About A Guy

I don’t know what exactly makes you want to be with someone. Since the age of eighteen, I've had somewhere between two and nine, depending on how you add it up. I try not to. Not very far back, I was certain that being in a relationship was crappy, that people in long-term relationships were reserved and uninteresting. In my brain, insistent singleness was the way to go. I was having a splendid time, going out for fancy dinners and coffee dates. But was it dating? There weren't several definite dates. But whatever I was doing, it was fun. And I liked being alone. The plans I had with whoever was to only put off the idea of commitment, not encourage it.

Then came along Long-Distance Guy.

And the fact that he lives in a different city makes me feel like I’m going to explode at times. If this were the movie it started out as, we'd have been holding each other right now. But despite the awfulness of distance we’re trying. There are times when I’ve said, "Eff it, I can do without this," and then he says, "I'll call you tonight, okay?"
And he does. We speak, and I realize that for the moment neither of us are going anywhere. Even if he isn’t with me, he will be soon.

Like most women in the history of life on earth, I imagined that if there were someone for me; it would be some blazing, angry rock star. I predicted feelings stimulated by rage, cruel immorality, and alcohol abuse. (I don't know where I got any of this. I think I was allowed to watch The Doors once.) But that's not Long-Distance Guy.
Once, I heard that having someone in your life isn't about holding a try out for guys for the role; it's about finding someone you care enough about to write the part for.

Writing about this movie I had seen years ago titled "Once" almost feels like treachery: It's such an unpretentious, ordinary film - two people falling in love - which should be the simplest kind of story to tell, but I fear I might constrict it by reviewing it.
And it’s not just the acting and the story that’s excellent, but also the music. The track ‘If you want me’ in the movie  is full of longing, the tuneful song shifting like water against a shoreline, and shutting my eyes, I dream of making it to Ireland. But for now I'll settle for listening to the songs from the soundtrack, which I got from a colleague.

It’s been a privilege to be able to bring music to all of you. Thank you to everyone who has stopped by or is currently following this web page. And, as always, enjoy the music.

Return from Vacationing

It's been two days since I returned from Pondicherry. I've just about finished sorting out my pictures and I’ve buckled down to write a short review of my trip. At least the baggage has been unpacked, though some of the stuff is spread across my room floor. I've also got to clean up the mess I left before I went on my trip, which includes mail, CDs and books.

Of course, the CDs and books should be a pleasure to deal with.

I'm finally home from my awfully splendid adventure in Pondicherry. Frankly, it's rather modest when compared to the journey of travelers I met along the way, but to me, it was more than splendid. I spent a little over three days in a place I'd never been to before; I walked, swam, ate, visited museums, roamed, gossiped, drank, bought books and danced; and I spent a lot of time on my own. I'd never had a journey - physical or emotional - like this one before. There were many things I did that I hadn't done very often, if at all. One of them was studying the place and the people around me and I saw many things I didn't before. It's true; we fail to remember to marvel at ourselves, the living that fills the area between oceans and mountains.

Travel is about taking on new experiences: food you've never eaten, languages you've never spoken, religious and historical stories you've never even heard of. To decline any offer at all — a spontaneous invitation to a rave near the outskirts in Pondicherry, a swig of some wine at the beach — is to deny the very spirit of adventure, and so I declined nothing.

It was hard to leave Pondi and return to B’lore where I need to get back to the old routine. I hardly used the computer during the long weekend; now I'm back to reading the news, blogs and music reviews. But I’m glad I impulsively took off for a holiday. I was thinking about how to fill a void that had been created sometime before. There were things missing in my life, and I needed something really different from my ordinary life. And I got what I needed on this journey. I experienced plenty of lonely, worrying moments, but also discovered much happiness and indulged my curiosity. I knew that my heart had returned to me at last, or perhaps it was that I had returned to it. And I'm glad it happened at the start of summer.

Within walking distance of the Aurobindo Ashram, one of Pondi’s French styled colonies. It's a beautiful pavement you can't quite miss, and it fits so perfectly with the rest of the architecture in this part of the city. When I first saw it, I stopped in my tracks. This was the first stop my traveling companions and I made upon entering the city. I rather wished B’lore could have roads like this.

Travel Tip: Hide money strategically in various places of your bags and in your underwear.
Which has to make you wonder- has all the cash at one point been cleverly concealed in someone's underwear??

The track that I’m playing here today has incidentally been on repeat in my playlist for the past few days. It’s from the soundtrack of “Once”. It's a sad one, and if you've read this blog long enough, you'll know that sad songs are the kind that hit me hardest.

Listen to it here and make of it what you will.

And since I love twist of fate and chance connections, I have to mention that it wasn't until my friend talked about "Once - How often do you find the right person?" and how much he loved it that I decided I should get round to watching it. The movie is set in Dublin and is about two struggling artists, whose performances are passionate and so wonderfully real. The movie is so authentic that it makes the experience of watching it, quite unexpected. It's about that one chance that’s being pushed at you or one that is subtly offered up and is then taken away. Fate is amusing and crazy that way and so songs like these describe it all. It gives a nice tune to something that could possibly be tragic.