23...

best friends with darling children, new beginings filled with promise and joy, pressure to succeed running parallel with the will to achieve, a time of heartbreaks, of mending, of forgiveness and of love, the sunrise of my future peaking over the horizon- beckoning me to rise early and greet it with a warm cup of coffee in hand...


...and suddenly here i am, 24.

on a lighter note- there's a couple sitting next to me in the computer lab i'm in...um, grinding? i guess that's the best way to put it. he's nuzzling her neck and she's sitting on his lap, dancing.

eww...

I wasn't going to blog yesterday, feeling i hadn't words nearly as poised or eloquent as the day deserved- then i realized that that would be the easy, cowardly way out. So here it is, a few random thoughts in yesterday's memory and a few questions towards hopeful tomorrow.

I found out on a public bus- riding the 72 up to campus. the couple infront of me was listening to the news on their handheld radio...random words- "world trade center", "terrorist attack", "twin towers" was all i heard (it's hard to eavesdrop on a noisy bus) but i understood that tragedy too had woken early that morning.

Cried a lot that week- for the dead and for the living they had left behind. Yesterday, 5 years later, i was parking my car and on the radio a sweet ballad played interjected with a childs' conversation with the father she had lost- needless to say, i cried again. And 20 years from now, i'll probably cry some more, though i'm not the crying sort- a few tears shed will forever be the small, private memorial that myself and countless others pay to that catastrophic day.

Catastrophic and catalytic- pushing people to fiercely seek out and cling to the notion of a global fraternity, finding our strength in numbers. Any fool can blow up a building, and any fool can rebuild the same, but it took borderless nation of humanity to rebuild the trust in each other we lost that day. I wonder, today- 5 years later- are we there yet?

So my question to you is this: "one world", what does that mean to you- simply, and honestly.

P.S.- viv, it is my deep honor and privilege to be able to call such a courageous and selfless individual as yourself my friend...come home quickly soldier, jai shri krishna.

This is sooo weird.


(Preface: I LOVE green tea! more specifically, i love Arizona brand diet green tea with ginseng. Twice a week i'll head into Safeway- think Kroger with a better bakery for you eastcoasters- and grab a large bottle before going in to work. This one particular morning (yesterday) i was doing just that- there i stood, flipping through a copy of Time, with the bottle on the conveyor belt infront of me...)

So i had the tea, the tea was rung up- i paid for it and it was bagged. I reached for the bag and in it- instead of just finding tea- i find a GALLON of milk.

a gallon.
of milk.

"Um, maam, i think there's been a mistake- i didn't purchase this" I say
"oh I know, it was a gift"
"...a gift? what?"
"Yup- from that man over there, he just said he'd like for this milk to be put with your things"

so i turn to look at this guy, and as i do so he turns- waves and then makes a motion with his hand like he's drinking from a glass, smiles and takes off...leaving his number in my grocery bag.

Oh yes, you read right.

For reals yo, is he kidding me? Did he really think i was going to call him? Some of my coworkers though it'd be crazy romantic if i actually called. Puhlease-for all i know he could be a new serial killer- the milk man: first he feeds you then he guts you.

maybe this the latest craze in meeting women and i'm just not with it. Random grocery buying? and where does it stop? (maam, I'd like to buy the little lady behind me a cucumber or two) And, most importantly, does what you buy her convey different messages? salami, mushrooms....or, god forbid, bundt cake! (what do you suppose that would mean?) Maybe he thinks my bones could use work, or maybe he's just watched Napoleon Dynamite too many times. Whatever be the case, needless to say, i'm not calling him.

*SIGH*- why is my life so strange? definitely one for the books...or at least for this blog

As a tribute to all of the bad dates i've been on:
For men, 10 things you should know about women


1) On pick up lines...
"What time is it?" is not an adequate pick up line. Ever. Seriously, think back- when was the last time that you asked a woman what time it was and she responded with "well, it's 5:30 and you can pick me up in 2 hours for dinner".
(This msg goes out the the fool who asked me what time it was today, carried on about ten mins of conversation then asked me for my number while pulling out his cell phone....that, suprisingly, had the time on it.)

2) On attachment...
Women like the chase as well, an easy man isn't worth having. Basically- never follow us too closely, unless ,of course, you're a dog.

3) On tardiness...
When we do it, we're being fashionably late. When you do it, you're being annoying.

4) On eye contact...
Treat us, if you will, much like you'd treat a solar eclipse. A short quick look is enough to shock and awe...stare too long and you'll burn your eyes out.

5) On dining out...
Women, apparently, produce over half the worlds food but only own 1% of its farmlands. So, really, it is perfectly OK for you to pick up the tab, even if we offer- at least on the first date.
Also, let us order first. It's only polite and allows you to see how much we're ordering and then order MORE so we don't seem like pigs. We'll love you for it, trust me.

6) On dining in...
Inviting us to your house for dinner for the first date will never ever get a yes- you'll come across as el creepo in a ted bundy sort of way. And, when we finally do accept, don't cook for us unless you can cook. please. just order in- pizza and a movie is always prefered over indigestion.

7) On compliments...
You can never give us too many sincere compliments. To be honest, you can never give us too many exaggerated ones either ;)

8) On conversation...
I don't want to hear about the woman you nearly "boinged" last week, nor do i want to hear about the one you will try to boing next week- and if you choose to talk about how playing Halo 2 improves the dexterity in your fingers, you damn well better be able to prove it.
The safe bet is to talk about us- a topic that is near and dear to our hearts and one that we are infinetly knowledgeable about ;) kidding...of course (before viv starts his ranting).

9) On dancing...
Don't, unless you're very very good- and you're only very very good if a woman other than your mother has told you so. But if you simply must- and you really can't- be kind and watch out for our toes.

10) On kissing...
If you have to ask if you can, you can't.