Indian weekend.
Sorry I haven't updated this weekend... the internet in my room has been down.

Saturday K. and I went to the recognition event for the outsource partner. We got there expecting to hear a couple of speeches, hand out some awards, and leave. As it turns out, they had us on the agenda to speak!!! After one of the super high-up guys in my company and their CEO. Yeah. I put together something short and "inspirational." We ended up being there for quite a while, because they kept putting on dance music between each speech... and once Indians start dancing, it's hard to get them to stop! I've never seen a culture with more energy when it comes to dancing.

After the rec event, we went shopping with a couple of the outsourcers. They took us to a row of government-run state handicraft emporiums. I spent too much money and bought too much jewellery, but it was fun. I got some garnet chandelier earrings, a garnet and moonstone pendant, and gemstone rings. I also got a few other things as gifts.

Today, we got up bright and early and went to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. It took about four hours to get there... but we did stop along the way at a Rajasthani hotel and restaurant for refreshments. They had a big gift shop there, and we picked up some more souvenirs. I got mostly gifts and postcards. Outside, there was a snake charmer with a cobra and a different snake. I got to sit down next to him and wear the non-cobra snake. Then the snake charmer put the cobra in my lap! The cobra was in the basket, but still! I was terrified... even though I figured that he was probably defanged.

Once we hit the road again, traffic stopped for a bit. There was a median full of beggars, monkey handlers, and guys with dancing bears. It was pretty sad. I felt sorry for the bears. Along the road, we also saw many camels, donkeys, monkeys, and even an elephant! Also, I didn't know that India had parrots, but I saw a bunch of green ones.

We picked up a guide in Agra and headed for the Taj. It was crowded since it was Sunday. The Taj was beautiful. It was sad that it had been pillaged over the years, and all of the precious gemstone inlays were gone. There were still lots of semiprecious gemstone inlays. They keep it pretty clean and well-manicured for a monument in India. They have the basement (where the tombs are) closed off with a grate. However, a whole bunch of people crouched down to try to get under it. How disrespectful.

We spent a little time in Agra, and we saw how they do the marble inlay. Many of the workers who built the Taj Mahal have descendants in Agra today, and the descendants still do the same method of inlay. I bought some more gifts. I will have Christmas covered soon!

I'm tired and filthy, so I think I will wash up and get some sleep. I'm waking up at 6:30 to watch the Oscars.

Greetings from Delhi
After a long, arduous plane trip, K. and I finally made it to New Delhi on Thursday morning. I had heard terrible things about the airport, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was not too nasty at all, unlike Mumbai, that pit of hell. We quickly got our luggage, and luckily the driver was waiting for us.

The hotel itself is pretty nice, but the rooms leave a little to be desired. It's as if they remodeled all of the world's Le Meridien hotels and put the worn out furniture in here. My room has two twin beds pushed together. Every time I get in bed, they roll apart. My shower's a little messed up too. We have big upholstered chairs for desk chairs, and today K. fell through hers when she sat down. Nice. The internet is very slow. But what can I expect... it's the third world! The French restaurant in the hotel, which I was eagerly anticipating, is closed for renovations. But we went to the rooftop restaurant instead, and it was yummy.

Today we went to visit the outsource partner we have here. The people were very nice and treated us to a yummy Indian meal. The restaurant was showing the Zee Cine Awards, and we got to see such Bollywood stars as Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, and Shah Rukh Khan performing or speaking. The whole thing was pretty cheesy, but they did have some nice singing and a fundraising drive. It was interesting to see this awards show right before the Oscars (which I will watch at 6:30am on Monday). Very different shows!

Tomorrow, the outsource center is having a celebration, and we're invited. Afterwards, we're going shopping and sightseeing. Sunday is a trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. So I'm going to be a very busy girl this weekend.

Hello and goodbye, almost!
Well, I'm back from a quick trip to Texarkana for my uncle's funeral. Victor was able to change his schoolwork schedule to go with me. It was great seeing some of my family, but I wish it had been under better circumstances.

Today I've got the day off from work, and it's not so that I can go on vacation, sleep, or go shopping. No, it's so that I can pack for India. I'm leaving tomorrow. I will have to do a little shopping, but it's just for stuff for the trip. Right now I'm doing loads and loads of laundry.

Since you may be wondering, here's what my trip to India will entail:
February 26, arrive in Delhi to visit outsourced call center and get to see the Taj Mahal!
March 3, fly to Hyderabad to visit my company's call center, where I will conduct lots of training.
April 9, fly home.

I'm going to try to be a good girl and update everyday or thereabouts. I was inspired by my friend's travelogue, so I'm going to write more about being in India, and not just about me or my job. How does that grab you?

There's something in the water.
My uncle Kenneth died today.

It was totally unexpected. He wasn't young, but we all thought he was in good health. I guess not, since he collapsed and died suddenly. I'm pretty sad, because he was very supportive and kind to me when I was growing up. He always made an extra effort to see my concerts or plays, and he even made my college graduation. I'm going to try my best to make it to the funeral in Texarkana on Saturday, but I'm not sure if I can because of my upcoming trip and whatnot. This will make funeral #2 for me this week, since I went to my coworker K.'s dad's funeral yesterday.

So not only my unle and K.'s dad, but also Chris's mom have all passed away in the last week. I feel awful for them... I have never lost a parent, so I can only imagine how it must feel. My thoughts are with them, and also with my uncle's kids and grandkids... it hasn't been that long since my aunt died, and my cousin died just before her, so that family has been hard hit these last few years.

Ugh.
Things are not so swell in Mandyland. Troubles with the folks back home, India trips postponed... it's enough to make a girl run and hide.

I'm leaving for India next Tuesday instead of tomorrow. I guess that's a good thing, since I wasn't really prepared for the trip. It's a bad thing because of the reason it was postponed... the girl that I'm going with lost her father last Friday.

As far as troubles brewing back home... I'm having to rethink the plans to move to Dallas so that I don't get disinherited or hexed or whatever. I guess I had forgotten what it feels like to be depressed, but I sure know now. I couldn't sleep till about three last night, and I feel like crawling under my desk right now. Yuck.

This Just In!
Readers, turn your browsers to the Village Voice Pazz & Jop Critic's Poll.

This list is pretty definitive, even if my number one from 2003 only clocks in at #70.

You can thank Mark for the link.

Hey you guys.
My internet is being really wonky at home, so I'm sorry I haven't been updating. Work has been really crazy, so I'm usually a little busy during my lunches. Life goes on as usual... I'm gearing up for my trip to India (next week!!), Victor and I are deciding where to live based on our apartment-finding hunt over the weekend, and I'm beating the crap out of Super Mario Sunshine.

The good news is that I'm taking a laptop that will hopefully not crap out on me during my stay. I say hopefully because the one I had last time bit the dust the first week I was there. So keep your fingers crossed that I'll be able to update a bunch while I'm overseas.

Strength in numbers, we can get it right.
I usually don't talk about sports, but that was a great Super Bowl. And Victor's team won! He's a big Patriots fan, and he was so nervous throughout the whole game. Nice breast, Janet. By the way, did anyone else notice that the choreography during "Rhythm Nation" was the exact same choreography that was in the original video?

Also, Kris found a nifty little website that shows where you've traveled. Here's mine:

Worldwide:



And stateside:



I'm missing huge chunks of the world, not to mention big chunks of the states. I'm hoping to rectify that in the near future.