Pakoras and Chai…
Its raining and miserably cold here in Pacifica. Well, everybody told me I was going to freeze my butt. I know now, chilled to the bone is a understatement. The weather suits my mood. I have not done anything productive in a while and am feeling a little burnt out by this “nothing to do period”. These days demand for some Pakoras (veggie fritters) and Chai. Something very soothing about the combination. Feels good, warm and reminds of good times. I want to have a Pakoras and Chai day.
Life in Pacifica seems to be of a small town one. Very close to the city (San Francisco) but it seems to have a charm of its own. The two lane town has some interesting character, surfers, old timers, and yuppies with money, all seem to be here. The ocean spans a good 180 deg and one can see beautiful sunsets each day. I will have to keep my camera handy every day. Some shots of the neighborhood…
Pink houses and grey skies.JPG)
Pokemon safe from the rain.JPG)
View from the hill.JPG)
Surf’s Up.JPG)
View from the Chit Chat Cafe….JPG)
Life in the small town is great while sitting in the Chit Chat Cafe and looking out. This place is great to see the locals…I don’t think there is anything touristy here. Every day I see somebody different, from kids in the 80’s punk gear to senior citizens playing several rounds of scrabble, cops coming for their coffee break (right at the dot of 5.30pm), mothers with their kids on a sunny afternoon, local surfers, thinkers-who sit quietly staring out of the window with a cup of Joe.
A bizarre Sunday afternoon I listened to live Jazz followed by Punk Funk techno music, a combo I would not have expected. It fit right in. The barista’s are just as different. Some chirpy who know everybody’s name, some quite and unassuming but willing to do the extra mile to dig for something I lost in the garbage. A cross section of the town rolls by as I sit pounding my brand new 15.4″ widescreen laptop, connecting to the world outside from the warmth of this unpretentious cafe. All we are missing is a fireplace. We already have the high speed internet connection for less than $15 a month for unlimited access.
Life is good…But..there is always that.
I still feel disoriented. It seems unreal that am back in the “game” again. Part of me wants to quit whatever is that am not doing now and just continue my journey to South America now. I really want to but feel that I ought to give myself a chance to settle down, earn some money and then move on. One part of me wants to settle down and the other wants to keep going on…move to greener pastures…but then isn’t grass greener on the other side.
Doing mundane things like Laundry is what gets me here. Today I spent a good 1 1/2 in a laundry mat. Not that I had anything better to do. Times like this I wish I had only 2 t-shirts and pair of shorts I could hand wash..but then in this cold I need water which is 90 deg.
Traveler’s blues are hitting strong and hard. Does everybody who has traveled a bit feel like this neither a traveler nor settled into anything. In a limbo. Anybody? Different kinds of questions pop into my head now, ones that I never had encountered before. This Libra girl is a bit confused and is hoping for the sun to shine again, literally. Grey skies, grey mood, who wants that. More about the pondering later.
Tags: California
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Madhu
Hi Madhu!
I admire what you’re doing here in putting into words the difficult transition that is ‘coming home’. I guess I worry about feeling this kind of ambivalence myself when we return to Oz later this year … it’s a scary thought. All I can offer at this stage is the thought that, yes, pakoras and chai are an unquestionable good – enjoy them even as you’re battling the other stuff 🙂
I totally know what you’re feeling- purgatory. I’ve been in it for about six months, but now that I am finally finding my place here, I’m picking up and leaving again! ah well, I guess it just takes time 🙂
~koukla mou