From my blog that I maintained in 2001

This is one incident which I tell to every new person I meet here in Arizona when he or she tells me "Oh I was so tensed you know", for which I ask why. The person tells me "Oh I lost my pen" or tells me "Oh I didn't get a Window seat in the aero plane" or " My new dress and shoes don't match".
For those of you who don't know I was in the Gulf for about 13 years and our family habit has always been coming at say 4:00 to catch a 5:00 plane. Because it was always easy and there wouldn't be any crowd at Abu Dhabi.
This incident happened when I was flying to the US from Madras. For the 1:30 flight we reached the airport at 12:00. To my horror I saw a crowd that I had never seen before. There were no trolleys to push my luggage. I couldn't move, forget trying to get in to the airport. Luckily for me my sister ran off to the Domestic airport and got me one.


I entered in to find a long queue. I left my luggage to go back to see my parents when I saw that my mother had already finished crying...poor mommy. So this never endless queue got movin and when I reached the immigration officer he told me "Well Sir the previous person is the last we can get on Lufthansa. You will board Air India that is scheduled 3 hours later"
I was kicking myself for coming a little late. Then in came the call saying that there were seats available in the First Class. Oh yeah that was a fitting welcome!!!!!!!
Just as I was about to board the plane came this Officer out of no where and told me that my hand luggage was too large and I still remember what he said "Take out what ever valuables you got, and dump that bag". I was paralysed..dump the bag ...I mean all the things were important. I stood there for 10 mins arguing with him and he agreed that he will put it along with the Check in luggage. Why didn't he say this at first itself. NUT!!!
I got the first class seat and we reached Frankfurt. From there we were off to Phoenix. I got restless and with a group of other students we kept walking up and down the aisle only to be disciplined by the Airhostess'.
I reached the Immigration Officer in the US when he asked my for my I-20.
Officer: May I see your I-20 please
I handed over the copy to him.
Officer: Not this one the other one.
The other one...what the hell other one...I was shocked....I totally forgot that I had two I-20s. I told him I didn't know where it was.
Officer: Well then you are in deep trouble. You might have to board the plane back
I frantically started to search my hand luggage
Officer (Very stern): Go behind the yellow line and search. Do not cross it without the other copy.
I was freakin scared...and my limbs trembling I started searching. After almost 5 mins I found it at the bottom of my bag. I had misplaced it when I met that Psycho officer at Madras.
I breathed a sigh of relief and crossed this cannibal.
You might have wondered what does the title got to do with this epic incident.
Well here it is. I just got all my luggage and put em on a trolley and started moving towards the Customs Officer when out of no where my alarm clock started to ring.
My friends, had I come after September 11th I would have been shot first and then everyone around me would pretend they never knew me branding me a Terrorist.
But well this was almost a month and a half before that. The officers begun to panic and a couple of them rushed towards me and pulled my trolley and started walking away. Again I didn't want to be in one of those America's Wildest Cop videos or something so all I did was follow.
A lady officer slowly opened my bag.
I was still puzzled because I didn't know what was ringing inside as it was a new alarm clock of mine.
She pulled out a bag of rice which is my Mom had kept as part of our tradition.
She carelessly pulled it out and started to look at it mysteriously and started sniffing it. I was totally freaked out by then and the sound of the "bomb" driving me crazy asked her what she thought it was. She told me well there is this type of drugs that is shaped similarly. So there.
I was so helplessly standing there looking at the smooth line of Indians who were looking at me as if to say " So long buddy", We'll make a trip to Alcatraz during our summer vacation, hope to see you there.
Then this God of an Old officer came in ripped open the rice bag and smelt it and rubbed it. He said "Oh its just plain polished rice, where is the guy with the bomb?". I stared at him as he slowly pulled out the clock which was conveniently wrapped around a cloth. He slowly opened it and asked me what it was. I told him "Its an alarm clock". He gave a look at it and as if he was convinced told me "Oh yeah its an alarm clock", turned off the alarm and put it back.
God I moved on outside and my friends were "glad" to see me so soon.
And then in all the tension I left my hand luggage in the cab itself. Well it had my everything in it. The cab went back to Phoenix airport and came back. All the while I was standing at my apartment in Tempe in the scorching Sun hoping for the cab to come back. I got it back.
It was one hell of a trip I would say. Actually throughout the trip I never got to think of my parents even once as I was busy "TRYING TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD" - Dr Evil style....