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.

TV Series and My Life

Was in a meeting today that I was half interested in and listening to the guy drone on about his products. There were others present representing the vendor company and at some point I started watching the facial expressions going over each ones face during their interactions. And I think I could discern some things. Not that I can prove my conclusions are right.

So that's what "Lie To Me" is doing to me these days! Making me watch faces and expressions. Not an uninteresting hobby. But seriously, I need to stop watching so many episodes of it!

Sensibilities

I came across an article today which I thought was totally ridiculous. Not how it was written, but the work its was talking about. Anyway. As soon as I read it, I wanted to share with someone what I felt about it. And opened gmail after copying the link. And started thinking: whom should I send it to?
It all comes down to who shares the same sensibilities that I do and would understand where I was coming from. Seems like there are fewer and fewer people in that list these days. Which is a good thing I guess. A mix is always good to keep one balanced. But just got me wishing there was a default person I could email who understood everything I had to talk about!
For now chose one who would get it, but not necessarily think along the same lines.


PS: for those of you curious about it:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/04/us-cows-emissions-idUSTRE7333YI20110404

instead of cutting down on our own carbon footprint, they are researching how to deprive some poor old cow! :P

Let me know what you think and I might add you to my "to email" list :)

Happiness and Pets

I grew up having a pet. Timmy - named after the dog in Famous Five :) Us siblings were major fans of the series. Actually the series is one of the reasons I ever got hooked onto reading. But that's a story for another time. He was with us for about 13 years. And one day he upped and left and never came back. The gate was left open by some moron who visited our house and we never saw him again. It wasn't the said persons fault really cos Timmy could always find his way back... but yeah, a moron left the gate open that day.

Loud barking nights when he found the odd rat running for cover into burrows he couldn't reach into. Crazy Timmy, never knew when to give up :) I remember how I used to come home from school earlier than the others once in a while to find the whole place locked up. Would jump over the wall, sit on the ledge in the portico waiting for others with keys to arrive. All the while with only Timmy for company. I would rub his thick fur till it was glossy black and my palms sticky black. He would lie his head trustingly in my lap and lap up the attention. I loved doing that. And he obviously loved it. I guess the reason I loved it was cos he did. I hated getting my hands dirty. Do to this day. But loved rubbing his fur and scratching behind his ears.


Miss having a pet.

Fated

It was one of those things that was meant to be. Was running late for my flight - last minute shopping for gifts. Was busy calculating time remaining and alternate options to my green plans while I rushed home to pack finally. I open the door and who do I see? a friend, come visiting to check out the empty room for rent (he didn't know I lived there)! and he was gracious enough to wait while I packed and give me a lift to the airport. It was bound to be. A good vacation.

Met old friends and the new people in their lives, visited old haunts and the new looks they got. And then there were the snow flakes! magically floating down just when we got into the car. Early snow. Another wish come true. And the locked door that somehow opened and gave us access to the environs from days gone by. The lazy campus that would buzz with young blood come Monday.

I finally scored my hit. Only now I'm more addicted and already looking for the next one. The walk over the bridge, the heave of cars rushing past below us. The crimson Sun blazing out in glory - silhouetting the skyline. The yummy food, the multitude of people. The hunt for new boots. Meeting old friends, making peace with the past. The train rides, the maze of the subway. Insane hours and even more insane night sounds which just cannot keep you from falling to sleep. Hot air blowing out of the road, keeping you warm on the long chilly walks the city has to offer. Beautiful bridges over energetic waters. Streets throbbing with life. It is one place I will never get enough of. New York, New York.

PS: Thanks to my friend who magically appeared on my flight back home and circumvented the long journey from the airport and got me to work on time.

Ambience

Was just rising from the haze of sleep, when I heard the whistle of a train. And was surprised that I heard it - its all of a mile away. And then out of the haze, I wondered why that should be.

Back in my grandparents village the track is quite a bit further away and the train whistle is one of the things to tell the time of the day by (and be right on the rare days the train runs on time). Cynicism aside, that is how people there boarded the town bus too - they would wait for the driver to sound the horn and then scramble to the bus stand at the very edge of the village.

In my current environs most sounds are absorbed by the surroundings - a busy, chugging & churning commercial city; I rarely notice them. But maybe one day I'll go back to my village and cleanse my system of the ambient noise levels I'm used to (and ignore) and once again start hearing that gentle breeze rustling through trees.

The Big "O"

Days have been exciting recently. Lots of good stuff happening. Latest of which was a week long trip to Puerto Rico. Loved the place. And the bunch of friends I went with. Memories for keeps :)

I hardly remember what I was doing this time ten years back. Must have been at college, finishing my last year of undergrad. Fretting when the academic year would end. Before I move on. Hoping for a glimpse into the future. Excited about what was to come next. Definitely. Don't think I was giving the year much significance though. This year, a decade later, there's more caution in the outlook. Thought to things to be done yet. With age comes wisdom? Recently I've started perceiving past as a buzz killer - experiences tend to shadow whats to come.. not in a bad way.. just that they take the edge off the excitement - maybe with anticipation. And it bothers me that I'm probably looking more to the past than I did a decade ago. Granted there is more to look at now than back then :P, but surely its as futile now as it was ten years ago?

Just considering the present, I love the place I am at right now. With a good mixture of excitement and comfort. Not much to complain about. But there are things to do. Not sure why that was said with a but. If there were no things to do, no point to life huh? More than things to do, I think this time I looking forward to more meaning. Not sure what to expect exactly.. :) but hey that adds to the excitement! So definitely looking forward to whats to come in the next ten years.

A Weekend

I'm loving weekends these days. Some with lots of activities, some with lots of travel, some with nothing to do but scratching my head thinking about what to do next.

This one was different. Its that time of the year again when I move. I know! Yet again. I had been looking for a shared house sort of a situation. And somehow a lot of them seemed to come with pets of some sort. In some cases of all sorts! Like this person looking for a roommate who just couldn't turn down a stray and ended up with two dogs a cat and a parakeet. Not sure what else was hidden in her room. Almost ended up adopting her as my stray :)

Then this Saturday I went and visited this happy house. That's all I can think of calling it. The people were very nice and the cat and dog were simply adorable! Loved everyone and the house and signed the lease right away even though I'm sure its overpriced. But well I'm sure the experience will beat the loss. And so I'm the owner of a new lease! another six monther :)

After that the weekend was pretty routine... farmers market, hung out with friends over lunch, volleyball, tried to convince my sis to come up with a name all of us liked better, cursing myself all the while for having suggested the current choice... and some vegging. Oh and today I went and treated myself to a hair cut. Even though it was good, I wasn't so pleased with it and asked my friend to do what she could to alter it to how I wanted my hair.. and she very willingly obliged and chopped most of it away. Sort of reminded me of Edward Scissors Hand the speed and efficiency with which the whole job was done. Now for better or worse I'm back to sporting a bob! Oh and before that I had pani poori - two whole greedy plates and sugarcane juice! Yummy and only in the bay area. :)

In all of this I realized I almost forgot a birthday. This blog is going to turn one year old! and its still alive and kicking. Miracles do happen.

Lighting a Cigarette

Standing in the aisle of a bus, slowly inching away, giving space (taking space?) whenever someone gets on.

Swatting at his arms, swinging away, whenever he got too close to her face with his karate moves in his attempts to bug his sibling.

Giving way to the passerby walking on the pavement into the streets you just left behind.

Drawing brows just that little bit closer when a tailor is taking measurements.

Finding space on the dance floor, avoiding bumping into the other dancers.

Standing by the lamp, with a wave of her cigarette holding arm requesting, drawing close to allow the stranger to light up the cigarette now between her lips. A shared passion for cigarettes wiping away personal space edicts.

I Need Sleep

Is what my brain is screaming. Through the tens of minute blank outs I've been having all day. Resulting from the movie marathon I ran last night. Why? No particular reason. It started since I was not sleepy when I got back from the theater after watching a movie on screen. And then the movies got interesting - or rather it got easier to please my sleepy brains. And then the last one turned out to be a series of four movies and I had to complete all four before I could finish. Of course.
So has passed the first night out of the year. Totally unworthy of mention. But then I decided to immortalize it through the blog. Why? No reason than that I need something more interesting than the work I'm not doing to keep me awake.
Actually I was up until 5am on New Years eve. But then I slept afterwards. So it does not technically count as a night out. You know how some people trust that whatever they do on the first day of the year kind of sets the theme for the year to come? glad I'm not one of them. Else the way things are progressing I'd have to write this year off as one for Bacchus.

Sounding Board

As a child I never contemplated. As a teenager I had too many siblings and cousins; things happening to ever waste time sitting and brooding. During undergrad there were a handful of friends who I could turn to to talk my mind. And Akka. I'm very fortunate to have my sister (though my actions often contradict this statement, it is nevertheless very true). I spent grad years on countless phone conversations and long chat sessions with friends and family. Which continued on into the first couple of working years.

And then people started drifting. It had started early on; right after school but was gradual till now. Now I hardly trust anyone to understand or share my concerns. In a way I've become more reclusive too. Not that I'm trying to hide from others; just that I'm not over-boarding my thoughts on them. But still once in a while I miss those carefree conversations when I could thoughtlessly talk of what was bugging me the most. I miss my sounding boards.

Justifications?

There was a talk which I attended recently. About a particular waste management project in India. This one municipality is employing people to collect/sort/recycle/compost waste from households and in the process generating employment and keeping the community clean and green.

They made it a point to mention that the group particularly employs underprivileged women (unemployed, abused, orphaned, wives of criminals, etc.). To them, this is acceptable employment and they are happy that they get the income they do from it.

After the whole talk though I was left with a vague uneasiness - it just didn't seem right to ask these "underprivileged" people to do something that I wouldn't consider doing myself. I strongly agree that waste management is a very necessary part of the whole existence process, but am unable to work my head around justifying people working in those conditions. Is there not a way to avoid having to process waste - by educating people in the proper disposal of the same; in not using non-recyclable items, etc?

Times

I've read of different kinds of times. Times of war, viral diseases, civil strife, drought. Times when survival becomes a fight. Something to be claimed from the jaws of death. When a slight of honor meant guns drawn at dawn. Gone are the grandiose days of the horse clicking its way down paved roads. Gone are the serene days of the bicycle hoards. Gone are the days when a motor vehicle is a novelty, a pride of ownership. When there were nooks and corners of the world still left to be discovered. The shape of the earth to be defined. Men were waiting to take flight.

Now seem to be the days of social networking. Online. Atleast that is what seems to be characterizing my days. For me its the days of connecting with family and friends over the net. And I guess its not too surprising I work for a company that helps make that network happen. My day seems to revolve around my laptop. From the moment I wake up and check my email to the time I turn off the light, eyes drooping playing the game on my phone that too gets there through the network. Its come to the stage where I have forgotten that I need to check my "snail" mail ever so often.

Do I like where I am? I don't not like it. Though I did feel a tug of longing when I was writing about the times that have gone by never to be seen again. But then again I like it that I'm just a ping away from everyone/everything that matters to me.

Old Friends

Lying in the sun, with the wooden deck warming her back, she felt it couldn't get better this. One of her friends was busy clicking photos for posterity's sake. The other three were lazing too in various degrees of relaxation, one leaning against the post and dangling her feet in the clear water under the deck.

Meeting up after long, and still sharing the old comfort with each other. Friends and Sun and lazy Banter and breathtaking Views. Life is Good.

Stuck in Traffic

Beautiful evenings these days. In a hurry to reach destinations (though I don't know why I hurry) there have been one too many opportunities lost where I could have rolled down the window, slowed down and enjoyed the ambiance.

This weekend I got a chance to do just that - am happy the choice wasn't mine to make. Was a beautiful evening with a serene sunset.. one of those sedately darkening nights. And earlier on winding country roads. Had the windows rolled down, with me in the backseat sleeping on and off for most part of the day. Was heavenly!

Slowing down and enjoying the moment -that seems to be the path to bliss..

Words

Love how words work together. Love how writers get creative with their choice of words - a string of random words does not a book make, but the right combination makes a story worth reading. How they can riddle you up with laughter making people around you wonder whats wrong with you or how they make you clear off that tear trickling down your cheek before anyone notices. How one word makes up for all the hurt. And another fills you up with joy. How put to music you can hear them over and over again. They have the capacity to mean everything and sometimes nothing. And how you feel miffed and confused when you don't find the right word. Phrases you remember forever and end up making yours. How what you read and write and say eventually speak for what you are.

Was a time when I couldn't turn a book down before I was done reading it. Now the book from the library languishes on the bed till I'm beyond the allowed renewals and at a stage of trying to avoid fines. I hate that I'm addicted to the online games and plead sore eyes when friends suggest online books. I hate how I rant but don't do anything about it! But I have hope. And that is my favorite word these days.

Words are powerful.

When your Mind Breaks the Spirit of Your Soul

My resolution for this year: Try avoiding that from happening.

Was listening to 21 guns and these words just struck a chord...

Is Four Years Enough?

I have been doing this thing I do for more than four years.. And still don't seem to be close to liking it.. Is it time to call it quits and move on, or should I persist some more to find out if perchance things might change? Four years seems like a long time; long enough to know if one will/wont like something..

Time for change?

Social Consciousness or... OCD??

I was making my usual morning drink in the break room today and suddenly I realized - I am obsessive compulsive when I clean the espresso machine as instructed. I'm most particular about it. And then there is my colleague who cares enough for the environment to turn off all the superfluous lights around; he even bikes to work every day! He saw me cleaning the espresso machine one day and commended my "conscientious" act.

I care enough for my community to do the token "spare the air" acts once in a while; plant a tree; manage without a plastic bag; etc.. But then eventually I forget to keep up the good work. Most people I know are the same. Every person probably tries, in the times his consciousness is awake to help with causes he believes in. At some point though his vigilance would drop and he reverts to his old ways.

So what goes into the making of a true activist? To be conscious at every moment to follow in a chosen path, does one need to be obsessive compulsive? Are all super fighters for causes obsessive compulsive to some extent?

Contemplation

How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.
- Henry David Thoreau

*******

How my actions mock me.