The pleasure of finding things out

The song itself is amazing, but when you apply it to an event of amazing magnitude, a wedding, it totally blows you away!

Jill and Kevin truly *brought* this song to the world... do not miss their wedding march to this amazing number.

I have to give full credit to their band of friends and family who actually agreed to participating in the march/dance/whatever!! :D

Various comments on blogs and in youtube have trashed the celebration by stating that this is an insult of God [the march is in a church], but I personally feel that a celebration is a celebration, and God only joins in! :)

Be prepared to be amazed: JK Wedding March on YouTube [sorry embedding is disallowed].

The song actually drove up sales for Chris Brown's hit single Forever!! :)

Some lyrics I loved from the song:

Feels like we're on another level
Feels like our loves intertwined,
We can be two rebels breaking the rules
me and you, you and I
All you got to do is watch me
Look what I can do with my feet
Baby feel the beat inside,
I'm driving you can take the front seat
Just need you to trust me
       - Forever by Chris Brown

Yesterday's Economic Times editorial titled "Single Minded" made for interesting reading.

I can't remember exactly what stood out in the brief writeup, but it got me thinking about writing letters and observing people. I'll talk about each, and how it can help us grow as a person.

Writing Letters:

Gone are the yesteryears where writing letters was the defacto mode of communication. There were so many aspects to it:

• The smell of paper and envelope traveling through various lands
• The excitement and the wait of reading replies to questions/comments made in previous communiques
• Thinking through what you want to write, and structuring the information in a consumable format
• Extending hobbies and making penpals

I used to write regularly to my Mama in Mumbai, while growing up in Dubai. We used to exchange random things, and collectibles.

We both collected stamps, and he collected Phone cards. I would make it a point to send him phone cards from Dubai, with different pictures on each [as unique as stamps could be]. He would in return make sure to buy new/different stamps and use them to post the letters to me. This way we were able to extend our hobbies as well as keep in touch.

I remember waiting for 1 particular letter, after he got engaged, to see what my Mami looked like.

I used to write to Atamjeet Kainth regularly too, who was my best friend till 5th grade, when he migrated to Canada. We are still in touch, but now use email *sigh*.

I find it all so very missing in our current lifestyle. The excitement, the personal touch, the exchange of pictures awaited, the extension to hobbies.

All we have is a drab email in a boring interface, with photos attached at will, without consideration or excitement.

I intend to write 1 letter per month, to begin with, and try and review the art at least from my side :)

Observing People:

I remember reading, as a child, about Jim Corbett sitting in a Ferry and observing people. He was trying to guess the profession and place of origin of each passenger on board the vessel. He happened to meet another traveler on the vessel who was doing the exact same thing! :)

They ended up chatting and exchanging notes on the art of observation. It was an impressionable read to say the least. Even my dad would tell me while growing up, to observe things around me and to understand what it could mean. I was always more for books than for observance.

But after yesterday's article I decided to spend 10 minutes a day just observing people [we have a huge cafeteria in the office, so I don't need to find ground]. I believe there is much to be learned. :)

Lets see how this goes. Will keep you guys posted.

House is a TV serial I watch religiously (says a lot about my beliefs doesn't it?).

Here are some interesting quotes (will keep adding to them):

- Be a do-er, not a me-too-er!
- Time changes everything. It's what people say, it's not true. Doing things changes things. Not doing things leaves things exactly as they were.

Our anniversary is this Saturday, so we decided to do an early semi-celebration by taking a trip to Dandeli about 2 weeks ago. Friends from my office were heading out there, and we decided to join them for a fun time!

All in all it was a blast, and included driving 900 kms (total) through day and night. We enjoyed sitting in a natural jacuzzi on the river Kali, white water rafting and a jungle safari.

Our route was: Pune > Belgaum > Dandeli > Belgaum > Pune. Dandeli is only about 80 kms short of Panjim i Goa. :D

We had a great bunch of friends who we hung out with, and had a blast. I think we'll be doing more of these going forward. Driving down was worth it, and I intend to make most of my trips using the road from now on.

Enjoy the photos (we sure did have a lot of fun) :D

Dandeli Trip 2009

Yay! The wifey got back yesterday morning, and it's been great since then.

It's her birthday tomorrow (Thursday) and am planning on various agendas for the big day.

All said and done, the 15 days she wasn't around were hell! It goes to show that no matter how manly men want to be, at the end of the day they are quite dependent on their women :)

Sure I'm probably less dependent than most, seeing that I lived alone for 9 years and can do everything from clean the house to wash clothes (washing machine, no biggie) to cook. But even then I was quite depressed and realised my level of dependence :D

Somehow whenever I spend time with my wife (which is everyday), she reminds me of this song:

Spent most of the last 2 months traveling: Goa, Ranchi, Mumbai :)

Will post pics soon.. they are already posted, I just need to caption them out. :D

So I got engaged.. I mean formally, with ring et al. Our engagements don't really have rings, in fact the bridegroom isn't even supposed to be around at the engagement! I gate crashed and we exchanged rings at the end of the so called bridegroom-less engagement :D

All said and done it was a great event, and I have a ring with a huge rock in it. I had wished for a gold band as that is more comfortable, but it didn't work out that way for me.

Dusty brown boots in the corner
By the ironing board
Spray on dust is the greatest thing
Sure is the greatest thing
- Beta Band, Dry the Rain

I feel like life has taken this turn from which there is no turning back (is there ever??). I miss old friends, am shy to make new ones, and am more than looking forward to life with my wife :D

I saw a movie called Baran. It has been over month since I saw it, but whenever I think of it, it brings tears to my eyes. Now I'm not one to cry often or even get so emotional out of hand, but this movie strikes a chord in me like no other.

The socio-economic aspects in the movie are very well researched and portrayed. The movie is set in 2001 Iran, where there are a lot of Afghani refugees. These refugees work illegally at construction sites to earn bread and butter for their families.