A wet winter's day

Today has been severely cold and misty. And it has been raining throughout the day. It’s hard to venture out, and is quite amazing how people have had to pull their raincoats out on a December day. However, it seems perfectly 'holidayish' to me, as I continue to stay indoors, and eat, drink and sleep- not necessarily in that order.

I hope tomorrow is a sunny day though. The city looks geared up to celebrate the New Year’s Eve. The morning newspaper was full of advertisements by the top hotels and clubs who are organizing extravagant parties, carnivals, and special dinners. Out in the street, people would revel and cheer, and watch the fireworks go up in the sky at midnight- it wouldn’t be as much fun if it’s raining.

I also hope everyone keeps their resolutions in the New Year. I haven’t made mine yet, but I wonder what could be everyone else’s. Buying a new house or the world’s best smartphone? Traveling to newer destinations? Shop more, shop less? More music, more books? Preparing more edible food? Or losing a few kilos?

Of the ones I heard so far from everyone I know, the prominent one is: losing a few kilos by starting to run and exercise regularly. There you go! A terrific rush at the parks and the gyms- that's January for you!

If you dislike that, till the rush wears off, how about some slimming tea?

Another year is waning away

A few lines I scribbled in the past three days-

Monday:

6:30 PM it is, and I am back home from work. That is fairly quick for a Monday evening, or any evening for that matter, and it turns out to be quite relaxing to reach home early, have a couple of hours to idle, do this, that, and the other, before having to worry about anything as serious as preparing dinner.

Early morning, the commute to work was smooth. Most of the city has journeyed elsewhere, apparently, to spend the Christmas vacation, so there was virtually no traffic anywhere. And the office parking lot was empty, so I got to choose a spot, and reached my desk.

A cup of coffee and barely a dozen of emails later, two of my colleagues and I, decided to step out for lunch (basically eating out is our favourite thing to do under all conditions). We reached the nearest Au Bon Pain, bought some sandwiches and soup, and sat down at a table- mine was a bowl of cream of green pea soup and a vegetable sandwich. Expectedly that wasn’t sufficient, so we further devoured a few slices of plum cake that had a rich content of wine making me feel slightly dizzy, and some freshly baked cookies.

Wrapping up work, while driving back on the ring road, I watched the sun setting in the horizon in front of me with the last of the sparkling rays falling on my windshield. The sky slowly turned from blue to crimson to grey.  Another day waning away, of another year waning away, I thought to myself, looked outstanding!

Tuesday:

Today was unpredictably a busy day, as often happens with the days when you don’t foresee much work but a lot of it suddenly lands up. There were a lot of phone calls, a lot of emails and a lot of follow-ups to complete. Finally when I finished, it was late evening.

Back home, before I went off to sleep, I finished the second of the three chapters of Jonathan Livingston Seagull- it’s a very inspiring tale, and the book has some remarkable photographs accompanying the story. The author, Richard Bach, is one of my favourites. His other book The Bridge Across Forever is one of the most absorbing books I have ever read.

Wednesday:

I am on vacation for the rest of the week. That essentially means that I would get back to work only in the New Year; it sounds like a long time away, and though it is actually not long, I quite like the way it sounds.

In a way, I am often fascinated by how things sound to me- like Prague sounds very mystic and glorious to me, and Budapest sounds stylish and adventurous, while Bali sounds enchanting and limitless, Ulan Bator sounds outlandish and unexplored, again as Guatemala sounds historic and traditional, Viena sounds very contemporary and young. Indeed they make me want to find out for myself, and someday I possibly will, if what they sound like, is similar to how they really are.

And, another word whose sound I forever like is: wonderful. I rather use it too often, possibly to describe a holiday, a dinner, a landscape, a film, a present, a person, or almost any other thing that needs my describing it. Just like now it feels wonderful to string together many incoherent thoughts!

Thoughts on Christmas Eve

The days got shorter. The nights got darker. And both the days and the nights got colder. I haven’t walked up to the fridge for a bottle of juice in the last few weeks. Instead, I stuck to tons of steaming hot beverages at all hours. It’s been a cold December. And tonight, I think a delicious soup packed with seasonal vegetables for a starter would be a comforting winter warmer as I step out for dinner with friends- it’s the Christmas Eve!

The city is painted in red and white and green. The shops, the pubs, the eateries are decked with colourful lights. Christmas trees, images of Santa Claus, and carols playing all around have added to the grandeur. Shoppers are out on the downtown streets store-hopping and picking up the best bargains. Friends, family and loved ones are who everyone is reaching out to, to party, exchange gifts and good wishes, and celebrate the festival together. It's very Christmassy!

There’s going to be virtually no one at work through the next week. I have taken off for most of the days as well. It’s going to be different from the otherwise madly-rushing-through-life schedules and that’s the nicest thing. I have bought a few books which I plan to read. I would listen to some music. I will write if I am able to gather some thoughts. Or I would take the car and drive down to nowhere.

And be back in the New Year. I will, by then, have made my resolutions for 2012, and hopefully would have made a note before I fail to recall any of them!