Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Happiness is a beach front hotel...

As a pimply faced teenager, i fantasised about life as a "well settled" man. A decent paychecque, living a life where i was well fed, well appreciated and well entertained and hopefully sharing that joy and that occasional hiccup with that elusive perfect someone.That, I imagined would be perfect happiness. Now, at an age when i am being called 'uncle" with alarming and annoying regularity by the all new and improved gen-next, "well settled" seems a lifetime away.

i look back and realise that i am an electrical engineer (correction..engineering graduate..there's a difference...the former actually know how to make stuff work!) who interned at a research laboratory, specialised in designing electrical power systems, migrated from small town to a big bad city, had that invariable stint in a BPO, got bored and joined the mba herd, pretended to specialise in marketing and systems, then worked in a bank and now am paid to manage money for people who have worked long and hard to earn potloads of it but for some reason seem comfortable in trusting it to someone who hasn't a fraction of it himself. Five addresses in four years, acquaintances posing as friends and 10 kgs later, nomadic is still what i am.

"Decent" paycheque and being a bigger better rat in the race is a life long mirage, the chase of which has left other pursuits on the wayside and the perfect someone i was supernaturally lucky to find, a two and half hour flight away for  20 days a month. Happy is a state of mind achieved with the next car, club membership or scotch and Happiness is a luxury which is bought over a weekend, begged from your boss and stolen from the updated blackberry calender.

Well, a few days ago, the heavens conspired and i experienced what i now know is pure unadultrated happiness...

...the look in her eyes when i walked in after a fortnight away
...Sharing a song with her at midnight
...acknowledging that the young woman i treat as a kid is all grown up...and how!
....watching my friend turn to family
....great food and better wine
....a spectacular drive with great music , good humour, constant chatter and unapologetic syrupy romance
....arriving at the destination and discovering that the place is exactly how you expected and hoped it would be
....coolest people some of whom just happen to be family and and others who feel like them
....Sun, sea and sand and fun!
....greed, sloth, lust and gluttony...sinful? you bet!
....beautiful memories

The sights, sounds, touch and feel  of the painstakingly planned and over all too soon couple of days and hopefully their frequent recurrence  is what keeps me sane and well,....settled.

Perfect and happiness rarely occur together nowadays.Well just for once they did...