hello world, i've been waiting for a chance to see your face ...

as some of you already know, I am setting out for Europe for a couple of months. the preparation for the trip has been a bit of a harrowing experience ... visas, gear etc. lack of information, lack of knowledge of how crummy visa servies are etc. etc. etc.

i figured if not anything else, my trip could inspire a few blogs that might be helpful for those setting out on a similar-ish journey ...

so come one, and come all ... let me share my wisdom with you
(i can hear my friends splitting their insides laughing already ... sigh! if only they knew ...)

So, newho ... I am to spend a month in UK, and I still haven't got my UK Visa. Today, I sent the following email to the embassy's complaints department, twice.

Dear Sir, Madam

Name: Shruti Sharma
Application Number: ---
DOB: ---

I should have been in Spain at this moment. But I am not. Because my passport is snuggly sitting in your custody. I am only going to Europe for two months to do some research for a novel that I am working on. And already the experience of just acquiring visas has been so harrowing that I feel like I am beginning to forget how to write ...

I have re-scheduled my trip twice by now because of visa delays and I beg you to not make me do it a third time ...

By the evening I had a text from my agent, asking me to come pick up my passport tomorrow. Trust me, humour works wonders everywhere. This incident proves my theory: there is no need for seriousness, live life in jest.

will let you know how it works out :)

hello world, i've been waiting for a chance to see your face ...