2009 has been a great year for me. So much more eventful than ever before. I came awake to the new year of 2009 with a sense of doom. The stock market had crashed a month prior and the job situation was bleak. I knew I was going to be graduating in a few months and I knew that I needed a job. With all the support of my friends, family and colleagues at my part time job, I threw myself into it.
And then I got incredibly lucky... two job interviews within days of each other. I jumped on a flight after several rounds of interviews on the phone, to Madison, WI. It was one of the most beautiful places I had seen in the US. The entire city was dusted with snow, two large lakes that were frozen over, a large capitol building, and a company that was unbelievable. I went through the motions of interviewing the entire day, hoping that I would land the job!
A few days later, one evening, at about 5:30 PM EST, I got the call I was waiting for. I was hired and they were going to process my visa on premium processing right away! A week later I graduated from The Ohio State University with a Master's Degree in Computer Science and Engineering. I planned my move from Columbus to Madison, said good bye to my friends and the place I had called home for two years and moved to a place where I knew not a single soul.
Surprisingly, I fit in very well with the company. There were plenty of new people in the same situation as myself and making friends seemed like a piece of cake. I had a nice house, a nice car and some very nice friends. Within a few weeks of moving to Madison, I got engaged to Jagan. It was the best feeling ever.
The official engagement was in June at my home in Coimbatore. Of course Jagan and I didn't go to it since we were both in the US and we both didn't have vacation. We had the difficult task of having to pick a date for our wedding. We thought of a monsoon wedding in June 2010. But as fate would have it, Jagan's contact was ending about that time, so we had to postpone it. That's when November came into the picture. Nov 1st was the date to be.
Time seemed to fly by after that. Shopping for wedding finery, designing our website and wedding invitations, connecting with friends I hadn't spoken to in so long, showing off my fiance to my best friends' ... Pri came to the US in August for her masters. I was so glad she was around to pick out my clothing! :)
I flew down to Albany to meet her during the Labor Day weekend. Shopping, hanging out and the US Open .. It was great! It was the first time in two years that I spent any length of time with my sister. I cherished each moment of it.
Suddenly it was October. It was time to start shopping for gifts to take back for the family. I was keeping my finger's crossed that all flights would go well. But sure enough. Murphy's law had to go into effect. My flight from Madison to Chicago was delayed by 1.5 hours. I barely made it to Chicago and I was sure my bags would be lost en route. Jagan made it on time. I met him in Chicago and from there we flew to Frankfurt. We only had 50 minutes in Frankfurt and we had to run for it. We made it and we were Chennai bound before we knew it. Coming home was wonderful. It had been more than a year at that point.
Everything was like a dream. I was the center of attention. Everything seemed to planned out. The only point of tension was my blouses for my sari's. It was three days of festivities ... Beautiful clothes, delicious food and wonderful family ... Pri and Pradeep left that night. It was incredibly emotional to see them go!
Jagan and I had a week left at home, which flew by in the blink of an eye! The return flight was no better. Delays and annoying travel restrictions that burst your bubble. Jagan and I went to our homes in Frankfurt. It broke my heart and the only consolation was that we would meet in a few weeks for Thanksgiving.
Over the next couple of months, we've traveled to see each other. There have been both good moments and bad ones. I learned that my best friend of 22 years was getting married in december. I was incredibly happy, but as circumstances would have it, neither of us could be at the other's wedding.
Jagan is in Denver this weekend. It's a blue moon night. Here I am .. on the couch, watching the ball drop at times square on CNN with Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin .. reflecting on the eventful year that has past and full of expectations for the year to come.
Goodbye 2009 .... Welcome 2010!
2 comments:
awww ... !! :)
well said....
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