Untitled

OK now, Parle-G ki kasam, as far as ideas for a new post are concerned, last few days were as blank as … err … blank!! Now you see, I didn’t do any road trip, no Vegas trip either, I didn't notice any unusual activities on my way to office and many more excuses. And hence the post goes Untitled (But if you really think about it, it’s not untitled afterall). But even when the top layer of an organ of mine, called brain, is blank, let me think and explore last few days.

The first thing striking the upper portions of my head are my dinners alone. Remember the friends’ episode where Rachel goes to that awkward dinner by herself? Believe me, it’s not even similar to what I found out. You just have to be cautious that you don’t end up at a big fancy restaurant. That’d be really awkward sitting alone with civilized and well behaved people. Even civilized people eating alone look weird amidst other civilized ones. Pick a small place, where food is served by a waitress preferably, and that’s it. I went to waffle house (a place nearby which serves eggs, chicken and stuff) at around 11 PM a couple of times last week, and it was kind of cool. A little chit chat with waitresses (thanks to Murphy, they were all old), exchanging a few words with some new real American people, read your book and chew some nice pieces of grilled chicken, eggs and hash browns. It makes you understand a lot. A sense of independence and you get to see the real side of the place you are living in.

Let’s move on to more interesting stuff. For last two days, I’ve been hopping bars. And not well known ones, but real downtown kind of bars. I went with two of my friends at work (amriki), just for a few drinks, but we ended up roaming and hopping bars in downtown until 2.30 in Morning, listening to all kinds of local bands. 2.30, because at 2 they have to shut off the bars as per South Carolina laws. Both the days were a blast. The last bar to which I went was like, you can say, you get a real picture of what this country actually is. The side, which you can never even think off from outside. And yes, please take care that you never go to such places unless accompanied by a local fellow. Some of the folks can be real nasty and what you say, TOB, i.e. Totally Outrageous Behavior. And I don’t mean that way, if some of you real dirt-brains started getting other ideas… ;)

And last, I’ve been seeing all the stuff going on at middle-east these days. There’s a lot of turmoil. And I’ve read many blogs and listened to people around. Some think that why can’t India do such stuff? They kill 2 soldiers and Israel declares a war. Well, I don’t think India can do that. If hizbullah had nuclear weapons too, Israel would have thought ten times before making such a move. And moreover, I don’t even like making comments on such stuff because even when I’m really concerned, the best I can do is to light a matchstick and put my pants on fire. But whatever, I think US would get involved too. They’ve learned only one lesson from Vietnam. And that is, “Stay out of Vietnam!”. Err… I mean…. just Vietnam!!. But what bothers me even more than India going to a war is the fact that children still keep falling into 50 feet boring holes in our country. Every few months or so, there's a child in a hole and every expert starts coming up with a way to get him out. Why can't we prevent it? Have we really lost value for life?

I’m listening to the song “running on empty”, soundtrack from Forrest Gump. And somehow it makes me feel terribly motivated now. Naah, not the kind which makes you invent a bulb or something, but the kind which makes you look at world differently. From an angle which is not 180 degrees. But from the top, zoomed far away. With the passing of every moment, you can feel the power of now blending into you. You become appreciative of everything and your path becomes clear. What’s hard is to maintain the vision and walk on it. Every day is different; you never know what tomorrow may bring. Hopefully, tomorrow I’ll be able to think of something better to do than to put my pants on fire, when I’m real concerned over war and stuff.

PS: Pasting lyrics would make the post real big, but then, what the heck….

Looking out at the road rushing under my wheels
Looking back at the years gone by like so many summer fields
In sixty-five I was seventeen and running up one-o-one
I dont know where Im running now, Im just running on

Running on - running on empty
Running on - running blind
Running on - running into the sun
But Im running behind

Gotta do what you can just to keep your love alive
Trying not to confuse it with what you do to survive
In sixty-nine I was twenty-one and I called the road my own
I dont know when that road turned onto the road Im on

Everyone I know, everywhere I go
People need some reason to believe
I dont know about anyone but me
If it takes all night, thatll be all right
If I can get you to smile before I leave

Looking out at the road rushing under my wheels
I dont know how to tell you all just how crazy this life feels
I look around for the friends that I used to turn to to pull me through
Looking into their eyes I see them running too

Honey you really tempt me
You know the way you look so kind
Id love to stick around but Im running behind
You know I dont even know what Im hoping to find
Running into the sun but Im running behind