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!