Back

Ugh... it looks like I'll hit 'the fruit' I hinted about two posts ago before I make the long-awaited century on my blog! (Which wouldn't be a bad thing, really.) Time's running, and suddenly there's so much happening, that even though I can write a ton, I don't have the time or energy. To orient you (especially you, Fiesties, since you 'Oye-d' me), I'm back in Chicago, got back Tuesday with many bittersweet memories of my trip and a terrible cold. Since I reached late evening and was back at work the following dawn, both the jetlag and the cold settled down to a comfortable existence in my system. They're still very much alive. Ouch.

But I don't care. For one, this semester shows promise, as I embark upon a few business courses to supplement my very technical background. Second, I'm reading Clinton's My Life, and it's even better than I had hoped it would be, which is saying a lot. And third, and most encouragingly, I'm at Ninety-Six!!

Ninety-Five

Just felt like it.



















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Ok, I have to justify this post. So, in a nutshell, here's what I've been upto. Shopper's Stop, Westside, Prithvi, Yoko's, Colaba, Pune, S & A, Ananymous visits, Fi-outings (it's so long since I've played the sneaking game, I'd almost forgotten it), Bandra, Khar and Santacruz - Hearsch and Barista and Bandstand - familiar paths. And home, most of all, the sanctuary of the mind.

Ok, I've got to go. I'm wondering whether to take this new course being offered for this semester, and I've to research about it a bit. And, get back to my pending vacation!

Ninety-Four, and counting...

Well, as regards the previous post, Hacker won. That is to say, the so-called victim won. Good wins over evil, and so forth. (That is not to say that Hacker represented pure good and Appleby, pure evil. Those are, of course, 'abstract' concepts in politics.) But, all things considered, it was a fabulous read!

And just a post-script to say I'm waiting for my blog-centennial. I had half a crazy mind to write a post that says the single word: Ninety-Five, and another for ninety-six, and so on. But that's taking the easy way out. One of Fi's favorite quotes is, the fruit of waiting is always sweet. Of course, he uses it for something quite different. But, till I hit that fruit, I'll make do with a hundred on my blog.

The Screwtape Letters

Has anyone come across The Screwtape Letters, written by C.S.Lewis? This really intelligent and funny book 'reveals' a series of letters from the Devil's Undersecretary, Screwtape, to his nephew Wormwood, another devil-in-training on a lower rung of the ladder (or, should I say, 'further down the snake'?). The uncle is teaching the nephew how to accumulate as many souls for 'Our Father Below'. On a spiritual level, it explores the basic issues of morality. Of course, what really caught me was that it strikes a very creative literary note, a very thorough compilation of thoughts from 'the other side'. It is a really intelligent book, and a highly recommended read for eclectic readers.

Another reason why I like this book is that I can see direct parallels between Screwtape and Sir Humphrey Appleby of Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister fame. They're both high up on the ladder. They're both devoted to their cause. (Additionally, Screwtape is also apparently devoted to his Master, which makes his job a little easier, but whatever.) The relationship between Screwtape and Wormwood somehow reminds one of Appleby and Woolley. In one case, they're trying to house-train the Minister, in another case, a mortal soul. Whoever be the subject (or, rather, the victim), the technique is similar. In both cases, there frequently arises the question of right and wrong, and in both cases, the main point is easily obfuscated.

So will Hacker win this time? Well, I'm still only half-way through it... can't read it for too long at a stretch, it's a slightly heavy read. Also, there's too much to do here at home, and too little time, so I don't read much. But, you may expect a fuller review soon... and the results of the push-pull game.

New Year's Day 2007

So, I'm in Bombay, and all I have to show for jet-lag is the fact that I sleep at 9pm and wake up around 5am every morning. Talk about early birds.

Yesterday we all met up... Champagne, Ananymous, AA and I. The four of us. The well-known college group, meeting after more than six years! The last time I met AA was in Dec 2003... and for perhaps a total of six hours over two days... and without either one of the other two. Well, if 2007 gives two of them some part of their dreams, they'll be geographically much much closer to the two of us at some point this year. I've got my fingers crossed.

At some point of the day, we happened to land up at Cafe Mocha. Back in the days when we hung out after (or during) college, Mocha was non-existent. So was any other coffee / dessert / hookah bar, for that matter. Walking in with them, I was suddenly seized with a sense of 'un-belonging' - very aware that the average age of the other customers was about five years less than mine. We had far too much to talk of, however, for me to feel it for too long. By the time we walked out of there, I'd made a memory so strong that I'd forgotten to worry about the peripherals. Old wine is so exclusive that even drinking it in a cheap glass doesn't take away from its flavor.

I wish you a lovely 2007 and the fulfilment of all your dreams. If my first day was any indication, I know I shall have a good one this year!