finally

after months of no access to the blog, here i am trying to make sense of my time here. it has been a roller-coaster. time well spent and sometimes lonely. now, the good news is i am hitched. going to start on a new life in a few days. the world continues to roll along merrily, i have miles to go and promises to keep before i sleep;-)

thoughts of you come in snatches

it has been very many years, but you appear out of nowhere. in a corny movie filled with cliched dialogues about loving and wanting, i see your face. the actress is speaking for you, as i watch. she becomes you like in a dream gone sour, like with the last piece of the jigsaw gone missing. you are far away, i don't even know if you cared or do now at least. i see you in every woman who talks of love and want. i didn't know if you did. and there seems to be no way of knowing it ever. you just stepped out of my life, like you do when you want coffee or something, and then never come back...you were the only real thing in my life in a long long time. even now, however much i try to stanch thoughts of you, i bleed. i don't seem to be able too be unfaithful to you, although  i am. for, you just refuse to die inside of me however much i try. 

experiencing China!

it has been a week since i got here. but it feels like i had been here in a previous lifetime. maybe as one of those terracota warriors guarding emperor Qin Shi Huang. this, i guess is my second visit. maybe in all these intervening years, i had travelled the world, as a Viking, as a crusader, as a fellow traveller with Marco Polo. who knows? i find Mandarin interesting. am trying to learn teh basics, remembering to greet everyone with a "ni hao" and saying "shishe" for every act of kindness. i guess it would take some time before i get learn some rudimentary stuff, but i guess it will be worth it. the biggest hurdles any foreigner would face in China are language, food and weather. for someone who has all his life lived in near tropical zones, the freezing climate can be bone-crusher, but then that is something one cannot control. the food is optional. one can always make do with non-chinese food, but it wouldn't take you far!!! and language, yes. this is where everyopne must make an effort. if you know the tongue, you can bargain your way around, get things done with interpreters, and generally maintain the bonhomie with fellow workers. as for everything else, it is almost like being in the West. broad roads, super markets, best of world cuisine, fast access to the net, quick services et al. this weekend, i hope to see some places of historical significance, within Beijing. I guess the Great Wall would have to wait until the weather is sunny!!! till then, adieu!!!

a new beginning

new year and new beginnings are not uncommon. for me, it may just represent some techtonic shifts. the next few weeks will tell whether they are truly going to be momentous or not. looking forward to it, albeit with some trepidation. will keep you all posted.

roobaroo

listening to this RDB number in the new year. a song for all new years!!! wish you all a very happy new year, loads of fun, hope and peace and contentment.