Fly like an eagle..

Have you ever noticed an eagle flying in the sky? It usually flies alone. And I suppose it enjoys its flight. To see where I am going, let me start where it all started. I've been getting a lot of "It's time you found someone" from my friends lately. Its their feeling that its about time. Well, I'd be happy if I found someone but I definitely am not going to lose my sleep over it.

I do come across some of my co-workers and colleagues who feel that they're missing good times by not being in a relationship. The peer pressure of people around them doesn't help either. They rue over the fact that they don't have much life on weekends which makes them dour and dull on normal workdays. These people are not alone. Based on my internet browsing experience, I've come across many such people who share a similar opinion. "Trapped in loneliness", that's what they call it. At the same time, I see people who are into a committed relationship sighing how little time they have now to spend for themselves because in whatever little time they have, they are busy doing this or doing that with their better halves or their kids. They long for that never available precious time for doing that special something which they always wanted to do but never did. One such committed guy admitted that he sometimes envied my simple life. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side. Or maybe your neighbor always has the best lawn mower.

I do lead a simple life in fact. When I am not working, I spend most of my time at home (sweet home) playing computer games or doing stuff that keeps me busy. Since I don't venture out much, I can safely say that my social life is not something to write home about. Most of my friends keep in touch with me online and thus ensure that I need not hang out with them often (as I said somewhere in this blog before, I have the social skills of a neanderthal, so they prefer to keep in touch online rather than in person. Some of them also have the excuse of living in different countries.). So the only time I get to go out on a regular basis is when I go out to do some grocery shopping, etc. This averages to about a grand total of a couple of hours a week. Since I've laid down a rule for myself that I won't date someone from work (I admit that I did break this rule once [I'm prone to breaking rules], but not planning to do it again.) walking down the aisles of the supermarket is the only time when you can say I get a window to meet the other people of the world. Honestly, two hours per week does not seem to be enough. And the people who come out to do groceries are not exactly there to hang out or meet people. Admit it, its a boring chore that everyone wants to avoid and get quickly done over with and invariably you are not dressed in your Sunday best or as if you are going to date on a Friday night. This adds to the challenge. The other time I get out is when I am traveling. But since its mostly business travel, again, not much life after work. Its just do-your-business-and-then-travel-back-home.

So what about my weekend? Weekend for me means, playing Wii or Age of Empires, reading books (thrillers, mainly), or catching up on weekly Su-do-ku or Crossword for almost 5 hours (most of it indoors as you might have observed). Or I simply catch up on my sleep. Or got online and catch up with friends. Did I tell you they prefer catching up with me on the internet only? Summary of my life. Dull? But definitely not boring. I sure do get my (so-called) work-life balance.

So, I definitely don't lose my sleep on being single. IMHO I would rather in fact cherish the time I stayed single (which I'm doing) just as much as I would enjoy being in a relationship. No point in worrying about the things that would happen tomorrow today. And when I find that special girl who's going to change my schedule (my weekend schedule especially), I'll definitely go along with her. I'm pretty sure that one of these days I will return from my grocery shopping with something more than I can chew on. But till that time, I'd prefer flying like an eagle, and enjoy every bit of the flight.

So the next time someone tells me, "It's time you found someone," I'll say, let time decide that for me.

As Steve Miller sang:

Time keeps on slippin, slippin, slippin
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin, slippin, slippin
Into the future

I want to fly like an eagle
To the sea
Fly like an eagle
Let my spirit carry me
I want to fly like an eagle
Till Im free

(pic: http://www.firstpeople.us)

Paris state of mind

Its been almost 2 weeks since I have been to Paris. But the city still seems to haunt me. My work in the recent past has taken me to quite a few places. But no place has had an impact on me like this city did. I guess its due to the fact that I had read so much about it even before I set foot in it. I like reading fiction especially the books that deal with espionage set at an international scale that take you on a journey around the world while you are still seated comfortably in your armchair. At one time I had this phase of cold-war spy thrillers which somehow or the other used to have Paris as a part of the main plot or at least a sub-plot. For instance, the hero catching a train at Gare du Nord or Gare du Lyon, Or a car chase through the Arondissements of the central city, or spies exchanging information while having cafe au lait (or espresso) at one of the famous roadside cafes, etc. One of the most vivid scenes I remember is the car chase shot from the movie "Ronin". And the other one is the houseboat on Seine which is the residence of Duncan MacLeod (portrayed by Adrian Paul) from the TV series "The Highlander". It was like having a myriad of thoughts about this city in Europe where so much action takes place even before I set foot in it. Perhaps, it could be simply due to the fact that I visited the city as a plain tourist rather than with business as the prime motive. And the city didn't disappoint me at all.

Right from the moment I entered it via the ghastly building that serves as its more famous airport Charles De Gaulle (Orly being the other one), it lived upto its reputation of being one of the most romantic places on earth (if you are a traveler, that is. I really cannot comment on the life in the city as a Parisienne considering the short time I got to stay there). Travel writers and novelists claim about cities and places having characters of their own. I could never quite figure out what this "character" meant. Until I saw this city, of course. For me a city is just a large colony of people living in some buildings out of which some buildings are monuments just due to the fact that they were constructed in the previous century. Paris changed my perspective. Now I understand what a city with character means. It means that a city (or for that matter a place) can have character. Not clear? Then I will leave it there. I will never be able to explain it.


A walk on the north and south banks of the Seine over the weekend was like reliving all those novels which I had read since the time I started reading books without pictures. For a moment all those places which were only names in the books just started to materialize as signposts of streetnames in front of me. Pont Alexandre III, Place Vendome, the Latin Quarter, Montmarte, Quai d'Orsay, Notre Dame.... I had to pinch myself to believe that this was for real. And of course the other proof was the imposing sight of the Eiffel Tower which stood tall enough to remind me that I was in the land of the Gauls. Amazing! Those French pronunciations, those bridges spanning the Seine, the roadside booksellers hawking paintings of the Mona Lisa and the Notre Dame, the famous Hotel De ville with its more famous skating rink in the front, the Louvre museum with the glass pyramid entrance, the street side cafes where you can just pop down for a cafe in case you're tired of all that walking. Paris is also known for its famous gourmet Restaurants such as George V on the avenue Champs Elysees. Whew! Its too much of a city to cover in a weekend.

And the Museums! I suppose Paris has more artwork and museums than the whole of Europe put together. I finally got to see "Starry Night" by Vincent Van Gogh in Musee d'Orsay. Manets and Monets hung right next to each other. Standing so close to these masterpieces! By the look on the face of the museum guard who was sitting there with a bored expression while we tourists were happily clicking away at the painting with our digital cameras, I strongly suspected that these were clever fakes and the real paintings were safely lying in a vault someplace else.

Perhaps I shouldn't blame the guard. After all, this was Paris.Even the most exotic thing you could think of is at an arm's reach as an everyday object. I could see a Rolls parked unattended near Arc de Triomphe. Or a fleet of black S-Class Mercs (with chauffeurs whose black suits would have only come from an exotic boutique) parked like Fiat Cinquecentos on the Champs Elysees. An experience worth savouring like a good French wine.

Even as I boarded the return flight home, I was in a Paris state of mind.