[what ever happened to Eminem, by the way? John Chotu - I have a feeling you have the answer to this question.]
so anyway- hi. After a really long break, I thought I owe you all an update with life. and perhaps get into the habit of posting stuff on this.
Updates since last December:
Atul came to visit. whoo hoo! He's gotten a little skinner, has a few extra strands of white hair, and still dresses really well. So I was excited. Unfortunately he's gone now. So not so excited anymore.
Family came to visit. whoo hoo! think Mom got skinner too. Dad got balder (i feel old) and Radha also dresses really well. It was so happy to see them too.
Engagement happened. Double whoo hoo! Had tons of my family and friends fly in from UK and US. And I got a new stick of Degree antiperspirant (they dont have deodorant in India. go figures; hence the "double" whoo hoo).
I went on a family holiday to Seychelles Islands and got to lounge on the beach for 9 days. The place is beautiful - so much water and green!It was just the break I needed :)
Also got to spend a week in Mumbai where I got spoiled by Daddy Dhokia at the Leela resort, went to the Elephanta Caves and saw cute little monkeys, and became a huge fan of the Red Lounge Cinema - for a little over $8, this movie cinema hall has huge red recliner couches to watch the movie from, butler service, and a triple-mix popcorn: cheese, butter, and kettle! Mmm it reminded me of Garretts popcorn from once upon a time ago. Best picture of the trip: fat Indian kid takes picture of rah-rah on the boat to the caves:
I came back to: dreary weepy freezy Delhi. I have NEVER experienced cold this badly. Not even that time I was in Allahbad and had to wear the same pair of thermals for 9 days.
I bought a fantastic heater (well, a heat-blower) that I sat next to all day long. I didn't actually leave the house for the first week I was back - partially due to the fact that it was cold, and partially due to the fact that I was in the middle of a really fantastic season of Desperate Housewives. whoopie.
On a brighter note, Lohri was last week and Punjabi folks all over Delhi had mini bonfires outside and did poojas and offered the fire god peanuts and popcorn and other goodies; and it marked the end of cold season. It kinda reminded me of a 'religious' groundhogs day if such a thing exists. Anyway, it worked: the cold has subsided.
As a result of sunshine, I sat out on my balcony among the pigeons today and did some work. They are a part of our family now - instead of fighting them, I've just learned to live with them. They don't even wake me with their scratchy-mcscratching on the AC outside my window. Peta would be so proud.
Our house is beginning to crumble: plumbing was the first to go. Our kitchen sink kinda exploded, so we had plumbers also living under our roof fixing that for a week. Then, the electricity caved in = and I found out that we had blown the fuze (thanks to Mr. Heat Blower. Actually, Thalia's Mr. Heat Blower caught caused a small explosion in her room too). Mold started growing on Thalia's wall. When we told our landlord, here was his explanation about how we were wrong:
"Have you seen that face wash? The one with the tiny balls and you can rub it on your face? It's like lotion and it makes your face really smooth. THAT is what this is."
SERIOUSLY?? And what exactly are you suggesting - that we use these 'balls' as a daily face wash? Lucky for us - we just find Indian's to be so amusing at this point that it doesn't even matter that we're inhaling mold. I think he gets an A for effort. And a blue ribbon for 'best explanation ever"
Dodie left. Boo. Apparently she is so cool (apparently) and gets to visit all these villages and speaks in fluent hindi and is going to save the world. Went to Big Chill as our last supper:
I am officially a student at the Delhi School of Photography! It's fun - I get to learn about lighting and 'creating the subject' and depth perception, and aperture and shutter speed. We're going on a field trip of Qtub Minar this Wednesday. I hope I get some good shots with my non-SLR camera. I should get one one of these days when I am rich and not arguing about being charged 10 Rupees extra for an auto rickshaw ride.
I went to a pretty cool photo exhibition at the National Gallery of Modern Art. It was about Bhutan-India relations and had some really cool pictures from long ago. Learned a bit about history and democracy. Saw portraits of happy people. Got to walk through CP and see India Gate. And spent time with these cool cats:
WORK is on full gear (top gear? gear 1? i forget the phrase. or maybe that's because 'the phrase' doesn't actually exist). In any case - I'm busy busy with surveys and interviews and literature reviews = the whole thing. and it feels good! The movie that I'm analyzing is actually coming out on Feb 12th, so I'm using this week to finalize my survey and collect my baseline data. Updates for you research geeks once I actually have something to sayHmm... I think that's enough of my updates in fast forward for today. Sorry for rambling. what's been going on with all of you, lately?
Smooches,
M&M
xx
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