God Is In The Rain

for my first ten days in my new apartment, i couldn't open any of the windows in my living room, as they had been painted shut by my landlord's apparently-unconcerned maintenance folk.

a considerate maintenance person came by and knifed them open this morning, about an hour ago. i jumped at the chance to get some fresh air by opening them all, propping one up precariously with a bug screen (there's no chain on the window to keep it open -- evidently my apartment windows have long been neglected!)

then, five or ten minutes ago, it started to thunderstorm. the air is cool, electric as i sift through my email. my living room and i are refreshed. grey skies or not, it will be a good day!

I Can Crack PJ's Too

in gchat conversation with a true-blue PJ-lover, showing i can hold my own, even when discussing such mundane topics as the food on trips to everest base camp with guides named U.P.:

him: our guide UP has been awesome, whisking up chutneys every day to make the food tastier
me: can i ask if your guide changed his name to DOWN when you started the trek back?

(i am so proud of myself. in fact, i'm chuckling as i type this. pahahahahahahahaha.)

Rare Occurrences

today is february 29 -- in ian's words, a perfect day to do something i only want to celebrate every four years. i'm not sure what that might be, but i'll be sure to keep my eyes open the rest of the day for something fitting! (i missed the beautiful total lunar eclipse earlier this month... i'm sick of letting opportunities pass me by!)

in the meantime, it is worth mentioning that i spent most of this morning intensely stimulated by another most unusual experience: i sat in on a harvard business school class on corporate strategy. (yes, this is how i choose to spend my free time... bite me!) now, i understand that 80 minutes of class discussion on organizational and personal competitor analysis, payoff matrices, first-mover advantage, NPVs, pricing, and M&As could be terribly boring, especially if you haven't read the case beforehand or have no interest in british satellite tv penetration and media wars... but i understood most of it even with my bare-bones understanding of business strategy -- and i was even able to anticipate questions and make some sound decisions in my head as i listened. seriously, i enjoyed the punchy analysis, the professor's commentary and jokes, and the class dynamic (laughter! engaged participation! applause for prospies from the class of 2010! applause for the former microsoft employee who served as ad hoc tech support! applause for me, the class visitor! even applause for the "first yogurt analogy of the term"!) immensely.

maybe i should put aside my secret MBA and really apply to b-school. i'm sure i'd at least be able to write interview-worthy essays -- and hey, if things worked out, i'd get a terminal degree faster than the one i'm due from the program in which i'm currently enrolled ;-)

Something Old, Something New...

happy 2008!

the last time i put up a picture of myself with a new haircut, it was june in boston and i had just gone super-short (see <http://simran.nomadlife.org/2006/06/new-haircut.aspx> for evidence)

this time, i tried ultra-feminine, and i think it works far better than anything i've done before.

pick@flick[r]: <http://www.flickr.com/photos/girlfish1303/2157041999>

thank you, butterfly pond!

More Thoughts On Shopping

(god, i feel like a freak discussing this girly stuff on a regular basis! see <http://simran.nomadlife.org/2007/11/everything-thats-right-with-world.aspx>, <http://simran.nomadlife.org/2007/09/ring-of-truth.aspx>, and <http://simran.nomadlife.org/2007/06/i-am-shopping-fiend.aspx> for just a sampling of what i'm talking about.)

we all know that spending money is addictive, especially in new york, which seems to practically pull money out of one's wallet. just ask anyone who's indulged in serious retail therapy, like, ever. for me, this time, the wallet was precisely the issue: the zipper on my old faithful (read: boring) tri-fold black wallet broke last week.

so, the mission: to go out and get a new wallet which would allow me to carry change along with credit cards, cash, cvs coupons, business cards etc.

preemptive strikes: nothing tri-fold. nothing too thick. nothing in a non-basic colour.

and then guess what i found? a chartreuse-green faux croc bi-fold with a big silver g [for, yes, you got it, guess] on the buckle. definitely not black, but small, and super freaking awesome, and on sale, too.

pick@flick[r]: <http://www.flickr.com/photos/girlfish1303/2142927266>

Withdrawal

i will unashamedly admit to a recently-developed grey's anatomy addiction; for days on end, i'd get home from work, race through dinner, and sit down in front of the idiot box with a spoon, a tub of ben and jerry's, and a goofy grin on my face. laugh, all you disbelievers, laugh away. you're missing out on the good stuff. short story is that i was intimately involved with the cast of grey's... not only because they're fun, but also because they're more screwed up than your average fictional television characters, and that's a good thing, even if their scenarios and behaviour are beyond believable. [ain't nothing wrong with my occasional incredulous outbursts at said fictional characters, either, and don't you tell me there is!]

serious complications have arisen in the last few hours, however: i just spent this afternoon watching the ridiculously awesome season 2 finale (that apparently 22 million people watched when it first aired... where on earth was i?! being a tv snob, i bet!)

so what the hell am i going to do with my time and mental energy now?! season 3 is only out on dvd in early september! that's months away! i think i need to pay a visit to akhila's dvd guy when i get back to bombay, and see if something can't be done about advance viewings before season 4 goes on the air....

psst: on the eternal question of mcsteamy or mcdreamy, i say mcvet, all the way! chris o'donnell may not be matt damon, but finn is definitely cute, and smart, and sensitive, and committed, and a far better deal than smug, arrogant, irresistible but dangerous derek (patrick dempsey), with the beguilingly kind blue eyes and the somehow-hot russell crowe hairstyle and the inability to decide once and for all between his lovely redhead wife and the needy blonde intern waif who shares his dog. (what does this say about my choice in men in real life, i wonder? but then, who needs men when you have grey's?)

I Am A Shopping Fiend

in the last week -- because i have been on vacation -- i've sauntered in and out of dozens of stores of all kinds. these include h&m, the gap, lush, linens 'n' things, borders, payless shoe source, target, conway, marshalls, wal-mart, cvs, the yankee candle company, shoe mania, fortunoff, cliquer's herald square, dsw, best buy, old navy, the sony style store, macy's, urban outfitters, the apple store, strand, ann taylor loft, and random furniture stores (plus makeshift stalls on manhattan street corners). i actually bought stuff at many of these places; other visits were for pure diversion.

(needless to say, my credit card bills are... interesting. i feel insane. i've never shopped this much in my life!! hello, after-effects of blatant capitalism and shrewd marketing.)

to make matters worse, i am online at 3 am clicking through websites and daydreaming about accessorizing: <http://www.ikea.com>, <http://www.pier1.com>, <http://www.overstock.com>, <http://www.homegoods.com>, <http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com>, <http://www.target.com>, <http://www.fabindia.com>... oh god.

(ps, perhaps this selection of stores websites does not quite match your own tastes, and you think i must be a crappy dresser and decorator because of my choices. but i'll have you know i have a martha inside me, too; i am just a shopper on a budget with a pretty little apartment to decorate, and a unique dress sense. and since i am given to want many things at one time, i do better when i save while spending. so perhaps i am not a fiend who is given to ridiculous splurges, but i am a fiend nonetheless!)

Still Got Game

wow, it's almost 4 am. that means the battle was on for over an hour.

i lost my queen early in the game, and for a long while there thought i was totally screwed.

but in the end, even though it took 72 moves (we're no pros): checkmate, baby.

pick@flick(r): <http://www.flickr.com/photos/girlfish1303/490441018>

White: [redacted]
Black: wzlychica5 (that would be me)

1. d2-d4 e7-e6
2. g1-f3 f8-b4+
3. c2-c3 b4-a5
4. h2-h4 g8-f6
5. d1-d3 o-o
6. h4-h5 d7-d5
7. g2-g3 f6-g4
8. c1-g5 d8xg5
9. f3xg5 c8-d7
10. f1-h3 f7-f5
11. f2-f3 g4-f2
12. e1xf2 a7-a6
13. c3-c4 b8-c6
14. b1-c3 c6-b4
15. d3-d2 d5xc4
16. d4-d5 e6xd5
17. c3xd5 d7-c6
18. d5-e7+ g8-h8
19. h3xf5 f8xf5
20. e7-g6+ h7xg6
21. h5xg6+ h8-g8
22. h1-h7 g8-f8
23. g5-e6+ f8-e7
24. d2-e3 b4-c2
25. h7xg7+ e7-f6
26. g7-f7+ f6xg6
27. g3-g4 f5xf7
28. e3-e4+ g6-f6
29. e4-f5+ f6-e7
30. f5-g6 a8-h8
31. a1-g1 h8-h2+
32. g1-g2 a5-b6+
33. e2-e3 c2xe3
34. f2-e2 h2xg2+
35. e2-e1 b6-a5+
36. b2-b4 a5xb4++

rematch tomorrow night, en vivo.

bring it.

***

update, friday, may 11, 2007:

the score is now up to 3-1. some people are clearly gluttons for punishment.

Medical/Tourism

i am headed out of town again tomorrow -- the 5th time i've packed and left bombay in 2007. i'm super excited, especially about dharamshala and the solitude.

after my last ridiculous 6-cities-in-15-days tour, though, my back isn't in the best of shape (sciatica, schmiatica), so i went to get x-rayed this evening, and will have pictures of my lumbar-sacral region in my possession in a few hours so i can figure out whether i'm ok to travel or not. that is indeed cutting it close, but i don't seem to have enough time for anything these days.

more impressively, though: where else in my known world could i have gotten 3 x-rays for the princely sum of ~$15 (which included an ugly purple kaftan to wear during, and a sweet maharashtrian girl to gently adjust me on the x-ray table)? nowhere. compare this to having to pay over $100 to see a doctor in manhattan for all of 11 minutes.

no wonder the government asks on landing cards whether you are coming in on a medical visa. this is incredible india's least-yammered-about big draw. who wants the beaches of goa and the dunes of rajasthan and the rhinos of kaziranga when you can have the smell of antiseptic for this cheap!? :P

(yes, i'm being facetious. i'll take the stupas of mcleodganj for the weekend, please.)

CityLurve: London (Redux)

home safe, with a riddle solved (see <http://simran.nomadlife.org/2007/04/where-would-you-go.aspx>), a new friend solidly in the kitty, a diary completed, and about half the monopoly board checked off.

london was amazing, and although i spent a lot of my time alone this trip -- and had a great time doing it -- due credit for a lot of the highlights must go to milan (<http://web.mac.com/msamani>), heather, and rishab (<http://rishab.nomadlife.org>).

heather, the quintessential wellesley woman, and my medievalist warwick castle companion: i had a fabulous time, trebuchet and train rides and long walks and all. i hope we can be companions on more such adventures!

rish... "bhai" to me too, although in a different way. thanks for letting me crash!

and milan. how can i thank you enough? right from waiting for me at the airport to riding the london eye with me to our fabulous avenue q experience to lip-smackingly good dinners at ping pong and crazy bear to zooming around central london -- st. katherine docks, st. paul's, the millennium bridge, fly one, hammersmith -- all day and all night (in the beemer, on the underground, and on foot) to the seamless laundry ka intezaam at 1 pickwick place to listening to me rattle on about grad school to explaining the origins of the anglican church and the congestion charge to co-opting vishwa's bed for me to contemplating smuggling me across the french border to offering me a place to stay "when you come here for penn-in-london [4 years from now]"... you are a gem.

my visa is valid until 2010. mel and michael will be there in the fall, too. more more more!

***

update, wednesday, june 20, 2007:

check this out: <http://www.animalsontheunderground.com>

most versatile subway system ever!

Any Given Wednesday

anjuna flea market. it's world-famous, and like most things erin and i saw on our trip, recommended by lonely planet.

the approach is by sea, around the low cliffs that separate baga and anjuna. the water is blue and clear and cool. the boatmen grin as they collect their too-high fee. the sand at the beach is black (probably from diesel, although i like to think it's because anjuna beach is special and made of old volcanoes or something.)

the heat is intense, the crowd largely white, the music throbbing. the hawkers are persistent, the wares in abundance, the colours riveting.

take a look -- dozens of pick[s]@flick[r]:
<http://www.flickr.com/photos/girlfish1303/sets/72157594563568737/>

(please note: the artiste thinks the set is best enjoyed in slideshow mode, to let the profusion and the colours really sink in)

I'm Incorrigible

i know that checking my email compulsively won't make grad school responses come in any faster (or any more positive). but so far i'm 0 for 0, and i'm getting really antsy. plus i have nothing better to do (since i'm gainfully unemployed -- unless you count french transcription, which i don't.)

so gmail it is. over and over again.

uurrrrrgh!!!

Slackerface

i'm not going to apply for that last fellowship (yeah, the prestigious one that's sat on the to-do list and mocked me every time i looked at it for the last 3 months.) bite me.

for one thing, the deadline is feb 1 and i've been super late getting on the ball (although i have noone to blame but myself). secondly, the fact that i don't have to apply is a huge relief (almost all the programs i've applied to will offer me full financial support for 5+ years if i'm admitted and choose to attend). thirdly, the financial aid forms total 18 pages, and require extensive sets of USD figures i don't have. fourth, and corollary to the first and third points, dad -- whose expert skills i need to help me fill half the stuff out -- will shoot me if i tell him i need to start working on this now for submission by next week.

but as if all this wasn't enough to deter my erstwhile good intentions, the actual application totals 11 pages, and contains topic after essay topic (beyond the usual why do you want to pursue this graduate degree, what exactly do you want to study, and why have you picked x university in which to do so) that i don't particularly want to write about:
"what motivates you? how and why?"
"describe a time you were under pressure to make a critical decision. how did you respond? what was the impact of your decisions? faced with the same situation today, would you do anything differently?"
"discuss a piece, or pieces, of art, literature, music, or film which you created or in which you have participated. why is it meaningful to you? what have you learned?"
"comment on the following quote: "when admissions officers gather to create a freshman class, there is a large elephant in the room," wrote jennifer delahunty britz, in the new york times last week [march 23, 2006]: "the desire to minimize gender imbalance in their classes." britz, the admissions dean at kenyon college, wrote that her institution gets far more applications from women than from men and that, as a result, men are "more valued applicants." – chronicle of higher education; march 27, 2006"
and worst of all:
"what are your long-term career plans?"

(there's also a narrative autobiography, but we won't even go there.)

if you find yourself dying to work on questions like these, please go get your head checked. asapkthxbye.

yes, it's a lot of money, but frankly, at this stage, all i really want to do in life is watch salaam-e-ishq, go to goa next month, and take naps when i'm not randomly counting from 1-100 or conjugating simple verbs for french class. or eating blueberry cheesecake at moshe's.

mmmm, cheesecake. far more interesting than fellowship applications. non?

I Just Dream Ran!

(well, i for one dream walked, but i'll let that slide.)

<http://mumbaimarathon.indiatimes.com/>

6 km in a little over an hour ain't bad when you've spent the last few months being completely lazy and inert. and bombay is so awesome that when slowpokes like you finish, sweating and pink in the face, you are surrounded by thousands of other people all around you who are shouting and cheering and clapping and dancing and singing and waving pom-poms and sparking off little bursts of confetti and celebrating the spirit du jour rather than dissecting such trivial things as timings.

pick@flick[r]: <http://flickr.com/photos/girlfish1303/365718310/>

good times, right from the newfound bounce in my skechers to the post-race tottering off to the bombay gym for pineapple juice.

Ghar Ki Murgi (Dal Barabar)

my days, of late, seem to consist of noonish awakenings, lounging around in pyjamas, the consumption of plenty of (healthy but super-yummy) food, hours and hours spent reading trashy novels i borrow from the bombay gym library, gabbing on the phone, writing emails to friends and reading blog entries by the dozen, daydreams about vacations in random exotic locations (london to lakshadweep in .06 seconds -- a world record!), and exhaustion at the mere contemplation of some form of constructive activity (which when defined as shopping, going out drinking with friends, or going to work at my super-chill part-time job, can't really be called constructive at all!)

all in all, it's quite the good life.

i keep telling myself that this sort of thing is just what i wanted when i decided to come back, because in a year i'll be in grad school slaving my butt off and then i'll wish i had had even more time off, yadda yadda. thus, you gotta love it.

that said, i'm crazy -- because i'm not so sure i do. i don't know if i can sit still very much longer. i can foresee being totally rusty a year from now (i feel like i am already -- forgetting names, slower at brainstorming, unmotivated to solve the sudoku). and that's scary. so the various freelance job opportunities i'm entertaining (none of which i seriously solicited in the least, previous blog post aside!) sound like good ways to capitalize on my mad [insert field here] skillz and keep me busy.

other extracurricular activities for the next few months will inevitably include: explaining to people why i don't particularly want to get married/have kids/give up on the phd even before i begin, filling out application after online application proffering intimate details about my parents' degrees/income and my home/office addresses and my most profound academic goals, helping with wedding planning, pestering my parents to take me to goa/kashid/australia, and the mere (exhausting!) contemplation of more constructive forms of activity (such as swimming, working out, and daily walks at BPT... hah, fat chance).

for now: off to bed. another lazy day ahead. to misuse the phrase, i'm a ghar ki murgi...

I Have A Job

and it involved
-- no grovelling of any kind
-- a complete lack of obsession over cover letter wording and length
-- a short commute to the interview (although a bit of a wait before i was seen)
-- no ridiculous interview questions about where i see myself in five years
-- no sinking feelings about H-1 visas and associated travails
-- an immediate offer!

i don't even have a complete job description yet, but i must say that i already feel quite justified doing a little happy dance about it :)