vindaloo

What started 2 weeks back finally ended, maybe on a sadder note than I'd wanted too, but then I realize I’m on earth not in paradise. Yeah, I finally bid goodbye to summer with my 2 week non-stop party. The weekend in NY was the wake up call, from there I moved to Philadelphia, and we partied like hell. Nice town filled with school kids, its so nice to meet kids at the start of a new scholastic year, all filled with dreams of how to attain accolades and “how they messed up last year but this years gonna be better..” the fragrance of optimism saturating the air. And we the wiser ones, who’ve been through the mess, have completed school, giggling like teenage girls in our minds at their vagaries. Like a swarm of locusts we swept in poisoned their minds with our cynicism and moved on. I doubt any of the advice we gave would actually matter, most of it was on drinking habits, how much alcohol a body could possibly consume and how to pretend one is drunk to get help…nothing too scholastic. All in all we hit NY and Phili hard, and fast, harder than Ivan hit the coast of Florida, faster than Lance on the Tour de Prance. And we set out to conquer the mid west feeling pretty confident of ourselves. So I decided to spend the Long weekend in Chicago. I had vowed to never drive that way again but the only way to Chicago with air tickets in the higher 400s was road…I know with gas prices I sound ridiculous but one cant stop a road warrior not even the big old gas companies. Made the drive to Columbus OH and rested at a friends place. Next morning we were on the road in the words of Paul Simon “We had all come to look for America.”

Chicago is a pretty bustling city, though I prefer NY, more happening by my standards. We moved into a old roomies house settled down and decided on the places we were going to attack at night, preplanned war. Once the sun had set and the moon cast its light on the streets of downtown Chicago, 4 devils crammed into a Mustang and drove (if speeding at 90 m/h is your idea of driving) downtown. We jumped a bit and then moved into a club called Xentra. Nice, happening place with 2 dance floors and million dollar drinks. I decided not to binge drink and stuck to having just a few beers and some Long Islands. I went to the techno floor. At first it was kind of empty, but the DJ changed at 12 and that’s when it switched 360 degrees to a wholesome rave party. Took be back to my times in Goa, they have the bomb parties there. Here I was, shakin my stuff to the sounds of the underground(trance) along with these 17,18,19,20 somethings when it hit me. Gawd am I too old for this stuff, I looked around me and there were 3 or 4 other guys my age or atleast they looked older well there were a few women but then women can reveal stuff and get away with the age difference easily. I realized that my moves were not hip anymore, and in the same manner I would have sneered at older guys a few years back there were these guys in the corner gawking at me with a look of “get outta here dude..do u seriously think u fit in.” And Floyd hit me in the head “And one day you’ll find ten years have got behind you..” It really seemed like just yesterday. The years have caught on. I felt like I was a 40 something. Did take some reassurance from my friend the bartender to get me optimistic again. Guess that was the end of a great summer, the waning years of my youth.
In the words of Green day,
Summer has come and passed, the innocent can never last.
Wake me up when September ends
Like my father's come to pass, seven years has gone so fast.
Wake me up when September ends.