Fun Times

Stinson Beach, California

A New Decade

As the new year drew ever closer, my thoughts reflected back to the start of 2009, thoughts of new beginnings, new opportunities, new possibilities, resolutions, hope. Of the past that I wanted to leave behind and of the future that I had wanted to embrace. Nothing turned out the way I had anticipated for 2009. Failure after failure. One bad news after the other. There was no stopping the deluge. It had probably been the lowest I had ever been in my life so far. So as another new year approached, my thoughts went back. My hopes for the coming year again began to lift. But I always had a bad feeling in the back of my head about another let down, and I was very wary of what I hoped for.

But then, when I tried to pen down my experiences of 2009, I remembered all the good things that had happened in the most unexpected ways possible. I would say that I had never had a better time in my life till now. Of the best time that I got to spend with my family after a long long time. The small but memorable vacation we had, after what could very well be said as ages. The opportunity that came my way unexpectedly, of meeting my dearest old friends whom I haven't seen in about half a decade. My small but very good spiritual trip to the various religious places in India.
Then an unexpected but very pleasant visit by a dear old friend. The amazing weekends we had together, which were just becoming better and better every week. Then a long hiatus to the East Coast that I had been looking forward to for a long time.
In short, 2009 for me has been kind of an eye opener. It gave me time to think of some events of the past. It taught me a lot too in terms of economical living and the value of money. It made me see the wide disparity present in society today. It made me think a lot. It reunited me with some of the best friends that I am sure not to lose touch again with. It showed me that some things in life are just not meant to be, while others will come into your life weather you like it or not. The difference lies in the fact weather you welcome them happily like you welcome old pals or you detest them like unwanted guests.
As for 2010, there already has been a very pleasant and unexpected surprise visit by another very dear friend whom I have literally not seen in a decade. I hope that the rest of 2010 is as much fun as 2009 was, if not better. And I wish the same for everyone of you. I know its quiet late but, Happy New Year to you all.

The Art of Parting

I finally found the article that I promised you I would find. Yes I'm talking about my tenth class English composition about the art of saying goodbyes. No, I didn't google it :), although that was the first thing I tried and it showed me some really weird results. I know few of you guys and gals, with whom I had the pleasure of sharing my last few memorable days at school, do follow my blog. I hope you will be happy to read this beautiful article, which was one of the few last amazing compositions given to us by Padmaja Ma'm, again. So here it goes,

Everyone wants to make a good first impression. But have you ever thought the importance of the last impression? A well delivered farewell can secure a friendship forever. A well chosen exit line can close a business deal.
In any walk of life, dealing with partings partings positively and optimistically is not just a matter of good form, it is the way to make the last impression as memorable as the first. There's an art to leave taking and it can be learned. Good byes should be imprints of individual personalities. If you are the strong silent type, you don't have to be flowery or sentimental. A firm handshake, a straight look in the eye, or a simple "I'll miss you" is enough. The essential thing is to make the moment an impression of yourself and your feelings.
Goodbyes mark important changes. A goodbye signals a change, and change is rarely easy... Sometimes it breaks our hearts. When we sever ties with people, places and things we love,a thread of our own being is cut.
Goodbyes needn't always be in words. When you are tongue tied, a simple embrace or kiss is more poignant than overripe words. Touch has always been the most magical means for sealing people together. They can be momentous. The most meaningful goodbye gift is imbued with some measure of yourself. They come from the heart.
The final goodbye, of course, is death. Often the one departing has no chance to big farewell (really ...! :).. I very vividly remember saying this in my head during that exam). Few of us can compose a farewell statement eloquently, but then, we don't have to. All we need to do is speak honestly and sincerely from our hearts. That's the real secret of Good Byes.

I don't know if my English teacher has written this on her own or taken it from somewhere else. All credits go to the original creator of this article. Any comments will be most appreciated. Here's a nice song to go with it.

Lessons learnt in life

I have come up with a few "lessons well learned" in my life so far. Its not a complete list but a good list nevertheless. Hope you find them interesting and useful too.

1. If everything is going very smooth, check everything again.

When everything around you seems impeccable and when you can see nothing in your path towards that small speck of light which is your door to success, check everything and make sure that the small speck of light you see is not actually a mirror reflecting the actual door to success, which is on a completely different path, strewn around with every hurdle you can ever think of. Life is never fair to anyone and as Calvin says, its never ever unfair in your favor (hope you got that).

2. You never get everything you ask for.

Oh yeah, this is so very true and I've had so much experience in it. If you wish for a few things to happen, the most insignificant of those would happen for sure not matter what, but your dearest wish that you wanted to be true will never happen no matter how much you yearn or however long you wait for it to happen. There may have been exceptions for others, but not for me. Yet.

3. Girls are hard to understand and are unpredictable.

Well I've had limited experience in this category, but whatever experience I've had will surely last me a lifetime.
[Didn't find a suitable picture for this...Any suggestions are welcome.]

4. Never lose you confidence.

Never ever in you entire life, not even for a minute, should you think that you are a loser. There are times in your life when you get lucky and accomplish something great, that even you thought you would never be able to do. Use such accomplishments in you favor by thinking that you got it right because you are good at what you do, not because you got lucky (sometimes that's what is actually true and you are being modest 'bout it). Build up your confidence. But its also very important to not be overconfident and put too much on your plate than you can eat.

5. Be optimistic.

Being optimistic almost aways goes hand in hand with being confident. But there is a slight difference. Being optimistic in the face of trouble doesn't actually mean that you should always think positive. In my opinion, it means that you should always be on the look out for those negative (pessimistic) effects too but be positive (optimistic) about them and think of solutions to solve problems. Being confident is believing in yourself that you can achieve those solutions.

6. Treasure your friends

There are a few situations in life when you feel lonely and helpless, when you are beyond the reach of any family or when although you are in reach of family, you can't ask them for any help. Only person that can come to your aid at such times is a friend. Never lose them, for they are not something which can be found if lost. Friends never ask for much, only a 'hi' or a 'hello' once in a while will ensure an everlasting friendship.

There are more but these are the ones that came to my mind right away. As a reader if you disagree with any, or if you want to add to the list, you are welcome to start a discussion.

People and Places...!

Sorry for the long silence guys but have been a little busy lately with work and yeah, what I've been fearing for a long time happened a few days ago, my faithful old laptop died. I hope I'll be able to revive it back. Anyways, enough of my disquiets. What I wanted to write today is about "People and Places". How certain People and certain Places can change your life, change the way you think, the way you look at others, the way you live, the way you talk and hear things and the way you feel. Yeah, how they can change your life altogether.
I've been fortunate enough to have traveled a lot (well atleast more than an average person in India), and live in almost drastically different social and economic environments so far in my life. I am happy for how my life has molded me so far regarding most aspects of my character, but the others, I don't know if I'll ever be able to change them. I was born and bought up in a small village in India, but not long after I moved out of it an landed in a small township, and then later in one of the largest cities in India followed by a small city later, where I spent the last year of my life before flying away from my beloved home country.
It was in that small city, that I learnt life's most important lessons and met some of the most beautiful people in my life so far. When I say beautiful, I don't (only) mean physical beauty, which is but skin deep. It was in that city that I lived away from my family, alone, for the first time ever. I used to look forward for a call from mom/dad and also to meet my sweet and beautiful sis on weekends who was staying in a hostel then (I stayed as a paying guest for a year). I made some good and ever lasting friends during those last 3 years of schooling (high school). I never had developed close friendship with people before, 'coz by the time I was close to them and was at the point of trusting them, we used to move to a different place. But this place was different, it didn't take long for me to trust people here. My best year in the place was the academic year of 98-99 when I was in hostel.
I learned and experienced the term sacrifice and felt the joy that comes from helping your friends. The loyalty and trust we had developed was absolute. That was the year when I had some crushes for the first time and realised it. Had some daring adventures, challenging some unlikely people (our warden :-)) and taking care of friends when they were low. That place taught me what it was to love and be loved. It showed me the pain of loss.
When I moved out of the city to go to the neighboring place for the next two years, I saw how difficult it was to find faithful friends like I had back at school. I had not been so close to my parents, as I've been with my friends during those years. Those were the years when I developed an "Independent Lifestyle" kind of attitude. I no longer depended on other people to make my decisions, in some cases not even my parents. That has taken me a long way in my mostly successful life so far. I've never forgotten those friends and never will.
Fast-forward 4 years down my memory lane and I was in the land of opportunities. My independent lifestyle helped me a lot to get settled into the new place and make some nice new friends here too. Los Angeles was kind of a dream come true for me. I have always wanted to be able to go to the beach often. The university and the social life were so different here yet so much more fun. The competition here was fierce, yet I fared well and was happy for it until I lost something which I had been yearning for years. It was then that I saw how much of an introvert and reserved person I am, and how much I hesitate when it comes to some decisions, and how less about my life, I discuss with my faithful friends. But what is lost is lost forever and I cannot get it back, and I think since then I've been living life the way I should have been for a long time.

Thanks a lot friends for being there for me and giving me hope whenever I was in need of it. Thank you all very much for all your support and encouragements. And thanks a lot for for being my friend...

Nostalgia

So what the nostalgia is about?? Well I was going through some very old picture collection I had, and came across the pictures from my school. Such beautiful days those were. We didn't have anything to worry about, nothing to disrupt the fun we had in the hostel, nothing to dampen our spirits (except the early morning yoga classes ..which I am thankful for now :-|).

I can still visualize our dorm room and my friends. The brightest playing plastic-ball-exam-pad cricket with the youngest kids in the hostel...The strongest busy with his paintings in another corner...And the sanest busy in his own thoughts in yet another corner...and a few others, Juniors, (who used to practically stay in our:10'th class; dorm) sitting and chatting. The shrieks and yells of the girls who used to stay in the floor below. And the puffs of smoke coming from the kitchens in a yet, another floor below.

The weekends were something we used to enjoy the most. Trying to be rebels by playing the only game yet the best, which was banned for us: Cricket, keeping a kid on the watch for us. Booing and calling out to our friends who used to wander by our windows. People trying to talk to their girlfriends away from the prying eyes of the wardens.

That was the place where I met some of my best friends to date, those friends who have always been there for me, always helped me and always encouraged me. The best part was the school itself, which taught me some of the best lessons in life. That was the place where I was a student to the best teachers ever.

But that was a long time ago. Times have changed. And like everything else, the school has changed with time. Like everything the school has also been the target of a cataclysm called development. The hostel has been closed. The number of students has been dwindling. Old teachers are leaving. The place around the school is becoming a concrete forest. That once serene, secluded, quiet and beautiful place has now vanished. I wish I can turn back the time and relive that part of my life again.