You're beautiful ..it's true - James Blunt

This weekend took me by surprise in more ways than one. I haven't entertained friends in ages.... the prehistoric era was in Hyderabad where we had established almost this steady transit system between Bangalore and Hyderabad. Is it something that has to do with your professional life ? :) Well Mincy came over last weekend all the way from California.

The two days seem so short a time to have fit in all that we did fit in. After picking her up from the airport, we managed to get back around 10:30 in the night. Then we made a quick tour of the rooftop view but there was hardly a night view to discern things. The next day we had plans to go hiking on Mt.Rainier with Nancy and Bob. You can see how beautiful Mt.Rainier is and how bad a computer person I am from the orientation of the pictures. But no picture could do justice to the colors of a snow capped dormant volcano, majestically towering and dominating the countryside. It is the home to many glaciers and almost each of them becomes a trail. The names are pretty and fittingly beatiful, Paradise trail, Wonderland...... we went on the Sunrise trail. And even though it was an easy hike, there was an elevation gain of some 1500 feet maybe, and as soon as that started, I started panting. I would have to stop every couple of steps. The trail curved through a green meadow and over gravelly rocks with a steep fall one side. But we made it to the Freemont lookout without incident. The lookout point commands a view of the Olympics, the steep green valleys and Mt.Rainier. However when we reached, the white whisks of clouds were just starting to become comfortable on the peaks of Mt.Rainier and hiding the view. The Olympics are an amazing mountain range and I am all eager to travel there soon.

We hiked around 8 miles on Saturday, and we covered some of the most picturesque lakes and views. Lake Tipsoo near Chinook pass, Frozen lake and Shadow lake..... I am holding my breath even while I am writing, just thinking about them. The lakes were an emerald green, and it was only later that you would realize that it was the color of the pines and conifers that it was actually reflecting. But that greenish blue mystical lake, hidden among tall christmas trees, and a white mountain were exactly what you would imagine to have just conjured up out of an Enid Blyton book. :)

Sunday we went adventure seeking... from para-sailing over Elliot Bay to kayaking in Lake Union, then shopping and hanging around in Pike place market, eating cheesecakes while sitting by the side of the bay in the olympic sculpture park and walking a little to the sweet rose-garden, and ending it with the Space Needle, a full moon which we first thought was the sun and dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory. It was a breathtaking weekend, if we had got time to catch out breaths that is. I had never imagined I would end up doing and enjoying so much.

I have so long seen Seattle through my eyes. Last weekend when I saw it through Mincy's eyes, and her joy and enthusiasm and spirit in wanting to settle in this city, I realized how lucky I was. Sometimes, it takes another pair of eyes to make you realize how lucky you are. And yes, I am in a little bit of heaven on earth , and in a little bit of corner on the face of th earth which I have made up to be home. And among all the colors and wonders of nature, these are the moments which take my breath away. I just wish I appreciated them more.


By the way the title of the post !!! is a song dedication to Seattle. :)))

Sunshine on my shoulders ...

Sunshine on my shoulders ..... makes me happy
Sunshine in my eyes ....... can make me cry
Sunshine .... on the water ...looks so lovely
Sunshine ..... almost always makes me high

If I had a day I could give you ....
I'd give to you a day ...just like today
If I had a song I could sing for you
I'd sing a song to make you feel this way.

- John Denver

There was an ad in India in which this song played in the background. Just the words and the tune are so heart-rendering, you cannot help but be touched. Well Seattle somehow warrants this song...... :) more than anywhere else. You should see the change from a cloudy day to a day when the sun is out. It is visible in people, in the water, in the colors and smiles all around.
The park which is unnaturally empty and drab on an otherwise normal Seattle day , ( read overcast) fills with humans and pets alike on a day like today. The water reflecting the sunlight is brilliantly blue. And nature is vibrantly green, everything as if in competition to outshine each other.

There's been so much happening and so much cramped into so few days ...... even then I got time to wonder , wow is this me !! It so happened that there was a day when there wasn't a friend with whom I would have missed out talking to or getting in touch with. And all I could think of was, where were you all some months back. :)

I also went on a trip to the company fulfillment center and got to see the entire process of what exactly happens after an order comes in. How that order is translated from an online mouse click to a package that actually greets you at your doorstep. Believe me , I was floored. The nitty gritty details are so amazing to watch and see how it all fits in like clockwork.


I will abruptly end this post today. I am bursting to write but what I have to write would make a good diary entry and not a blog post :).

Walk in the clouds

I usually can never write when I am down in the dumps. But today I will make an exception, just bcoz I want to share it.
After all these days of musing and thinking of doing it, I did finally make it out of the door and all the way to the park by myself. If anything, I was able to lose my way on an almost perfectly straight road. But I made it in time for sunset. There are a lot of people there on any evening, old and young couples alike, a lot of pet-lovers walking their dogs - golden retrievers, pooches, and I wouldn't even recognize the rest of the breeds, a lot of joggers, a lot of walkers, and some strollers like me.
Its a curving road, sometimes taking you very near to the rocks and the water beyond it (I will from now on refer to the "water" as the "sea"), and sometimes totally hiding it from view. But its more or less open with few trees strewn about. I can tell you the time when I reached there and the time that I found my way back, but time loses its meaning sometimes and let this be one of those.
The sun was just starting to move closer to the distant hills from the sky, and the sparkling golden rays made an amazing spread over the sea waves. The water was lashing on the rocks, it must have been high tide because the some-feet-wide beach I had seen some days back had disappeared. I followed the road till all that lay between me and the sunset was the blue sea. And then I followed a small rock strewn trail, which took you off the path but kept you just above the rocks....... made probably by lots of feet....... which had felt that walking so near to the sea was so much more inviting.
There I sat down on this wooden, falling-apart bench. The sun had almost begun to hide behind the hills. Behind me was the space needle, and far to the left was Mt.Rainier ..... imagine a sole snow covered ice-peak pink in the hues of the evening sun. Right in front of me was the water lapping up the rocks, now a shade a dark blue, and then a shade of dark green. My companions were a lady-bird, the sound of water hitting the rocks and a bird crying in the distance. Ofcourse there were people crossing behind me, talking, ..... but for those few moments that the sun actually bade goodbye to the daisies all around me, everything was muffled.

It is one of those moments that are best enjoyed alone or in silence because any sound would have spoiled the effect. And it is one of those moments that make you feel blessed.

I felt, understood and loved the calming effect of the water, ...... nature........ and all in only one deep breath.

Tagged.....

Rules
1. Players start with 5 random facts about themselves.
2. Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 5 random facts.
3. Players should tag 3 other people and notify them they have been tagged.

Random facts about me:

1. I have a very well-known/notorious sweet tooth. I would have sugar with curd (notice that I said sugar with curd and not the other way round) at the hostel and I have been the butt of many jokes due to this. :)
2. I love watching sentimental, romantic movies and usually always sit and cry over the sentimental teary moments ........ if I am alone.
   
3. I used to paint, as in I love coloring. I was pretty good with shading, though I cannot say the same for sketching. Infact I had drawn this Rajasthani flute player and colored it, which is a chart paper sized painting, hanging on the walls of our house. Alas, I learnt to type and totally forgot the paint brush. :)
   
4. How much ever I have eaten, I always and I mean always, have place for dessert. :) So I don't mind if you leave out the main course and jump to desserts right away.
   
5. I have this habit of looking up my horoscope on rediff astrology by Bejan Daruwala. Even though if you ask, I will refuse to admit that I believe in it................ I at some point of the day or the other have looked it up. And many a time have made events fall into place with the predictions.

I tag:

Shriram, Anshuman, Ramya

4th of July

I wasn't writing for sometime, bcoz after the last post I did not think any of my day to day activities would be as interesting. But then, if everyday were as interesting, I probably would not live to tell the tale. :) (Just kidding!!)

Today was an amalgam of so many things, that I don't think I have appreciated any of them in its entirety yet and will surely need a night's sleep before I start that. We watched Transformers in the afternoon. It was very entertaining, except that I, not being the kind of person who enjoys fight sequences, the duels among robots seemed to drag a bit for me. And I also felt the storyline was drawn on and from Terminator 2, but thats just my opinion.

After grabbing a grilled salmon sandwich at a bayside restaurant in Pike place market, we caught the evening show of Ratatouille. That was a movie I have been planning to catch since the day it released. Its the newest Pixar production. Somehow they always breathe so much of life into their characters, that I feel lost in their creativity. And everytime I end up wishing, if only I had joined the animation industry, it would have been such a joy to give rise to succh characters or be a part of such an endeavor. I loved the movie, not as much as cars but almost.

Later today, Raja and I hurried to the rooftop deck of my house to catch the July 4th fireworks over the bay. There were already quite a few people in the small space and we thought we would give the Myrtle Edwards Park, right in front a try. This was the park which was supposed to be THE viewing point for the bay fireworks. Even when we started heading down, we could people swarming in and all the people who had already camped with foldable chairs and blankets from god knows when.

Then I wasn't, but later I was so thankful that Raja coaxed me to go down the rocks close to the water. We sat in what can be called the best front seats, inches from the water, sometimes even getting sprayed by the waves caused by lurching boats some distance away (all anchored to watch the fireworks.) The fireworks take place from this barge anchored in the middle of the bay. It is an amazing array of green, red , blue , golden sparks and fountains. The first thing they reminded me of was Diwali in India. After having actually got your hands dirty in making flower pots (called tubdis in bengali), I hardly suppose that sitting and watching firecrackers from far away would offer the same kind of fun.
Thats exactly it, its is a different kind. :) The amazing circles of light lighting up the sky and water for a few seconds and then disappearing into nothingness, the spiralling shafts of light, the twirling sparks which burst into a dazzling array of colors high over your head ....... they all seemed so much a part of the night. I remembered how I had seen the same display last summer, from the side windows of the elevator lobby of Harbor Steps. This year was so much different, with a much more beautiful view, a first hand experience of being near the water and seeing the reflections in the water and the clouds. Next time perhaps will be more different , perhaps in Gasworks park, which I have heard has an even more grand display.

It has been a long eventful day and I am tired. So time to turn in, and get ready for another work day tomorrow. Boy, am I glad for a mid-week holiday:).