Tit for tat

Who ever said travel was boring ? Well, i think they must have not seen the finer parts of the travel. I have had a hectic 25-30 days here in the US and am about ready to head back to Chennai. But this time, i had the oppurtunity to travel, travel a lot. There were some bright moments during the course of the travel, the highlight being the trip to meet Vicks at Ann Arbor, and low parts being the 3am trips to the airport, which are more than an hour away, to make sure that i get to the flight on time.

Well before i start rambling about sweet nothings, i must narrate two funny things that happened during this frequent travel circus. The first incident was at Chicago, about a two weeks ago. I had just landed on my way from Grand Rapids, enroute to Washington DC. It was early morning, 6am or abouts. Thanks to the magic of timezone, i had boarded the flight at Grand Rapids, MI at about 6am, but arrived in Chicago O'Hare airport at 5:45am. So anyway, i make the routine trip to the restroom or bathroom. I do have to point out here, that we in America, call these restroom for a reason. Anyway not to talk about gory details, i was resting in the restroom, when a lady walks in to the restroom, and says 'excuse me', loudly enough to draw the attention of an otherwise empty restroom.
I hear her having the conversation with another Gentleman, and she explains that she has to use to restroom, because the women's area is closed, and how she will miss the flight and everything. Well, i guess the Gentleman gave her the permission, not that this lady was in any mood to listen otherwise. She had to go. So she quickly came and settled in the stall next to me. Now, i did find it weird for a moment, but then quickly dismissed it and we went our seperate ways.

Last week, i was returning from Detroit, this time, and flying into Washinton Dulles again. Since i had another early morning fight out of Detroit, i was dressed in a TShirt, but was wearing a decent set of trousers. The plan was to change in to formals in the airplane or soon after i land in DC. Since i was fast asleep in the plane, i missed to the oppurtunity to do the switch, and had to execute it in the airport restroom, so that i could drive straight to work. As soon as i got out of the plane, i located to the closed restroom, and walked in and closed the stall, stripped of my Tshirt, hung it on a hook, and then reached into my bag for my dress shirt. As i was doing this, someone else walked into the stall next to me, closed the door and sat down. As i bent down and picked up my dress shirt, i could the legs of the person sitting in the stall next to me. And i noticed a freaky thing, this guy, had nail-polished every single nail on his toes, and was wearing a funny slippers instead of shoes. I was think, 'what a wierdo', then i thought, oh man, dont tell me, is it the same lady from Chicago, oh man whats up with all the ladies these days ? Soon, i heard more noises, more ladies in the restroom, conversations between a mom and kid.
Oh my god !!
What the hell !! Did i just do that ? No it cant be.


I had managed to change into my shirt, tucked in and all ready to go. But how do i exit ?
So i just stood there, for sometime, for things to quite down.
I must have stood there for a lifetime, which lasted all about 2 minutes. And then opened the door, and walked straight out. As i did that i readied myself for the following:
- high shrieking sounds
- slippers and sandals thrown in my direction
- cops outside the door

What i encountered instead was a lady, directly in front of me, adjusting her sweater (nothing indecent), she didnt even look in my direction, even as i walked by her, apologizing. There was no one else, and the entire episode would have gone unnoticed, but for a grandma and her grandchild trying to make their way into the restroom, both of them did a doubletake to ensure that they were walking into the correct restroom.

As i walked out, i too confirmed the sign outside, which said 'women', but my legs were walking me, the fastest they had done in a while.

Well, all i have to say is, 'tit for tat'