Why My Days are Green? | Part 2

Disclaimer: If you have read the Part 1 and expecting this to be another rant about why Green Day, as a band, is under-appreciated in this world, you are wrong. This time it's only in subtext.

I have been pretty philosophical since childhood. Since the time I didn't know the butterfly effect is an actual phenomenon and a Mathematical theory, I had this entire theory of why I am where I am because my name is Sanjana. If you are not interested please move forward to the next paragraph. Or rather, skip this article entirely, because the rest of the article is also about how I perceive my life. Or, to be fair, life. Kay, thanks. Long before I understood the role of probabilities in shaping our lives, I could see the effect of minute incidents influencing small, and eventually bigger things.

Have you ever seen the influence of something very monotonous, as boring as the colour green? My school uniform was green. My house was painted green. The coaching handed me green sweaters, and my first job the company had a green logo, and in turn, everything.

Summer 2016 was one of the greatest periods of my life. Surely, there were some setbacks, but I was in the heart of Silicon Valley, working with what I had always dreamed of! Again, I didn't perform upto everyone else's expectations.

And today, I went through a lot of old 1-page journals that had my experiences for the inernship and full-time application process. I decided to delete them all and write all those fresh emotions flowing through me in this entry. It hasn't been an easy journey, but am I satisfied with the end result? No. I am not funded by my department anymore, and don't have a full-time job. These are heavy words! But will I put myself down for what I wasn't able to do? Hell, no. There are a lot of people out there who already do that. I will accept the results I have drawn to myself, and push myself to work harder. I have been too crticial about myself and it is time I cut myself some slack.

I have a lot coming up in the next semester! I have my Master's project to complete, I have part-time jobs to work, get my license, exercise, feel like I settled in here, and this I can only do by making sure I am having a good time, and no worrying. Because at the end of the day, things always happen. Sometimes you are satisfied with your performance, sometimes you are not. But this is mutually exclusive to whether or not you are having a good time. So why not have a good time! And after graduation, I am joining the green, and the yellow, and the red, and the blue company! And this is a promise to myself to never be disappointed to not meet someone else's expectations, and work for what I exect from myself. And it's a learnng in progress.

So here is my incoherent presentation of life, as it is in my head right now, as I try to merge into people so foreign to me. Trying small talk, and comprehending the meaning of deep talks all by myself.

Signing off.

From the Soul

The glittering tail of a fallen starlight. A drop of vanishing frozen dew in her hand. And one tale rolling down her cheek.
Lost for words. Again. One thing I have figured out in life - the only time I run out of words is when I stop talking to myself.

Into The New World!

Originally published: 09/20/2015.

Having spent 21 years of your life in one city makes you prone to adventures when you move to another country. And this, my friend, is a reminiscence. A pensieve for me. Only this is not going to be in a locked cupboard in my inaccessible office, but stuck in some branch of the web into which you might accidentally stumble.

So I leave my beautiful city of lakes, to reach the capital. I am confused. I am scared. 

But I'm excited. Very, very excited. 

I wave a good bye to my loved ones, with a heavy heart and a broad smile, I look forward to the very first journey I am going to take all by myself! To explore the world on my own!

I complete the formalities at Delhi airport, take my flight, reach London, and later Philadelphia.

Welcome to the United States of America. 

Hm, so I am done with my immigration and customs, and have 5-hours more before my next flight. The airport looks the same. Weather, can't tell. People are surely different. The food...well let us find that out.

Okay, so I have no idea how things work. I don't know the names of most of these restaurants, and I don't know what to order. I am not even sure how to order.
Well, the name of this salad is written in green, and everything else is in red. I'll get this one. Great way of choosing, right? Wow, an Indian person on the cash counter. Feels good to find a name whose pronunciation I know.

Okay, so I did he transaction correctly. And I am getting the salad with cheddar cheese and cottage cheese on lettuce, tomatoes, and bacon.
Wait, what? BACON?!
Dude! I'm a vegetarian.
Sure, I'll have the bacon removed.

Okay, so I don't think I can survive without garam masala over here. What's the difference between trash and recycle? Great, I don't even know how to get rid of this thing. Nevermind, the coffee is the same everywhere, right. I'll just try to put this really, really long day (literally) behind me. Hm, try not to convert this into Indian currency.

First sip. Oh no, I am too tired and ashamed to ask for sugar. I can have this cappuccino bitter. Yes, I can. Yep. Hm. Maybe not the entire thing. Okay, half of it. Come on, dude, at the least try. One more sip. Okay my flight has been delayed by another hour. Sure, I'll finish the coffee. Or, not. I can not do this. What's the difference between trash and recycle? Great, I don't even know how to get rid of this thing. Nevermind.

Being Panda

Originally published: 02/12/2016

For the past 8 hours this keyboard is being used. Now that I have to type this article I am sitting dumb folded on the verge of the thought, “What will happen if I press this?” After I realized this document has been sitting on my desktop (where I keep stuff to remind me that I need to get this done) I figured either I press the shift + delete and free these many bytes for some useful purpose or get rid of rust from my creative gears.

Moving on from the unnecessary tangent of a story, I directly jump into why I consider Kung Fu Panda to be one of the most philosophical movies I have ever seen. As a side note, it has been a year since I have seen the first one and not yet seen the third part.

The Illusion of Control:

Master Oogway is one of the best characters ever created in the history of.. history!

He indeed is satire personified. Even though he is supposed to be the most knowledgeable one, everyone finds him to be the most confusing part of the movie.

First of all, he didn’t give Tai Lung the Dragon Scroll. If he did, could he have been a good "person", or whatever kind of cat he was? Similarly, if he did not announce that Tai Lung will break away from the prison, the bird’s feather which released him would have not reached the prison.

He tells you to let go the illusion of control: If you remember the scene, Shifu says, “But I can control when the fruit will fall” – followed by a peach falling on his head. NO, little buddy. Let go of the illusion of control. He is known as “Master” Oogway for a reason.

“One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it.” 

The Panda:

“You are a panda. What are you gonna do? Sit on me?” A panda was what was needed to defeat Tai Lung - someone who could withstand the nerve attack. A panda whose father made a secret ingredient soup. Why is that important? Next section.

You are all you’ll ever need to be.

The Dragon Scroll & Wuxi Finger Hold:

There is no secret. Po was the dragon warrior because he could figure out the dragon scroll and no one else.

Obviously things are not this crystal clear in our lives. But you can see stuff like this always happens if you just observe! And believe. There are no accidents.

happy child runs day . . .

As a kid, being happy was important. Work was secondary.
I used to think about things. And talk to people.
I was ready to break a nose. But never a promise.
Loved to outwit the people I knew. Ignored the strangers.
The unknown, I was eager for. Sometimes, scared of the known.
I never understood the way world worked. But how happiness helped.
Observed my surroundings. And didn't care for the future.
I used to run. And then got hurt.

And I never thought that I did all this.

Now, it has all been reversed.

They say I am still a kid.
I am happy, because there cannot be a greater compliment.
I would be happier, if only it was not such a great complement.

If you ever meet your past again,

will the child run away?

Happy Children's Day to the photographs, the memories, and the dormant kid, who is waiting for you to forget it all.

Why my DAYS are GREEN?

For those of you, who are well-acquainted with the actual meaning of a “green” day, I would first stop to clarify that the heading is merely a wordplay used to represent my obsession with the band Green Day.
For those of you, who just Googled it, holla, I’ve answered one of your queries. I’ve taken the pains to mention a few other queries I face:
~Why Green Day?
~Why does Billie Joe wear make-up?
~Why is Billie Joe drunk as a pirate while performing?
~Don’t you think Linkin Park is better?
~Don’t you think RHCP is better?
~Why do all your blogs have so many questions?
~Do you have a pen?
~Did you brush your teeth?
Well, the blog is all about the first one. As to why Billie Joe wears make-up, swears like he was cursed to use curse words, and depends on booze for his performances, I’d only like to answer by saying, “One of the many things I’ve learnt from his songs is to pay heed to my own s#!t. It’s his life; he can live it the way he wants to. I’ll only enjoy his music, and agree with what he says only if it agrees with what I say.”
Moving on to the innumerable number of fights I’ve had over the past 4 years with friends, family and the now-I-am-not-talking-to-him-because-he-insulted-Green-Day-people, regarding which band is better: I love Green Day because I can relate to their music. The justification of this statement you would find if you don’t click that small cross in the right corner. I’m going to skip the rest; for the sake of this blog.

This blog is about Green Day, because:
1. American Idiot.
People with even the slightest idea about Green Day are familiar with this name. Why does this album get a separate point? Because it made me realize their power. American Idiot is not only an album, but a rock opera. The album kick starts with “American Idiot” as the introductory song. The song which made black jeans, black shirt and red tie a trademark. Our story starts with the story of our hero of the story with “Jesus of Suburbia”, desperate to move out into the city [In a land of make believe; That don't believe in me]. At first, he is overwhelmed by the glitter. And his life’s on “Holiday”. But soon his dreams are crumbled. He finds the “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”.
The music video of Boulevard begins where Holiday’s ended.
Cool, right?
I thought so.
As he progresses, he questions to himself “Are We the Waiting”? He finds “St. Jimmy”, a punk-guru, if you will, [I'm the patron saint of the denial; With an angel face and a taste for suicidal] he yells “Give Me Novacaine”. Enter, the female protagonist. “She’s a Rebel”. She’s an “Extraordinary Girl”. Hence. She doesn’t stay. She writes him a “Letterbomb”[ You're not the Jesus of Suburbia; The St. Jimmy is a figment of; Your father's rage and your mother's love; Made me the idiot America]. He slips away, saying a note “Wake Me Up When September Ends”. Why September? Because that’s the month in which Billie’s father died [Like my father's come to pass; Twenty years has gone so fast; Wake me up when September ends].  Jimmy dies, all is lost, he wants a “Homecoming” [In the streets of shame; Where you've lost your dreams in the rain; There's no signs of hope; The stems and seeds of the last of the dope]. And he ends it all. In the end he remembers her. “Whatsername” has been? [And in the darkest night; If my memory serves me right; I'll never turn back time; Forgetting you, but not the time] Peace.
2. Talent.
So one day Billie and Mike decided they are going to make a band. They made an album. Sold millions of copies worldwide. And everyone lived happily ever after.
L. O. L.
You need mind-blowing lyrics, a flawless voice to represent your band, talented musicians and a little sense of humour.

Lyrics:

[I heard it all before;
So don't knock down my door;
I'm a loser and a user, so I don't need no accuser,
To try and flag me down, because I know you're right] :When I Come Around

[Little girl, little girl, your life is calling; The charlatans and saints of your abandon.
Little one, little one, the sky is falling; Your lifeboat of deception is now sailing.
In the wake all the way no rhyme or reason;
Your bloodshot eyes will show your heart of treason.
Little girl, little girl, you dirty liar; You're just a junkie preaching to the choir] :Viva La Gloria

[So what ails you, is what impales you; I feel like I've been crucified to be satisfied] :Restless Heart Syndrome

[Did you try to live on your own?
When you burned down the house and home?
Did you stand too close to the fire?
Like a liar looking for forgiveness from a stone] :21 Guns

CHECK.

Voice:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY8s7LoVbtc

CHECK.

Music:

Drums. Bass. Guitars- Electric & Acoustic. Piano. Harmonica.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijk32UWEkkQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KP6sDXmjwWk

CHECK.

Sense of Humour:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3H_zP_2dWk

CHECK.

Music Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRE4zP826yA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da0JwKT3GyM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN0b-adUt9I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU9JoFKlaZ0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eebfMFzJHNs

CHECK.

Crowd-stirring Live Performances:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6zZeHTMu-k

CHECK.

3. They have a Song for Every Mood.
Do they stick to one genre?
Hell, no!
Try “When It’s Time” and “Peacemaker”

Are you feeling:
Inspired? Listen to “Waiting”

Demotivated? Listen to “Time of Your Life”

Psychotic? Listen to “Basket Case”

Can’t sleep? “Brain Stew”

Just want to dance? “King for a Day”

Romantic?: “Last Night on Earth”

Lonely?: “Walking Alone”

What am I doing with my life? “21^st Century Breakdown”

Peace: “21 Guns”

A non-sense song which has a meaning you can’t understand: “Hitching a Ride”.

TIP: If you are listening to a Green Day song, first see its lyric video. Because I, of all people, know that the lyrics are hard to understand, and hence go unnoticed,  due to BJA’s singing style.

So here I end one of the longest articles I’ve ever written, with never-ending lyrics and tunes flowing out of my head, with gratitude towards all the Youtubers, and with the hope that you had enough bandwidth to see all the links! An ode to the best band in the whole wide world!

When you're at the end of the road; And you lost all sense of control; And your thoughts have taken their toll; When your mind breaks the spirit of your soul; Listen to Green Day!

The Falling Star

Looking up at the night sky, she saw a warm glow in the dark. She saw the glitter, she saw the shimmering droplets of hope. As a part of the vast galaxy, she contemplated over her tiny stand in a world so alien to her. Were they alone? Was she alone?
The stars, all seemed to be together in the sky.
But, were they? Or did they share her loneliness?
A twinkle caught her eye. Captured by it's wholeness, she sat intimidated. It engrossed her. It was the world then. A speck of the distant fire. She could live, feeding on this thought forever.
What if this flow is broken? What if my inspiration is lost?
The stream of light. The river of illumination. The droplet, raining down. And one on my cheek. But, now, I don't miss it. Because there will be several others. Some hanging high, some crumbling under gravity.

Written in Abstract Writing Round, Illuminati, TechnoSearch 2k13, MANIT.