A series of unfortunate events

The tree house competition has been one of the most memorable or rather unforgettable event of my life. A story that I` ll probably tell for years to come. It has forged and sealed some bonds of friendship that I will cherish for life.
It started impromptu on just another Thursday in an electives lecture. The professor at the conclusion of the lecture announced about a tree house competition held by the IGBC. It seemed like an interesting prospect and I was just about to ask my best bud that we would do it together. But just then another friend asked her the same and I was left without a partner, instantaneously another friend of mine asked me if I would do it and so began our roller-coaster ride which I would later realize is a plot befitting a masala bollywood movie.
Our work started normally with basic conceptual sketches etc and went on for a few days with a humdrum pace. There was a phase where we were stuck somewhat partially due to a lack of understanding and communication as team members and more so as friends and obviously due to submissions. A discussion with the professor cleared some hurdles and we went forward with a renewed pace, slowly building up a determination that helped us get through the turbulent times. But then came the big blow, the third year university results! It brought about mixed reactions that of relief for me and shock for my team mate a little astounded by the totally unwarranted K.T. But that also gave us the grit to grin and bear it and do the tree house competition with a renewed vigour. As the submission date drew near work went on with an increased pace. Stacks of landscape books piled around us aroused many a curious stare and people were almost certain that we had landscape K.T.`s! Our efforts of making a tree database went down the drain when a picture of a spreading Samanea saman captured our hearts and minds and presented itself as the ultimate choice. With the tree and foliage patterns in place, designing the volumes as per the concept was the most interesting part. But then came the second blow. The A.D. concept jury was to be held on 28 august, the day we had set as our deadline to complete the tree house sheets! The services submission also loomed at large. Work came to a momentary standstill and was resumed 2 days later with extra efforts! In the harrowing weekend that followed, the cosmos left no stone unturned to prevent us from sending this entry. In the one day of these monsoon months that I decide not to carry an umbrella, it poured cats and dogs, that too only when I had to walk the stretch from the stationery shop to the train station. The sheets were slightly soaked but in a good condition. But when I reached my friend`s place to my aghast I discovered that I left our drawings at home! Thank god for technology. I immediately called up my brother who scanned and mailed me the drawings. We got them printed and persevered towards our goal. Then we went to get the greyscale printout`s only to realize we forgot our sheets at home. So we used whatever sheets available then and there as our final sheets. On reaching home I realized that I had misplaced my USB drive that contained all the research that I had done about the tree house! So I had to make do with the summarized version saved in my laptop. Adding to the chaos was Monty- the ferocious dog in the building compound who liked to taste every new member entering the building. So my friend had to go down to escort every one of our friends who came by to give us moral support. A brown border was to be provided for each sheet but the felt pen ran dry towards the end which had everyone scurrying for a brown pen. Well, the age old love- hate relationship between architects and stationery. The sheets had to be couriered to Bangalore and the submission deadline being 1st September. We had fixed up a courier service to send our sheets to Bangalore, but the courier guy never turned up! Incessant calls to the courier boy and the courier office had no avail! Just Dial came to our rescue and we called up Blue Dart who promptly replied but turned up an hour late. Finally!! or so we thought...the sheets wouldn’t slide into the envelope as they got stuck amidst the threads of the envelope. We had to then pack them in papers and repack it as a parcel. Finally the sheets were couriered.......but it would be a long way before they reached their destination.
The fateful evening of 1st September will be etched forever in our minds. The whole day was spent in meeting, greeting and celebrating after the extended weekend. But the confirmatory phone call that was made turned our world upside down! The courier guys had accidently sent our sheets to 560083 instead of 560038.So our sheets were laying right at the other end of the city 6 hours before the submission deadline! And the courier guys couldn`t deliver until the next day. A few heated and frantic calls later I found my messiah! My friend had just moved to Banglore in July for his internship. I called him and he readily agreed to collect the sheets and deliver them at the stipulated address.
He left at 6:30pm and 1 rickshaw and 3 buses later, reached the courier office. They were first reluctant to handover the parcel but my now livid friend was all prepared to take them to consumer court. He was handed the parcel a few minutes later. It started raining as he stepped out and so the sheets were wrapped safely in his jacket while he waited it out with Dominos pasta and garlic bread(of course with cheese dip!). 1 rickshaw and 3 buses later he was at Indiranagar. But Banglore with its labyrinth of crossroads and main roads turned out to be a real challenge. He called me up because he was hopelessly clueless and no one around would explain the address to him. So I turned to my usually dependable Google Earth and Wikimapia but in both the place markers told a completely different address. One hour after analysing the road networks of Banglore I guided my friend through the streets of Banglore at 11:30 in the night using Google maps. All the while I was also in touch with the secretary of the office where it was supposed to be delivered. At one point my friend was just drained so I asked him to wait at a landmark. Understanding our pitiful situation the office guy went out to receive my friend and collect the parcel from him. There I was speaking to my friend and the office guy, trying to co-ordinate from 300 kms afar. He finally spotted my friend who was telling me that some random drunk looking guy was staring and moving swiftly towards him. And when they met, it was the happiest moment of my life. My friend had never been happier to see a watchman. He handed over the sheets at 11:58pm and that was the end of this ordeal!
But it was a saga of epic proportions. I say so because he probably dint take so much efforts even for his BITS Pilani entrance exam or Yahoo internship.
So it finally happened, against all odds, against all possible hurdles that could be thrown against us, we finally sent the entry!
Starting with concepts that were radical, plain stupid and some downright hilarious, powered by hours and hours of research, debate and discussion, endless rendering marathons, a hundred phone calls to the courier company; an airplane,6buses,2 rickshaws, one cab and after 7 kms of wandering the streets of Bangalore; the entry was officially sent for this competition!
All due to some superhuman efforts by some very special people. Thank you each and everyone of you who played a part in making it happen!

P.S.: The ‘missing’ USB was found, popping out of my bag as I took out the laptop to pen down this story