Pirayaanam

From the Front - Part Two

2009-01-12T02:34:00.000-08:00

29 December 2008, 23:51

Grams,

Alas, we returned to the front lines this evening with high hopes that the pesticism would be over. Despite significant damage to their troop base, the cockroaches are still a present force and engaging in hugs non stop. The Penthouse Platoon, however, has full confidence that we will win on that front.

The more difficult battle lies with the termites. Despite the WMD dropped last night, they are still alive - however less out in the open, hiding in their bunkers. The Platoon has not tried the "milk" as we fear losing fingerprints or fingers and we'd rather not damage our nervous systems by being in close proximity to the lethal agent orange. We considered it but given the fact that we don't know how much power it contains - administering it incorrectly could be dangerous.

Colonel Bellavia called Superman this evening and he readily agreed to send reinforcements into the war zone with the serum in the afternoon. He was agreeable and due to Corporal Henderson's amazing peace talks at their last meeting, there were no complaints or arguments. We will await his reinforcements.

Thanks for your support back home, we couldn't do it without you. We miss you Grams.

The Penthouse Platoon

From the front - Part One

2009-01-12T02:27:00.000-08:00

29 December 2008, 01:50

Dear Grams,

Our battle against pesticism continues. This evening, we have waged war against the cockroaches of the north and an unexpected rising of the termites in the south.

A mommy and daddy cockroach had a "special" hug. As a result of that hug, vast numbers of mummies and daddies have intruded on our kitchen. Over a series of evenings, Colonel Bellavia has conducted a series of offensives against the mummies and daddies. The mummies and daddies were resilient and have continued to spawn making their defeat much more difficult. After acting on intel from Brigadier Chicken, heavy artiliery was acquired. Tonight we deployed our WMD's upon the enemy and the body count is seriously rising.

Alas, the same evening, yet another enemy approached and struck from the south*. A swarm of termites using guerilla warfare tactics, have infiltrated outposts on all levels and sides of the region**. The Kurta and Sari people were in desperate need of rescue. After a quick and thorough evaction by Seargent Shoebox and her troops, the area was evacuated and the people relocated. Seargent Shoebox returned to the area and sucessfully dropped yet another WMD to secure the area.

We are currently waiting in a secure location*** for the area to clear of toxic fumes. Our fear is that the guerillas have gained strongholds that we are incapable of identifying and extinguishing on our own. Only Superman can save us now.

And here ends another day in the trenches. Send our love to ma and pa and dear sweet Peggy Sue and Bobby Jo. We miss you all and are continuing the fight for freedom. Freedom from pesticism of the intrusive and swarming nature.

Colonel Bellavia & Seargent Shoebox

*the western closet of Kim and Chardaie's room
**the entire closet area
***becky's room

Hymn for Sri Lanka

2008-12-12T03:50:00.000-08:00

Father, thou has promised
The isles shall wait for thee
The joyous isles of Ocean
The jewels of the sea
Lo, we this island's watchmen
Would give and take no rest
For thus, hath thou commanded
Till our dear land be blessed.

Then bless her mighty Father
With blessings needed most
In every verdant village
By every palmy coast
On every soaring mountain
O'er every spreading plain
May all her sons and daughters
Thy righteousness attain.

Give peace within her borders
"Twixt man and man goodwill"
The love all unsuspicious
The love that works no ill
In loyal lowly service
Let each from other learn
The guardian and the guarded
Till Christ Himself return

To Him our land shall listen
To Him our land shall kneel
All rule be on His shoulders
All wrong beneath His heel
O consummation glorious
Which now by faith we sing
Come, cast we up the highway
That brings us back the King.

Walter Stanley Senior (1876-1938)

2008-12-10T21:21:00.000-08:00

My favourite bit is 1:24-2:10 :-)

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Pakistani Threat - Bob Graham

Colbert at Christmas
Colbert Christmas DVD

Green Screen
Bill O'Reilly Interview

2008-11-21T00:20:00.000-08:00

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living

Psalm 27:13

Seen

2008-11-06T20:42:00.000-08:00

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Verbatim

2008-11-04T05:11:00.000-08:00

After a few months here, the way that I talk has changed. My parents noticed it too - well, not so much what comes out of my mouth but how everything is now accompanied by a head bobble. Afraid that my new habits will continue upon return to NZ, let me share with you some of my new favourite phrases:

“My arm is paining.”
“You should go home and take good rest.”
“Have you reduced?”

"Have you eaten?"
“We have met with an accident.”
“Have you reached?"
“Should we pick you?”
“I need to get down at the office.”
“He has gone to his native place to see his cousin brother.”
“Where do you stay?”

"Fair price"
“I have a doubt about your message.”
“Please put my vegetables in a separate cover.”
“Yes, friend, tell me.”
“Signal lefta, Next signal U-turn. Left-side stop.”
“Everyday I go and come.”
“Ohhhh, why are you tensioning me?!”

"Aiiohhhh!"

7:30am October 17

2008-10-17T02:17:00.001-07:00

W: 25 1/4

BTBB: 29 1/2

just like home

2008-09-22T07:28:00.000-07:00

The longer away from home I am, the more I miss the finer things in kiwi life such as tender fresh meat (in contrast to imported frozen rubber); real (instead of dried) strawberries, NZ (as opposed to Chilean) kiwifruit and fresh whipped cream (compared with powdered Dream Whip) on a home-made pavlova; and, of course, my favourite chocolate biscuits (instead of the indonesian version).

The point of this post is to give a shout out to some people who have gone to great lengths to give me a little bit of home. Thanks to P for the squiggles and toffee pops that travelled for one month through eight(?) countries to get to me. Big ups to Rhett for the BOX of TimTams he somehow managed to bring back in his pack from Oz. And finally, Kat you rock! Check it out:

7:30 am September 19 2008

2008-09-18T21:57:00.000-07:00

W: 25 inches
BTBB: 31 1/8

(Yeah I'm slack, so my uber scientific experiment is slightly less scientific. Ah well)

Different

2008-08-30T22:08:00.000-07:00

hypothetically speaking

2008-08-14T22:39:00.000-07:00

Carl Lewis is a beautiful man. A lean, mean, running machine. Yet it was Mr. Mouche behind him that captured my attention.

That hair - and by hair I mean his head, facial and chest hair - can be doing him no aerodynamical favours. I can't help but wonder whether a small trip to the barber/salon would have made all the difference in the medal placings...

7:30am August 15, 2008

2008-08-14T19:28:00.000-07:00

W: 25 1/4 inches
BTBB: 30 1/4 inches

Recently

2008-08-09T05:13:00.000-07:00

I'm famous!

2008-07-29T02:16:00.000-07:00

Well, not really. But apparently I am cool enough to make it into the society pages. Check it out:

And then of course there was the accompanying write up:

"The city's favourite party ground that day, very much had the look of a conclave on Mt Olympus, paying honours to Bacchus. Our party favourites sure didn't miss it. There was a congregation happening around the counter, with heavy debates on new cocktails recipes, with people swearing by the best drink they ever had. What followed was a fun filled action sequence. DJ Mike, the magician at the turntables added the musical element which got our Bacchus faithfuls on their feet. Well, that was the beginning and the night went on an on as our party people danced the night away."

That's right. I am one of their favourite party people! It would, however, be unethical if I failed to point out some errors in the write up. Apart from the fact that it makes no sense and is grammatically flawed:

The club was nearly empty
The music was useless
Nobody was dancing
Clubs here close at 2am on a good night, 11pm on a bad night. Dancing the night away is not actually possible.
Two of the Funtastic Four departed as soon as their friend arrived with her Blue Wonder to whisk them away to another club

Otherwise it's totally accurate. Especially the part about me being a party favourite :-)

lifesong

2008-07-19T02:53:00.001-07:00

I've spent the last month reading through James. Every time I am convicted by something new. There is so much that I still have to learn about my faith expressed in word and action.

The other day, a friend played this song for me and I reckon it summarizes things pretty well. I do realize the irony of a song being used to talk about not just singing - but read these lyrics. They hit the spot.

Empty hands held high
Such small sacrifice
If not joined with my life
I sing in vain tonight

May the words I say
And the things I do
Make my lifesong sing
Bring a smile to You

Let my lifesong sing to You
Let my lifesong sing to You
I want to sign Your name to the end of this day
Knowing that my heart was true
Let my lifesong sing to You

Lord I give my life
A living sacrifice
To reach a world in need
To be Your hands and feet

So may the words I say
And the things I do
Make my lifesong sing
Bring a smile to You

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Let my lifesong sing to You

- Casting Crowns

15 July 7:30am

2008-07-15T21:34:00.000-07:00

W: 25 1/2 inches
BTBB: 31 1/4 inches

Down by the Riverside

2008-07-04T09:37:00.000-07:00

So I didn't totally succeed in my endeavour. Five fourty five is not peak traffic time. I ended up having dinner with some friends, so I had another go as I auto-ed past. Nine pm is not peak traffic either. Prizes if you spot the man in each film making his contribution. On another note, I learnt today that in the US they don't have Where's Wally - it's Where's Waldo.

Ok so it is now Monday. Youtube (one word?) doesn't want my videos coz they're too big, so I left my writing minus the videos up and I will attempt another video (I could just upload it straight but then it would use up too much space on my blog), that captures all of the necessary requirements AND is in the correct format in the next few days.

If you were here

2008-07-02T02:00:00.001-07:00

I am way overdue on a post about my new surroundings. I do wish you all could come, because my descriptions and photographs will be totally inadequate to give you an idea of what life is like here. For the record, there is an open invitation to any and all of you who want to drop by.

In addition to my inabilities to communicate sufficiently, I am currently suffering from writers' block. Not because I don't have anything to say, but because I do not know where to begin. If you were here, you could appreciate (I use the term loosely) the sights and smells emanating from the river nearby; participate in mango slicing competitions and be blown away by my mad skills; and go scooter-riding through city traffic to arrive at your destination covered in sweat, fumes and dust, all for yourself. Instead it is my duty to try and convey such experiences to you...

1. The River - As many of you know, I love walking - so living in close proximity to work beckons me to walk home each day. However there is one deterrent. The river. Calling it a river is a bit of a stretch. My flatmate refers to it as an OPEN SEWAGE PIT. The banks are covered with litter, and at all times there are at least four or five male (I am not being sexist or overgeneralising here) motorists making there own contributions to it - often standing on the only available piece of pavement and forcing pedestrians (aka Me) to walk in the road. During the daytime rubbish is burnt in large piles along the banks, leaving a stale stench by sundown. The combined smell can be overwhelming. The heavy, warm air that is typical orf this climate refuses to budge. The lack of a pavement and proliferation of urinating men (see above) means that I am constantly looking at the rush hour traffic coming from behind me as I walk in the road - and I cannot just cross over and walk on the other side, because for some unknown reason someone felt the need to rip up the paving and then leave it there (additionally, crossing the road at any time of day, let alone rush hour, is a bit of an event). Ok. Words and pcitures ain't going to cut it. I got this far and decided that I am going to make y'all a video using the McMullen Hipshot, taught to me by the ingenious Mr. Lang. Be thankful that my lil' camera does not have the technology to capture smells.

2. Mango Slicing Competitions - What better way to pass a lazy friday night than watching your friends compete to see who can cut a piece of mango to the smallest size? (think Jenga, but not) I already had pretty good mango slicing skills, but through having large gatherings of people in our home I have gained speed and agility when I handle a mango. My mango selecting technique has also vastly improved (it helps that my favourite mango man stocks great mangoes).

I should mention that prior to said competition we had a power outage ( a regular occurrence here). Except that this one happened during dinner. Thankfully, my resourceful flatmate Nicolette (Nic) had a headlamp, which once attached to her head enabled us to see, and eat, our dinner.

A rather alarming event occurred later that night and I wish to document it for you. Biju attacked me. There I was sitting down, reading my book when he grabbed my by the collar. Why would he attack me you ask? Surely there must be a valid reason. I assure you there was not. Had I angered him in some way? No. I was being attacked because Biju was distressed (really distressed) about the ribbing on the neck of the t-shirt he was wearing, and he felt the need to compare the "less like a cheese grater" ribbing around the neck of my US made t-shirt to the fat and cheese grater like ribbing of his other country made t-shirt. I couldn't even tell the difference - and I am still baffled as to why this completely unverified assertion was of such great importance to him.

Dinner by headlamp

Nicolette won.

Nic's face says it all...

3. Scooter Rides - Again a video seems the best way to capture this. But since I will soon produce a video of the side of the road, for now just pretend that I'm somewhere in the sea of traffic...

It is now 5:38 pm on the 4th of July. I've got the day off. I'll try get some river for you guys and put it on later tonight.

Danbury Ladies...

2008-06-25T20:12:00.000-07:00

So this is not really related to South Asia, but it kind of is, because these women have had a profound effect on shaping me for my time here. I was talking to some people the other day about how God has been very faithful and good to me in my travels - and placing these women in my life is one example of that. Bukola was my flatmate while I was in DC and Christine, Sharon, Oduwa and Shayla were our regular hang buddies. We also did small group together - Tim Keller's Fruits of the Spirit series. I appreciated their honesty and vulnerability, their ridiculously awesome sense of humour, their wisdom, and the way that they loved me so well. Love you ladies!

7:30am 15 June

2008-06-15T19:53:00.000-07:00

W: 25 3/4 inches
BTBB: 30 3/4 inches

I realise that this means I have not posted for a month! I cannot believe that it has been that long. Life's been a blast here thus far, time is going way too quickly. I'll get my A into G and give y'all some news in the next few days. Much love.

7:30am May 15

2008-05-15T07:41:00.000-07:00

W: 26 1/8ths, 66.5
BTBB: 30 3/8ths, 77.8

Tourist

2008-05-08T11:50:00.002-07:00

These are a few of my favourite things...

2008-04-26T16:21:00.001-07:00

Have you ever felt like your life has a soundtrack? (FYI, I told LC about my blog title before Friday was through. She copied me, not the other way round) The last few days have been rather tumultuous. Yet my day was AWESOME.

I woke up singing "Be Still My Soul" and totally meaning it. On what could have been a day filled with anxious thoughts and worry, I was totally at peace. After breakfast in the sun at Eastern Market, I cruised over to Georgetown in the Falcone mobile with Tony and Lauren with Johnny Cash going full blast. Country music sounds way better when its being sung along to by a Texan and a Kentucky-an. We hired bikes in Georgetown and had a mish cycle along the water, along the mall past the capitol to the Supreme Court, down via Lerae's place and back past the White House, across the Lincoln bridge, along the trail by the GW Parkway and back to Georgetown. It was one of the best days of my life. Resulting in Summer of '69 bursting from my lungs as we cruised past the White House.

The weather was summery hot and humid, we chased pigeons, the occasional tourist and jumped fire hoses. And the seven of us rode through tree covered canopies with idiotic grins, singing the Sound of Music (and Apple Bottom Jeans - not sure what prompted that one!). Man was it epic! Cycling is my new favourite thing. I cannot remember the last time I was so happy. Absolute bliss.

The afternoon was capped off with a trip to the Hershey's ice-cream store and Baked and Wired, before chilling at Lauren's and dinner at Busboys and Poets.

The Rice Belly Experiment

2008-04-20T09:49:00.000-07:00

Every time one of my girlfriends goes to South Asia, she comes back with a rice belly. It doesn't matter what size she was to start off with (resemblance to a toothpick included) or how much exercise she did while there (trekking to villages everyday and so walking 6 hours over rough terrain) - there seems to be something about South Asia that causes a serious case of belly roundness. What I have always wanted to know is whether this is related to their unused-ness of eating rice or their ethnicity. And so I propose an experiment (n.b. a very unscientifically sound one). I already eat rice 4+ times a week and am of South Asian descent - will I too develop a rice belly? At 7:30am on the 15th of each month I will measure my waist, and one inch below my belly button and report on my findings.

I was going to take photos to track my progress but decided that showing everyone my expanding waistline may be unpleasant for some. Experiment begins May 15 2008. I'll keep you posted!

The Art of Travel

2008-04-20T09:31:00.000-07:00

lookout weekend, coz here I come...

2008-03-02T12:11:00.000-08:00

Saturdays start off with brunch in Eastern Market. The fairtrade coffee at Murky is good (except that last week it got seized by the government, possibly for tax evasion though I don't want to spread rumours, but anyway it is not currently in operation...) and then there's standing in line with friends for deliciousness. Thus far I've tried the french toast, pancakes, egg plate and spinach omelette all of which have been great (and cheap too :-)).

Afterwards a bit of meandering through the stalls before heading over to the best second hand bookshop in the world. It is awesome. Pretty sure that I could live here (I would definitely fit on top of one of the shelves, though I might need to install a railing so I don't fall off in the night). You know how lots of second hand bookstores don't have good books coz no one throws out good stuff, well this one has great books! I don't know how they do it but they do. They also have these funny as t-shirts for sale - www.tshirtinsurgency.com.

Then its off for a wander through the city - to the galleries, museums or the monuments. This past week I went with Laura and her mate Nic (who has been to NZ - how cool is he?) to check out the Capitol and then to the botanical gardens. Ran a few errands, then home to relax for a couple of hours. They also involve chillaxing in a coffee shop, chatting with friends or devouring a book.

Saturday evenings is small group at home and then we hang out (or go out). Last weekend I gotta bust a move coz we went to two "birthday" parties - man can people dance here. Hoping to learn a thing or two before heading home...

Sunday mornings is normally church at Capitol Hill Baptist - I get to walk past the Supreme Court and the Capitol every morning - so I inadvertently muse about the meaning of justice while I walk the last five blocks. Really solid teaching, and they have an interns/college students lunch twice a month where I've got to meet some cool as people.

Then its off to see more museums, a random film, or just a walk if its nice out and then home to chill (though there's more of those concerts at the aboretum that I might check out too...). I haven't actually written about the amazing people I get to work with yet - stay tuned for the next episode "Interns".

dc

2008-02-18T12:58:00.000-08:00

I love this city. Had my first taste with Toby in the first week of january. We came down for the weekend from NY. We did a mish walk from our hotel, passed the White House and then around the Mall, stopping at the monuments and memorials along the way. I don't think I could've had a better person to do it with. The planning of the mall/capitol area is insane. The architecture is stunning. And the weather on that day was impeccable.

Evangeline joined us part way through our walk, and Celia came down later that afternoon. We just chilled out that evening, and the next morning went and saw Tubs off, back to NZ. Thanks dude, dc was great. I ended up staying an extra day with Celia, and we pretty much did more walking around - it got a bit rainy, but the thrill of being here was still there. Hard to fathom that this was going to be home for the next four months.

I moved down the next weekend. Found the local fair trade (which is not local at all) store - but I think I may love it more than trade aid, coz they give you free coffee and have a book station so you can just chill out and read there. I'm staying with Bukola. She's awesome - just cracks me up all the time, intelligent, and she's so generous with her stuff.

Weekends have been spent checking out the (mainly free) museums: Holocaust (harrowing and informative), Air and Space Museum (the Wright brothers were NOT the first to fly thank you), Museum of American Art and National Portrait Gallery (not so big on it generally, but seeing Colbert was wicked), Hirsshorn (modern sculpture? smeh), Museum of African Art (fascinating), National Art Gallery and so on. Also got to hang out with the girls (and sometimes guys) from work. We went to Georgetown one weekend - it looks kind of main streety, and is pretty much just for shopping. There's this one called the Paper Store. Three stories of cards, paper and ribbon. I was SO in my element. It took great self control not to indulge myself.

We've also started a tradition on Saturday mornings of brunch in Eastern Market. It's pretty much like it sounds - a market in eastern DC with fresh produce, gourmet stuff, artists and this crazy cafe. And then there is the best bookshop ever. It's a second hand place, just floor to ceiling packed with books - and good books, not the kind that people tend to get rid of. Scored some great bargains. Actually, eastern market deserves its own post. I'm gonna take pictures next week and put them up coz it's too hard to explain.

One of the highlights for me thus far was seeing the Juilliard String Quartet. It was in the arboretum of the National Art Museum. You have to imagine this cavernous rectangular room with columns, filled with bamboo and foliage in the four corners and a fountain in the centre. Perfect acoustics. And then some of the best musicians in the world playing Verdi and Beethoven. It was superb.

That's probably enough for now - though I do promise to write more now that I've settled in. Laters.

new york, new york

2008-02-10T12:24:00.000-08:00

New York was awesome. Had a crazy combination of friends and family all there at the same time, which meant there was never a shortage of people to do stuff with. I stayed with Nagulan and Dhushy, and then had an NZ crew of about 12 people that I knew through friends or from Uni. Spent the first few days hanging out with them. Saw the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty, went ice skating, celebrated New Years, went to the Met, checked out Chinatown and Times Square, and a whole bunch of other stuff.

Brooklyn Bridge

NZ represent (at the Met)

I can't say that I enjoyed NY for the attractions. It was definitely the company, and discovering the parts of the city that residents see everyday that made it for me. I especially loved being able to spend a few hours with Stephen, to catch up on the past few months since he's been away (on exchange in Toronto) and to talk about the future (given that we're both passionate about working overseas, I have no idea when I will get to see him again). One of my favourite parts that first week was going to Jules, a little bar/restaurant on the lower east side. The jazz trio that played were brilliant, so tight. And the bassist used to play with Dizzie Gillespie (how cool is that?). I also loved Soho - the boutique stores and galleries, little streets, and chilled out atmosphere (compared to the rest of the city) - Ruk, my second cousin, took me round and then treated me to lunch. Was cool to do it with a local, and get to spend some time with him. In the middle weekend I went down to DC (see next post), and when I got back to Nagulan and Dhushy's, Chrishan (another cousin, who I hadn't seen in 17 years) was over for the day. We spent a bit of time together over the next week. On the Monday, me, Nagulan and Dhushy went to Ikea, which is an experience in itself. Took us four hours to walk through - there was just so much to look at.

The IKEA experience

That last week, I also went over to the Conroys (Rush, Dan and baby Nevin). Nevin is sooooo cute. I then spent a couple of days chilling out, doing some thrift shopping for work (some great bargains) and then walking round lower Manhattan. I love walking. Spent maybe six hours each day just pottering around. I'm really taken by the area around Greenwich/Chelsea. These cobbled streets, gourmet-ish delis and eateries, amazing second hand book stores (seriously, buying books is my vice - i already had to send home 2 with Toby, leave some behind in LA, Toronto and NJ, collected another four since getting to DC and the other day discovered the best bookshop in the world where I would pretty much read everything there (I then found a guy who is willing to do book swaps with me so I don't have to buy the books, and hook me up with a library membership in Virginia :-))).

If I were ever to live in NY the lower east and west side are where I'm at. I then moved down to DC - but two weeks in, I went back up to NY coz my friend from law school was passing through. Lisa and I had so much fun. I went to MoMA with her - and normally, I don't think I would be that enthusiastic about modern art - but she is REALLY into art, and so I was excited because she was so excited. We had dinner with her friend Judy in chinatown, and then splashed out for the 10-midnight session at Rockefeller centre ice rink. I don't think I have laughed so hard in a long time - I got the hiccups and sore abs. Was so great to see her. And that sums up NY for me. Super brilliant.

everywhere and always

2008-01-10T11:19:00.000-08:00

You hear O Lord, the desires of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more

Psalm 10:17-18

New Jersey

2008-01-08T13:31:00.001-08:00

My New Jersey family are the Richards i.e. Dad's Dad's side of the family. I stayed with Mahesan and Selvaranee Aunty. Its been pretty rad that I can just walk into people's homes and say "Hi, I'm your second cousin from New Zealand - nice to meet you" and then stay with them (note this only works if they are actually your second cousins, not just random people). We'd never met before, but they treated me like one of their own. I spent Christmas at their place - every year since they moved here they throw a massive Christmas Eve bash and invite all the extended family and friends (its seriously massive, like over 100 people). It means that the few days leading up to Christmas and after there's maybe 30 people all crashing at their place. The family all go to midnight mass and then back home for a bit more partying. Good times.

Me on Christmas Eve EST (so Christmas in NZT)

I just spent the rest of the week chilling out, meeting new people and a bit of time in the surrounding area. I did come into NY a couple of times - saw Times Square for the first time, and got crushed in between the Christmas shoppers at Macy's - but nothing too exciting since I didn't really know my way around.

It's weird that you can get so attached to people after such a small amount of time. I've already been back to visit once and hung out more with my cousins - and two weeks ago I didn't even know them. And now I know Sel Aunta's side of the family too - and they treat me like their family (I haven't figured out if they're related to me other than through marriage - chances are that they are - does anyone know?) There wasn't the need to move on to NY, but being based out of the city is way more convenient so I did, leaving the weekend before the new year.

Oo, and I almost forgot to mention that I realised that the love of animals, but especially dogs must be in the Richard's genes. They have two golden labs, that they treat just like we treat our dogs at home. Lucas is crazy like Sasha and Dexter is somewhat more mature like Chloe. Lucas is just a puppy still. So cute and inquisitive. And boisterous. I miss my girls.

Lucas

Dexter

Toronto

2008-01-08T12:32:00.000-08:00

Ok, I know I haven't written in ages. I'm not a big fan of computer screens. So I left this on Decmber 15 ...

and arrived into this - the worst blizzard that Toronto has had in ages.

Pretty much every flight except for mine was cancelled. Hannah Mc braved the weather and came to the airport. I stayed in her residence for the week, and had such a blast. My favourite thing about Toronto was the people. Hannah lent me her friends for the week, and we just kind of did life together. It was the last week for heaps of the students on exchange so there was heaps of hanging out and late nights, with the occasional spell of sleep. I managed a quick catch up with Toby, and I also saw lots of the family: Harin Mama and Shiranee Aunty and Jehan, Hiran and Dharshika; Raju Mama/Uncle Frank (who by the way is THE man - check out http://www.lankalibrary.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=1817) and Chandra Aunty. She had all these photos of my family that I hadn't seen before:

My Ammamma is on the far right

Ratnesar clan - my Appamma is to the left

My second favourite bit about Toronto was the snow. Saying that it was soooooooooooooooooo cool, does not describe just how cool it was.

Then the last day I was there me and Becky saw Hannah off at the airport. When we got back, me, Becky and Mike started talking and when I looked at the clock it was 5am and I had to leave at 7, so we just stayed up. There is a point to this story... at 6:30 I decided that I better go have a shower and finish my packing etc. and as I was standing outside waiting for the lift, this girl came with all her bags. We got talking and it turned out that she (her name is Katherine) was catching the same train as me down to NY - we ended up sharing a cab and the 13 hour journey together. I'm telling you coz I thought it was crazily random that that happened. Something else that is crazy - border security. Just across the border they stop the train, lock all the toilets and you can't leave your seats. Then these armed officers board and individually question each person. The whole process takes a couple of hours (or in our case 3), and if you don't answer satisfactorily then they make you leave the train with all your stuff. If you're still waiting to be questioned, even if everything is legit, you start feeling pretty intimidated after you see all these people being marched off the train. And if you need to use the bathroom, too bad. It's pretty terrible (though Stephen has even worse stories). Makes you feel real welcome.

At least I had family to meet me in NY, and they really were welcoming - but more about that to come :-)

The Anketells

2007-12-14T12:50:00.001-08:00

My family over here are super cool. For most of my time in California, I've stayed with the Anketells in Pasadena, a little bit out of LA. They have made me feel like one of the family - so much so that I got over my fears and played the piano while they were around! It has been choice getting to know them all. There's Suren Mama (my mum's first cousin) and Christine Aunty. The have three sons. Chrishan lives in NY, so hopefully I get to see him when I'm there. Romesh (24) has his own place, coming home for the weekends, and Jehan (14) lives at home. They have incredible self control - not laughing at me (much) while I relive my childhood watching Sesame Street, Full House and Fresh Prince reruns (I never made it to Chucky Cheese). They've been really generous with their time - taking me around to see stuff and get things done. And they have great taste in politics and music :-) It has been awesome. I've loved it and I'm sorry to have to leave.

The foothills and palm trees - the staple view in Pasadena

Me

But I'm off to Canada tomorrow morning. It's going to be freezing. Guess what though? I get to see Hannah, Stephen and Toby! Stoked!

San Fransisco

2007-12-14T12:03:00.000-08:00

I went up to stay in San Francisco with Rajan Mama and Queelan Aunty for two days. Their house is really cool - the photo above is the view from their place. Kulen Mama and Suj Aunty were there too, and the five of us had a great time. I hadn't seen Kulen Mama since I was five, and I don't remember meeting Suj Aunty - Kulen Mama reminds me a lot of CP Mama in his mannersims, and Suj Aunty is really nice. And, as I was told by Dad before I left NZ, Rajan Mama and Queelan Aunty are truly great hosts.

We spent Monday looking at all the landmarks - the Golden Gate Bridge, Bay Bridge, World's Crookedest Street, Alcatraz etc. I couldn't find the Full House set though ;-p The one thing that I was super keen on was trying clam chowder in a sourdough bowl. It lived up to my expectations.

(for you Karunai Mama)

I fear that I am going to run out of adjectives writing this blog - please excuse the repetition but everything has been so cool thus far. Note to Bex and Kat - full cream milk here is great, only the trim versions are gross (in my opinion anyway).

San Diego

2007-12-14T11:44:00.001-08:00

Me, Suren Mama and Christine Aunty went down to San Diego for the day to see the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Natural History Museum. It was amazing - mainly for the fact that you are seeing them in real life. The exhibition starts with this beautiful photography exhibit of the Middle East. Just made me want to hard out go there. I can't really do it justice in words. Then there was lots of stuff about how the scrolls were discovered and put together (Mallory, Katie and Hannah - I reckon you would have loved it!) The word scrolls is a bit of a misnomer, since what they actually found was lots of little pieces which they then meticulously stuck together - and even some of the finished products have gaps. It finished off with a comparison of the old texts to translations of the Old Testament through the ages - pretty cool to see how accurate they were - and then modern bibles - there's this insanely cool illustrated one, with this graphic art, that's being made in England at the moment. Then there was this film which we thought was going to be interesting, but was almost entirely about the Qumran water system. Maybe interesting if you're an engineer :-)

We spent the late afternoon and evening down by the waterfront and then went over the bridge. I still haven't got used to having a camera with me, so forget to capture things (not that you could take photos in the Museum). I did take one of this statue though -we couldn't figure out what it was other than a dude getting his pose on and smelling his armpit.

Oh, and this one which was my attempt at San Diego at night but coz we were bumping around in a moving car it came out like lots of coloured sparklers...

LA

2007-12-14T10:47:00.001-08:00

I've done heaps of stuff while I've been here. I met all the family that lives in the area - Inpam Aunty and Karunian Mama, Ahilan, Dami Aunty and Bennet Mama, David and Renu. And of course, Suren Mama, Christine Aunty, Romesh and Jehan.

The first weekend I was here, we watched college football and chilled out - Romesh and Jehan should win a prize for their patience in answering all my incessant questions (their team lost resulting in a period of great mourning). On the Sunday night there was a Sri Lankan Christmas Carol Services - except that all bar one were actually in English so I could follow what was going on. It concluded with a hymn for Sri Lanka which was real cool. And there was this guy who's trying to make it as a musician and he did a rap. He was good. His rapper name is Jeevo - keep an eye out for him :-)

On the Wednesday morning I went with Romesh to an AIDS/HIV summit (he had to go for work and I tagged along). It was choice to hear about the progress that they are making without the need for patented (or generic) drugs and apart from the major pharmas. The summit was aimed at addressing AIDS in LA, but the stuff they were talking about could be equally applicable in the developing world. I got lost when they started explaining how the treatment actually works (gene replacement, proteins etc are not my thing) - and we didn't stay for the whole thing. But so so cool. Had dinner at Inpam Aunty's that night. Delicious - string hoppers, chicken curry, and mutton kotthu roti. Mmmnn. It inspired me and Christine Aunty to make a cheats version of kotthu roti the next night at home using store bought tortillas - it actually tasted pretty good.

On the Thursday, I caught a ride with Christine Aunty, and then caught the metro to downtown LA. I got a day pass and spent it walking and metro-ing to get around downtown. I started off in Olvera Street, which has these awesome Mexican markets. It was too early in the morning to try any of the food places though. My favourite was the Walt Disney Concert Hall - it has amazing architecture, and the auditorium is stunning! I wish I had had enough time to see a concert there. There was also this Cathedral that had these beautiful murals on the walls of people from throughout history facing a sculpture of Jesus hanging on a cross in the middle. It was quite moving, and it felt intrusive to take photos - I tried a few from
a distance but it came out quite dark.

Walt Disney Concert Hall

Cathedral
A nice reminder

On Saturday, Romesh took me to Venice beach. There weren't any body builders out. Shame. It has this laxed out atmosphere and you can meet some choice people. Romesh was way more into bargaining with stall owners than me (I think his time in India and Sri Lanka helped), which is probably why he managed to buy some art for his place while I bought nothing thinking that things were too expensive. There's some pretty cool stuff there though - we managed to spend a few hours there. Then we went to Hollywood. We were starving and by the time we had found something to eat it was pretty chilly outside - the lights were pretty, but I can't say I found being in Hollywood that exciting. I did manage to find one star that was worthy. And especially for you Nosh, Rodeo. I was shaking from the cold, and I kept having to run out into the middle of the road to try take a photo when no cars were coming with Romesh serving as lookout out - so it took a few tries to get something that resembled the sign.

Venice Beach

Denny Crane

Rodeo

I spent Wednesday afternoon with Dami Aunty and Bennet Mama - they made me laugh a lot, and on Thursday evening Ahilan came for dinner. I enjoyed hearing about the cases he's working on at the moment (he works for the ACLU) and learning a bit more about the legal aid/public defender service over here.

Other than that, my time in LA has just been relaxing at home, and running errands. It's been pretty cool. And hanging with the Anketells - but more about that later.

Psalm 139

2007-12-13T09:53:00.000-08:00

... You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me ...
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast...
Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

Throughout this year, whilst making my plans this psalm kept popping up over and over again. It continues to comfort me even now, and it seemed fitting to start with it (well some of it at least).