Missed Connections

Dad's emphasis on being on time for trains has not been ingrained in my head yet. My inability to make it on time to modicums of commutation is a omnipresent joke among my family and friends and it just keeps getting better with the passage of time. Though I can proudly say 2009 has been awfully sober except for the one time I threw myself in front of the Peter pan bus to Stamford in March ensuring that I am on it. The train rides and the flights have been less dramatic. I should not be speaking too soon, lest California 2k8 part two happens.

Circa Christmas 2k8, family and a bunch of friends were in Southern California living it up in the heat while I was literally white amidst white. It took a week of phone calls, emails, cajoling, threats and then eventually I was not given a choice to make it to the west coast for a week of sunshine and fun. Indecision had another laugh while I contemplated traveling on either the 23rd or the 24th, deciding on the former. My flight was at 7 in the morning and I spent most of the previous evening and night doing the most inane things and did manage to complete some packing in the meantime. I finished most of what I was doing by 3 and in anticipation of sleeping on the flight, I hit the couch for what I called a little nap for an hour before heading out to the airport at 4.

I wake up to bright light on my face thinking that I have been magically transported to the northern Canadian border. I looked at my phone to see it flash 7: 10 AM in my face!!! I pinched myself to make sure that I screwed up and woke up G who in characteristic slumber tone said the most meaningful words I ever heard that month, "Why Am I Not Surprised". I called M, who was in deep sleep ( it was 4 AM PST) only to hear her mumble something incomprehensible. I did get a rundown when she was fully awake. Eventually, in true holiday spirit, the sweet lady at the United Airlines counter did reassign my ticket for the 24th morning. Atonement for my sins included being the butt of jokes at a lot of gatherings during that trip. Thankfully, a focused host and 2 alarm clocks made sure I was on time for the return trip back to Boston.

A Days Worth!!

Lessons from the entire day:

1) Driving early morning is an entire experience by itself, and never drive on an empty stomach.

2) Getting in early means easier security checks.

3) Sleeping on flights beats sleeping at home.

4) You end up missing people no matter how connected you are.

5) The right words do not do what they intend to a lot of times.

Its good to be back.

Put your Hands Together..

Back in Manipal, while trying to salvage a degree, I happened to attend a lot of inter collegiate culturals. The participation was divided into two groups, one the geeky category which took part in the quizzes, pot pourri's, dumb charades and the like, while the alternate groups satisfied the senses by being part of the dance and the music performances. I am not divulging where I tread, but the highlight of these cultural fetes and a part I enjoyed the most were the rock shows/ battle of the bands as it was popularly known.

I am not a metalhead but I do believe I have a sound ear for music of different genres. A small bunch of us ( not many were fans and the rest had to get up for class the following day) made sure we stayed till the very end of these culturals when these rock shows were scheduled. Everything about the show amazed me, right from the sound checks to the final performances, taking it to a new level. Talent was in abundance and there were many a times when I have imagined myself on stage trying to be the next best thing in guitar history. Manipal had a number of bands who were exceptionally good and things kept getting better when bands from all over the state competed. As part of our own college culturals, we had Euphoria visit Manipal in 2002 and Shaan in 2003. I remember Euphoria's performance distinctly as they performed on my birthday. As part of the festivities early morning, my friends doused me with water and left me in my shorts and Tee's in a corner of the city, right when the band were performing their sound checks. Here I am, at 2 in the morning, wet and wasted, listening to Palash Sen and his guys perform their take on Collective Soul's Shine. I was never this charged for their concert that evening. Needless to say, Euphoria did not disappoint. Right from AR Rahman's vande mataram to Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water interspersed with their own hits, It was worth the 100 Rs paid for the tickets.

Watching ROCK ON this weekend took me on this trip down memory lane. The movie itself is a fine watch and has much more to say than just about a band's rise, fall and resurrection, and I would love to talk about it soon. This little trip that I ventured into had a lot of my college buddies, trying to squeeze through every possible gap while inching towards the podium, moving to the riffs and the drum beats and showing off our half baked knowledge of music. In short, we were having the time of our lives..even though it might have lasted a little over 15 minutes and three songs.

On a different note, I have missed doing a lot of things that I love and I will be making up for most of them soon. I just got started.

Haikus, History and Alliterations

Somebody said keep the thoughts flowing....

I have been wanting to dig up some of my older writings (pre zeitgeist days) and put them up here. Working with the editorial board of the college magazine in third year was a lot of fun. We made a great team, shared great rapport and in the end, the magazine was worth the effort, thanks to all the meetings, the late evenings at the Press, followed by chai and bun masala at Timmys. Unfortunately, since 2002 was a bygone era, I do not have virtual copies of what I contributed, and my copy of the magazine is at home.

Some of the cruder concoctions of my cranium-ancient and amateurish attempts at Western Haiku ( replacing the 17 syllables with words)..go ahead, Laugh your guts out.

A busy day at its best.
No time to stare leave alone stop.
and then she had to smile.

Never would I have thought
I will meet her time and again
Maybe I should stop thinking.

Suave, steadfast and sure
She steals the show as she soars
Alliterations are amazing as always.

Hoping that history doesn't repeat itself,

Reminsicing Ratatouille:

Django: You Can't Change History
Remy: Change is History, Dad.

Its Scary..

One of the sureshot symptoms of addictive joblessness is when you start listening to each and every song on your computer hard-drive. On a lazy saturday, that was precisely my plan of fruitful action. This particular song caught my ears, tinkered with my mind and made me do things I did not want to be caught doing today..retrospecting, introspecting, speculating and in general, thinking.

25 is a scary age man.A fourth of my life just whizzed by along with 16 years of schooling, 2 degrees and a year on an insipid profession. Its an eerie thought of disbelief.

So many things have happened so fast. Mom's cooking now become a thing of the past and cooking for yourself is trendsetting. Being dropped at school has transitioned to walking to college and commuting to work. I have moved from people making decisions for me to being consulted on to make decisions and eventually making decisions for myself and others. I dont know whether this wind of change is for the better or the worse. Better-because it makes you responsible.Worse-because you are responsible.

Anyways, to cut a long story short, change is growth. Sometimes, things take a while to change making us anticipative. Most of the times, change is so fleeting that it catches us short of our breath. Either way, it is upto us to make the most of what change brings.

Without further ado, may I present "100 years" by Five for Fighting.

I'm 15 for a moment
Caught in between 10 and 20
And I'm just dreaming
Counting the ways to where you are
I'm 22 for a moment
She feels better than ever
And we're on fire
Making our way back from Mars

15 there's still time for you
Time to buy and time to lose
15, there's never a wish better than this
When you only got 100 years to live

I'm 33 for a moment
Still the man, but you see I'm a they
A kid on the way
A family on my mind
I'm 45 for a moment
The sea is high
And I'm heading into a crisis
Chasing the years of my life

Half time goes by
Suddenly you're wise
Another blink of an eye
67 is gone
The sun is getting high
We're moving on...
I'm 99 for a moment
Dying for just another moment
And I'm just dreaming
Counting the ways to where you are

Bussy Days

I thought of this post on an impromptu early morning bus trip to New York last week, and it finally materialized on my notepad. Much as I tried to catch some sleep during the monotonous 4 hour journey, I couldn't help thinking about the influx of public transportation in my 24 year journey so far.

My earliest recollection of buses was when dad took M and me to check out the buses at Sanskrit college after dinner. I still remember the 12Bs, 45Bs, the 12s and the occasional 41 series at the bend. School was closer to home and we did not bank on buses to get us there. We walked and then eventually graduated to cycles. I used buses to get everywhere in town and was a master of most of the cities bus routes. 21 went all the way from Parry's to Mandaveli, 29C all the way from Perambur to Adayar, 12G from Anna Square to KK nagar, 12B from Foreshore estate to Vadapalani and 1 from thriruvotriyur to thiruvanmiyur. We used to take the express buses from Broadway to Vellore, the equivalent of a Boston-New York journey. The buses stopped enroute for breaks, and we made use of opportunity to have "Elaneer" on hot summer days. These point to point buses were outrageously fast, but had limited stops on the way. I remember travelling in UP, Haryana and Rajasthan in their famous tourist buses.

Manipal was bus haven. The trains used to go all the way to Mangalore and Manipal was an hour away from there. It was on the notoriously famous Mangalore-Manipal buses on NH17 that I used to reach college. These buses had their fifteen minutes of fame on the highway by travelling at unimaginable speeds. There have been many an accident on NH-17 courtesy these buses but the need for speed flourishes. An alternative way to reach Chennai was by taking the buses to bangalore and take the train from there.

In the US, my college was in a place where public transport wasnt necessary. I traveled from Chicago to Lexington in DEC 2004 which was my first long distance bus trip. That trip was a blast ( I have blogged about it earlier). After relocating to Boston, Buses were my staple mode of commutation till late.

My trips to New York have been courtesy the Fungwah buses, these buses are a boon to students and the like who want to get to New York fast and without burning a hole in your pocket. The tickets costs you 15 bucks and you are in NYC in 4 hours. Buses leave every hour and they are invariably filled.

As I look back, how much ever I love to bike or drive, my first crush is always public transport. I have met interesting people, debated on contemporary issues, made friends and in general, had great times during my bus and train travels. Madras, Manipal, New Orleans, Boston, Chicago or Vellore, nothing beats a good ole bus ride!

May the trips keep rolling.

Introspectively Retrospect

What a year its been, having its own shares of highs and lows, plusses and minuses, hits and misses, hellos and farewells. On a personal note, 2006 brought its share of enthusiasms and tribulations. I became a degree wiser, moved north east, working harder and enjoying it. Though the year started off on the wrong foot, things transitioned to a smoother directive and I hope its stays that way.

In retrospect, time exudes change, which keeps you going. Over the years, change has shaped my perception, thoughts and action. Change brings realization, which provides suitable experience for further change and the cycle goes on.2006 has been one such year and I hope the following years would be the same too.

Over the last year, I have made concious efforts to reconnect with people who matter the most and continue to do so. It may not be for knowing what their weekend plans are, but for consistent support, apprisal, opinions and criticism. At the same time, I require and respect my space and know that others do too. I have realised that keeping the final goal in sight, and savoring the steps towards it makes it worth the effort. Perfection isnt the zenith, striving towards it is. In addition, I have reaffirmed the importance of concurrent opinions in any relationship.

I have realized the importance of adequate rest.I have caught up on a lot of reading and honing my writing skills. I have walked miles and reaping the benefits of fitness and good health. I've volunteered and will continue doing so. I picked up my tennis from where it was and taking it further. I am meeting enterprising people by the day and seeking inspiration. Lifes looking up.

This year, I want to strike a more definitive balance betweeen liking what you do and doing what you like. I want to be a little more cynical,detached, practical, focused, diligent and smarter. My confidence, sense of humor, motivation and spirit is getting the much needed tinkering. Looks like I want a lot..true and I am working my ass off towards getting it. Did I forget to mention I turn 25 this year?

An awesome year ahead and pray everyone makes the most of it.