It's been two months since my last post, yet it seems much more. Have to admit that this thing is kind of addictive. Every morning as I step out of the train, on my way to work, I am flooded with topics to blog about. But, time and work-stress wait for none....certainly not for this work-commute-weathered blogger!
Anyway that's not the point. The point is what I should choose to blog about. Although, it is kind of related. To the commute I mean. Taking two trains to work every morning, other than the twenty minute commute to the nearest station has become a habit - now that it's been six months since the shift in workplace. But it wasn't so at first. Although the Chennai Suburban Railway is no complainable service (with regard to frequency of trains and overall cleanliness), its the time spent that I was worried about. Close to 40 minutes spanning over 2 trains. Boring - I thought. What a waste of time. After all, there is hardly anything to admire between Guindy station and Wimco Nagar. But things have a funny way of turning out for the best, when you least expect them to!
Because that's what has happenned. I actually enjoy the commute to work now! Well, not always, but most of the time. I mean yeah, there are days when I just hate the wait, particularly when the train stops somewhere in the middle of nowhere in North Chennai. But on the whole, I like the quiet time I get to myself. At first I thought that it was because ,my friend Deepa accompanies me most days and its always fun to chat and travel , but it’s not only that. I now find myself thinking that the travel is not a big deal. Probably because it’s has given me time to resurrect one of my favourite activities - reading. As a child I was a voracious reader. Reading was more important to me than schoolwork or anything else. The last few years have been different with other pressures such as preparation for post grad and actually studying during it. So it’s after quite a few years, that I’m actually reading every single day! And I love it. I have read quite a lot of the books which have been in my agenda for the past few years. Here's a glimpse of some of them.
1) The Prodigal Daughter - Jeffery Archer's prequel(is it?) to Kane and Abel which I had read in college. Never thought I would love this book more than the first! Especially loved Florentyna's campaign toward presidency, speeches et al.
2) Wings of Fire - Dr APJ Abdul Kalam's semi-autobiography and a beatiful account of the Indian space programme by an insider! It amazes me how patriotism can be invoked by such simple words. Dr Kalam narrates so simply what goes into making each stage of a government project a success, giving an insight into many facts about people who display the passion for creativity outside of the private sector. A must read for every Indian.
3) Angels and Demons - Dan Brown's novel which I had been wanting to read for a long time. Although it got off to a gripping start in the beginning and continued on the same path, I was somewhat, not to amazed by the end. A good read though. What I did get amazed by was the wonderful description of Rome and the Vatican, with its statues, sculptures of the Renaissance artists and history! I’m sure that as it has done to me, this book will make anyone want to desperately visit this beautiful city.
4) Not a Penny more, Not a Penny Less - Jeffery Archer's classic kind of story, the kind we had in our English textbooks at school. Very very well written. Had bought it a long time ago but found time to read it just now.
5) Chicken Soup for the Mother and Daughter's Soul - No surprised here, as expected, heart tugging stories of all kinds - that, like all Chicken Soup books make you realise the beauty that exists in simple everyday life in the form of relationships.
Have given a miss to some of my favourite books which I have re-read and magazines. Am now onto Erich Segal's "Doctors", and have many more in line. Rest in next!
Anyway that's not the point. The point is what I should choose to blog about. Although, it is kind of related. To the commute I mean. Taking two trains to work every morning, other than the twenty minute commute to the nearest station has become a habit - now that it's been six months since the shift in workplace. But it wasn't so at first. Although the Chennai Suburban Railway is no complainable service (with regard to frequency of trains and overall cleanliness), its the time spent that I was worried about. Close to 40 minutes spanning over 2 trains. Boring - I thought. What a waste of time. After all, there is hardly anything to admire between Guindy station and Wimco Nagar. But things have a funny way of turning out for the best, when you least expect them to!
Because that's what has happenned. I actually enjoy the commute to work now! Well, not always, but most of the time. I mean yeah, there are days when I just hate the wait, particularly when the train stops somewhere in the middle of nowhere in North Chennai. But on the whole, I like the quiet time I get to myself. At first I thought that it was because ,my friend Deepa accompanies me most days and its always fun to chat and travel , but it’s not only that. I now find myself thinking that the travel is not a big deal. Probably because it’s has given me time to resurrect one of my favourite activities - reading. As a child I was a voracious reader. Reading was more important to me than schoolwork or anything else. The last few years have been different with other pressures such as preparation for post grad and actually studying during it. So it’s after quite a few years, that I’m actually reading every single day! And I love it. I have read quite a lot of the books which have been in my agenda for the past few years. Here's a glimpse of some of them.
1) The Prodigal Daughter - Jeffery Archer's prequel(is it?) to Kane and Abel which I had read in college. Never thought I would love this book more than the first! Especially loved Florentyna's campaign toward presidency, speeches et al.
2) Wings of Fire - Dr APJ Abdul Kalam's semi-autobiography and a beatiful account of the Indian space programme by an insider! It amazes me how patriotism can be invoked by such simple words. Dr Kalam narrates so simply what goes into making each stage of a government project a success, giving an insight into many facts about people who display the passion for creativity outside of the private sector. A must read for every Indian.
3) Angels and Demons - Dan Brown's novel which I had been wanting to read for a long time. Although it got off to a gripping start in the beginning and continued on the same path, I was somewhat, not to amazed by the end. A good read though. What I did get amazed by was the wonderful description of Rome and the Vatican, with its statues, sculptures of the Renaissance artists and history! I’m sure that as it has done to me, this book will make anyone want to desperately visit this beautiful city.
4) Not a Penny more, Not a Penny Less - Jeffery Archer's classic kind of story, the kind we had in our English textbooks at school. Very very well written. Had bought it a long time ago but found time to read it just now.
5) Chicken Soup for the Mother and Daughter's Soul - No surprised here, as expected, heart tugging stories of all kinds - that, like all Chicken Soup books make you realise the beauty that exists in simple everyday life in the form of relationships.
Have given a miss to some of my favourite books which I have re-read and magazines. Am now onto Erich Segal's "Doctors", and have many more in line. Rest in next!
good to see u blogging after a brief hiatus. I go thro the same stuff every day spending 2 hrs in commuting.
ReplyDeleteI get to listen to podcasts on my ipod and read a bit...u seem to be a big archer fan