song thats running in my head

With music and everything. 

I fell into a burning ring of fire!

Down down down and the flames got hire!

and it burns burns burnsssssss 

the ring of fire, the ring of fire.

I dont even know if the lyrics are right but this is whats running in my head.

I love that its back!

Life's an adventure

So Saturday was an interesting day. It was one of those days where everything that happened was the opposite of what I'd planned. Friday night, I decided to go away for the weekend. I thought i would visit Umelette in Bordeaux and generally have a good ol' time. So I was well behaved Friday night, slept early and everything. I got up at the appointed time. Set out for the station in time too! (this never happens normally). I reach the centre of the world (according to Dali) half an hour before time. With my bags packed, my biggest smile on, I approach the counter and I say confidently "train to Bordeaux please!" (in french of course :D) She looks up and says "I'm sorry, There's a storm up in Bordeaux. Trains are going upto Toulouse and not further." My face fell first and then my bag (I'm clumsy with the damn thing). I felt like an idiot: all dressed to go, with my destination just getting blown away by the winds (literally). 

So I think, Hey! I know people in Toulouse! Maybe I can go there. So I call my friends there. They say "Woohoo! let's get drunk!". I get my self all dizzy with excitement. Buy my ticket to Toulouse( which I payed full price for because I forgot my discount card). I get on the train. I keep thinking, it's such a pretty day. What storm ARE they talking about? When I get to Narbonne (which is about an hour away from Perpignan). They keep us waiting for a while and announce that it has been delayed for an indetermined amount of time. For some reason, I don't expect delays and cancellations in Europe! So it's not just India! 

I get off, thinking this trip is JUST not meant to be. So I get on the next train back. This one stops midway too! Announcement: there's going to be a slight delay as a truck has fallen onto the tracks!. I half hoped they were kidding! But they got it cleared quite quick and I reach Perpignan where the winds had picked up a bit. I've gotten used to the winds in this region. So this was nothing new. I decide not to waste the day and catch a movie in the afternoon. I've been dying to watch slumdog millionaire. 

So I meet some people and get comfortable in the cinema hall. 20 mins into the movie, everything comes to a standstill. No electricity. Sigh. When we get out of the cinema, the winds have reached incredible speeds. Walking against the wind was like climbing up hill! I thought to myself, this is just not my day! Nothings gone my way! 

It continued. Nothing went my way, yet I had a great day and a silly little train adventureto go with it! My friend Mariel and I, walked dark streets. I tried tartiflette(slurpy good french food) for the first time! We sang french songs karaoke! We ate dessert, wore crowns, had a potato peeling contest! We chatted with people about everything and nothing. It was one of those days where everything going wrong was just about the best thing to happen!

The learning curve

I had a very interesting run-in today. It was a totally "sporadic" (wink wink jinuni) meeting on the street. I was walking back home from class thinking of food (obviously). I was lost in thought of a crunchy baguette with goat cheese(drool). This is when, a man walks up to me and asks me for the time in french. So while I look for my phone, I hear him say "Sorry" and whip my head up immediately. It's very rare to hear english on the streets here. I ask him " Do you speak English". I get the biggest smile ever and an "Of Course!" 

A common language is so reassuring. Its a strong link in a country full of foreigners. He asks me where I am from. I tell him. Immediately he says " Namaste! Kya kar rahe ho?" I've never felt so happy hearing Hindi. He was in India for 2 weeks and he picked a few sentences up and I felt guilt and maybe some regret that I lived in Bangalore for more than a year without picking up basic Kannada. Anyway so moving on, we start chatting and I feel like this guy has the life that I dream about. He's a tourist guide! Takes french tourist to Spain and spanish tourists to France. I was dreaming about the job before he could finish the sentence! 

Then He does something even more shocking, but in a good way. He sang for me in hindi!!! 

He sang "mere sapno ki raani kab aayegi tu!" He sang it with perfect inunciation ( at least the words that he remembered). My jaw literally dropped. I asked him how he knew these songs ( he sang two) and he told me ever since he was young, he loved hindi songs. He used to sing them when he was in school. He said "I love the oldies." There I felt more regret. I know lot of hindi songs but at that moment I realised I never truly appreciated them. This lebanese guy could learn this song and appreciate its beauty and I never took the time to appreciate something that is my heritage(of sorts). 

The learning curve continues in the land of the french: Everyday I appreciate my country and its multi-faceted culture more :)

I'm bringing music back!

The last few months have been great. But Something has been missing. Something that has been a big part of my life since I was a kid. Music has been part of my life ever since I can remember. It just makes me feel more alive and everything has that sparkly edge that you missed before. For some reason, I lost it. I lost my zest somewhere in the latter half of last year. 

I feel sad that I would go hours on end without listening to any music. I look back and the last few months feel so robotic and monotonous. I want that pep back! I want to listen to a horrible song and call it what it is: horrible. I want to crib about how radio stations play soo much dirty pop ( OK maybe I have to be in Bangalore for this). I want to be obsessed with a new song! I haven't done that in ages. I miss that. (even though others don't I'm sure!) I want to sing in my head and dance while I walk! 

So I decided to bring it back. Maybe it's not instinctive anymore. Maybe the Ipod ruined me. It doesn't do radio. So I'm bringing it back. Music is back! I'll listen to it all the time! I'm going to listen to everything I can. Because that's what I do! I spent a lot of time today afternoon just listening to some music. And squiggling my shoulders a bit. I missed it.

Music IS my radar!

Recapping 2008

So I stole Jinuni's recap idea, I don't think she'd mind. So Summarising My whole year.

January: Spent half of it in Bombay thinking I was tired of being there and dying to go back to Blore. Spent the other half missing Bombay like crazy. There's no place like home.

Sneha got half married(:D)

February: Found out I was going to France. Uncontrollable jumping was involved

Back in Blore not too much work, lots of chilled out afternoons drinking coffee and dreaming about France with UmaB

March: Huffing and puffing up Shravanbelagola. Sangeeta left but Dipti remained. Good company at the hostel. :)

Jam packed with classes by the end of it

April: Had one of my best birthdays and the best gift.

Realised how painful apartment searching could be.

Baked in surprisingly hot Bangalore

May: Spent most of my time from class to class and the rest getting to know G.

June: Nonstop pace continued. Jet setted between Bombay and Blore. Meeting family: ALWAYS fun!

July: Got (o-my-god-what-am-i-doing) freaked about France! Finally found out that I was going to France for 9 months and to a little city called Perpignan. 

August: Went to Hampi and loved it!

Had the best road trip ever! Kerala (sighs and dreams) 

September: Suddenly realised it was time to leave and I didn't want to. messed up thoughts.

Got all geared up, packing, visaing etc.

Tried to catch up with friends before leaving. Caught up with Kitty after ages in Delhi. Felt like old times.

October: New country, new people, new apartment, rusty language skills. With few moments of missing home but a lot more of missing people and G more than I thought I would.

November: Had a good vacation and discovered some parts of France: Bordeaux, Toulouse, Montpellier. Weekends in Castelnou, Eus, Thuir etc. 

December: UmaB visited Perpignan had a great time. Went to London and loved it. There's nothing better than Family at Christmas. Glasgow and Edinburgh were bonus.

Veni, Visa, Vici!

 I have never been much of a shopper. Weight issues just made shopping an ordeal and so I ignored it ( it's what I do to most ordeals). In the days of old, I bought clothes because my old ones had holes in them and they were now visible to the naked eye... The new me just went shopping ALONE for clothes and actually bought something! woohoo! one thing off the list of things to do before I die! 

I can go to a old cramped bookstore and stumble from one bookshelf to another lulled by that old paper smell. I'll buy a pile of  books without thinking twice but buying clothes(for me) is like getting diagnosed with some really embarassing disease: you want a second opinion. Most of my friends hate shopping with me because I'm a pain to shop with :D. I try to take myself outside comfort zones but somehow i create new ones. Even though I'm in a new country by myself, I drag my room mate or friends along everywhere I go.

But today, that changed! I went, I bought, I conquered! Veni, Visa Vici!

(Ok this is a old draft which i forgot to "post")

New Year New Tag

This year shall be a blogging year or at least I'll try to make it one. So what better day to start than January number 1. I start with a tag because it's soo me. It's the best thing for lazy people. You don't have to think up a blog, it's all ready made! so Thanks Jinuni! Let's see if we can do it justice! 

The love potion you made tastes terrible. How will you drink it? 

Like everything else, with alcohol in it! 

You can punch a hole in an apple using a straw. How do you think that makes your milkshake feel? 

Happy that its liquid... imagine being stabbed by a straw!   

You've been entered in a shadow puppet contest. What's your best pose? 

Jazz hands! I wonder if I'd look like a turkey...  

Do you believe that forks are evolved from spoons? 

Forks evolved from toothpicks and spoons were just made for jelly  

Your people want to make a statue in your honor. What will it be made out of and what victory will it commemorate? 

It will be made out of ticky tacky... it will commemorate the victory over the people who don't think that song is great. if you haven't heard it... this is how it goes... little boxes on the hillside little boxes made of ticky tacky...  

In the dream where you show up to school naked, why do you never go swimming?

My birthday suit has shrinkage issues  

The children are waiting! Please tell them the story about the bald frog with the wig: 

Long time ago, in the land far far away, there was once a frog named Jiggy who loved to break dance. He was good at it too. So one day, there was a break dancing competition where the frog who danced the longest, won. so Jiggy danced and danced and danced and he break danced soooooooo much that his hair fell off! So he has to get a wig.  

You have to dig a hole to China. Where do you start? 

With a spoon in my backyard  

So now in tagging tradition I tag thee Bhaskarina and Mayuleee