Of Story-telling

At my previous job, something very important was sucked out of me: My will to write. I stopped regularly updating this blog a long time ago, but I still wrote. For myself. In little leather-bound notebooks that nobody has seen. But in the two years I worked at the old place, I slowly gave it up. Days passed in a blur of odd hours and all the daily nonsense that bogged me down. Even on the odd day I was off, I chose to do other things. I saw things that made me want to write but I didn't. Instead I kept it locked tightly inside me.

But now that I'm here. A place that I feel happier and much freer in. Where I can be me. And I can be creative and dizzy and forgetful. Where I can earnestly talk to people about where they're from. And listen to them talk about their cities and their countries. And I tell them, eyes shining, about India and my Bombay. And how much I love it. At my new job. I feel the urge to write again. I write in the new book bound with gilt-edged pages again. And I will write on this blog again. Because lately I have so many stories and memories that I want to put down here.

I want to tell you of my travels. Of Bahrain. Of a city torn in two. Of the F1 race there and the fear and anxiety behind it and the lavishness and the hospitality. I want to tell you of how I met Jenson Button and was awestruck at how beautiful he is. And how he talks and laughs and takes time out. I want to tell you of the friend who when I told I was going to the Bahrain Grand Prix told me, "If you meet Jenson Button, just you know, kidnap him or something." And I want to tell you how close I came to actually doing that. I want to tell you of Singapore and a cruise liner. Of sitting out in the balcony on Deck 9 at 3 AM as the ship sailed through the Straits of Johor, listening to Kate Voegele sing 'It's Only Life' on the iPod and staring up at the star-filled night as. I want to tell you of Universal Studios and the disgusting amount of popcorn ingested. Of the Transformers Ride and embarrassing moments.

I want to tell you of the letters I've begun writing to friends again. Of the joy that comes from watching my handwriting meandering its way across bright orange sheets of paper. Of sealing Raspberry Red envelopes and licking on stamps.

Slowly, I've rediscovered my love for writing. And its beautiful.
 

"We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospection."
Anais Nin

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Another Try

Last time, despite my best efforts. Okay fine, no efforts at all. I did not succeed in carrying out the 30 Day Project and this time around I have solemnly sworn to myself that I will carry this out even if it kills me.

So then, Day 01 - Your favourite song

I've never had a particular favourite song, there are just too many out there to pick just one, so instead I'll tell you one that is constantly on repeat on my iPod. Neil Diamond's Song Sung Blue. Simply because I was talking to some friends about how blue I was feeling a few days and one of them began to hum this song and ever since then I can't help but think of us crowded into a car singing at the top of our voices and the happy-sad feelings it evoked.

Another perennial favourite of mine is this one.

Mainly because it's Liverpool FC's anthem and even over television, it's awe-inspiring and spine tingling to watch 45,000 people packed inside Anfield singing and urging their team on and mostly because I hope to be there one day.

Edited To Add: I have now accepted defeat as far as posting daily goes. Instead I promise to post at least once every week.

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Back out in the open

It's been a while since I've written here. Over a year if you want to nitpick. And while I often contemplated several posts, somehow I lacked the drive to do it until today. I wondered if anyone was still reading me, until I woke up to the realization that primarily I write for myself and as long as I continue that, I'll be fine.

2011 was an intriguing year. One of 'mostly' ups and very few downs. I did plenty during that year - I laughed, I danced, I sang, I travelled. More importantly, I rediscovered myself. After my old job that sucked all the old soul out of me and made me cranky and crabby (yes, I can hear some of you say 'what's new').

But 2011 in some ways restored me. It made me whole again. Made me realise what's important to me and what's not.

My new job, you ask? So far so good. I'm tremendously enjoying it. It has its hard moments, but more often than not I love it and I go in to work happily every day. It's already given me so many new experiences and memories and for that I am extremely grateful.

I have also learned with greater clarity than ever before that I am, what an aunt once described, as a 'person of a thousand brilliant fragments'. I take things up and when I lose interest in them, I rapidly set them aside and absolutely cannot be bothered anymore. I think I'm what the Mad Momma referred to as jhakki .

So that photography blog I mentioned last year? And the football one? Both dead in the water. I still enjoy photography and I still love football.

Sometimes, perfect images present themselves to me and I don't take photographs, simply because I want to be in that moment and enjoy it, not just be capturing it on camera.

Similarly, I love football, more than anyone can possibly imagine, but I do not have in me to run a blog on and keep it ticking. It would make it too much work and I don't want that. I want to enjoy it, to be entirely caught up in the moment, to be awestruck over Xavi, Iniesta and Luis Suarez.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think I do enough. I want to do more. I want to learn to bake, I want to read more, I want to have more time with my friends, I want to swim more, go on more treks, I want to write more, to watch even more football, to enjoy more Glee. And sometimes, 24 hours just doesn't seem enough. But as I enter the very last month of my 24th year, I'm starting to learn better how to prioritise and make time to fit in all that I want to do. I'm still not there yet, but I'm learning and I hope 2012 will be a whole new beginning and full of new learning for me.

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For times gone by, my dear For times gone by, We will take a cup of kindness yet For times gone by.

It wouldn't be a New Year, if my post looking back didn't come too late about two weeks too late.

2010.

What do I say about it? It was a strange sort of year. One that just whizzed by and I rather floated through it.

It had it's good moments and bad though.

I travelled. Especially one extremely memorable trip to Sattal in Himachal Pradesh.

I now have a great SLR camera and three lenses to go with it. I have a Blackberry and a PS3 and lots of new books.

A lot of friendships fell into place this year and I realised whom the people I can really call friends are.

2010 was a fun year and I hope 2011 betters it.

How was your year?

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A night out

This is just to say that my thirty day project begins from tomorrow.

Right now I'm sitting at Marine Drive with all the best things life has to offer namely good friends, good music and good conversation.

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