Merry Merry

I'm sitting in my living room, about to get ready to go for a walk. The city is just about the most gorgeous this time of the month. We've got our festival decorations up and the Christmas tree is so pretty and my home feels calm and festive and warm and cozy. And I'm thinking, you know what? I've got it good. This is a great way to spend the day. Then again, it just isn’t too early to crawl into bed.

If one has to feel this holiday spirit, there's only one way to do it. Throw a party. Fortunately, I’ve always had a good number of friends who have been hosting Christmas parties over the years. This time it looked like the usual party throwers were either in love, or in Goa. So I decided I’d invite a house full of close friends, serve up a full course meal with different types of holiday cakes, wine and tarts, while everyone gets warm, toasty and sugar-rushed.
In the world we live in, it's so easy to evade old practices and just live your life from one harried day to another, so a night like this is even more of a treat. It was truly one fantastic night with friends and merriness. And coming off of Tuesday night's holiday rush it's a perfect build up to Christmas. I'm off to sip on my wine and watch an episode of "Dexter”. But before that it is time for a little Christmas music roundup. Enjoy the tracks below:

Sarah Mclachlan ‘Winter song’


Sting ‘Gabriel's Message’


Boyz II Men ‘The Birth of Christ’


Wishing you season's greetings, great music and all that warm fuzziness. Merry Christmas!

Christmas tree? Decorating? Christmas tunes? I think it's just that I'm way too paranoid to decorate the house without losing my mind. Should the lights go around near the trunk of the tree or on the branches? And if they go on the branches, how do you hide the wires? Should I start placing them from the bottom to the top or the other way around? All doubts that I feel must be cleared before carrying out the decorating journey. When they become difficult to find, I get all bothered and say things like 'Merry depressing Christmas' and 'this is so not worth the effort put in' or 'if those three wise men were so friggin intelligent, why don't we get them on a friggin time machine and transport them to our present to figure out a better way of doing this'. And bothered stuff like that. Well, you get it.

But there are some things that are pretty high on my list of Top 10 Things I Love About The Season.

10. Food. There is seriously a lot of excellent food and M.E.A.T around the holidays.

9. Gifts. Yeah, I'm that superficial.

8. Christmas Carols. I'm a sucker for Christmas Carols – the originals as well as the new stuff.

7. Chocolates. A division of point 10, yes, but there's so much it ought to have a group of its own.

6. Santa. No matter how creepy he is a little tiny part of me still believes in him.

5. Christmas movies. I love those.

4. The cold. Usually we get lucky, this year not so much.

3. Time Off.

2. The Holiday Spirit.

1. Family. It doesn't get any better than family.

‘My Grown-up Christmas List’. Any version of it chokes me up and I sincerely love it. It's truly magical and wonderful and worth inviting into your home for a couple of minutes.

I think I love this song (version by Amy Grant)
because I was introduced to it by my parents when I was in school and it was played year after year. It was tradition then and I guess I'm trying to carry on that tradition now. But most importantly, these are the things that mean Christmas to me.

Those of you who’ve been following along here on the blog, have possibly noticed that I love LOVE love M.E.A.T. There I said it. I’ve tried being vegan and vegetarian, and while they were appropriate ways for me to eat at certain points in my life, I just love meat and so does my body (yeah yeah, I know, you’ve got proof I’m wrong, buzzkill!). So, when I come across a fantastic place for a meat dish, I’m in.
My friends, Mai, Kanch and I headed out to Ice & Spice on Saturday. A fairly popular joint but a place I had never eaten at. It was bustling on the weekend, even when there wasn’t anything special being hosted. I like how the mood was warm, against the cold weather. One could sit here at any time of year and soak up the flurry of activity, where a song by Sting (at night, when it’s contentedly crowded) is as appropriate as a song by Nina Simone (particularly at a time like this, when the skies were almost grey) is as appropriate as a song by Iron And Wine (during the early days of summer, when it’s still cool in the evening).

Mai had fish and chips, Kanch had the chicken steak burger and I had the lamb. My dish was incredibly juicy, tender, and came with fresh salad in a light dressing, along with mashed potatoes, garlic bread and chips (All for 200 bucks). I got mine with barbecue sauce, which is unlike anything I’ve ever tasted; the meat was tender enough to stick through with a fork, but hard enough not to fall off. It was so good, that I may surrender the pleasure of trying something new the next time I go for the flavorful taste of their best cut lamb.

Blogger and colleague - Pete, my ex colleague - Sai and I happened to be free on Sunday, so we went for lunch at a restaurant close to where we live. It was this place called ‘French Quarter’.

Outside it’s slightly noisy, but inside it’s calm. The chicken liver starters are delightfully smooth and thin, a demonstration of the chef’s skill. The meat pie topped with cheese and the meat-veggie dish tasted especially flavorful.

I have the ability to find fault with almost anything, but on Sunday, the food was nearly impeccable. It’s all enough to make one smile at any time of day.

After a bunch of petty thoughts — about the new guy— I try to convince myself that everything will be ancient history much more quickly than it took for me to write this. Nothing works, when I try so hard for it. So I just say, ‘eff it and write it anyway, even if you’re terrified and you can’t breathe, and put it out of your head even if that leaves you exposed, that anyone could read it, that people know something that you probably shouldn’t disclose, that you’re still thinking about him when every person is telling you not to, because none of it matters when it’s what you feel, and what you feel makes you you'.

I was introduced to this little gem by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson. If you haven’t heard of them already, they are musicians of the singer songwriter sort and this piano song felt perfect when matched up with cold weather and the early night so common during this season. To get this week started I’ve decided to upload the track ‘Winter Song’. I hope you enjoy the music, there’s plenty more to come.

Warning! Here Be Gushing!

I am so in love with the city lately. Sometimes I want to high five B’lore, and other times I want to roll my eyes and ignore it, but these past few days I wanted to kiss it, nice and sweet, open mouth but no tongue. Maybe a little tongue.

Company’s on a week long shutdown and word on the street is there’s going to be a party…Beer barrel and deep-fried chicken and boy oh boy, there are few things I like more than drinking with friends. Also: Mimi, a good friend of mine from Nagaland is coming down for the hols. OH MY GOD COULD WE POSSIBLY CRAM A FEW MORE AWESOME THINGS INTO ONE WEEK!! We might be taking a small trip too, and I fully expect there to be plenty of meat waiting for us all three meals, loud laughter scaring tourists away, and ye soft Christmas specials on the telly. God bless the Holidays.

So, I have a crush on this guy, and it must be pretty awful, because being around him converts me into a super mean eighteen year old. I don’t know what happens; I’m traditionally a sort of rude flirter, but this is way off the light.

I’ve noticed that I do this thing with people I like, where at first I fret that they don’t like me, and I really fixate over it for a moment before realizing, that I shouldn’t give myself away. And then it’s ignoring him whenever he passes me by or looks at me.

I think it arises from the urge to hide behind a wall whenever I see him coming, and if I can’t, I just say or do the meanest thing that pops into my head, in this case, the ignoring thing. The look that would probably say something as mean as – ‘Did your parents give you away when you were an infant because they didn’t want you?’

But oh man, apparently I do.

I like the classics, the over-played holiday favorites that, to me, symbolizes the Christmas spirit. While I'll take any of the famous crooners over some boy band rendition of a holiday favorite any day, this American Idol contestant belting out Christmas tunes shouldn't suck any of the holiday spirit out of Christmas. Granted, he sounds like a kid (cos well, he kinda is), there's an implied sweetness punctuating ever song. But still, good stuff.

And who doesn't like a little something new to shake up the ol’ tunes? I'm a big fan. The one I’ll be playing tonight is ‘Pat-A-Pan’ by David Archuleta, which sounds astoundingly cool.

I am wondering about the condition of the blogosphere these days. Is it quiet around here lately? I think it's the holidays and people are getting busy with the Christmas season and that’s why it seems a little dead here in the blog world. I know the number of visitors is down this week. Did I maybe do something to piss someone off? Do I smell?

To that end (comment whore that I am), leave a comment. Lurkers delurk. Commenters comment. Perhaps you have a question about something (anything). Ask. Need to tell me my ass looks good? Please do.

I'll be here...writing, calculating and noodling.

Do you ever meet people; have a laid-back dialogue and wonder who it is you met, what kind of people they must be? Not in some romantic kinda way, just out of interest. Perhaps the point is that we all come into contact with so many people on a daily basis and somehow we never really get acquainted with any of them.

When I started blogging a year and a half ago, I'm not sure I would have just had a conversation with someone I didn’t know. I'm sure I would have smiled at someone but after that, I'm pretty sure there would have been silence. And if not, I'd have been wary with what I said, inspecting every word that came out of my mouth, terrified of being me...or too much of me nonetheless. I believe that being open, being me, has allowed me to become more at ease with who I am and what I have to say, in the real world. It’s what I've become aware of over the last year or so. And for that - the moments to share myself and the support I receive - I'm appreciative of.

It’s finally that time of year. Usually the first week of December marks the time to buy Christmas clothes and liberate the holiday decorations from their boxes. This weekend was an exception. We only had time to spread merriment by going through every possible square inch of Brigade road in search of my Christmas attire. And with the cold slowing showing up, it does seem like the holiday season at last.
I didn't have a chance to listen to much at all but I am rather proud of myself that I started playing Christmas music by Frank Sinatra, a collection I had acquired many moons ago. I'm a big fan of Christmas classics. Yup, I like me some old-school too. Let me tell you, they’re definitely worth owning.

And if this doesn't get you into the holiday spirit, nuthin' will. Happy Monday y’all!

November, In Verse

November has come and has gone
It's unfortunate that I’m still at work.
My weekend was well spent but I'm spent like the weekend
Tea in my blood has yet to perk.

I spent the weekend with friends and music
and ate way too much as I usually do.
I watched a show, blogged, napped, watched TV
Now it's dark, boring, feel like poo.

On Sunday me and my girls head out
to a cafe for a nice fancy tea.
Then I got home, watched re-runs of Avatar- Air bender
And realized that a few of the episodes weren’t seen.

Monday began with work
Lame food and a half-assed job of click.
It ended with a hungry belly
just slightly south of sick.

Tuesday I had an idea
to buy my new Christmas shoes
Unfortunately for me, the salary wasn’t credited
And I couldn’t even afford a sad party of booze

Wednesday was sorta relaxing
I didn’t step out of my cube, quite sad
I did my work, watched a couple of videos and ate lame lunch.
Got home, got into bed, and sleep was had.

Now November is over.
And Christmas will be here so soon.
Just flip on the radio and you'll know it
soon as you hear the singers croon.

My mind is looking forward to the holidays.
To get my head into work I'll need luck.
My brain would rather be planning what I’ll be wearing for Christmas.
About anything else I could not give a fuck.

Hope you enjoyed the verse. Not very creative, I know. Bear with me, it’s Christmas! :)
I'm going with a combination of soul and pop this Thursday. Jamie Lidell. There's absolutely no reason to think you've heard of him. But he does have a pretty impressive number, namely ‘Another Day’. It's energetic, electrifying, straightforward pop with a bit of that funk feeling. It's solid, memorable, unusual, and there’s just enough inside grown-up oriented happy-fun-beats to keep me interested. Just want something happy and fun to listen to? Hit play. You won't regret it. It makes me so happy every time I hear it. Thanks Pete.

Third Time Around

Friday was a blast. I went to work despite the temptation to stay in and sleep - I did my job, checked out at five thirty, and returned home to ready myself for the Soulmate concert that evening. It was an interesting show if you happened to be there. The place was packed, a sea of screaming fans and I was struck by a feeling of tremendous good fortune, lucky that I was there at this crowded space not because I was surrounded by close friends and colleagues but because I was a music lover and I belonged in a place like this. I had, simply, a reason to be there. As usual, Tips and Rudy were pretty damn good. Nearly every song was accentuated with a groove-heavy jam. It was the kind of live music you wanted to watch on a cold November evening but funky, fun to watch and listen to. We were a little disappointed that we were treated to only two or three of their ‘Moving On’ album barn burners. But the duo sounded great. Lead singer Tipriti ‘Tips’ Kharbangar was awesome - and guitar god – Rudy Wallang nearly made us pass out from a bundle of wonderfulness. Now, that’s what I call a monster guitarist! Overall, good show, just more than what I or, apparently, the crowd expected.

After the band had performed their first set and then pulled off for a brief break – I got to catch up with my favourite singer and I realized that my efforts to look good that night were completely and utterly rewarded when Tips bear-hugged me and told me I looked absolutely sexy! Then after a few giggles she proceeded to fill me in on the details of her tour so far and an exciting piece of news - that she gets to open for Brazilian Musician Sheyla Costa’s show in Paris next week.

If you can't tell by now, I loved the show. I wanted to find some roofs to yell "Soulmate's here, baby" from the tops of. Listening to them is a blast. There are times in which you can close your eyes and know for absolute certain that this is the same group who can record a perfectly sounding good track and also act crazy with you when they’re not on stage. And those are the moments in which musicians like these proves to be one of the greats as well.

I guess I've been in the groove all along.

Soulmate with ‘I Am’

It’s Thanksgiving for the Americans. And I guess if they didn’t observe it, it would mean they let the terrorists prevail.
Although it isn’t part of Indian tradition to stuff ourselves with turkeys and pumpkin pie, there is a part of the practice that I would like to follow; the part to be thankful. Celebrating where you’ve come from and what you have but, more importantly, what you are today. At the end of the day, everyone’s pasts are joined into a big grand cord to create a universal future and show that we, at least some of us, can get along.

I've been truly blessed this year. I have a wonderful family and best friends who are truly splendid in every respect. My job pays the bills and honestly doesn't suck. I'm thankful that I live in a wonderful country, that I was born here and not in utter poverty. Thankful that even at the times when I’m feeling at my worst, I am reminded in so many ways and shapes and forms how loved I am. And then there are you guys. Thanks for stopping by everyday, for reading, for giving me your time and opinions.
Whether or not you celebrate this particular holiday, due to geography or some minor inconvenience like that, it's never a bad time to remember what you truly have to be thankful for.

Agree with me or not (or feel guilty about it or not), but I think this single by 80’s British soul and dance band - Imagination is actually sorta kinda addicting. And while I’m not ashamed to admit that I like the catchy string loop, the dance beat, or the old school pop stylized delivery I still have too much arrogance to truly find out more about this track, or review the complete album, or in general confess anything other than I listened to the radio this past week, heard this track, and thought I should post it.

Enjoy it or don’t. It’s your call. No one will think less of you. (Ok, I can’t give my word for that last bit).

Soulmate performs at Le Rock Pub on Church Street, Brigade Road, tomorrow, the 27th. They’ll probably get started at 7:30 pm. Please come up and say hello if you plan on attending the show. Unless your last name is Assford.

Good weekend!

Check 1..2…3 Check (Is this thing switched on?)

I apologize for the lack of regular updating. As I said in the last post - which was how many days ago? - things here have been on the super-hectic side and blogging has been the last thing I've had the time or energy to do. Posts are going to be very light but I'm going to do my best to keep you updated as we go along. I have a couple of entries in the works that will be easy to whip up. One is about school and here’s a treat – a before and after picture! Explanations are forthcoming, but I'll give you this: the ninja invasion is 100% true. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

If you like blues - really gritty, dirty blues with raw guitars, howling vocals and stripped down rhythms. Then you need to come down to The Le Rock Pub in B’lore city this Friday at 7 pm because you are about to witness two gorgeous musicians – Rudy Wallang and Tipriti ‘Tips’ Kharbangar (Soulmate) who heard the blues and never looked back. If you just like a good, old-fashioned bluesy vibe, you'll dig it and you can join me for a drink if you find yourself at the venue on said date. Hope to see you at the show.

(P:S - 300/- cover charge for couples and 400/- for stags.)

Due to an awesome link left some time ago on my facebook page I have had the pleasure of being introduced to a great Indie Rock band called ‘Arcade Fire’ by my friend, colleague and fellow blogger, Pete. Arcade Fire maybe a band whose music I know very little of but from what I’ve listened to, their music is quite universal. To be honest I think the track ‘Neon Bible’ is better than a lot of Indie Rock music I’ve heard to date. If I was forced to offer up a glib little review this is all I’d have to say.

You must watch their video here.
This version of ‘Neon Bible’ is even more beautiful than the real thing. It’s shot in an elevator and I love the whole tearing pages out of magazines. It’s just like taking your favorite parts of a track; putting them with acoustics, and playing that fantasy out for two whole minutes.
Trust me when I say that if you like this track you’ll simply love the band. It really is that good; Canadians seem know what they’re doing. And special thanks to the awesome soul who introduced me to them. You should thank them too.

Well, here I sit in front of my laptop. I'm not 100% sure what I can say about the past week apart from, probably, fuck. That adds it up rather sufficiently.

Unless you've had to cope with a whole blog- topic shutdown over the past few days, you've almost certainly already taken note that not all went as intended for me in this new relationship. Actually, zilch went as intended. That's relationships for you. I’ll be happy when tomorrow’s daylight arrives, I’ll get my groove back. Back to my happy, funny self which will make me miss playing solo. So here’s to the long weekend - making up for lost time.
The past week has been a learning experience too. I've been exposed to two staples of relationships and I'm pretty sure I'll be getting my permanent solo union card in the mail any day now. See, I got to spend a few moments in a no strings attached relationship and log a little time at an exclusive party for two. Neither experience was principally terrible, but I've come to the conclusion that the party for two - in outsized doses can truly force one into lunacy. And no strings attached? That situation where a kid can be a kid?

There's no holding up. I'm going to drink up the last cold bit of tea and try to hop back into the rock n roll of things. Let's see if I can get my groove back. Wish me luck.
Apparently there was this little music gathering known as the North-East Festival which took place the when I was at Kohima. Apparently at said gathering of music fans there are some big northeastern bands who play killer sets and set off the revelers. Apparently Nagaland’s most popular band, Eximious, played a set there. And also, apparently, someone thought it would be a good idea to upload one of their tracks recently sent to them by the vocalist himself. It’s an excellent single titled ‘Bleed’. And yes, that is a ruse to get you coming back over and over and over again. Eat it. They’re not off any studio album and they’re not available, anywhere, for purchase yet. Enjoy the music and the next time Eximious is in town get out and see their show.

Perfectly Lonely!

This weekend was absolutely awesome. I'm not sure if it was the taste of the cold, the company I had or just the fact that it was fun, but it was great. And I feel like I learned some stuff along the way. First and foremost, I don't want to be back at work. But I am sure that's not really worth mentioning. But in the interest of honesty this, however, is.
I started sort of seeing this boy who is very nice and really into me. I know better than to be getting into anything at this time, but then I started to like him in spite of myself. And we decided to spend some time together, and it was really not that remarkable or life changing, except one conversation we had was so breathtakingly divine and wise that I thought, wow, I have absolutely misjudged this individual! Maybe I should allow myself to fall for him! But inconsistency nests in my brain, and it keeps digging at me so much that maybe I’m just better off being perfectly lonely. Can you believe this shit? Clearly I an awful person and undeserving of personal communication.

But I think my good karma is finally looking up. Screw thinking. I’m grabbing my good moments and seeing what happens. If you can tell me a better way to spend a cool Saturday than eating dinner made by someone who loves you very much, with beer and Incubus, I would love to hear it.

It was a good weekend with people who love me. How can you go wrong with that?
John Mayer has succeeded in building a certain persona for himself. Something about him oozes likeability and it’s hard to define simply why that is so. Maybe it’s because he got those breathy vocals, maybe it’s because he’s kind of brooding and his music inspires everyone to sing along, or maybe there is some other magic behind his charm. Whatever this indescribable effect is it simply drips off of with this track titled ‘Perfectly Lonely’ from his most recent album ‘Battle Studies’. John Mayer is an extremely prolific songwriter, performer and guitarist and he deserves a listen on this cold November evening.

Enjoy the track and have a good week.

Bon Voyage Ru Ru!

Ruan - coworker, best friend, and neighbor extraordinaire - leaves our fair city in a few days for 6 months in Canada. I'm terribly sad to see her leave but full of joy and pride for the panorama that awaits her. She’s been one of my favorite people, a wonderful friend, and I absolutely adore her. Just being in the same room with her is constant entertainment.
Any way I could try to describe Ruan would sound cliche, but she truly is an orb of energy, a force of nature, spirited and a tornado—all of those ways they describe characters in books, only this girl is the real deal. When we first met four years ago I had no idea that she'd become one of the most dazzling lights in my life. She's been my confidante, my shoulder to lean on, my sounding board - and most absolutely my true gal pal - and I hope that I've been all the same for her. I can't imagine a girl’s night, a holiday/office meal, a shopping trip, a visit to church, or a hangover without her. And I've been pampered by having such a great friend waiting for me every day at the office. We started college and then work at the same time so it’s gonna feel strange to stay on and not have her around anymore!

We did our unofficial going away for Ru last weekend and last night we had an official bon voyage celebration. We're definitely going to send her off with a bang. Or at the very least, a severe headache.

And we say goodbye to Ruan, although she'll be a part of our lives for a very long time. Runa and I wish her all the best and will welcome her back into our home and our happy hours anytime. Here’s to you, Ruan. Hope you find out all the cool stuff the new City has to offer. Hope you never have to worry about holding your liquor AND I hope you learn to swear constantly.

Here are some pictures of the farewell that took place last weekend, mostly because I’m really friggin tired and can’t think of anything more to say.


Also, you should listen to the Jamie Cullum’s new track, “Don’t Stop the Music” (Rihanna’s cover – tastefully done, might I add) while you look at them, because that’s what I listened to on repeat while I posted them. If I wasn’t so tired, I’d write more about the party, too. Sorry, internet. I’m slowin’ my roll these days.

We love you lots, Ruan. Our loss is Canada’s gain!

Picture The Past

On Saturday, Dad brought a couple of photos from my late grandfather’s, now lonely standing, house. These have been sitting in a pile in my grandma’s room, out of sight and out of mind. Dad’s shabby effort at a winter clean-up revealed some of our family’s old snapshots and I though that I’d very much like to share it with you.

I don't blog about my folks much these days. To a certain degree, because they read it, and for the most part, because I don't know where to start. My family has been through rough times of late. For a home that, a long time ago, was as interdependent as ours it is overwhelming to see it spacing out so wildly. And all this distancing won't end until each person takes responsibility for their own actions.

I've toiled my way through some very thorny insights which have left in me in essence as being the peace keeper, the intercession strategist, the one who’s supposed to understand everyone else. It troubles me deeply but that's where we rest. Possibly in time things will correct themselves. If they don't...well, I can learn to live with that.

This brings me back to the resurfacing of the mysterious photos. My grandma kept these by her for almost fifty years. After my grandpa died and my dad found them, I claimed them as my own. I didn't want to take the old album apart to scan in the photos, so pardon the less than super pictures.

Parents & siblings, circa 1987.
Perhaps looking at the pictures now is a reminder of how things used to be when everyone didn’t have to try so hard to be together. Maybe the people in these pictures will take a long glance at them now, commit to memory the way things used to be, recall what it was like to beam, and do justice to the man who hasn’t stop smiling ever since he found these carefully hidden pictures and kept us all together, for the longest time, in spite of ourselves.

Love you dad! Happy Birthday!
Switchfoot’s The Beautiful Letdown is among my favorite albums. I think it's a recipe of the music and the recollections. It was life altering for me. I picked it up in college, during my graduation, and it was with me through many changes. Their most awaited seventh studio album ‘Hello Hurricane’ and the lead single off it ‘Mess of me’ were released this year. While I was in doubt about ‘Hello Hurricane’ making it big on the music scene, I was curious. But damn, is it an experience. The thing about the track ‘Mess of me’ is that it exposes things about the band I never expected were there. Jon Foreman's vocals are perfect and who knew he had recorded so many solid solo tracks? The guitar work is insane. It sounds rougher, less polished, in this song. The rhythm section is solid, as usual. Listening to ‘Mess of me’ is like having the sand blown off an island exposing buried treasure chests. It makes a near perfect song that exposes the inner workings of a great album and a great band in the making.

Greetings, kids, this is Eve, assuming control of the EC Consulting Room for Irrational Bloggers for as long as your problem persists; which I’m hoping lasts forever. When I, as a writer started this space I told myself in no uncertain terms to generate at least one sizeable post a day. That's a nice thought, but when you've been at it for some time as I have, receiving and writing from inspiration is hard to come by. The weekend and week, however, provided me with an answer to the predicament, as it does in so many things. Voilà! Instant content.

I'm feeling out of sorts this week. I've been jam-packed with ideas and have been accumulating them all week. So here they are...collected, on the face of it random posts that drop a tiny spot of illumination on the absurdity that I call ‘being’.

I celebrated Halloween by watching the John Cusack movie titled ‘1408’, and due to my heavy dose of antibiotics, I passed out on my bed till late Saturday morning.
The weekend began at Van Huesen with Ruan where there was a sort of impromptu shopping binge, with bloody expensive things being bought, and some people offering to carry our bags a couple of times. I performed my one and only trick which was washing down 10 grand in a couple of minutes, and then listening to my mom, much later, who steadily tore my ears apart with a long talk about ‘savings’.

Last night I made it for a quiet evening at Ruan’s home along with Runa and Tony. We ate Arabic food, chugged down beer, spoke until the wee hours of the morning, found ourselves roaming the apartment complex at nearly 1 in the morning, then hopping into the children’s park with Tony, who then proceeded to join me on one of the kiddie rides, and is therefore sort of my hero.

On Sunday, I met blogger Anupama in person, at one of my favourite places.

Anupama was one of the first blogs I started following when I joined the world of blogging. Apart from being pretty good at what she does, Anupama has one of the best smiles I have ever seen on a human being. Not to mention, she is absolutely gorgeous and she is kind of girl who anyone would just love at first meeting. So, here’s a shout out to her, for the wonderful conversation on a lovely Sunday afternoon. For sitting through the three hours of our meeting, and for hating most of the same stuff I do to a degree I thought only I could summon. Buddy, you’re all right.
Have y’all ever heard of Sufjan Stevens? I bet most of you haven't. He's one of my new favorite vocalists and one of the most appallingly unheard of artists in the world. Stevens was part of the folk revival in Indie pop yet never fell strictly into this genre. His sixth solo album - The Avalanche: Outtakes and Extras from the Illinois - showed up while I was going through the music I had. When I saw it, I uploaded this track 'Henney Buggy Band' immediately and without deliberation. It's dazzling. Stevens has an insanely cool, touching voice and his songs are stunning and warm. If you've never heard of this guy, give him a shot. I can almost assure you'll like what you hear.

Caught The Ick

I came home sick Friday evening. I never do that. Although, truth be told, my physical condition and the prospects of making it through the day were both uncertain when I woke up on Saturday. I planned the things I would do this weekend – finally meet a blogger friend, make it to my ex boyfriend’s birthday party and try my best to relax just a tad in the meanwhile.

Saturday night, my body finally broke down and I ended up spending two excruciating days in bed. I had massive chest congestion and a soaring fever. I've been popping medication like Anna Nicole Smith all week. And today I finally feel better. Except for some strange explanation, I can't hear out of my right ear. I'm sorta hopeful that goes away in a little while.

Other than that, nothing earth-shattering occurred. Just a thread of slightly crappy moments which, held collectively, made a pretty unlikable past few days. And I felt like shit. The puzzling illness that's going around smacked me. I realized it when I was speaking and couldn't hear myself. So, that blows.

Yet, it's not awful.

I've got to head back to bed now and get all the rest I can in order to make it into work tomorrow and I'm not exactly looking forward to it. But what helps is the knowledge that I'm not in it alone, that my folks are around to take care of me and also, its payday tomorrow as well as the start to a very nice weekend.

On a side note, make sure to sit down when you first listen to “Waking in the dark” by Polish Indie rock band ‘Hatifnats’. Like a prize at the bottom of the Cracker Jack box, this track offers up its own little surprise. While most Hatifnats’ music tends to be quite dark – and this track doesn’t break that pattern – there are pieces of vividness interposed with passionate liveliness. Maybe the band will finally get the attention it deserves. Maybe not. But if you like excellent, radical, bold music, ‘Waking in the dark’ should most certainly be on you list of new releases to pick up. This track was my first introduction to their music and I was wowed by them. They are certainly worth checking out!
(Taken at a friend's place. A traditional Naga basket adorned with monkey skulls)

If it’s at all relevant to the place in which you live, don't forget to turn the clocks back on the 31st! And happy Halloween in advance. Remember, you're supposed to fright the crap out of yourselves with terrifying movies. I don't want to be the only one not able to sleep that night!

Have you ever had one of those moments in which you're sure your life will end? You know the kind when there's-no-possible-way-that-I-didn't-breathe-my-last kind of moment. I have one that I was, for some reason, thinking about yesterday.

When I was at the capital one day, we were stuck in traffic at one side of the mountain. And if you’ve ever seen these roads in Kohima, you’ll know that they are too narrow for two cars to travel beside each other. So while I was sitting in my sis’ Gypsy waiting for the cars to move my twin announces that there are rocks falling. We thought it was a joke until I saw a few more boulders rumbling down the side of the hill. Luckily, our driver didn’t wait to make sure if it was true and quite skillfully overtook the car in front of us, damaging it only slightly. Needless to say the boulders didn’t do much damage. We managed to bail before it would have made contact. A few scratches to the vehicle was much better than the alternative.

The landslide almost killed me. But it didn't, and I guess that's the important thing. And the fact that every so often - on the odd occasion - you stumble upon the absolute perfect getaway. I mean, just right that you have to punch yourself to make sure that what's happening is genuine, that it isn't some kind of cruel reverie that makes reality pale in comparison. This was just such a trip. Two weeks. Yes, I was off - as in not working - for a whopping two weeks. And now I'm back at work. I'm sad. But I guess the holiday couldn't go on eternally. For one thing, I'd be poor and I have the feeling I wouldn't like living off my parents’ money. I don't think they’d understand my need to update the wardrobe every other week.
Hailing from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Amos Lee’s, third and most recent full length album “Last Days at the Lodge” contains a track titled "What's Been Going On". You can check out the track below this post. He has a lot of hype to live up to; especially after being named one of Rolling Stone's “Top 10 Artists to Watch”. This track does the talking for him.

This whole getting back to work after a vacation is exhausting! Let's see. Where did I leave off...?

This time it was to the villages Kisama and Tupema for some ethnic Angami food (a tribe that lives in large numbers at the capital, Kohima) and the Mr. Big show at Dimapur. The food? Good. The show? Excellent.

We saw them after nearly 6 hours of waiting at the venue and, while loud, it was amazing. Yes, I'm very well aware that most of B’lore had already witnessed the band on 10th but still - amazing. After a long tiring night and turning down an invitation to make to the band’s after party, my friends and I headed back home and passed out.

There was more shopping, more walking and a couple of visits to one of my favorite places in the capital - Dream Cafe. For those of you scratching your heads – it’s a café… at the top of the hill. You can actually get yourself one of those special seats in the café, which overlook the entire valley. It’s a fantastic place - they advertise new bands, old bands, mostly local.

The food was fabulous. But can I tell you how much I ate? Um, no. There aren't sufficient words in the English language to convey how much I devoured. It was painful to get up and walk. But I managed.
Mornings started nice and early (6 a.m) with red tea, heavy brunch and then it’s out on the town at 12. Kohima was chilly and a bit rainy but it always cleared up. We caught an exhibition at the museum. We meandered through the shopping areas that sold knock-off designer items and the busy roads, attempting to make it to the topmost part of the mountain but we got sidetracked. The houses, the people, the little waterfalls...they were all gorgeous. Then the drive back, which helped the sore legs and stops to check out the local fast food joint that created pizzas to perfection.

So, we've walked more miles than god but my work here is not done. I’ve got tons write about and show. More, of course, later...
I'll admit, I haven't listened to much this week. But the past two weeks have seen the release of a near-flawless albums – Battle Studies by John Mayer. Seriously. Flawless. Unless you're a raging gangsta rap fan, I can almost guarantee you'll dig the track 'Who Says'. Give it a listen. You'll like it. This might just be his most mature, well-developed album yet in the catchy department.
Mayer also mentions that this song sounds best between “8pm-3am on Friday and Saturday nights”.

But before hitting play, I have a job for you:
- If you've got a blog, pimp it in the comments, lurkers and non-lurkers alike.
- If you know of a site everyone should be reading - your own or someone else's - open up the comments box and let me and the people who visit this page know about it.

Thank you all for checking in while I was out of town. If I haven't responded to your email, my apologies. I'll have some quality time with my Gmail account tomorrow and the coming weekend! Until then, goodnight from B’lore City.

It is I, Eve.

Step away from the edge, folks! Your lives have meaning again!

Yes, after taking a couple of weeks off to Nagaland, I’m back and very eager to brave the employment storm. Yesterday, I obsessively checked the weather to see if the heavy rains would prevent me from flying out on my 4 p.m. flight. Fortunately the rains stopped for awhile leaving a nice window of decent weather during which I could make my escape. Of course, that didn't prevent me from being stuck inside the plane for more than 3 hours because of an extra stop-over at Hydrebad! But I won't get started on my customer service tirade. The vein in my forehead only smoothed back down to skin level a few hours ago.

As for the reunion with family over there after a year, things couldn't have gone better. Everyone got along beautifully. The trip felt like a proper close to 25 and it's starting to feel like "back to school" time here.

I feel like I have more to share - and I know I'm way behind on posts and music - but my brain is a pulp from a very relaxing holiday and the thought of getting up tomorrow morning to go to the office only makes me want to veg out at home with mum and dad. I'm anxiously counting the minutes until I can go back to bed! Details on the trip coming up very soon. I want to thank Pete for guest blogging while I was away and I did do the whole walk through knee-high grass and I have a shot of the place too.

(It was on my way from the capital to Dimapur.)

When my aunt gave me a CD of an upcoming naga artist called Alo Wanth, with a big grin on her face I just knew it’s going to be impressive. And trust me, impressive it is.

Honestly I’m not sure if there is anything I would change about this song. Let’s see. It’s over four minutes. It’s distinctive. It changes moods and builds up emotions in you that can only be described as exhilarating. It has Alo Wanth dripping his voice all over for good measure. Really, I mean really, is there anything even slightly substandard about this song? For those of you that care you can go ahead and listen to it. Enjoy.

I do not have enough time

Eve is out, wading through knee high grass in a white dress that just about touches her shin head held up high arms stretched out- as if she is trying to capture as much of the moment as she could. Ok that's what I imagine her doing on her hiatus. So, until then you've got me to keep the music playing. Well, I am Peter and i do have a journal (http://shouldifollow.livejournal.com) that i have not updated in what seems like eternity- the reason being "I do not have enough time".

There are a lotta things I do not do these days, like stopping by at the corner for a quick bite at my favorite Samosa Place or walk down the street when it's raining. I do not know why I stopped doing what I loved doing not so long ago. So, I've decided to travel a lot, start a band (this is just wishful thinking) work hard and have enough ways to spend all that i earn (not big on the idea of saving).

Ever since I've heard of this place Bhagsu from a friend of mine I've been wanting to go there. So, Bhagsu is first on my list of go to places in India. Do let me know if you've heard or been to a place in India that I need to add to my list.

We The Living.

A band that believes that the best way to get their music out to the people is by playing live concerts. We the living a melodic, alternative rock band that's been making some wonderful music since April 2007 with songs like Sound of love (http://songza.fm/~d0bajv) and my favorite Best Laid Plans (http://songza.fm/~3ege5b). The words to their songs are anything but put together in a hurry, much thought is put into the words as is to the melody. A song to listen to - is their remarkable cover of Thom Yorke's Black Swan.

The Cold’s Come

I get comfortable at home with hot chocolate and the glow of my laptop screen. The two days at work has already me burned out, and it seems like the coming vacation will become the only time for me to relax at a stretch, the only time I can enjoy the outside with some red tea in bamboo mugs served by my very awesome aunt.

Summer has come and gone. How does the time pass so quickly? Did I imagine I’d be here, at this stage in life, a year ago? Not at all.

I never realized how much I missed the last four months of the year, until it started getting cold.

I’m already in vacation mode. Sure, I have one day of work left — Thursday — and a holiday – Friday- to pack but my brain has checked out. I can’t wait to get back to the busy markets, taste the authentic food smelling of bamboo shoot and fermented soy beans, and browse the endless shops. I want to ask my bro-in-law’s sister, Naro, so much, and talk about the upcoming concert with her. I wish there was something I could give her that she could keep, similar to the oriental patterned dress she gave me that I’ve almost never taken off ever since I received it. There’s an almost indescribable feeling that’s conjured up in my mind when I think of the rivers and lakes, the crowds of people, the very ethnic faces.

I’ve wanted a vacation, from both the good and bad in my life, for so long. Just to get away from absolutely everything going on right now would be helpful, almost like a self-forced banishment.
I’m not really sure what to expect from my visit, although I think that I’ll be changed ever so delicately, maybe subliminally. One can rarely walk away from such things without being affected in some way. I just don’t know how this may change me. I don’t have any questions. I’m not looking for answers.

I’m just waiting to find out.
Here’s a song that I’ve found quite recently and I hope you like it to. In 2007, the band Sixx:A.M released an album called ‘The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack’. And I am taken with the sound they create. The track ‘Life is beautiful’ is great and I’ve been listening to it on and off for at least a couple of days now and I still think it’s good. Overall Sixx:A.M has captured Hard Rock music and made it something clever and appealing, steering clear of the ever-present predictability that pull down so many other bands. Enjoy the track I’ve put up here and rest assured that the rest of their music is just as addictive.

Birthday Chow Down

I'm not dead. At least, I don't think so. But I'm worn out, elated and deliriously pleased from a week of all around enjoyment.
I had the most excellent time at my birthday dinner on Thursday. 10 of the best friends in the world, amazing food, ass-kicking alcohol, music and laughing...I couldn't have asked for a better celebration. I’m lucky enough to be continually encircled by friends who care for me and who are absolutely witty, except for when I want to be myself and do my serial season marathon in bed, I constantly change my look, and I kick ass at Foosball. If I ever grumble, I want you to stare angrily and wordlessly point at me until I behave myself.

I woke up with only the smallest amount of an annoyance on Friday and was proud of myself for not having a hangover. It took turning twenty six for me to finally become a responsible partier and not overindulge. Go Eve!

On Saturday night, I saw a play titled ‘Proof’ by David Auburn (based on the Anthony Hopkins-Gwyneth Paltrow movie), starring my best friend, Runa. The piece was flawless. I think the piece rises above the even the smallest of flaws to become highly gratifying theater. I may or may not post a review about this later, but by far my favorite actors were the older gentleman who played Anthony Hopkins’ role and my best friend Runa who played Gwyneth Paltrow’s. It was the first time I had seen her onstage and I was completely blown away by her performance. It was exquisite.

Thank you all for your birthday messages! You're the bestest readers ever!

And lest we forget, thank you to my parents for getting busy one evening in 1982 and having the bestest gametes ever!

And that's the lowdown on why I'm so run down. But for a change, I'm run down in a nice way. And very soon I'll be even more nicely run down. On Saturday night, I will fly across the pond and spend 2 weeks in the north-east with some of my best (or worst) partners in crime. Stay tuned.

For those of you who just found my blog take a minute to peruse other posts here at Evuhleen’s Corner. I hope you enjoyed yourself this so far, the rest of 2009 is sure to bring something amazing to everyone.

And, yes, this still is a music blog so let’s get down to the tune for today. Legendary band Mr. Big is going to take the stage at Palace Grounds on October 10 in B’lore which means I won’t be able to see them here which also means that I get to catch them at Shillong and Dimapur on 12th and 14th. You didn’t think I was actually gonna miss their show, did ya? You cannot deny the awesomeness of an Eric Martin song. I could spend an hour describing the overpowering, thrilling experience of listening to or watching a Mr. Big show live, but nothing compares to actually witnessing it and that is exactly what I’m going to do. If you ever get the chance, see the band live, I can guarantee that you’ll never forget it.

'Lucky this time', my lovely readers.

26 Ahoy!

Tomorrow, at 9:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, I will turn 26.

Happy birthday to me!

New age.

New clothes.

New haircut*.

*Couldn’t show you my entire face or you’d notice the bags under my eyes. I've only just returned from a long day at work. And lawd knows I ain't twenty no mo'.

I'm still grooving on Telepopmusik. It's not magically brilliant or anything but it's strong, and damn catchy. The ultimate find, though, has to be this track titled ‘Naked as we came’, part of the 2004 release by Indie Rock-Folk band Iron & Wine. These guys are phenomenal. Like punch yourself in the face because you so regret not discovering them sooner good. Nothing short of brilliant. I dare you – listen to this track.

The Run Up

I’m supposed to be packing for my trip next week. So far I’ve given myself a haircut, bought myself birthday clothes, started following an exercise routine and made two separate to-do lists. Trying to pack appropriate clothing for three different climates is a little harder than I anticipated. “Layering” does not start to explain this. I wish I was Faith Evans so I could just wear a bikini and a fur vest the whole time but I’d hate to overdress.

So, I’m going to be turning 26 this Thursday. I guess I need to buy eye cream or something? But not lose it for not being on the marriage or the baby train.
As I was shopping at ‘Lifestyle’ over the weekend there was this mother who was in the trial room, trying to reason with her impressionable teenager daughter, that she needed to wear something that made her look young, and I couldn’t help exhaling noisily and discontentedly at the woman as I walked away. It’s okay; I’m sure all kinds of karma will visit her tenfold, probably in the form of puke - which has nothing to do with marriage or babies but I’m so friggin’ pissed at that woman for saying that to her daughter in front of strangers. It’s a good thing I wasn’t stoned, because I’d have never made it out of that mall without giving her a black eye.

Sis tells me that Mr. Big will be playing in Dimapur on October 14 - the icing on this cake (more on that to come). I don’t know what’s happened, someone gave up their voodoo doll of me or Mars and Venus took a break or something, but this past week has been amazing. I got to hang out with my favourite blues band of all time, hung out with my two favourite friends, watched ‘Up’, shopped a lot and ate a lot more.

P:S- My sister called from Nagaland. Haven’t spoken to her in weeks and I miss my niece. News is she might be pregnant. ‘Might’ being the high-flying word here but I’m already imagining another kid looking as amazing as my niece.

Once upon a time there was a vocalist, record producer, songwriter, musician, author, and actress named Nona Hendryx. She recorded a single called ‘Transformation’ in 1983 (incidentally, the year I was born in). I heard it and instantly fell in love with the song. I played it over and over because it was, and still is, insanely great. I also found a cover of ‘Transformation’ by Pam Grier, Miss Hendryx and the band BETTY. If possible, that version kicks more ass than the original and the original was damn good. It’s a catchy, driving, soul-funk rock song. Listen to the track, thank me later.