The one with the maroon lampposts

I apologise for an earlier post where I said there was no way that the development work for the Commonwealth Youth Games would be completed as scheduled. As it turned out it did happen as per schedule, and now the road outside my hostel is a smooth, wide 4-laner. Sweet!

What’s even better is that they’ve put up new lampposts and benches on the pavement. These aren’t your run-of-the-mill silver lampposts, or flat benches. No sir, the lamps have pseudo-wrought metalwork, and the benches have curved metal armrests. Also, this road is filled with Central Govt. establishments, whose compound walls have all been painted brick-red very recently. Plus it’s a very green part of the city and not too many people live here. The result is a road that's so much easier on the eyes. I daresay it even looks faintly colonial. However, the lampposts have been painted maroon and that just looks wrong.

It’s fun to sit on one of these benches and watch traffic whizz by, watch the sun set, the sky slowly fade to darkness, feel the chill of the evening creep up on you, try to recognise the constellations overhead (I was interested in astronomy while I was in school). Later in the evening, you put on a sweater, fold your arms across your chest to keep your hands warm and keep watching. You see everything, and yet you see nothing. When I’m sitting on a bench and watching is when the loneliness really hits me. I mean, I can totally picture me there with a girl, both of us in warm-ish clothing, my arm over her shoulder, sitting on one of these benches. It kinda makes sense that Valentine’s day is in February. The romance of the past three cold months needs dramatic release, and that’s exactly what happens. (By that logic, there should be another Valentine’s day in August for the Southern hemisphere. Wonder if anybody else has thought of that…)

As far as I’m concerned, winter is most definitely the most romantic season of all. I like the crisp air in my nostrils when I step out in the morning, the clear skies at night, the warm clothing. Mostly the clothing. Personally, I find sport jackets and overcoats sexy, sweaters laidback, and sweatshirts casual without trying too hard. Plus, it never goes below 20°C in Madras, so any kind of cold weather is exotic! (Although technically it can’t be winter when the maximum temperature is around 30°C, can it? That’s what the weather is like in Pune now. Weird.)

There’s something very captivating about the idea of caressing a hot latte in your hands on a cold evening, maybe even making it Irish to deal with the weather. I haven’t been able to shake it out of my head all week (and the milky crap they serve in the canteen doesn’t help matters) It’s been nearly a month since I last went to a coffee shop, and I guess it shows :D And of course, ice cream doesn’t ever taste as good as it does on a cold night. Neither does soup. Mmmm, noodle soup [Note: Friends reference ;) ]…

Really, the only thing that can mess up cold weather for me is the cold virus. And being the virus magnet that I am, I’ve caught my third cold in as many months. You might say I deserve it for my late-night ice cream runs. But I don’t care. Ice cream on a cold night is just too good to pass up!

Nobody said it was easy

The blues.
They are back.
And they're not going away without a fight.

Unfortunately, that's not the tagline of a new flick "coming soon to a theatre near you!" They stare me in the face everytime I look in a mirror. They're there everytime I sit down to study. It's as if my life is some bizzare Ujala ad. Everywhere I look, it's blue. (Naalu sottu thaane! pfft.)

I'm not quite sure how they started this time. But they've been around for nearly a week now. It's pretty bad. Look, I couldn't even come up with a decent title for this post. Had to rip off lines from "The Scientist" Not good.

I've spoken to atleast three different people about it. And I've come up with very interesting responses. estarra told me to go get myself coffee, do something nice, something to make myself feel better 'cause goodness knows you deserve it. Aww, sweetie. Thanks. That really made my day. But it didn't lift me enough to make me feel better. Although the coffee did help :)

(note: I use strong, black, sugarless coffee as a pick-me-up. Not espresso, since I can't make it myself, and there's no decent place for espresso near my hostel. And Mithali "can't understand for the life of me, how that works")

Anyway, coming back to le bleu mood, Dad told me to try out his breathing exercises. Apparently they really help him calm down and focus. They just made me sleepy. Dad, I'm not running you down. I'm just saying that maybe it doesn't work for me.

And the third person I spoke to drowned me in HER sorrows. So not much help there. Although I hope I made her feel better.

Sigh. Anyway, I've got a load of work for this weekend. Chem reports, phy reports, bio test and chem practical exam on monday. And I just want to walk away from it all. Which is the sort of attitude that leads to posts like this one. No aim, no direction. Just a reflection of the past, but without any lessons learned.

SOS!!!Tell me! Does anyone out there have suggestions on how to get past this deep blue funk and actually get some work done? 'Cause I sure as hell could use a little help here. And no, scaring myself with the consequences doesn't work. It just pushes me into a, "Oh no, I'm gonna flunk. And there's no escape" mood. Which is worse, as you'd agree.

Sigh. The blues. Hope I'll have a less self obsessed post next time. And I may be going to look at the Science Express tomorrow [the scientist lives on :)] Hope that goes well.

BTW, listening to "Yellow" by Coldplay doesn't help. I thought mixing the colours would turn things green(go!go!go!)

P.S. You know ess is in trouble when he starts trying to end posts with horrible PJs

Cuppa of life

The setting: Cafe Coffee Day on Junglee Maharaj Road. Approximately 8:30 in the evening.

You're sitting at the table by the window.You picked that table because you thought it would be fun to watch the traffic at that time of the day. Unfortunately, that isn't working out too well, since it's dark outside and most of what you see in the window is a reflection of whatever's happening inside the coffee shop.

As you sit there silently cursing the wave theory of light, you suddenly notice that your cycle, standing on the other side of the glass window, is being lit up by the soft lighting from within the coffee shop. You notice just how good your cycle looks from this angle. A wash and a few dabs of touch-up paint, and it'd be worthy of a glossy print ad. You smile and make a mental note to wash your cycle the next day.

Just then, two women in their mid-twenties walk in. They take up the table that's right in front of yours. The cuter looking one's wearing capris. As you slyly check out her calves, your coffee comes in. It looks so very inviting and delicious. The coffee, that is. Although the calves don't look too bad either :D

You inhale, taking in that subtle yet invigorating aroma of cold coffee laced with chocolate sauce. Ahh. You pity all the people who don't drink coffee. Thankfully, you reason, it doesn't include most of your friends. It then hits you just how alone you are right at this moment. Just you and your coffee. With your cycle looking at you indifferently, from outside.

You take a sip of the coffee. It's not nearly as cold as you'd like it. Actually, it's not cold at all. Just slightly below room temperature. And it's not very chocolate-y either.Urgh. You decide you're not going to tip the waiter at all this time.

Ahead, the women are talking about how the not-nearly-as-cute one's going through a break up. Your own failed relationship stares you in the face, almost as if it happened just yesterday. And that reminds of your first coffee at CCD, which you split with your ex. That one was perfect. And not just because she was there with you. It makes you detest the one that's in your hand right now even more. You sigh and push yourself further into the chair. Which doesn't help much, since it's a cane chair and has very little give.

Your eyes drift onto the plasma screen on the opposite wall. They're playing "Soni de nakhre", that utterly ridiculous song from Partner. Govinda's on his back, waving his arms around like a beached octopus. For some reason, there's no sound. You find that, surprisingly, the video's much more palatable without the music.

Your phone buzzes. It's one of your closest friends, telling you how much she liked your latest piece of writing. You smile a contented smile, happy in the knowledge that no matter what, the people who really matter in your life are never far away. And just ahead the women are talking about how it's almost impossible to still remain friends after a break up. It makes your smile that much more smug, since that closest friend in question happens to be your ex.

And it's that moment. That moment with the not-upto-par coffee in your right hand. The phone in your left hand. The women talking about relationships in front. Govinda, Katrina and Salman dancing to no music on the TV. And you cycle still looking at you without any emotion. That moment seems so perfect, you wish you had a Pensieve to capture it and savour it later.

Another atypical evening in the life of ess.

P.S. Okay, I'll admit it's not great writing. But this entry's more about picturisation. It's about evoking mental imagery (and some such crap). So if you didn't like it, it's not my fault. Your imagination doesn't stack up :P

P.P.S. If I tweak it a little, change the description of the coffee to something more positive and make the last line "Another satisfied customer at Cafe Coffee Day", wouldn't this make a great ad? What am I still doing in biology?