A Dream Come True

Have you, as a child, had a vision and decided, then and there, that this is what you were going to be when you grew up? Of course you did and of course it was silly, stop deluding yourself. And of course, whether you like it or not, I'm going to tell you about mine.

I think Fair & Lovely was still new and widely marketed at that time. No, I'm not going to say I wanted to be like this pretty fair girl who lands an air hostess job in the ad. The pretty fair girl was an engineer! She was smartly dressed, wore a helmet and was looking up at a huge new construction, going over the drawings and ordering all the workers around. I wanted to be that girl. I mean, not fair and all, but you must get what I'm saying. Its important.

Oh well, I grew up. I majored in computer science. I realized my life was doomed to sitting in cubicles in air-conditioned rooms with smartly dressed managers ordering me around. My dream was shattered. A desperate attempt to change the course of my career again landed me in a job sitting in cubicles in air-conditioned rooms, this time in a different country. The dream remained beautiful by virtue of it being unfulfilled.

This new cubicle job of mine has this initial honeymoon period when I get to roam around visiting chemical plants in Asia. (Ok I'm trying hard to make it sound cool here, so the least you can do is be awed). Today, I went on my first plant visit. They gave me a pair of safety shoes before they took me on a tour. We have a power shutdown today, they said, the machines are not operating, so no need to wear a helmet. SO close.

When we were just about to leave, my mentor asked me if I had a good look around.

"Yes", I said, "but they couldn't tell me much about the plant being newly constructed."

"Oh then come with me, I'll explain it to you. Better get a helmet from the reception, since construction is going on."

I took out the drawings from my bag, looked up at the 5-storey-high plant from under my helmet, safety shoes on, nodded knowingly as things were being explained and tried asking a few intelligent questions. And at that moment, I was that Fair & Lovely girl. The vision that played in my head for over a decade now, had become reality. At that very moment, all the choices I made in my life up till now seemed perfect. I was that girl.

I was glad to return the helmet and shoes later. I mean, who'd want to stay in those when you can have the comfort of your cubicle in an air-conditioned room?