"Introversion is nothing to be afraid of or ashamed of. It is not anti-social behaviour. It is a personality trait, like extroversion. It need not evoke feelings of pity or concern and it most certainly need not evoke unwanted advice from society". “Blessed are those who do not fear solitude, who are not afraid of their own company, who are not always desperately looking for something to do, something to amuse themselves with, something to judge.” ~ Paulo Coelho

This post on the happy thread, relates to my Sunday afternoon on the 10th of July, 2016. This Sunday started off as mundane and drab, with my morning involving the paying of bills, cleaning the house, emptying the rubbish bins, going grocery shopping in the rain (oh joy!!) and doing laundry (whoop-di-doo! ) While cleaning up the house that morning, I came across my mom's Classical Music cassette tapes. These tapes are a little over 16 years old. My mom had received them as a promotional 'free gift', as a result of subscribing to Reader's Digest. I hadn't listened to them in quite sometime. For some reason, I was really drawn to them, that day. The weather was insane. Cold, dark, strong winds (that had the potential to drive you crazy and chill you down to the bone!), incredibly rainy, with Mr. Sun, playing a terribly annoying and constant game of hide and seek. By afternoon, I was tired, depressed and had a massive headache in the form of what appeared to be a sinus infection. To add insult to injury, if the day couldn't get any worse, I had to face the ordeal of sitting through an entire agonizing half an hour of dismal news, from around the globe (either about crooked politicians, deranged presidential nominees, terrorism, police brutality or racial tensions), while eating lunch. The thing is, my dad loves watching the news at lunch and dinner and I didn't want to be rude and abruptly change the channel. Anyway, I then firmly decided that the rest of that Sunday was going to be almost technology free. No T.V. No Internet. No Computer. I also decided to be a recluse for the rest of the day, in the hope that my headache will eventually ease. I preferred that my exposure to the cold, light and the din of the outside world was minimal. After lunch, I quietly retreated to the comfort of my room. At that point, my headache was a dull and annoying ache, which just seemed to go on and on and on. Subtle, yet brutal. I took an aspirin, shut the windows, drew the curtains and closed the door. Like one Mr. Robert Plant once said, 'Close the door, put out the light....'. By then, I had neatly stacked my mom's old cassette tapes on top of a little wooden table, beside my stereo (that I affectionately refer to as the 'Two-In-One' because of its dual capacity to play tapes and CD's). I plugged in my headphones into my beloved stereo and I pulled up a warm and comfy chair. I was ready to go. I had specifically chosen 6 cassette tapes to feast my ears on, that sad and rainy afternoon. Some of the classical composers who were to accompany me on my musical journey were: Ravel, Debussy, Faure, Wagner, Vivaldi, Von Webber, Offenbach, Holst, Bizet, Beethoven, Von Suppe, Rossini, to name a few! The quote: 'Music washes away from the soul, the dust of everyday life' by Berthold Auerbach, has stuck with me, practically my whole life (given my experiences with bands like Led Zeppelin, Queen and Rush), but it was on that Sunday afternoon and evening, that I silently thought to myself, no truer words have been spoken! Also, kudos to the highly intelligent soul, who was the first man/woman on earth, to discover that music has the power to heal! I commend you, dear sir / madam, whoever you might be. From the bombastic, cheeky and sometimes foreboding notes of Bizet's Prelude From Carmen Suite Number 1 (I was taken back to my days as a 5 year old, watching Tom, the cat, nearly getting pulverized by an operatic conductor, thanks to all the trouble caused by Jerry, the mouse ) to the deliciously fiendish and utterly barbaric notes of Holst's Mars: The Bringer of War and from the highly energetic and galloping notes of pieces such as Offenbach's Overture To Orpheus In The Underworld (also known as The Can-Can ) and the noble and bombastic air generated by Suppe's Overture To Light Cavalry to the gentle subtleties of Ravel's Jeux D'Eau (which for a blissful 6 minutes transported me to this beautiful and unspoiled creek) and the euphoric, romantic and pensive notes of Wagner's Overture To Tannhauser, it was then that I thought to myself: 'Now I know exactly what it is like to actually feel'. For 6 blissful hours, I was in a musical stupor. I wasn't asleep. I was very much awake. I was just blissfully unaware of the world around me. I had my eyes closed, as my feet tapped and as my body swayed gently to the unbelievable music that was pouring out of my ear phones. I experienced a myriad of emotions. Euphoria. Joy. Shock. Awe. Amusement. I was also (at one point), stunned to find tears running down my cheeks, as I willingly lapped up some stunningly subtle and beautiful notes of Vivaldi's breath-taking composition The Four Seasons. It was as beautiful as witnessing a swan, gliding over a lake. I finally awoke from my stupor at the seemingly strange hour of 8 PM (it was strange for me, as I did not for one wild moment, realise that it was night time! ). It took me at least a couple of seconds to actually become aware of my surroundings! As I gradually rose from my chair, my knees felt week, my feet felt like jelly but I just couldn't get myself to wipe that immensely satisfied smile off of my face. I felt rejuvenated! I felt more alive than I ever did! Ha! Had I been a circus clown, I probably would have done cartwheels on the floor, at that very moment! When I went into the kitchen that evening, to help my mom with a late dinner, my mom looked at me and asked : what are you so happy about?, to which I replied : Oh nothing much. Just happy about the power of a nifty little thing called music.

HALLELUJAH!! I'm so glad my letter reached you safe!!!!! The only regret that I have is that it is nearly a month late! I almost had a nervous breakdown while tracking it through a horribly fucked up tracking system!

Nick, many many thanks for being so generous and sharing these with us! Seriously, what fantastic photos! Such terrific time capsules! A big hello and welcome, to the forums!

Dedicated to all the victims of war, terrorist attacks, mass shooting incidents and any other senseless crimes against humanity.

It looks like Mr. Sun is actually alive!

Catching up on some much needed reading, this weekend! I love reading deeply philosophical books!

This album is so enjoyable and addictive! You don't know how happy it makes me to know that we have music of this caliber in 2016!

Horribly cold, cloudy, rainy and fucked up! This rainy weather sure has me feeling like a grumpy old goat! And I'm not even old, yet! I still have at least 30 bloody years to go!

Yes! I am actually listening to this! And it sounds wonderful! I call this, the bagpipe boogie!

I know that Mother's Day was around two months ago, but nevertheless, I have to share a video of this cheeky bastard, who takes such a risky short cut as far as mother's day presents, are concerned!

Me too!

Brilliant and severely underrated album! If you're a fan of music, please buy this album for goodness sake! Luckily for me, my dad introduced me to this band! Thanks dad!

R.I.P Christina Grimmie. This broke my heart. Gunned down at 22?! What is this stupid world coming to?! What was so eerie was that this kid was gunned down, barely a day before yet another tragedy (only this time, a mass tragedy) struck Orlando. Sickening. Just sickening. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/11/us-singer-christina-grimmie-shot-outside-concert-in-florida

Not concert, but a series of concerts spread out over two days, for over 6 hours! Hope my family and friends (who have agreed to go with me) will be able to recover from the upcoming madness! This is all possible, thanks to the annual music festival called Fête de la Musique (http://www.fetedelamusique.de/en/) These concerts will feature bands who are professionals and amateurs. Each band has a 30 minute set list. The genres range from classical music, jazz, rock and reggae. I'm really interested in the Blues Rock, Hard Rock, Progressive Rock, Ragtime and Jazz bands! Can't wait for 18th and 19th of June, to arrive! Edited to add: Usually, this annual event is held on the 21st of June, but this year (as far as my location is concerned), it's being held over the weekend from the 18th to the 19th of June.

Haven't listened to these guys, in a while! Can't wait for their second album this year!

Boy! Those comment symbols sure come in handy!

Yes indeed, my friend! Can't wait for June 3rd!

Many thanks to my forum buddy Sathington Willoughby, for introducing me to this really cool duo! Really looking forward to the upcoming debut album!

Suddenly, I seem to be in the mood for some Swedish Stoner Rock: Anyone have a joint to spare?

Just some casual PostgreSQL programming, this lovely Sunday! It's a hobby!

Also, belated birthday wishes to redrum! Hope you had a great one! Cheers, mate!

Happy Birthday, Julie! I hope you have a lovely and special one! ♥ Since it's a Sunday today, I hope you get to spend ample time with your family!