random jottings…

सुरु भएको छ फेरि, हातमुख जोड्ने समस्या नसुल्झाई जिन्दगी नचल्ने रैछ के गर्नु!

I was searching for a contact on my gmail archive earlier today, someone I knew some 10 years ago, and my hope was that I had forwarded the email from that person to my gmail account as I left the university after my undergrad degree in 2002. Unfortunately I couldn’t find the person or the email I was hoping to find, although it was not important at all. I just wanted to see if I had an email address, I might have fired a “hello” email if I had found the address, thats all. The reason was that I just happen to think about this person suddenly today while I was having a conversation with a colleague about mental conditions/stress. This person I knew had a serious mental breakdown while working towards a masters degree, and even though wanted to pursue a doctorate programme, couldn’t even complete the masters degree properly I think. Anyway, what I ended up finding was something completely different, a piece of poem-of-sorts that I wrote as a reply to a friend who had sent me a supposedly well-known/popular poem. So here is a challenge for you all: below is the piece I had written in reply to my friend, now try to find the original poem related, which is supposed to be popular on the internet, might even be a song now, but I’m not sure. My dear friend who sent me that poem in the first place, you know who you are so you can only be an observer here

can’t decide whether you are complaining
or giving me the compliment undeserved
clinging onto the old days old ways
a trait i had in me always

i thought you knew me too well
to complain about my stubbornness though
i don’t believe it’s silly, but it is true
i don’t need autumn and the falling leaves…

to think of you

Even in this era of social networks and real-time interaction options with friends faraway, I still find myself struggling to keep in touch with those I would really like to. It’s either email OR the (often hopeless) hope that they follow you on twitter and respond. The first option I’m not very well known for making good use of, while the second many of my friends don’t seem to be making use of! There is something called Facebook but that seems to be for those with lots of time for such things. Anyway, in a long-winded way, what I am trying to say is I am not particularly good at keeping in touch or at using the most populous social network. Nonetheless, once in a while I do think of friends, particularly those who live faraway and with whom the only way of communicating is via these online technologies.

As the title of this post suggests, the Witts are in my thought tonight, and the first part of the title gives you the clue as to what triggered it! In fact I even googled the recipe for my own red kidney beans with garlic and ginger (which I remember the Witts had on their website) to make it exactly the way i used to when I was living in Vancouver. Sadly, I couldn’t find it, or should I say the mighty google couldn’t locate it, not even on its cache! Anyway, although it might have varied slightly from my Vancouver version, I am preparing red kidney beans with garlic and ginger tonight, and hoping it goes nicely with whole wheat chapatis (or tortilla if you will). And of course I’ll be thinking of the Witts and the potlucks we used to have at theirs in my Vancouver era living! This one to you Mr Witt & family, I hope all is well across the pond and beyond the mountains!

Quick update from a phone: I’ve now started on a new position in Sweden as postdoctoral fellow. I’m in a small city way up north from Stockholm, and it’s a beautiful place. I decided to come here coz I wanted to read and write (scientific research as well as other stuffs) for the next two years at least, so very much looking forward to fulfilling at least some of my wishes . Plus it’s a great place for wilderness/landscape photography so hoping to do some of that too. More updates soon, cheers!

…and the wait continues to start on the new job (the actual wait is for the permit to travel to the country where the job is!).

In the meantime I’m working in Nepal – couldn’t get SPSS for my number-crunching job so got and learnt STATA (still learning actually), and becoming fairly comfortable with it! Yet to write of the crunched numbers

Most importantly got time to read (still too lazy to write much though!) and have finished a few good books

Just finished Michel Peissel’s Tiger for Breakfast, and currently reading Solo by Rana Dasgupta (pic below).

Oh, did I mention I got married recently?!? Life’s well so far