See you soon!

See you all soon! Another 26 hours of travel incoming. :)

Change and perspective.

This trip has most-certainly made it's theme apparent: change. The trip began without music, as I left my beloved iPod nestled in the dock of my Volvo. If you know me, you know this to be a strange turn of events. Three weeks in a non-western country without music. Anyway, I'm pleased to announce that this has not been a problem for me at all.

Next, I begin to open myself to culinary avenues that ave since been closed by me for some time. Mutton rocks. Cumin rocks. Can I get a witness?

That leads to change number three, which was extremely unpleasant. Ahem. I did have to see a doctor, and I was quite sick and dehydrated. We don't know what it was, but it is basically gone now. That's all I'm going to say about that little gem. ;)

In the middle of the above, I moved hotels because my co-worker wanted something quieter. See the seascape I posted on Flickr? Yeah. You are absolutely encouraged and welcome to be jealous. It's in the country, so it is farther away from work, the water pressure is unforgivable (I actually bellowed at the shower head this morning...bellowed), and the mosquitoes are brutal, but it is absolutely worth every little inconvenience.

Then, a biggie hits: the day of implementation, my hard drive crashes on my company's laptop. Boo. Managed to work around that little miracle the universe saw fit with which to bless me. I owned that little victory, and am still loving life.

My tennis shoes are coming apart. I don't know if it is the heat or the humidity, but they gave up the ghost on the day of implementation. I'm going to be the proud owner of brand-spankin'-new tennies from India.

There is this real sense of decay or ablation occurring in my life right now, as you can see. A reduction to baseness, and a growth out of the decay. Out with the old, and in with the new. I don't know what the future holds, but I can't wait to see what it looks like. I'm sure it's going to be amazing.

PS: a small sampling of photos posted on Flickr. The resolution is low...still figuring that out. More soon.

My best to you all.

Inconvenient...

Well, here comes the traveller's diarrhea. Friday morning has been an interesting one for me. The immodium is in full effect. ;) There is a spray hose that is connected to every toilet here. That's all I'm going to say about that.

Tamil New Year, and actual Indian food.

We worked only a half day on Thursday (IST) due to the Tamil new year. Our hosts, Subbu, KK, and Sajan took us to Nala for some real southern Tamil food. Pepper Mutton was amazing. It was goat in a brown gravy spiced with aromatics and black pepper. I also ate potato Masala, and some sweets which I cannot remember the name. We ate all our food with Aappam, which is a very thin rice flour bowl that is oil fried. WE break it up, and scoop the food with our hands. It was quite good.

You don't know what you've got, 'til it's gone.

I left my anti-depressants in Dallas. I researched the medicine, and it is indeed available in India. I am about to speak with a doctor to write me a prescription for it.

I also forgot my iPod. That's right kiddos - no music for Todd. If you know me, you would think that is worse than not having the anti-depressants. However, I am enjoying the silence or change of pace. It is causing me to really immerse myself in the culture. No headphones for me.

I also forgot a few other things, but nothing I cannot live without.

Out and about...Ramble alert.

Went tripping today. It is a very auspicious day here in Tamil Nadu. Today are regional elections. They are held only once every five years for this state, and it is a state holiday today and tomorrow. The people are very unhappy with the current government. Inflation is very high, and corruption is rampant, according to the locals I have spoken with. Alcohol has been banned for three days, and most businesses a closed. The chance of post-election violence is a reality. We have been told by the hotel management to remain close to the hotel, and only venture into the capital.

With all of that said, we went into the city to shop, but the major mall was closed. I did, however get some good pictures, and will be uploading them to my flickr soon.

We returned to the hotel, and I had some amazing Thai food for lunch. It is the Thai new year today, and we were given free drinks by the restaurant in celebration of the occasion. They were apologetic that they could not provide us with alcohol, but they made us a nice guava and watermelon juice drink. It was quite refreshing. I had a meal of chicken and tarragon pillow pastries (as beautiful to look at as eat), and a dish of minced chicken, rice noodles, and basil. It was spicy (no red pepper, hah) and delicious. I finished it off with chocolat mint ice cream, and black coffee. This was indeed the best meal I have eaten while here.

I am consistently impressed by the hospitality the Tamil show us on a daily basis. Even while paying tourist prices, it is quite affordable. Each person makes intent eye-contact, and is very polite, and willing to hold a conversation, even if it is only a broken one. There is a certain power of spirit that has me loving this place. Amongst the chaos of ever-present squalor, construction, opulent walled complexes, and shanty towns, these people display some sort of strange tenacity of spirit. They are nonplussed by their troubles, and happy to be alive. I am quickly learning to love the Tamil.

Midnight bull: What's in a name, and other ramblings.

It was probably the lack of sleep, but the name for this blog seems fitting. Picture this: It is 0000, and the humidity comes down on me some sort of sweaty avalanche. I locate my driver. He is fittingly named Shiva, after the Hindu god of destruction. After a dusty walk, we arrive at the car, and head off toward our hotel. It is inky black except for the torn and frantic beams of light cast by the myriad vehicles on the road. Did I mention that we are tailgating a bus, and driving on the wrong side of the street? Barricades are set up in the middle of the road, blocking entire swaths of motorway. About ten feet in front of us, a fawn-colored Bramha bull lumbers slowly toward our speeding vehicle when I am captured by this thought: My driver isn't going to hit it - that bull is about as safe on this road as it is anywhere in this country. On some level, I identified with the midnight bull. While it's not my natural habitat, I am about as safe here as I am anywhere. In a way, I find myself here because I made a long string of decisions to end up in the middle of the motorway. I am simultaneously entertained, terrified, and stunned by an environment so foreign to me. I am the Midnight Bull.