the key

Time has the answers locked up

The key is to give it some time

So Long Pluto!

Last morning we went to the beach to watch the sunrise. We fought through 30 minutes of thick traffic at 5:30 in the morning and reached the beach just in time to catch the big ball rise in brilliance. It was a serene moment. We were wordless for a while squinting at the red ball watching it turn bright orange; listening to the waves while traditional fishing nets were folded up against the shore; their morning tasks completed. We often take pleasures such as having the shoreline so close to us for granted, because we were raised right here. But for those few desi North-Indian couples basking in the morning warm waters; it was their only chance to enjoy the Indian Ocean.

I couldn't help but imagine what lay beyond the big blue vastness. I've always been intrigued with the earth and space; Nasa's newest discoveries, and of course the newest "space elevator". It was then that I realised how my husband and I come from such simpler times. We come from a time when

• We would wait for that one Saturday a month when our fathers would promise to take us to the much awaited exhibition and later to the beach for the evening.
• A single stick of ice cream (not playstations) was the blackmail for better marks in class tests.
• Tuitions weren't the order of the day.
• The moon and stars were both the same distance from Earth (or so we were told, until science proved otherwise)
• We could spend the whole of our childhood and teen life without ever having to use the mobile phone once.
• We could buy our whole year's stationary in under 200 bucks.
• We could appreciate pop music without having to deal with the likes of Miley Cyrus or Justin Bieber.
• We were taught that Pluto is still considered the 9th planet of our milky way!

Reality hits us hard when we know that we are all too consumed with our racing lives that we barely have time to stop and watch the waves of time racing past us. All we hear is the whoosing sound it makes when it's already too late.

way back into love

Isn't this a fantastic track? Either there's very little music out there that is simple yet strong in in reaching out, OR I'm not looking in the right direction.



All the same, I love this song. I've no doubts what so ever that you'd love it too.

Random Thoughts

1. The pocket change I found last weekend in my old pair of jeans made me grin. Made me beam with a nice warm glow knowing how it landed there.

2. Sometimes I feel that I need emails with a subject line that goes “A Woman is Special” to keep reminding me that I need to be a lot more warm, loving, feminine, and passionate in this Godforsaken world run by men! And constantly keep reminding me that we’re the blessed sex of the two.

3. How the laughter of a child, free of deceit, can shine our worlds brighter than the sun on a gloomy night.

4. The “Corrections and Clarifications” column on the newspaper seems to occupy more and more column-space by the day!

5. America has woken up to accept what they call the “unacceptable”. A surprisingly larger part of the population seems to lose trust on someone that has an impressive political lineage and leans to the comfort promised by Barack Obama! I guess time will tell us the rest. But if the question was “Who is more electable?” I think I’d say that it still is Clinton. Whoever it is, hopefully it’s a Democrat!

6. Life is as beautiful as I want to make it.

7. God I miss my shishta! * sigh *

8. Sometimes, when I stare blankly ahead and drive down without a focus, goal, or destination; that’s when I find myself in the most mystifying places of all times that I’ve failed to notice all along. :)

9. It disturbs me to know that Time is an annoying devil that just won’t wait for anyone. And when it starts to play its disgusting game, you’re not left with much choice by to play by its rules. It’s Vile!

10. My earliest memories of Madras; waking up with the sweet aroma of filter coffee, skipping and hopping along the side streets not caring a damn about the flying skirts showing off the dirty knees, watering the saplings on the side-walks, playing hide-n-seek around trees. But sadly all that remains now is how we crib about the traffic in the city! Let alone watering the saplings in the side-walks. There ARE no side-walks in the first place! It’s the sad state of Madras…

11. Websites such as Thesaurus.com and Dictionary.com have gradually, and almost completely, replaced the sweet-pungent smell and yellowing crinkly papers of the hand -held dictionary.

12. A walk in the park is a breath of fresh air through my dirty veins.

when love and hate collide

It is six O’ something clock in the evening. The air isn’t still. The water isn’t still. Neither are our hearts. The water brandishes in quick movements back and forth, the salt in the water reminding me of how deceptive looks can be. And the current! The invincible current, between us and the waves. There’s a bonding hormone; high levels of oxytocin; much like the current, and not necessarily in the water. The never-ending waves. Wishing and hoping that it will be never-ending for us too. The shore however doesn’t seem to care. Right now it appears to be busy fighting with the sea over which one should get a bigger helping of the waves.

I notice something on the horizon. A big red ball of a moon. Ever-so-slightly making its way above the ocean. Rising up steadily. It’s not so much the current I begin to think. Maybe it’s the moon, save the timeless continental drifts that’s working the waves too. It’s the moon fighting over the waves. It’s the moon permitting the waves to kiss the shore and return to Mother Ocean. Making it rise up and bend over. Rise up and bend over. And then, rise up, bend over, and crash into the shore. Is the moon letting the waves seduce the shore? Letting the waves mock at it?

Another Shakespeare in love. And now understandably, unmindful of a dozen pair of eyes watching us. Gliding through into a whole different cosmos. Barely two minutes pass by before someone scares the day-lights out of me, yanks me back to reality, and hands me a camera. I curse my ill-luck at being driven back to reality from my world. I cringe, as a war of embarrassments race through my nerves. The hair on my nape stand upright. ONE humble request for one last dance. One regretful denial. Living in a land of carnal needs and of rueful denial, I realize the two just don’t seem to co-exist! I curse my ill-luck again!

This is just one clandestine evening of desperate urgence. I dip my feet in the insistent lapping water. I assure the waves “It’s ok. I’m here.” They don’t seem to care though. The war continues. The ocean wants a bigger portion of the waves. But the shore invites them with the promise of sparking white sand. Mother Ocean finally wins, tearing out her waves away from the shore. They still claw their way forward but fall prey to the ocean again. She wins again. She wins yet again. She wins every single time! The waves fall into her arms and relax only for a brief second, before they crave for land.

A dogmatic thought crosses my mind. I quickly brush it aside, reminding myself yet again of the hardships it puts me through; and the hardships I put it through. The heart!

Love has a lot of reasons to be hated. It’s all about the time I tell myself. Now, how could it be the right time if it feels sooooooo wrong? I stop mulling over it anymore.

I dismiss the thought and continue to cruise the length of the beach. With each step, taking in the beauty of the sea. With each step, enjoying the therapeutic rarity of romance. With each step, the sounds of the guileless laughter of the boys fading into the distance…

--
PS: A work of fiction!

Hold you high!

I discovered this song a few days back and have been in love with it since! Its called "Broken" by Seether featuring Amy Lee (from one of my fav American rock band; Evanescence).



Its kinda sad, but a number that will tend to stay on your lips for a long time. I'm gonna stay away from the very passionate Roxette for a while and enjoy some good 'ol rock instead.

My birthright is an unwritten law

--------------------------------------------
Joey: Face your fear. You have a fear of heights? You go to the top of the building. You're afraid of bugs? Get a bug.

Joey: Go for it man! Jump off the high dive. Stare down the barrel of a gun. Pee into the wind!

Chandler: Yeah. Joe, I assure you if I'm staring down the barrel of a gun, I'm gonna be pretty much peeing every which way.

--------------------------------------------

This is an extract from the famous sitcom FRIENDS. Strangely, Joey’s making sense, isn’t he? Sometimes, I'm glad for people like Joey. I'm in a confused state of mind right now.

I get reminded of Nickelback's Far Away...
"This time, This place
Misused, Mistakes
Too long, Too late"

So right now, the last thing I need is more Joey-ness. But surprisingly, his stupidity is helping out a lil bit. What’s life like if you can’t live it to the fullest? And if you can’t trust what you’re about to do. So for the new years, whatever resolutions I'm making (or not), I plan to trust myself in whatever I do. In whatever I am capable of doing. Believe in myself. This makes me feel a lot better already. :)

--------------------------------------------

Also, here’s a wonderful track by Eric Carmen from the movie Dirty Dancing (all you romantic-movie lovers should know exactly what I'm talking about). He’s got a ridiculous outfit on, in this video… but its Eric Carmen all the same :) And I particularly LOVE this song.

Here goes… Hungry Eyes! There’s such melancholy and profoundness in the lyrics.



Whenever I listen to this track, I always close my eyes and wear my earphones. :) I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I do.

--------------------------------------------

Happy Holidays everyone. And have a pleasant new year. I hope 2008 brings you everything that you want, and more! If you think, you want more than you’re entitled to, then go ahead and make it your birthright! It then won't sound greedy after all! Trust me, it works! ;)

I'm gonna go get myself a bug now.

Love ‘ya all

To play with the thunder

Would you want to write your own destiny, or would you rather go by what’s written in it already? Or are you the breed that doesn’t believe in either school of thought?

When you know exactly what's for breakfast on a Monday morning, it takes out the joy of looking forward to the kitchen area to check on mommy to see what’s cooking. When you know exactly what time the train departs, it steals away a sly thought from creeping in; the thought of oversleeping for a teeny bit more, hoping the train will be late as usual. I don’t peek out from my window anymore to catch a glimpse of the gift from the heavens. It doesn’t make me grin from ear-to-ear. I’m all covered up and ready to hit the road because the lady from the weather desk told me exactly what time the snow is expected to fall. How heavy it will be. And how long it will last.

My 4:45 PM shuttle is almost never late; it then doesn’t give me the opportunity to nervously fidget with my fingers waiting for the shuttle to pick me up. I know exactly when my train will arrive (which is a good thing ‘cos I get to book for a cab accordingly. That way I won’t get stranded at a lonely train station in the wee hours of the night). And I know quite well that I have to layer myself with clothing because it’s going to snow tomorrow.

I have nothing to look forward to when I leave from work, because again, I know what will await me at the Happy Hour back at my hotel. I even know the “French names” (if you will) of the wines that they serve from Monday through Thursday, and then, all over again from the next Monday through Thursday.

Even the bloody traffic lights are synchronized!

There’s not much left for imagination! There are hardly any surprises! There is little anticipation! There’s no exalt!!!

It doesn’t concern me that my future is already written out for me, but it does concern me that my day-to-day activities are already scripted! Some would think that it’s a good thing. But there are disadvantages. For one, I detest the fact that my personal life is planned out. Planning, as far as I am concerned, should stay shut at work! But that’s not the only disadvantage. My office security at the front-desk who smiles at me every morning and heartily wishes me to have an excellent day, refuses to recognize me if I forgot my office badge someday! It really doesn’t bother me much, but it tells me that relationships are like a canoe that meekly rocks on waves of golden protocols.

How much more scripted can life get, when even the thunder wonders if it should strike on a dark rainy afternoon, simply because it wasn’t on the forecast the previous day?!?

You must think I sound crazy, but back in Madras, however much indiscriminate things are, I kinda like it that I don't know what to expect next. Whether on road, at home, for lunch, at work, at a movie, what have you! Pleasant or unpleasant; what's the point in living after all, if there aren't little surprises to look forward to?

Seashore, seashells, delirium

4:30 PM. -8 Celsius. A magical beach.

NJ Shore, Atlantic City.

Stargazing

Having to treasure every best moment may not be very difficult; perhaps the finest and most powerful way to cherish them, is to not re-live those moments.

Thank God for dreams!!!

I'm grateful for...

... the finest woman in my life.

For being

radical

fanatical

magical

practical

remarkable

for being a pillar

for enduring

contributing

for ... just BEING there when I needed her.

I cannot begin to imagine the sphere of activities I will have to start doing on my own... starting from shopping till managing my finances (which just-so-you-know, I totally suck at!). :-/

I'm dedicating this post to my sister!

undone

All attempts to crack me up having failed, I still am sincerely waiting for the day I won't have to be sincere anymore!

Stay ... away

The future has a dirty habit of arriving unannounced. – Anonymous

I’d say, the past has a dirty habit of resurfacing unannounced!

Some thoughts stay, and some don’t. Our mind is an amazing storage unit that few of us are able to comprehend. Some things remind us of significant achievements and some others remind us of trivial details, things that we wish we didn’t remember. Things we wish happened a different way, or didn’t happen at all. An erase or undo button would be of much help, wouldn’t it?

Sometimes, the more we try to forget something, its memory snaps itself back deeper and deeper sculpting its way through, making an imprint in our minds; mind over heart or heart over mind being a constant battle!

Is that why they say it’s easier to forgive than to forget?

Your wish will be done

Such an intense music video and so much depth in those lyrics; and we thought the Backstreet Boys were just another teen-attraction, boy band, whatever. Nonetheless, this one's been my all-time favorite.

I hope you enjoy it too :)

Not dead yet... a second chance

When Emily hurriedly left from home that afternoon, she had a feeling that something was not quite right. She didn’t often receive such premonitions; precisely the reason why she couldn’t bring herself to think that “something was wrong”, instead she just thought that her inner feeling meant that “something was not quite right!”

Her 3:00 ‘o clock appointment on Sunday afternoon was long gone; and not met. She could scarcely remember what day or time it was now. She was barely 22, tall, about five feet eight, slender, had the body of a angel and the eyes of an adolescent. She wore a knee-length fitting black skirt and a beige open neck shirt that vaunted her full bosom. But right now, none of the boasting beauty showed in her eyes. She was unconscious and all that was left of her beautiful face was a gag in her mouth. Her legs haphazardly placed and her hands bound against her back and held together with piano wires. Her cheeks were blotched red, possibly as a result of hours of crying.

She half opened her eyes praying hard and hoping it were all a dream and that when she woke up, she’d be in her warm cozy bed with her dog Patsy excitedly licking at her face. Sadly, it wasn’t.

Oh God, please let this not be true, she prayed.

The harsh reality struck on her when she realized that these weren’t the walls of her room after all. When she finally woke up, her head still reeling from what she thought was the aftermath of some kind of strong drug that would have been induced upon her, it seemed to her that she could vaguely smell the sea, very close to where she was kept. She instantly became fully awake, tried to clear her head and thought of the last dreaded time he entered this same room.

“How much do you love me”, he had asked her. And when she hadn’t answered, he had grotesquely tortured her until she screamed out for help. And then, he had drugged her and tied her up.

She could still see two of everything. Her mind wasn’t clear yet. She tried to wriggle out of her bound hands but her body refused to co-operate; she fell back asleep knowing there is absolutely nothing she could do to free herself from the confinement.

She didn’t know how many hours, or days perhaps, she had been lying there until she didn’t feel the pain anymore. She was in the same room when she opened her eyes once again. Only this time, she wasn't gagged and her hands were unfastened. The man had been here, in this very same room, untied her hands.

The scent of the sea returned, along with the musty smell of the walls. She couldn’t hear it, but she was sure it was close. She couldn’t possibly be wrong on that one. How many many days had she spent on the sparkling sands of the beach 13 (or was it 14) years ago.

All those memories came flooding back to her; her parents and she driving to the beach two hours away from their home, Emily nonchalantly kicking sand behind her while running across the sandy beach, watching her delicate feet sink into the damp sand while the waves left the shore, inhaling the sent of the sea, letting the sea water lap against her hair while she playfully dipped her head into the waves, making the weirdest shaped sand castles with her castle equipment and cleverly asking her daddy if she did a good job (knowing well that she was daddy’s girl and he’d never do or say anything to hurt her).

All this and more came crashing down her memory lane, while lying in the bare bed. Her body was beaten, sore, and numb from the trashing she endured before. She regretted leaving her cozy apartment, leaving her faithful dog Patsy behind, leaving for her 3:00 ‘o clock appointment a little later than required, rushing to catch a cab, jumping out of the cab in a hurry, jaywalking, getting kidnapped!!!

She tried to scream out for help but all that her physical condition allowed her to do was let out a dull croak that merely came out as a whisper from her throat; she finally drifted off to sleep praying again that someone would find her, someone would save her, that in the remotest of possibilities she would (might?) be able to go all the way over and alter her course of actions. If only she had a second chance, to change her plans… Then, she would probably be able to play along the sands of her favorite beach once again, once again, until the next time!

PS: A work of fiction for Sunday Scribblings.

The Nostalgic Factory!

In an attempt to try and recover from this, and taking advantage of the same, I’m using bits and pieces of words to come up with this list. I’m gonna apologize in advance to those of you that aren’t an ex-colleague or a bum pal of mine, since most of this may not make sense to some of you.

Some of them cherished, some of them bitter-sweet, glad that I stopped with good memories. I’m sorry it’s a long list, but the memory traces back to 6 years or so; I just couldn’t help but list out the things closest to my heart…

1. Office pantry – 3 guys, 3 girls, the war of the sexes, albeit a pleasant one and mostly the girls winning over the guys by simply calling it quits. :-P You might think that’s lame, but you’ve gotta be one of us to get what I’m saying! :)


2. The Dal Roti bill dated 18/5/2006 neatly folded and tucked away in my purse. Probably the last time I had dinner there.


3. Hot afternoons, “Nature Fresh”, countless watermelon juices, Strawberry milkshakes, and chocolate milkshakes; need no explanation. (Should I add the pani puri I hated to take?)


4. Afternoon walks!


5. 10:30 AM, office pantry, tea time, Nitin says “I’m bored, I wanna go home.”


6. 3:30 PM, office pantry, tea time, Nitin says “I’m bored, I wanna go home.” :) That guy always wanted to leave from work as soon as he’d get in.


7. 1:00 AM — office conference room, two people around the conference table, one of them quietly working/browsing (waiting for the office cab), me on a conference call.


8. Alternate working Saturdays, 20 of us, lunches at a restaurant.


9. Day offs when I was sick at home, friends dropping by with breakfast, lunch and dinner. Of sweet surprises! I wish I were sick more often. :-/


10. 11:00 PM, frenzied fingers fighting over the mobile phone buttons, sending SMS.


11. Paying bills, finding a home by myself, getting LPG connection [grin], unlocking the doors to my home by myself (I loathed doing this), paying rent, managing expenses/budgets, endless futile walks to the BSNL telephone company for the broadband connection I never acquired.


12. Awful office food, hungry afternoons, a Woody’s dosa and strawberry milk! :D (self-explanatory)


13. Yahoo messenger, cyber hugs in indecipherable Mandarin Chinese which later turned out to be the official language of cyber hugs, cyber kisses, and all things lovey dovey! Thanks to “you-know-who-you-are” :)


14. 6:00 PM, office TV room, two pairs of hands absently typing away on our respective laptops, F.R.I.E.N.D.S.


15. 6:30 PM, office TV room, Seinfeld.


16. An electricity bill receipt dated 17/2/2006, again tucked away in my purse to keep reminding me of that snug little place I stayed in for a brief 5 months.


17. Snickers, snickers, and more snickers. I was just insatiable (then) and miraculously, his pocket would have enough money for them every single time. :)


18. Lunch at the office terrace, Sandy the scapegoat! Fun unlimited!


19. Sometime in May last year, basement bike park bye-byes and promises that eventually broke!


20. Alternate working Saturdays, me coyly trying to get permission from parents to spend those hot summer evenings at Besant Nagar beach with two half-wits (friends that happened to me) that I’m grateful for even to this day!


21. Two girls hopelessly oblivious to the world around them, chatting, giggling, and sharing the week's events while gracing Brigade road by foot, eVeRy SiNgLe WeEkEnD. Actually, I can’t seem to think of a single weekend that I didn’t follow that norm! Miss Punctual here would ensure I showed up!


22. V-factor and W-factor. It has been a little close to 3 years now and I still am clueless on what they mean, but I know it included Big B, Nitin, and me in some form. Any clues guys?
    


23. June 8th 2006, office terrace, two hung heads, an unspeakable truth, a tearful goodbye.


24. The second Saturday of September, Madras Boat Club, two pairs’ boats, two fours’ boats, more than half a dozen corporate crews (of at least 15 oarsmen and oarswomen in each crew), 6:00 AM, sweaty and stinky from the land workout, squinting our eyes from the morning sun, the half-broken raft taking in more sunburnt stomping legs than it can accommodate, threatening to sink any moment; frenzied fervor of the M&B semi-final races! I miss them tonnnnnnnneeess! In fact I rather liked the knock-outs and semi’s more than the finals itself.


25. The second Saturday of September, 4:00 PM, the Madras Boat Club filled with club members, hopeful friends, parents, media, the works; Men’s Fours finals, the race starts under the bridge, four men rowers, one woman coxswain, feverishly praying that we take the opponent. Of sweet success! :) I think I did justice by mentioning the M&B as a grand finale, didn’t I? ;)

Phew! That was some list! And if you thought this one was long, I think I’ll still have more to add even moments after I post it. Sorry about the long sentence construct in most of them. Remember I'm still suffering from this? ;)

And oh, thanks for your patience. I feel like a river of memoirs has just flown out of me.

For memory, there is no hiding place…

Been feeling kinda lost these past few days; I’m not even sure if “lost” is the right word, what about “helpless”??!?!

a lot like this or this!


Numb… disoriented… delirious... almost like a volcano ready to erupt, or a storm ready to break out; of applications and rejections (obviously not in the strict sense). Lately, things aren’t just happening the way I want it to.; I may sound selfish here, but I don’t think I care anymore.

I’ve been tearing myself away from people; friends, family, home… I even feel scared to keep the windows down while driving, or answer an email to a dear friend, or make a call to someone for that matter, lest they might judge my mood. I have this dirty habit of answering emails that have a tone of my current emotion (one of the reasons I couldn’t bring myself to post anything sensible); and end up writing something with brutal sarcasm. :-/ I know it’s not right, but what the hell!?!

I think it’s easier this way, shutting myself away. What do you know what’s happening inside the cocoon or what’s happening beneath the lake when the duck is paddling frantically, for that matter?

Been having an awful lot of differences of opinions with people at home; mum, dad, sis, and everybody else that call themselves ‘home’. I’m telling myself that maybe it’s just a passing phase, maybe I’ll try and comprehend their actions, or better yet, as time moves along, maybe they won’t be all this passé (and hopefully understand my way of perceiving things), or not!

With all the madness I’m still grateful for my mother, who surprisingly understands every little thing I do or say (or don’t say)… Mothers… what will we do without them!?!

Maybe I should break away, away from this rat race! Gonna have to quit this madness sooner or later, why not now?

Anyway, I’ll be back to being my chirpy self again… sooooon; although I might not be posting anything until after Tuesday next! Hopefully, I’ll be all perky by then! :) ta ta for now.

Picture Courtesy: Google

Quote

for what shall i wield a dagger, o lord?
what can i pluck it out of
or plunge it into
when you are all the world?

- devara dasimayya
10th century Indian poet - saint

To Touch Thy Heart!

Jan 18, ‘07


I’m a messed-up batter

My phone hasn’t rung in ages... As in, aside from the frequent calls from mum, dad, and sis asking me where I am or whether I’m going to get home on time, there hasn’t been any messages or calls from outsiders for a while now. I’m not really a phone person (read, I don’t call anyone, THEY call me < grin >). But on a more serious note, I realized that I’ve been slipping away from keeping in touch with my friends since July last.


Am I a pie or a cake?

Last night though, I made an effort and called up a friend in Bangalore. It was after 8:30 in the evening and I was unsure if he might be at work or if he had landed home yet. Nevertheless, minutes later, I found myself listening to the steady tring tring for what seemed to be hours. I finally realized he was never going to answer it and when I was ready to give up, I heard an unmistakable “Heeelloooooo” in that nice singing-humming kinda way.

Instantaneously I realized, “oh! I couldn’t possibly have called the wrong person.” A lot of my friends do that to me; sing away the good ‘ol “hello” as though they are ready to talk to a kid, you know, like when they look down at 1 year olds and go “hiiiiiiiieeeee, sweeeetiiiieeee piiiiieee.” Get what I’m saying?

Anyway, back to the call I made, I gave out a whoop back at him with a “heyyyyyyyyyyyyyy” in that loud shriek of a voice, grinning from ear to ear, glad that he answered the call finally.

He had been riding the bike and was heading home, the reason why it took a long time for him to answer the call. I told him I’ll call him back and he suggested I call in 10 minutes.

I let a full 20 minutes drift by before I called him again. It had barely started to ring and he answered at once. I could almost SEE him smile while he answered with his trademark “heeellloooooo” once again! This was what happened after:


Me: hiieee

Him: hey

Me: You home yet?

Him: of course, a long time ago (in a “what took you so long to call back” tone)

Him: you wouldn’t believe it, but incidentally, I was gonna call you tonight.

Me: yeah right!

(Some background here: he recently shifted his job and the new company doesn’t allow instant messengers to be used at work. And if you knew him well, you’d think that it’s a capital punishment on him! He can eat, drink, and sleep on instant messengers.)

Him: I told you, you won’t believe it! Anyway, since I haven’t been chatting in a long time, I was thinking about the good ‘ol days and the person that came to my mind, was you!

Me: really? (blushing and continuing to grin from ear to ear)

Me: (now that he confessed that he wanted to call me too) actually, I didn’t have a reason either, I was thinking about my previous employment and you were the only one that came to my mind too!

Him: hehehe (by now he had hit the ceiling and was back on the ground again)


We then talked about some idhar-udhar ki baten, and some bakwaas about some of the people we know in common. Then, he tells me about his absolutely rocking life right now, with parties and night-outs almost every other evening!

He says he’s coming to Chennai soon on a biking trip. We hang up, and I feel glad I called. Moments later, he sends me a message saying that as always, it was good talking to me and that he hadn’t spoken so much in a long while (that is when he’s not drinking or smoking grass.)


Frosting on my cake

Miraculously, while I was writing this post, another friend of mine Charlie called. We spoke for 28 minutes! And even while I’m talking to Charlie, I receive a call on the second line, and another friend from my former employment calls; not only does he call, he surprises me by saying that he’s right outside my office waiting to see me.

I’ve never had any misgivings about calling or talking to my friends, but apparently, I just don’t feel the absolute need or urge to talk to anyone at that moment. As in, I may have something important to tell someone about. But since I procrastinate the actual “calling” part, in time, the subject becomes unimportant and stale.

I know that leaving a workplace or moving cities cannot be an excuse to stop being in touch. But oh well! Gemini’s are excellent manipulators, they love giving their own excuses. < grin >

Besides, I think I have another reasonable excuse. After I’ve started blogging, I start to get the feeling that I don’t really care about anyone else’s opinions but mine. Oh God Gosh! Is that really true? :-/

I almost started to think that may be I’m insignificant. No one wants to talk to me? Isn’t anyone missing me at all? But lo, how lucky can I be; when I know that I’m on the top of the minds of at least three people (in one day), it sure does lift my spirits all the same!

Now, what makes me NOT keep in touch with my friends, I really don’t know and I don’t think the purpose is to answer that either. But yes, I know for sure there’ll be a handful of friends at least, that will cry on my grave after I depart. It’s a much better feeling than having a yummy chocolate frosting (with cake underneath it!)

And believe me, there is nothing that beats the feeling of reaching out and touching the hearts of as many people as possible in the smallest conceivable way.


Although right now, I’m trying mighty hard NOT to think about that cake! :-/

Profound

A thought-provoking quote at Dharmabum's, that one should NOT miss. I went silent for a long long time, moments after reading the quote. Please visit this page to read it.