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The wild, weird, wonderful world of plum
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| A stellar weekend |
[24 Oct 2009|11:57pm] |
Upside to my first proper weekend in Bangalore: I don't think I've ever been this social. Neeraj came through with offering me a ride to the book group meetup this afternoon, which was loads of fun. My book review of "Half of a Yellow Sun" even wound up inspiring the theme for the next meetup, which is "read either HoaYS or Purple Hibiscus." Post-meetup, Neeraj, Sangamitra, and another Neeraj and I went to the Café Coffee Day down the road from Java City to hang out, which was fun, and wound up getting me invited to tag along tomorrow on a day trip to Sriragapattanam (I think that's the name), to see Tippu Sultan's summer palaces. I walk in the door, when Pavithra, the girl who took me to the CS meet on Wednesday night, calls to tell me that a group of them are meeting at the Barista up the road from my house, so I go and join them. That was even more fun, and now, here I am, at midnight, finally eating dinner. But feeling very satisfied.
Downside to my first proper weekend in Bangalore: Coming home from Barista and finding a GIANT FUCKING ASS FLYING ROACH in my sink. I sprayed that fucker dead, but now I have to a) pray that it didn't get on my cooking dinner (I checked the side of the pan for pesticide residue and saw none), and b) have to now thoroughly scrub down my sink to get rid of said pesticide, because I coated the entire sink in it while trying to kill it. Carrying it outside to chuck it made me feel slightly queasy, but I did it. Did I mention I'm also battling a gazillion and one little sugar ants that have decided to take up residence in my kitchen counter top and my walls? Because I totally am. But I take great pleasure in seeing them go after the piles of sugar I've so thoughtfully left sprinkled around for them, sugar mixed with boric acid, which is going to kill those little bastards dead. Them and their queen.
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| What a horrid week |
[07 May 2009|08:03pm] |
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Between losing my wallet, dealing with a douchebag ex-Chinese teacher, and now the shooting at Wesleyan, this has been a horrendous week. Thank God it's Friday.
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[08 Apr 2009|09:15pm] |
The look of stunned happiness causing these tears makes me get teary-eyed. Slowly, one state at a time, we're going to realize that denying people the right to create a life with the person they love (or even if you just have two old lady unmarried friends who have lived together for ages and want to have legal protection) is a thoroughly wrong, indecent, abhorrent thing to do. I will never understand how religious teaching can trump the commands in all religions to be kind, to treat others as you want to be treated, and to LOVE each other.
One day we will look back and think "my God, what a backward time that was, can you imagine, marriage was only restricted to a man and a woman in all but a few states" just as we do now with interracial relationships.
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| I'm sorry, did you say I WON NANOWRIMO? |
[30 Nov 2008|06:57pm] |
Because I totally did. I have written 8000+ words this weekend and amazingly do not have carpal tunnel yet. I have finished in time for dinner, it is not even a last minute dash. Two things to think about: my novel is not even halfway done yet, and I would never have imagined that my last 300 words would take place in a fictitious tapas restaurant in Bombay, talking about chorizo and anchovies and bacalao.
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| This time it's personal, you fuckers |
[27 Nov 2008|05:30am] |
Two hours ago, my mom sent me a text message to say that there were attacks happening in Bombay and that my aunt and her mother were stuck in a carpark at a movie theater (Inox) because there was gunfire outside. I couldn't go back to sleep so I came out and watched the news. Then Rohan asked if my cousin was related to Ashok Kamte, and when I said yes, he's my mom's cousin, he told me that they were reporting his death across the networks.
He is dead. My grandparents are going to be devastated and they're in Goa on their own. Papa Kaka will be destroyed by this. He has a wife, two small kids. I've stopped crying but I can't go back to sleep, my head is hurting despite taking an Advil, and this time it's fucking personal.
It hits me each time Delhi or Bombay is hit, particularly Bombay because it's a place I know and love more deeply than Delhi, and this time it is fucking personal. It's surreal, I can't imagine them shooting up Leo's. They shot Ashok outside of Metro. The Taj is on fire. There may be hostages. I've watched bodies being carted out of the Oberoi on luggage carts. If they wanted to hit the heart of Bombay, they succeeded, but I promise you this, you fuckers, you will pay for what you did. Whether in this life or the next, you will pay. You will not win.
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| Take that, Micronesia (but screw you, Key West) |
[22 Nov 2008|04:02pm] |
Am I taking NaNoWriMo a little too seriously? I don't know what you're talking about :P. Still it is nice to see that Taiwan has risen up the wordcount charts to overtake Micronesia, but now we're stuck behind Key West. And Pakistan! I think my sense of Indian honor is at stake here, I must work harder! It's also gratifying that out of the 17 people who are listed in Taiwan as being NaNo participants, I am the second place contributor, with 26,236 words and rising. This whole thing is insane and exhilarating.
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| That's right. I know what this means. |
[18 Nov 2008|10:09pm] |
我的中文名字叫小梅。我教英文在三民國小。我喜歡台灣。我喜歡高雄。我有西個室友。我不喜歡蚊子。我喜歡吃牛肉麵，水教，和乾麵。
(My Chinese name is Xiaomei (little plum). I teach English at San Min Elementary. I like Taiwan. I like Kaohsiung. I have four roommates. I do not like mosquitos. I like to eat beef noodles, dumplings, and dry noodles).
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[09 Nov 2008|10:08pm] |
At Lin's behest, an excerpt from today's massively productive NaNo session:
"She knew several family friends had known her grandparents since the time they had been married, but you didn't just pick up the phone and start asking about the skeletons in your own family closet. They probably knew all the details in any case, but short of inviting them over for a visit and trying to steer them gently down memory lane, Jaya figured she had reached a dead end."
Only positive thoughts and compliments are welcome :P.
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[08 Nov 2008|04:00pm] |
Failure to date:
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[06 Nov 2008|10:38pm] |
I totally called this like yesterday afternoon during Obama's speech. I would guess they'll go with Sidwell though I'm sure GDS' history will give them cause for thought, but how awesome is it that GDS is in the NYT in the same sentence as President Elect Obama and his kids?
"As parents, the Obamas believe in giving their daughters some sway over decisions that affect them, she said. And so, note to headmasters: The preferences of Malia (pronounced mah-LEE-ah), a solemn-eyed Harry Potter fan, and Sasha, the family ham, could weigh heavily. (Although the Obamas could send their daughters to one of the capital’s public schools, which are in the midst of a major overhaul, many Washingtonians expect them to look closely at Georgetown Day School or Sidwell Friends, which Chelsea Clinton attended.)"
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| History |
[05 Nov 2008|11:41pm] |
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 ecstatic |
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I am so fucking excited. I have spent the day thinking I was in a dream. This is so fucking amazing, and I cried several times and I am not ashamed to admit it. I cried thinking about what this means for the future of America, an America that is made up of black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, and countless other kinds of people. I am excited for the prospect that change is possible and that the terrible things that have happened in the last eight years can begin to be remedied. I am thrilled for the kids who will grow up knowing a black President as their norm, as their reality. I am ecstatic for what this says about America and its citizens, that we rejected resoundingly a message of hatred, racism, divisiveness, and fear. I am rejoicing that I am proud of America, proud to be an American (god do I ever understand Michelle Obama's sentiment right now), and that I will no longer have to apologize or be embarrassed by the President. My president, because I voted for him, knocked on doors for him, gave money to him.
It'll be interesting to see what happens when the sheen starts to come off, but for now I am celebrating a triumph. The world is not perfect, and it sickens me that gays are being treated now the same way blacks were sixty years ago, but I have hope that one day, sooner rather than later (I pray), we will be able to move past that prejudice as well and recognize that gays are deserving of the same rights as any other citizen just as we realized that a person's skin color has no business dictating what rights they can and cannot enjoy.
I leave you all with this:
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[05 Nov 2008|09:46am] |
I am sitting alternating giving midterms where i ask what time it is and whether i want pizza or water and watching the election results come in on my laptop and ohmyfreaking god PA, OH, this is AMAZING.
I am so effing happy right now it's amazing.
God willing it stays this way for the rest of the night.
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| Too good not to share |
[15 Oct 2008|11:22pm] |
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So I don't usually do this, but this is way too hilarious not to share with my very limited audience. Over at BNaBBT, we're currently writing a group romance novel and it's absolutely amazing. This thread has made my whole day better and made me cry with laughter. So without further ado, I present 'The Throbbing BNaBBT Romance Novel':
(usernames eliminated to protect the guilty - ie, myself)
( Read more... )
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[14 Sep 2008|08:28pm] |
Everyone at home is safe, but I can't stop feeling sick to my stomach when I think about these latest blasts. These ones struck uncomfortably close to home. I go to all of the places that were targeted with the exception of Karol Bagh on a regular basis. My parents go to these places frequently. I cannot imagine GK-1 market being blown up, nor can I imagine bombs going off outside of Pallika and people dying there, but it happened. It doesn't feel real, it doesn't make sense, but it makes me feel sick and angry nonetheless.
Fuck you, whoever did this. Fuck. You.
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[09 Sep 2008|01:59pm] |
I miss 'home,' wherever that home may be. I miss people I care about deeply, and Facebook is sometimes a really dangerous tool. I'm really enjoying Taiwan, and I am really enjoying meeting so many kids and getting so much just by smiling and saying hello to them, but each time I read or see pictures of Wes, I get a lump in my throat. When is this feeling going to pass?
Just so you all know, you're in my presentation that I'm showing to my students. They seem to think it's very cool that I have friends from around the world and that two of you ducks are Taiwanese-Americans.
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[04 Sep 2008|12:56pm] |
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off to taipei, back sunday. wish me luck on the social front.
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| Oh shit |
[30 Jul 2008|12:15am] |
So I'm not leaving on Friday. No, I'm in fact leaving for the airport in oh, less than 24 hours. Call it yet another brain fart on my part, but basically the fact that I'm flying out on the 31st at 1 am means in 25 hours, I will be on my way to Taiwan.
I have not started packing.
I have not learned any basic Chinese.
I am freaking out even though I know this will be great. This is just like getting ice water hurled at me.
Breathe.
Holy fuck. Tomorrow.
Also, Taiwan blog: http://adventuresintaiwan.wordpress.com
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| I am - what are you? |
[08 Jul 2008|01:08am] |
Someone posted this thread on my message board, and I liked it, so I'm copying my replies here. Steal for yourself if you feel so inclined :)
I am a daughter
I am a sister
I am a great friend
I am deeply passionate
I am a writer
I am a hopeless romantic
I am a granddaughter
I am a cousin
I am a singer
I am short
I am a blogger
I am a thinker
I am a reader
I am a piano player
I am a cook
I am a baker
I am fiercely protective of those I love
I am loyal
I am a world traveler
I am brave
I am confident
I am rootless
I am helpful
I am a feminist
I am unabashedly liberal (but moderately so)
I am tolerant
I am questioning
I am a believer in happy endings
I am strong
I am my own unique blend of American and Indian
I am a college graduate
I am a Wes alum
I am a writer of letters
I am a keeper of sentimental objects
I am a lover of history
I am the family archivist
I am an optimist
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