getting the memo

Last night, we went to a friend's wedding reception. About 30 minutes before when we had to leave, I started rummaging around looking for a suit, tie, and nice shirt - all those pieces of clothing that rarely get used. I tried to get some advice on tie/shirt matching over IM from a friend. Finally, frustrated, I decided that I was just going to wear a Kurta instead. I have some Kurtas from the various ceremonies surrounding our wedding - and they never see the light of day anyway. I picked a nice white one with a bit of embroidery on it.

We showed up at the hotel and proceeded to grab a drink and appetizers. I didn't see anyone else wearing a kurta. About 45 minutes into the event, I was pretty distraught; whereas the women were decked out in their finest Indian clothes, I stood alone, in bright white, in a sea of black suits.

It's as if everyone else there got the memo, but they forgot to cc me.

You'd think more people would wear Indian clothes at an Indian wedding, huh? But maybe evening events call for a suit.

So what does one do in a situation like that? I did what any self respecting male does. I downed my wine, took a few gulps of scotch, and used all that liquid confidence to pretend like *they* hadn't received the memo.

I'm penning this for posterity, lest all the liquid confidence makes me forget to wear a suit next time.

Socio-adjusting

Babies have this comfort zone of how many people they want to be around. If they grow up with lots of people around, they suddenly feel at a loss when they are alone. If they are used to just having their parents around, they feel overwhelmed when they are around many people for a long time.

I've noticed it with many 2nd generation indian kids who go back to India on vacation. They flip out when they first get there, because they're suddenly being doted on by grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. Three or four weeks later, they head back home and are suddenly antsy when only their parents (and maybe siblings) are around.

I think that happened to me this month. I've been working alone for the past nine months and was suddenly thrust into three weeks of meeting people (though I actually didn't do the normal amount of socializing because I was pretty busy working).

Now I'm back in Berkeley, and working from an empty, quiet home again seems awfully difficult.

not another rails post

It has come to my attention that many of my readers couldn't care less about rails. I apologize. Since this past february, my life has been consumed by reporterist. I eat, breathe, and dream about it. Bed-talk with my wife often involves reporterist brainstorming.

And yet, life does tend to have a way of going on. I'm currently spending a few weeks in Pune, and am fortunate to be able to attend the famous Sawai Gandharva Mahotsav - a four-day indian classical music festival. It's my first ever, and the first day was great!

I'm happy to report that eighteen months of living in Bangalore seems to have solidified my India-driving skills. I'm now pretty comfortable driving here even after not doing so for a year.

I got a wisdom tooth removed, and have been in pain for over a week. Earlier this week I decided to stop taking painkillers, and start drinking instead. A bit of cognac from Dad's bar seems to have eased the pain (and pleased the palette) this evening.