One’s Best Song of All-Time

We were just leaving Jack’s Ridge in Davao City when Jonas, my colleague, asked me, “So what’s your favorite song? Of all time?” We had just witnessed very personal renditions of classics by the wonderful three-piece band in the joint. He had seen me move my lips along with some of them.

To be honest, I was caught unprepared. I tried to buy some time saying the usual thing that people say. “I haven’t really thought about it” and “Oh, that’s a tough one.” But I really couldn’t come up with an answer.

Twenty years ago, I had a clear hierarchy. Despite Metallica coming into my life relatively late, their classic One from And Justice for All reigned supreme.

It was a clear winner over songs from Alice In Chains like Down in Hole and No Excuses and those from Nirvana like Heart Shaped Box and Smells Like Teen Spirit as well as those assorted grunge classics like Black Hole Sun, Interstate Love Song, and Black that I had inspired me to pick up guitar.

I continued to struggle to find an answer. Eventually, I said Your Song by Elton John. I didn’t quite believe it when I said it, and I don’t quite believe it right now. There are so many songs that I have grown to admire since the start of my career as a musician.

These span most of the decades that I have started to get involved with. From classics such as Fly Me To The Moon and Sound of Silence to more modern ones like I’ll Follow You Into The Dark and Drivers License.

Now that I realize what I don’t know, I know what to do. But I still don’t know how to go about it.

Day 4

{If this what you see, there will be more to come soon.}

Day 3

{If this what you see, there will be more to come soon.}

Day 2

{If this what you see, there will be more to come soon.}

Day 1

• This is the first time I have been south of the Equator.
• Jakarta is more pleasant than Mumbai despite the heat and humidity.
• The currency conversion is confusing as hell.
• Indonesian food is heavenly.
• One of the big malls in Jakarta has shops that make better pastries and baked products than most places in Mumbai.

A week-long trip starts

Today I start my journey to two countries and three events, where I will do workshops and represent my employer as a brand ambassador. I’m a bundle of excitement, not too nervous, but hopeful and optimistic.

The lead-up to the trip has been chaotic because I was not originally in the picture and there were plenty of other work responsibilities. The team supporting me with the content has been working very hard to create personalized content for my delivery style, and I’m very thankful for that.

Apart from this, this is also my first international trip in a few years, which meant that I needed to upgrade my travel accessories. So as I sit a few hours from starting to the airport, having finished most of the packing, I still feel a certain sense of incompletion.

Fingers crossed and generally feeling optimistic. Wish me luck.

She’s no more

That’s me under her a few years ago. Her name is Kali. She’s Jay’s friend’s dog. But she’s no more.

We’re not sure of the reason, but she had passed out once in the recent past.

I’m surprised that I’m taking it well. After Julie, my dog in Kerala, she’s the dog that I have most played with.

RIP Kali.

Learning and Teaching

The sky was bluer than the usual smoggy grey, but the breeze was almost non-existent. I was earlier than the usual time that I come in or go out, and the entrance to the building wore people that I don’t usually see and those who don’t usually see me go in and out.

I was in runners of both types and sporty tee, wearing headphones and starting the jog just as I got off the stairs that lead out from the landing where the lifts end.

As I start my run, I realize that this is most definitely a better part of the day for the run. It also seems to give me a clean break between the late afternoon and an early evening, and another chance at establishing a clear break between work and other work. Maybe this is why I found my cadence different, more assured.

After crossing through the smaller of the two parks, and traversing the traffic-ridden street to cross over to the other, I again noticed the change in the constituents of the crowd that throngs the same streets. How could a mere hour, maybe an hour and a half, change the entire world.

Inside the walkway of the bigger park, things settled into more like the usual routine. I was feeling good enough to do two rounds instead of one. Until I saw the boy again. He was not lying down. Instead, he came up on me in a corner of the walkway and he was walking the usual jagged way, looking up at the trees, trying to find something that would keep him occupied for the next hour or so.

That brought me back to what I used to write about the boy, which brought me back to what I must write for an interview that is being recorded at work. I needed to find a good opening line for a new series of content that we are recording.

After my round, I looked for an empty park bench, and I found one that I usually don’t sit on. I sat down and started rattling off some lines that I had been thinking about. I didn’t even let my breathing settle. A couple of rounds of this and I was dissatisfied. Then I got distracted by the under-arm cricket match unfolding in the playing area across another stretch of a well-maintained lawn.

When I came back to my senses, I took down what I had written in my mind. I rehearsed it a couple of times until I performed it on the phone. More satisfied than otherwise, I started back where the boy was and I couldn’t find him. I could have gone the long way around the walkway to find him, but instead I walked back home.

I ended up sharing my copy and the recording with my work colleagues, who seemed to react to it well. One of them even give me a good idea to improve it. The evening had promised a lot and it delivered almost as much.

I headed to the shower. It was almost time for me to get ready, wear my favorite tie, and start the webinar. I was about to speak about the importance of maintaining accuracy in scientific writing. I had just learned a lesson in terms of letting your mind wander to come up with creative writing.

Another day, another night

Today is the third day of me pretty much doing the same thing. Going the to mall and checking out blazers, that kind of stuff. But today was different. Today I knew what I had to do. There is less uncertainty about different choices and prices. I knew I had to get something and I just did that.

I ran into a little problem though, which I had the luxury to smooth off with beer. I had to get one of the blazers altered, which would take me about an hour. That led me to the most obvious place to get a drink, but that was disappointing. Instead, I went to a dinner-type place and had a couple of draughts.

If you know more, a beer and a half do me a lot of good in terms of loosening up. I enjoyed reading up on the news, catching up on the latest promo by The Rock, and eyeing the older member of a transgenerational M2M couple having beers a few tables over to my right.

I’m back at home and after having dinner, the beers are still singing to me. I’m singing to myself. I’m thinking of working on some music. Maybe even record a song for someone at work who’s celebrating their 17th work anniversary.

Ha, marvel at how different life is on days merely separated by a sunrise. Also, marvel at how beers make me feel like how I think I should.

Little Things In Life

When I usually walk out of my building, I generally walk past the group of women who sit in the evening on plastic chairs and talk. I don’t mean to be rude but initiating a social interaction is huge work for me. I would avoid it as much as possible.

One of them is the mother of my next-door neighbor. I’m not too friends with her, but I’m friends with her daughter and her granddaughter. The latter I consider similar to my niece, and just like my niece, she adores my banana-ragi pancakes.

I made a batch for her today and felt happy about it. And so, when I took the elevator down, I feel courageous and strong enough to smiled at her grandmother. As soon as I stepped out the elevator, I met the granddaughter too.

If only I could make something for someone every day to validate the potential initiation of a plain social greeting with the.