good times ahead

greetings from south india, where i sit like a lump on a log all day. sometimes i read or do yoga. mostly i sit there and allow myself to be mothered and pampered.

i have 2 indian "ma's" here: one lady gives me massages and steam baths, speaks to me in mallyalum and the other one lets me 'help' in the kitchen. i think it's a ruse though - really she just lures me into the kitchen and proceeds to stuff my face with some delicious indian food - nummers! as you can imagine, i put up quite a fight.

the onam festival is underway here, with the big 3 days of celebration coming up early next week. this is the biggest festival in kerala, my favorite indian state. it celebrates an ancient story involving, um, a king. basically it's a time for families to come together and eat a lot of food. which is perfect because coozin amy arrives on monday - only 4 more days! i'm jumping out of my skin with anticipation!

our 'plans' include going to the yoga ashram that i first went to when i got here, hopping around in kerala, going to goa, and finally mumbai where we hope to be extras in a bollywood film!

cooz, your arrival cannot come soon enough...safe trip and see you soon soon soon!

bye bye birdy

when dad brought it home, it was the proverbial cats meow, as will put it "with such deluxe accoutrements as power windows, power locks, power bucket seats, keyless entry, and digital display of the speedometer. Yes, we were the lucky kids on the block for a few priceless years. Then 1986 hit, and the T-bird became outdated for all time. "

i remember getting a ride home in high school and some one saying "your dad still has that crappy Tbird?". that was 11+ years ago.

fittingly, it died on the highway and was towed back to al's garage, its 2nd home for the past 2 decades.

indian wedding: check!

yippee! my first indian wedding took place today! i stuck out like a semi-sore thumb, with no sari to wear; plus i had to sit with my friend arun and the men-folk.

the weddings in the south are different from northern-style weddings, which last days on end. this ceremony lasted 30 minutes, thank you very much! the bride wears a red sari, and the couple holds hands and walks in a circle maybe 7 times; they get some garlands, and it's done. but the garlands could literally suit and elephant. they were 6" in diameter and went down to the knees.

we proceeded to chow - people sat at long tables, cafeteria style, and ate indian food off of banana leaves. more like inhaled indian food off of banana leaves. i had to scurry out of there for the next sitting double fisting my desserts (i wasn't about to leave them, no sir!)

tomorrow starts my 6 days of ayurvedic massage and treatment. i will be receiving the massage, and maybe practicing a bit as well. life is so rough. i'm pretty much over my cold, too - all is well.

condolences to dad, who laid the beloved t-bird to rest recently. just shy of 403,000 miles, this car had been in our family since 1983. do i hear mom's voice halfway across the world, a whisper that sounds like 'good riddance'?

love and namaste to the bloggers and the 'bird,
mev

the hardest / only working fenwick

hey rooski,

how goes it? i just chatted with you the other day so i know you're safe, sound and happy in kerala. i'm not totally surprised you're blending in ... i remember lots of injuns commenting how you looked like one of them, then turning to me and shaking their heads in mild disgust ;)

this friday afternoon finds me in the sub-sub-basement of the reagan building, where they store all the cleaning supplies and IT folk. i've been forced to do actual work at the new job, lots to learn, lots of responsibility. after having zero to do for a year and a half, this change of pace is refreshing. and i hate it. i realized the other day that - with you frolicking about asia, will "studying" in europe, dad retired, and mom on vacation - i'm the only fenwick working right now and, by default, the hardest-working fenwick. there is something very wrong with that statement. i joked with will that there was a cosmic balance to his 16-hour work days and my slacking. the shoe is now on the other foot.

marathon training is going well (what a segueway) ... we'll run 16 miles tomorrow, a career-high. this will be the first friday in a long time that we don't have a drinking event scheduled - friends coming to town, engagement parties, etc. our run should be that much easier. the fundraising has been a smashing success, people have been crazy generous - yourself and many other bloggers included (thanks yous all very much).

cath and i, with much help from geoffroy, finalized our plans for our weeklong visit to the south of france the week before the wedding. avignon, nice, monaco, st tropez are on the agenda. and, of course, we can't wait to see you in paris - my God, less than 4 weeks! geez, i'm getting teary-eyed in my shared cube just thinking about it :)

alright, time to close up shop here ... gonna test out my new grill tonight. hope this finds you well.

much love, pie.

ha! they think i'm one of them!

not only am i back in india, but after about 5 days of traveling, i'm in SOUTH INDIA, which can also be spelled y-u-m-m-y! coconuts galore, fresh papaya, what more could a gal want?

my travels have been exhausting up until yesterday:
*i left pai on 17 august, took a bus to chiang mai. spent the night in chiang mai and

*18 august: got up at 5am for my flight to bangkok. spent a long layover in bangkok shopping/barbgaining and eating in chinatown (yes, i am my mother's daughter), and then on to delhi. spent the night in delhi and

*19 august: woke up and went to the train station (twice, don't ask why) to get my ticket for the h--- outta delhi. i just realized i'm backtracking from my last blog. but if you spent 48 hours on a train you might also be a bit fuzzy.

*20 august - on the train.

*21 august - one layover in bangalore - welcome back to india! these nice people at the park saved me from sitting in a pile of feces and offered me chai. consequently there was a battle for my attention, my signature, and my address by random people in the park. and on to mysore!

*22 august - i spent the day negotiating public transportation - good times! especially because people are mostly leaving me alone - i have camoflauged myself as one of the natives. it's weird, before i left india everyone knew i was a foreigner. but in the past 2 days i can't count how many people have spoken to me in the local language; and then when i smile and shake my head, they try another indian language. i truly feel like i'm getting away with something! maybe it's because i have hair this time.

i'm eager to get to kerala - tomorrow's first errand is going to the train ticket reservation office; and then on to a semi-deserted Christian ashram. which is an interesting place. it's quiet and removed from the city and the people seem very nice. it'll be a good place to just chill before i get on yet another train in any case!

also looking very forward to a visit from my cooz! in like 2 weeks - what a reunion that will be!

catie - i had (almost) forgotten about yuengling lager - i thank you for the puddle of drool that now resides on my lap!

namaskar bloggers - till the next time!

ah yes, i remember india...

namaste bloggers! i made it back to india safe and sound. i checked the weather online: haze / 90 degrees / feels like: 99 degrees. hence, i'm outta here tonight. i had done a little planning (key word: little) before i arrived and found a 24 hour train to mysore, where i want to visit an ashram. i thought that was pretty speedy so i went to the train station today and found that this train: 1. only runs on mondays, and 2. takes 48 hours, not 24. love it.

i'm staying at the same hotel that matt and i stayed in (same room in fact!), and one of the staff asked me where was my brother! (not pawan, matt - he's still not back in delhi.)

so i spent the day shopping and i will spend the evening getting the heck out of here, yay! where i'm going it's only 88 degrees, which will be like a blast of fresh air.

namaste, tout le monde!

inja will not come soon enough

aye aye aye cooz!! tefl is a doozy!!! i am teaching my first 40 minute lesson today and i basically only have time to eat and sleep outside of class and the homework that comes w/ it. i don't know if i have ever worked this hard or this much in my life, and that includes college finals. butt-kicking, not quite the same experience will had in vienna. oh well, i guess i will be ready to teach when the time comes.

you are a softie now? i am afeared for what that bodes for me, i guess i am an adaptable lady.

like i said in chat, pamper yourself while you can in thailand, you don't know when you will return, though it will probably be sooner than you think. stay well and i cannot, i repeat NOT wait to see you! TE AMO!!!

Whooops

Call 9-1-1!! I just set the office microwave on fire with microwavable popcorn. Apparently, there was an ill slip of the finger and I put it on for 30 minutes instead of 3 minutes. Awesome.

You get feeding fish in a pond and blissful relaxation.

I get blazing office appliances and the wrath of all my co-workers who now have to choke on the smell of burnt plastic and popcorn.

WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

easy peasey, japernesey!

wow. i have found, officially, THE most relaxing place in the world. it's called pai, a tiny village in northern thailand. my guest house, which happens to be the most relaxing and coolest guest house in this village, is situated about a 5 minute motorbike ride outside of 'town'.

today, the big events were as follows: a lotus flower bloomed in my pond. yes, my bungalow has a pond with lotus flowers. you can also see the pond from my porch, or from my balcony. you cannot see the pond from the sliding glass doors at the foot of my bed because there you can only see the rice paddy fields and the mountains. oh yeah, events! i also mustered the energy to walk 50 meters to a temple. and watched fish feed. yep. gettin' pretty soft here in pai, so delhi is sure to rock me. looking forward to it!

last night, i hung out with my neighbors: 5 frenchies and 5 japanesers = good fun! the french people brought red wine and cheese from france. therefore i was in heaven. they sat around discussing different techniques of sniffing wine and chain smoking cigarettes. the japanesers brought seaweed, sticky rice (which also makes and excellent incense holder!), wasabi, and other sushi whatnots. hence, i was in heaven. i'm having a good time in pai!

and i'm scared to go back to india. i'm getting soft here. delhi is going to be an assault on the senses, to put it mildly. but it'll be good fun, good fun!

ps to joba - aye aye on the november trip, can't wait to see aj and teach my not-so-smaaht aunti joba a thing or 2. in the meantime, i'll grab a few orchids off some trees here and travel around with them till november - they should hold up quite well.

Step Away from the Pert Plus

Just in case you don't get international news over there in the high-stress land that is Thai, here's an update from yours truly.

So, the freakin' terrorists ruin it for everyone yet again. They really need to find a new hobby.

Now, thanks to some boners over in Britain (they are referring to them as "homegrown" whatever the hell that means), we can no longer carry on any sort of liquid or gel toiletry onto airplanes. Heath, that means NO hair gel, NO toothpaste, NO THAI MASSAGE OILS. Ugh.

I have decided to quit my job and set up a "roach coach" of sorts outside the terminals at LAX and sell basic toiletries for outrageous prices to those who are aethetically conscious. Problem is, since you can't park outside the terminals, I may have to bail on the "roach coach" idea and just walk around in one of those vintage cigarette girl costumes and sell toothpaste in lieu of ciggys. Either way, I'm going to make a fortune. A fortune I tell you.

Pretty soon I think we'll all have to fly naked. And if that happens, I will be taking Greyhound everywhere.

Anyway, that's the news from here. As for the sore thumbs, perhaps you could borrow your bro's lame-o palm protectors and sew on sweet little thumb splints to wear during your massages. Could be a little uncomfy for the clients, but, that's the price they have to pay.

Ok, this Day Quil has gone to my head. I should go.

I love you and miss you tons!!

xoxoxoxo

Mann aus Stehl

Hi Miss,

Things in Vienna are quite wonderful. As I had hoped for, this 6 credit International Business Class is a joke and most of the time involves exploring Vienna during the week and recovering from weekend debauchery. A group of 10 of us went to Prague, Czeck Republic this past weekend. It was a beautiful city and they drink the most beer per capita of anyone in the world. The beer over here is so good when it hits the lips!

This weekend we are going to Budapest for more "cultural immersion" We haven't wandered too far off the beaten path yet, but when you have so little time in a city, i'm inclined to hit the sites and the good bars at night!

Last night a group from class went to downtown Vienna for an outdoor orchestra video. The famous orchestras generally don't play in the summer so they play DVD's of famous concerts on a huge DVD screen with a nice sound system downtown. The backdrop is the Viennese city hall which is an architectural marvel. They just put out all these seats, all these vendors show up to sell beer and food and stuff. And they serve all the alchohol in glasses. These folks really know how to relax and enjoy themselves. The city is very charming and the food is pretty good, but they never give you enough water with meals.

Yesterday, I went roller blading along the Danube and took a digger. Nice shiner on my leg, but I'll be alright. I think people thought I died, and I also thought I was going to, but the palm protectors saved me from certain hospitilization! Time is going by so quick here, the trip is already half over. Looking forward to visiting Geoffrey in Paris at the end of next week, then it is back to the Grind!!! Hope you enjoy the rest of your stay in Thailand. I hear soaking your hands in ice at the end of a long day of massages is good preventitive medicine for your muscles.

Take good care, be safe, love, will

lazy sunday

howdy bloggers -

i just had 2 days off in a row from thai massage, for the first time in a long while. my thumbs are, uhh, injured from the month of massage i've been doing. that's right, injured thumbs.

anyway, took a little bike ride out to this beautiful lake with my massage pals. they have all these little bamboo huts around the lake and you sit on the floor and they serve you food. then you lie around for 3 hours...good stuff.

i'm now looking into my third massage course with an intuitive healer masseur. interesting dude, and i think i'll learn a lot on how to improve my technique. if my thumbs recover!

in 3-5 days, i'm going to pai, which is a smaller town about 3 hours from chiang mai. i can't believe i've been in thailand for 5 weeks and haven't left chiang mai except once to renew my visa. after 7 months (more?) of travel, staying put definitely has its advantages.

yesterday i saw a poodle that had been dyed hot pink on the head and ankles. these thais like their style.

oh yeah, also - i found a live music venue. it's just a little shack of a bar that's kind of outdoors kind of indoors. with really good musicians! i was in heaven! and to top it all off, there was a surprise (to me, anyway) visitor. i heard this atrocious 'coughing'/throat clearing noise, turned around, and there was a dude there with his pet elephant. so it's official: i can move here, now that i've found a place that has live music, and elephants.

luckily san diego still beats any place i've been to!

uhh, the thai guy next to me just asked me if it was 2006. interesting question.

all right, sawat-di khah tout le monde!