Flight of Fancy

I slid down that rabbit hole
In quest of Wonderland.
The glint of malice
In the eyes of Alice
Sent matters out of hand.


I soared over the Nimbus clouds
Knockin' on heaven's door.
But Zeus's thunder
Portended plunder.
Soon havoc was galore.


I strolled past the Redwood trees.
As I neared the Bay (alas!),
The Golden Gate
Was rudely irate
And refused to let me pass.


Restless I am in captivity.
Sleepless is the night.
But every yawn
Is a step closer to dawn
As I eagerly wait to take flight.


(A largely literal account on the travails of East to West Coast travel with minor poetic liberties)

Mystery, Mayhem, and Murder

Nothing adds more zest to a reading list like a mystery novel. And so, in way of keeping up with the holiday fervor, my reading theme this season is mystery, mayhem, and murder! The books I picked are: The Sherlockian (which I stumbled upon at the Strand Bookstore, NYC, and thought was a must-read), The Dante Club (a half-historical/half-fictional account about a series of brutal murders in 19th century Boston), and Death Comes to Pemberley (a recently released, bestselling Pride and Prejudice sequel). These books have an interesting commonality: they involve characters from literary classics and/or their creators. While I have tried my best to avoid major spoilers, I will be commenting on the general structure of each novel. So, beware!

The Winter's Tale

Gloomy winter. Sluggish day.
Book and blanket. Cold at bay.
I felt hints of ennui.
The wind tapped on the window pane.
Like caffeine molecules in the brain
It broke my reverie.


I emerged for an evening stroll.
Like an orange smear in a violet bowl
The horizon was aflame.
The lofty tree by the red brick house
Rustled its leaves, swayed its boughs,
And whispered out my name.


Such fondly wondrous tales it told
Lush, fragrant, with colors bold
Like a kaleidoscope.
As sunshine wrapt the city pale
In a gold-woven gossamer veil,
I saw a glimmer of hope.


My sunken spirits took a leap.
With intrepidity my heart did steep.
I was finally ready for this.
"Winter will be mesmerizing,"
I told myself romanticizing
The white, snowy bliss.


I felt a sudden surge - a spree -
An intense gush - of poesy
(What a charming season!)
When a sudden gust of the friendly breeze
Ushered in that pioneering sneeze.
(What a stolid act of treason!)


Kleenex tissue. Chicken soup.
Like a variable in an infinite loop,
The sneezing refused to pause.
Winter's beauty was promptly forgotten.
As I told myself "This season is rotten!"
And pointed out its flaws.


Back I am in my cozy nook.
Warm again, with blanket and book
As the nasty virus I fight.
Ruddy-nosed I curse the chill,
Reach out for another Benadryl
As doggerel verse I write!

¡Hola Valencia!

The schedule was tight. The rain posed a formidable challenge. Yet, thankfully, I got to explore bits and pieces of this eponymous capital of the Spanish autonomous community of Valencia. The cityscape of Valencia is a strikingly unique blend of the past, the present, and the future. The architecture ranges from Gothic splendor to flamboyant postmodernism interspersed densely with mundane arrays of lackluster modern midrise apartment buildings.  

New England Hues

We set out to explore Mount Cardigan Saturday morning - just in time to catch the flaming hues of the New Hampshire foliage this season. The wet, wooded trail was gorgeously colorful. The 360° view from the bare, treeless summit was breathtaking. As we squelched our way to the open summit, the gusty wind picked up speed till it felt strong enough to blow us away. An approaching shower of rain appeared to close in on us. We took shelter underneath the fire tower on the summit. Even as we stood there trying to keep our camera lenses dry and our fingers from freezing, we saw one end of a rainbow emerge. The colors emboldened, and, once the skies cleared, we could see the complete bow clearly for a few moments. To our utter surprise, in some more time, we saws hints of a second bow: a double rainbow! Of course photos can never do justice. But here are some imperfect glimpses of this perfectly wonderful adventure!

Glass Magic

I finally had an opportunity to view the extraordinary work of Dale Chihuly at the Museum of Fine Arts exhibition Through the Looking Glass. As expected, the pieces were spectacular. With the bright hues of glass, psychedelic lighting, and a rich diversity of ideas, it was a breathtaking experience. 

This splendidly illuminated array of large glass flowers, which I put together into a panoramic shot, adorned the entrance to the exhibit:

Blindness

It's a new life here in Boston and a very exciting one too. Also, it turns out that the Kindle combined with a 30 min. daily commute (each way) on the subway makes an excellent recipe for reading. And thus my once favorite pastime drowned in the whirlpool of an engineering education finally found a chance to resurface. I inaugurated my reading renaissance with the novel Blindness by Nobel laureate Jose Saramago.

It was during my first visit to Brookline Booksmith (nothing like having a bookstore next door!) that I happened to flip through a Saramago novel. It was called The Elephant's Journey. As I was weaving through the second page of the book, I was interrupted by an unfamiliar voice.

"So, what do you think?"

I looked up. It was an elderly gentleman. 

"It's weird." That was my first thought and also my reply. "There is hardly any punctuation anywhere. And there are no names either."

"Yeah, all his books are like that. It's a bit tricky initially, but you get used to it."