Bumps on the Road...

I came back and started the mad hiring trips again…first trip was to Chennai and then the next weekend I was off to Bengaluru and during that trip I got the Offer Letter Mail on 10-Feb-10…was really a great feeling…

The HR Head of UHG was travelling with me and I confided in him about my Kuwait Trip and the Offer from my new employer and he was happy for me and left the final decision with me, the next day on 11-Feb I resigned officially and then the Notice Period Discussions started…my last working day at UHG was mutually decided as 5-Mar-10 and during that time I had to finish all pending tasks and complete all handover work…

I got back to Delhi and had to complete a plethora of tasks before I could fly off to Kuwait, had to get my Graduation Degree attested from the HRD Ministry, External Affairs Ministry and then from the Kuwait Embassy plus had to get a Police Verification Certificate issued and then get it attested from the External Affairs Ministry and the Kuwait Embassy, considering all these tasks meant a direct involvement of the Government Departments and going by their reputation of being the most inefficient at even the most routine and the easiest of the tasks I took the help pf agents to make it easy for me.

Attestation of the Degree was the easiest, went to an Attestation Agency called UROGULF in Connaught Place and received the attested degree in exactly 15 working days as promised, I paid them Rs. 6,000 for their services and it was a cakewalk.

But the painful moments were anxiously waiting for me to hit be real bad, I was expecting some of that but what hit me was simply frustrating & depressing and believe me the feeling of helplessness was not good at all.

It took me all of 6 trips to the Passport Office, 2 trips to Urogulf, 2 trips to the External Affairs Ministry and Rs. 6,000 to get the PCC issued and then duly attested, and yes the agony & the painful moments included of experiencing the sheer inefficiency of the Police Machinery of Gurgaon, they are the best at it, of not performing their duties and also of being lethargic, no wonder the Law & Order situation at Gurgaon is pathetic to say the least.

The ordeal finally ended on 25th March 2010 when I got my PCC and then I got it attested from the EA Ministry and that too with the help of my Father’s Friend’s help who is an old-timer there, and then gave it to Urogulf to get it attested from the Kuwait Embassy and they had to courier the same to me in Kuwait as I could not wait any longer, I had already got my joining date postponed twice by 1 week each, from 15th March 2010 to 28th March 2010 plus I was simply cooling away my heels at my home since 5th March and all I was doing was making those bloody trips to the Passport Office, all shopping & preparations were over and it was time I flew off…

On 27th March 2010 I got my Visa & the flight tickets from Kuwait and had to fly off on an Emirates Flight scheduled at 4:00 PM from Delhi and then landing in Kuwait vis Dubai at 10:00 PM in Kuwait, I bid goodbyes to all my friends & folks and did the final packing and left my home at sharp 1:00 PM for the IGI Airport…but hold your breaths and to the surprise of many people who are reading it, I didn’t leave that day because the roadblocks were not yet over for me!!! Read on now for another big whammy which came unexpectedly my way…

I reached the counter to check-in and the staff saw my Visa and then told me that the Passport Number mentioned on it was not mine and as a result I could not fly!!! I was like what the fuck is this now, all the frustrations were not enough for me and believe it or not I was laughing at myself as I had no other option, anyway I hate brooding plus this situation was outside of my control, plus the Emirates Staff was extremely courteous and explained me the situation pretty well, I called up my father and they were en route to Gurgaon and I asked them to come back and pick me up from the Airport, even my Mother was laughing at my miseries!!!

Called up the On-Boarding Coordinator at Kuwait and told them about the issue and he was extremely apologetic about his big error and promised me that he would issue me the new & correct Visa and also the new tickets within a day.

I reached home frustrated but not depressed at all and then watched IPL through the remainder of the day, just called up Bandita & my Bhai and told them the long & sad story and just stayed at home.

The next morning I received a call from Kuwait and then the mail containing my Tickets & Visa and this time I was to fly to Kuwait by a Kuwait Airways Flight which was at 4:00 AM in the night or morning you might say plus this was a direct 4 hours flight to Kuwait.

Finally the roadblocks were about to end but I thought to myself that until I land at Kuwait I won’t believe that eventually I had made it, the roadblocks had made me cynical!!!

In the flight I was really philosophical and thought back about all the things which happened on the way since I got the call from Savita about this job and then finally boarding this flight, I said everything was smooth & easy; the 1st telephonic Interview, my 1st trip to Kuwait, all the 7 interviews, the salary negotiations and then the Offer Letter, if the bumps in the road had not happened to me I would have got this job really easily and it would not have been that sweet & memorable and I am damn sure I would never forget all the miseries and thank the Almighty God for giving me this new Overseas Opportunity which would give me some really decent Global Exposure and would make me a well-rounded professional ready for the future and plus the big money savings I can achieve which would bring me financial stability for the rest of my life if I am sensible and invest the savings in all the right places, so what the heck some shit happened!!! As they always say…Shit Happens and with me it always does!!! But in the end like this time it is me who is victorious!!! It happened in 2009 with my Bike Rides and this time the ride was different but the ending was almost similar…a sense of achievement…Thanks to God all the way…

Fortunately nothing unexpected happened this time and I landed in Kuwait at 7 AM KST all safe & sound…

Reached my service apartment by 8 AM and the cab to Office was to come to pick me up at 10 AM to take me to my new Office, got ready and then I was up & away…on Monday 29th March 2010 I finally joined my new job and start a new journey of my life…Che had reached another destination and was ready for this new challenge…with full of positive energy and a clear mind…this time The Mighty One was not with me as my trusted partner and I had to overcome this new challenge without my friends & family physically close to me but as always I was game for it…and I said to myself BRING IT ON!!!