out of luck..not yet!

I am at the airport from past two hours.. reading a novel mixed with browsing so i don't fall asleep and lose my bags...i have 6 more hours to kill... no one to talk to..a blizzard alert at precisely the time my flight is scheduled to land.. and the fortune cookie that accompanied my dinner told me to share my good and my bad fortune with my friends (which under current pessimistic conditions i would have interpreted as 'might have to go back home after 8 hours of wait gone to waste', however i refrain from doing so to still keep some faith in the fact that a bad day could after all turn around...) .. i have been the last to leave this town which means after countless hugs and good byes at the bus stations (trust me nothing like a hug from a friend when you're going on a journey..) i finally left without someone even shaking my hand.. the bus from Bloomington to Indianapolis had just one passenger for its journey, me! and being Christmas all the possible shops at the airport are closed(which means no coffee and certainly nothing to eat...even the usual Starbucks that stays open 24 hours and 7 days a week has shut its shop at 11 today..)..sometimes you just run out of luck i guess.. I have kept some of the coffee that i got about 2 hours ago with me even though its gone cold now to keep me awake and alive incase i get too hungry..

A steady stream of people arriving from far away places disturbs the silence of the lobby every few minutes. Relatives wearing Santa caps give them tight hugs and take them along...makes me wish for august right in the middle of December when i could go home too..

12 hours later ....
I finally made it to New York.. amidst some really bad turbulence and a constant fear or flights being canceled...Its snowing really bad now.. probably the worst i have ever seen...The snow on the terrace opposite to my house started as just a thin layer and is now about a foot high flowing over the ledges..But i finally did make it..To NY ..away from the loneliness of a town that was nothing without the smiles that adorn it. Amongst a town that promises so many things to watch that you don't have the time to think about whats missing...

PS: In the pic the blizzard waited just long enough for me to reach here.

Whitewashed...

This December was the 1st time in my life i saw and experienced snowfall. 1st time that i realized 'Oh! this isn't rain.. these are small lil tiny snow flakes!!' They stuck on my winter coat and refused to melt. This was the 1st time that i got to observe them and realize they actually do look like those pictures on Christmas greeting cards. Had my 1st walk across the street to my bus stop and tasted snow..and as crazy as this sounds, walking with your mouth open to feel the chilled snow flakes dissolve on your tongue..it does feel great. 

Winter brings in the curse of  'binging on anything you find' upon you and hence the completely strange cravings for totally unhealthy oily Chinese food. Which means you are tempted to drive out at 12 am and drag your roommates along with you to find  'The' place that will satiate your cravings. After 20 mins of driving in circles around downtown to find a suitable place we finally abandoned the search for 'The' Chinese place and were ready to settle for anyplace that would be open at that hour as nothing could satisfy us but 'Chinese....'. Finally some place was still open and we entered about 10 mins before they close. After delaying their shutting down time by an hour and our tummies full from the yummy, 'not healthy at all', 12 am chinese food we went searching for our car which by now was covered by snow and what better way to clear off all that snow if not for a snow fight. :) :) ....A lot of slipping, laughing, aiming, shooting, running and screaming minutes later...

i had had my 1st snow fight... without gloves or a snow jacket on..The snow went inside our clothes and inspired impromptu dances to get it out. Our hands ached from the cold. We put the cooking stove on to get some color back in them (Blue in such circumstances is not a color you want see your hands in.. plus you only have 10 fingers afterall... )

The sky was a bright orange at 1 am in the morning. We later realized it was due to all the light that was reflected by the snow. I was way to tired to stay up beyond this point and there ended my 1st snow adventure. The next morning the view from the balcony was amazing. Everything was covered under a white blanket of snow. It was beautiful and cold. Like as if someone up there decided to white wash the world every year before he could color it again with a different combination of colors this time around. Different strokes each year...

PS: the view outside my apartment and at left most corner my car that serves as 'ammunition reserve' to make snow balls when your parked outside the restaurant without a shovel.