Christmas!
It's interesting the amount of furore that has been generated by the Happy Holidays vs Merry Christmas debate. I don't think that there is a right or wrong here, just that people should be allowed to do what they please. To be perfectly honest, having been raised as a Hindu, but in the UK, I would prefer to say Merry Christmas, as that is the time of the year that it is. I am not forcing anyone else to say it, but I believe that it is my God given right to do so. I cannot believe that it is offensive to anyone - if they say that it is, then all I can say is that you are intentionally looking to be offended. That's just in my humble opinion though.
Christmas can be a happy or sometimes even a sad time of year. I spoke with my family back in Cardiff, as they were sitting down to a turkey dinner with all the trimmings. This year they even had my Nana there, as old as she is, and we talked for a few minutes. These are the times that you wish that you were home. I think that this year was a little different too. Last week, my manager's husband collapsed at home, and died before they could get him to a hospital. He was in his mid forties. I read his obituary on a local San Jose newspaper's website, and I felt sad - even though I had never met the man. His wife (my manager) had only one thing to say - hug your loved ones, as you never know when bad things can happen, and you may never get another chance. In addition to feeling sad for her, I felt a little sad myself, since my family is far away, and I get to see them once a year if I am lucky. What can you do though - at the end of the day, you take decisions based upon your circumstances, and where you would like your life to go. I've always wanted to come to the US, so I left the UK and moved here. Just like my parents left India in the 60s and moved to the UK. I guess if I wasn't single, I wouldn't feel that bad. Christmas and Valentine's Day are two days that I tend to feel even more lonely that I normally do. You wouldn't know it to look at me though - I will always have a smile on my face.
Anyway, it is now lunchtime, and my friends are making comments about going for lunch and not taking me (spoken intentionally loud so as to generate some fun!). I am typing this at the office, listening to the soundtrack of "Batman Begins" on my iPod. There is some really nice music on that album - the piece that I am listening too is when he remembers his time with his dad when he was a child - not long before his parents were killed. The scene in the movie is moving, and the music is haunting - enough to bring a tear to your eye.
Before I go, if anyone does read this blog, then please check out an artist called Iron and Wine. He is a folk musician from Florida called Samuel Beam, and I first heard his music last week when watching the movie "In good company" starring Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace and Scarlett Johansson. The movie is great, and the music is perfect.
Iron and Wine's website is:
http://www.ironandwine.com/
If you have Rhapsody or iTunes, then please check out "The Trapeze Swinger".
Here are the lyrics:
Ooh, ooh, ooh
Please remember me
Happily
By the rose bush laughing
With bruises on my chin
A time when
We counted every black car
Passing your house
Beneath the hill
And up until
Someone caught us in the kitchen
With maps, a mountain range
A piggy bank
A vision to removed to mention
But please remember me
Fondly
I heard from someone you're still pretty
And then they went on to say
That the Pearly Gate
Has some eloquent graffiti
Like "We’ll meet again"
And "Fuck the man"
"Tell my mother not to worry"
And angels with their great handshakes
But always done in such a hurry
And please remember me
At Halloween
Making fools of all the neighbors
Our faces painted white
By midnight we’d forgotten one another
And when the morning came
I was ashamed
Only now it seems so silly
That season left the world
And then returned
But now you're lit up by the city
So please remember me
Mistakenly
In the window of the tallest tower
Call and passes by
But much too high
To see the empty road at happy hour
Gleam and resonate
Just like the gates
Around the holy kingdom
With words like "Lost and found"
And "Don’t look down"
And "Someone save temptation"
And please remember me
As in the dream
We had as rug burn babies
Upon the fallen trees
And fast asleep
Beside the lions and the ladies
That called you what you like
And even might
Give a gift for your behavior
Of lead and chance to see
A trapeze swinger high as any savior
But please remember me
My misery
And how it lost me all I wanted
Those dogs that love the rain
And chasing trains
The colored birds above
They're running in circles
Round the well
And where it spells
On the wall behind Saint Peter
So bright on cinder-gray
In spray paint
"Who the hell can see forever?"
And please remember me
Seldomly
In the car behind the carnival
My hand between your knees
You turn from me
Said the trapeze act was wonderful
But never meant to last
The clowns that pass
Saw me just come up with anger
When it filled the circus domes
The parking lot
Had an element of danger
So please remember me
Finally
And all my uphill clawing
My dear
But if I make
The Pearly Gates
Do my best to make a drawing
Of God and Lucifer
A boy and girl
An angel kissing on a sinner
A monkey and man
A marching band
All around the frightened trapeze swinger
It is worth listening to.
Song for the day - The Trapeze Swinger - Iron and Wine
Christmas can be a happy or sometimes even a sad time of year. I spoke with my family back in Cardiff, as they were sitting down to a turkey dinner with all the trimmings. This year they even had my Nana there, as old as she is, and we talked for a few minutes. These are the times that you wish that you were home. I think that this year was a little different too. Last week, my manager's husband collapsed at home, and died before they could get him to a hospital. He was in his mid forties. I read his obituary on a local San Jose newspaper's website, and I felt sad - even though I had never met the man. His wife (my manager) had only one thing to say - hug your loved ones, as you never know when bad things can happen, and you may never get another chance. In addition to feeling sad for her, I felt a little sad myself, since my family is far away, and I get to see them once a year if I am lucky. What can you do though - at the end of the day, you take decisions based upon your circumstances, and where you would like your life to go. I've always wanted to come to the US, so I left the UK and moved here. Just like my parents left India in the 60s and moved to the UK. I guess if I wasn't single, I wouldn't feel that bad. Christmas and Valentine's Day are two days that I tend to feel even more lonely that I normally do. You wouldn't know it to look at me though - I will always have a smile on my face.
Anyway, it is now lunchtime, and my friends are making comments about going for lunch and not taking me (spoken intentionally loud so as to generate some fun!). I am typing this at the office, listening to the soundtrack of "Batman Begins" on my iPod. There is some really nice music on that album - the piece that I am listening too is when he remembers his time with his dad when he was a child - not long before his parents were killed. The scene in the movie is moving, and the music is haunting - enough to bring a tear to your eye.
Before I go, if anyone does read this blog, then please check out an artist called Iron and Wine. He is a folk musician from Florida called Samuel Beam, and I first heard his music last week when watching the movie "In good company" starring Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace and Scarlett Johansson. The movie is great, and the music is perfect.
Iron and Wine's website is:
http://www.ironandwine.com/
If you have Rhapsody or iTunes, then please check out "The Trapeze Swinger".
Here are the lyrics:
Ooh, ooh, ooh
Please remember me
Happily
By the rose bush laughing
With bruises on my chin
A time when
We counted every black car
Passing your house
Beneath the hill
And up until
Someone caught us in the kitchen
With maps, a mountain range
A piggy bank
A vision to removed to mention
But please remember me
Fondly
I heard from someone you're still pretty
And then they went on to say
That the Pearly Gate
Has some eloquent graffiti
Like "We’ll meet again"
And "Fuck the man"
"Tell my mother not to worry"
And angels with their great handshakes
But always done in such a hurry
And please remember me
At Halloween
Making fools of all the neighbors
Our faces painted white
By midnight we’d forgotten one another
And when the morning came
I was ashamed
Only now it seems so silly
That season left the world
And then returned
But now you're lit up by the city
So please remember me
Mistakenly
In the window of the tallest tower
Call and passes by
But much too high
To see the empty road at happy hour
Gleam and resonate
Just like the gates
Around the holy kingdom
With words like "Lost and found"
And "Don’t look down"
And "Someone save temptation"
And please remember me
As in the dream
We had as rug burn babies
Upon the fallen trees
And fast asleep
Beside the lions and the ladies
That called you what you like
And even might
Give a gift for your behavior
Of lead and chance to see
A trapeze swinger high as any savior
But please remember me
My misery
And how it lost me all I wanted
Those dogs that love the rain
And chasing trains
The colored birds above
They're running in circles
Round the well
And where it spells
On the wall behind Saint Peter
So bright on cinder-gray
In spray paint
"Who the hell can see forever?"
And please remember me
Seldomly
In the car behind the carnival
My hand between your knees
You turn from me
Said the trapeze act was wonderful
But never meant to last
The clowns that pass
Saw me just come up with anger
When it filled the circus domes
The parking lot
Had an element of danger
So please remember me
Finally
And all my uphill clawing
My dear
But if I make
The Pearly Gates
Do my best to make a drawing
Of God and Lucifer
A boy and girl
An angel kissing on a sinner
A monkey and man
A marching band
All around the frightened trapeze swinger
It is worth listening to.
Song for the day - The Trapeze Swinger - Iron and Wine
posted by Manoj at
11:59 AM
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