I am sitting in transit in Changi airport terminal 3, Singapore on the way to Delhi. I am half excited and half in trepidation. Excited because I will see Ankita and Shayne and Neelu very soon. In trepidation because we have a problem with the visa and Australian High commission. Fo some reason our file, which I lodged some nine months ago, has gone missing -apparently never arriving from the immigration authorities in Sydney and we are sweating on a medical clearance that should have been done ages ago to get the visa and leave on the 21st November. It is just not destined to be easy!
Shayne and Neelu have been in India since Monday night. Shayne has been spending loads of time in Delhi traffic going from place to place to try and get things done and I have been working in Sydney, Newcastle and Brisbane - all the while on the phone to the various agencies that can help us speed things along. Thank goodness there are such good people in all of the agencies willing to go to extraordinary lengths to help. Things are not certain, but they are better than even odds as we speak.
Genevieve, a colleague who was with me in Brisbane yesterday witnessing my mini melt down as I did what I could to get papers and permissions out to India in a hurry said at the end of a long day " You will get to your hotel tonight and just cry..." Well I didn't at the hotel - but passing time on the plane to Singapore, watching Meryll Streep in Mama Mia - suddenly the tears came flooding to my eyes. I dont even like ABBA! Loath the music actually. But Meryll is such a beatuful honest kind of girl she got to me and I just could not help myself. It had to happen sometime. I just wish it wasn't in plane with a bunch of innocent bystanders! Covered it well like any stand up Aussie bloke...
So I am in the transit lounge vibrating like mad, killing five hours before I board a plane to Delhi. I trust the travel gods will play a merry tune and help dissuade any bad spirits sent from stirring the sticky pot and that by the time Monday afternoon comes, we can relax in knowing that everything is done. In the mean time - Mamma Mia - here we go again!
