Skype

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been in the US for a couple weeks and I haven't put my pictures onto my PC yet. I will soon. I also have a cool new camera that I got for Christmas, so expect higher-quality pictures in the future.

I also got a new Skype phone, so there's an easy way for you to get in touch with me while I'm in India. This is my new phone number (write it down!):

(678) 389-8911

You're probably wondering - what does it cost to call? Only the normal cost to call an Atlanta number. Don't worry, you won't run up an expensive international phone bill. But please be considerate of the time zone. I'm 10.5 hrs from EST. Here's a quick conversion tip: if you take the time in EST and subtract 1.5 hours, then switch the AM to PM (or vice versa), you've got it.

News From India 4

Judge Sunil Kumar Singh in the eastern state of Jharkhand has issued adverts in newspapers asking the gods to "appear before the court personally". The gods have been asked to appear before the court on Tuesday, after the judge said that letters addressed to them had gone unanswered. Ram and Hanuman are among the most popular Indian Hindu gods.

Judge Singh presides in a "fast track" court - designed to resolve disputes quickly - in the city of Dhanbad. The dispute is now 20 years old and revolves around the ownership of a 1.4 acre plot of land housing two temples. The deities of Ram and Hanuman, the monkey god, are worshipped at the two temples on the land. Temple priest Manmohan Pathak claims the land belongs to him. Locals say it belongs to the two deities. The two sides first went to court in 1987.

A few years ago, the dispute was settled in favour of the locals. Then Mr Pathak challenged the verdict in a fast track court. Judge Singh sent out two notices to the deities, but they were returned as the addresses were found to be "incomplete". This prompted him to put out adverts in local newspapers summoning the gods. "You failed to appear in court despite notices sent by a peon and later through registered post. You are herby directed to appear before the court personally", Judge Singh's notice said.

News From India 3

Troupes of monkeys are out of control in India's northeast, stealing mobile phones and breaking into homes to steal soft drinks from refrigerators, lawmakers in the region have complained.

"Monkeys are wreaking havoc in my constituency by taking away mobile phones, toothpastes, sipping coke after opening the refrigerators," Hiren Das told Assam state's assembly.
He said the primates were "even slapping women who try to chase them".

"It is a cause of serious concern in my area, with more than 1,000 such simians turning aggressive by the day," fumed Goneswar Das, another legislator representing Raha in eastern Assam.

Let there be pigeons

I was talking to someone last night, and thought I found someone in a similar situation. She has pigeons nesting and growing up at her apartment - but that's where the similarity ends. Her pigeons are nesting on the balcony, whereas mine are nesting on the cupboard in the dining room.


I came back from my Goa trip and here they were - a family of pigeons, already nested, and with eggs laid. The mom pigeon sat dutify on the nest day and night. And somewhere in the back of my head, I have a deep respect for hard work and persistence. And I absolutely read the Seuss book "Horton Hatches the Egg" too many times as a kid. So even though logic dictates that I should evict the pigeon, I let her be.


I googled diseases and pigeons, and the only risk is around pigeon poo. So I've kept my eye out for poo. And this is when I realized a remarkable thing: my pigeons are house-trained. They only had one "accident" in the house over three weeks. Maybe they realize that we have formed a fragile, unspoken alliance. I'm probably reading too much into poop, but I'm fascinated.

Unfortunately, tomorrow is the end of the road for the pigeons. I now have two baby peeping pigeons for roommates. On top of being obnoxious, they're hideous. And I'm worried that the kids won't respect the no-poo pact. But I have a nice place picked out on my porch for the nest, and hopefully it won't be too stressful of a transition for mom.

A special day at the office

Setting up a company in India is an uphill battle, and I've been fighting it tooth and nail for the past two weeks. Want to sell anything? You need a PAN to get a Labor Registration to get a Professional Tax Registration to get a VAT Registration. Want to get a UPS (battery backup) for your office? You need STPI Registration, Customs Registration, IEC Registration, an STPI Asset Register, and a Karnataka State Pollution Certificate. Some things have to be in black ink, or in triplicate, or need seven passport photos, or need to be on special paper. To unravel this mess, you going to need an army of consultants - two law firms, one tax firm, and two registration consulting companies.

The past two or three weeks have been some of the most stressful in my brief working career. Our deadlines were so tight that if anything slipped by a half-day, it was an emergency. And the red tape in this country is not conducive to urgency. All day I was racing from office to office, getting the appropriate signatures and stamps and forms. And I'm happy to say it: I'm done! We pulled it off. Nobody except me and one or two other people will ever realize how close we came to the brink of disaster.

In celebration of our new company, which really came into existance on December 1st, we had an office party in the cafeteria (which is on the top floor). The enthusiasm of the Indian employees was overwhelming. They've never known the struggles we've had in the US - they only see that the office is growing, and that there are good opportunities for them. It was really refreshing to be around so much positive energy and excitement. We had cake, and the senior leadership spoke, and then people came up for a kind of office talent show. People took turns singing songs, and the highlight (for me at least) was a traditional dance.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I had a big, traditional Thanksgiving meal. There was turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, a tomato and mozzarella salad, stuffing, pumpkin pie, and apple pie. While AC's turkey last year was delicious, I have to give this year's spread the edge.

South Goa: Palolem Beach Nights

Nights in Palolem were very quiet. The beach was asleep by around 11:00. As a result, you had to create your own mischief.

Only one bar was open late: Cafe Del Mar. Everyone would drift there after the other restaurants / bars closed. It had two pool tables and a fire pit in front.

For dinner you walk the beach and peer into glowing boxes. Each has a flourescent light, topped with a block of ice, and the catch of the day sitting on top. Gigantic shrimp called tiger prawns and small hammerhead sharks were plentiful. Pick what you want to eat and then it's whisked away to be cooked. Generally it will be made with Goan curry - it's not very spicy, and has a pleasant coconut flavor.

South Goa: Palolem Beach Days

Last weekend I flew to Goa with my friends Christine and Vijay. Goa is a sixty mile long beach, and the opposite ends have extremely different charateristics. The north end is full of clubs and bars; the south end is undeveloped and very laid back. We ended up in Palolem, which is as far south as you can go in Goa. The picture above was the first view I had when I arrived. The faint twilight revealed the most undeveloped beach I've ever seen.

We stayed in beach huts that were thrown together from plywood and blue tarps. They were elevated up on bamboo poles, which provides a physical defense against any potential bugs, and a great view of the beach. While we sat in the lounge chairs, people would occasionally come up and try to sell trinkets. My favorite were the people selling fresh fruit. I had a pineapple chopped up into little bits right in front of me. It was delicious!

The two pictures above were taken just after dawn. There was nobody on the beach except for me and the local fishermen. I caught them folding their nets, and preparing to head out for the day. A portion of every day's catch would end up at the restaurants for dinner that night.


Since it is India, no beach would be complete without dogs and cows. A cow even wandered into an Italian restaurant while we were eating pizza.

Ripped from the headlines 2

This story is from '01, but I like it.

"Monkey man" hysteria has swept the Indian capital following the confirmation that injuries sustained by victims are animal bites. Reports were so prolific that police ran short of vehicles following up complaints. The public's fear of the monkey man is so great that residents of Noida, a New Delhi suburb, caught and beat up a 4-foot-tall wandering Hindu mystic, mistaking him for the simian terror. Residents said the creature was "as small as a cat" and had metallic hands, while a few others claimed it was a monkey who could turn into a cat.

I came across this one as I was looking for a different monkey attack story. This past weekend the Delhi monkeys went crazy again and attacked people.

Ripped from the headlines

P. Selvakumar, left, places a garland on a sari-draped former stray female dog named Selvi , during a marriage ceremony in Manamadurai, 470 kilometers (494 miles) south of Chennai, India, Sunday, Nov. 11, 2007. Selvakumar married a female dog in a traditional Hindu ceremony as an attempt to atone for stoning two other dogs to death, an act he believes cursed him. An astrologer had told Selvakumar the wedding was the only way he could be cured.

Also... more bands of roaming monkies.

Happy Diwali! Night 2

The second night of Diwali started at a house party. We didn't stay very long, but they had boxes and boxes of fireworks. I've never seen so many - even on the 4th of July. It's also worth noting that the fireworks in India are super-powered. They come straight out of China and wouldn't pass any US safety tests. When you're a few feet away from one of the tubes that goes off, it's deafening - it's an enormous explosion.

After the house party, we moved on to a mansion party. It's hard to describe. There was a winding driveway with christmas lights strung over it like a spiderweb. The parking lot could easily hold 50 cars. There were bartenders with only super-premium liquor. There was a buffet. There was a pool immediately behind the house, and tables were spread out on both sides. After people ate, card games broke out at $5,000 US per hand. Behind that there was a dancefloor and a DJ. I did my best impression of punjabi / bollywood dancing - it seems to involve a lot of throwing your hands in the air and shrugging your shoulders. I had a great time, and we were out until five in the morning.

Happy Diwali! Night 1

Diwali (pronounced "Divali") is one of the biggest festivals of the year. It runs for three days, starting on Thursday and running through Saturday. It's the festival of lights, but there's also a sense of renewal and the promise of making more money next year. It ends up being a cross between New Year's Eve and the fourth of July.

On Thursday night I met up with a couple friends (and a bunch of new people) at a restaurant called Ebony. It's on the top floor of one of the tallest buildings in Bangalore, and we had seats on the outdoor patio. We had a beautiful panoramic view. We spent the evening drinking beer, eating spicy chicken tikka, and hanging out. In the background there were fireworks constantly exploding over the city - it went on for three hours, and you could always hear the faint pops and crackles of the distant "crackers."

I negotiated an auto!

I just haggled with an auto rickshaw driver (aka "auto," aka "rickshaw," aka "rick"), and that's a landmark moment for me in terms of living in India. Autos are the equivalent of taxis here - three-wheeled over-grown motorcycles, with a back seat and a roof. They're bright yellow, they're everywhere, they have no shocks, they belch diesel exhaust - and I think they're kind of charming. Things that this required on my part:

- A mannerism that showed I knew what I was doing
- A knowledge of where I was starting from, i.e. where I was catching the auto
- The ability to communicate my destination
- A good feel for the fair price of an auto, and what makes a reasonable tip

We settled on $1.53. That's still a little high and I wanted to take him down to $1.27. But I was just elated that I was able to get a ride home, and at a fair price, so I let it slide. I also figured he deserved a little extra because 1) it's a long ride, which hurts his ability to catch the next fare, 2) it's late at night, and he didn't try to charge me double or 1.5x, which can happen, and 3) he instantly knew where I lived. I feel like I'm getting it.

Lots of excitement may be coming up. I might run off to the Maldives next weekend, and then Goa (India) the weekend after that.

New apartment madness

There's a saying here - "Welcome to India."

Here’s my entire situation. I moved in this past Saturday, and it was a huge relief to finally have a permanent home. I took a long, hot shower – with good water pressure – which is impossible to find in India. I started unpacking my bags. On Sunday the phone company came and set up my phone and internet. Things were looking up.

Sunday I found out that my buddy Jamie’s lease was up on the 1st, and he was having a hard time finding a place. I offered to let him stay until he found a new place. I’ve got four bedrooms, so why not? We talked about a few weeks. Nothing concrete, mind you, but not forever. The way this apartment is set up (2 floors), we’d probably barely bump into each other.

Yesterday Jamie moved in, and I got a call from my landlord. He was livid. Over the next 24 hours he sent rude e-mails and chewed out my real estate agent. He said that he felt “taken advantage of.” I couldn’t understand why. He insisted that we meet at 10:30 the next morning (today), and so we did.

Now I get it. The landlord wants a copy of a passport and visa for all expats that visit me, regardless of duration. He wants to have approval over who visits me and for how long. All guests must provide their full name and phone number. Native resident Indians are not allowed to spend the night. Dogs may visit, interestingly enough, but may not spend the night. And Jamie’s girlfriend is from an important agricultural family, and since the landlord generally doesn’t approve of a girl from that family dating a white expat, she can never come back. My driver, Murthi, is not allowed upstairs. All of my (and Jamie’s) movements are being monitored. The doorman, the maids, and some of the other tenants (the landlord owns the building) are logging our every move. The landlord informed me that Jamie left this morning at 10:15; I cross-checked that with Jamie, and it’s true. The landlord calls this policy, “constant vigilance.”

This has nothing to do with business in India. This is a unique form of madness. My real estate agent was present for the entire 2 ½ hour diatribe and said later that in 10 years of business he had never encountered a landlord like this. I just got lucky – a one-in-a-million shot. It’s unfortunate that Jamie dropping in has triggered all of this. On the other hand, I’m glad that I learned the “hidden details” about the property early on.

So what next? I spoke to Jamie, and he laughed about the whole situation, and will be out in the morning. I’ve given the landlord a copy of my passport and visa. I think those actions have bought me a lot of goodwill. The landlord clearly likes me personally, and wants to play golf with me. My real estate agent has advised me to buddy up to the landlord over the next month – while simultaneously looking for a new apartment – and then claim that I’ve been suddenly recalled to the US as soon as I find a place. I would be surprised if we have trouble getting the deposit back, but you never know. In even my best case we’re out 60 days rent (you need to give that much written notice).

Happy Halloween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

This is probably my favorite holiday every year. I'm happy to say that I was able to celebrate it in traditional fashion - two of the expatriate clubs in India combined for an evening to throw a joint costume party, and it drew 50-100 people. They held it on the lawn outside of a nice hotel. It was a fairly tame party, but I got to meet a lot of new people. I hope you all had great costumes, and great stories!

Eagleton

Last Christmas my parents gave me one of their old sets of clubs. I started playing every few weeks (mostly with Nic). I love the relaxing, slow pace, and the social aspect of golf. Towards the middle of the summer I upgraded to TaylorMade Rac OS2's. It looks like I'm going to need to bring them to India.

Golf doesn't seem to be popular here. And apparently it's very prestigious to be a member of the exclusive golf clubs (which are all open to the public), even if you don't play golf. So all those membership fees are maintaining beautiful, empty courses. And I get to play them.

On Friday I ran out for nine holes before work at a place called Eagleton, which is about 30 minutes outside of the city. What a great way to start the day! Things that make Eagleton different from the courses I'm used to playing in the US:

- It only costs $25 to play 18 holes

- The course was immaculately maintained - but by people, not machines. I saw a woman with a knife cutting the weeds... one at a time! There must be dozens of people working on the grass.

- I had a caddy to carry my clubs and advise me on where to shoot. The best part was the greens; he would point to where I needed to putt, and he was always right.

- There are virtually no hazards. Only one hole had water. So there was very little stress about where you were aiming. I figure I shot just above par, which is awesome for me.

Pictures: My buddy Jamie, the course, me under a buddha statue (on the course, oddly enough)

News from India 2

Another crazy headline...

Monkeys attack Delhi politician

Delhi has long struggled to cope with marauding monkeys. The deputy mayor of the Indian capital Delhi has died a day after being attacked by a horde of wild monkeys. SS Bajwa suffered serious head injuries when he fell from the first-floor terrace of his home on Saturday morning trying to fight off the monkeys. The city has long struggled to counter its plague of monkeys, which invade government complexes and temples, snatch food and scare passers-by. The High Court ordered the city to find an answer to the problem last year.

News from India 1

Figured you would enjoy this headline...

A goat that eats meat and drinks too!

If you think goats are vegetarian, you haven't yet met Mantu - a male goat here that eats meat and drinks liquor.

The two-and-a-half-year-old goat lives at the Sana Bada Dhaba, a roadside eatery here, 350 km from the state capital Bhubaneswar.

'The animal has been living in the dhaba since its birth and slowly developed the habit of eating non-vegetarian food,' dhaba owner Sana Naik, who named the goat, told IANS.

Mantu does not like grass - the staple diet of other goats. 'The goat eats the cooked meat of other goats that we serve to customers,' he said. 'Because of its peculiar habits, we are not killing it.'

The goat also drinks liquor. It obeys commands like monkeys.

'If you ask it to perform a death scene, it will lie on the ground as if dead. You ask it to show a fight scene, it will demonstrate like a warrior,' he said.

The goat amuses customers and they share their food with it.

'The goat is the main attraction of the eatery,' said Satya Mohanty, a frequent visitor. 'Whenever we come to this area, we love to eat in this dhaba because of the goat,' he said.

'Goats are generally vegetarian. They eat grass, fruit and vegetables. But some of them that live with humans for a long time develop habits like humans,' Subhendru Sudha Sarangi, a veterinary doctor, told IANS. Sarangi too loves the meat-eating goat and treats him free of cost.

But perhaps the person who loves Mantu the most is dhaba owner Naik.

'I love the goat so much. It is like my own child. I am looking for a female goat as its bride,' Naik said. 'I am planning to organise the marriage in a big way, may be next August.

'I will also host a grand feast. My customers, who include ministers, legislators, officials, businessmen and journalists, have assured me that they will join the feast and bless the goat couple.'

Chikmagular Plantation

This weekend I was invited by my friends to stay at their coffee plantation in Chikmagular. My first thought was that I wanted to be alone for the weekend. It was a trying week, and I needed a break from things. But I know that I'll also need a base of friends here in Bangalore if I'm going to make things work, so I decided to go anyway. I signed up to go with no idea what I was in store for, and a vague sense that I need to socialize to survive.

We left late at night, after midnight, in order to beat the crazy Bangalore traffic. After a four-hour drive we arrived in Chikmagular. It's a sleepy village where donkeys and cows roam the streets. It's also home to - shock and surprise - a nine-hole golf course. I played five holes and then, when we were swinging back by the clubhouse, we broke for lunch. We never finished the round because old army jeeps came by to pick us up. A veritable Mr. Toad's Wild Ride ensued through winding mountain roads. Imagine sliding around muddy, hairpin turns with no guard rails, and the wheels finally getting a grip only inches from a 500-foot drop. And that goes on for 45 minutes. "By my math," I said at the end, "we should be dead." Someone responded, "It's a good thing you're not good at math."

<-- Before the road got rough

The coffee plantation, it turns out, is not a resort by another name. It is in fact a working coffee plantation that was started by the family three generations ago. Life there is very simple and very slow. There are no phone lines, there's no cell phone service, there are no city sounds (cars, horns, music, etc) and electrical power comes and goes. And it is breath-takingly beautiful. Imagine a valley, filled with mist, and ringed by lush mountains. But prettier.

above left: scenic view, above right: the actual coffee plantation, below: mist-filled valley

Fergalicious

After not doing much in my first weekend (I was still exhausted from the time change), I had a fun second week in India. Apparently big acts come through Bangalore about once per year. That's "big" in terms relative to Bangalore. They still talk about the time Deep Purple played here (about 10 years ago) and when Pink Floyd's guitarist came (two years ago). So you can imagine my surprise when I was invited to the Black Eyed Peas concert on Tuesday.

They had an extra ticket, so I was happy to go along. Concerts in India are a trip. There are no seats, so standing areas are first-come, first serve. And people are packed together hours before the show starts. It reminded me a lot of seeing Radiohead at Bonnaroo - people shoulder to shoulder, front to back, no personal space and lots of body heat. We managed to squeeze ourselves up nearly to the front (10 people back), and a little off to the right. As soon as the concert started, it was a sea of humanity - everyone jumping up and down to the music (there was no room to dance) and throwing their hands in the air. The Peas put on a great show. It was really high-energy, and I was surprised they could keep it going for three hours. By the end I was exhausted.

By the way, have I mentioned how early everything shuts down in Bangalore? Legally, everything has to close by 11:30pm. There are some small bars that skirt the rules, but almost everyone abides by them. Concerts are no exception to the rule.

In any case, the end of the concert was not the end of the night. My friend made some calls, found out where the Black Eyed Peas were staying, and then we rushed to stake out their hotel bar. Sure enough, the Peas were downstairs within a few minutes. So for about an hour I drank Kingfishers and hung around with the Black Eyed Peas. There are no photos, and I don't have any wild stories. They seem like pretty normal people.

On Wednesday I went to a dressy, invite-only Jack Daniels party (Jack's 157th birthday). Whisky is very big in India, and Jack is trying to break into the market. I'll admit that I had a few drinks, but nothing to explain the hours and hours of illness that followed. I ended up missing work the next day. It had all the hallmarks of food poisoning, and it was a bad case. What made it worse was that I didn't have a working cell phone, and I don't know many people in the country yet. So I spent Thursday feeling vulnerable, out of place, and gross. I spent a lot of time there rethinking my decision to come to India. I'm sure those feelings will come and go. In any case, it was a draining, exhausting week.

Mo' money mo' problems

I'm going to need a bigger wallet! Sometimes I forget how wild the the US dollar - Indian rupee exchange rate is (currently 1 to 39). I changed about $300 and they handed me this wad of cash. I could barely fit it in my pocket. Expenses here are a very mixed bag. Food is relatively cheap - a medium pizza is 200 Rs ($5) and a nice sit-down dinner might be 400 Rs ($10). And you can certainly eat cheaper than that. But a nice cell phone, for example, might run you 16,000 Rs ($400).

Last Stop: NYC

Since I had to lay over in New York anyway, I figured, why not stay for the weekend? Sometimes I forget how many people I know in New York. Mike, Mike, Foxy, Jason, Jun, and Aaron were all my fraternity brothers back at Emory, and all of them moved to the big apple after school. And Rachel, Aislinn, Patrick, and Kristine have all drifted there for one reason or another. This was an amazing night - I had hoped to reconnect with a few people (expecting two or three), but I got to see almost everyone at once! We had a late night out in Manhattan, drifting from my hotel bar, to Fox's swanky apartment, to a bar with six beers on tap - apparently quite the rarity, to a "fake" dive bar with torn-up seats. Thanks to everyone who came out, I had a great time!

TRX send-off

<-(Highland Tap) TRX's send-off was great. We met up at a bar across the street from the office (maybe even closer than that - we practically share a parking lot) called Fuzzy's. My only regret about the place is that is smells like an ashtray. But it was a good chance to have some pitchers and say goodbye to a big group of people. Then the Finance department moved on to one of my favorite bars in the Virginia Highlands, a place called Highland Tap. It's on the corner of Virginia and Highland but it's hard to see - it's basically in a basement. They have one of the top three burgers in town (#1 Ann's Snack Bar, #2 Vortex, #3 Highland Tap) and I ordered it with no hesitation; beef will be rare in India, where cows are sacred.

Leah and Anita at Fuzzy's

The gang at Fuzzy's. From left to right: Banks, Carter, Joe, Laurence, and Leah

Best toupee ever

Sorry that I've gotten so far behind. The week of leaving the US and arriving in Bangalore has been a busy one. But I'm settled now, and should be posting regularly.

I saw this toupee in the Publix parking lot before I left, and it's the best I've ever seen, so I feel obliged to share.

PS - Is it just me, or does it seem like toupee should be spelled differently?

Until we meet again

This weekend I had my going away party. It's a week early, but I've been doing everything for India ahead of schedule. My roommate Catherine and my friend Nic did all of the planning. Kudos to them!

My vision for the party was that all of my close friends would come together, and we'd have way too much to drink, and then we'd have some drunken antics and talk about our favorite memories. So we bought a couple kegs and some liquor even though I was expecting only 30 - 40 people. In my mind I had a picture of an Irish wake. A mixture of celebration and reminiscing.

Now that the party's over, it's interesting to reflect back on it. We watched Florida fall, we laughed at Lebron's expense (Solid Gold!), we danced like idiots, and we belted out Justin Timberlake in falsetto at 3am. I wouldn't have had it any other way. But something was off-kilter about the ambience. Some people never came. Others left early, after we had only traded a few words in passing. What I thought would turn into raucous drinking passed instead as a relatively quiet night. There were some tender moments of hugs and hand-holding where people wordlessly expressed a sense of loss. I thought those were the nicest tributes imaginable, and beautiful, and genuine. There were a few times that I was surprisingly sad, despite the positive tone of the party and the generally festive mood. And in spite of my impending departure, the pivotal topic of moving to India almost never came up in conversation, as if my absence was a reality that nobody wanted to face. I enjoyed my party, but it caught me off-guard. I love my friends and I'm going to miss them all.

Packing up

This was a very, very quiet weekend. I finally rented a 5'x10' storage space and I've been moving into it. My plan is to arrive at what I'm bringing to India through subtraction; as I pack up some of the less-important things, I'll be able to zero in on the things that should make the flight. I realized that my desktop computer probably won't fit in my carry-on, so I bought an external hard drive to take everything with me. It's as small as a calculator! I'm easily amazed by technology.

In a sad moment, I tried to break up the monotony of packing by going to the Falcons game today. I called 15 people and couldn't find anyone to go with me, even though the ticket would've been free. After 15 calls I just gave up. That's how bad the Falcons are right now; I couldn't give a ticket away. 0-3 and falling... the Texans will cream us next week.

I'm not leaving for 13 days, and you may be wondering why I'm packing so early. It's because I've accumulated so much stuff. Most people in their 20's move every year, and do a kind of Spring Cleaning each time. But since I've been in my house for three and a half years, I haven't purged in a long time. As a result, there are a lot of ugly Christmas sweaters tucked into dark corners. I'll find them all eventually.

Sling box

Have you ever heard of a sling box? I'm thinking about it. There are so many things that I need to take care of before I think about my television needs... but I came across this idea, and it seems pretty cool. You plug a sling box into a cable box here in the US, and into your internet router... and it will broadcast the signal anywhere. You can even control your DVR at home and tell it to record some programs for you. I can't bare to miss the Falcons games... even if they're painful.

I'm going to the Panthers game this Sunday. I've got the Texans on the 30th, but I'll miss the Giants game in October. Sorry Getz!

http://us.slingmedia.com/page/home

My new home?

Paste this into Google to see the location (exclude the quotes): "maps Moyen Ville Rd, Bangalore, Karnataka, India". Click the first link that appears.

I finally found an apartment that I like at a place called Chez Leila. It's located in a neighborhood called Langford Town. Langford Town isn't a cool neighborhood like Indiranagar or MG Road, but it's very centrally located and only 2 miles from MG Road (where the bars / clubs are). It's also conveniently located for my commute to work. The apartment is on a quiet side street off the main road, so it should be peaceful, but only a short walk to shops.

The apartment is fully furnished, which is hard to find. The furniture features several ornately carved antiques. I think they're beautiful and distinctly Indian, which I like. Too many apartments feel like they could be in the US. The best part about the apartment is that it's spacious. There's even a large outdoor patio/terrace. And yes, I do have a guest room for you (and you too, Adam!). Given the size, I would've expected it to be priced at 50% more, so I think I found a bargain. Keep your fingers crossed for me - there is still a lot of negotiating to do, and it could fall through.

The housing search begins

My hunt for housing in Bangalore began today. At 10am I met up with Samantha, who volunteered to help me. She knew a man named Nicky who was supposed to show apartments to us. Nicky pushed our appointment to 1pm, and subsequently dumped us onto his friend, David. David met us at 2pm and called his friend, who knew a woman, and that woman owns an apartment that she wants to rent out. I finally saw the apartment around 3:00pm.

Let's recap: Samantha + Nicky + David + male friend + female friend + 5 hours = 1 apartment visited.

To be honest, I enjoyed the experience immensely. I got a tour of Bangalore as we drove around the city and I got India tips from Samantha. I had a delicious Vietnamese lunch. And the apartment that we finally saw was amazing. It's a 7th floor penthouse done entirely in marble, with modern furniture. The master bathroom is enormous and has a tiled-in tub, and the bedroom has a wall of windows that overlook the city. The 2nd floor opens out onto a rooftop terrace and a view to die for. They offered to remodel (move walls, paint, etc.) to suit whatever I wanted.

The downside is that it's not in a hip / fun neighborhood (it's 30mins from anywhere), and it's a little too expensive ($500 too much). But I felt good about my search today. Sure, it wasn't very efficient. But after seeing the place that I saw today, I know I'm on the right track.

The Flight

My last major flight was to London, and it was painful. I was crammed into coach for eight and a half hours. It was actually an exhausting experience. So you can imagine how much I was looking forward to this flight plan:

- Atlanta to NYC: 2.5 hrs
- Deplane in NYC: 2 hrs
- NYC to Mumbai, India: 13 hrs - arrive at 12:00am
- Overnight in Mumbai, wake up at 5:45am
- Mumbai to Bangalore: 2 hrs

I've finally arrived in the office, and shockingly... I feel like I could get on a plane and do it all again. The reclining seat was spacious, and comfortable, and I slept like a baby. But I didn't sleep very much because I was fascinated by the personal LCD screen / entertainment system. I played trivia games and chess against my fellow passengers, and I watched some movies (ex. Spiderman 3). Meals came with real silverware and glass plates, and were tasty. All in all, this was a great experience, and I landed in Bangalore well rested. All of that being said, I'm sure the time difference will start to catch up to me soon.

Blog name

Naming a blog is harder than you might suspect. Especially if you're in my shoes, having never blogged before. Hopefully you caught that it's a thinly veiled reference to "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemmingway. It's a book about expats galavanting around Europe.