Hue and Me

Ever had a feeling of being inside a painting? And not the dull ones. No, not those. I mean like the ones that have a lot of colour and vibrant hues. You know, the ones like Leonid Afremov makes. Yup, those types. Well, if you haven’t felt something like that, you haven’t seen fall in its true glory.

Everywhere you look, there are shades of orange, red and yellow, lined across. You can walk down the street and the wind would blow across your face. Not the harsh kind which makes you mad, but the slow soothing type. Almost like the wind is trying to lull you into a deep slumber.

Occasionally, you step on the dried leaves that are fallen on the ground. Just to hear them crunch under your feet… isn’t it almost divine? And as you lift your feet, the crumpled pieces of the leaf float away into the air, as if you have freed them from their captivity.

The smell of hot beverages being made coming out of almost all the houses that you pass. It’s simply intoxicating.

It doesn’t get better than that, does it? Well, for me, it does.

I walk over to a tree in the park, where I know she would be there; waiting for me under the tree, like she always did. I don’t walk up to her directly. No, I don’t want to rush and miss the sight. I just look at her for a while.
She sits there reading her book; absolutely clueless that the person she has been waiting for, is standing behind her. She even has two cups of coffee. I can almost smell the contents – Pumpkin Latte. Of course, it’s that. She wouldn’t miss a chance to get that, ever.

As I keep watching, a stray broken leaf  lands on her flowing, black hair. I guess, even the leaf couldn’t resist touching something as perfect. She brushes it off gently. I could almost feel the pain the leaf might have experienced, but sometimes things aren’t meant to be – the leaf would have to learn that.

I walk up to her and as she sensed me approach, she turned around with a smile. A smile which could, indeed, make even the colourful season seem dull. I sit next to her and look at the cup.

‘What is it?’ I knew perfectly well what the answer would be but I had to ask.

‘Pumpkin Latte,’ she had a wicked smile on her face.

‘You know I don’t like it, right?’ I say. ‘It tastes weird.’

‘Well, you know that I am going to make you drink it anyway, right?’ she says. ‘Even if it tastes weird.’

I sigh and gently slip my hand into hers. With the other one, I grab my cup and take a huge sip.
She knew that I wouldn’t say no to her. I knew that as well. It’s not that I wouldn’t. There was something about her that made sure I couldn’t, and it wasn’t just because it was going to be the last fall we would experience together.

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Inspired by a post on fall I read in the blog  – thebrunetteinthepinkscarf

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Tuesday Twitter Verse: Question

A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.

— Bruce Lee

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“Every time we talk, you ask me so many questions. No more questions from now. Got it?”

“Sure,” he said. And then after a pause—“But, why?”

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Tuesday Twitter Verse – A story in 140 characters every alternate Tuesday.
This week’s word: Question

(Ping back if you decide to have a go at it. Would like to read it)

 

Let Me Be

In response to Daily Task of Blogging University’s Writing 101: The Space to Write

Where do I like to be when I write? – Huh? That is a tough question. (Well, actually it’s not but every time somebody says that, it feels like they have thought a lot about the question posed)

The answer: I like to be in my head when I write.

I have developed a habit of zoning out of things in my vicinity when I get to work. It started long time ago – almost around the time Archimedes discovered the Archimedes’ Principle. I realized that a naked man running around the street is too much to handle, so I decided to zone out of the ruckus and concentrate on my writing.

What? – You don’t believe I could be that old? – You believe in Stephenie Meyer’s vampires but have a hard time believing this? – Suit yourself. I will zone you out too.

You Are Zoned Out

Anyway, what I basically want to say is I don’t really care where I am writing. I can get into the deep trenches of my mind and ignore whatever happens around me. That does NOT mean I don’t get distracted when people come and talk directly to me.

I mean, it’s just annoying when I am minding my own business sitting in a coffee house and a random person walks up to say – ‘Oh! So you’re writer? Nice!’
Yeah, well, it was; until you showed up to disturb me.

Or when I sit in the comfort of my home and the landlord comes up to say – ‘Your rent is due. Make sure you have it tomorrow.’
I will get to it. Writing does not exactly pay pretty well.

Or when I am sitting at the side of the road and a random person walks up to me and says – ‘Hey, you got a little of them drugs?’
No, I don’t! Now get lost!

Okay, fine. I agree the last one was partly my fault, but you get what I mean. I can write anywhere, as long as nobody talks to me directly.

As for what I use. I prefer to use my laptop but it’s not like I carry it around everywhere, mostly because I am worried people might get to know about the songs I downloaded illegally and I don’t want to go to prison. If you think I could pay for bail… Well, why do you think I had to download songs illegally in the first place?
If that does happen some day, I do hope they don’t put me in the same cell as the ones convicted for Heavy Metal downloads.

Criminals

If I am prepared to write outside of the comforts of my home, I carry a notebook along with me (the old fashioned one, not the machine). If not, I carry a pen lest I get an inspiration. Then I just use any piece of paper I can get my hands on. Isn’t that why all restaurants and bars have tissue papers in the first place?

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That was all about my way of writing. Now, it’s up to you to decide what I write in the future. At least, that is what Writing 101 wants us to do – give power to the reader! So here is your chance to shine, readers of my blog—however limited you all may be—cast your votes!

 

Steps to Procrastinate

In response to Daily Task of Blogging University’s Writing 101: Let Social Media Inspire You

The following post has a high sarcasm content and is not suitable for people who are easily susceptible to things written on the internet. Reader discretion is advised.

Also, the post is inspired by the following tweet.

I can't decide if procrastination kills creativity or is essential to it.

— Grant Snider (@grantdraws) April 28, 2014

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I have seen many tips online on how not to procrastinate but I have never found tips which could actually help somebody procrastinate if they are having trouble doing so. I am here to fill that vacant spot by taking the road not taken.

Follow these steps precisely and you will see yourself procrastinate away to glory.

Step 1 – Search for something you should be doing. Make sure it isn’t due for at least a week later. And the more important it is, the better. Do you have to study for an upcoming test? Do you have to make a presentation for work? Do you have to file your returns? Excellent! Just pick any one of them.

Step 2 – Sit at your desk to do it BUT don’t start doing it just yet! Open your laptop to blank power point presentation. Open the book to the page you want to study. After you have done that. Stare at it. Don’t read any of it, just stare it.

Step 3 – Think about how much effort has to be put into this work and then slowly come to a realization that you have a lot of time left for it to be completed. Just gently slide out of your desk.

Just Be Gentle

Step 4 – Think about all the other important things that are left. Like laundry. Or maybe you could clean your room that you haven’t cleaned for a long time. You could even try to catch up on the sleep you have been meaning to. (Note this step is for people who are new to procrastination. For more advanced procrastinators – skip straight to step 5)

Rest is Important

Step 5 – Do none of the important stuff and watch a movie instead – you know you want to, but you never just got the time. Besides, you have a lot of time to complete the work. You will do it tomorrow. Or you could try watching a TV series. Maybe read that book? – Reading is not bad, is it? You could also try searching the internet for work related thing and get caught up looking at cat videos. Or start playing that video game you had been waiting to try.
So many things to do, you can’t start your work just yet.

Listen to Kim

Step 6 – Repeat the steps 1 to 5 till there is only one day left to the deadline.

Step 7 – This is a two part step.

a. Enter panic mode and start calculating time left before deadline. In this step make sure you give less time to each part of the process and believe that you can achieve the task in lesser amount of time than you can actually do it in. “Meh! I have 24 hours left. I need only 5 hours to do it.”

b. Get complacent and convince yourself that you can squeeze in a movie before you start. After all, you should start with a fresh mind, right? Once you have done that look at the time and convince yourself yet again that you can still binge watch the first season of Game of Thrones and have enough time later do your work.

Step 8 – Now you are really close to your deadline. Only a few hours to go. Plus you have to catch sleep as well. Don’t calm yourself. Let adrenaline kick in – you will need that. And when, and only when, you panic enough for adrenaline to kick in do you move to the next step.

Step 9 – Rush through your work like a drug hazed maniac.

Steps Seven Ate Nine

Step 10 – This is the last step. You can choose either of the following things to do in this step.
1. Believe that since you could complete the work in 4 hours you must be some genius.
2. Convince yourself that you can only work in the last minute rush and your mind wouldn’t function other wise.
3. Make yourself convinced that if had not been for adrenaline, your creative power would have been slowed by a huge magnitude.

Simply Brilliant

Note – If you are having difficulty in choosing what you have to instead of your work. Don’t go back to your work. You can stare at the wall and ponder about your life choices. That works as well.

This list has worked for me for years. I can even call myself a professional procrastinator now. In fact, I remember I always did double time every time exams were near or I had to submit an assignment. So, you can pretty much trust this list.

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“Procrastination doesn’t kill creativity but by no means does it allow it to grow” – Me

The Jump

In response to Blogging University’s Writing 101 Daily Task: A story in a single image

I stood there on the ledge and looked down again. How many times had I stood there before? – I had lost count of it all, I believe.

The street looked busy as ever. Cars rushed past not giving a care in the world about a man standing on the ledge of an overhead bridge. I never could tell if they did not see or they chose not to.

The street light in a distance flickered. It was doing that a lot for the past few days. It would flicker for a while and then all at once turn off. It did come back to life an hour later but till then it would leave the area beneath in darkness. Although, the street could never be in complete darkness with all the light coming from the oncoming traffic and overhanging billboard sign.

Nobody ever stopped and wondered why the light was off. They just accepted it was. People were always in a hurry, and it’s not that they are to be blamed for it. Had I been in there place, I doubt I would have noticed it as well. I don’t have any right judge any of them.

The city never sleeps – it’s said. And the more I look at it from the top of the ledge, the more I believe it to be true. The windows in the buildings lit up with people in their home going about their daily activities, probably getting ready for bed – something which I believe I would not be experiencing.

I looked down again. It was quite high. Falling from here meant certain death but I don’t think I was scared of that. I could feel a slight tingle in my head. It was time to jump – I had to do it.

I stood up straight on the ledge and took a deep breath. Even with my body completely covered, I could feel the cold wind blow. For some reason I could tell it would rain in a few hours. The tingling sensation was getting stronger. I had to jump. No matter how good the view seemed, I had to take the leap.

And when the tingle got just a little stronger, I jumped.

I jumped and folded my fingers in a way I had done so many times, that the action was now involuntary. A string of web shot out of my hand and stuck itself to a building. I quickly grabbed hold of it and swung down just inches above the cars. It was always a thrilling experience, no matter how many times I did it.

My spider sense had been bothering me for quite a while and I knew I had to go and save the city, but nobody said I can’t have a little fun while doing it.

Break In

In response to Blogging University’s Writing 101 Daily Task: One-word Inspiration

Prompt: Home

It was almost close to one o’ clock in the night. There would be no better time to strike.

Fred checked again if every light in the house was still off and nodded his head – it was.

He observed both sides of the street carefully to make sure there was nobody watching, especially the neighbors.
If any of the neighbors saw him, there would be no point him managing to sneak into the house at all.

All clear. He took a deep breath. There was just one more thing he had to look out for.
According to his calculation the car belonging to city watch should pass by any minute. Only once they are out of sight, would he move to implement his plan.

Fred waited a bit further down the streets, in the cover of shadows. Every breath he exhaled formed a wisp of smoke as it froze in front of him. He rubbed his hands to generate a little heat and put them in his pocket. The worst part of waiting was probably the cold which would onset in the wee hours.

It did not take long for the city watch car to appear in the horizon. Within a minute, it passed in front of the house Fred was aiming to break into and then passed him, without much of a second glance, as it continued down the street. There was no way he would have been visible in the shroud of darkness but even if he was, they did not seem to care about his presence.

As soon as the car was gone, he scampered to the front door and turned the handle softly. It was locked—obviously—but he had to check. If it had been open, half his work would have been done. He looked around the yard for places where the key would generally be hidden.

Not under the door mat. Not under on the ledge above the door. Not taped under the mailbox. There it is!

He finally found it in a very suspicious piece of granite which clearly did not belong with the rest of the stones in the garden.

Fred smiled. Sometimes, things are too easy.

He unlocked the door and carefully stepped inside. He made sure not to make any noise as he tip-toed to the kitchen. All the wait had made him thirsty, he needed to drink some water before he proceeded upstairs.

But, as soon as he stepped in the kitchen he realized that he had committed a grievous mistake. The moment he stepped in, the lights came on and the owner of the house could be visibly seen seated near the dining table.

Fred froze in his tracks. He had been caught red handed. There was no other way out of it now except to apologize and accept his mistake.

He looked down on the ground. ‘Sorry, mom’ he said. ‘It got late at the party.’

The Annoying List

In response to Blogging University’s Writing 101. Task for Day 2: Make a List

With so many things to learn in this huge world of ours, whatever we learn seems less. Every time I learn something new, I realize that there is so much more to explore. And yet, listing down the things I HAVE learnt is so annoying.

Here’s a list to show some of those.

a. Monday is always irritating – I have learnt to accept Monday as it is. It will be annoying and hectic and will always induce those butterflies in the stomach. I thought that it will go away after I move on from school. Little did I know, Mondays will always be the same.

Every Week

b. People WILL honk their horns – How many times have we been stuck in traffic and people have honked their horns when the light is CLEARLY still red? For me it is too many to remember. As much as my road rage builds up, I have realized that there will always be that one smart ass who I will want to say – ‘Fly over my car if you can, asshole!‘

Road Rage

c. There will always be people who abbreviate words – People who read my blog post regularly will know that I hate to see words abbreviated unnecessarily. But there are times when people will do that. There will be that one odd guy who uses ‘u‘ instead of ‘you‘ or maybe ‘lyf‘ for ‘life‘.
I accept it. And from my side, I make sure to delay the response by exactly double the amount of time he/she might have saved while typing lesser letters. Take that!

My Reaction

d. People will walk slow in front of you – This happens especially when you are in a hurry. So, the best thing to do is to start early but if you do find yourself stuck in situation like that, there is a passive aggressive way to go about dealing with things. You could step on the heel of their shoe and act like it was a mistake. Generally, twice should be enough to either make their shoes come off, so you can walk ahead or they let you simply walk ahead.

Warning – Don’t try to do this on people who walk slow because of physical handicaps. That is just crazy and insensitive and would actually get you beaten up.

e. Email Spam will exist – Whether it is a Nigerian Prince on his death bed claiming to be giving you his complete fortune, or a magical pill that can make you thin in a day. There will always be email trying to scam money out of you. Don’t click on the link, don’t send a mail back, just grin and press delete.

Just Press Delete

f. Video Game lag happens – To all the gamers out there, you know what I am talking about. Lag happens and just when you are about to knife your opponent in his back. You can blame the lag once, maybe even twice but do it always and you will be branded a sore loser. Sometimes, it is better to accept that you lost than blame it on lag.

h. Life will feel over – There will be times when you will feel that there is no point of existence anymore. Everyone falls to this pit some time. For most, it happens when you finish a good book or an awesome TV series. But what can we do? Get up and start again, that’s what. Find new things to do. Life is not over. Try watching another series. Go ahead!

Try to Get Over It

i. Mistakes happen – Life is meant to be a learning experience. Even if you decide to stay at home and do nothing, you will make mistakes and you will learn from them. There is no need to worry about it if people notice. Sure, if you are in high school try your best not to make mistakes but as you get older people accept it. Most of the times, it’s just in our head and most people don’t even notice till you point it out by saying that you forgot to add the point ‘g’ in the list.

j. Life Goes On – No matter what you do. No matter what happens around you. No matter what people say. Life goes. You might try to hide in the corner of your basement and try to accept the fact, but it won’t change. You are happy but life will go and make you sad at some point, and then it will continue to go on and make you happy again. Just go on with it and live it to the fullest. That’s the best thing you can do about it.

Just Live and Enjoy

These are just a few things that I have learnt happens. There is so much more that I have learnt in life but one has to stop somewhere. You wouldn’t want to read my complete life story now, would you?

I will be here again tomorrow with another prompt. Till then, from one writer to another, WRITE ON!

I Write, I Live, I Write Again

In response to Day 1 Task of Blogging University’s Writing 101: I write because…

Let’s try something. Read the next part slowly.

Imagine that you are standing in a large green meadow. In the distance, a part is covered in a white layer of daisies. It is like a great white blanket; but as you move closer to it, you begin to distinguish separate flowers. You get close and pluck one flower out and as soon as you do that, you can see a white cow with black spots levitate to you from a distance.

The cow speaks in a low pitched voice, one that of a female human being, ‘You have done a grievous crime, you shall be punished.’

You laugh at the absurdity of events but only manage to make the cow angry. Its eyes become red and almost instantly shoot a laser near your feet. You begin running away, trying to save your life, but the cow continues to chase…

What do you think? – That this was the most nonsensical piece of writing you ever read? – Yeah, well that’s true, but I wasn’t asking about that.

You’ve probably been to a meadow before, you might also have seen daisies, but you definitely would have never seen a floating cow shooting laser. And yet… Yet you managed to imagine the whole thing. All of it!

This is why I write.
It helps me see things I have never seen before, travel to places I have never visited, and most of all get to live the life of people I will never be.
It doesn’t stop there. Once I have experienced those things. By reading something I have written, other people can experience that as well. Isn’t that amazing?

Writing is like magic. With mere words you can make people experience, feel, emote, see, touch, smell, hear…

Writing is Magic

And let me tell you something. Even though some people claim different, all writings are meant to be read. That is why in the world today, blogs provide a great medium.

Write a story – People will read it.
Write a journal – People will read it.
Write about cows shooting laser – And people will still read it!

Even when people wrote their diaries, they addressed it to be read by someone, sometimes the diary itself. But that is the point of art, isn’t it? It is meant to be shown.

It is only when writing is meant to be read does the true emotions start flowing.

Just Words

And to me, writing is not just about giving. It is about receiving as well.

Receive praise, receive experiences, receive criticism, receive knowledge, receive as much as you can. That way the next time you write, you would only be able to give back that much more.

Writing is such an important part of my life that to describe why I write just leaves me short of words. And yet, I feel I don’t have the right words to describe it at all.

“Every one has one life to live. Through writing, I  manage to live several in that one.” – Me

I hope writing inspires in you as much as it inspires in me. Until next time, from one writer to another, WRITE ON!