Out of Boredom

These days I'm accepting invitations to events I'm not totally comfortable with. For lack of anything better to do. And sometimes this ends up putting in situations I don't want to be in. No, nothing crazy. But nothing fun either. I think it is time I asserted myself and stop doing things just for the sake of it. Maybe a better thing to do would be to find something I like to occupy myself with.
Any fun suggestions?

Feel the Force

I was walking uphill the other day looking around when I got jarred out of my reverie with a misstep - I hadn't noticed the dip in the path and landed too hard. Got me thinking about the things the brain can do which when consciously processed are so hard to figure out. Like all of Engineering Mechanics. The brain already works it all out - the Mass X Acceleration required to run at a certain pace; the adjustment for inclination - you always step down soft when you know what the surface ahead is like; the exact angle a person needs to be looking at to look back at your eyes; the split second adjustments the eye is always making to focus on objects as you move your head around. The angle from where you hear that sound. I think we have an internal clock too - I manage to get up just before that alarm jars me awake most times!

Imagine the possibilities if we could just live that knowledge into our day instead of having to work it out with pencil and paper.

Fashion Rant

Love good looking stuff. But whoever came up with metal and clothes combination definitely doesn't live in a cold place! Every time a cuff button touches, I spot a zippered dress or chain mailed (don't know what else to call it!) fastenings, shivers run up my spine and I end up cursing who ever designed it! And swear to never buy another piece of clothing with metal on it :)

Follow the Flowers

Was on a three day backpacking trip in Yosemite this weekend. Carrying insane weight on my back; wheezing uphill at high altitudes; acting all cool like I've done this so many times before; packing food with an eye to the weight it would add; leaving behind the sunscreen tube only to regret it when the sun beat down even the weathered Indian skin. Learnt what terms like scree, talus and something-else-I-forget-now mean. Took many bold steps and some not so steady. Saw some really beautiful landscapes. Went on one of the hardest uphills in my life yet - Salkantay was hard; but this just beats it with the backpack and the pace these guys were setting! Saw a beautiful beautiful natural infinity pool. Skipped stones. Made a snowman. Turned a few shades darker. Had an awesome time in general.

But the most fascinating thing yet about wilderness backpacking/hiking - when the path goes missing, just follow the wildflowers. They lead you to it. No kidding.

Travel

Went on a long long holiday. Almost all of four weeks off. In Peru and loved it!
For most part of it was travelling by myself and had the best of experiences. Learnt some Spanish. Had conversations with people from all over the world and of all age groups. Loved how Peruvians would try and hold a conversation with me even though I had next to no Spanish vocab. How the cab drivers never yell and are ready with a smile. How everyone seemed to like Indians. One of the first things most travelers are interested in finding out about you is your age. Time blurs but for when you have to be up early for that hike or that tour. And days of the week just don't matter. Expecting good stuff all around seems to work. Backpackers are the friendliest bunch around. Juices are by default fresh squeezed! Breakfast is a common presence every day. Toting a heavy heavy camera around is just worth it! Despite all the complaints along the way :)
Drinking beer helps. Beauty is everywhere.
Hammocks rock (note to self: see if you can string one up around the house). Sunsets over water rock more! I sweat too. Humidity in the air is the coolest. Hippies exist everywhere. Boat rides are "wicked". Europeans are the most world "current affiars" aware. London kids are stoned half their life. Americans get/take the shortest breaks. Quitting job and traveling is not a bad option. There is sooo much to see and learn. Leaving behind travel buddies is pretty sad. Bus rides suck. Train rides are rad. Flights are not bad. Walking is pretty high up there next to train rides.

Window to Life on a Rainy Day

Its been great weather recently. Sun shiny days and warm evenings. In the midst of all this, we have resfreshing showers today. More of my grey and fresh green weather.

Was sitting next to a window lazily munching on some oatmeal and whiling time browsing at work anticipating my vacation coming up, when I saw the gardener head out in his yellow rain jacket. Shears clipped on hanging low at his waist. Glove covered hands pushing the lawnmower in front of him. He is one with his surroundings.

A perfect setting. As he pushed the lawnmower around between the low hanging trees, scattering the grass and the rain drops in a splatter around the mower. Surely wafting smells of fresh cut grass. And I had to make a note to myself - when I'm past the holds ups enforced on my work life cos of VISAs etc, I should one day sign up to be a gardener. I have a feeling I will love it, and with some help from my green-fingered Mothers gene pool, I should do grandly at it too!

Evocative II

Was cooking yesterday evening and happened to open this sealed bag of dried chilies. The aromas that hit the nose on opening the bag brought images to the minds eye. Images of sun filled fields, the land baked to cracked pies. The red chilies drying lazily in the sweltering haze undisturbed by the disinterested crows.
A snap of one chili and more fresh flavors hit the nose. Reminding one of summer days gone by. Ah the Indian summer. How I miss you!

Perspective

I keep coming back to this often. Sometimes I sadly lack in perspective.

Recently had a conversation with a semi-bum who confessed he was looking for a dog to keep him warm on cold days. And I was instantly revolted by the idea. Like a curtain had been lifted, ever since I seem to spot dogs with most of the homeless people on the streets of SF. It just felt wrong that this was the reason for them to keep those pets. I guess earlier  I assumed they must have found stray dogs and are looking after them - not that the dogs were helping out by acting as warm water bottles.
And then yesterday I was having some meat and fell to thinking why I should denounce the homeless when I was on one hand killing animals for my eating pleasure. I hate how my head fights my cravings all the time. How can so many contradictory thoughts co-exist in the same space? 

Evocative

I've always loved dancing. Tonight totally randomly happened to go for this movie Pina and it is simply awesome. Might have something to do with the fact that I was sipping on a glass of wine on a totally empty stomach. But I prefer to think that just enhanced the experience. On an aside: I feel I'd totally buy the idea of mushrooms to make life that one dimension more amazing.
I digress. Pina. So. Its supposed to be a documentary. Who likes those? Least of all me. So when I sat down and the reel started with some random people dancing around to some random words I was worried I'd have to sit through another couple of hours of this. But then the dances evolve and the characters speak. Very little. But enough to give you a sense of what they feel. And its beautiful Very evocative. Takes you just that far and leaves you reeling to the music visualizing the flow the dance should take. It was some experience. Totally worth the whole two + hrrs of 3D experience.


On the Veggie front - the Will died a sad death.

Of Habits and Randomness

As my friend puts it: Alert - Indulgent!

I'm fast becoming a creature of habits. Wake up around seven in the morning. Get ready and turn up at the train station by 8:17am. Yup, I’m counting the insignificant digits between the zeroes and fives these days. Reach work. Head to café if it’s one of those days I wake up hungry. Hopefully catch a glimpse of that cute guy at work. Then work or pretend to do so till noon when I head for lunch. Some random conversations with colleagues or pretend I’m a super busy girl who has to stay in touch with her email all day - even at lunch. Or get entangled in situations where I get asked by a HR guy (he should have warned me before suggesting we eat together!) what keeps me at my company still. Just when I’m seriously contemplating quitting and finding what I really like. Just when I’m searching for a reason to stay on. And admitting to him that the company goals and value system didn’t jibe with me much. All this when I was almost tongue tied cos said cute guy was sitting right next all through. 

Going back to the creature of habit – lunch and then osme more pretense of working. And then rushing off to catch that 5:20 light rail on my way home. Have even given up the pretense of taking my laptop home and maybe working. And my boss seems totally fine with that. Though I wonder what my neighboring colleagues think of the hours I keep. I’m sure I’m setting a terrible sense of morale all around considering how much everyone else seems to be slogging.

Home by 6:30pm picking up that wrap on the way for dinner. I seem to have peculiarly become very non-picky about food these days. Cut up some fruit and settle in with some Netflix. Just to wake up to another day of the same. Till the weekend rolls in.

So the random stuff. The jogging that I have gotten back to again these days. The three miles I’m trying to perfect and be able to run without sweating. The escape to the badminton courts. Though that’s a new one (translate just happened once so far). I walks around campus with colleagues. The occasional jaunt with the camera. Though that has had a temporary hiatus enforced after I messed up the lens trying out the new stand recently. Hope to get it back fixed soon. The beautiful beautiful moon rises. The overheard conversations. The amazing music I’ve uncovered recently and rediscovering repeat playing of the same song over and over and over and over…

The lazy perusal of whatever book draws the fancy over the perfect duration train rides. Spotting the regulars on the train or rather at the stations I get off or board at. And weekends. Now those are a totally different story. For some other time. Great days. Great lazy days. 

Weekends in Pictures

Lost...

...in Questions. I seem to be having a lot of questions these days. Like today. I was reading this book about the struggles of this kid in Africa. How he was living every day worried it would be his last. And realized one of the top things I worry about in a day is what do I eat next. Or how do I fill my evening. I guess its a nice world when those happen to be my topmost worries.
But today I had this thought about how obsolete some of these questions should be. The what to eat thing for example - I mean with this whole evolution thing which helped us weed through food choices, and develop habits which should naturally be healthy (else we should not have survived this long?).. possibly have arrived at a life style which ensures we live a longer & healthier time. And yet today many of our hours in the day are spent obsessing about how to eat healthy and what to include in our diet and how to keep our bodies exercised and fit. Are we in this age ignoring life lessons from our ancestors somehow? Or has this been the way of life always? Learn some lose some.
I remember how my Dad used to always chide me to learn from others experiences instead of making my own mistakes and learning from them. Shouldn't evolution have taught us to think the right way? But still how much joy we get from trying new things! I guess its true that sometimes the arch-nemesis lies within itself. Our willingness to try new things and grow/learn might also be the trait that leads to our downfall too. Take nuclear energy for instance.


Hmm. Sometimes there are no answers. And even if there are we, ignore them in the pursuit of small pleasures. But then isn't one supposed be appreciating the small things in life. This kinda sounds like that proof for 2 = 1 :)

(My) Yesterday in Pictures

Sundays Again

Now that I'm back to jogging, I've decided to jog Sundays at different locations in the city. Ending with brunch. Back to my Sunday Brunches. And so to keep the trend going I've picked the Golden Gate Park for this Sundays jog with brunch at the Japanese Tea Garden within the park. Lets see how that goes. Shall review the place in Sunday at Brunch.
Oh and this is if I don't go off on some trip for the long weekend. Which reminds me, I should evaluate my resolution last year to travel to twelve new places. Not sure if I did. Lets see... There is Grand Canyon, preceded by Alaska, Seattle, San Luis Obispo, Arches in Utah, Yosemite half dome (not sure this counts as I've been to Yosemite before even if not on the half dome hike), hmm.. thats it! Half the number aimed for... not bad considering.. Hopefully will finally get that VISA and go visit outside of US this year. Should work on a new list. Coming soon.

PS: Doing great on the vegetarianism these past 2 and half months! Proud of me-self :)

Back to Jogging!

Woke up with some enthu on Sunday morning. Instead of whiling hazy time playing something on my phone decided to put on my running shoes and venture out. And glad I am I did! (All caught up on Star Wars! and wondering why it took me so long.)

Got reminded how much I enjoyed it. So went and got myself some running friendly clothes and shoes to work so I can head out on weekdays too. Lets see how long I'll keep it up this time. And here are some views from my run yesterday. No wonder I want to keep it going.

Note to self: Avoid concrete paths! And oh - milk does inherently taste sweet. Cut down on the sugar.