Of CIVICS and OPTRAS

Hmmm, whats up in blore these days? I would say paagal types rain doesn't allow anything to be up :( ... It doesn't pour down in one go, rather sends them drizzling down all through day and night... I enjoy going out in the rain, I most certainly do, if my next stop is my house but if it is not then it becomes frustrating , really frustrating... Today was a day like that, when it had to happen to me. I am usually a morning person, wake up early, hit the gym depending on the mood, and then start to office... I am usually @ my workplace by 7:30 or 8:00.. But today, no idea what got into me, I woke up to see the clock showing 10:30 (Well it was my mobile that was showing 10:30 :)). I got up with a shock, hurried into and out of the bathroom in a flash. This was when the first bolt of frustration stuck. I was searching in my wardrobe for a fresh pair of jeans and it was then I realised I did not have any. One of the few drawbacks of being a bachelor :)(Gals , no offense meant!!). I pulled down my suitcase and picked a very old pair, faded to the max extent possible... I am not a great fan of faded jeans, but well something is better than nothing right!!! I was all set to start by 10:55. I went out to check that its not raining or drizzling and I was so happy to see it wasn't.
Here let me stop a moment and talk about two R's in Bangalore, that are not really fond of each other... Roads & Rains.... When rain disrupts one's schedule, the roads try to the best of their abilities to prove that they can do a much better job than rain... This coupled with the fact that even under normal circumstances, Bangalore's roads are worse than even the sub-urban roads of Chennai, can really make life miserable...
Coming back to my story, I was out in the roads by 11, to be caught in the first of the umpteen traffic signals in my track... People say that when you are frustrated, everything around you tries to add up to your frustration. I bet that's pretty true. The road in front of my house had been dug up for about 2 weeks now, I think its the Electricity board, no the telephone department. On third thoughts, I think it was the corporation, trying to set something right with the drainage.... These things usually do not bother me, but today was no usual day. I was constantly muttering curses about the common sense of the people who decided to clean the drainage in the rainy season(Is it the rainy season?? you can never say that in blore)... Then finally , the signal gave way and I started my bike and moved a few paces, when the drizzling started. I thought ok, its not that bad, I should be able to manage with the jerkin. Probably rain gods have the power to read minds, it started drizzling hard and fast. I had to pull the face shield of my helmet to avoid the icy drops of rain... people go crazy when it rains, there are no rules, none at all. people run across the roads for shelter , with no worry about the traffic, Cars go at top speeds, probably just to shower the stagnant water on motorists by the side. I was trying to keep my cool after a few swears (@the mindless people running around), a few showers (courtesy few more mindless ppl driving cars) and a few ditches that my bike went over(courtesy the mindless me :)). The visibility was also poor, a big thanks to the droplets of water that decided to settle on my helmet.... I was wondering why the hell has anyone not thought of helmets with wipers ???? Well then finally i reached office, all drenched, only from hip down, thanks to the jerkin. I sat down thinking ok its all over lets go easy and get on with work. I was trying hard to concentrate,but realised it is not so easy with the AC on and not so dry pants :) Hmmm,Time to trouble a dear friend who was unfortunate enough to live nearby and to top it, own a car :). I called him up and we went to his place and he was generous enough to hand me one of his fresh pairs of jeans (Ya he is married :)) , little did he know that he will be getting it back only after I get my laundry(well actually after I give and get my laundry)... I finally got back started working... A decent enough lunch and a few knocks @ the TT table later in the day, made me feel better, actually much much better...
Wondering how all this is related to the title, well here it comes. I logged into gmail after the frustrating experience and one my friend's status msg read "thunder showers fore casted for the whole week in blore". Hmmm that was enough... I decided to give my bike some much needed rest for the week. That would mean, I car-pool with my friends who live nearby and that my friends, gives me the liberty to choose between a CIVIC or an OPTRA :)

Every dark-cloud does have a silver lining :)