A Day in the Life of.....

I

Okay so it's my dog's 4th birthday with us. The four years with Daku have been really awesome. He's my Aslan, he is my cutie pie, and he's also the one responsible for 3 anti-rabies vaccine shots that sometimes I have managed to get in between flights. 

We take him to Domino's. Ordered for a Spicy Chicken and Cheese Pizza for him. He loved it, of course. 

The guy at the counter takes my order and asks for my number (to feed in their machines, I guess). Instinctively, I take my Black Pearl out and say, "Can you give me yours as well? It'll be easier for us to place orders." The moment he goes, "9-9-6-7-," I interrupt: " I was asking for the Domino's number..."

"Ah, the landline, of course," he smiles. And I had to nod with a smile!

***

II

It's been an evening of  hard, beautiful rain.  My client decides to drop me till a point were I can get a cab/ auto. But during rains, most of the autos and cabs disappear from the face of my city. And the client wouldn't let me go till he ensures I am tucked in an auto. He drives around 10 kms away from his point of convenience, hunting for an auto.

At last we spot one. And by the time we reach him, he starts moving on, blissfully unaware of my urgency. It's close to 11 PM. I am worried about him getting back home through the traffic, to his wife and kid. My client levels the car with the auto, and rolling down the window, I ask the guy, "Mulund Checknaka......?"

He looks at me, asks me to repeat and says, "Take the bridge, and then turn first right," and whisks away.

***

III

Waiting for the autos further back to my place, around midnight now, a middle aged guy asks me if we could travel together. His place was further than mine and he offered to drop me. I said fine, since I was waiting for almost 45 mins. 

So we started hunting for autos for his place. He offered me his umbrella till then. I was wearing a light blue white shirt. I was relieved at his second offer. 

We got the auto, and he asked me if it was usual for me to be this late, returning home and all. I refused, citing rains and traffic as the reason for the delay. Before I could tell the auto guy to stop for my point, this guy says that he'd drop me first at my home and then take the auto back at his place. I accepted his third offer too, albeit hesitatingly. 

Now there's quite a bit of distance between the point I was supposed to get down and my home. I had decided to walk it out. The guy observes the distance and asks, "You were planning to walk all this way?"

"Umm... Yes... No other option, right?"

"Are you a black-belt?"

***

Movie Review - RIO

First of all, I want to fly.
I want to Samba.
If am a bird, then I want to be a rocket.

Wanted to watch RIO because I needed the colour and the music. Nothing beats the Brazilian beats, the Ramba and the Salsa and the zeal which is so thankfully contagious! Caught up with the making of RIO and it didn't seem too bad at the first peek.. and I thought to myself, to beat the blues I'll catch it up. You see, adults need to have a good time and remind themselves that there's so much of fun and beauty out there. This movie is a beautiful affirmation.

Just before the movie began, there was a short film by Blue Sky Studios on THE creature and THE nut which began the hilarious franchise of ICE AGE. That was got the kids all excited for the movie, I think. The laughter in the movie theatre was so contagious. This, I think, is a big achievement for Carlos Saldanha. The detailing, the characters, the sound and the colours were so genuine and appealing. The only cheeky thing was the kiss that got Blu's heartbeat throbbing in his wings and he flew. But may be that's just me (!)

The opening beats of "I wanna Party" by Will.i.am, Jamie Foxx and Anne Hathaway, were the real reason that I wanted to see this movie in the theatre. Darkness and Dolby Digital Sound System can mesmerise any soul. You could hear it here. The song is called HOT WINGS :) Aptly named. The song so represents the enthusiasm of Brazil. That country has always attracted me... The statue of Christ in Rio de Janerio was the only reason I wanted to visit it (and the reason that you could just waltz on the beach with.. ahem.. the appropriate clothing meant only for beaches and.. [nevermind, probably edited], come a close second). But after watching the film, I guess I wouldn't miss dancing at the Carnival for the world.

Guys in love should dedicate this song to their women "I'm telling the world" by Taio Cruz. It's definitely the flavour song of the season.
Jemaine Clement as the villain bird does a fantastic job. His song had the funniest lyrics: "Like an abandoned school, I have no principal" and so on. Jesse Eisenberg was alright. Somehow, I hate him for doing a movie based on Mark Zuckerberg's life. That apart, can he cut his curly hair, or shave his head so that I focus more on his facial muscles and find out if he can really perform or just Facebook. I've lost all respect for Anne Hathway for hosting the Oscars this year with fabulous outfits and plastic smiles and even more toxic jokes. Jamie Foxx is a rock-star.

Carlos Saldanha had admitted that he wanted to do justice to Brazil, most importantly, Rio de Janerio. Thumpy beats was a key feature. The hills, the sea, lights, slums and the green forests, the madness for football and a love for dance - you name it, and it was all there. That kind of colour and treatment uplifts you. The story was simple and tight. Towards the end, you'd find yourself, preferring a happy magical ending somehow instead of wanting to place everything in logic. And that's not easy for people like me, who go to watch a movie and still prefer not to leave their brains behind (a VERY important requirement for watching Bollywood movies). It's amazing how the need for a magical ending just grips you out of nowhere and all you want to do is groove to the HOT WINGS track again and plan a trip to Rio ASAP.

And that's the track am going to listen to on my way to court tomorrow.

To magic, and to new acquaintances! :)