America is a weird country. Few other countries in the world dangle their ideals of freedom and liberty than America, while at the same time have the most restrictive rules.
Now, I'm not saying that my basic rights are being taken away because I am not able to enter a night club or lounge, and I definitely respect that they are trying to restrict the amount of drinking that teenagers do, but why am I not allowed to sit at a bar and sip a lemonade while my over-21 friend enjoys a beer?
And when you think about it, the number of places to socialize are limited, and the bar-scene atmosphere cannot be recreated at a coffee house. Can you imagine a jam-packed Starbucks with a line winding around the block to enter, full of dressed up people, at NIGHT? The 21-age rule has made my social life at night pretty limited.
Anyway, as my over-21 roommate went out to a bar last night, her boyfriend who is the same age as me decided we should do something just as fun. Hmm. Tricky.
Board games? Just the thought depressed me. I did not want to be a couch potato and watch a movie, I wanted to go OUT. Pool? We really wanted to play pool. But pool tables are usually found in bars. Darts. Bars. Dancing. Bars.
Bowling? There is a fun squeaky-clean activity. So we hop in the car with a couple of friends and drive all the way out to the other side of the city to find ourselves face to face with a sign that simply said, "CLOSED". Thank you, respectable midwestern city that I live in, thank you for your decent hours and lazy pace.
So we end up going to the only place that will take us (sob!) the Hookah Bar. More than cigarette smoking, the only reason people smoke Hookah is to socialize. Its a social thing. Its just what its made for. I don't think I will be sitting at home reading a book and thinking, "hmm... I desperately need a drag of hookah right now."
We ended up having fun, with great conversation and a sweet mint tea for me, thank you. But I couldn't help wondering what we would have done if this little piece of culture hadn't found its way to this part of the world. Making a countdown calendar until 21, probably.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
The Chennai Idiosyncracy
I have always alternated between boring facts and nostalgia that make me cringe whenever I talk about Chennai. I have never really found anyone who can talk about Chennai without
(a) being outdated, by like, the time big sunglasses first came in vogue till it died and eventually caught up again
(b) being revisionist, talking about how everything is great and wonderful
(c) being elitist and downright whiny, about how people starve while the rich drive Ford Ikons
(d) being nostalgic, the NRI-stamped pleas for masala dosa
My friend referred me to this blog: krishashok.wordpress.com. People who are not from Chennai, don't bother reading it. People who are from Chennai, this blog is like a breath of fresh air. In the times that I am not LMAO, I am amazed at the skill with which ideas are not overdone, the healthy absence of elitism and a refreshing dose of honesty. This is not the typical crappy quote from tamil movie + a sprinkle of madras tamil + "ayyo" = accurate representation of what chennai is all about.
Kudos to the blogger for pulling this off.
I'm going to go read some more.
(a) being outdated, by like, the time big sunglasses first came in vogue till it died and eventually caught up again
(b) being revisionist, talking about how everything is great and wonderful
(c) being elitist and downright whiny, about how people starve while the rich drive Ford Ikons
(d) being nostalgic, the NRI-stamped pleas for masala dosa
My friend referred me to this blog: krishashok.wordpress.com. People who are not from Chennai, don't bother reading it. People who are from Chennai, this blog is like a breath of fresh air. In the times that I am not LMAO, I am amazed at the skill with which ideas are not overdone, the healthy absence of elitism and a refreshing dose of honesty. This is not the typical crappy quote from tamil movie + a sprinkle of madras tamil + "ayyo" = accurate representation of what chennai is all about.
Kudos to the blogger for pulling this off.
I'm going to go read some more.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
The Sunny Day Idea
I'm sitting bored at work and I decided to start a blog. I wonder how many people started with that exact sentence.
I told a friend that the other day that only 1% of our lives consists of doing things that we need to do, and the other 99% is things we want to do. The thing is, we feel obligated to do a lot, but really, we do have a choice in the matter. So, we spend most of our time want-ing to fulfill obligations, but really we dont need to.
So my point is, its a pretty good life. The only things we absolutely have to do is breathe, and eat, and sleep. And the rest is up to us.
So if I go through life (and by that I mean the next couple of weeks) keeping this in mind, knowing that I have a choice in everything I do, may be I will feel better about the choices that I make. I may not change a single thing about my life, but I will at least enjoy it a tad bit more.
I told a friend that the other day that only 1% of our lives consists of doing things that we need to do, and the other 99% is things we want to do. The thing is, we feel obligated to do a lot, but really, we do have a choice in the matter. So, we spend most of our time want-ing to fulfill obligations, but really we dont need to.
So my point is, its a pretty good life. The only things we absolutely have to do is breathe, and eat, and sleep. And the rest is up to us.
So if I go through life (and by that I mean the next couple of weeks) keeping this in mind, knowing that I have a choice in everything I do, may be I will feel better about the choices that I make. I may not change a single thing about my life, but I will at least enjoy it a tad bit more.
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