Confessions of a Coffeeholic #1
My Journey Home Through Turbulent Skies
Coffee fuels conversations. Conversations uncover stories. Stories are meant to be told.
My day started unusually early on Saturday. I woke up around 4am, freshened up, then checked off the last few things on my packing list before zipping up my trusted travel companion of nearly 10 years. My rucking backpack has been a silent observer to my on-the-go escapades, and the stories the tough sack of stitches could tell can rake in quite an audience.
On December 9th, at 7:50 AM central time, my Southwest flight departed from Nashville-Tennessee to Austin-Texas, for an estimated travel time of 2.5 hours. My first stop was at a friend’s place.
Ranjith and I hadn’t met for over 24 years. The last time was in college, in 1999, before the accident. He had enrolled for a 2-year MBA program while I was in my 2nd year pursuing a Bachelor's in Computer Science and Engineering. But it seemed like there was no time lost between us.
I got to meet his family for the first time. His youngest and I played badminton, frisbee-throwing, and soccer, in the confines of his home. His oldest, an avid reader, made conversation with me easily, and his wife put together a delicious South Indian feast, with Ranjith’s help of course, for my long journey ahead.
Relationships like these are rare, and I’m blessed to have a handful of them in my life, especially my school and college buddies, with whom I share a bond that strengthens over time even when we are apart.
On December 9th, at 1:51 PM local time. I bid farewell to my buddy to make my drive from Austin to Houston for an estimated travel time of 3 hours.
It was an EV drive, and an experimental one for me because I had never driven a green machine before. Will there be enough stops to juice up? How many stops will I need to make? That and the infamous Houston traffic had me worried a bit, but the Tesla pulled into the Hertz rental return bay with 23% charge, and I only had to make a 5-min stop at a Buckees to power up. I was very impressed with Tesla’s navigation excellence. I would definitely do this again.
On December 9th, at 7:30 PM local time, I boarded the flight from Houston (TX) to Dubai, for an estimated travel time of 14.5 hours.
Airbus A380 aircraft is one of the best commercial aircraft carriers built for long flights. The staff on this Emirates flight hailed from 18 countries, as announced by the Captain during take-off.
“I will be taking care of you today, Mr. Menon”, said Alex from Tunisia, who started me off with a glass of champagne.
I was not in the mood for a movie, so I flipped through the in-flight playlists and settled on Joni Mitchell to satisfy the old soul in me, for I am a sucker for American folksy pop songs. But it didn't take long for the two 17-month olds in my row to assert their dominance over Joni's husky, mesmerizing voice. Apparently, they were on their maiden flight. Lucky me!
What’s worse than a crying baby on a long-haul flight? Two crying babies on a long-haul flight. And when they are twin babies on a synchronized track, it’s a duet straight from nightmares. One starts, the other adds an echoing effect. The other starts, and the one closer to me amplifies it, so no customer in this pressurized cabin is left behind. Everyone gets what they paid for, while free loaders like me on this Emirates Business Class experience gets front-row seating. They were adorable.
Hardly two hours in, now cruising at an altitude of 35,000 feet (10,668 m), I made my way to the lounge in the back, with a book in hand. There I met Elif from Turkey, who had just finished setting up a full bar, and was decorating the counter with mini pastries. I was her first customer on this flight, and she made me my scotch on the rocks and served it with a side of seasoned mixed nuts.
I settled in the cozy booth on the right and resumed my reading of David Morrell’s “Intensity”. I was still working my way through chapter 1 when the plot quickly thickened.
It started with a shake and a jiggle, which would repeat at inconsistent intervals. For the flight attendants, this was the busiest part of the journey. They were attending to random call buttons as well as confirming special orders for meals. I could count about 10 of the 18 staff in this upper deck business cabin busily moving back and forth. I was like a fly-on-the-wall, undisturbed, just sitting there part-reading, part-observing. Except for Elif, of course, who had the sole responsibility of looking after her solo lounge customer while preparing the concoctions for orders that were coming in. She was unsteadily trying to make a champagne cocktail when the seatbelt signs came on. Ding!
“This is the longest turbulence ever” said the chef from Poland who was seated to my right. To my left was Alex, with his back turned to me in conversation with the stewardess strapped into the jumper seat. Elif was still standing behind the bar, swaying left and right, trying to keep herself and her precious cargo from a free fall. On the other side of the flight across the bar was a bigger booth occupied by four staff members, and behind them was a steward strapped into the 2nd jumper seat on that part of the aircraft. We were 11 in total, me being the odd one out, confined to the tail end of the flight. It was the longest turbulence ever.
This unplanned overdrawn event delayed their regular programming, and the staff worried that it would eat into their break. The chef’s uncontrolled yawning was evidence that he was in need of some shut-eye soon. It reminded me of the HBO series “The Flight Attendant” in which Kaley Cuoco played the sleep-deprived neurotic stewardess jetting around the world, trying to solve a crime she can't remember committing. I asked the chef if he had watched this popular series. “Yeah, and that would never happen. It is completely exaggerated”, he responded.
It turned out that the chef was a movie buff, something we had in common.
Welcome to Jeopardy. I’m your host, Raj. Our first contestant is “The Chef” from Poland. The category is “Movies and shows about flying”.
He thought that the Denzel Washington movie “Flight” was a complete farce. While he agreed with me that the Tom Hanks starrer “Cast Away” is a classic, he was skeptical about the crash scene. He wasn't certain if it would be scientifically possible for the airplane to split in half, as they had depicted in the movie.
Fun fact: Every time I use the lavatory in an airplane I’m reminded of the scene from Cast Away. Chuck is washing his face and BANG, he is free falling from the skies, ejected out of a pressurized enclosure into the great big ocean.
The one movie the chef swore by as being true to reality is “Sully” played by Tom Hanks. He asserted that every action performed by the inflight staff on that miraculous day before safe landing on the Hudson River, can be confirmed by the blackbox tapes.
There was no sign of the seat belt light coming off. The staff was getting frustrated. Some even wondered why the first officer did not change altitude for clearer skies. Alex turned to me to check if I was doing ok and asked if I was having fun yet. I was. I got to witness the thrilling part of a flying job.
My drink was almost over, and I wasn't making much progress on my reading as I occasionally tried to read jumpy lines. So I continued my jeopardy game with the chef.
I will take Politics for $200, Raj.
Talking about politics in this political climate is never a good idea. Since Trump took office, and changed 21st century politics as we know it, politics has become somewhat of a taboo topic. We avoid it at family gatherings, at leisurely hangs with friends, and definitely at work. But when you are flying over the Atlantic Ocean, I figured I could bend the rules a bit, and asked what Poland thought about the upcoming US elections.
What if the Republicans took office and pull out the funding for Ukraine? Would that put Poland in a defensive situation with Putin, who is rumored to advance across the region after Ukraine? To that, my chef responded. “I think Poland is good. We are part of NATO. We are good.”
I couldn’t help wonder if all NATO allies felt that way, that the USA would come to their support no matter what. It’s certainly not the Republican rhetoric on the debate stages these days. It’s certainly not the easiest choice even for the Democrats, given their contentious support over the recent Arab-Israel conflict. Time will tell, I guess.
Final Jeopardy.
The question: “With staff representing 18 countries, what’s it like to keep the peace among flight attendants, especially with these wars looming over us. I mean, how do you stay out of trouble”, I asked my Polish chef.
I learned that there are strict rules the in-flight staff must adhere to nowadays. They are constantly reminded through memos and trainings about how to engage with empathy, what not to talk about, etc.
I was especially surprised to learn that the flight attendants, who were used to pinning their national flags on their uniforms, as a matter of pride, can no longer do so. This was a repercussive action to address many sporadic incidents that have occurred of-late, like when the Chinese flag collided with the Hong Kong flag. It was the sad consequence of when geopolitics causes a cultural divide, even in midair.
What I love about traveling are conversations. Everyone has a story to tell if you are willing to listen with unbiased ears.
We talked some more, about his plans to get into the rental business in Dubai, an opportunity many expatriates in Dubai are considering. He recommended that I ride the Al Qudra Cycling Track in the Dubai desert, a dream route for the cycling enthusiast in me. Noted.
The turbulence must have lasted at least an hour. I know this because I managed to finish chapter 1 of the book, and I am a slow reader in clearer skies.
The rest of the flight was uneventful. When I got back to my seat, I tried to tune out the infants with my noise-cancelling AirPods, which I must say, are not every effective in cancelling two babies crying.
The timezone changed sometime during the flight. I was fast-forwarded in time, losing hours that I would gain back in 2024 on my return flight.
On December 10th, at 9:45PM Dubai time, I missed my connection flight to India due to a fully booked flight. There are plenty of Indians in Dubai heading home for the holidays leaving no room for stand-by passengers like me. So I spent the next 5 hours experiencing transit life at one of the busiest airports in the world, hopeful that I would catch the next flight out.
“This is the way.”
On December 11th, at 2:25am Dubai time, I boarded my final fight homeward, departing from Dubai to Cochin (India), a travel time of 3 hours and 45 mins.
My parents picked me up at the airport and I had an hour’s worth of drive time left before my journey ended. Dad on the wheel and the Monday morning traffic - unforgiving to the faint of hearts. It usually takes a day for me to get used to the move-or-die attitude of drivers on Indian roads.
On December 11th, around 11AM Indian Standard Time, I was home.
I’m a Coffeeholic, and these are my confessions.
Confessions of a Coffeeholic #0
The spontaneity of the heart. Split-second decisions at 8am on a Friday. “Let’s go see King Tut in Chicago. It’s only an 8hr drive. We’ll rearrange our work day, work on-the-go.” A challenge? Yes! Fun? It could be. By 9:45am we’re packed and northbound.
What an incredible journey you've had! You made me feel like I was right there with you, experiencing every twist and turn of your travels. The diverse conversations you had with the flight staff and the unexpected turns of the journey added such depth to the narrative. Thanks for taking us along on your trip through your words!
The most striking part of your story to me was your parents picking you up at the airport on the other end of your lovely transcontinental travels. That’s precious, treasure it for as long as long as you can--the fact you have them both and that they can physically come pick you up!🤞🏼Way better than coffee😉. Signed, chai lover.