Old movies

Everyone has favourite movies. Movies they watch once, and are touched by what they see. And then are compelled to see them again, and again. It's probably why reruns never really go empty. Of course since these days we can watch movies on comps without stepping out of our rooms (in my case my bedroom), watching old movies is a really great way of passing time.

It's not just the movies all the time. It's the people who you watched it with. Every once in a while you will come across a bit of dialogue that reminds you of what a friend had said when (s)he was sitting by your side, watching the same thing. A lot of times it's just the movie though. Especially with people like me, who watch a lot of movies alone. On a comp. I know it's a little pathetic in a way... sometimes you end up wishing there was someone else with whom you could share a laugh. . .

--

A friend mentioned the other day how when a lot of stuff's happening in life we dont really have the time to think about it. It's only when everything's over that you sit back and go over it all again in your mind. When I sit back and go over the last four years, I wish I could just go back and live it again from the start. Sadly enough, life's not a movie. I know it's cliched, but it's true.

--This is especially for Lksdy: that's what the sunset looks like from my window. A little more, and the Sun is lost in the haze.

Sadness

The full meaning of the word often escapes most of us. But I think the feeling that hit me with full force as the plane lifted off Mumbai airport, and banking wide out over the Arabian Sea, turned back and passed almost directly over the Powai and Vihar lakes, gave me a pretty clear picture of exactly what it means.

I'm rather embarrassed to say that it actually took me a while to get my bearings right and spot the tiny grey buildings for what they were: departments, hostels, the guest house. . . I imagined I could see myself walking down the roads, hurrying to classes or labs. Or strolling by the lakeside. The tall Sameer hill looked ridiculously small from up there. The vast Powai lake lost much of it's expanse at a height of 20 thousand feet.

The familiar landscape was gone in seconds. The memories lingered for so much longer.

--

A lax flight staward led to an uncleared table in front of me. This in turn hindered me from accessing my cam which was under the seat ahead of me. Thus went my first sunset from the sky :(

Diary of a home-bound sailor.

11th September - 05:43 am

I can't possibly make blog entries right now for the simple reason that there's no way I can connect to the net. So I'm doing the next best thing, making entries anyway with the intention of posting them at some point of time in future.

-Friday, 9th September:

I did make it to breakfast on friday morning, but missed the sunrise. I went up to the helideck as soon as I saw light filter in through my port hole though. Only to find dark clouds stretching the full length and breadth of the sky. I waited, sure that I would see something at least that spoke of the sunrise. After waiting for an hour I realised I'd been mistaken.

Incidentally the crew transfer happened a couple of hours earlier than scheduled, so my last few minutes on board the Trident were furiously busy, trying to make sure all my luggage was packed in waterproof bags, the stuff I'd borrowed was properly returned, etc. The trip across to the Toisa Mariner was pretty swift, the transfer boat ripping through the swells and often flying off a particularly large one to land back on water with a somewhat alarming thump!

Lack of sleep finally caught up with me and I slept like a log in the afternoon.

-Saturday, 10th September:

Started reading a copy of Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy that I'd borrowed off a friend. Slept the major part of the day while the rather substantially smaller size of this ship amplified the rolling and pitching pretty alarmingly. Watched the Sun set, well, till it disappeared behind some clouds that is. But by then I had had enough of the insanely cold wind freezing the left side of my body anyway.

16 hours of sleep in a day can make sleeping in the night a pretty difficult thing to achieve. So I chose to read the book instead. And ended up finishing the first book out of the four. (This is the ultimate edition with all four books in one.) Turned out to be a pretty cool read.

By the time I'd finished I could see light shining through my port hole again! And sure enough the sun was just breaking through in the east! So I finally caught my first sunrise on a ship. And on this momentous occasion I chose to make myself a breakfast of cold-coffee and sandwiches with mayonnaise, cheese slices and a rather dubious looking something called Danish Morello Cherry Extract. Now I guess I'll turn in, and hopefully wake up for lunch :P.

12th September - 03:24 am

-Sunday, 11th September:

I didn't wake up for lunch. In fact I did wake up, but the desire to just turn over and fall asleep again was so strong, I chose to give in :D. Woke up late in the afternoon instead, feeling ravenously hungry.

Spent whatever time was left in the day watching the swelling sea smash against the Mariner's bows and rise up as tall white sheets of fine mist. In fact I was spending as much time looking over the guard rail as ducking under the flying spray. Didn't quite succeed in dodging all the time though.

Somehow, sunsets seem to be a lot colder than sunrises...

Oh, we shifted back one hour today, difference between Sakhalin time and Japan time. Should be reaching Wakkanai sometime tomorrow, or maybe early day after. Looking forward to setting my feet on solid land for a change! And also to sleeping in a bed that doesn't move :-<.

Fun fact of the day: seamen (at least on this ship) have holidays on Sundays, and only the officers and engineers work!! So technically, if the ship starts sinking the Bo'sun might very well go 'It's a Sunday, I won't start the lifeboat'! Or maybe not.

13th September - 12:05 am

-Monday, 12th September:

Caught the sunrise again, and rather remarkably, came across an abrupt stretch of land on the starboard side. All this was early in the day,before I went to sleep. By the time I had woken up a couple of hours later, a thick fog and driving rain had blanketed the surroundings. We reached land in the afternoon! Once the ship had pulled alongside the jetty, we went for a walk, on solid land after more than a month! The rain was a bother though. Spending the night in the Mariner itself before catching my flight for Tokyo tomorrow. My last night in a bunk for rather quite a while I think.

Graduate!

As of this Friday, I have finally been certified a graduate :D.

The sinking feeling that gradually dawned on me was that arguably the most fun time of my life is officially over, and in some ways, life can never get better from this point on. That same feeling hits home all the more as I see-off friends who had come down for the Convocation.

Back to Bom!

After 4 long days in the crew boat and another two days flying all over the place, I'm finally back in Mumbai! And the rain was there to bid me a warm (and very humid) welcome. When time permits, I'll post some stuff I'd put down while in the ship.