...grüezi!

[Pic: Zermatt/ Mt. Matterhorn]

Let's face it - I've never really been much of a 'blogger' per se. It isn't as though I've never wanted to be one (just for the record, I've also wanted to be a fireman, a 'ghost-buster', a 'teenage mutant ninja turtle', a journalist, Steve Jobs and Emran Hashmi amongst a host of other things, at different points in time). Its just that, by nature I'm more of a 'scribbler' at heart - a 'pen and paper' person - the kind that hurriedly churns out a bunch of lines in barely legible handwriting. Soon after, there's this mental 'disconnect', and before you know it, the words stop flowing. The 'piece' is then mercilessly chucked out with the rest of the garbage! '...I turned to look but it was gone, I cannot put my finger on it now...'. The thought has passed, almost immediately after it came into view.

So, is this some kind of a comeback? But then again, how can you 'come back' when you've never quite been in the game? It could well be a 'coming of age' or a 'brand new beginning'... but in these troubled times, I wouldn't risk putting my money on this one.

Nevertheless, today I'll just 'go for it'. I'll finish it. For better or worse.

Based on the times we live in, it would probably be fair to say that my blog posts are as frequent as salary hikes, promotions and new jobs have been in the past couple of financial quarters. The planet has seen 'happier' times for sure. Before I went into this prolonged 'hibernation', the world was "apparently" 'a better place for you and for me' - yes of course, relatively speaking. And yet, for most of this overtly eventful calendar year, I've been a fair distance away from the action; on a pedestal, in a viewing gallery, on an oasis... take your pick.

While I've braved two ruthless winters and cashed in on a beautiful Summer and Spring, elsewhere - 'Hope' and 'Change' took centrestage and hit a home-run, one of my role-models hung up his boots (well, more or less), and the cheapest car built made such a lot of noise and then disappeared into nothingness! Sadly, and on a very solemn note, there was lots of terror to go around as well. Unforgivable. Unforgettable.

I guess we're all constantly becoming different people on some level or another. In my case, over this period, I've gone from becoming more of a philosopher and less of an adventurer. I weigh more, have less hair and paid a painful price for wisdom (before the dentist put an end to my misery). I think about going to the gym for a lot longer than I actually spend on the treadmill; therefore, I am more likely to watch and wait than watch my weight. I will leave you to extrapolate this brilliant example to other day to day circumstances. :-)

[However, now that I am suddenly aware of this, chances are that I'll work towards turning things around. Especially, the part about the gym :-)]

Meanwhile, when I'm not slogging in the confines of the office, the hour-long commute to and from work and all the idle time (from time to time) give rise to an unending array of thoughts. Some of the more convincing of these have graduated into actual plans. And even if it seems as though I've succumbed to a mundane life of 'everydayness', I am constantly wrestling with a handful of these ideas; the rest of them are safely on the back burner... for now. One of the positives is that my culinary skills seem to be at an all time high! The food I make thesedays is mostly edible. Somehow, in the scheme of things, I find cooking therapeutic! Having said that, I will share with you a very important lesson that life has taught me - when times are rough and the going gets tough - anticipate this in advance and stack your shelves with a dozen packets of instant noodles! ;-)

Switzerland hasn't exactly been a 'honeymoon' experience, but, all in all, putting everything into perspective, its been good so far. Moreover, it has thrown up something special every now and then. I will never forget my first tryst with the breathtaking Alps, or the time that my parents spent with me in Zurich. I will cherish and re-live these in my head for years to come. It is a blessed country to say the least. I'm not getting into comparisons, but I'll some it up in one word - 'wow!'.

All of this, then again, has come at the expense of time spent with my nearest and dearest and with my friends from back home - worth its weight in gold. I feel poorer, now that I've thought about it ... :-(.

Anyway, I'll take a bit of risk and get 'sentimental' for a lil' while - I just want to say thanks to my pals and my family for having stood by me, for remembering to say 'hello' from time to time, for making my day when it wasn't my day, and for being who they're supposed to be. I sound like I've just won an Oscar... a la Slumdog Millionaire?! ;-)

Finally, I'd like to apologize to some people. I know you're out there. I'm sure you'll know this is for you if and when you read it. I've been really sloppy with returning e-mails and phonecalls and sometimes even text messages. Keeping in touch hasn't exactly been my forte in recent times. I assure you, it isn't intentional and, believe you me, it's nothing personal. And by the way, I'm improving, as you can see ... ;-)

With that, I'll end my directionless rant. It remains to be seen if this post provides the neccessary 'stimulus' to revive this blog. A trillion dollar question, don't you think? ;-)

Cheers!