Twas the night before the exams ( aka For the want of a couch )
So its 12:00 at night one week before the final exams at Georgia Tech. What do you think any self respecting grad student would be upto ? Studying ?? Not a chance ! Walking through some of the more notorious streets of midtown Atlanta lugging a bitti couch and two chairs would be closer to the answer.
It all started when Shiroy called us up and asked us whether we wanted a free couch and a pair of chairs. This was a opportunity we surely could not pass up !! Considering that we have been contemplating on going to salvation army for the past 3 months since we arrived in Atlanta but had never got around to doing so, this was probably our only chance to get some furniture into our shack. A warning that if we didnt collect the sofa soon enough, it would be tossed over the balcony ensured that this was a job that had to be done that night.
So braving sub zero temperatures the four of us set out in the quest that all Poor Indian Grad Students have to go through. The quest for free furniture.
Reached Shiroys house, pleasantries exchanged and soon it was quite apparent why they so generously offered us the thing in the first place. Having a house on the second floor and trying to get rid of a enormous couch is not a easy proposition. Getting bakras who salivate at the sight of freebies is probably the right way to get it out of the house with minimum effort.
Getting the couch to the ground was a feat in itself for puny mortals like us. Winding staircases and treacherous slippery steps ( it had rained recently ) dogged our pursuit. One false step would mean landing up with a giant couch on top of you. Shiroy took this oppurtunity to exhibit his photographic skills and came out with a camera and passed funny comments while we struggled with our task. Maybe he thought he could get a picture into the AJC if any fatalities occured.
Finally after what seemed like eons of effort, the couch was on the ground !! And it was then the futility of our efforts flashed in front of our eyes. Travel across two blocks to our homes carrying this mammoth beast ??
In your dreams !!!
Okay, so no couch for us after all .. off we go. Its been nice working on getting the couch to the ground, but its not going any further.
This was the time when a brainwave was needed and Jerry seized the moment appropriately. He got his car out, opened his boot and suggested we hitch up the couch there and carry one end while he drove the other at a steady pace. New hope springs forth and once more we continued. Jerry crawling along with his car, and we following it with bulging eyes trying to support a old couch was enough to cause substantial distress to other motorists who intended to use the streets of Centennial for a midnight drive. Jerrys car also seemed not fit to go at a steady pace and had to be operated in fits and starts. So the scene of us running with the sofa in short bursts and then crawling while we desperately tried to catch our breath might have seemed amusing to a casual observer. It was definitely not funny to the participants who knew what agony and pain they were going through.
When we neared 571 McAfee the sofa was unloaded ( dropped rather unceremoniously, actually ) and all of us dropped into it for a well deserved rest. We had reached the last stage and no casualties as yet. Could we maintain our clean record ??
No, was the answer as Vijay Arvind scraped his hand rather badly on one of the stone steps close to our house. This was a bad blow, but we heroically shrugged off the loss and managed to get to house ( dropping the couch a couple of times on the way ).
A second expedition was called for to get the two chairs. These were managed by two people at a time and proved to be slightly less taxing than the couch. Vijay Arvind confirmed that it was not his lucky night by suffering another injury with the chairs.
It was a relief to be done with the chairs. We headed back to Shiroys house where he treated us to banana milkshakes. The milk shakes were divine ! ( Three Cheers to Shiroy and Jerry ! Best seniors ever !). Casual banter followed after which we went home and dropped to bed ruminating on a well wasted pre exam night.
And now, time for the pics of the expedition !
Start of the journey
Through the journey
End of the journey
It all started when Shiroy called us up and asked us whether we wanted a free couch and a pair of chairs. This was a opportunity we surely could not pass up !! Considering that we have been contemplating on going to salvation army for the past 3 months since we arrived in Atlanta but had never got around to doing so, this was probably our only chance to get some furniture into our shack. A warning that if we didnt collect the sofa soon enough, it would be tossed over the balcony ensured that this was a job that had to be done that night.
So braving sub zero temperatures the four of us set out in the quest that all Poor Indian Grad Students have to go through. The quest for free furniture.
Reached Shiroys house, pleasantries exchanged and soon it was quite apparent why they so generously offered us the thing in the first place. Having a house on the second floor and trying to get rid of a enormous couch is not a easy proposition. Getting bakras who salivate at the sight of freebies is probably the right way to get it out of the house with minimum effort.
Getting the couch to the ground was a feat in itself for puny mortals like us. Winding staircases and treacherous slippery steps ( it had rained recently ) dogged our pursuit. One false step would mean landing up with a giant couch on top of you. Shiroy took this oppurtunity to exhibit his photographic skills and came out with a camera and passed funny comments while we struggled with our task. Maybe he thought he could get a picture into the AJC if any fatalities occured.
Finally after what seemed like eons of effort, the couch was on the ground !! And it was then the futility of our efforts flashed in front of our eyes. Travel across two blocks to our homes carrying this mammoth beast ??
In your dreams !!!
Okay, so no couch for us after all .. off we go. Its been nice working on getting the couch to the ground, but its not going any further.
This was the time when a brainwave was needed and Jerry seized the moment appropriately. He got his car out, opened his boot and suggested we hitch up the couch there and carry one end while he drove the other at a steady pace. New hope springs forth and once more we continued. Jerry crawling along with his car, and we following it with bulging eyes trying to support a old couch was enough to cause substantial distress to other motorists who intended to use the streets of Centennial for a midnight drive. Jerrys car also seemed not fit to go at a steady pace and had to be operated in fits and starts. So the scene of us running with the sofa in short bursts and then crawling while we desperately tried to catch our breath might have seemed amusing to a casual observer. It was definitely not funny to the participants who knew what agony and pain they were going through.
When we neared 571 McAfee the sofa was unloaded ( dropped rather unceremoniously, actually ) and all of us dropped into it for a well deserved rest. We had reached the last stage and no casualties as yet. Could we maintain our clean record ??
No, was the answer as Vijay Arvind scraped his hand rather badly on one of the stone steps close to our house. This was a bad blow, but we heroically shrugged off the loss and managed to get to house ( dropping the couch a couple of times on the way ).
A second expedition was called for to get the two chairs. These were managed by two people at a time and proved to be slightly less taxing than the couch. Vijay Arvind confirmed that it was not his lucky night by suffering another injury with the chairs.
It was a relief to be done with the chairs. We headed back to Shiroys house where he treated us to banana milkshakes. The milk shakes were divine ! ( Three Cheers to Shiroy and Jerry ! Best seniors ever !). Casual banter followed after which we went home and dropped to bed ruminating on a well wasted pre exam night.
And now, time for the pics of the expedition !
Start of the journey
Through the journey
End of the journey