How bad can flight delays be? Really?

Last week there was a segment on MSNBC about the increasing delays in flight arrivals and departures and the loud mouthed host went on yapping about the inconvenience caused by these delays. Although I don't recall clearly, I think the statistics pointed out that 30% of the flights were delayed last year in the United States. (Statistics are like mini skirts however, Siddhu would say, they hide more than they reveal!!!)... Then there was the infamous Jet blue airlines delay in which the flight was stuck in the run way for 8 hours with the passengers onboard! Late night shows had a ball trashing Jet Blue for well over a week. Moreover the security lines and special check line have grown steadily over the years adding to frustration and delays. Prime time news channels have a time of their life denouncing the airline industry and delays.

However it is quite a miracle that my personal experiences tell a very different tale. I flew twice in recent memory. Both times my flight got delayed. In the first case, I had to travel from Milwaukee airport to O'hare International Airport in Chicago by bus because the connecting flight was cancelled. American Airlines paid for the bus ride to Chicago and also compensated for the inconvenience by providing a gift voucher valid for one year! This was the best deal ever. The fact that I really find it ridiculous flying from Milwaukee to Chicago didn't have any bearing on it.

My latest rendezvous with a delayed flight turned out even more interesting. I was in DC and the flight (this time it was United airlines) was scheduled to leave at 7.00 pm. The chain of events leading upto my arrival at the airport may be described as 'a comedy of errors' at best. In a haste to get into the last train that would take me to the airport on time, I boarded the wrong train. Only when I reached the final destination did I realize that something had gone wrong! I ended up so far off from the airport that it took a $80 cab ride back. And hey! While you're out there why don't you throw in some nasty peak hour traffic to the mess, just for the heck of it? Let's see.. what other spice could the curry possibly take?

And when I finally reached the airport it was 10 minutes after 7.00. Luckily though, the flight was delayed by an hour and I happily taxied the same flight back home. There is saying.. 'One man's misery is another man's ecstacy!!'. Except my case was many to one! But God bless delayed flights, for making my journey cheaper, safer and last but not the least, possible!

Are you addicted to coffee??

I just realized how addicted I am to coffee. Well its not exactly an addiction in that, I don't have to drink coffee at a certain time of the day to avoid having a headache. But when I smell or see or am around someone having coffee I blindly walk up to the counter and get me one. Sometimes I feel like a computer program that does things without stopping to ask "why"?

If (see_coffee || smell_coffee || think_coffee)
{
drink coffee;
}

In the last fortnight alone, I must have averaged 3 - 5 cups of coffee per day. That is a LOT of coffee even by the generous standards of my people back home in Chennai (South India in general is known for its addiction to coffee). One wise investment that I made was the coffee maker. At least I don't buy "all" of that coffee from starbucks (OK don't get me started on starbucks... maybe I gotta write on the insanity of paying $4.50 for a mocha.. althought that was kinda due to the exorbitance of my sister)!!

Years ago when the "coffee culture" started spreading like wildfire in Chennai, I had visited them high-end-coffee-pubs a few times (like coffee day, there was one in the residency towers on GN Chetty road). I remember 5 - 6 of us had gone to coffee day in Nungambakkam once. The prices were so ridiculously high (50 bucks for 1 coffee, whereas coffee in a regular hotel was like 3 bucks!!) that we ordered one cappuccino and split the cost by 6. Imagine the waiter walking up to us, a table of 6 people, and we ordered 5 waters and 1 coffee!! hahaha... must have been hilarious! The funda for visiting these joints though was to catch a glimpse of the broads, so it really did not matter how many coffees we bought. But if I went back today, I would rather prefer to quietly enjoy my coffee!