April 20, 2009

The Week I Worked Too Much, Met Someone New and Finally Bought a New Toy

I was starting to become increasingly unavailable for anything fun thanks to my job (which threatens to wipe away all signs of a smile on my face, this will be discussed later), so when my manager at the old office called, inviting me to dinner I did what any rational-minded overworked employee would do- Accept it! My first job was at a radio station and my manager and old friend, Geoffrey, was leaving the station to return home to Chennai. I believed that some good karma had wanted me to take a well-deserved break for putting up with my completely bizarre work so, I decided to go for it and ended the call feeling like no good deed ever went unpunished.

I hurriedly left work on Thursday night, blazed my way home for a quick shower, then met up with a couple of ex-radio jockeys and headed for dinner at Jaymahal Palace. We were at the venue quite early and I figured that I could make better conversation if I filled my shy and nervous body with a few Screwdrivers. The boss wasn’t happy with just seeing me wolfing down a few so he ordered for more and then my mind was filled with animated visions of drinking wildly, saying quaint and humorous things while eating assorted meats and peanuts, and gulping down a strange green welcome drink. During my disoriented state I was interrupted by a guy who had just walked up to the table. Once he sat down, I patiently waited for an introduction but my ex colleague, wanted to tell me something important and before I knew it the introductions were over and welcome drinks were being passed around. Great! I just missed meeting Mr. Good Looking! Weakly, I turned back to my old friend and we continued our conversation.

Every now and then I would steal a glance at him and think that he reminded me of everything good with echoes of 'He's Different'. Ruggedly handsome, broad across the shoulders with a football player's build and even I didn’t need to be sober to dial 1-800-Dial-a-Psychic to tell me that he was breaking my heart into a million little mushies. Where was this guy when I was working at the radio station and actually looking for true love?
Should I give him a smile or walk up to him? He laughs at somebody who just said something funny and I wish I could’ve said something funnier that would get him to laugh like that again. I don't know if that amounts to being childish or just being really hopeless. I drink more greedily and the alcohol works its way into my brain. I’m figuring out our song, that love-dovey mess, ‘I can’t make you love me’. I'll muster up some courage, a piss-pant crybaby who should’ve been voted “Shyest Person" in high school, to tell him how I feel. And we'll run away together, like Bonnie and Clyde, and makeup and breakup, and makeup and breakup until I'm sent to tv soap-opera hell to say cheesy lines like, "Darling, where for art thou?"

For once, the alcohol’s not working in my favour. It’s making me act too withdrawn. I finally give up…I haven’t made any progress and I’m drunk. I can feel the intoxicant coursing through my veins and knew nothing good was going to come of tonight so I decided to leave. My ex-colleagues offered to drop me home and I accepted. I just wanted the dreadful night to end.

Colleague 1: Hey man did you notice the hottie sitting in front of you?
Me: Who didn’t?
Colleague 2: Yeah, he was quite the looker.
Colleague 1: You should’ve made conversation with our side of the table.
Me: Who me?
Colleague 1: Yeah, you!
Me: Why? Did you feel left out? I’m so sorry if I didn’t talk to you. I thought you were busy talking to the other guys at the table so I just kept Colleague 2 busy with my amusing banter.
Colleague 1: Oh, I was busy making conversation. But I just wanted to tell you that you were being checked out by the cutie at the table.
Me: Really!!!???!!!
Colleague: Yeah… but I guess it’s kinda late for you to make any moves.
Me: Thanks!

And I haven’t stopped beating myself up for it, well not after I realized that I cannot always have things going my way with the good men out there, so I’d get myself something looking closer to perfection. That’s what I did on Saturday; I got myself this new baby-
It wasn’t an impulsive buy. No no, I’m not that rich. But it came highly rated and recommended. It seemed not only to be a quality product, but affordable too. Of course, I also spent the extra money for the extended warranty. No matter what type of camera you plan on purchasing, I suggest, from personal experience, that you do the same. Once I purchased the camera, I couldn't wait to take it out of the box. Then, I couldn't wait to take my first picture. The LCD screen size is a 3 inch, which is a little bit larger than most other digital cameras. The buttons are also easy to use; in fact, they are so easy to use that just about anyone can learn to use the camera, in a matter of minutes. Of course, it is also important to concentrate on the additional features. The Kodak Z1015 IS is a 10 Mega Pixel camera. It has an internal memory of 64 MB. The total zoom range for the camera is 75X which includes 15X optical and 5X digital. This is important because I was told that digital cameras, especially if they create larger sized pictures, need to have both a digital zoom and an optical zoom. So, I’ve attached the supplied shoulder strap and voila....I’m ready to go snap away at anything that moves.

I wish I was a bigger fan of Depeche Mode because they are absolutely brilliant. There, I said it. So I thought I’d troll the internet and find a great track by these guys to cheer everyone up in what has become a bit of a rough stretch for the world. Now, it would be best if you simply click on the link below to listen/download this track and ignore what I’m saying. The song is delightful. Wait for it.