And from the Worst Idea EVER files

Having an acoustic guitar "just to play" in a Barista coffee shop. As if the cafe-going young men of the world need encouragement to appear soulful and sensitive. What happened to chess sets?

Thank god most people don't play Indigo Girls songs here . Unfortunately, someone did pick up the thing and start strumming, and it didn't even cover up the "All Love Songs, All the Time" music playing in the background.

On the upside, I got Indian ketchup with my panini.

Doh!

No water.
No phone.
No internet.
I'm just waiting for my laptop to explode and my books to catch on fire.

Picture Pages

If you want to see more photos than are posted here, you can email me. I'm not a huge fan of publicly search-able photos, nor are some of my friends, so I'm not using an open link.

Sadly, my camera battery is nearly dead, so I'm going to have to figure out what to do before I start really traveling (Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh are likely to be my post-work travel locales).

I will never buy a cheap camera again. I intended it to be somewhat crappy at $120, but it actually is too lousy to even get a decent shot off with any consistency, the battery never lasted long enough, and it doesn't have image stabilization (though Buy.com indicated it did). Moreover, I have severe SLR envy.

Uh--You guys know I'm not exactly roughing it, right?

After a few Thanksgiving phone calls, I gather some people think I am "enduring" Bangalore well. While I'm sure I could milk that idea for care packages, I am obligated to make it clear that my life in India is at least as easy as my life in Seattle.

The Wrong Impression: "I work 6-7 days a week. I must go through five auto drivers before I find one who will take me to the client site. Everything takes longer here. The pollution is so bad I can't run outside. I haven't found any soccer teams, and the treadmills squeak. My laundry just returned a shirt with the same toothpaste stain on it. I can't travel alone after midnight..."

Just Send My Tiara
I do very little laundry or cooking. I sleep in a king-sized bed. My apartment has three huge bedrooms, two bathrooms, and marble floors that we have someone else clean. I live in a walled compound that includes a parking garage, a swimming pool, basketball courts, and a mini skate park. I have air conditioning, but I've never used it because the weather's been so great.

I never have to drive. If I am out too late, my friends have a driver take me home,
let me sleep over, or ride to my house with me. While riding in autos, I work or read books--I've gotten more reading done here than I have in months. Sometimes I get to ride on scooters and motorcycles and get through the city quickly. I can hire a driver if I ever needed one.

Work is whenever, wherever, and as much as I like. I can work from home most days, and my commute is opposite the traffic. The IT Director at GK is spectacular and patient with me. The client site has a huge jackfruit tree growing in the courtyard. Every time I go in or out of Grameen Koota, children shout "America! America!" and want me to smile and wave at them.


"Damn, it feels good to be a Gangsta"
Meeting other people is easy. I go out three to five times a week. People buy me drinks and dinners all the time, and I got spoiled on my birthday. Wednesday night we played poker, ate chicken, and drank beer while shooting pellet guns and listening to NWA. I had two Thanksgiving dinners.

Almost all of the 20+ restaurants within walking distance of my house deliver. I eat South Indian, North Indian, Indian Chinese, Thai, Chinese Chinese, Malaysian, pizza, Italian, and steak. I also know where to get sushi and Belgian beers any time I need them. Sushi is the only meal that costs more than $20 USD, and usually I spend <$1 USD per meal. I am tired of Italian food only.

I can talk to my family and friends by IM or Skype when I miss them. TM thoughtfully hauled twenty pounds of shoes and cranberries to Bangalore for me, all of which was packed by RB and my dad. Friends at home make time to talk when I miss them. Ashlock even volunteered to do a small project for GK.

All this AND Diwali?
I received an hour-long pedicure for $9 USD. I see fireworks at least once a week. I get special treatment because I am foreign far more often than I am hassled for it. Auto drivers and clerks ask me where I am from and tell me about their relatives in the United States. Service is different than the US but far better than Seattle.

So, yes, we have power outages weekly (that's why I brought an extra laptop battery), and I'm on water rations for four days (I have additional places to shower and extra bottles in the fridge), and my new sport is professionally annoying auto drivers, but adjusting was easy. As long as you are patient enough, India always takes care of you.

Amy: 2 Mosquitoes: 10

We have a lovely apartment, but it appears to be mosquito-permeable. My suspicion is that they come out through the drains. We keep the windows closed starting late afternoon, and we have wee mosquito-toxic Plug-ins. The apartment complex gases the shrubbery and building lobbies every night at 6 PM. However, when you live somewhere that never gets colder than 60 degrees that has open sewers, there's no getting away from them.

I killed two at my desk tonight, but not before getting TEN BITES on my right leg. Thank god for After Bite. I can't imagine what it's like living someplace where the mosquitoes (or malaria) are even more of a problem, like Mumbai or Minnesota.

Like Jaws but More Annoying

The itchiness fades pretty quickly (especially if I don't scratch and apply After Bite), but sleeping in a room with a mosquito is awful. The tiny thing makes a shrill noise loud enough to keep me from falling asleep, mainly because I know I am about to get bitten on whatever flesh is exposed (usually only hands, ears and face). And--in an unfortunate event of literary appropriateness--another one just landed on my back as I was typing this entry. Other than my general lack of talent for falling asleep, mosquitoes are my top source of insomnia.

More press, this time for Clover

My brushes with fame continue, as one of my favorite gadgets (and an Atlas client), the Clover coffee machine, gets press in The Economist.

On the topic of coffee...
India has two big chains, Barista and Coffee Day. They are both Starbucks quality (over-roasted beans, really sweet drinks), but they do a better job of serving things at the right temperature, albeit MUCH more slowly than at home.

The food they serve, however, is far superior to food at a chain coffee place in the US because 1) Again--the temperature is always right, and 2) if you get a sandwich, it comes with delicious Indian ketchup (similar to American ketchup but made with real sugar, a touch of chili, and possibly crack). In my northwest coffee snob way, I roll my eyes at foreigners who miss Starbucks.

Michael, please have my Stumptown ready upon my return.

Language Updation

A mere two months in India, and my vocabulary is already changing. I swear much less, mainly. My name is now pronounced something more like "Eh-mee." I participate in things at "timings" of the day.

A friend has gotten me into the habit of calling my auto drivers, security guards, and any male service person "Boss" (pronounced more like "bose", with a long o and an s) As in: "Hai,Boss--where's Lavelle Road?" Note that you pronounce the name of the street "Lavelly," and, no, not like the Japanese "hai." Also, if I am talking to an auto driver, "road" gets half an "l," like "rload." To give turning directions, I'll say "rligh-teh," "lef-teh," and "strai-teh."

At work: updation and upgradation. These words are perfectly acceptable in Indian English, but they still make me flinch.

I now "take" meals ("Madame, you will take breakfast?"). If I eat a lunch, I order South Indian meals, though I'm only getting one. I also tell waiters that "filter water" is okay for me to drink. Instead of bell pepper, I eat capsicum, and I generally have curd (yoghurt) with every meal.

We don't know why, but adding "only" to the end of a sentence seems to make ideas more clear, like "I am here only." I'm experimenting with adding adverbs to the end of sentences in general.

I use the Indian head bob (just Google it--a million ex-pats whine about it) to indicate yes and maybe. I have no idea if I use it correctly, but I haven't had any problems yet.

I can get away with anything by saying "No problem!" and giving a huge smile. I'm pretty sure it only works because I am wealthy/female/foreign.

NYT Article on Mifos

The latest New York Times article on Mifos, complete with a photo of George looking as nerdy as possible.

More Diwali and Birthday in Bangalore

I took Saturday off and had a mellow day. Tarang, who is from Bangalore but now lives in Seattle--took me out for lunch and coffee as well as delivered my precious cranberries and Pepperidge Farm stuffing. Let's all give a little love to Tarang, Rodger, and Dad for being a good logistics team. I have a full supply of Emergen-C, my hiking boots, much needed files, and another credit card. Also important, I got small kitten stickers to be surreptitiously placed on friends' phones.

After a Biriyani lunch, I wandered around and finally found a shop selling shower curtain rods, so now Max can be spared damp TP. It was a big triumph--I've been asking every time I pass a home or plumbing store without luck (and hopefully they will have another one for Jimmy when I go back).

Unfortunately, I failed to find new a shirt. Even though now I am small enough to wear 10% of the shirts available, a lot of the colors look TERRIBLE on me (though they are great on local complexions, so I can't really fault the stores).


Mmmmm
Several of us went to 3 Storys (yes, spelled that way) and had really good coastal Indian food. I'm a huge fan of Indian coconut curries. Liz got me presents, someone bought me dinner, and now that I think about it, I haven't bought my own alcohol in forever. We chilled at a a nice roof car until last call, and then we went to a party at a friend's place. All in all, a good day.

Happy Diwali!

Diwali has started here. I know this because I hear firecrackers going off about every five minutes. From what I have been told so far, to properly celebrate Diwali, one should:

• Eat sweets
• Buy gold
• Set off ENORMOUS QUANTITIES OF FIREWORKS

Any holiday with fireworks is good by me.

Only One Thing Really Sucks Here

That was then
After my other trip to India, laundry was the one thing I was certain would go well for me. Maybe I was grubby from travel and my standards were lower, but I remember my clothes coming back clean, crisp, and on the same day.

This is now
We have tried three laundries. None of them manage to have clothes ready for us on the date stated on any consistent basis. We could get them to deliver instead of walking several blocks to check, but then you have to be here to answer the door.

Sometimes, my clothes smell less clean--though different--than when I dropped them off. Whites and brights are lost causes (the socks in the photo are from when I first arrived). If I want something white, I bleach it at home. Anything I don't want stretched or stained, I wash in a bucket in the shower and dry on the balcony.

The ironing is good, except when clothes come back with iron marks. The irons they use are generally pre-Depression Era devices that involve coals. We see women with large, flat carts pressing clothes on the street. IEverything comes back ironed--even sheets and towels.

All articles when finally returned--the record is three weeks and four visits to get back two pairs of socks--have tiny, hand-written tags matching the receipt. The wee tags are probably important because our clothes get dropped off at the cleaners, someone picks them up, and then they are taken somewhere to be washed in some body of water. We see women and children standing in the gutters washing clothing, though I have not seen any of mine there yet. I like to think my laundry is higher-end and maybe I get tap water instead of gutter water.

Washing clothes in the bucket gives you an appreciation for 1) North American water systems (yes, even Houston), and 2) the spin cycle. The water is cloudy from the tap and sometimes smells weird. I hand wash with Tide, and it dries out my hands. Wringing out a bucket of clothes is tedious and boring.

Dear May Tag Man, Are you single?
We could buy a washer for a couple hundred bucks, but I'd still be faced with wringing, and my clothes would still have to line-dry. All those "Spring-Fresh-I'm-A -Housewife-and-Happy-in-the-Sun" ads are crap. Line-dried clothes smell like mildew, pollution, or weird tap water, depending upon the weather, and they are crispy.

Dry cleaning is an inexpensive solution, but I'm not sure I can bring myself to dry clean all my clothes, in that even with US EPA standards, dry cleaning shops become Super Fund sites. I can't imagine India has any regulations (or any that are heeded), so I'll only use it for my white dress shirt.

On the bright side (sort of), my father tells me that my washer is limping, so when I come home, I may get to buy some sexy, new front-loader. Rrrrrowwwlll!

My Favorite Timings of the Day

(The power is out, so why not blog?)

Chai is one of my favorite things about working in India. If I go to the office, a nice lady or an office boy comes around at 11 and brings me a tiny cup with scalding, sweet chai. They come back and quietly pick up the cup. The same thing happens some time during the 3 o'clock hour, too.

If Liz and I go to a meeting, we almost always get a wee cup of chai AND some cookies.

I love India.


The chai in India is MUCH better than the chai you get at home. The tea is much stronger, and it's sweetened with sugar and not syrup (or whatever they sweeten chai with these days).

I'm considering opening chats and chai in Seattle. I just have to learn how to make purri.

Sweet!

I get English Premier League soccer on normal TV!

Having a Lovely Weekend--starting Wednesday

The weekend in Bangalore is a touch different, since many firms have business hours on Saturday and/or the over-achiever types I party with work Saturday anyway. Nonetheless, I always have nice weekends.

Good-bye, Nelson!
Thursday was Karnataka Day, so many of my friends had the day off. Hence, Wednesday several people met up at the 13th Floor for a send off of Nelson, who has to leave Bangalore after only 3 months to return to Dallas. He shall be missed.

I left when the shots came out, since I was working Thursday (and it was getting too late to take an auto).

Happy Karnataka Day
I celebrated Karnataka day by working away from the house and going to a department store (a very Bangalorean thing to do, apparently--it was PACKED). Coffee shops have nice sandwiches and power outlets for my laptop, plus I had a FANTASTIC veg panini. In India, all the food gets server at the proper temperature and crispness (not to mention Indian ketchup)! On the downside, I heard a lot of bad international dance hits from the last 10 years (think "Barbie Girl."). I also bought a shirt (since some ketchup ended up on mine) , wandered around Brigade Road, and hung out at a more different coffee shop.

...it's what's for dinner
Thursday night, some of the Bangalore Professionals (the Indian/ex-pat social group to which I belong) met up at a steak house. It was clean and kitschy and about as accurate of decor as you would find a Seattle restaurant posing as Texan. My steak--although not actually the filet mignon cut it was billed--was quite tasty. Since most other people were tired form the night before and I had a 12:30 AM conference call with Seattle, it was another early night.

TGIF (even if we do have to work Saturdays)
I spent Friday at GK having a VERY productive day. Any day that is productive--even when it starts with the auto driver making me walk the last kilometer to work--is a great day. All Bangalore fun aside, it's the work that is the most important thing to me.

Friday night I had a lovely Caribbean dinner at a restaurant in Indiranagar, and then went to a housewarming of a friend of a friend. Another early-but-tipsy night--home before midnight.

Some work and Some More Italian Food

Saturday I worked, tried to get my laundry, succeeded in getting everything but the pair of socks I tried to get the last time I picked up the laundry, and somehow managed to nap, too. I spent the evening at a shi-shi Italian/Western restaurant hosting an exhibition of a modern artist, and it was a lovely time. I met some Indians and more foreigners, had eminently drinkable Indian white wine and a tolerable Cab (that tasted nothing like a Cab), somehow managed to get a free dinner (thanks, Phil!) and a ride home from a friend's driver.


Just another Sunday
I feel a need to complete the weekend tale, though Sunday was spent around the house doing my end of month accounting and following up on work issues. I think I spoke maybe two sentences all day (hello and thank you to the maid) until I made a few evening phone calls. The solitude starts to make me a little weird, so I had better make an effort to interact more when working from home.

Paper plates, anyone?

Here's another look-I'm-in-India post: the disposable plates you can get on the street. I took this photo of the plate vendor at the KR City Market.

The plates are made from banana leaf. No bleaching, no printing--just leaves dried into the appropriate shape. It's not exactly the most hygienic approach, but here you learn to get over that. Another serving method is to use a flat, green banana leaf and serve food on it like a plate when you have South Indian meals (mmmm).



Here's a photo from close to the same stall where they're separating the banana components:




Also, to answer a previously asked question, "What is the weirdest thing you have smelled in India?" I would have to say it was the bulk banana sales stalls a few blocks away in the KR City market. Thousands of banana stalks, some of which are presumably rotting 1) does not smell like bananas the fruit at all, and 2) was a powerful enough smell to make me hurry to the next block, and I smell rotting garbage/sewage/animal matter daily.

Want to Help?

We are going to release version 1.1 soon, and we can use some more testing of the product. You should let me know if you want to help test.

And let's all praise Ashlock for her PhotoShop Phun on Phriday to help me get some logos together!

Other than this--it's pretty much the same

Things I Do in India that I Don't Do in Seattle
- Jaywalk
- Eat breakfast every day (a habit developed when I had to take malaria prophylaxis)
- SMS (Daily, hourly, by the minute...)
- Blog
- Drink more than once a month, in cars, before noon...
- Go dancing
- Shop to kill time
- Avoid eye contact
- Go to concerts
- Drink chai at least twice per day.
- Use a treadmill.
- Use a treadmill while breathing Malathion.


Things I Did in Seattle that I Don't Do in India
- Wear seat belts
- Operate vehicles
- Play sports
- Go out alone after 11:30
- Eat sushi (Bangalore has a couple places, but I haven't been to either)
- Shower for more than 6 minutes (the geyser only lasts so long)
- Pet random dogs (You can get mange here)
- Gain weight