Two half-marathons

I have been "long time no see" as regards this blog and blogging in general.
Life has changed...Quite a bit. I have been humbled, yet in a good way.

My previous post, was on intensity. I mentioned that I had an intense hike while going down Tiger Mountain. I said that I would like to see this intensity in my life, albeit a sustainable one. Fast forward two years to now... I am living many moments with intensity these days... My research is exciting, challenging and engulfing me at the same time. I meditate every day to help me keep calm and centered, while I run over the weekend to keep fit.
Yes, running has been relegated to a "once a week" thing. However I started training for half-marathons last year end and have run two of them since.
Seattle half marathon - 2010 and Mercer Island half marathon - 2011.
Both were good experiences, finished in around 2hrs 10 minutes.

I plan to run and hike more regularly in the future. Summer's coming up and nature's calling in Seattle.

On Intensity

Just finished my spring quarter. Pretty intense 5 days I had finishing up projects. I went hiking to Tiger Mountain I, two weeks back. It's one of my favorite spots. Tiger III is the more popular one during the weekends. But Tiger I is usually deserted. Atop Tiger I is a small bench and there is also a hut made of aluminum sheets nearby called hiker's hut for shade. This trip saw me enjoy the sunny weather. I reached the top at 5:15 pm and sat on the bench, enjoying the view of Mount Rainier and the valley nearby. I then settled down for a pleasant 30 minute meditation, with little birds chirping around and the wind brushing against my face.
Coming down from the Tiger mountain was pretty intense. Why? I had a deadline to meet!!
I had to catch a bus at 7 pm(the next bus was at 9 pm) and I left the top at 6:15 pm. I under-estimated the time it would take me to get down. Jogging down the trail is not easy with lots of small stones, wood, and slippery edges around. You have to be totally focused on the trail. A second's error could mean a slip which may or may not be fatal. It was pretty intense for me for this reason coupled with the fact that I had to meet the 7 pm deadline. 6:50 pm I had almost reached the base of the hill and the highway in sight. Now I had to just make a sprint to the finish. Wow, this reminds me of my undergrad running sessions of around 5kms.. It was pretty intense. We were three guys and we started off slow, atleast I did, but I would catch up with others and then towards the end, in the last 1km stretch we would be pushing our limits in order to beat the other guy.
This 7pm deadline of catching the bus reminding me of that intensity... It's like, when you are done with it, you tell yourself, you are not going to do it again.. Not at that level of intensity anyway, but you do it anyway. Intensity. It's good to befriend it.
Coming back, I reached the bus stop at 7:01 pm. But guess what? The bus was late by 10 minutes!! But this intensity that I felt while jogging or sometimes running downhill (going with the grade) made me wonder if I could apply the same intensity to my work more often.
I had the opportunity this week.. One of the most intense weeks I have had. But it's a different kind of intensity, involving lack of sleep and stress. I prefer a quiet kind of intensity, an inner intensity, that doesn't necessarily express itself as stress in the body, and an intensity that's long-term, and an intensity that's sustainable.

Long run at greenlake

It is a sunny day today and what a perfect day to go out and enjoy the greenlake experience. Running around the edge of the lake, with people of all ages, with dogs of all sizes and breeds, with all kinds of colors (differernt shades of green and orange on trees, pink and yellow spring flowers bloom, etc), is quite an experience. I finished off my run, by finding a chair near the lake to sit on and meditate for a while and enjoy the silence within. If I could use just one word to describe the total experience, it would be awesome.

Shifting to Green lake

Green lake is one of the really beautiful urban spots in seattle. The name is suggestive of the geography of the location. It's green all around and in the middle of it all is a large sized lake.
And the new place I am shifting to is right next to the lake, just a block away!

And, this place is a runner's haven and heaven!!

Rocking fun are there.

View Larger Map

Hiking near Granite Falls

Hiking through trails,
Walking through forests,
What do you seek?

I seek to experience the nurturing hand of nature,
The hand that shows up as soothing sounds
of gurgling water in a nearby brook,
The hand that shows up as a bird singing it's song,
The hand that shows up as the beauty of mountains, valleys, and lakes, beckoning you forward.

I seek to become aware of the jarring noise of my thoughts
in the deafening silence of nature,
I seek to internalize the peace that I find in the forest trails,
I seek to put things in perspective by realizing
the ignorance of man in living life monotonously,
while nature beckons, as always.

Did a solid 4 hr hike in trails near a place called Granite Falls, around 40 miles from Seattle. I noticed a lot of logging going around this area and also heard a few gunshots. I came across a fence with a few horses idling around inside. I stood at the fence and the horses came around and said hello! As I reached my hand out towards them, they first thoroughly whiffed their noses around my hand before letting me touch them.
Also saw a coyote and a black bunny along the way. I wasn't hiking to any particular destination, just randomly exploring the trails nearby. I guess I walked the half-marathon distance of 21 kms today.. Pretty tiring!

Seward park experience

"Imagine yourself sitting below a tree on pristine green grass with dew drops glistening in the late afternoon sun. Imagine that you are less than a feet away from a lake that is moving rhythmically creating a beautiful sound as the gentle waves splash the shore, with ducks wading along doing some gymanastic upside down flips. Now as you look across, you see the shoreline, dotted with a few tall trees, winding along a curve and your gaze meets the sun that's sending you it's warm rays, providing comfort in the cold weather around. As you close your eyes, you take in all the beauty and sounds and let yourself become more peaceful and content for the moment..."
Now, if you are into meditations, you would say, "this is starting to sound like a nice guided meditation".

Getting back to where I left off..
Now as you become content in the moment, you start hearing some random noises and you recognize them as: A few kids running around with their uncle yelling at them to put on their jackets, two or three 30 something women walking along with their dogs, discussing their ex-boyfriends, and a couple not too far away, who just can't get enough of each other.

Now, this would go down as a Seward Park experience.
I did hike around in the old-growth forest trails in Seward park for around an hour and a half before the above experience happened. One of the trails lead me to an interesting amphi-theatre that reminded me of the open air theatre (OAT) in my undergrad college, back in India.
The Seward park has a very interesting geography as you can see in the map below. It juts out into the lake, almost making it an island. On a clear day, the Mount Rainier is also visible from the East side of the park.

Discovery park again

Felt an impulse to go to the discovery park. It was cloudy when I started, but when I hit the discovery park, it was sunny! The last time I had been to discovery park, it was cloudy to begin with and midway through the hike it started raining!

I decided to explore the South beach and South bluff(or cliff) of the discovery park and this side has some gorgeous views of Mount olympics. At one point (you are standing at the edge of the cliff) you can see the cliff dropping down a few 100 feet into the beach, then there's the puget sound lake, then a few islands, and then the mt. olympics..One of the mountains in the Olympic ranges reminds me of the mountain in the Lord of the rings. Also looking at these mountains in their glory brings out a tune in my mind... 'Will you follow me?' by Rob Dougan (youtube it to listen). Didn't have a camera (gifted it to my family) to capture the scenery. Altogether, a rejuvenating 2 hr hike.

Federer-Nadal showdown - Australian Open finals

Catch it this sunday night (Feb 1st 09). Since I am in Seattle, I will have to get up at 1 am Sunday to watch the finals. I am rooting for federer as always, should be an intense match with brilliant shot making from both sides.

2009 Seattle Marathon

Just registered for it..yes!!

Here's the website: Seattle Marathon

The marathon's going to be on Sunday, November 29th 2009.
So it's atleast another 10 months for the marathon. That gives me a good time for training for the marathon. I am shooting for below 4 hrs. Let's see how it goes.
Will update on my progress every month. FYI, I have stopped running completely and that is one of the reasons I registered for the marathon.. so that I get back to running shape. Have been evading the marathon for the last couple of years..Finally, I will be doing the marathon this year.

Going home

Going home tomorrow morning. Back to India after 2 years. Pretty excited, yes I am. I notice that I haven't blogged for a long while. Hmm, I was occupied with my course work and also spiritual reading, which contrary to what some might think, is pretty exciting and thought provoking. Why do many people like fantasies, science fiction (LOTR, Harry Potter, et al) etc? They would like to believe that there is more to the world than the routine stuff.. Spirituality is also a fantasy, except that it is not out there, but right here, related to our daily lives. Anyway, might blog again next month after getting back.

Running and Spirituality

These two words are probably ones that I cherish the most these days (there are many other words too, as you will see later on). Now, how the heck is running related with spirituality you ask?
I had a friend come up to me during my undergrad and tell me, "You seem to be very spiritual. By the way, can you tell me what exactly is spirituality?". It was a funny moment, I told him that I was not sure.

If you have noticed, I started out into the blogosphere with this blog, Musings of a runner. I then added, Musings of a grad student, when I became a graduate student to capture some intriguing ways of life I encountered/was encountering.
And then came along, Musings of a seeker, my official spiritual blog.

My point is that I have only recently realized or better understood the link between running and spirituality, or for that matter what spirituality actually is.

Here's my definition of spirituality:
Activities, processes, attitudes that uplift your spirit. As simple as that.
People also refer to spirituality as a process of growth - growth of the self. Now, what this self/soul is, etc is a topic by itself and out of scope of this blog.

By the above definition here are some things that I find uplift my spirit:

a) Running (there you go)
b) Nothing like good old laughter
c) Meditation
d) Lack of worries and care. Notice that, it is a conscious choice whether you choose to worry or not although people make it a subconscious process without realizing its effects on body and mind. Also, worry doesn't help decision making. I find I make my best decisions when I am clear, confident and relaxed.
e) At the end of a weary day, relaxation techniques (shavasana et al) to revive myself or equivalently running or:
f) Music
g) Hiking: Most of my recent blogs have been on hiking. There is something about hiking in nature that is soothing and calming, but at the same time refreshing. This again, by our definition, is a spiritual activity. I have indeed come to realize that hiking rejuvenates me, and gives me time to think on things clearly.

(What are some activities that uplift you?)

Now, you can become cheeky and say that, psychedelic drugs also tend to uplift the spirit and cause euphoric experiences. I don't deny that, they would definitely be spiritual experiences, but considering the side-effects on health and the risk of addiction, I would rather avoid them.
I mean if there is a healthy way to 'get high' wouldn't you opt for it?

Running and spirituality
Running is something that seemed a natural thing to do when I was a kid. You have nothing to do? Run around the house, wreak havoc, get scoldings. Get kicked out of the house - Then you run around in the streets playing cricket or whatever. Get called in for dinner. Go to sleep. Running for me was synonymous with being free: An elder person could you stop you to give advice, but you could just dash away if you are bored!
I used to participate in 100 metres dash every year and that was also fun.
I seriously started pursuing long distance running when I entered college. Initially it was a drag, I had to push my body to keep doing the rounds. I would get injured. Get back to running, become faster. Get injured. And so on. But, once running become a regular thing to do, I found my running to be 'effortless' at times.
Whenever my running was effortless or rhythmic, I would feel pretty good, it was akin to a 'high'. Long slow runs would also produces patches of this 'high'.
This is not some 'psychological high', it is actually a 'physiological high' - Read
this blog to know more.
So by our definition of spirituality, and because of this 'getting high' due to anandamide, running is definitely a spiritual exercise!


Religion and spirituality
People might tend to confuse religion with spirituality. Here's my take on it:
Religion is a set of beliefs and activities that you have/do because you identify yourself with a particular religion.
On the other hand, spirituality is a set of activities that you do because you like to do them!
Ofcourse, spirituality and religion can intersect. People can be both spiritual and religious. These days, it has become fashionable to say that one is spiritual but not religious. Whatever works.

On being spiritual
Spiritual experiences needn't be esoteric, mystical and 'out there'. Spiritual experiences can happen right here, right now if we recognize and choose them to happen. You can always choose to take a break from a busy schedule and go hiking or walking, for example and feel refreshed or recharged. You can notice times when you are really tense and take a break by relaxing your body and/or breath. It is a matter of simple observation that, the breath, the body and mind are linked. Whenever you are tense, agitated or angry, notice your breath - It would happen in short, arrhythmic quick bursts. Also notice your breath when you are relaxed, calm and peaceful. The breath would be deep, slow and rhythmic.
This link between, rhythms of breath and states of mind is the basis for certain breathing practices (Tai chi, Pranayama, Chi Kung, etc). The idea is that when you can't control your agitated mind, you can control the agitated breath and make it more rhythmic and this has an effect of calming down the mind. Hence, breathing practices are one way to stay centered and be equanimous.

Ofcourse, the range of spiritual experiences that can happen are really broad - It can be a plain simple 'spacing out' while having a shower to 'out of body' experiences that change your perspective on life and death.
The focus is not on having these spiritual experiences, but on doing things you like. Experiences will follow suit in time and space.

I would like to end this article with two quotes I believe in: "We are not human beings having spiritual experiences, we are spiritual beings having a human experience".
"Spirituality is all about getting high, the natural way".

Would be interested in your views/experiences related to this topic - Feel free to pass on a comment or email me at barkbadmar@yahoo.com

Little Si

Second trip to Little Si. Little Si, is a 'small' part of Mount Si and gives good views of surrounding mountains - Mailbox Peak, Mclellan Butte, Rattlesnake ridge and maybe even Tiger mountain. Little Si on a sunny day also sees quite a few rock climbers with all the gear climbing up one of the many vertical faces near the Little Si trail.
I went off the main trail and tried one supposedly secret route to the top of Little Si.. It was quite dangerous because of the steep incline and slippery mud/stones. I didn't go all the way up..Might have gone halfway up. While coming down this route, I had my heart in my mouth.. A huge sigh of relief when I touched base. This route is between two steep climbing faces and is kind of hidden by small bushes.

On my last trip here, the wind was howling at the top. Today, with the sun shining bright, everything was peaceful at the top.

Getting there by bus
i) 271 from University district to Issaquah. 209 from Issaquah to Northbend. Get off at the Bendigo blvd and 2nd street. Find the snoqualmie valley trail by taking a left on main avenue and going forward a few streets. Follow the trail east till you get to Mt. Si road. Take a left, cross the red bridge and keep walking till you find the trailhead onto the left.
ii) 554 from Downtown to Issaquah. 209 from Issaquah to Northbend and same as above.

I find it atleast 10 minutes faster and more scenic to go downtown and catch 554 to Issaquah than catching the direct bus(271) from university district!

Discovery park

Discovery park is the largest among the 400 parks in Seattle. Usually, when I think of a park, I think of lush green lawns with flowers, some natural artifacts, rocks, etc.
But this park, I discovered (ahem) is more like a forest, that is close to downtown Seattle. It has lots of old-growth trees, ferns, and beautiful beaches with rocky slopes that also remind me of marine drive, mumbai.
Getting there:
As I usually do, I took the bus route. 71 from my place to downtown. And from there a 33 takes you right to discovery park - A total of 45 minutes of travel.

I hiked from the entrace to the north beach of the park. It was sunny/cloudy to begin with, but as I got into the hike, it started drizzling and then it was proper rain getting me thoroughly drenched - I had no protection whatsoever, but I didn't mind that my t-shirt was totally soaked when I finished my hike or that I was getting some curious smiles from passerby's.

Here's a video:


Some pics:

Some webpages with visual treats

The following webpages have amazing photographs taken on trails while hiking or travel. Makes me want to improve my photography skills.. big time.

John and Kristie
Misha Longvinov
Jayson McIvor

Let me know if you know of other pages with good mountain/nature pics...

Second trip to Mt. Si

Boy, what an adventure I had a week back. I usually take the metro bus on my hikes, and that gives me a lot of room for adventure (doing funny things so as to not miss the last bus for example).But bus adventures aside, hiking is always an adventure. This time I made it to the top (not the haystack) in 1hr 50 mins, which is pretty amazing, for me atleast. I paced myself steadily over the climb - a total of 4 miles. The first 3 miles were decent, the last 1 mile was a killer. 4miles and 4000ft, that's some climb.
After getting to the 4 mile mark from where you get a good view of mountains nearby, I decided to go to the top of haystack, a very steep monolith, from where a slip could mean death. The climb to the top was itself very steep and my heavy bag of supplies didn't help me. I decided to ditch the climb, when I was half-way through to the hay-stack...this gives me another opportunity to come back to Mount Si.
Over all it was 15 miles of hiking + climbing in around 6 hrs.. phew. And the last 20 minutes, I was running at a steady 8:00 minute/mile pace so as not to miss the MT 209 bus at 8:43pm from North Bend.. talk about adventures..this was one till the very end. This hike really gave me a feel for endurance hiking. I took a lot of supplies including cookies, fruit juice, and 1.5lts of water.
I will post one or two pics maybe. My next hike would probably be next weekend to Rattle snake lake, again a long hike of around 15 miles (round trip).
A video I took near the top:

Over the top of Tiger mountain - Hiking Tiger 1 + Poo-poo point

So the hiking season has begun for me. And that's because the spring quarter came to an end last week. This summer is probably going to be rocking. I am going to have a relaxed work load during sumemer - some teaching duties, some exciting research work and ofcourse outdoor stuff including running and hiking.

Intro
So yesterday's hike was my first in 2 months. It's a tough strenuous (due to the length) and close to a 9 mile hike. It took me 5hrs to do it all.
The hike basically follows this documented hike with modifications towards the end of the hike. The previous link also gives a map of the route with description and that was pretty useful since there was one place where I had to search for a trail that didn't seem to exist.

Hike description
I basically hiked to the top of Tiger mountain 1, which is 2900 ft above sea level. From there, I moved on to poo-poo point.
Below is a video taken at Hiker's hut at 2800 ft asl.

Below is a video taken at poo-poo point which is a popular spot for para-gliding.


Since this was my first hike this summer, this hike was exhausting but hikes being hikes, exhaustion is a given. I wouldn't mind getting thoroughly exhausted after a hike if the hike had some great view points along the way. Even if there aren't many viewpoints, just being out there in the green rejuvenates you.
I am intoxicated by the greenery that I encounter during my hikes and below are some pictures along my hike that might explain this phenomenon :)

Summer's coming up

Or I hope so. This year, according to many Seattleites is not a typical Seattle year.
It's been too cold and rainy for too long this past year. I hear June end is where summer starts kicking up and that's when my physical activities should start kicking up too!
I have no plans as of yet for summer. It's going to be a natural transition into lot's of hiking, running, rock-climbing, and maybe some biking.
But off the top of my mind, I wish to hike the following mountains:
1) Mount Si a.k.a the beautiful sigh.
2) Rattlesnake Ridge
3) Mount Pilchuck (Bike + Hike).
4) A kutty mountain in Enumclaw that gives an awesome view of Mount Rainier.
5) One or two back-packing trips into the wild-wild west - oops!, east.

Ofcourse there is also going to be the ramped up running (summer special). And the rock-climbing (outdoor and maybe some indoor too). Rock-climbing is amazing. It's a skill ofcourse, it's a skill you enjoy learning. It sharpens your mind too, I might say, since you need to focus on precisely which thin edge of the rock-cut to rest our hands and feet on.

Also, I am going to bring in more picture/videos into this blog. Since summer in Seattle is particularly beautiful and extremely enjoyable once you are outdoors.

My quarter ends by the end of this week. So my vacation starts next week. Totaal enthu max put its vonly.

Running progress

I am running every weekend, that's currently my time committment to running. Sadly, this is 1/3rd of the time I used to put into running during my undergraduate days. But, that doesn't matter. What matters is that I am running regularly, though it's been a slow progress.
I had stopped running in March 2007. I began running again in December 2007 and to my astonishment and dismay, I wasn't able to run more than 1.6kms to begin with. That was my fitness level - 10 minutes of running after 9 months of no running. I wouldn't say I have progressed a lot since then, but right now I am able to run 5kms at close to 8min/mile or 5min/km pace. I just want to keep running atleast once a week.
The growth in running mileage is usually exponential. So I should be able to run 8 kms in another 2-3 months and 15 kms in another 4-5 months.
The easiest part about running is you just have to get your 'regular' runs in.
The hardest part is 'getting' your regular runs in. This basically requires a lot of committment at the start of your 'running career', but as you progress and keep getting better at your runs - better in terms of pace, stride, rhythm, etc, you look forward to your next run, you look forward to the progress you are going to make. And in case you also run on trails, you look forward to connecting with nature.

Today the run was totally rhythmic from start to finish. Well, at the start I had some cramps, but they wore off as the run progressed. Rhythmic running is an amazing thing - it reminds you why you love running.

Different modes, different experiences

What modes of transport do we have for travel ? - Trains, buses, cars, bicycles, motorbikes, ships,
aeroplanes, roller blades, and last but not the least 'human power - a.k.a walking or running'.

Travel has different purposes, but I am restricting this post to short distance travel (within 50 miles) for leisure or for sight seeing.

Let's consider two modes: cars vs walking. Let's say the destination is 10 miles away and you just want to travel to that point and come back. On a car, that would seem a trivial distance. No matter how beautiful the surrounding scenery is, you would be back in no time and it wouldn't seem like you spent a lot of time - unless you stop at some point in between.

Let's consider the same distance covered by walk: That's what I did today. I went to a Place called Ernie's grove by walking to that point from North Bend, WA - a round trip of 10 miles. It took me 3 hrs. And the experience was totally unlike what you would have if you were "shut-inside" a car. Here are some experiences on the walk:

- North Bend, located around 30 miles from Seattle is home to many cascade mountains - Mount Si, Little Si, RattleSnake ridge, Mailbox Peak, Mclellan Butte, Cedar's Butte, Round table mountain, etc. So when I alighted form MT 209, I could identify from that point 5 mountains in the vicinity, towering tall and presenting a majestic sight all around. Hence, you can imagine what a wonderful walk I had going to Ernie's grove 5 miles away:


















- Ever seen never ending green fields full of golden yellow flowers gently caressing the foot hills of mountains?
Now Mount Si, which formed the backdrop for most of my walk is a massive mountain with an incredible slope. It's 4000 ft tall and it seems like a huge piece of rock rather than a mountain that starts somewhere and peaks elsewhere. I was essentially going around Mount Si, by walking on that road.

- Add to that rivulets which present themselves when I cross a bridge or two.













- Add to that "Llamas", animals with elongated necks:


- Add to that a glorious sunny day (kind of rare in Seattle)

- And also dogs that attempt to chase you while being within the fence.















- And the fact that it was a 3 hr long walk - I have never walked 3 hrs on a flat road before. Agreed, I have hiked for that much time or even more, but just walking and for 3 hrs? This is amazing. I mean, I can right now run for not more than 20 minutes. But walking for 3hrs? Seriously says about the yawning gap between running and walking fitness.

- Add to that the different heat and wind conditions during the walk, the tiredness towards the end, the cows staring at you all the way until you are out of sight, and the exhilration at reaching the bus stop just on time.

I am sure you wouldn't get the above experiences by taking your car out and going on a 2o minute drive from North Bend to Ernie's grove and back. Similarly, other modes yield different experiences:

Bicycling: Bicycling on a road bike on a flat stretch of road is awesome, more so when the surrounding scenery is breathtaking. Biking is also another way to combine activities and be efficient: For instance if I had my bike today, I could have biked to the end of the road and hiked a mountain nearby. But then, I wouldn't have noticed the details that I noticed during my walk. Nevertheless, biking is a more richer experience than driving a car on the same stretch of road.

Trains: Trains are again amazing. They present a different travel experience. You don't have to worry about the road, about cramped legs or fuel. You just get in, take a nap or watch the passing scenery as the train whizzes by.

Personally, I prefer a combination of biking and walking for travel to nearby places (within 50 miles). Beyond that, ofcourse I would need to use a car or I could use a train if available. Cars are also useful, when you want to conserve time because you would want to hike at the destination.
But if you have the time and want to have a wholesome experience, do a bus + bike + walk multimodal trip.
My point here is that, biking and walking provide a much richer and enjoyable travel experience than just going the same distance by car. Ofcourse, you need to put in a lot more effort physically, but the experience is worth the effort, right?

Where are you going sir?

A few possible answers:
"I am going places".
"I am going to hell".
"I am going to heaven (because my punya (good deeds) is greater than my paapa (sins))".
"I am going for a run (that's me)".
"I am headed nowhere in life(grad student)"
"I am going to buy groceries (dutiful husband)"
"Going going gone".
"I am going to downtown and to the back of the bus (Multitasking)".

Now the last answer is not typical, is it? Here's the story behind it:
I was comfotably seated in MT 73 that goes to downtown Seattle one (of the many) cloudy afternoon last week. The bus has just stopped at a bus stop in the university district and the door opens.
One long-haired guy with baggage gets in and announces proudly to the driver in a sing song manner(read: Nana naNa Nana): "I am going to downtown". The driver asks him for his pass and he moves into the bus, close to where I am seated. He puts the bag onto the seat next to me, gets his dollar and 25 cents out, looks at me and says, "I am going to downtown". I am like, yes sir, you are, have a good journey - I don't say that ob, I acknowledge. He goes to the driver,
pays the fare, gets his ticket, comes back to me and says, "I am going to the back of the bus" - again in a "Nana Nana" tune. Longhaired guy looks to be in good spirits. I acknowledge again and he is gone.
I was pretty amused by this, I mean you don't get live entertainment everyday. As I reach my destination and was about to alight, I let the driver know - longhaired guy Nana Nana style: "I am getting off here". As I get off and look back, I see the driver is highly amused.

So when someone asks you where you are going, reply in a "Nana Nana style" and pass it on :)