Shameful

These days, my nights have been getting later and later. Every night, I would say 'good afternoon' to Vinokur early (around 2 AM or so) and try and go to sleep. But somehow or the other, the wretched routine of sleeping late and getting up even later has caught on to me. I need to break this and I don't know how.

Theoretically, for the last few days, I've been spending the entire day at home because of the weather. Well, excepting the visits to the movies/plays etc. But then, that too doesn't amount upto a lot of physical activity. And why do I need physical acitivity? Because I believe that I might fall asleep easier if I'm tired. Fair, I would say.

What did I do today to try and break my habit? Well, after I got up around 11 in the morning, I cleaned up the apartment. I did other chores like washing the sink and stuff. I washed some clothes and exchanged them with those who had already dried. Social networking and engrossing blog-reading captured my in-between time. And after a brief period of 'study', it was time for me to head downtown to see a gig!

It felt good to be back to being at gigs; either playing or watching. This time it was one of India's premier English language rock bands - Junkyard Groove, all the way from Chennai. For those unaware, Junkyard Groove has opened up for international acts like Iron Maiden, Slipknot etc. and they have a very fresh sound, courtesy their MySpace page. A couple of articles on TOI and Mumbai Mirror had erased any doubts as to whether I wanted to watch them gig or not.

So, I set out on my journey to the Hard Rock Cafe in Lower Parel. I was carrying my mp3 player (for those who don't know the fact: I don't dig iPods. Instead I dig the Creative Zen series of mp3 players and I own a Zen Micro), A Line of Beauty and my umbrella. Starting with the bus ride to the station, I was listening to the wailing of Alanis Morisette reading how the protagonist in the novel was charming an artful elderly gentleman with his knowledge of English literature, art and furniture. To For clarity and better understanding of the sequence of events, some of you might have to remember that I was 'soaking in shame' due to my lack of knowledge about anything interesting (read Art, History, Literature etc.) after reading and commenting on a few blogs that I came across this afternoon.

At the queue for tickets at Andheri Station, I was already reading articles about Impressionism and Cubism on Wikipedia on my PDA phone. Nothing should be draped in dampening adjectives here; I felt ignominous! I felt as if my entire life had gone waste. I didn't know tit from tat when it came to fields I had mentioned above. In the train ride, I was reading more of Wikipedia than the novel. And by the time I reached the Cafe, I was totally drowned in self-loathing. So much so that I spent the entire evening by myself, not even bothering to chat up with some of the familiar faces in the crowd.

At one point, I was feeling so miserable that I changed my source of reading from Wikipedia to NYT Science section. I felt more at home reading why glass isn't actually as solid but more like a liquid and why Santa can have his icy drink on the rock this year as well. For those who got confused, please go read the Science section of NYT. It's brilliant!

The actual concert was just an okay experience. There were big problems with the mixing of the sound and the fake accent of the singer from the band. Besides, I think I've lost the thrill of watching other bands play as I myself have been doing that regularly in the last few months. You know, that aura of a big stage and performance, something that I could not even hope a year back, has gone!

The only good thing that came out of all this is that I realized that I could acquire knowledge while living the kinky/fantasy of seducing the professor who would teach me. I meant, Vinokur! He's an expert in all such fields and he loves teaching. Fellas, it's a win-win situation!