Weeknote #33 [W26.23-24] - Socially exhausted

We did three screenings for Cinema Next Door last week. There was the regular Tuesday slot at Underline, another one there on Friday, and also our first screening at Atta Galatta. Attending three screenings in a week, moderating the discussions, and socializing with people after the screenings is clearly not something I am built for. (Until last year, more than one social outing in a week was too much for me.)

Among the films we screened were Cinema Paradiso and Close-Up, two of my favourite films. I was able to rewatch Cinema Paradiso during the screening. I couldn’t do the same for Close-Up. By then I was exhausted, and we had also overestimated the number of people we could host at Atta Galatta. There was barely any space there for us anwyway. So kavz, Kasturee, and I ended up sitting out the screening.

After the screening at Atta Galatta was over, I stayed back to attend a script reading of Love in the Cholera of Time with Mariam and Himanshu. I hadn’t been to watch a play in more than a year, so I was very glad when Mariam mentioned she had an extra ticket… I am not sure if I liked it. But I wouldn’t say that I disliked it either. I’d like to see the full production some time.

The next day, which was a Saturday, I made beef porridge and arrived late at kavz’s potluch lunch party. My natural inclination is always to find the quietest corner at a party, which is what I did there. I was glad to have Manu and Mariam’s company, for I did not have the wherewithal to introduce myself and start conversations with too many new people after the week I had had.

The week before that, I had spent Saturday at work because my company decided to hold a monthly business review meeting. There was no good reason why it could not have been on any other day of the week. This complete lack of respect for other people’s time is one reason why I will never again want to work at an Indian company.