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Saturday, April 12, 2008

Back. Just For A Day

Its not that my life had become any less interesting than it already was! And it certainly wasnt because I didnt have time. It was more of a conscious, deliberate break. Like when you start having too much of something. Something which you really like. But you realise that the fun has gone out of it and you are doing it more out of habit than anything else.

Come to think of it, its been the dominant theme in my life for the last few weeks. Well, I guess I can extend it to the last couple of months too. Taking a break from some of the regular stuff and trying to start afresh on some other things. And you know what, the change has been invigorating. It's not that I have changed. It's really the little things. You wouldnt even notice perhaps. But to me they sum up to tell a story.

Music. It occurred to me that I had no interest whatsoever in listening to the 15 GB of songs in my laptop. And the Alternative / Indie Rock thing also wasnt like it used to be when it first started with the soundtrack of Scrubs. So I stopped searching for new music, stopped listening to the old stuff and decided to wait. It was good. I needed the break. A few weeks into that, Jango happened. I started off by creating my regular Alternative Rock station and soon got fed up. It was only after some random Eric Clapton (no, not the soft mushy ones!) started playing on my station that I though it might be a good idea to take up Rock History 101 for this summer under the guidance of one Professor Shravan! Thin Lizzy, The Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Eric Clapton, The Who and the rest followed and I found myself listening to the best internet radio that I know, all day. The party's still on.

GTalk went. And now, no matter how bored I feel, or how jobless I am; I find stuff to do other than staring at my friends list trying to pick somebody to talk to. Orkut also made its way for B School web sites.

The enthusiasm for the Spanish class has waned but c'mon, how long did you think it would have lasted given the fact that there were no hot girls around! Anyway, the course is nearing the end and I think I've done a decent job of it.

What has been the most surprising and pleasing part is that I've started setting small targets for myself. Weekly. Monthly. Nothing very precise and nothing written down. But in my mind I have a schedule, a plan. Yes, I know it's all due to my 'apping' process. But dont we all need a trigger. It was only when our second geyser conked off that I realised that taking a bath in cold water was more fun! We do need triggers.

Quite a lot of my posts originate when I'm on my bike. And the last month or so hasnt been any different. There was my bike's 10,000 km post, the Raghu Dixit post, the normal ramblings and one on triggers too. There was one on how much of riding a bike or playing a guitar is involuntary rather than a conscious exercise. Then there was the change thing, again. Not a post, but just a few stray thoughts about family, friends, relationships and their dynamics. All from a very personal point of view though. But I didnt feel like writing anything down. And so, all of it stayed put.
And yes there was that amazing evening with Rohan and Francis. From 8 in the evening to 2 at night we sang and played everything from the 'Paaji' song to More Than Words; from One Last Breath to Talking 'bout a Revolution. That guy's such an amazing guitarist and singer. It was tough to figure out if I got high on the beer or on the music.

You know the feeling when after a long time, you meet a friend with whom you were very close. And there isnt any occasion as such. It takes time to get going, right. There are a few awkward moments, pauses in between. But slowly it begins to come together. The connection, returns.
It's kind of the same feeling now. But I think it's only a one off thing for the moment. An exception rather than the rule. You see, even today, there was nothing to write about. But another mindless post wudnt harm anybody.