sticky hazy before sunrise

I got up at 5am this morning to go running before work. I think it is doable on a regular basis, especially if i get in the bed by 10pm every night. Last night I stayed up a little late watching Mean Girls, a very fun movie.

It was pretty dark at 5am. And unusually humid. I was surprised I did not see others out running-- people are always exercising here. I ran to Ballston where it was a bit more lit up by all the parking garage, mall, and metro lights. It was exactly like when you arrive very early at a bus depot in India-- very humid, people sleeping on benches, others setting up there stalls of belts for sale, and more waiting for the bus. All that was missing was chai and azaan.

potty talk

it's the simple things in life...

Mary Carter says:
I got Daddy in the shower before breakfast - before he had time to wake up and get into battle mode
Kate says:
good he really needed it
Mary Carter says:
he had a 2 by 4 turd that fell on the carpet and was so tight that it didn't even get anything dirty

Deoki Nandan Education Trust

Check out the Deoki Nandan Education Trust, Inc. at www.dnetindia.org

guddu's mexican twin

another bastard added to the lot

guddu became american today. we celebrated by eating chinese super buffet for lunch and pizza for dinner. here is a pic of us outside INS where he had his oath ceremony. we couldn't take the camera in the building or take a pic of the building, so in front of the sign is what you get. 14 others from 10 different countries took the naturalization oath with guddu. they raised their right hands, swore allegiance to the USA, and then watched a short bit by George W. Bush on a vcr. i got teary eyed, but no one else was doing drama so i did not cry.

this is one major stress over. i feel like we are kind of trapped a little since we both do not have valid passports right now... 

camera found

guddu found a canon powershot s50. unlike the old fax machine, windbreakers, telephones, and other extremely dirty and unuseful found objects, this camera was actually worth keeping.

we had to invest in a battery charger and memory card for it first. but it was still worth it.

here's a photo of guddu of what he will look like in 20 years. Notice the prominent jaw. This comes from Guddu's father. All of guddu's brothers have very wide jaw to different degrees, which make them look thinner than they actually are. people pay big bucks and suffer through lots of starvation and workouts to get that "sucked-in-cheek" look that comes naturally to guddu and his brothers.

Pesticides in my black horse???

pesticides were found in indian cola samples. these were not just your thums up and black horse, but in your coke and pepsi (who bought thums up and black horse).

it is good for my health that diet coke was not readily available in india, otherwise i'd be poisoned by now. it's a good excuse anyways to kick the diet soda, or any soda, habit. new goal-- no more artificial beverages.

Metro monkey war gets new weapon

At least the DC metro doesn't have this problem...

but I wouldn't consider a langur a welcome remedy (remember Rajasthan '00 where a hefty male langur jumped on my back nearly knocking me over?)

apt hunting woes

last night was my last ESL class. i will miss my Mexican, Guatemalan, Armenian, Somali, and Russian students. I left and they said, "so... uh, we not see you ever ever again?!" One Armenian lady, who wants to live in DC because it will be more like her previous home in Moscow (big city wise), took my contact info.

Guddu and I are going apt hunting tomorrow in alexandria and arlington. this is stressing me out bc i feel that no matter where we look, we will have roaches. i can't handle roaches, especially urban roaches. perhaps we will exterminate before moving in. my list of criteria are-- minimal pests, close to metro or bus, fitness center, and parking. and safety is nice too. and i would like to feel like i am not all the way in the suburbs, but that is the harsh reality of my government salary.

are there more review sites than www.apartmentratings.com and apartmentreviews.net???