The pencil

They’re both present. They’re both ready. She seats herself in front of the speaker phone. Her notebook is already open to a fresh page and her writing instrument of choice is all set for action. The engineer seated to her right takes a peek into her book. She’s clearly written the date of the meeting and places her instrument across the page where she can easily pick it up again as she will have to.

His eyes widen just a little when he sees she’s used a mechanical pencil. He’s known her to be a stationery fanatic. But in this time and age, when everyone just grabs the nearest pen and doesn't think twice about it after using it, this woman seems to treat her pens and pencils like they were souls who feel the pain of misuse just like any living creature would. And a pencil? True enough, there’s a block of eraser that seems to be well cared for. One end looks unused while the other was worn almost symmetrically.

“Really?” he breathes, assuming her not to hear. But she does.

“Really, what?”

“You use a pencil.” His smile widens.

“So? What is so surprising about that?”

He idly picks her pencil up and deftly spins the pencil between his fingers. The call would start in another five minutes. She turns to look at him. Their eyes meet as she places her hands over his, stilling the twirling pencil. Brown gazes into blue.

“You really want to know?” her voice holds a tinge of mischief. He comes a little closer. She does not move back. The air conditioning in the room is the only other audible entity. Their lips are merely inches away.

“Try me, love.” His voice is deeper than usual.

Her hand on his chest is soft but firm. In an instant, she pushes him away and grabs the pencil from his grasp.

“I don’t like mistakes. With this,” she looks down at her writing instrument and then looks back at him, her smile widening,

“I can always right the wrongs…”

There is silence as their gaze is unbroken. And then the phone rings.

It’s business as usual, once more. 

Remanence

The pristine white… nothing mars its surface. And I am loath to put pen to it, spoiling the perfection that is so becoming of it. But it cannot be helped. I've been deliberating on this exercise for so long, I feel any further delay will not be for the best.

But when you look at it, isn't it in these most tangible things that our lives’ memories are stored? An unwritten page… the drying ink well… the coffee growing cold… the splatter of the rain against the window pane. All those inexplicably tangible things… they all remind us of certain events in life.

Some of these events we cherish and bemoan the fact that they’re long gone, already a memory. And some, we wish would remain in the past and not ravage our minds with the pain we have associated with them.

This memory… of a lazy afternoon with the rain pouring from the heavens above… with just myself for company as my favorite song keeps playing in a loop – I’ve long since associated this with utter bliss. A time when things were so uncomplicated and simple. I claim simplicity is an illusion that one would do well not to cling onto. But I know I’m the hypocrite here. How I long for the simple past where I had stories to hide myself in… stories that I had made up in my mind, with characters from a well-loved book or from a television series that I just couldn't get my mind out of.

But it is the very fact that we can never go back to those simple times that makes them all the more precious. And all we have are remanences of those times left behind in the many tangible objects, the connection strangely and ironically intangible!

Maybe if given enough time, we can transfer our entire life’s essence into enough tangible receptacles to live on… even if only to the select few who can make the connection.

A moment immortalized until there be someone to remember. 

Cold coffee...

The curtains dance in the wind. The steady buzz of the computer’s fan is the only sound in the room. It isn’t too hot. I don’t switch on the AC…no, I don’t need it today. There is a slight hint of a shower in the horizon. Yes, let it rain… about time it did! My hands scroll the roller of the mouse downwards as I see the Facebook page ride upwards.

Updates… of people from an age long gone by. Smiles, happiness, joy… all of the emotions that suddenly seem absent from my life. I know I sound like I whine… I know there are plenty of reasons for me to be truly happy. I know there are those who’re not even half as lucky and blessed as I am. And yet, the sigh that escapes my lips belies the fact that I am unhappy.

Stupid bitch! I scream in my head. Why do you give a shit what other people are up to? They sure as hell don’t! My eyes travel to my right leg. It’s heavily bandaged to hide the swelling that just does not go away. An injured ligament is what they call it. Hell’s calling card is what I call it.

A random acquaintance has gotten married, the stupid social networking site screams. She stands with her handsome as hell husband and exudes positive radiance… like a gazillion nukes going off simultaneously. I snort. I look at the vacant ring finger of my left hand. And I remember… how he held it as though prolonged contact could give him some horrible disease. I smirk as I think of the line he drew on our bed, commanding me not to cross over. A bit rich coming from a guy who looked like a walrus in a suit. Another sigh follows… marriage… a farce in my case! I click on the link that opens her album. She exhibits her wedding for the whole world to see. And rightly so! They look so happy… so in love. My thoughts again turn back to the day I saw him for the first time in person. An engagement that lasted a year did nothing to break the ice. All we spoke about was the stupid internship I’d take if I ever was to join his side as his wife… a job interview. That was what it was…it was always about the job I’d get. Never about the life we’d build together. I snort back a laughter as I think of the person I was back then. How could I have settled for so little? But then again, I look around me. There is nobody here. Little was all I had back then… compared to the nothing I have right now.

I sigh again… I seem to slowly be replacing my breathing with sighs. I truly wish her happiness as I close the album. I can’t afford to have them see me crumble. They say it’s much better out than in. They say I’m sure to get a good guy to look after me. Like I need to be looked after. They worry I’ll be all alone when they leave. Little do they know that I’ve always been alone. I’ve always felt this way even in a room full of people. And sometimes, being alone both inside and outside is worlds better than having to radiate a warmth I don’t possess surrounded by people who couldn’t give a shit.

I log off. My coffee has gotten cold… just the way I like it. I take a sip, savouring the sugary goodness that would be lost in the heat. Life is bittersweet. And somehow, it makes life all the more beautiful and precious. I don’t give a rat’s ass if I will ever find a soulmate… no… I’ve already found the perfect partner. My eyes dart her way as we walk towards each other. Our hands reach out to each other as I take in her messy hair and her lined eyes. Her eyes crinkle into a smile as our fingertips touch each other. The cold glass pane is all that divides us. Myself from myself. We take another sip and close our eyes.

We’re finally where we want to be, precious! 

At a threshold here!

It's been a while, hasn't it? Well... to be honest, I've been through quite a bit and finally, I can see the silver lining... the light ahead a really long tunnel. And I thank God for being there for me... for never letting go... for giving me the strength and showing me what wonderous things I was capable of doing!

Next month, I shall hopefully be rid of all the negativity and harmful influences that had plagued my existence for the past two years. I shall say goodbye to quite a number of people who had made sure to keep me down... to discourage me and tell me that I was not good enough. There is God... And he has truly worked his miracle through me. Will I ever get the courage required to talk about it? Will there be anyone out there who would listen? For now, I don't know.

But this much is certain. I'm at the threshold now. And I don't ever have to worry about what others would think if I were to be happy! For the first time in my life, I am happy without guilt or that light tinge of regret that often comes in uninvited with our happy moments mostly.

For all that had happened, I am glad I've become stronger. I'm glad I've matured. I'm glad I didn't lose anything of mine to people who never truly deserved it!

Soon.... I'll be totally free!

Studying... burning out.... but studying! :D

For everyone out there who's been wondering where I'd vanished off to, worry not... I haven't found a secret way to Khonan nor have I managed to entice the fourth emperor of Khonan; neither have I managed to forge an alliance between Khutou and Khonan. And I have most definitely not managed to break the icy barrier around Nakago's aching heart! *le sigh* what wouldn't I do for an adventure as that! ;)

Anyway, this post is just to let everybody out there know that I'm pretty busy preparing for my JLPT exams and believe me... I suddenly realize that this is actually tougher than what people claim it is! ARGH... So much to study... so little time! And to make matters worse, I keep forgetting most of it... but I remember it at the same time! Am I even making sense, I wonder!

Anyway, people, wish me luck ne! I most definitely NEED to get through if it's the last thing I do! To fail in this would be like tearing my beating heart out of my chest and presenting it to Huitzilppochtli! (Cute name...barbaric fellow!)

P.S. For anyone wondering if I'm actually complaining about learning for JLPT, you've got it wrong! I've never enjoyed anything more than learning Japanese! So, if you were concerned, here's a hug from me for your sweet thoughts!

P.P.S. I'm wondering if I should make a headband like the ones they wear before exams! You know... the ones that help you concentrate more? LOL

I has a sad.... Please to help?

Okay... It's kinda blue here...very blue... You know what blue reminds me of? I'll tell you.
Blue reminds me of water...water reminds me of lakes...lakes remind me of the particular awesome scene I'm writing for a fanfic...and that reminds me of the fact that I posted a chapter two days ago and can't seem to get any reviews for it...and that reminds me of the fact that I've not updated in the longest time and have only myself to blame...and that makes me feel so blue!

Ah! It's that endless cycle of blue-ness and it never ends!

WHY WON'T THEY SAY SOMETHING?!!!!!ANYTHINGS?!!!!!!!! I has a sad...naturally...

To everybody out there who's a fan of Yuu Watase's Fushigi Yuugi, head over to Fanfiction.net and read my story! Ne? I'm in the middle of reconstructing the whole thing into something that makes better sense, ne? Ah... that calls for legal action, you say? Ahahahahahaa....I've no idea what you're referring to here, sir! Have a nice day! And don't forget to declare all baby aliens when you come visiting!

BAKUHATSU DATTAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!

How often is it that you follow instructions to the T and then have all hell break loose around you?

Well, if you're wondering what I'm blabbering on about, I'll have you know that I narrowly escaped a very painful death (or dis-figuration at least!) today.

It all started with Mom and Dad leaving to check on our land that's in the middle of nowhere. And I, being the person left behind to cook for everybody, decided that I'd follow everything that my mother said about using the pressure cooker to the dot! And I'm mortally scared of messing up the kitchen (explains my lack of...er... interest to learn too complicated dishes).

As luck would have it, mom had fixed everything and all I had to do was light the stove and wait for six toots from the cooker and then switch the bloody thing off. Ah... if only things were this simple! I did light the stove and after three minutes, there wasn't a sound when normally the cooker goes "toot..toot...tootgetmyassoffthestovebitchtoot!!!"
As can be expected, I went to investigate and found that the lid didn't lock properly. And so, getting the thing off the flame, I fixed that and placed it on the stove once more. Now, at this opportune moment, Mom decided to call me and so, I told her about how the cooker seemed depressed and if I should just kill the flame. She told me to do just that and that she was getting back and would be there soon. Gleefully, I placed the receiver down and turned around only to hear a moderately loud THUNK and then complete silence.

Fearing the worst possible case, I walked towards the kitchen to find the cooker off the stove, the chimney above it in shambles, uncooked rice all over the walls, ceiling and refrigerator and sharp pieces of wood from the chopping board that was near the stove! I freaked out, my darling reader. I freaked out like it was nobody's business. Of course it was all silent. A silent cry of desperation like that of Gintoki and Shinpachi!

It was only when I saw the bloody shrapnel that was my chopping board that I realized the clear and present danger I'd narrowly escaped from. If my mother had cut the phone line a mere fifteen seconds earlier, I'd probably look like Yamcha from DragonBallZ!

Now before people start tut-tutting about my lack of culinary finesse to tackle a situation as this, we had the bloody cooker checked and it turns out that the thing was akin to a Chernobyle waiting to happen. There was a clogged valve and that was the reason why a rule abiding tennyo like me barely escaped having my face rearranged in the OR!

Moral of the story: Check your cookers periodically for faults. A messed up cooker is worse than Otae Shimura on PMS!

P.S. For anyone interested enough, bakuhatsu in japanese means "Explosion"... you know the whole KABLAM....DOOM....BOOM.... the works!

Recipes in Japanese! And why does Indesign cost so much! T-T

As is the case with most of the women who're readied for marriage, it has become my lot to learn the culinary arts of feeding people without killing them. And so, I've been asked to learn as many of the basic dishes as possible before I'm shipped off for good. It's a boring task, let me assure you! I've as much interest in cooking sambar and rasam as Tolkien had in GoGo dancing!

And so, in a bid to inculcate more interest than I was genuinely feeling for the art of cooking, I decided to do something that would challenge me as much as teach me the right proportions of spices and vegetables! I decided to take the recipes down in Japanese! Now that, my friends is a sure shot way for me to take up just about anything! Imagine... learning cooking while at the same time getting to know so many new verbs and adjective and not to mention.... KANJI!!!!!!!!!!

And sooooo.... I've managed to translate the recipe for the staple sambar completely into Japanese complete with pictures and stuff! If it actually is even half as good as I want, I'll make sure to post it online. Who knows? There might be a few Japanese folks out there who're looking for the recipe for Sambar in Japanese! :D
I'm writing them all using Adobe Indesign CS5. I should say.... it's awesome!  I get to make really pretty PDFs without having to turn to MS Word! Ah.... but this is a trial version ne.... I'll need to get the original thingy ne.... but that's so expensive ne.... Ofcourse not many I know in real life would see the difference it makes to document preparation ne.... these are just my silly ramblings that are lost like the 'blub-blub'blub's of a drowning person ne... it sucks being poor ne.....

Musings on comic sans and the philosophical ramblings underneath it all!

Imagine being brought into the world with so much expectations; with hopes that maybe you'll change the way the world sees things! With a million dreams shining in your eyes, you set your goals on that summit yonder! You see the population before you adore you and worship the very ground that you tread upon! Nothing could ever go wrong in this paradise of yours... in this Utopia of pure awesomeness! And then... the lightning strikes! Chasms open! There is darkness everywhere! It dawns upon you that unfortunately, things aren't as wonderful as you supposed them to be and people are getting too fed up with your way of doing things. You are that failed legacy that everybody 'tut-tut's over. Nobody wants to be seen with you. Oh the agony! Oh the pain!

If you can relate with the paragraph above, you know how the font Comic Sans must feel. Yes, I am talking of the very same font that has been used and abused for two decades and counting! It was initially designed to emulate the feel of comic books. But too bad things got out of hand and soon, the comic book makers moved away from it and the rest of the populace decided to take things into their own hands. This led to that and Comic sans was seen everywhere! And I mean, everywhere! From University exam papers to flyers for Day care centers, almost everybody wanted a piece of the poor font.

As the saying goes that Familiarity breeds contempt, people started hating the very sight of the font. It was labeled juvenile, frivolous, immature, puerile and silly. The people who still used the font were deigned to the lowest echeleon of taste and elegance. They were and still are viewed as those who considered themselves a child but in reality appeared every bit like a 40 year old man with a bib and a diaper.

While all these poo-slinging was happening, not one of these pro- and anti-comic sans factions thought it necessary to think of what the font had to say! I wonder what Comic sans would say in light of the humongous hatred and revilement it seems to garner.

All I can say is, poor comic sans... I wonder if it is right to hate a font for the stupidity of the people who use it. But then again, is it better to be ill-used than to be not used at all?

Wow... that's a very heavy philosophical topic there!

My first student and an infernal itch!

I had my first student today! And that too in Japanese! (Well... technically it's only for Japanese phrases. But whatthehellI'mnotlisteningtoyouplz!)


And it's really nice when someone actually trusts me enough to come learn from me! :D My student is to go to Japan in a few months for a few days and I'm going to make her the best there is! I'm being overenthusiastic now! LOL Don't mind me flailing here!


Aaanyway, I'm sending her the day's phrases all tabled up and highlighted. It's so wonderful planning the day's classes and sending out resources! It's the best thing ever! :3

Well, thanks to the fact that I have a cold and have not washed my hair in three days, I feel like I'm having weird lifeforms in my head! I sincerely hope that's just my imagination playing with my senses. I have had cousins almost smother me with affection and I cannot exactly vouch for their scalp hygiene! I swear if I find even a single *unmentionable* or white flake, I shall seriously lose all hold over my sanity! But gods... how it itches! I've worn my scalp red with the scratching! It's not fair... seriously not fair! I don't care if I contract the flu because there's not a chance in Angband that I'm leaving things be! Hah! Let's see how these infernal things like the good 'ol shampoo and good scrubbing!

P.S. I love Lucky Star! It's the funniest anime ever... Oh wait... that's Gintama! Well, it's the second funniest anime ever! On second thought, there could be funnier anime out there - AUGHHHH!!!! AN ITCHY SCALP MAKES ME THINK WEIRD STUFF!!!!

I'm back!

For those of you who have been wondering where I've been these past few days, I am happy to report that I've been having the time of my life down at Kerala. We had a very important family get-together and as I am not sure when I shall be able to attend the next reunion, I made it a point to be present for the current one.
We burst crackers, shouted at silly drivers, sat on for long journey in car, suffered horrible cramps, experienced toilet deficiencies like never before and more!

I am dead tired thanks to a long car journey back to Chennai and am going to rest my butt till sensation returns there! :) The trip and all its quirks shall be elucidated further in the subsequent posts!

N4 test... tanoshikatta yo!

The test today was a riot! We ended up mooting our answers and points and surprisingly, I learnt so much and I'm sure most of my friends from class are feeling the same way. It was such fun. It was so different from the usual "Gosh, I have to get better scores than him or her! I need to show I'm the best!" nonsense.

And I'm really grateful for the wonderful sensei that I have. Both Ramesh-sensei and Shimizu-sensei are such nice people! It really is a blessing that I can attend classes with teachers who are as passionate about what they do and can convey their passion for the language and the people in such beautiful ways! My sensei inspire me to be a good teacher myself. (This is true if I ever get the honour of teaching people Japanese, when I get better!)

Anyway, N4 Kikitori is challenging and tiresome. But at the same time, it's intriguing. I hope I get better at this before I give my actual exam! :D Ah, tomorrow is movie day and conversation. Now that, is what I call, a double bingo!

Of preparations, distractions and inspirations

I have a test tomorrow and for the love of all things Japanese and kawaii, I am unable to concentrate. It is almost like someone is willing me to flunk this test as though they hold a long held grudge against the few things I've been doing well! (Okay.... that sounded a lot crappier outside than in my head! ^_^;;)

And I was wondering if I would ever get the will to study again when, lo behold! I chanced upon a few pencil cases on the interwebs! These wonderous creations of humanity were accompanied by many a writing instrument. Pencils, pens, liquid correctors, rulers, sticky notes - the list is endless! As I saw these beautiful things, my attention turned unbridled towards my Japanese notes and I saw the various seemingly illegible pointers I'd scribbled in class! Clever one liners... references to manga and Anime... proclamations of undying love to nonexistent characters who are at times the only people I have around! It was all that was needed to rekindle my love for the language and I've been working diligently for quite some time now. I'm merely taking a breather before I dive right back into verbs and adjectives and whatnots. And I wanted to let everyone know of one surefire way to beat boredom in studying. Rather than concentrate on the study aspect of it, I find myself more equipped with concentration when I bend my thoughts a little away from the subject and towards something that's connected with it but in a rather tangential way. In my case, it's stationery.

Now if only I could convince my dad to take me to the department store where they stack Staedtlar and Tombow pencils! Okay... I promise to treat myself to a brilliant box of pencils if I get the best mark ever in the test to come! :D Now that, my friends, is inspiration good enough to earn me a PhD!

A new banner on its way. And which is the shiniest key?

I've managed to design a banner for my blog's header. And truth be told, I seem to have a love-hate relationship with it! I might tweak it a little bit so that whatever little bits that bother me now will look and feel much better. I'm seriously envious of all those other blogs that seem to have everything in place and looking so adorable. But then again... with me, I never think the same thing two weeks in a row and paying for that kind of an upgrade would mean I'll go bankrupt in a month.

Oh well... I've been trying a bit of CSS and the works. So, I might not have a spanking new site or anything! But I'm sure there will be changes for the better in the future (distant or near, I cannot answer!).

And I noticed that the 'I' key is the shiniest in my keyboard! It could be that I use that particular alphabet the most! The other shiny keys are C, A, T and O. But none are as shiny as I! It practically sparkles! And it feels so good... so smooth and squeaky!

So, what's the shiniest key in your keyboard? ;)

Life is a female canine in ways you can never imagine!

Imagine this... you dream a singular dream... you know you ought to do something to make it a reality you could enjoy in the tactile sense. But it seems as though the entire world is against you. And then, you see someone who didn't even wish for your paradise, get exactly that and smile benignly at you as you slog harder than ever before, wiping the fecal unmentionables that the world in general has thrown your way. Oh, fey fate! Why would you tempt me so only to push me deeper into the mire of endless desolation? And why, pray tell, must I see what I wish the most in life flicker in front of me and then die? Like a moth that singes its wings trying to reach the one bright spot in the whole damned world?!

Truly... there must be an end to this madness! I am caught in that place where I never imagined myself to be... even in my harshest nightmares. And yet... now, it seems as though the whole world closes its claws around me, suffocating me and smothering my dreams and hopes and I can only sigh... that precious wisp of air is also taken until my lungs turn blue and I'm left in death.

Toryanse....Toryanse....

I'm sure most of us have had that feeling of anxiety and utter desperation as we search for something that eludes our grasp the more we try reaching for it! (Gosh... this sentence sounded awesome in Japanese! T-T)

The other day, I was watching some arbit news channel when the commercials kicked in and voila! They were playing the new (comparatively) advert for the Japanese tourism board. It had a song for background and for lack of another adjective, it sounded divine! I've been hunting that particular song ever since then! It has been months and it feels longer than that since I'd first heard that song. But with only the tune in head and a warbled sense of the words, I couldn't ask my sensei what that song was or of its origins. And so, yesterday, having conveniently forgotten about that song or the sleepless nights it had given me, I was at my grandpa's house, watching anime and practicing kanji when in the anime that I was watching, the same song started to sound! It was almost like someone had opened the floodgates of my memories and I just positively HAD to find out the name of the song.

And so, I launched my search with the name of the anime - Shangri La. I knew the episode number and searched in vain to spot some forum thread that spoke of this particularly interesting piece of music interwoven into the story. But not many were interested in that minor detail and almost everyone wanted to express their approval on how good the anime was progressing! But then, there was one entry where the person asked if anyone knew what the music that played from the very scene I was interested in, was! They also gave out the info that the traffic signals in Fukuoka play this one when the pedestrians have the green light to cross! That was quite the lead I was hoping to find! Another search on traffic lights in Japan showed me pages upon pages with info on how the Japanese played music so that visually challenged pedestrians could safely cross the roads knowing that it was green when the music was played! And without a doubt, the most favoured music was the one I was searching for!

It's called "Tō ryan se" (Please let me pass)  and is apparently a very famous rhyme from antiquated times in Japan. For the full song, click here!

Apparently, in ancient times, there was a lot of poverty and people had a lot of children. Sometimes parents found it extremely difficult to rear all of their progeny at one go and would choose to abandon their children at Shinto shrines where they hoped that the shrine would take them in and give them a living. But since children are thought to be the children of the Kami (Gods) until the age of seven, they couldn't be abandoned until then... doing so was a very heinous crime! Now, mothers found a way around this whereby they would take their children to the Shrines and would lie to the Public officers that they wish to go into the shrine to buy an amulet (ofuda) for her child who has completed seven years of age. They did this because the officer would not let her pass otherwise. But once inside, she leaves the child there and returns alone.

Moral of the story: To go somewhere without problems does not mean one can get back just as easily!

There's another legend that says that due to high infant mortality rates in Ancient Japan, this song celebrates a child having crossed seven years of life without problems! This song is also fashioned into a childrens' game. And it has become quite famous as a Warabe uta which literally means "young child song".

To listen to the song, click here!

Aaaaaah.... it feels so good when one finds what one searches for!

For the love of all things holy!

What does one do with people who say they're going to give you some really important information that you don't want to begin with and insist you check your mail, putting emphasis on your need to go through whatever they give you and then suddenly, you realize they're not that very interested in the whole thing themselves.... especially after you make time for their pursuits and then turn around to see them standing there... a few miles behind, yelling "IT DOESN'T MATTER ANYMORE! I JUST CHUCKED THE IDEA!"

Let me tell you, that's the single most irritating thing ever! First, they go on and on about how what they have in mind will make it big for everyone around and then weedle you into agreeing to whatever it is that they want you do when you would like nothing better than to run for your life and sanity! And then, when you actually convince yourself mentally that maybe it wouldn't be that bad helping them out, they just leave you there... hanging on... without a word of explanation as to why they're backing out.

Why do they do that? Whyyyyyyyyyyyy?!!!!!!

Dilly Dally Shilly Shally

There's more to life than just those serious thoughts of a career. There's more to a smile than the next salary on its way. There's definitely more to an act of learning than to just trying to make money out of it.

I guess we've lost true meaning to all of what really matters for the few grimy bills and coins that the ones above throw for whatever we do. We've slowly become the true harlots that we warn our children about.

Aaaaargh!

It's not everyday that when you wake up, you feel sick enough to find a shotgun and end the suffering with just a pull of the trigger! I was feeling that way this morning. Thanks to a late night movie and the unpredictable weather, I suspect I might have caught a cold or worse... a throat infection. This is horrible. Now, I cannot comment on the stupidity I see around me and can't sing along with Keiko Kubota when she croons Houseki in my iPod!

Ugh... and just for the record, my Dad is a hypocrite. When we were heading out to the movie, he complained about how people did not have the patience to wait for the lights to turn green. And then, when we were heading back, he shot a red light just because it was late and nobody was coming in the other roads! Seriously... does it matter? A rule is a rule and breaking it whether anybody is watching it or not does not make a difference! I've lost hope on Humanity in general today. Indian roads will be infested with idiots and surprisingly, my dad is one of them... ashamed to admit it... but that's the truth.

Gossamer keepsakes of yesterday

Today, I slept... I slept like a baby! And as I did, I left all my worries behind... wrapped in gossamer bundles, embellished with pretty ribbons with the hues of the rainbows. And yet, a few, I carry with myself. A keepsake from yesterday. Have they not warned us enough of forgetting our past? And in those treasured bundles of the figments of bygone times, I hold all those moments that were almost perfect. As I grow old, maybe these bundles shall be the treasures that might hold me together.

Keepsakes from yesterday...