BINDAAS

sideways krispy kremes at dupont circle

2007-06-12T16:19:00.000-04:00

me at 28.5 weeks

2007-03-25T16:22:00.000-04:00

Shadi 2007 080

2007-02-24T12:57:00.000-05:00

Shadi 2007 080
Originally uploaded by kms7z.

Only complaining and gossiping allowed on this bed.

10 weeks

2006-11-16T19:57:00.000-05:00

yesterday was a very good day. i am 10 weeks pregnant and we had our third ultrasound. our little baby has a spine and fingers and eyes and is constantly moving (looks kind of like dog-paddling). it is still hard for me to believe that there is a little being the size of a strawberry swimming inside of my tummy. other good news-- subchorionic hematoma cleared up, BP was 103/56 and no weight gain. now i just can't wait until December 13th when i enter the 2nd trimester and most fears of miscarriage are gone.

in the meantime, work is going ok. we have another office lunch coming up at Zaytinya, and i will be the only person under 45 not drinking. i think my boss is going to start getting suspicious.

I'm pregtastic

2006-11-01T18:05:00.000-05:00

Much is happening. Yes, I am still adjusting to my new job. It leaves me frustrated at times because I feel the PMFs in the office grab all of the attention. And then there is this... I'm pregnant.

We think this might be 7.5 weeks now. I can tolerate coffee, cooking, Indian food, or riding on the metro. Today's magical food is fresh pineapple. I think I have eaten half of it at least. I also ate ALL the pickled ginger that came with my veggie sushi to eaze the quease. And that bulge at my stomach? Nope, not baby, but a combo of too much ice cream and constipation.

I have found a great free podcast though-- pregtastic.

VAT KNOTS?!?!

2006-10-25T06:48:00.000-04:00

it finally came off

2006-10-05T22:57:00.000-04:00

after 15 years, guddu's deformed big toe finally came off

Indian Thriller

2006-10-03T20:21:00.000-04:00

thanks huddy

around arlington

2006-09-23T13:53:00.000-04:00

guddu and i went on an 18 mile bike ride around arlington a few weeks ago. we were super sore after that.

sticky hazy before sunrise

2006-08-28T19:19:00.000-04:00

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

2006-08-14T10:07:00.000-04:00

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

2006-08-12T08:51:00.000-04:00

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

guddu's mexican twin

2006-08-10T20:46:00.000-04:00

another bastard added to the lot

2006-08-10T20:39:00.000-04:00

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

2006-08-07T08:46:00.000-04:00

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???

2006-08-02T21:58:00.000-04:00

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

2006-08-02T21:46:00.000-04:00

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

2006-08-01T09:57:00.000-04:00

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???

Best Malapropism EVER

2006-07-25T08:37:00.000-04:00

I asked my ESL students to make up questions using the house vocabulary we just learned. Alejandro raised his hand, asking me if his question was ok. It read like this, "You bed single o matrimonial?"

Movie Reviews

2006-07-24T14:35:00.000-04:00

Guddu and I watched two movies this weekend. Both were EXCELLENT in their own way.

Shadi se Pehle (Before Marriage): the title often refers to premarital sex, but that was not the issue in this romantic-gangster-comedy. this was a fun movie, and the hindi is at a good speed and not so complex for non-Indians to understand.

Fanaa: a romantic drama. aamir khan seems to concentrate on movies with patriotic, nationalist themes-- 1947: earth, lagaan, mangal pandey, rang de basanti... but the best part of this movie was all of the poetry:

Here are some of the couplets and poems from the movie... translations coming soon:

Sher-O-Shayari

The following are some of the shers recited by the actors in the movie:

Na Shehar Dekho Na Biyabaan Dekho,

Khuda ka Iklauta Naam-o-Nishaan Dekho,

Bas aankh uthaao,

Aur Rehan Dekho.

Phool hun Gulaab ka...

Chameli ka mat samjhna...

Aashiq hun aapka...

Apni Saheli ka mat samjhna....

Baithi hain honthon ko see kar, pachhtaainge aap,

Ishq jaag uththa hai aksar aisi khaamoshi key baad.

Insaan ki khawahish ki koi intihaa nahi,

Do gaz zameen chahiye, do gaz kafan key baad.

Dard sey aankhein chaar kar lein gey,

hum bhi imtihaan dey dein gey,

Teri dosti key khaatir ai dost,

hum dushmanon sey bhi payaar kar lein gey.

Humse Door Jaoge Kaise,

Dil Sey Hamein Bhulaoge Kaisey,

Hum Woh Khushbu Hain Jo Saanson Mein Bastey Hain,

Khudki Saanson Ko Rok Paoge Kaise.

Aisa laga Khuda nein Rakh diya hamaarey dil pey haath,

Liya naam hamaara unhon nein kuch aisi ada key saath.

Bekhudi Ki Zindagi Hum Jiya Nahi Karte,

Jaam Doosron Sey Cheen Kar Hum Piya Nahi kartey,

Unse Mohabbat Hai To Aakar Izhaar Karein ,

Peecha Hum Bhi Kisi Ka Kiya Nahin Karte.

Paani Sey Pyaas Na Buji To Meikhaaney Ki Taraf Chal Niklaa,

Socha Shikayat Karoon Teri Khuda Sey, Par Khuda Bhi Tera Aashiq Niklaa.

Tujhey is Baazaar ka Dastoor Mein Samjha na Saka,

Bik Gaya jo Woh Khareedar ho Nahi Saka.

Aag suraj main hoti hai,

Jalna Zameen ko padta hai,

Mohabbat Nigaahein karti hain,

Tadapna dil ko padta hai.

Bhool Kar key Agar Hum sey koi bhool hui ho,

To bhool samajh kar bhulaa deyna,

Leykin bhulaana sirf bhool ko,

Galati sey bhi humein na bhulaa deyna.

Rone De Tu Aaj Humko Tu Aankhe Sujaane De,

Baho Me Le Le Aur Khud Ko Bheeg Jaane De,

Hai Jo Seene Me Quaid Dariya Wo Chut Jayega,

Hai Itna Dard Ki Tera Daman Bheeg Jayega

E Khuda Aaj Ye Faisla Karde,

Use Mera ya Mujhe Uska Karde.

Bahut Dukh Sahe He Maine,

Koi Khusi Ab Toh Muqadar Karde.

Bahot Muskil Lagta Hai Usse Duur Rehna,

Judai Ke Safar Ko Kum Karde.

Jitna Duur Chale Jaye Woh Mujhse,

Use Utna Kareeb Karde.

Nahi Likha Agar Nasib Me Uska Naam,

To Khatam Kar Ye Zindagi aur Mujhe FANAA Karde.

15 (possibly the best known of the film's many shers)

Tere dil mein meri saanson ko panaah mil jaye.

Tere ishq mein meri jaan Fanaa ho jaye.

Alternative uses for Hijab

2006-07-18T21:56:00.000-04:00

I was at the credit union on Monday changing my name on my account. As I was waiting, there was a tall Muslim woman in hijab talking on the phone. She conveniently tucked the phone inside her hejab so she could take notes on paper. This is so much easier than crunching your shoulder to your ear to hold the phone in place, and much less pretentious than those ear pieces you see people wearing nowadays.

It then reminded me of a list a few friends of mine had made on our first trip to India: alternative uses for the duppata aka chunni (the long scarf you see worn with panjabi salwar suits). Please note that most of these uses can be replicated using the tail end of the sari as well.
sunshade, umbrella, disguise, toilet paper, napkin, sieve, instant modesty, instant piety, bathing towel, hair towel, bedsheet for train travel, curtain, bandage, pot holder, belt, tool belt, wall hanging, coverup for bad hair day, sling for a broken arm, pillow, tissue, purse, baby swing... you see the list goes on and on. the only thing i like about winter in the US is that I can wear a scarf all the time and reap some of the benefits of wearing a duppata.

New Name and Should I get a PIO card?

2006-07-15T08:18:00.000-04:00

I did it-- just in time for our 4th anniversary next week, I changed my name. I kept my old one, just added Guddu's last name onto the end. Now I can confuse people who are confused of my ethnicity before meeting me, the same way Holly does when people expect her to be some longhaired Sikh lady, but she's really a longhaired blond.

I also got a new driver's license. My new name looks ridiculously long on it. They retook my picture. I have figured out how to hide my weak jaw-line-- it helps to tilt the head forward and make your eyes real big. trust me, it works.

Now the question is-- should i get another visa for india? or should I get a PIO card? The PIO card is twice as much, but lasts five years longer and I can invest and study and work and own land etc in India. And I can still get protection from the US Embassy while in India... With the visa I get the protection, but I also can't be much more than a tourist. The PIO card scheme has not really taken off-- I wonder why?

Effects of Heat on Population

2006-07-12T00:20:00.000-04:00

What makes the world fall apart every year at this time?

train derailments... fires... terrorist attacks... riots... runaways... suicides... monkey attacks... missile launches... plane crashes... almost-wars

phal fal fruit phrut

2006-07-10T08:39:00.000-04:00

Last summer at this time I was in Delhi and already eaten my way through the lychee and part of mango seasons. I was thinking-- India really outdoes the US when it comes to fruit.

This summer, however, I learned that you CAN have the best of both worlds-- almost. And the US is the place to be. Last summer I had forgotten about strawberries, peaches, cherries, and blueberries. You can get peaches in India, but they are never ripe. To make things better-- you can even get great, cheap (3 for $1 cheap) mangos at kroger. true-- there is only one type of mango available here, and they are not always that great, but the supply is getting better.

India still reigns when it comes to pomegranates, sita-phal (aka sharifa), lychees, coconuts, chickoo (oh I remember the chickoo shakes at Softy n Softy in Jodhpur...), guava, and street food. Guddu and I were missing Indian street food during July 4th in Washington. We were hoping to find someone selling bhel puri or samosas or egg rolls (Ind0-chinese maggi style) amidst the halfsmokes and hot dogs. I settled for a Chinese-esque egg roll and an Oreo klondike bar which hit the spot so well that "settle" may not be the appropriate word.

Natalie and AR

2006-07-08T14:41:00.000-04:00

check out the "brilliant young American researcher" about halfway through this Rediff.com article.

oh yeah-- there are millions of poor people, too

2006-07-07T14:32:00.000-04:00

Deepak sent me a New York Times article titled "The Myth of the New India" by Pankaj Mishra. The following is an excerpt that reminds us that during all the talk of IT, steel, Chindia, and BRICs, there is still much work to be done, especially in areas like Bihar:

But the increasingly common, business-centric view of India suppresses more facts than it reveals. Recent accounts of the alleged rise of India barely mention the fact that the country's $728 per capita gross domestic product is just slightly higher than that of sub-Saharan Africa and that, as the 2005 United Nations Human Development Report puts it, even if it sustains its current high growth rates, India will not catch up with high-income countries until 2106.

Nor is India rising very fast on the report's Human Development index, where it ranks 127, just two rungs above Myanmar and more than 70 below Cuba and Mexico. Despite a recent reduction in poverty levels, nearly 380 million Indians still live on less than a dollar a day.
Malnutrition affects half of all children in India, and there is little sign that they are being helped by the country's market reforms, which have focused on creating private wealth rather than expanding access to health care and education. Despite the country's growing economy, 2.5 million Indian children die annually, accounting for one out of every five child deaths worldwide; and facilities for primary education have collapsed in large parts of the country (the official literacy rate of 61 percent includes many who can barely write their names). In the countryside, where 70 percent of India's population lives, the government has reported that about 100,000 farmers committed suicide between 1993 and 2003.
Feeding on the resentment of those left behind by the urban-oriented economic growth, communist insurgencies (unrelated to India's parliamentary communist parties) have erupted in some of the most populous and poorest parts of north and central India. The Indian government no longer effectively controls many of the districts where communists battle landlords and police, imposing a harsh form of justice on a largely hapless rural population.
The potential for conflict — among castes as well as classes — also grows in urban areas, where India's cruel social and economic disparities are as evident as its new prosperity. The main reason for this is that India's economic growth has been largely jobless. Only 1.3 million out of a working population of 400 million are employed in the information technology and business processing industries that make up the so-called new economy.

DNET: Deoki Nandan Education Trust

2006-07-02T15:56:00.000-04:00

DNET: Deoki Nandan Education Trust

ER reality

2006-07-01T10:29:00.000-04:00

after 4 days of listlessness and lethargy, mom decided to take granddad to the ER to make sure he did not have anything seriously wrong with him, i.e. a cracked rib, pneumonia, or brain bleed, or UTI.

while at the ER i saw a some very bloody people wheeled in on stretchers. when you see that, you feel like you are watching TV and the blood is not real. I also saw many young men in handcuffs who looked like they had been rolling on the ground. Maybe they were injured from a police chase?

Good news- granddad is just dehydrated and probably recovering from his respiratory infection he had last week. we will cure him with smoothies.

Bollywood is alive and well

2006-06-30T18:46:00.000-04:00

This song will definitely be a classic. Ashwariya's dancing, both Amitabh and Abhishek Bacchan and there extra long legs... Amitabh acting like a sharabi...

Summer Reviews

2006-06-29T14:19:00.000-04:00

Best Hike: Half Moon Mountain
This hike rocked. The temperature was not too bad despite it being 95 or so in Richmond. It took us the entire day to drive there, hike, and come back. Guddu had 4 ticks, and I saw a deer. Guddu also had mysterious red welts the day after, but we don't think it is lyme disease. The summit was VERY impressive and would be a good place to camp overnite. This hike is just inside the West Virginia border. We drove back on state roads instead of the highway-- we took 340 and 33. We stopped for really good and cheap Chinese food in Elkton. They practically made our dishes to order ("Can I have tofu with lots of vegetables, but no celery, and make it spicy?" and "Do you have Hunan chicken? Can I have that, spicy, and make sure there is no beef or pork in it!")

Best Swanky Bar: Bank
Sorry, I have no link for bank. It is extremely hard to google it, and I don't think they have a website. But this bar/restaurant makes you feel cultured. The interior is beautiful... It might be the future site for a fundraiser we plan to throw for our new nonprofit.

Best Lunch: Ipanema
Lucy and I went here for lunch today. I had a super tasty portabello mushroom salad with feta and pine nuts. lucy had a grilled gouda sandwich and sweet potato fries. 'nuff said.

Best Happy Hour Special: margarita on the rocks-- $3 at Bandito's

Best new nonprofit: The Deoki Nandan Education Trust

Title 9 in Bihar

2006-06-26T08:38:00.000-04:00

BBC and Deepak have delightfully informed me that girls DO play sports in Bihar. I only have one niece who played a sport in highschool-- but Ruchi lives in Jharkand, the former part of Bihar that separated a few years ago taking all the industry and wealth, so she doesn't count as living in Bihar.

I know that playing sports during school made me who I am today. Field hockey in high school was part of my identity and provided me with a sorority of support that is still intact today. Even though I do not play any organized now, I still run and occasionally hike. I start going mental without regular exercise-- but that is a whole 'nother post!

Sports programs will do wonders for India-- especially the "backwards" areas. And just to let you know-- overweightedness, premarital sex, anorexia, and casteism are alive and well in rural India.

It will help remove caste stigmas as girls from different castes play together.
Girls will get real exercise-- not just hauling firewood and grinding masala and sweeping. Hopefully they will develop a habit for exercise and will exercise in adulthood to fight weight-related problems like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
Girls will build confidence as they develop athletic skills. Their confidence will spread to the school setting and remain with them throughout life.
Girls will be healthier-- no more starving to remain thin or to appear like a martyr. In the US, girls who play sports are also less likely to engage in drug use and premarital sex.
Athletes are more disciplined and better time managers. Also, exercise is a good form of stress release and sharpens the mind.

The sad truth is that poor girls and low caste and untouchables will still be left out of these sports clubs. But it is a sign that if football can take hold in Barauni, then the future is bright for female athletes in India.

east coast it will be

2006-06-19T15:11:00.000-04:00

after over one month of waiting, guddu and i found out we will NOT be moving to somewhere-in-middle-america. it is a shame because i would have really enjoyed the job, had 3 weeks of paid vacation, and guddu and i would have had massive salaries.

but instead we will hopefully shift up to DC. maybe we will be able to keep more of our furniture, and guddu can pursue his dreams of starting both a nonprofit and a car dealership. and we'll be close to friends and family. who needs money when you have dreams and relationships?

speechless frozen like a deer

2006-06-13T01:36:00.000-04:00

lucy and i took a late walk this evening. i was bummed about how screwed up people are, and she was making me feel better by telling me how screwed up others are-- her example was a bar fight where someone kicked the other so hard his leg was broken and he had to have surgery... this story, by the way, definitely helped me put things in perspective and remember how greatful i should be that no one kicked me or anyone i know so hard that we required surgery.

so, during this story, we're walking down the street and a naked man appears. we freeze, speechless, like deer in headlights. i then said to myself, "oh-- it's just a naked man." then i remembered naked men should not be on the street. he sheepishly called out "sorry! it's a $50 bet." oh...

so, we continue walking down the street. we get to the bar where the boy's leg was kicked-s0-hard-it-broke, and this girl tries to stop this dude from driving off by JUMPING ON THE CAR'S HOOD. lucy and i again freeze, speechless, like deer in headlights. dude calls out to the girl "don't ever do that again" or something to that effect, backs up, and speeds forward. AGAIN, girl tries to stop fast car with her body, and we see her fall and hear a loud crack. thinking it was her legs or skull being crushed, we stand speechless-- like deer in headlights. guy speeds off and we see girl laying in parking lot, trying to collect her broken wooden shoes. "uh-- it's ok" she says.

like mom says "god works in mysterious ways." he showed me that i have good friends who listen to my problems instead of kicking me to the hospital and i have a good husband who doesn't try to run me over when we have an argument.

photo project

2006-06-08T22:12:00.000-04:00

i feel very lucky to be part of the generation that grew up using conventional cameras and typewriters. in anticipation of the move to somewhere-in-middle-america and the eventual sale of my mother's house, my mom and i have been cleaning out the attic. i've been playing two straight weeks of "keep or toss." gone are fuzzy pictures, incriminating photos, dirty stuffed animals (i'll miss you, st. bernard and pound puppies!), trophies, and school notebooks. i threw out over 1,000 photos today and thought, people won't need to do this in the future bc evertyhing will be on the computer-- even all of my class notes from this last year of grad school are on the computer.

i've also created a pile of stuff that I do not want to keep, but others will enjoy-- pictures and notes passed during highschool. i figure it will be good to get together with those high school friends and pass on those memories before the move.

my dad said this week to guddu that "kate's mom really knows how to take care of things." Guddu was amazed that we still have 20+-year-old baby dresses, halloween costumes, ultrasound pics, and hospital bracelets saved. my mother had packed most of the items from my childhood in one box. i had forgotten about most of the items-- but all the memories came back when we went through the old clothes and toys. my childhood in a box.

i'm keeping some good photos, creatively placing them in acid-free albums so in 40 years my grandkids can ooh and awe. i'm also keeping a few choice stuffed animals and trophies-- again, my adolescence will be reduced to one box.

decluttering is very emotional. there are some bad memories that also arise. and it is hard to toss old possessions for fear of losing the good memories. but decluttering allows you to make new space to operate and create new memories.

Barat Video

2006-06-06T21:49:00.000-04:00

Here is some of the video that Guddu took of Santosh's Wedding. Santosh is exiting his house in Dewdhi, Bihar. We're all following him down to the pathani (the barn) where they will do some rituals. We then all rode to Patna-- a 3 hour journey. There, they completed the wedding-- that's where you see the bride and her father sitting with Santosh.

chocolate covered ant ice cream

2006-06-01T21:26:00.000-04:00

This (picture it about 3/4 inch long, head to tail) was in my Healthy Choice Caramel Brownie ice cream. No more packaged foods for me-- or at least no ice cream for a while!

Healthy Choice will reimburse me with coupons, so I can buy more of their products. And Kroger gave me my money back.

I want to add that a similar incident happened to me in the early 1990s. A stinkbug fell in my ice cream and I bit into it, releasing its juices (which I thought was "black forest" flavour at first), and then causing me to obstain from ice cream for quite a long time (probably 2 weeks-- a long time for a pre-teen!).

This large, prehistoric-looking flying ant, I believe, did not fall in my ice cream. I think it was embedded in the air pocket surrounding an unusually large chunck of brownie mass and ice crystals. The extra-iciness caused me to slow down and study the ice cream, helping me to notice the fudge ripple that did not melt but was actually part of the wing of the ant. Normally I would've inhaled the ant along with the ice cream-- i shudder to think of its crunchy texture in my mouth...

Bucket Bath

2006-05-24T16:37:00.000-04:00

Picture 421
Originally uploaded by kms7z.

my first thoughts were "aah! refreshing bucket bath!"

my second thoughts: "child+water+bucket=drowning!"

it is good to know that the simple life is still allowed to be enjoyed in some parts of the world.

BB strikes again

2006-05-24T14:58:00.000-04:00

i was in a bad mood yesterday-- and it was all started by my neighbor. and the effects of too much desperate housewives.

see, guddu sells used cars on the side. more specifically, these used cars are kept on the side of our house in an alley that leads to nowhere. our neighbor does not like this. i can tell demographically that she does not like this-- she is old, rich, and very prim. guddu calls her "budhiya bahinchod," or BB for short.

here's what happened yesterday. i had just entered the house after returning from the grocery store with organic dairy and fruits, feeling quite rightoeous. then the doorbell rang:
Moi: Hi...
BB: Hi Kate. I just wanted to let you know that the police were here yesterday and they were about to give a ticket to the car parked on the side of your house.
Moi: Oh really? (Thinking-- who must have tipped them off???)
BB: See, it doesn't have a license plate and is parked partially on City property and partially on mine. But I told them "That is my neighbor's car and they are out of town. Let me talk to them first before you give them a ticket."
Moi: (feigning graciousness) Oh thank you, but that is odd that the police were around--
BB: Yes you see many people have had their gardening tools stolen. Mine were stolen right out of the shed and I had been looking forward to using them.
Moi: (that's funny-- i only see hired help working in your yard. i hope you are not accusing me of stealing your tools as well. obviously, from the looks of our yard, we have not stolen gardening tools.) That's a shame, we keep a lock on our shed.
BB: You have the most beautiful eyes! They must be your mother's eyes-- she is so lovely.
Moi: (growing very suspicious-- is she trying to disarm me with flattery?!?) Thank you, that's what I have been told. And thank you for your help with the car-- we'll take care of it.

Oh this made me so angry-- especially how she tried to remove my suspicion of her with the "beautiful eyes" compliment! Desperate Housewives has taught me to spot these sure signs of manipulation. She either called the police herself or made the entire story up to scare us into moving the car.

Guddu called the polic today to see what the legal situation was. He found out that the city could tow or ticket us. So we'll move it, and he ironically might sell it to the police dispatcher who handled his inquiry.

feng shui works in mysterious ways

2006-05-18T08:57:00.000-04:00

yesterday i was VERY successful in feng shui-ing the entrance way to my house. soon after i finished vacuuming, dusting, and decluttering, the mail came. and what came in the mail? a rejection letter from a previous interview. how is this the positive chi that will help me navigate my job situation? i think the letter was a blessing in disguise because now i am not holding that position as an option in the back of my head.

today i am going to try to feng shui my workspace/dining room. once this is complete, 4 rooms will be decluttered!

Feng Shui as a Last Resort

2006-05-17T10:06:00.000-04:00

I am still going through much job search drama. Before I was getting no response, and now I have to make a decision between two offers. I tried to find the patron saint for difficult life decisions, or for job seekers, or for total confusion, but I was unsuccessful there. I thought it would be self-defeating to pray to St. Jude of Hopeless Causes. I asked Guddu which Hindu god or goddess could help-- he said, sounding more like a Muslim or a Christian, "There is one God; it is all the same. But Durga gets the job done."

Then, I read in an organization book that a cluttered entrance to your house will block the chi from entering, which inhibits success. Our entrance is extremely cluttered, so this morning I am de-cluttering with the hope that clarity to make a decision or job success itself will enter.

sponginess and the power of positive thinking

2006-05-15T13:26:00.000-04:00

while sitting in the college bookstore this weekend, passing time between a graduation brunch and photo shoot, I read an interesting article in O (O as in Oprah) Magazine. This article discussed a new psychological theory that some people a hyper-succeptive to what others are THINKING about them. No, i don't mean that these peoples' own emotions are easily influenced by other's negative comments or lots of happiness and excitement. The theory is that our own minds can pick up on the thoughts of others without any external clues. And some are more spongey and absorbant than others-- which explains why when you are around people, you might be more apt than others to take on whatever vibe your company is exuding.

The part I really found interesting was an experiment. Hold out your hands and get another person to think either really positive or negative thoughts about you while they push down your arm. You should try to resist, and many studies show that subjects are weaker when the pusher is thinking negative thoughts (without, of course, physically or verbally expressing those thoughts).

So this leads me to assume that some people make me feel good because they are actually thinking very positive thoughts and others make me feel drained or uncomfortable or zap my esteem because they are thinking negative thoughts. That's quite a leap to make, but it provides some interesting fodder for thoughts and advice. What I am taking away is that I should always try to think positive thoughts about others. Hopefully this will make them feel good, and, in turn they will think positive thoughts about me. And then we start creating all of these positive feelings and energy-- Mom was always right about positive thinking I suppose.

exhaustion?

2006-05-11T09:16:00.000-04:00

so exams are over. now what? this is my first week off and I have managed to sleep ALOT. so much i thought i had mono for a few days. my body feels weak and i don't have too much energy to move. i think the last two weeks have worn me out-- two big trips to DC and exams did me in. and i still have to go to DC tomorrow for another interview.

graduation is also this weekend. we are not going to the hippie wedding anymore because it is logistically not possible. well, it is possible, but i would basically have no sleep the entire weekend. i think it is also a good idea that i am not running in the Komen Race for the Cure Saturday morning either.

i think i have also been a little tense lately because I have NOTHING to do after this weekend. in my mind i have not thought past graduation. my plan is always to downsize our belongings and streamline our surroundings. If all goes well and I get a job, we may have to move to DC or Omaha ASAP. in that case I will be more than busy. but i think that is how i like it :)

after gradutation there are actually only TWO events planned-- arjun's baptism (which I am probably not going to, but Guddu is), and Henry's high school graduation.

I'm glad I'm not in Delhi this May

2006-05-06T16:17:00.000-04:00

The BBC has reported on the power crisis in Delhi. This is not a new crisis, but an ongoing problem. Every May (or summer at least) that I have spent in Delhi (2001, 2002, 2004, 2005) was marked by unbearably hot afternoons that got painfully hotter when you-- trying to nap becuase it is too hot to do anything else-- slowly watch the ceiling fan stop. it is too hot and dusty to open a window, and the water out of the tap is either too hot or too scarce to use as a cooling agent. at night the mosquitoes are so bad that you are forced to stay in bed inside the mosquito net, sweating and waiting for the fan to start up again.

but perhaps the Commonwealth Games in 2010 will force Delhi to fix this problem now. And a portion of this problem is due to stolen electricity-- a third of output is stolen! but with more money, would Delhi necessarily be able to produce more power? Perhaps they would then have more money to buy power from elsewhere.

IRAC, not IRAQ

2006-05-02T15:25:00.000-04:00

by thursday, i will have suffered through one of the scariest exams i have ever taken: international trade law. the best pieces of advice-- IRAC: Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion; and yoga breathing. the past few days I have spent in various Wi-Fi spots around Richmond trying to figure out how to best organize my notes and my mind to compete with haughty law students.

by next monday, i will have made a major life decision. i am going through some major job search and hiring drama. i have offer from A-- a job in Richmond which I am not sure I want, good faith that B will come through as long as the DoD picks B as the contracting firm, interview Friday with C, waiting to hear about interviews I had with D, E, F, and G, and hoping to get interviews with H and I... so I think next Monday I might have to turn down A. My gut, and a few professionals and trusted friends, concur.

but trust me, I am TRULY thankful for all the opportunities that are presenting themselves. And for the gorgeous weather and my good health, knock knock on wood.

the benefits of staying in

2006-04-29T13:58:00.000-04:00

i SO should be outside right now. but i am stuck inside, writing about terrorists in Bangladesh. To make myself feel better, here are the benefits of staying indoors:

no exposure to pollen
no exposure to harmful UV rays
no chance of getting hit by a car
um... that's about all i can come up with unfortunately.

i can't stomach cable tv

2006-04-26T21:26:00.000-04:00

i feel so nauseaus. in the past 24 hours i have seen the following on cable TV:

a man trying (and failing) for a few minutes to pierce his own cheek
a half white/ half black hermaphrodite baby
an african man with a tumor in his cheek the size of a basketball
a punctured silicone implant
indian children with a rare premature aging disease

if i stay up a little later, i can see the man whose arms exploded.

are these reality TV shows better than america's next top model, date my mom, etc?

Huge Hike in Zimbabwe Hospital Fees

2006-04-25T10:26:00.000-04:00

Hospital fees in Zimbabwe have increased by 333,200%!!! What does that even look like??? The fees were originally Z$300, and now top Z$1,ooo,ooo. so one million zimbabwe dollars is only ten US dollars, but I am sure the impact is being felt there!

can you imagine if the gas price went up by 333,200%??? instead of $3 per gallon as now, it would be $30,000 per gallon? what would happen? we'd all telecommute or walk or bike to work... public transport would have to be heavily subsidized, everything not local would be outrageously expensive, no more visiting family members outside of richmond (forget about india)...

The Bed

2006-04-23T00:23:00.000-04:00

2005_0520Image0021
Originally uploaded by kms7z.

some things will never change about ghaziabad. even though this is the THIRD flat in ghaziabad, we never stop spending most of the time lounging on the bed.

the bed has seen an amazing amount of wear and tear over the years-- napping, sleeping, bouts of possesion by ghosts, arguing, debating, the charting of major life decisions (who to marry? which school to go to? to sell or not to sell the property?), snacking, chai-sipping, sweating, clothes storage, eating, mosquito-smacking, tv-watching, card playing, lena-dena, joke-making, and 4 weddings and a funeral.

i miss you ghaziabd bed and your dirty bed sheet and musty hard mattress that retains heat in the summer and never is warm in the winter and attracts all sorts of mosquitoes and bugs, but comfortably holds 4 sleeping or 15 sitting (excluding infants).

shoutout

2006-04-19T15:37:00.000-04:00

i'd like to give a shoutout to guddu. he has helped me de-stress by cleaning the house today. he has swept, vacummed, and dusted.

i have been at the computer all day trying to get some research together on terrorist groups in Bangladesh. it is slow going-- i am trying to decipher a network of overlapping groups, all with very similar names and abbreviations: JMB, JUM, JUMB, HUJI, HUJI-BD...

bites per hour

2006-04-17T20:28:00.000-04:00

coming home i heard an excerpt from elizabeth gilbert's "eat, pray, love" book on NPR (click link in title to hear it). in short, this lady decided to practice vipassana yoga at dusk in india... and got attacked by mosquitoes.

here's what i thought was amusing-- she only had 20 bites in one hour!!! lady has apparently NOT spent time in Guddu's house in Bihar (next to a bamboo forest cum marsh cum monkey haven cum mosquito breeding ground) or in ghaziabad (next to drainage ditch cum buffalo bath house cum trash bin cum mass toilet cum mosquito breeding ground). 20 bites in an hour?! that's nothing!

this is the last week of law class. and also ethics class (i am foregoing ethics class next week for a sojourn at the comfort inn in NOVA). woohoo. end is in sight!

tonsilloliths

2006-04-11T19:32:00.000-04:00

it is so hard to concentrate with this white spot stuck in my throat. i can feel it every time i swallow.

tonsil stones are like pearls. food particles and bacteria get trapped in tonsil crypts and mucous coats and recoats and forms a pearl. tonsils themselves are incredible-- a selfless part of the body whose main function is to trap infections before they can enter our lungs or stomachs or elsewhere...

syriana

2006-04-10T21:25:00.000-04:00

Guddu, Dad and I saw Syriana at the Byrd Sunday afternoon. I really enjoyed it, especially since there was so much Hindi/Urdu. (I get excited when I see Hindi/Urdu in the media-- a la Homer getting outsourced to India.)

I was amazed guddu understood the movie. "12 monkeys," "7," and any movies containing elements of science fiction, divorce or animated characters are usually beyond his comprehension (unless it stars Bernie Mac, Ice Cube, Chris Rock, Chapelle... you get the picture). yet give him a layered story of the interesection of espionage/business/politics/oil/legal mumbo jumbo occuring simultaneously on multiple continents in multiple languages and he perfectly understands.

did you know matt damon is in syriana? i didn't. and you rarely see george clooney. the big fancy parties at arab estates remind me too much of the past summer in delhi-- i could have been surrounded by agents all the time. that kind of creeps me out.

i found an entertaining blog in the midst of all of this... Sepia Mutiny (there's a play on the word "sepoy" for all you non-AMELC-ers).

FSWE: a decent performance

2006-04-09T10:01:00.000-04:00

yesterday i spent five hours at VCU taking the Foreign Service Written Exam. I have been warned many times that I will, as most people do, probably fail the first few times. I had little hopes, but regained some confidence after seeing the other test-takers: many undergrad-looking students and a few middle-aged guys who probably take the exam every year. one of them really looked like a wreck-- very dweebish, and he arrived late, sweaty and out of breath. so no wonder the state dept puts us through so many steps to get close to a job with them-- gotta weed out many people. i think i did ok on the exam and believe i have a chance at passing, but i am not keeping my hopes up.

i'm also trying not to keep my hopes up about a few interviews i have coming up. i think i found a wonderful job, that pays very well, and allows guddu and i to run off to omaha (nebraska, not japan). but i won't jinx it by saying anything more.

there are only two weeks of law class left. then i will almost stop coming to williamsburg, except for mondays.

guddu and i also have a hippie wedding to go to. the bad part is that it is graduation weekend, but i think, with a lot of driving back and forth on 64, i can do it all: 5K race for the cure, department brunch-pics-diploma, hippie campout wedding on farm in c'ville, back to williamsburg to march and watch desmond tutu speak. then, if i am feeling very ambitious, take my mom out for mother's day dinner. i might as well run myself into the ground that week becuase school will be over. no cares, unless we have to pack up to move to OMAHA the next week...

10K: a decent performance

2006-04-02T14:14:00.000-04:00

yesterday i ran with 21,000 others down Monument Ave and back for 6.2 miles. I finished with a decent time-- 54 minutes. Maybe next year I can get under 50 minutes.

I ran alone most of this race, except for the last mile. Around Mile 5, i was tired and heard someone yell "hey judson!" how many judsons are there? i thought maybe it was the judson i know, and sure enough-- it was tall red-headed judson. so judson and i ran the last mile or so together. having someone running with me really makes me push myself-- competition is the ultimate motivator.

i lost judson shortly after crossing the finish, though. i quickly exited the area becuase i felt like i had to pee, vomit, and collapse uncontrollably all at once. luckily none of that happened.

i did walk away with a free case of "Rock Star" and "Full Throttle" diet energy drinks. Unlike red bull, these did not make me shake, but i couldn't fall asleep until 2:30pm. we stayed up so late because we were watching one of the best hindi movies of 2005, bunty aur babli.

here's what i did on my spring break

2006-03-29T15:46:00.000-05:00

soundtrack

2006-03-26T18:21:00.000-05:00

in order to go to santosh's wedding, we had to travel 3 hours in a jeep to patna from his village house in Dewdhi. we played one cassette the ENTIRE time. this cassette had only 2-3 different songs. There were more songs, but actually just remixes of Jhalak Dhiklaja... so it was Jhalak Dhiklaja for 3 hours. that song, and the movie aksar, were the theme songs for santosh's wedding.

Ally mcbeal had a theme song... i think it was something by barry white.

each india trip has definitely had a theme:
Jodhpur: Fiza, Dhardkan, Mission Kashmir
Natalie's Wedding: Gadar, Zubeida, maybe Lagaan?
My wedding:K 3G
FCS Summer: Bunty aur Babli, Zeher
Santosh's wedding: Aksar

injection

2006-03-22T20:06:00.000-05:00

when guddu went to patna, he was sooooooo eager to eat goat meat. he ate goat meat at every meal for 2-3 days straight. this was after consuming 28 puris in one sitting at old delhi rail station. and multiple cups of tea, servings of sweets and namkin. yes, guddu went on a food binge. and then he paid for it.

he returned to the wedding party in santosh's village feeling feverish. during the night he visited the latrine "20-25" times, sometimes to vomit. in the morning, he was escorted to the doctor and received an injection (aftermath is pictured above). diagnosis-- either over-eating or food poisoning. the jury is still out.

i thought it was over-eating, but kundun, guddu's partner in goat meat-eating, also fell very sick. he was so feverish that his head and eyes moved uncontrollably and he overreacted to all stimulation. example-- at the doctor, upon hearing the charges, kundun exclaimed "doctor! your fees are so much! just for an injection you are charging Rs160???!"

Two Weeks Without...

2006-03-21T20:35:00.000-05:00

email
phone
TV
newspaper
english as a means of communication
cheese
chicken and/or eggs (thank you, avian flu)
toilet paper
running water
electricity
clothes that are actually clean (as opposed to "relatively" clean)
coffee
privacy
steady sleep
stress
traffic laws
fixed prices
veggies other than carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, cabbage, eggplant, potatoes
peanut butter
personal space
more than one bucket of water for bathing
health insurance woes
responsibility
worry about public policy ethics, trade law, performance measures, or the Tamil Tigers
exercise
cooking and cleaning (besides handwashing the clothes, of course)
shoes
pants
job search obsession

Guddu and I had a crazy busy time in India. I will provide anecdotes as they pop into my head over the coming days. Some pictures are uploaded-- see the photo link. Guddu was delighted to see that India had in fact NOT changed despite media reports-- it is still stuck in the 3rd world, especially the sad state of Bihar.

we are now back in richmond, feeling like life has no purpose and we make ourselves busy and stressed with pointless tasks. when you take away all of the technology and work responsibilities and ease of modern life, you are forced to concentrate on living. we feel very priviliged that we can hop between the two worlds-- comfort in the US, relaxing in the village.

Ahead of Bush visit, LeT men held with RDX

2006-03-03T13:40:00.000-05:00

geezus! hey bhagwan! why didn't this make any news here? we're going to be at this rail station next week, so i hope all the terrorists get the bombing/bioterror out of their systems by then! hopefully the "special cell" will remain on top of things.

The Indian Express, 27 February 2006
Ahead of Bush visit, LeT men held with RDX
Two suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists were arrested from New Delhi Railway Station and RDX recovered from their possession ahead of Wednesday's India visit by US President George W Bush. Police said the terrorists - identified as Shamil and Shahin - were arrested on Sunday evening and three kg of RDX and two pistols recovered from their possession. "We had received information about their movements and had laid a trap to nab them," said Ajay Kumar, deputy commissioner of police Special Cell. The two men are being interrogated and more arrests could be made, he said.

shopping madness

2006-03-02T20:35:00.000-05:00

it has been a harrowing few days...

first, i am sure that it is a plot by comcast to "accidently" install too many cable channels to entice you to keep the expensive service. When i called to make sure the cable guy was gonna downgrade us, the customer service rep asked-- and it did not sound like it was the first time she was asking-- "Now that you have had the opportunity to try our full service, would you consider keeping it?"

secondly, guddu and i spent nearly 6 hours shopping last night. this short radio clip will explain why it took us so long to decide what gifts to buy. the most difficult item was a pair of shoes for guddu's little brother, pappu. guddu wanted to buy a white tennis shoe. and it HAS to be a global brand-- either Nike, Reebok, or Addidas. we went to 3 A&N's, rack room shoes, shoe carnival, foot locker AND DSW. pappu wanted shoes that were "like walt's". so i called walt,"hey walt. it's kate. guddu and i are doing india shopping. what type of shoes were you wearing in india? ok-- new balances? so... maybe we should get a reebok running shoe..." then we had to find one on sale, not made in china, white, in pappu's size (i guess it to be 9?).

after we got the shoes we had a lot of wal-mart shopping. we were there FOREVER. the good things are-- they have everything so you don't have to drive all over creation, and the prices are cheap.

classes ended today. we went out on a bang discussing arranged marriage.

what would michael powell say?

2006-02-28T21:19:00.000-05:00

michael powell and public policy students last fall are pictured left. Michael said to me, "you must be one of the last people alive still using an antenna." sorry michael, this is no longer true.

comcast is very tricky. we signed up for high speed internet at a promotional rate. promotional rate ended, and a shockingly high bill for internet came. comcast lady said if i signed up for basic basic cable, it would be cheaper. basic basic basically is only the free channels plus espn and cspan. so, no big change for us, and a tiny tiny reduction in price.

BUT, comcast "accidently" signed us up for full cable. they are supposed to come put a box on our tv to limit the channels we get. i think this is all a ruse-- they are trying to use these 2-3 days of full cable to hook us. i have been hooked to shows on food, weddings, cable news, sex in the city, law & order 24/7, live births, etc. it is so tempting to just NOT call comcast to tell them to adjust our service. but, we will. antennas have many merits: you can still watch the news, friends, seinfeld, and law & order QUITE often; less channels to choose from means you actually will watch an entire program instead of forever channel surfing; and, you will impress michael powell. oh, and you can watch the daily show for free on the internet. so why do we need cable?

2 degrees of separation from SRK

2006-02-26T12:56:00.000-05:00

I am now only TWO degrees of separation from Shah Rukh Khan. Natalie interviewed A. R. Rahman who works with all of Bollywood all the time. and i've got pictures to prove it! A. R. is in the white, and the other picture is an unsure-looking Arjun being kissed by a qawwal.

In other news, my strategy of overloading my schedule to get owrk done has backfired. i am sick. so this morning i have not done much, but managed to make and eat some fantastic miso soup.

guddu is busy returning baby clothes we bought for our nieces in India. all of a sudden, everyone has requested Wrangler jeans. so he went back to wal-mart to get them. thank god, for our wallet's sake, that levi's are not "in."

recipe for motivation

2006-02-25T09:27:00.000-05:00

i have found the best way to get work done is to make yourself as busy as possible. if i minimize free time, i maximize work done. last weekend we went to c'ville. this week I went to DC and we will do a lot of shopping and maybe catch a movie. sounds like i have a lot of leisure time? exactly the opposite is true.

it has been a busy 2 weeks. i had one paper on the Tamil Tigers due, exams to grade, and i have to write two papers this weekend. one on whether or not to legalize/decriminalize prostitution, and the other on performance budgeting.

oh, and we are leaving for india next weekend. we have to do some more shopping. we spent about 3 hours in walmart looking at baby clothes for out nieces in the village.

speaking of wal-mart, you should all check out what THEY were doing during Hurricane katrina while FEMA was sitting around. if i find the link, i'll post.

perhaps the scale of urgency and clear goals has something to do with how efficient we act (we MUST re-open the wal-marts and save our employees; i MUST finish this paper before i get on the plane; we MUST deliver water to the tsunami survivors NOW, etc.)

Dining Experiences of Late

2006-02-13T19:04:00.000-05:00

I think I have two regular favorite places in Richmond.

For lunch or dinner or just a cafe con leche, Kuba Kuba is the place. I love the avocado salad there, and sharing some tostones and hot sauce. I went there for lunch with my old carpool-mate a week or two ago. But, I have to say that this is where Lucy and I would often go during the college and post-college days when we were both in Richmond and both working at our Aunts' small businesses (we had all the inside info on which haute diner was buying arugula and who was ordering super-expensive wedding invitations).

Friday night I went to another treasure of Richmond's: Emilio's on Broad Street. This place usually has someone playing latin or jazz, and they have an extensive martini list and tapas. Very laid back, not too pretentious, but with character-- like c'ville but more mature.

Today I had lunch at the Blue Talon in williamsburg. This is a wanna-be-expensive-french-bistro. Caroline and I both do not eat bacon, but she wanted a salad with "lardons." I suspected this might be a fancy word for bacon bits, but the waiter told her they were "like mild spring onions with a garlic taste"-- did he mean shallots??? anyways, I asked if the eggs meurette had pork or beef, and he said "the stock might, but there are not chuncks of meat in the broth-- it is like a soup!." so i said i would take it... our plates came with out itsy-bitsy frenchie portions. caroline's salad was indeed sans any type of garlic-onion-shallot ingredient but well stocked with bacon. as soon as I broke the yoke of my poached egg, the waiter came bumbling up to the table-- "actually, there IS bacon in the stock!" so i reordered the "goat cheese cake," which he assured me was like a salad and not a dessert... the goat cheese cake was tasty, and i am sure it was a million grams of fat. the poor waiter apoligized endlessly and offered us free coffee (we should have pushed for dessert!), and insisted we not tip him. but i did, i felt so sorry for him. he is lucky we were not some old retirees who would give him attitude about his ineptitude. blue talon-- thumbs down unless someone else is treating you. a much better french bistro is river bistro in shockoe bottom-- with a french canadien maitre d' and food with a morrocan twist!

Market Place, RVs

2006-02-10T13:58:00.000-05:00

sometimes when i listen to Market Place , I feel like every story was meant for me. The other night, there were 2 stories in particular that stuck me.

Weekend plans: RV Expo. For Real. Maybe we'll buy one? That would really annoy the shit out of our old lady neighbors-- a big RV parked in front of the house in addition to our 3 cars. It might just be worth it.

Enter the Man in the Stripey Jumper

2006-01-26T20:26:00.000-05:00

Ok, this article in the Economist seriously made me laugh out loud more than once yesterday.
I think the headline and the photo caption is what made me laugh... Caption: Not just a fashion victim.

Just in case you were wondering, this man is not one of my in-laws, but the new Bolivian president.

our house is now "American"

2006-01-22T15:21:00.000-05:00

my dad has been staying with us for 3 weeks(?) now. slowly, our household is becoming normalized. here are a few, new American additions:

coffee EVERY morning instead of sometimes tea
football on the TV
lots more chicken
lots more bread
gin
American movies
video games
in-house handyman

in other news, classes have started. here are the classes i am taking:

international trade law with tiny, chinese professor. i think this class will nicely compliment the economics of trade class i took last year. but the book is big and scary and i sometimes glaze over when i start reading the legalese. and i am comforted to now know that i am much more competent than most law students, even the ones dressed in ann taylor with pearl earrings.
ethics with hippy/peace corps vet philosophy professor. we are reading a lot of international/ human rights topics, which will piss off many in my class but at least we are not reading about social security or medicare
program evaluation-- i am betting this class will be laid back and easy. except by tomorrow i am supposed to have read a book which i do not have yet. already behind!
independent study-- did i bite off too much to chew?

i am now listening to wait, wait don't tell me and trying to write about criticisms of the nobel prizes...

back to the motherland

2006-01-15T19:48:00.000-05:00

as i may or may not have reported earlier, hell froze over and santosh is getting married! his fiance's name is Lovely. well, "Lovely" is not her real name-- her real name is something like priya or ragini or priyanka. I feel ridiculous calling anyone "Lovely", so lucky for me I can call her "Bhabhi" to her face. "Bhabhi" loosley translates to "older brother's wife." i have posted some pics of the happy, engaged couple. Can you spot the difference between the two pics of Lovely? Look closely, and I may give you a prize!

so, guddu and i, after many many calls to travel agents and internet searches, have decided to go to the wedding. this was a difficuly decision because going to india requires quite a bit of vacation time and money. But we have pulled it off. so we will go for 2 weeks in march.

right after the wedding (march 10th-12th) is Holi (14th). This will be my first Holi in India and I am kinda scared because it can get quite rowdy-- lots of colors and bhang... see what might happen.

Real Drive

2006-01-14T10:31:00.000-05:00

Here is a quote from a soon-to-be martyr of the Tamil Tigers:
"Before my death sentence is carried out, please remove my eyes and transplant them to a Tamil without eyesight. I will not able to see the free Tamil Eelam but, at least, let my eyes see it."

in my "off time"

2006-01-02T10:15:00.000-05:00

last week was busier than expected. for a few days i did medical interpretation for a physical therapy patient. this pays quite well, but too bad so many indians know english.

i have also been busy doing job applications. i have two major applications i need to finish before this weekend. i need to write a short essay (500 words) on a major current international topic. i'm having a very hard time picking a topic, and unfortunately i can not recycle any old essays becuase they are either obsolete or on domestic topics such as Medicare. i also want to NOT write about India. but i might have to. i also do not want to write about Iraq. but i might have to. perhaps i will write about economic development policies... 500 words is really not much space...

today i began organizing the linen closet. we have sooooooo many indian bedsheets. i have organized the linens into piles on the floor. maybe this afternoon i will have the stamina to put them away.

i have been reading a book called Imperial Hubris this past week. it is VERY good! but kind of scary and i think it gave me a lot of anxiety over the weekend. If you don't know what hubris means, it is not a good trait.

Hopefully Guddu will get his citizenship soon. In preparation, he tried answering a few of the practice questions. Here are his ACTUAL answers:

How many stars are there in our flag? 4
What color are the stars on our flag? BLUE
What do the stars on the flag mean? FREEDOM
How many stripes are there in the flag? 4
What date is the Day of Independence? 4 July (so that's where the "4s" come from!)
Independence from whom? The Britishers (just like India!)
What country did we fight during the revolutionary war? The Britishers
Who was the first president of the United States? George Tenet
What do we call a change of the constitution? ???

christmas weekend

2005-12-28T11:14:00.000-05:00

it was a pretty busy christmas weekend! and we didn't even do that much shopping or visiting with people. friday guddu had to work, so it gave me the opportunity to finish up some job applications. at night we drove out to powhatan with lucy and tif to go to a bonfire. saturday we shopped for his shoes and for a sweater for my brother, Huddy. and we ran 7 miles. then had dinner at my mom's cousin's house. christmas day we went to church and then guddu and i drove around with my grandmother. she REALLY wanted to go out to eat somewhere, but we had to keep reminding her nothing was open. i think she originally thought we were lying to her. in the evening we ate dinner at my aunt's house, as usual.

we really don't get too crazy about gift-giving. we got henry an iTunes gift certificate, and my mom's gift literally knocked on our door friday afternoon. A russian girl was selling these beautiful faberge egg enamel pendants. so i bought one.

guddu is getting 3 pairs of shoes for christmas: work, casual and running. he has never owned so many shoes before. he didn't ever wear shoes until he was a teenager i think. this is why his feet are so wide.

today i was supposed to go translate at the hospital. but the patient didn't show up (not his fault). the cool part: i get to bill for a no-show! i deserve it-- i had to watch fox news for an hour in the waiting room.

for hire

2005-12-23T11:10:00.000-05:00

we are available for all types of interpretation and translation (medical, travel, legal, etc.) in the following languages:

hindi
urdu
nepali
bhojpuri
panjabi
bengali
maithili

california recap

2005-12-22T22:07:00.000-05:00

california was awesome. here's a list of what happened:

i was nearly dive-bombed by a predator bird, maybe a condor.
we helped arjun (baby, above) get his vaccinations
we toured google. they have this cool monitor with a spinning globe that shows the search terms, language, and geographic spread and density of searches. there is also a lot of free, organic food. here is what we looted: 2 cups of coffee, 1 luna bar, and about a half pound of cashews. oh, and a few bottles of naked juice and jamba juice.
we had good thai food. twice.
we watched the following movies: millions, LA story, meenaxi, mangal pandey, namak haram, sideways, pukaar, nayak, etc.
guddu ate many nuts. i ate many chocolates.
we drank bottled water ONLY
i made awesome turkey sausage
guddu shook arjun and stopped him from crying by yelling "pandit... PANDIT!" at him.
i stopped arjun from crying by blowing in his face. while i thought i was calming him down, his father thought i was preventing him from breathing (no breathing = no crying)
natalie and anand stopped arjun from crying by shooting him with the blow dryer.

california was good. and it was never cold. i don't know why people would ever come to the east coast after being there. well, one reason: the house prices.

see the title for the link to the pics.

California

2005-12-12T17:11:00.000-05:00

Sitting in a park in paris, france
Reading the news and it sure looks bad
They won’t give peace a chance
That was just a dream some of us had
Still a lot of lands to see
But I wouldn’t want to stay here
It’s too old and cold and settled in it’s ways here
Oh, but california
California I’m coming home
I’m going to see the folks I dig
I’ll even kiss a sunset pig
California I’m coming home

I met a redneck on a grecian isle
Who did the goat dance very well
He gave me back my smile
But he kept my camera to sell
Oh the rogue, the red red rogue
He cooked good omelettes and stews
And I might have stayed on with him there
But my heart cried out for you, california
Oh california I’m coming home
Oh make me feel good rock’n roll band
I’m your biggest fan
California, I’m coming home

Oh it gets so lonely
When you’re walking
And the streets are full of strangers
All the news of home you read
Just gives you the blues
Just gives you the blues

So I bought me a ticket
I caught a plane to spain
Went to a party down a red dirt road
There were lots of pretty people there
Reading rolling stone, reading vogue
They said, how long can you hang around?
I said a week, maybe two,
Just until my skin turns brown
Then I’m going home to california
California I’m coming home
Oh will you take me as I am
Strung out on another man
California I’m coming home

Oh it gets so lonely
When you’re walking
And the streets are full of strangers
All the news of home you read
More about the war
And the bloody changes
Oh will you take me as l am?
Will you take me as l am?
Will you?

cher, you are so ruthless

2005-12-10T13:54:00.000-05:00

i have sooooooo much grading to do this weekend. and then solve Bihar's development problems. lucky for me, there's a movie on FOX with Cher and nicholas cage. cher is marrying cage's brother. cage is mad at bro bc cage sliced off his own hand in a bread slicer and then got left by his fiance. now cage is trying to hook up with cher, while bro is in italy at his mother's deathbed.

tuesday we go to california!

yesterday guddu and I went to INS to have his fingerprints taken. VERY EFFICIENT OPERATION, and i am not being sarcastic. it took like 10 minutes. the only inefficient part is that there is no office in richmond. i think guddu will have his citizenship by Feb. then we will both apply for OCI "overseas citizens of India" cards so we can go to India and "operate" there without Visas. the only things we can do there are study and climb mountains. and i think we still get preferential status for buying train tickets. it REALLY is the best of both worlds!

after INS we came back to williamsburg and ate the lunch buffet at NAWAB. guddu and i are suspicioius of Indian restaurants that serve beef or pork on their menus. Nawab is not too bad. but i think the best indian restaurant so far is Indian Garden and Grill on Midlo trnpk. fresh food-- like homemade. not loads of cream. and they cook only in canola oil and keep theire non-veg and veg foods separate in the kitchen.

my back pain is slowly getting better. today i have not taken any painkillers.

today's haiku:

should i grade closely?
or give 'em all full credit?
no one will e'er know!

so you like how i deleted the "V" put of "ever" to make the syllables work? i got that trick out of the hymnals at church!

daily haiku

2005-12-07T16:32:00.000-05:00

i am going to start writing a daily haiku (5-7-5 syllables)

here's today's:

Winter came too soon
SpaceHeater, make my words flow
to fill blank pages

i didn't promise you GOOD haikus

bihari peanut butter

2005-12-07T12:11:00.000-05:00

last night while sleeping i seriously hurt my back. i pulled a muscle or slept in a weird position, and it still hurts after 4 advils! guddu said this morning, "yeah, you were sleeping really crooked." thanks for waking me up. i remember dreaming about an airplane crashing or something- so maybe that inspired my contortioning...

right now i am formulating a development plan for guddu's village. basically, i want to sell shares to the villagers to invest in a new factory. egg farming was a good idea, but i reconsidered after remembering all the chickens that have been killed in vietnam and thailand. his brother already runs a brick factory, so that would not be good for his sales. we need a product that doesn't require electricity for production... india really needs peanut butter. maybe a peanut butter factory would be a good idea. it could also be traded to calcutta and patna. it's a pretty stable product-- all you need to do is grind peanuts. we could grow peanuts on some land, and then find some non-electric grinding machines. voila! peanut butter factory!

all of this planning is for a paper i need to write for economic development class. i am motivating myself by considering to actually implement this plan in the future. so if i work hard now, maybe it will come to fruition? at least i can hope for an A in the class.

can i complain about the weather? it is so COLD. i am going to try to make myself run today. OUTSIDE.

reindeer on the roof?

2005-12-06T13:51:00.000-05:00

i think i jinxed guddu's sister's marriage by announcing it yesterday. guddu called india last night and the potential in-laws were acting VERY strange. like they are trying to bluff that they are marrying their son elsewhere... we'll see.

so it snowed yesterday and i was stuck inside ALL day. today the snow is melting and there is the continuous sound of reindeer prancing on the roof as chunks of snow/ice melt, fall and crash.

i got some good news today about a job. not an offer, but i don't want to jinx the opportunity so i will keep my mouth shut.

match fixing (the good kind)

2005-12-05T15:29:00.000-05:00

richmond has frozen over... i am trapped in the house, forced to finish my essays and papers. no distractions from holiday shopping or yoga class for me today. but that doesn't stop the ever-present distractions of Google sidebar and day-time talk shows.

there are a lot of scary noises. i think it is the snow moving on the roof? or maybe the mouse?

BREAKING NEWS: Santosh Kumar's wedding has been fixed! nevermind the girl is younger than me-- at least their horoscopes match! engagement set for december 14th.

SEMI-BREAKING NEWS: guddu's sister's marriage also looks like it might be fixed. lucky groom is the civil engineer in Delhi! we'll be headed there in either May or November. i absolutely ADORE bihar in May.

here's a haiku-like poem inspired by Bihar in May:

crajy heat
a jillion flies
up to the roof after dusk to escape

Project Green: completed

2005-12-03T09:18:00.000-05:00

yesterday was a very very busy day:
6am: wake up, start doing final checks on paper and make corrections
7am: print out slides and prepare presentation
9am: kinko's to make bound reports
10am: drive to school, get held up by vehicle fire (not in my vehicle)
11:30: practice presentation, fool around with broken laptop
12:30: lunch with chris the client and finifter-- wait outside in freezing wind
2:30: present
4:30: fool around with broken copy machine (W&M needs more funding!)
6pm: home and hot bath
10pm: sleeping

me

2005-11-27T18:32:00.000-05:00

Advanced Global Personality Test Results

Extraversion	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	50%
Stability	\|\|\|\|\|\|	30%
Orderliness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	56%
Accommodation	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	70%
Interdependence	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	56%
Intellectual	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	50%
Mystical	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	56%
Artistic	\|\|\|\|\|\|	23%
Religious	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	63%
Hedonism	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	36%
Materialism	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	63%
Narcissism	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	70%
Adventurousness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	76%
Work ethic	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	70%
Self absorbed	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	50%
Conflict seeking	\|\|\|\|\|\|	30%
Need to dominate	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	76%

Romantic	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	63%
Avoidant	\|\|\|\|\|\|	30%
Anti-authority	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	56%
Wealth	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	56%
Dependency	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	70%
Change averse	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	50%
Cautiousness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	70%
Individuality	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	43%
Sexuality	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	56%
Peter pan complex	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	63%
Physical security	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	90%
Physical Fitness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	44%
Histrionic	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	56%
Paranoia	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	76%
Vanity	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	76%
Hypersensitivity	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	90%
Female cliche	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	70%

Take Free Advanced Global Personality Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

Stability results were low which suggests you are very worrying, insecure, emotional, and anxious.

Orderliness results were moderately high which suggests you are, at times, overly organized, reliable, neat, and hard working at the expense of flexibility, efficiency, spontaneity, and fun.

Extraversion results were medium which suggests you are moderately talkative, outgoing, sociable and interacting.

trait snapshot:
paranoid tendencies, irritable, anxious, fidgety, dependent, worrying, emotionally sensitive, prone to regret, depressed, second guesses self, somewhat fragile, dislikes change, prefers organized to unpredictable, suspicious, phobic, craves attention, not a risk taker, low self control, very sensitive to criticism, unadventurous, does not make friends easily, defensive, obsessive, low self esteem

thanksgiving, parts 1 and 2

2005-11-25T14:26:00.000-05:00

guddu and i celebrated thanksgiving in two parts: day and night.

day thanksgiving: we went to c'ville and were welcomed by holly and deepak and a traditional turkey feast (see the turkey!)-- mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, corn pudding, a big ol' turkey neck, pumpkin pie, green beans, salad, corn muffins, jello and cool whip, stuffing... and i think that was it. after lunch we played a mean game of scrabble (no Hindi words allowed! so, guddu, you can't spell "bangla"...), and i lost by one point despite 59-pt "query" i had laid down. holly was the true winner that day-- of both the kitchen and the scrabble. besides holly and deepak, we also lunched with sibi and pushpa (seated above).

at night we headed to my aunt's house for thanksgiving part 2. my uncle ned was in a talkative mood and told some entertaining stories about his dating years. he dated my aunt for only 6 months or so before marrying, and they will celebrate 38 years this weekend.

my cousin thomas, a rat at VMI, also shared all the rules and regulations of how he has to live. VMI is pretty strict and they only get 6-7 hrs of sleep a night. my uncles, VMI alumni, also shared their stories of "break out" (when the rats fight their way to the 4th floor of the barracks) and of "bloody sunday" (paddling rats until they bleed-- this is no longer practiced i am told).

i woke up this morning and when i went outside, it was instantly christmastime-- christmas music, christmas scents, shopping, etc. i blew $35 at bath & body works, but it was all stuff i REALLY NEEDED.

one awesome weekend

2005-11-21T16:04:00.000-05:00

well, my mood is closely tied to my blood sugar. now knowing this, hopefully future mood swings can be averted.

saturday was my 25th. themes were thai and coldstone creamery. here's a list of some of my cool birthday gifts (not in any particular order):

a Sikh Kirpan
a black iPod nano
a squishy pillow that is very hard to let go
roses- orange and yellow
crab cake brunch
cash
munich pants
drunken noodles
cookies and cream
a viewing of the 40-yr-old virgin

one awful week

2005-11-18T18:28:00.000-05:00

this has been a trying week:

major body aches
blood sugar woes
too tight pants
deadlines upon deadlines
TWO presentations to classes

tomorrow is my 25th birthday. this morning i forgot about that.

sub 40

2005-11-12T12:51:00.000-05:00

no, that is not a reference to this mornings temperature, but to my race time!
NTELOS 8K-- i ran 39:47, not too shabby? that's about 8 min miles. i am very surprised considering the shape i am in. lucy beat me by 16 seconds, coming in at 39:31.

today, regis & kelley, ellen, dr. phil, oprah, ent. 2nite...

2005-11-12T06:54:00.000-05:00

i have not been able to pull myself away from the TV this past week. i have so much work to do, so i really shouldn't be watching anything. but i feel a lot less stressed than i normally would, so i think the TV is the way to put the work out of my mind and relax a bit. today, however, i need to make sure the TV stays OFF. it is saturday, and i'm not into sports, so i should be ok.

i have to leave in an hour to go meet lucy for the NTELOS 8K. i have barely been able to run regularly since coming back from india because of my hip and then i pulled a muscle in my calf. i have very low expectations for this race also bc it is 40 degrees outside-- a bit too chilly for me. i think i will wear running tights and a long sleeve cotton t-shirt. i'm also worried i did not eat a good breakfast: pumpkin bread, soy milk, blueberries and cottage cheese.

i'd really like to do some more races this year. but it is such a fine balance between running and injury lately. i might shell out a few bucks and go to a sports medicine clinic to finally get this hip issue corrected. after this race i am going to get on track with a steady program-- i'm turning into a couch/cubicle potato.

i voted touch screen

2005-11-08T17:21:00.000-05:00

i could live with this weather year-round. i was driving home today, and feeling quite crushed by the massive amount of work i must complete in the next 2 weeks, and then i felt how warm the sun was and saw all the beautiful leaves on the ride home. so, for an hour, all was ok.

guddu says he saw a mouse in our computer room. i thought the mouse would have been in the kitchen, seeing that is the room with the most food on the floor. another alternative-- he might just be trying to pull a desperate housewives trick, like how lynette planted a rat in their kitchen so the husband would take more responisibility cleaning.

last weekend guddu and i saw "beauty shop" and "guess who?". guddu's favorite actors are cedric the entertainer, ice cube, bernie mac, anyone on seinfeld, and anyone impersonating a politician (especially whoever does bush on SNL).

on the injury report-- i am getting old and STIFF. i think hours in the car and at the computer are to blame. i pulled a muscle saturday, and it is finally starting to feel ok (thank god bc the NTELOS 8K is saturday).

oh, and i voted today. mainly democratic. i'll be interested to see how this one turns out.

crash course in Pakistan

2005-11-05T14:43:00.000-05:00

correction on yesterday's announcement: bowa's good name does not include "gerald"

i am getting kind of worried about the next month... i have a lot of schoolwork to do, and then i found out yesterday that i have a telephone interview to assess my urdu capabilities before the 30th. i mean, its good they want to interview me, but now i need to prepare.

my problem is not that i can not speak, it is that i too often use a sanskrit based word instead of the urdu word. see, urdu and hindi are basically the same language at the low proficiency, but once you start talking about fancy topics, there are fancy urdu words. soooooo, i will prepare by listening to bbcUrdu everyday to increase my listening comprehension, talking to Guddu only in Hindi to build up my "flow", and by reviewing common Urdu words. I will say "talim" instead of "padhai", "walid" instead of "pita" etc. i need to beef up my knowledge of current events in Pakistan-- earthquake, "dictatorship", Kashmir, f-16 purchases, hunt for osama, women's rights, capsized ferries, etc.

Pakistan is developing some posh areas. How about a flat at the CreekMarina?

south asia is a very interesting place, linguistically speaking. the majority of the population is tri-lingual, knowing some English, their mother-tongue, and Hindi/urdu. the result is that no one has a high proficiency in any language. even in the US, most americans probably barely reach the level 4 out of 5 on the government's scale. to reach a 5, you need to be able to speak confidently, using SAT words, and maintaining a constant stream of thought. people shouldn't feel too bad, i suppose. President Bush, afterall, probably would only score a 3+ in English.

It's a boy!

2005-11-04T12:57:00.000-05:00

Natalie called us at barely 6am this morning, sounding her usual, energetic self. Confused, I thought, "she couldn't have just had the baby," but she had given birth 3 hours before. the baby came so quick there was no time for meds and the doctor almost didn't make it!

in india, people are rarely called by their names. we will call the baby "bowa" (pronounced like boa constrictor but with more "w") or "beta"-- words meaning "son" in bhojpuri and hindi, respectively. but the kids name is a mouthful: Arjun Michael Gerald. 11:52pm Nov 3rd, 6lbs 11oz. very "long feet" and dangerously long nails that need to be clipped.

We were so excited so early in the morning-- it was like Christmas kind of.

i think i'll go surf the babyGap website.

dark and then light

2005-11-02T08:06:00.000-05:00

wow, the past few days have been quite festive.

Saturday afternoon my 2nd cousin (?) got married at a gorgeous house about an hour into the country. Guddu got tipsy off of one screwdriver, and we danced until the band had to quit. I am still quite sore.

Sunday we went to an informal BBQ in charlottesville. I guess you could say it was an Indian BBQ. This one Indian guy there ate 2 large chicken legs and AT LEAST 3 BIG SAUSAGES. i was kind of amazed to see an Indian eating pork, especially that much. After grilling and eating dinner we retreated to Holly and Deepak's apt for chai and conversation before returning home. I miss charlottesville a lot.

And then Halloween came and went. We carved a pumpkin. I was quite proud of it until I saw how all the other neighbors each had 3 or 4 very elaborately carved jack-o-lanterns (they must've all cheated and used kits). The best costume I saw: Napolean Dynamite. This kid was so happy that I instantly recognized who he was dressed as.

So then Diwali happened. I wanted to make this holiday special-- I drew rangoli designs in chalk on our walkway, lit tea lights for diyas, made mushroom and onion pakoras and aloo dum, bought laddoos and did puja, cleaned the house, etc. This would have been so much more fun if there had been a lot of family present-- it was kind of like celebrating Christmas in isolation. but it was better than not celebrating at all. hopefully, the goddess of wealth laxmi-ji, will visit our home this year.

so i was gonna make puris (deep fried bread) last night, but some bugs decided to take residence in the aata (flour). We have a lot of bugs in our rice, but I usually just wash them out. it is good i didn't make puris because after the pakoras and aloo dum, we did not need any more super-heavy food.

it's all going digital

2005-10-29T09:40:00.000-04:00

the past few days have been kind of disheartening. I have come to the realization that GM and free television are dying. I don't care so much about GM, but being forced to buy a new TV in the coming years does not ring well with me.

Here's what will happen: by the end of 2008 (?) everything will go to HDTV. now, for the majority of the public, this makes no difference bc everyone subscribes to cable. but for people like Guddu and me and perhaps some other holdouts, our TVs will no longer pick up the analog signal from the antenna.

So, we will have to get some type of converter for the signal. Perhaps the government will subsidize the price. i am not too concerned about the price, etc, but more because i realize i am getting old bc i feel such a resistance to change!

perhaps guddu and i will not watch much TV by then. we could just listen to NPR and use the internet. but there is something nice about the evening news, and, as Michael Powell put it, being FORCED to watch Walter Conkrite (or Tom Brokaw/john siegenthaler, etc.).

Sister in the Band of Brothers

2005-10-27T20:58:00.000-04:00

in case you were wondering, this is what i was really doing this summer.

the heat is on...

2005-10-27T17:46:00.000-04:00

... and i can hear our bank account emptying.

Guddu and i toughed it out for one night of frost advisories sans heat, but had to turn it on last night. i don't even want to know how expensive this will be. we thought, hey we can do Indian winter without heat, so why not here? except it doesn't go below 35 hardly ever in Delhi!

other not-so-news: GM is a big inflexible bureaucracy.

i'm going to see Michael Powell of the FCC (aka son of Colin Powell) speak tomorrow. I imagine him to be short. If you have met my grandmother recently, there is a good chance that she told you a story about how she met Colin Powell and his lovely wife. We have not verified this to be true, but she has told so many people it might as well be true.

potato: off the couch and into the oven

2005-10-22T13:46:00.000-04:00

guddu has taken up (with great zeal) two new hobbies the past 2 weeks: baking and running.

Baking. This required getting acquainted with two items very unfamiliar to most Indians (especially Indian men from villages): the oven and yeast. Now, upon our marriage, Walt tried to introduce us to both of these concepts while we were still in Delhi. He gave us a beloved toaster oven and some yeast. I have no clue what happened to the yeast, but the oven was greatly appreciated during the winter time when we wished to make litti and the occasional pizza or chocolate cake.

The baking passion was driven by Guddu's love for pizza and oven-roasted rosemary potatoes. He started experimenting (often following his cousin Anand's cue)-- garlic roasted cauliflower and potatoes, pizza with homemade crust, carrot cake, spaghetti squash, baked apples, mustard-stuffed eggplant, and wheat bread. The breads required yeast, which made our kitchen smell like the house that hosted the kegger the night before.

Running. Guddu used to exercise daily when he lived in India. In the village he did a lot of manual labor and in Delhi he did morning calisthenics that looked like a cross between pilates and old-school gym class. In the US he lost a lot of motivation. All of a sudden, however, and I don't know why, maybe it is the temperate weather, but he has ran over 30 miles the past week. i think this will last until the temp dips below 50F. or when he develops a stress fracture.

Williamsburg, a first-world Johannesberg?

2005-10-18T18:25:00.000-04:00

Excessive migration to urban centers from the countryside has been a recurring problem for many countries, especially in Africa and South Asia, because the influx of poor strains urban infrastructure, looks bad, and causes growth in the informal sectors of the urban economy. How to fix this problem?
1) close off the cities to migrants?
2) fix the root of the problem-- rural poverty
or, my favorite
3) create suburban "townships" or camps where migrants can stay at night so they do not form slums or dirty the city landscape. Prime examples: Johannesberg, South Africa and Williamsburg, VA

what to wear?

2005-10-15T08:49:00.000-04:00

i am going to my mom's cousin's daughter's wedding in 2 weeks. i think it is outside. what do i wear? i'd like to get something new. but i guess my black suit-pants and a nice top would work? or maybe a fall-colored dress? i'm going shopping with jessie (c'ville, red-head, leggy, ex-roomie jessie) on sunday, so maybe i will see what i come up with.

thank god for free verizon mobile-2-mobile and night & weekend minutes. we'd be cut off from the rest of the world without it.

the groom search for guddu's sister is going well. we now have 2 potential suitors: a civil engineer in delhi and a bank officer in patna. i'm partial to the engineer. hopefully guriya will be getting married next may or june.

Aliquippa

2005-10-10T10:35:00.000-04:00

Guddu and I went to visit my Dad this weekend in Aliquippa, PA. Aliquippa is a suburb of Pittsburgh and the hometown of Mike Ditka (who dated my Dad's cousin, fyi). Western Pennsylvania is known for its declining steel industry, distinct accent, and affinity for Steelers, Penguins, Pirates, etc. We had a good time and Guddu would like to move there because it reminds him of his childhood in Sikkim.

Here's some political news: I am confused about who to vote for for Governor. I agree with Tim Kaine on more issues, but I feel he plays dirty. But I suppose Jerry Kilgore plays dirty back, so he is no better. Right now I am leaning towards Kaine, even though he put his sign in my yard without my consent. kaine and Kilgore (who has a fondness for red bulls) debated last night on Channel 12. Larry Sabato from UVA moderated. Would someone PLEASE tell Sabato to just remove the toupee???

Sneaky campaign tactics

2005-10-05T18:58:00.000-04:00

When I got home yesterday there was a "Tim Kaine for Governor" sign stuck in one of our bushes. I thought, "Maybe Guddu put it up. But he is more of a Republican, so why would he do that? And he can't even vote..."

When Guddu got home, he didn't even notice the sign in our front yard. He said he didn't put it up. So who did?

I think Tim Kaine's campaign is kind of dirty; his ads are all stupid or kind of mean towards Jerry. So I don't know how I feel about keeping his sign in our yard.

no more nose ring

2005-10-05T07:18:00.000-04:00

i took out my nose ring. there was a bump next to the hole that was not going away, so i hope it will now disappear sans ring.

yesterday i was 15 minutes late for class because i HAD to go buy coffee. it was obvious i was late for coffee. but the prof was from ethiopia, and i have a theory that profs from former communist or developing nations are a lot more laid back than domestically raised professors. so all was well and i enjoyed my coffee ($1.50??!!).

intelligence, caffeine, and a lesson in resilience

2005-10-01T14:19:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Guddu and I went to DC. We got to hear Chuck Robb talk about US Intelligence failures before the war in Iraq. see me in the pics?

Chuck Robb looks like he would be really boring and dull, but he was actually a really nice and kinda funny guy. He also, poor thing, either has adult ADD or is just getting old. his mind really wanders when he speaks, but that was ok since mostly what he said was interesting.

Guddu and I went to starbucks TWICE yesterday. wallet is hurting. both times i got a cafe au lait (aka "misto" aka "poor man's latte") with soy milk. for dinner we had julia's empanadas. can we get empanadas in richmond???

sad news: winter has arrived. last night i got my first i've-been-out-in-the-cold-wind-too-long headache. i want to relocate all my family and friends to miami or southern california.

oh-- for anyone who has ever lost anyone close, listen to this interview: A Year of magical Thinking...