So it’s been a while. During which, life hasn’t changed much. It’s still stagnant, hanging on to a facade of purpose, when in reality, there isn’t any. Two cups of coffee, five episodes of anime everyday, a few thousand words of a book, hours at college w/ vague recollections of what I did. You know?

In other news, I have a new set of shelves which are perfect for sticking post-it notes on. Now I don’t have to use my bedstead & the sides of my monitor anymore! And when all this comes together, I’ve no reason to write post-its. Bleddyness! Speaking of doing things, there’s an open mic reading this Sunday, the 6th of July - organized by Sharanya & CC in honour of Frida Kahlo.

Oh, and I’m super-proud of myself. I’ve finally mastered the art of wearing contact lenses w/o reducing myself to a sobbing mess w/ bloodshot eyes every time. Ha! Though that didn’t prevent me from absently wearing them w/ aloo-paratha-masala-ed hands and generally setting my left eye on fire. Things I do!

Though I haven’t been blogging much, I’m surprised that I don’t miss it, vapid as my life otherwise is. But I’ve been writing, everyday almost. They’re chaotic snippets, one not really related to another. Some prose and some verse. I wonder if I should channelize myself and attempt something coherent?

On that note, this week I’ve discovered that if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the precipitate.

Title: Ain’t No Sunshine - The Lighthouse Family

Time flies like an arrow; Fruit flies like a banana.

- Groucho Marx

I like this guy. I really do.

Finally something blog-able that doesn’t require too much work or thinking. So, CR passed me a tag and these are the rules -

1) Pick up the nearest book

2) Open to page 123

3) Find the fifth sentence

4) Post the next three sentences

5) Tag five people, and acknowledge the person who tagged you.

I’m reading 3-4 books now but I’ve only one book at arm’s length - The Double by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

Page 123 is Chapter 13, nearly the end of the book. [It's short fiction.]

The first drawback was the fact that it was probably now a marked place and that certain precautionary measures had been taken in regard to it since the scandal at Olsufy Ivanovitch’s last ball. Secondly, he had to wait for a signal from Klara Olsufyevna, for there was bound to be some such signal, it was always a feature in such cases and, “it didn’t begin with us and it won’t end with us.”

At this point Mr.Golyadkin very appropriately remembered a novel he had read long ago in which the heroine, in precisely similar circumstances, signalled to Alfred by tying a pink ribbon to her window.

And you know what, I don’t think I’ll bother tagging anybody. Take it if you want to, though.

Dattebayo stopped releasing Naruto & Bleach [and everything else] episodes until the idiot leechers take down all DB content on YouTube/Veoh et al. Gah, gah, gaaah! Just as hols was becoming anime bliss.

The only remaining good thing is that I still have the graphic novels and anime movies. But heck, I want Naruto!

After about 2500 kms driven all over the place, some abs beautiful places seen, I’m back home now after a good long vacation - from Madras heat and Internet.

Visited a lot of South India, which of course means, I visited a lot of temples. It’s impossible to go anywhere in Tamil Nadu and NOT find a temple that place is famous for. But anyway, it was good fun cos I somehow like temples. What I do not like is that most temples have a ‘Only hindus can enter beyond this point’ signboard. AND they charge foreigners for just entering the temple. AND you get packets of vibhuthee and kumkum only if you offer more than Rs.10 to the pujari. Vile!

The 15-year-tradition of a week at Kodai is generally somewhat bland, for lack of things we haven’t done in said fifteen years. But this year was unusually rotten. I’m to be blamed though. This time, I didn’t do my whole making-a-list-and-crossing-stuff-off thing and did all my packing for 10 days in some two hours. Obviously, I forgot three crucial things - 1. Socks 2. Leave in conditioner/serum 3. Anorak. Horrors! Cos 1. I simply detest wearing sneakers w/o socks 2. W/o my serum, my hair gives tough competition to thenga naaru 3. JUST this time it was very bloody cold in Kodai and raining every freakin’ day! Still, thankfully I somehow managed by flicking my mum’s socks and dad’s windbreaker. Lesson: Worship Lists. Lists. Lists. Lists.

Anyhoo, coming back home never felt so good. What w/ the tremendous rain we had to drive through from Trichy to Chengalpet. Phew. Mind blasting. Headlights on high beam, windshield wipers furiously swinging and yet zero visibility. We literally couldn’t see the road in front of us. Part of the way wasn’t dual carriage, so it was pretty damn scary. But when you’re not in the driver’s seat and water’s lashing at your window, when you can see huge bolts of lightning cut purple through the black skies, it really is amazing.

Got back home all exhausted, watched IPL semis and went to bed at some 12. Not realizing that today I had to wake up at some unearthly hour and go to my cousin’s engagement. Bah. Gimme sleep or gimme soporifics. I caught some 6-hours of sleep after the engagement. But when I woke up, something was super-wrong. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t breathe and I was burning. I hate colds and fevers. Then I realized, I couldn’t see either. But that was cos I didn’t have my glasses. And then, my sis peers at me and says - ‘Yeow! You look like shit.’ Gah. Thanks a lot, H. Just what I needed!

…smooth shiny short hair, cold rain on a hot summer’s day, a few good films, Bingo Mad Angles, dark bitter filter coffee, a smashing playlist on the iPod, shelves of books waiting to be read and the imminent prospect of a holiday?

I want to burn, even if I break myself. I live only for ecstasy. Nothing else effects me. Small doses, moderate loves- all these leave me cold. I like extravagance, heat… sexuality which bursts the thermometer! I am neurotic, perverted, destructive, fiery, dangerous- lava, inflammable, unrestrained. I feel like a jungle animal who is escaping captivity.

– Anais Nin

Or just grossly unplanned. Perspectives, argh!

So as of today, I’m missing 1. an extremely good friend’s sister’s wedding on the 25th 2. a smashing tribute to The Beatles <3 concert on the 31st 3. meeting a gooooot friend who comes to Madras about once in half a decade.

All this now and when I’m actually rotting here the whole of June, the highlight of the month will be my awesome Freecell winning streak.

Fantastic week for a vacation. Hmpf.

I know beginning of holidays is supposed to send you into throes of ecstasy and whatnot, but really, it hasn’t been very ecstasy-affording yet. But I’m going to blame all that on the heat. Since we don’t have the luxury of soaking in bathtubs brimming over w/ lil cubes of ice, we have taken to running the A/C compulsively. An extremely indirect consequence of this was that I ended up slicing my right index finger on the moving blades of my ceiling fan. No how’s. I’m a klutz and that’s that. Now every time I apply slight pressure w/ that index finger on a surface, I feel like I have a resonating tuning fork inside it. Gah.

Anyhoo, last few days have been completely crazy. I’m leaving on a South India trip this Wednesday that’s culminating in the traditional stay at Kodai. And while we’re away, our home is getting several new coats of paint. Which, of course, means that everything in the house is being stuffed into bulging cartons and the whole place is generally getting a good dusting down.

We’re also giving away our faithful, custom-made study-table-cum-shelves which have been w/ us for over a decade now. *Sniff* There’s this particular shelf which hasn’t been cleaned out for half a decade now. With much trepidation, I opened the door and promptly started sneezing which, well, just spread the dust even more. I like disorder, but dust and grime I cannot handle. Ugh. I found in this shelf mammoth acad books that I’d used once upon a time - Resnick & Halliday/Morrison & Boyd/Irodov - many memories of sleepless nights well spent. I’m torn b/w keeping them and giving them away. Also I found a big bunch of bus tickets from my school days and a couple of seedy yellow tickets to Satyam Cinemas priced at 60 bucks. And to think now we spend double for the same. Bah!

I think all this massive cleaning spree is good after all. There are many things I’m discovering that I hardly remember. For instance, I’ve had collections of miniature liquor bottles, badges/pins, clothing tags/labels and bus tickets. I also found a diary that I kept when I was about 12 or 13 and I must confess, my writing was quite appalling at the time.

In other news, I watched Horton Hears A Who - lots of laughs, but I kind of think I’ve outgrown cute elephants that can do cool stuff w/ their ears.

Also check out today’s v.cool Google Doodle for the 125th Birthday of Walter Gropius.

…in the ten days that I haven’t blogged. Now being study hols and all that I have a lot more time on my hands than usual. So I’ve been…Actually, wait. I think I’ll do this in bullets, cos they’re so much cooler.

• Went for Photowalk #6 from Madhya Kailash -> NIFT, Taramani w/ Van. Photos here! The heat was insane and I’m happy I haven’t had a relapse of Suraksha v. Sutta Kathrika.
• My niece was in town. Visited her to find that as a result of having spent her entire [one year old] life in Hyderabad, she only speaks Telugu. Very nice. Watched in awe as she ate an entire Idly by herself. Also very amused that she puts her head into the popcorn tub and nibbles.
• Craving Tamizh films/music/anything. Starved for the language. Know not why.
• Watched Santosh Subramaniam - so-so remake of Bomarillu [which I totally liked]. But Ravi is cute!
• Went to Java Green w/ Abhi & Vaish. We were supposed to play Scrabble, but the board was forgotten. So instead we ate like mad and took self-important photos.
• Currently addicted to:
  • Super-strong peppermint. They’re lil white tablets w/ blue specks and totally blow your mind!
  • Telugu film music.
  • Watermelon juice.
  • Lying on the cold floor.
  • Vaseline Aloe-vera lotion.
• Cleaned out my shelves and re-organised whole room. Realized I have embarrassingly large amount of jewellery that I very rarely wear. Bah.

Okay, that’s a lot of things. Besides, I really can’t remember anything else. Except bumming out on my grand parents’ couch and being of no good use.

I love these times, I say!