Well, after about 6 months of a self-imposed hiatus, I'm back to my home on the Internet. And, apart from expressing myself in here about things I value, I sorely missed interacting with my LJ friends. And, just look at the stuff they have been up to, packing in vacations overseas, bird-watching trips, published articles, eco-tourism guidance to the uninitiated, purchases of status toys, visits to shacks that serve up delicious food and exchanging vows with their spouses all over again after decades of living with one another! It was a wonderful experience catching up with all the writing that they have put up while I was away.

The past months were used up to explore things that I haven't previously ventured into, like ingratiating myself with folks I would be seeing quite a bit, initiating myself with Kannada movies after years, learning about the components and textures of sarees, appreciating fine jewelery and their delicate construction, tuning my tone deaf ear to the phenomena of pitch variations in songs and having a close look at the lives of people who belong to the generations before mine. I have been exposed to some genuinely wealthy people and have sampled the lifestyles they lead, to those who are authentically generous at heart who don't twitch before splurging thousands on friends, to those who maintain a heartwarming camaraderie among their extended family members resulting in truly memorable bonding sessions. I have been witness to several demonstrations on the skill of nurturing a tremendous network of contacts, and how honest concern and genuine interest about the other person, put across through sweetly constructed sentences in an appropriately modulated tone, could win over people, whether they are film industry biggies, influential businessmen, retired super cops or the guy or girl next door. I have been awed by the affection showered upon the donors of monetary benefits by beneficiaries during their times of want even years after the events, by those who impress with their knowledge about maintaining huge agricultural estates while walking around in them and by the gay attitudes of those who have had to shoulder a cascade of soul-crushing troubles during their lives. I have valued my interaction with those who detail various facets of the plenty of food we have sampled, to those young kids who can strip you naked by accurately verbalizing your most private thoughts only by sitting in front of you and the hundreds of miles all of us have clocked together in my beloved car.

My partner and I have experienced a "rainbow of emotions" the past few months, from helplessness due the general stressors of wedding events and the work leading up to it, to the joy of discovering a soul with whom each could express and realize oneself. And, together with my Mother-about whom I have discovered quite a bit more through the eyes of my wife-, we hope to lead lives less ordinary.