A long walk by the roadside...

When I came to the US for the first time in 2006, I hardly had anything needed for a basic life in US - a car, a laptop and a good place to stay. Since it was a short term trip we stayed in a comparatively inexpensive hotel on weekly rates. The hotel used to be pretty strict and rude and I could remember the night we came back from the office and stood in front of the door that didn't open just because we didn't pay the rent in the morning. Life in US without legs is easier than that without a car especially if you are put up in one of the cursed areas where there is no public transport. Every holiday (at least in the beginning) used to be a combination of frustration, expectation and boredom that made us yearn for a timeout. Later on we opted to spend than suffer and we used to pay tens of dollars for cabs and other modes of transport to hang out in the weekends. The client office was a mile and a half away and we used to walk in the cold roads of New Jersey to reach the place. I could still remember the cold wind hitting my nostrils succeeding to cross the layers of my jerkin.

But things have been totally different in Tampa. Even though Florida isn't cold, as with any other place in US, 'near' is a word used to describe 5-10 miles and that obviously ruled out any possibilities of walking. My previous experiences made me settle down a bit fast and I got my license and bought a car within a couple of months. I had the laptop provided in the client office and I got my phone within the first week. Life here started getting comfortable and since then I couldn't remember walking on the streets of Tampa. Partly due to my impression of 'walkers' and partly due to laziness, walking had been quite remote. But today we had a long walk by the road side walking along the residential area to reach a near by pier - a place quite similar to the location in Khakha khakha. It was a beautiful experience - deep brown wooden bridge, navy skies, distant lights, rumbling water underneath and a peaceful atmosphere.

We (four of us) spoke about a lot of things, predominantly things that were running in our minds at the moment and our career. Was pretty interesting to get lost in thoughts after a long time and discussing things that were gushing in my mind like the flowing water. The only phrase that comes to my mind about this good experience is 'Nature and walking are beautiful concepts indeed'.