New computer!!!
For the first time since the year 2000, I have a new computer. I configured it myself, so I got exactly what I wanted! Flat panel monitor, DVD burner, the whole nine yards. I'm still on sucky dialup, but it's already much, much faster online. I haven't plugged in the surround-sound speakers yet, or transferred my data from the old computer, but I'm already loving it. I can't wait to put it through its paces.

In other news, Victor, Aaron, Debbie, and I are going to Dallas this weekend. Last autumn, Victor and I bid on a weekend at Bradford Home Suites at a silent auction. There are several locations in Dallas, so we're using it this weekend. We're actually staying at their boutique hotel, The Bradford. On Saturday we're going to Six Flags Over Texas and then to see the Texas Rangers play the Boston Red Sox. Anyone who's been around here long will know that Victor and I will be rooting for the Sox.

Good eats.
So, last night V and I went out to dinner for our anniversary. I stopped by the Republic to grab a last-minute outfit and wore my new Prada shoes. Prada shoes! Victor was all dressed up as well (with his Prada shoes too). We ate at the Thistle Cafe in downtown Austin. It was virtually empty. The food was really good. I started with the Blueberry Bosc Salad, which was yummy. I wanted the Applewood Smoked Pork Tenderloin, but they were out of that, so I got Surf 'N Turf instead (beef tenderloin with tiger prawns). Victor started with the Southwest Smoked Duck Quesadilla and then had the Angus Ribeye for his entree. We split a bottle of wine after we finished our cocktails. We finished the night off with their Classic Crème Brulee.

When we got home, I ordered a new computer from my work. It's for me (my old computer is just that... old). It has already been built and shipped... hooray new computer! Hooray DVD burner! Hooray flat panel monitor! Hooray!

Two years later...
Happy two year anniversary to me and Victor! Hooray!

urrrgh...
allergies. are. killing. me.

It's a small, small world
Tonight, Victor and I met up with our friend Dylan to go to Mother Egan's for their weekly pub quiz. One of Dylan's friends, Molly, met us there too. I kept thinking I had met her before, and I figured it was probably at Dylan's birthday party. Anyway, we named our team The Last of the Famous International Playboys and started the trivia. We are all pretty sharp people, so we did pretty well.

About halfway through the quiz, Molly asked me if we had met before. She said she felt as if we already knew each other. She said she recognized my name, and she remembered I was from Arkansas. I said we probably met at Dylan's birthday. She said that wasn't it. She asked if I had ever been to Colorado, where she was from. I said no. Finally something clicked, and I said, "Did I meet you in Ireland?" I had spent a year there in 97-98 doing a study abroad at Trinity College. She said maybe. It all made sense to me! I said, "Are you Keeley's friend?" And she was. My overenthusiastic response nearly knocked over a passerby.

Keeley was my downstairs roommate there (and we were later roommates when we went back for the summer after college... and she's still living there now). She was originally from Colorado too. Molly had visited for a few days on her way to a semester abroad at Spain. She said she was there during a play we were doing, which could have only been my proper directorial debut with The Insanity of Mary Girard. It's so weird that we met each other in 1998, in another country, and we remembered each other.

We didn't win the pub quiz, but we did pretty well. Apparently, tigers have killed over a million Asian people over the last four centuries. Christopher Columbus was the first person to bring a firearm to North America. And Jimmy Buffet sold more albums in the 90's than Elvis or Sinatra. Who knew? We did manage to get the magic number as our score, so we won a $20 gift certificate to use for next week's beer.

When I got home, I looked at my photo album from Ireland. There was Molly, smack dab in the pictures from my 21st birthday party. It's a small world.

I'm a bad girl!
Sorry it's been so long. There really hasn't been much of note to post about. I've been back at work since Wednesday. Yippie. I'm still a little sick, though I think it's mostly allergies now.

We did go see Kill Bill: Vol 2 on Friday, which I liked a lot. It's such a shame that Miramax hacked it into two different movies. I think it would have flowed much better as one.

In other news, Morrissey has a new website which is devoted to his new album. I'm so freaking excited I can hardly stand it. He also has a separate UK website if you happen to reside across the pond.

Would you erase me?
Well, luckily my car still works! And it wasn't stolen. I took it to H.E.B today to stock up my kitchen.

Why is it impossible to find a six-pack of soda in the grocery store anymore? Everything is twelve-packs now. I guess that just says something about America's super-size way of life. I did like the mini soda cans they had there. If you haven't seen them, they're a little over half the size of regular cans. I guess that's good if you want the taste of the soda but don't want to drink the entire thing. Or maybe it's kid-size... get those teeth rotting early!

I didn't go into work today because I'm still recovering and unpacking from my trip. Also, I'm still coughing. Yuck. I did go see Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind yesterday, which was amazing. I don't really have anything to say about it that hasn't been said before, but I loved it. I think we're doing Kill Bill: Vol. 2 on Friday.

India pictures!

So, you wanted to see some pictures? Well, here you go! By the way, this picture is me in the incredibly expensive saree I bought last weekend. Sorry I've got my head held too high like a dork.

I'm home.
I finally made it home last night, after missing a flight (thanks, Zurich airport) and circling the Austin airport for 40 minutes (thanks, inclement weather). I was only about two hours late. I went to eat with Victor and Mark, and then we went to Nisha's birthday party. I left my purse there, so I couldn't go home last night. I stayed at Victor's. We stayed in all day today, because it is rainy and 50 degrees. I slept a lot during the afternoon, and I'm still so tired. I'm going to go to bed in a few minutes.

No work tomorrow, so hopefully I'll feel like writing more. I'm still kinda sick. But I'm so glad to be home.

It's the final countdown
Thanks to all of the well-wishers leaving comments and emails. I'm still alive.

I had to go into work last night, even though I felt like ass, because they wanted to give us a farewell present. K and I both got Indian wall hangings (or are they carpets?). I wore my new super-expensive saree, and everyone said I looked beautiful (they are free with the compliments here, though they are also free with the "have you gotten fatter?" comments too). Some even said I looked like a bride, with the saree and the mehendi on my hands.

Today, I was still icky when I woke up. My fever was at 101.7. I took some medicine and feel much better now. In fact, right now I think I'm at 98.6. I've been trying to do some packing today. I think I'm in trouble with the suitcases, since I've bought so much. K has a box that she's packing, and I think I will be able to send some stuff in it.

Pamper Mandy Week is pretty much shot, although I did get to lie in bed a lot. I have three more things to buy, and I think I'll be able to do it tomorrow. We have our rooms until 5pm tomorrow, and then we fly out. I'll be back in Austin Saturday afternoon.

Fever to Tell
When I woke up this morning, my fever was 101.3.

I took some Advil and some antibiotics. The health center back home sends us with some antibiotics each time, which are meant to treat the "Hyderabad Hustle" (or Delhi belly, whichever you prefer), but I'm going to see if they'll work with this nasty thing I've got. I had something similar on one of my other trips, only not as yucky, and the antibiotics seemed to help. At least my fever's down to 99.4 now.

I am so sick of watching TV. At least room service is keeping the juice coming.

The best laid plans...
Well, so much for Pamper Mandy Week, unless you call lying in bed with congestion, sore throat, and a fever pampering.

Yuck.

Reason to celebrate!
As you may know, it's now my last week in India. I fly out Friday. I've shopped, I've seen, I've trained a bunch of call center reps. It is now time to relax. I have deemed this week Pamper Mandy Week!

I guess it started on Saturday night. I was bored, and my hands were still stinky from the mehendi. So I took a really nice bubble bath. I had taken some bath gel from the hotel in New Delhi because it smelled nice. Turns out, it makes bubbles like a madman. I think it may have had something to do with the way the water comes out of the tap here too - very aerated. Anyway, it was the best bubble bath I've had in a long time. I was so sleepy afterward that I fell right asleep.

Sunday, I started off my day at the pool. Every time I come here, I end up wondering how I can live without a pool back home. I'm no super swimmer like Victor, who won all sorts of trophies and medals for swimming in high school, but I love to do it anyway. I just like the way it feels. Unfortunately, I don't have a swimming buddy here, so it's not as fun as I want it to be. I like to swim like I'm still a kid (for God's sake, I'm only 27), and that looks pretty silly if you're all by yourself.

I went shopping afterward to buy new suitcases. The cheapo suitcase I bought last year in India has finally crapped out, so I had to buy one to replace that. I also needed an extra one, since I only brought one suitcase and a small soft bag. I think these look sturdier than the first one, so maybe they will last longer.

After I got back to the hotel, I went for a facial. It lasted over an hour! Being a poor lowly working stiff, I've never had a facial back home, so I don't have anything to compare it to. This one cost $14, and included facial and upper body massage, exfoliation, steam and heat treatment, hand massage, purifying mask, and lots of lotion. It was divine. I got a pedicure afterward (which only cost $6... I think their price increased from last year's $4). That was nice too, except that it was hurried because it was getting close to closing time. The guy (it's always a guy doing my pedicure here... which seems a little strange) was a little rough with my feet and legs. But my feet feel so good now.

So what's on the cards for today? Well, I'm going to go down to the pool for a while. I'm going to the gym, and I'll see if their hot tub is working (it wasn't last year, and I haven't checked yet this trip). I'm also going to check whether I can schedule a massage today. I am excited for this week!

Look out! It's a runaway credit card!
I have it's-my-last-weekend-in-India-so-I-better-do-some-shopping syndrome today. I wanted to get another saree to wear on the last day I'm at work here. Both of the ones I already have are sheer silk, very flimsy. I wanted one that was stiffer and had more embroidery on it.

Instead of looking at a cheaper shop, I had my driver take me to a shop called MeBaz, which is run by Meena Bazar, one of the biggest clothing shops around. It's brand new, and they specialize in wedding attire. They have other clothes too, and a lot of it is designer (Indian designers, at least for women. I think they have Italian suits for men). I started looking at some that were around $60, which was well over twice what I wanted to pay. Then I saw an amazing one. Beautiful colors, amazing embroiodery.. and about $160 or so. I talked myself out of it, but then talked myself right back in. Oops, I bought it. The tailoring (they have to make the blouse and petticoat) is free, and they'll have it ready Monday evening. What is wrong with me?

I was actually taking my best friend Diana's advice. She followed this philosophy while travelling in Japan last year... If you really want it, buy it. Because you may never be in that country again. Since I'll be leaving my job soon, I probably won't be back in India for the forseeable future. So I bought the damn saree. I also bought a nice present for Victor, because I love him.

I stopped on the way home to pick up some presents at a shop called Handicrafts De' India, which is a favorite of some of the people I work with. In addition to gifts, I picked up an amazing bidriware oil/wine dispenser. Hyderabad is famous for bidriware. I need to be cut off from shopping.

Going native
Yesterday I posted about being able to get a good night's (day's?) sleep. Well, I jinxed myself hardcore. I'm operating on one and a half hours of sleep right now. If that.

Every Friday, my training class has a special way of dressing. It's usually picked the day before during class, and can be everything from jeans and company t-shirt, all black, or traditional Indian. Anyway, today all of the girls were supposed to have mehendi tattoos on their hands. Now, I had mehendi done the first time I came to India, and it took about thirty minutes. But I just happened upon that mehendi artist. I wasn't sure where to get it done for today.

I called the hotel beauty shop, but they are no longer offering mehendi. They directed me to sister hotel Taj Banjara. I figured I would get there around 10:30, be back at the hotel by noon, and sleep until five, when I was expected for dinner with the director of my department.

How wrong I was. Here in India, nothing goes according to schedule. Even though my hotel had called in advance, the mehendi artist wasn't there. After thirty minutes of waiting, she finally showed up. Three hours later, she finished. This being a pretty nice hotel, it cost me about $40. I think the first time I did it, it cost about $5. But whatever.

The only other customer in the salon while I was there was a young woman getting a blowout. Turns out she's some Bollywood heroine. She was pretty self-important, talking into her cellphone about being on a shoot and whatnot. Unfortunately, I couldn't understand her name when the shop owner told me. I'll investigate and get back to you.

My coworker K. has her digital camera with her, and she was kind enough to take this picture of my hands:



Nice, eh?

Anyway, we went to different at a new (to us, anyway) restaurant called Angeethi, which is North Indian/Punjabi cuisine. It was very spicy but yummy. The restaurant was closed, because Indians eat very late, and we were there at 5pm. But they were able to open up and serve us from a limited menu. We had some mutton biryani (which is actually a Hyderabadi specialty), another lamb dish, some chicken curry, and yummy prawns. I slept for a little after dinner, and now I'm at work, with stinky hands (the smell of the henna is disgusting), wearing a sari.

No sleep till Hyderabad
I've been having the worst luck sleeping this trip. I'm not able to sleep when I want to, whether it's right after work or later in the day. The last two days, though, I've gotten over ten hours of sleep per day. It feels so nice to just wake up when my body is ready to stop sleeping. Since I'm waking up before the alarm, it's so great to not hear the stupid beeping.

Unfortunately, this means that I'm missing the gym, because by the time I'm waking up, it's already closed. I'm also missing the pool, because it's dark by the time I get up. But at least I'm waking up in time for my favorite TV shows. I don't watch much TV at home, unless I'm at Victor's house. I don't even have cable. But TV is one of the things that keeps me grounded here.

I'm totally addicted to American Idol, which is about three weeks behind here. Right now I'm watching the first performance of all twelve final contestants (soul night). Back home, I didn't really watch last season, and only some of the first season. But I can't stop watching this one. I'm pulling for Jon Peter Lewis, I think, because he's the most rock and least pop of all of them, except for maybe little swing kid John Stevens. I wouldn't mind seeing him win either.

So that's how boring my life is right now. I have to post about sleeping and TV. I'm trying to avoid posting about how annoying and frustrating work is. Because I wouldn't stop once I started going.

Oh, I had a long talk with my mom (here, a long talk is 20 minutes), and the ugly family stuff has pretty much been resolved. However, my uncle Bob was in the hospital last week and had to get a pacemaker, and that news made me sad. But at least the rabid skunk that was hanging around my parents' house didn't actually make it in through the door. A rabid skunk inside the house is never a good thing.