Sunday, September 10, 2006

I'm flying to the States

I'll be going to the US in a couple of months, from 7 - 19 Nov. I'm really looking forward to the trip, as I'll be going to Dallas to attend BGG.Con, which would be a weekend of non-stop boardgaming goodness. I'm also going to stop by Seattle for a number of days to visit two very old friends of mine. I haven't seen them in years, and I am really looking forward to meeting them again soon.

I knew Shyamal when I was back in SJI, because he was in the same class as Adrian. I used to go over to visit Adrian all the time and after a while, got to know some of his classmates too. We hanged out regularly for 2-3 years, but we always just remained more as acquaintances rather than true friends. I think it was in year 2000 that we truly became friends.

Prior to this, we'd meet up for the occasional movie, or a swim at Adrian's place. Or we'd go get some cheap food cos we were broke all the time. I once saw Shyam and Nick trying to heat up a can of spagettii with a Zippo lighter, on a tripod made out of battries and an eraer, in the corridor of a shopping centre. This sort of behaviour was indicative of our activities. Sometimes we'd go drinking for a bit, looking for the cheapest beer in the most rundown and seedy of watering holes. And we'd go to Crazy Elephant, for some classic rock music by the Anson Brothers.

Shyam taught me how to play the drums and we'd go jamming with a couple of friends. We'd play all sorts of music, and most of which were improvisions.

And we would go to the Field. The Field was an open patch of grass where we used to spend many nights there, just looking up at the stars and having a smoke. Yes, Shyam was the one I picked up smoking from too. We'd just lay there in the grass, sometimes doing crazy things like setting a campfire, and sometimes just chilling out and hanging about. The view there was spectacular, with each star shining brightly, despite being in the middle of an urban area. Often times, we'd spend the night watching the stars and wait til the sun rises. I remember once we saw a storm cloud in the far distance with arching lighting jumping from one cloud to the next. Beautiful.

So I'll be visiting Shyam, and Divya too, this coming November. I'm really looking forward to it. Even more so than my little boardgames.

I haven't forgotten about you either, Div. I'm so happy that Shyam and you are together again. You two were made to be a pair, and all of us here wish you the greatest happiness. I'll be seeing you soon.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

so fun so fun!

Anonymous said...

Yeah man, I cannot wait to see you, and I really cannot wait to see what kind of adventures we can conjure up while you are here.

Anonymous said...

"can you imagine when Ken gets here! can you imagine!": a frequent interlude in our life.

I'm looking forward to you presence Ken---you've been missed.

Div