Floating

I just found myself dreamily saying to a friend, 'music floats my soul and takes me to new places' and it struck me that I have neglected writing on Riff Cafe for longer than I would like to admit.

The truth is that Riff Cafe conceptually is one of the most beautiful things I've taken part in but it happened at a point in my life when I took so many beautiful things for granted. I was studying in London. I lived in Bloomsbury, where one of my idols, Bertrand Russell did his ideating - I swear I thought I could see him walk around Tavistock Square. I worked at an independent literary press part time, where I had a boss who stepped right out of one of those British novels saying, 'Oh dah-ling, that is so quaint!'. Every alternate weekend I would go to Cambridge to see the boy I loved. I even got an editorial job at one of the world's biggest publishing houses when I graduated. In general, I was surrounded by art, poetry, music, theatre, literature and well, that blissful state of unawareness that I would become someone totally different very soon.

Very soon is here. I love anything I can quantify or categorise. Esoteric annoys me. I need to tick everything off a list or colour code it. I am at ease with Excel sheets. If I could fit you in a grid, I would. I trade in the stock market. Yes, I said it. I work for a firm that trades in the stock market. And while I wouldn't say it has made me dull in the least (but then again, I might not be the best judge of that), I know there is that whimsical student inside me wondering what the fuck happened. Every time she musters the courage to whisper something to me, I turn around with a ruthless look I've mastered recently and she retreats. Every day I hope she goes away.

She's the one who made the statement about floating and souls. She's the one who is listening to a surreal new sound aka Quantic & His Combo Bárbaro. Afrojazzlatinfunkpiano-eque. She's the one who made me write on Riff Cafe right now.

Hello, world. I guess I am still here.