Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Put to Rest

Today I finally closed my Orkut account. This is the first online account of any sort that I have closed out. I still have a few email accounts I don't access anymore but never got round to deleting. Don't know why I didn't. But for some reason I felt like shutting down my Orkut account today and went ahead and did it! In anticipation of Google+? Don't think so. More like to remove unnecessary distractions.

And I guess this is my eulogy for the account. Which had served me well back in the day. I do not miss you, but you shall be remembered.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Random Contacts

Have you ever contacted people randomly? I do. Started when I was a kid - picked three people from a children's magazines pen friends list. I did communicate with a couple of them for a while and then the mails trickled out. Till finally all I was left with was a bunch of old mail.

And then one day, on a whim I randomly check FaceBook for one of their names, and I happen upon her twin sister! My pen friend is doing good and remembers me. And is happy she is remembered too. But too busy to get back in touch looks like. Life goes on. Recently I happened upon a few pics in flickr which were so beautiful, that I had to contact the person and say so. In return I was presented with the link to his blog. Its such a window into life in India. Street life. I'm glad I did contact him.

These random contact experiences have been good to me. Maybe I shall explore it more. Or maybe not. Who knows.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Instant Updates

There was a time when I considered a cell phone with a data plan a superfluous extravagance. When being online at work all day or the frequent updates on a laptop were good enough. And then comes the iPhone. And perspectives changed. Actually scratch that, perspective is still the same. But habits changed. And I entered into the realm of update addiction - I check my email/FB etc every other minute! or so it seems.

Its such a frivolous waste of time. I need a break. From my online-ness. And there I am employed in a company trying to make more access possible. I guess more is no longer possible (or have I spoken too soon?). But faster for sure! How very fitting.

The good thing though, is that when I am doing something I find interesting, I can absolutely tune off. And its comforting to know I'm not a total addict. but for now I have to go and check in on my email, waiting for the next absolutely engrossing moments to occur. So long.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Random Days

I love random days - days with no particular agenda and things take their own course. Like the one I had this long weekend. Took my camera and toted along to SF on the train. As it seems to happen often on my days in SF, it was a glorious day. The Sun was out in full blaze and the winds were keeping things sane. My first stop was at the "Ice Creamery" right outside the CalTrain station. Had a yumm brunch of Crepes with some fruit and an iced T with a lot of ice (which was welcome for a change!). Love the decor of this place. They had a fresh bunch of flowers on every table and sturdy wooden furniture to go with it.
I got to meet and talk with a lot of  people this time, bolstering my intentions of moving to SF - I love meeting new people. The guy at the Creamery complaining about how his ex-wife was spoiling his weekend by not letting their kids visit him as planned; though he was so hooked to being online (showed off his FB page too!), I'm sure she has good reasons for it! The lady at the Muni station who talked to me about her time in SF and how she might be taking up a job in Oakland soon. But would be staying in SF still as she loved the city. The two old men in the train, one of who made me note down his number and let him know how this spot I was headed to turned out to be. They also told me about the Picasso exhibit in De Young, which became my next destination after the Mosaic staircase. And what a beautiful staircase it was! All made with the help of neighborhood people apparently. Was a lot of steep steps and uphill walking to get there, but totally worth the effort.


Since I was so close to the De Young, it only made sense that I head there and check it out. So that's what I ended up doing. And what a big museum it is! With a lot of good stuff. For a change I really appreciated some of Picasso's work. And the beautiful African art. The Balenciaga exhibit almost felt like a fashion show, with people not toning down their voices as is native at a museum, but discussing the displays with full gusto.
Towards the end of my visit, while waiting for the Spanish music program to start, I headed off with some hot chocolate into the garden adjacent to the food court. Was sitting there idly clicking photos and catching up on phone calls when this tiny toddler zones in on me with his hands held high for balance while he wobbled over. It was the cutest sight, silver blue eyes all focused on his target, which turned out to be my nose! I guess it was either too big by his standards(?!) or the glittering nose ring on it that caught his eye. But he had no compunction about running his mud filled hands all over my face and giving me the divinest smile in exchange :)
Wish I had taken a photo of him, but I was having so much fun I didn't want to spoil the moment by introducing a camera into the picture.
The Spanish music turned out to be decent too, with the lady tap dancing to the beats. Headed back home after listening to it for a bit. With a stop at the Creamery again. This time got a beautiful shot of the setting sun lighting up the flowers which were still fresh.