Iron Maiden!!!

I was really upset when Iron Maiden played in Bangalore after I came here. I am not among their biggest fans or anything, I just like some of their music a lot. Anyway, they played in San Antonio last week (Yayyyyy!!!! :) ) and I was there! I love the energy with which these guys perform! Gives you a high just being there. Of course the high could have something to do with a certain really strong smell I couldn't seem to avoid at the concert. The first time I smelt it was at the Bryan Adams concert in Bangalore. Pink Floyd, I can understand, but Bryan Adams! Do people really need to be on a high to listen to Bryan Adams? Anyway, thats the point where I tie my hair up tighter. I don't know why I seem to think my hair needs more immediate protection from smoke or strong odors of any kind, not my lungs.
I think a concert is not really about the music. Its about the experience, the stage props, the show, the performance, the crowd.. Ooh, the crowd! Reminds me of the India-Australia test (Australia's tour of India 2004, Test 1, Day 4) I watched in Bangalore. India etched its way to defeat, and in the end, we were left hoping that the team fights for their pride, if not for the match. But, the crowd!!! The crowd was on a high.. They didn't stop expecting a miracle, they didn't stop cheering for the team, even when there was no hope whatsoever! That was such an amazing experience. Watching that match on TV would've dampened my spirits, but watching it in the stadium, I was ready to go paint the town red! My friends and family might be quick to add that the high might have had something to do with a certain Bangalorean player staying on the field all day, but well well.. :)

Livelihood and life!

We hear about people who are getting paid to do something they love and feel very passionately about. This one is about all of them. I am not talking about 'loving your job'. I am talking about a job that revolves around your passion. Something you have probably loved doing long before you knew what a job was. Something that you would do even if nobody paid you for it, because it gave you more joy than anything else. I had just started working, when I heard about this guy through a common friend. He was an engineer, and while the rest of us were hoping that the economy gets better, this guy was getting paid to cover cricket matches and report. He was as passionate about the game as a lot of the other boys I know. And, I wondered, if you get paid to do something that you love so much, at the end of the day, does it turn into 'a job'? Do you not want to do it for fun anymore? Or, does it just put an icing on an already yummy cake? Does getting paid just make you love it some more? I wonder.. Or, does reporting to someone, and getting paid for it change nothing about the passion, which is why it was a passion in the first place. Because nothing could change the way you feel about it.. I wonder..
May I also say before I sign off, that I hope all these people know how blessed they are, and I pray that they stay in love with their passions for as long as they live and that nothing ever changes that! :)