A long wait for my daughter’s Grade-12 results – Check
A long wait for my wife’s passport which is stuck at UK Embassy for 6 weeks today- Check
A long wait for all of us to travel to India and visit parents and family and friends – half Check
A long wait to fill up critical slots in the team, since we are not getting good resumes – half Check
A long wait to get a Remarkable 2 note tablet – Check
A long wait for USD to become stronger (which actually is happening as we speak) – half Check
A long wait for the markets to become bullish – Flop
A long wait to upgrade my educational qualifications (planning in progress – but very expensive) – Half Check
A long wait to bring down my weight to 82kgs (work in progress) – Half Check
A long wait to get lucky on Big Ticket Draw – Flop
Been almost two months or more since I posted. What an eventful period this was! Let me go through the changes one by one
First, my daughter. She got admission to University College London, and her classes started. The past few months were all about waiting for her CBSE results. Thanks to God, she scored enough marks for UCL and Durham to accept her for Computer Science. She chose UCL, I personally felt it was a bit tough on her, since the standards are a bit higher. I for one feel college education should be about academics and fun both. Not just studying. Once she got the acceptance, next step was to apply for Visa. That was a chore, with my wife’s experience of ten weeks to get Visa fresh in my mind. This also took four weeks, but after that tense wait, she got it. There were some of her classmates as well who got through to UK, albeit for other streams of study.
Since she now had almost one month before classes started, my wife and daughter decided to go to India, and see our parents and get their blessings. This was for a week, and during that time I got a whiff of that bachelor life which sometimes I envy. They came back soon, and then it was all about shopping and packing four suitcases full of stuff. My policy was that we would get everything in UK, so, other than electronics and tablets, there is no need to take anything. But they both packed an entire house inside those suitcases. We three would be going to London, and I would return after a week, while my wife would stay on for one more week to help my daughter settle in. It’s an interesting point to note that as far as I can recall, my daughter has never slept alone in a room, let alone a house.
Come Sep 22, we were ready to travel. The flight was in the morning, and I had booked business class. Out of the kindness of my heart, I decided to donate my miles to my wife and daughter, and get them upgraded as well. After a 7 hr long flight on the A380, we reached London Heathrow. I was flabbergasted to see the crowd in the immigration hall. You won’t believe, we stood in the line for four hours before we could get out of the airport. A good thing to notice, was my daughter becoming more confident while talking to other people at airport including the Immigration officers. This was a completely new phase of life for her, and I am sure she would have thought and fretted a lot about it.
The Heathrow Express took us to Piccadilly and from there, we went to Tottenham Court Road, where our hotel was. We stayed at the Radisson, and thought I had friends and relatives there, didnt want to disturb them too much. Also, since the focus was on college admission and associated tasks, I wanted to be near the college as much as possible.
The day after we arrived, we walked to her University. It was a grand view, with a mix of classical Victorian architecture, and Nouveau facades. There was a structure called the Cruciform which must have been at least 100 yrs old. The college itself was very spacious, and various departments spread around. She collected her identity card, and we walked around the college. We saw lot of international students, including Asians. Talked with some of them, and explored the place.
The second day was for collecting the Residence Permit. It was a simple task, and after fifteen minute, she was the proud owner of a permit allowing her to learn and live in UK for the duration of her course. I could only muse about the challenges I faced while growing up, and how much things have changed for this generation. Education is the most important responsibility parents have towards their children, and I am determined to do the best I can for my daughter. After that it’s upto her to make the best out of the opportunities she gets.
We also applied for her Bank account at HSBC. There was a huge crowd and it was raining. The weather was very dramatic, with moments of glorious sunshine interspersed with gloomy and cloudy weather, and sheets of rain. I realized that I had made a huge blunder the first evening itself. I had taken a jacket along, unfortunately realised that it’s just an evening jacket, and was helpless before a determined UK chilly windy weather front. I was literally shivering when the cold winds buffetted me, but I braved it. Some helpful spirits also helped me suffer the cold stoically.
I found the best way for my daughter to walk from the college to the hostel where she was put up. It was a 25 minute walk, and I made my daughter do it herself after giving her company once. There was one route which she wasn’t liking much, because it passed through some shady areas. However, we soon found another way which was more hospitable and calming for the racing hearts. After a couple of days, we realized quickly that there was an efficient network of buses that would take her to university very quickly. So, especially during winter, she wouldn’t have to walk in the dark. From the bus stop it was only a less than five minute walk to her hostel.
The hostel itself was a very lively place, multi-storeyed and teaming with kids barely out of school. However, the vibe was very exciting and my daughter also soon caught on to it. I got the feeling that kids would adjust faster to changes in life, than older people. I also was certain that I would be missing her more, while she would be busy with her studies and assignments and friends.
She had opted for a studio, and it was essentially one small room around 7M by 4M, with a washroom also. Seven kids would share one kitchen. It was going to be a huge difference for my daughter who has been steadily dependent on her parents waking her up, giving her food, washing her clothes and dropping her wherever she wanted to go. I was very interested to see how my daughter would cope with the drastic change. It’s too early to say, but I am sure she will manage it. She’s like me, wont make too much of a fuss about anything even if we don’t like it. It’s what it is.
I gave her ten commandments, and I hope she will follow that. She may not like me posting it, so I am refraining from that. Basically, it’s just some principles I wanted to convey to her, that would allow her to face life confidently, and also to handle issues in her stride. At the end of the day, we are here for her, and whatever happens, she can count on us. London is only 7 hrs away, and working for an airline should have some benefits in travelling to and fro quite frequently.
At the end of the first week, I returned, there was too much workload and I wasn’t comfortable staying in London while my team was slogging it out. We were planning a Disaster Recovery drill, and it was very important. However, it was my first travel after Covid, for almost two years, and I found out how much I missed air travel. I am also sure that now the frequency will increase, and at any opportunity me and my wife would try to go to UK or bring our daughter back here.
We talk daily for at least thirty minutes, and while I am very shoddy in communication, I am determined to correct myself for my daughter.
Another big event in my life, was the handover of an apartment I had invested in. It is in a good location downtown, and I had to decide between moving there, or giving it out for rent. I finally decided to rent it out, because of several reasons. This apartment I am staying in is very spacious and the location is very good. Near the airport, near shopping malls, near Sharjah, almost thirty minutes to anywhere. I have handed it over to a property management firm, and now am waiting for a good tenant. The quality of the apartment construction is awesome, and I felt a pang of regret at not staying there. However, sometimes we need to take such decisions to better our future.
It’s my father’s 80th birthday this Oct 21, and I plan to travel to Kerala. I will be seeing my parents after a long time, and really looking forward to it. Family is important, and as we grow older, we realize the need to spend as much time as possible with parents.
In between I had at least two friends get togethers, one for Onam celebrations and one with classmates. After I came back from UK, I also took on the initiative of spring cleaning my apartment, and throwing out all old furniture, clothes, what not. It took almost four full days to get it in some shape, and a wallet full of money to get new furniture. However, it’s worth it and the apartment now looks clean and tidy. I need to do pest control as well, and then it will be all good.
Workwise, we saw several big projects going live, with several more in the pipeline. It keeps me busy, and I am sure that with my daughter gone, I will be spending more time in the office than before.
Forgot to put some events from the UK trip. Every evening, I met one friend each. Was happy to see that colleagues and friends and relatives are doing well, and that even in a foreign country, there are bonds that I can count on, and if my daughter needs anything, they will be ready to support. Also, we went to a vegetarian South Indian restaurant the first evening of college, since I wanted to both celebrate it as well as ease my daughter’s stress a bit. While waiting there, I looked out towards the road, and was surprised to see an old colleague saunter past, whom I hadnt seen for almost ten twelve years. I was not very sure if it was indeed him, but no pain no gain. So I walked up and checked closely and said Hello. He jumped literally out of his shoes, and it was a great moment that we sealed with a photo that we shared in our what’s app groups.
I took my camera and a gorgeous new lens to UK, and couldnt take much with it. Because most of the time I was walking to and from university, doing chores, cleaning my daughter’s room etc. After cleaning the room for like two hours, I sat on her bed at an angle, and then realized that I couldn’t get up. My back was not supporting, and I realized it could be a problem. Luckily, after some time it eased up, and I took it easy from then on. While we are young at heart, our spine doesn’t know it.
I will share some photos from the UK trip which I took with my phone.
