Booba and the Ross-Rachel affair

It was a little colder than usual that day, may be signifying the impending.

About six months ago, Booba came home from work with news. He was asked to move to Nigeria for a few months. Haha. Of all the countries, he got Nigeria!

We were really excited. He was the first one who got an on-site (well, even if the site is in Nigeria. Would you judge us if I told you that we would have been equally pepped up even if one of us was asked to go to Pakistan?) opprotunity among us. Booba was not really looking forward to the assignment, though. It was only a matter of minutes before we realized why. We got our laptops and started googling away.

Nigeria is one of the poorest countries in the world. Frequent communal riots and high crime rate are normalcy in the country. People roam about with guns, we heard (one more reason to go there, we kept telling him. It is like living in a movie, isn't it?). We were told that kidnapping and mugging are a day-to-day activity in some parts. If Booba were to go, he would be provided with a couple of personal security guards. How cool is that!

Me: "Its still a democracy, though."

Kisna: "Dude, hot black chicks and all, huh?"

Pelli: "The first thing you need to do after getting there is take a pic of yourself with your security guards (with guns, obviously) and send it to us"

Karteek: "One Indian rupee is 3 nairas. Ahh, you rich ass!"

Chotu: "Carry a lot of you-know-what. You never know when you might need one buddy"

And it went on that way for a few weeks till we got bored of the whole thing. The trip never came. Booba just kept telling us that it got postponed. He was trying to get out of it even after getting a visa and a vaccination for yellow fever. None of us believed that there is a chance of this trip being a reality anymore. So our two-cool-guards-with-guns fantasy had to wait. Until last friday.

Booba had a big fight with his manager and his superiors. They wanted him to go to Nigeria that friday. Yes, a day after 500 people were reported to be dead in communal riots. He wouldn't go and offered to resign. They wouldn't accept his resignation. Even if they did, they told him, he would be sent on the trip during his one month notice period. Poor Booba. His parents were so worried. He had to take all the pressure and still go on the trip even when he offered (and threatened) to resign. So he got ready to go. We were worried for him. We tried to cheer him up telling him that on the brighter side, he would get to live our fantasy. No, he wasn't amused.

Finally, it was time to leave. We all went to the airport. Even on the way to the airport, we (Booba excluded) were not really sure that this trip would happen because it had been on and off for a long time. The trip got postponed/delayed more number of times than we could remember.

It was like the Ross-Rachel affair, we thought. But this time, it did happen. After an awkward ten minute see-off at the airport (during which none of us cried, btw. The whole guy thing, you know!) he was off.

Yes, Revuru Venkata Siva Sai Kiran left for Nigeria. All Eeez Well so far and we are waiting for the pic to come! :)