, so u know...). His elder bro did not wanna be overshadowed, so he locked my room from the inside, forcing me out of my own room for the rest of the night.

Day 2: Paid a hefty sum for a 2 sec job by a locksmith. Room sweet room! Planned for a trip to Sentosa Island, but aborted half way through. Realised travelling with kids needs a lot more time than planned! Was suddenly aware of a buzzing sound. Turned to look at the taxi door open travelling at 100 kmph. Look on the taxi drivers face suggested I wouldnt be surprised if he had a heart attack. Diverted to a friend's place and Jayanth professed his love for the 10 month old baby there with a tight ringing slap across the face :P Went to BirdPark. Pratul got scared of the hawks and eagles but Jayanth was there, as always running upto the trainer shouting "mama thaa". Then we travelled by train, and Jayanth wouldnt have anything of it. It started off with a small moan saying "train venaam" and soon became a hysterical cry. Actually it was more of an order than a cry. We had to get off about midway as my sis and her hubby were just too embarassed by the whole train looking at them in stunned silence.

Day 3: Finally went to Sentosa Island. Water, milk and nappies were the most valuable products of the day (and the rest of the days to come). Realised Jayanth is a two word freak. He only talks two words at a time but conveys very effectively. "Paal venum", "dhathi venum", "chuchu ponum", "mazhai peiyardhu", "express(train) vendaam", "call taxi", "college bus", "samaan lorry", "double-decker bus" are a few of his vocabulary. 2 - nothing more, nothing less. Would have made thiruvalluvar jealous!

Day 4: I was off to office, never cursed monday like this. Heard they enjoyed themselves in Zoo and Night Safari. Came back home at 12.30, so nothing much. It was something Pratul really enjoyed, I heard. He is a really sweet soft shy kid. I have seen him grow up and guided him along the way (taught him a trick or two in his younger days). Cud literally see that lack of guidance can turn a constructive energy into a destructive one.

Day 5: Witnessed a gruelling act. Saw Jayanth maul a poor cat in my house. He went and grabbed it by the scruff of the neck and hugged it tight (real tight). It cried in pain and me loving cats, bled. And by the time I forced him to let go, the cat had had a painful haircut.

Day 6: Cut short my day's work and wanted to meet them in Mustafa. Searched for 1.5 hrs in that shop for them, and gave up. Most frustrating experience. Went to temple and came back home, only to get a rude shock. Called up my handphone (with my sis), and realised she had lost her (my) handphone in Mustafa. I had no other way of contacting her, so I rushed there. After a frantic search and rescue operation, I could finally relax for the day.

Day 7: Last day of work for the day, as a Malaysian trip was planned for the next couple of days. Hectic work though, and everything was last min. They had meanwhile enjoyed being to the Science Centre. After a hell of a delay, managed to go halfway around the city to reach the train station and caught it just in time. This period also involved frequent tensed calls to Visithra to check up on a few hotels in KL (I had just realised that I havent booked a hotel in KL). Train saw Jayanth with renewed energy and this time around, it was a 5-6 yr old girl who bore the brunt of his "affection".

Day 8: KL, here we come. Stranded on the streets as there was no hotel available. And the one that was took the liberty to charge a humoungous amount. Bore the brunt of my sis' short temper. Probably this was the first time I noticed her presence amongst the chaos ;) Made a fool of myself by not planning for my "dear" sis. Got into some decent hotel and then off to the towers to book tickets. The best thing about KL is the tallest things there.. Petronas and KL Tower are just too good. Esp the former, which attracts young and old alike (did not seem to bother Jayanth's "running around routine" though). His Goal in life is simple. Do whatever his bro can do. This involved a vertical jump of about 5 feet in the garden there. Rounded the day off with a trip to the Airport (which is in a distant isolated location 70km away). Just thinking how people in India will react if they hear that we spent Rs 3000 to just travel to the airport and back.

Day 9: Went to Batu Caves (a beautiful scenic climb) and Putrajaya (a freaking hot distant deserted place in a land far far away from KL). Came back exhausted to do some shopping (and lotsa bargaining) in China Town. Once we realised there was no more cash left, the day drew to a close as we boarded the train back. I never got to meet Visithra, but sure thanks for her valuable info. On hindsight, she would have more than met her match, if only she had!

Day 10: Final day of a sweet little journey. Back to same old monotonous city. After a morning nap, went to Mustafa and bought nothing, then went for some ice creams (in Swensens) and a movie Poseidon (mini version of Titanic). Inbetween Pratul tried to emulate his bro's antics and in the process fell off the sofa and bled his nose. Poor guy.

Day 11: Couldnt even say tata babye cos I had to rush to the office. Got a lot to reminiscence, but a lot more to curse for the week flew off so soon.

Even though the talk of the town was the young kid, by heart goes out to Pratul, for whom the trip was all about. Atleast for me, it was all abt him, his enjoyment and satisfaction. I did what I could to entertain him and he was overjoyed to get a "Power Rangers" toy and shirt-shorts, at the end of it all.

RAQ: All good things have to come to an end... for better things to start

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