Apple Store in India? And a date!

So, I posted a message on my FaceBook wondering why Apple never launched an Apple Store in Mumbai. I got a few responses saying that there are indeed Apple Stores in Mumbai. I had made it clear to them that I was not talking to them about premium sellers – I have one right next to my apartment. I’m talking about actual Apple Stores. Like they have in the US, where prices are not exorbitant.

Some of my friends convinced me that there are indeed Apple stores in Mumbai. I was excited. I wanted to check them out, especially since I was considering buying a laptop before I headed out for my trip to Lucknow in December.

So, I asked my honey from the office, my wonderful colleague SN from office, to come out with my to check the ‘Apple Store’ at Palladium mall (Phoenix, Lower Parel) and have a dinner afterward.

We went. We found out that it was not an Apple Store after all – it was an ‘iStore’, a premium reseller chain operated by Reliance. I even tried finding the reason why. Apparently, Apple can’t yet sell its products in India without tying up with third party companies. And with the taxes etc, the prices go up over the roof. So, there is indeed no Apple Store in India.

At the store, however, I was charmed by MacBook Airs, MacBook Pros, iPads, iMacs and what not. I think I’m becoming a sucker for Apple stuff. Incredible turnaround isn’t it, considering that I wrote this barely a week back. Now I want to buy an Apple laptop and an iPad soon. Hmmm…

After that, we had lovely tenderloin/bacon cheeseburgers with beer and coffee (me and SM, respectively). Over tons of jokes. A hell load of laughter. I SO love her!

At the back of my mind, I was thinking about getting back in touch with May. I told SN about the current situation with her. She inspired me to do something about it by messaging her. I did. We have agreed to meet in a couple of weeks’ time.

Date Night

Since yesterday didn’t work out, I decided that that was it. I need to break out of my social celibacy. Plus, a date - A ‘dinner/conversation date which would go on to the party and then we would see from there’ date. It was a semi-blind date – a friend of a dear friend of mine – the same guy that hadn’t got my jokes. I was apprehensive to say the least.

So, I went and met this guy and we had dinner over whiskey/vodka. The conversation was not the most brilliant and it was more one-sided than you expect a date to ideally be. Throw in some weird concepts and ideologies, it wasn’t far too entertaining or interesting.

From there, we went on to the party, where I met my dear friend, who gave me some respite. We went on to wine and beer at the party, but the conversation never took off. However, I got to know three interesting facts during the night: 1, Picasso painted realism fantastically :-O; 2, Lady Gaga played good piano; and 3, Not Just Jazz By the Bay used to a gay cruising place.

What this means is that I just have one guy on the radar. The funny guy!

Back to the movies

I have started watching movies again – for the fun of watching them, and not for serving the social necessity of hanging out with friends. I probably have never liked watching movies with friends. Well, except Ray perhaps – but, Ray and I had a special chemistry which set us apart from anyone else. Coming to think of it, even Ray used to like going to the movies alone, more often than not exploring the realms of cruising. I’m digressing…

I watched three movies over the last week or so. “Clash of the Titans” was horrible as a movie – but movies aren’t meant to always titillate our “cinema” sense. It served as an educational medium that lent its hand to me and dragged me into the world of Greek mythology. Movies like this help me put faces to Greek Gods and other characters and would definitely help me in understanding the intricate web of stories that Greek mythology comprises.

Then came “Date Night” over the weekend. It was really funny with sexual innuendos and stuff. Steve Carrell and Tina Fey are masters in their art, and Tina Fey is a master in imitating the now infamous Sara Palin. The plot was not all that riveting, but the characters had enough eccentricity to keep the movie entertaining all throughout. Plus the vignettes from my dream city, the Big Apple, helped to make the movie not forgettable, if not memorable.

Having done two, almost at leisure, I needed to see something more substantial. I was surprised to find “The Hurt Locker” listed on the newspaper when I was searching for something interesting. Three years back, when “Brokeback Mountain”, “Syriana,” and “Crash” were competing against each other at the Oscars, I made it a point to watch all these before the Oscars were announced. This time, however, I was in my “I can’t watch no movie because they are pricey” mode – pricey is because you go with other people who want the whole movie “experience,” with pop-corn and stuff like that.

Thanks the previous two movies, I went to this movie, alone, on a weeknight. The movie hall had about 30 other people – amazing how people pile up to watch bullcrap like “Prince” and other stuff. “The Hurt Locker” is an amazing movie just because it opened my eyes up to what’s happening in the world outside of my countries borders. It’s incredible how we are so infatuated with our own lives and forget what’s happening in a country near you – how people and families from other countries are affected by acts of craziness of certain minority of people, be it the protagonist or not.

This has been a rewarding experience to me – especially as a movie admirer, and as a seeker for inspiration from everything that I come across. It finally liberated me from the social locker that I had hid myself in – to make me believe that I can’t enjoy movies just because they are expensive. They aren’t, especially if you pick the right shows and the cheapest of tickets, and more importantly, if you are alone and can enjoy it all by yourself.