Homo sapiens non urinat in ventum

Well that's introducing Amsterdam for you. The TOLERANT city. Sex capital. Drug haven. Business Savvy. Tulips. Farm cheese. Bikes. Leaning buildings. Wooden shoes. Boat houses. There can only be one name for all of this as a combination; Free Souls. Take this first shot. What's so shameful about a pee? And then, if you've had lots of beer and need to pee, what's so wrong about keeping a bowl nearby. Even if the bowl's placed bang in the middle of everywhere in the city (even outside an opera house!!), and is nothing more than something to aim at :)). The Dutch call it a crow. And if one thinks the carefree abandon stops there, better wait a minute. If there can be a lake-view or a city-view hotel; apparently why not have a crow-view hotel!!! And where else in the world can you expect that along with your pizza; you get a mouthfreshner, a sachet of seasoning and a condom!!! All of this can be easily mistaken for an immoral and obscene place. But is Amsterdam really such a place?? NOT AT ALL. I won't know if it’s the Cannabis effect; if some feeling gets heady and contagious, it’s definitely the WHY NOT? spirit. And the Latin saying above is put on no less than a imposing Roman arch in one of the best parts of the city :-). There are very few places that can lift a man's spirits; Amsterdam is definitely one.

It is Latin for...heck I'll leave you with some work!

 

Where is Slovenia?

That's a question that nags Veronica while she is dying... in Paulo Coelho's "Veronica Decides to Die". Incidentally, that's also the question that took me to the land.. I was once alone in this little town of Timisoara, in Romania. For reasons I don't know yet, I'd keep reminding myself that it was the farthest, remotest place I've ever been from home. But travelling through the local trains stopping by at the remotest villages in Slovenia, I couldn't help but feel that this was the closest I've felt to being at home. It is a country that keeps English as a pidgin just like India does. I wish it the best but I personally dislike its joining the EU and subsequent turn to just another expensive place. This also seemed to be a land where the inhabitants were picked out from everywhere and placed with care.. if you are a Slovenian, you had to have the kindest heart for the fellow traveler. Day one was the journey into Ljubljana. Never mind if you can't pronounce it right the very first time for you can rest assured you'll love to say it to yourself the rest of your life. The terrain doesn't change as you enter from Austria into Slovenia riding over the glorious alps. Its only the homes that do. Poorer, wealthier. As you pass through ill-kempt rural train stations, you can't but think of your own places in India. And when your fellow passengers open their lunch packs and share it with you, you know you've crossed the west and entered east Europe. With its warmth, I never realized I've been walking around Ljubljana for four hours when I had to go to another town - Maribor. For once, I was travelling with a specific destination in mind. My local host whom I'd been writing mails to. She is the kindest host I'd ever met. Well, this blog ain't meant to be a minute by minute account; so I can't find place for all the nicest people I met on my way while I lost it again and again but felt like I had found better ones. The next day was a trip to my host's grandmother's place and then her aunt's. A bike ride of about 2 hours on each way.. The shopping rounds, the ice cream, the ride alone by the long and winding river..... the evening on the streets of Maribor...umm.. etched forever in my memories. I was back in Ljubljana the next morning, basking in the warm sun in the youth hostel that was once a prison. The guitar strumming fellow travelers make you feel that the world that you see through the iron bars is the one that is imprisoned and you are the one that's free!!! A bike ride discovering the Sunday market, the most beautiful castle and the baroque chapels is worth every drop of sweat. And when one books a city tour by boat, one hardly expects the special treatment I got. Incidentally, I was the only one in the boat that day; a boat that could hold about 30 happy hearts. The sparkling wine and a nice guide; and you can only feel like a prince. I am not sure if it was the beer by the best live music which had its effect; but I just found that I could strike the warmest conversations with almost every new person that passed by my table. My feet were asking for more after I travelled three pubs, one restaurant and countless open air eateries with live music. That left me with time for one last honey brandy to fill my heart with. They say.... err..heck.. I SAY.. it’s never a place that you like but it’s the time that you spend in one that makes you like it. But with Slovenia, I've got to say it can make you have the best of your times. I now know where it is.. and can't wait to go there again...

It's in my fondest recollections...

 

Leave me a comment!!!

You are caught reading my blog. Google analytics does the job of profiling your whereabouts... Now if only you'd leave me a comment!!!! Gee.. won't I just love it. :-).

To test your luck...

I've been feeling really lucky of late.. And plainly put, I know it isn't about luck. Is it about optimism? I'd say it is... To ask someone if she/he considers her/himself lucky, is probably the most insightful question. When I couldn't convince a friend against taking little chances, this is how it slipped out of my mouth. Don't put your luck to test too often...because that is when realize you've got none.

Another of those utterings that keep me feeling wise :-). And with my friend? Well, it drove the point home.

Girls are like money..

I never understood why people get excited... for fairly stupid reasons.. like when they have babies, when they get engaged, when they lose their virginity.. brrrr !!!! While I, have a real precious thing to be celebrating. I've got my first grey hair!!! Its nice and curly, and yes a little shiny too. And its on the sides of my head, hopefully leading to a gorgeous patch just like the movie make-up artist would do it. And now that its just about time for you to wonder what this post is about.. and how's it connected to the title... let me ask you a question. Would you still have read this far if I retained the original title - grey hair is like money... having some, gets you many!! :-))

 

WHEN I discovered my first grey hair, I immediately wrote to my parents: "Dear Dad and Mom, You saw my first steps. You might want to experience this with me too." I taped the offending hair to the paper and mailed it. My father's response, titled "Sonnet to a Hair," began:
It 's a trustworthy observation
That nothing can compare
In the process of aging
With finding the first grey hair. . .
He signed off with this observation: "That grey hair you sent us is not the first one you gave us!"

 

Five more minutes mom...

Yes, that's what I'd tell my mom every time she woke me up early. Thank heavens that she kept at it, after each five minutes. If I were to tell anybody why I'd kept from adding to my blog, all I know is... I was taking just a five minute break. It just happened to last too long. I'm going through my worst ever, down-and-out lazy patch right now. Wonder if Einstein ever had them too ;-). But then, its never too late. (or rather it doesn't help to think its late ;-)..) So now I stand up right this minute, and start again,

...and i'll be okay!!

If you want to feel good - http://www.paulgraham.com/procrastination.html
If you want to be honest - http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=9770&cn=353