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Normally you all know that I don't do serious postings but hold on to your seats because this one is….

While shopping today at the supermarket, I saw (and subsequently purchased) the ipill (same drug content as Plan B) – not because I needed it but because it was 75 INR which works out to be $1.88!!!

Now for those of you who don't know the FDA and various groups who claim to be looking out for "women and their health" – don't let me  get started on that here – have recently made it almost impossible to provide emergency contraceptives to women – regardless of age. 

If you are 18 and live in one of the 9 states which has legislation allowing it, you can go to a pharmacy.   However, you also get the humiliating opportunity to fill out a questionnaire (that goes on file with your pharmacy) which goes into excruciating detail about your sex life and reason for needing said emergency contraception.  The pharmacist can then decide if you are worthy of being provided the pills and this entire experience will cost you around $40 dollars (if you are under 18 and have to see a doc, the cost goes up to around $250) – and potentially, considerable embarrassment.  

Without getting into all the issues (because then you would be reading a novel), I am very happy to now live in a country that actually provides – in a supermarket no less – women of ANY age the opportunity to make a choice for THEMSELVES without having to explain it to anyone.  

Particularly, when the cost of the pill ACTUALLY AFFORDS CHOICE – unlike the US – given the price that I paid today was the same as a carton of milk!

Hurray for India and if anyone needs me to bring back a stash – I would be HAPPY to stick it to the FDA and Uncle Sam for any woman (including under 18) who need it!!  Just let me know.

Love India

Still monsoon season but I got this cool picture right before it started pouring down rain:

Almost Raining

The preparations for the Ganesh Festival are in full swing here – apparently this festival while celebrated all over India is particularly a big deal here in the south.  Ganesh is worshipped as the god of fortune and wisdom.  The idols are put into the river and from what I read, it is a bit of an ecological problem given that the stautes like the ones below are made from plaster of paris and are spray painted with enamel.  Apparently the moves towards eco-friendly idols has started but there still seems to be some resistance because of the market from bright colors….check out more information here

Ganeshs

I
am upstairs taking care of the garden – watering, trimming and such when I hear
these jingle bells, rhythmically loping down the street – and given this is
India, I am thinking this should be interesting…

Caveat
– I have been trying, completely unsuccessfully, to capture a image of the ox carts here
because the bullocks usually have their horns nicely painted – bovine nail
polish – and with bells on their necks or horns.  

So of course I am thinking SWEET!  I have a ox cart going right through my neighborhood and I am I going to get the shot!!!  So I dash downstairs to get my camera, find it and run up the stairs back out to the terrace….peer over the balcony and see this…..GOD, I love India!  Seriously, a camel in my hood – how cool is that?  

Apparently, the owner of Morris the Camel (my name for him) needed a bio break and the empty lot to the side of the apartment afforded him that opportunity as well as a snack for Morris…

Morris

Snack

Went out shopping this morning with a friend and his daughter – actually hunting for shops that I couldn't find on my own (no comments please).  After paying we went across the street to get some coconut water.  I love this stuff because it really helps keep you cool in the heat (apparently the water has a very cooling effect on the body) and even though the rain has come it is still bloody hot – and humid (hence the hairstyle).  The best part is that on about every other corner, there is a guy with a stack of coconuts and a HUGE sharp knife ready to serve one up for you!

I think it was about 12 rupees for 4 of them which means you can get a refreshing drink for about .07 cents – SWEET!

Anyway, the picture is of me and our new friend's little girl – her coconut was almost as big as her!!!

Coconut Water Corner

Took an aerobic class at a place called Figurine Fitness tonight and it kicked my you know what.  It might have something to do with the fact that I haven't excercised in forever or that it was so fast paced – yeah, let's go with fast paced….

The motto of the place is "The only encouraging fact to elevation is a conscious endeavor"   Ugh?  Whatever.  Sometimes it is just better not to delve to deeply.

Anyway, I got a good workout so my friend and I are heading back there tonight for another round of torture – we are going to join the class for the next three months for 5000 INR which works out to about $1.40 per class – eat that Gold's!

There is a man who sits on the corner down the street from our place who has amazing pottery…my limited  - actually non existent Kanada is preventing a in depth conversation, but I think he is only a reseller, not the potter.  Anyway, I love the devil head (think it is used to ward off bad things – as it is affixed to many corners of homes/apartments here – see upper right corner of pic) and the cow pot (far right).

Pottery

Ok, Lamps here are a little on the expensive side (and a bit garish – think 70's Vegas kitsch) so I decided that I would buy some really cheap ones with simple lines and be done with it.

So off I go to the local home store – equivalent to Mervyn's – and find two lamps.  I liked them because while they were simple and would do for two years.  They had a dual glass design – one frosted glass tube covering the light bulb and another clear glass hourglass shaped outer tube.  The two glass tubes were held onto the lamp body but three metal pins that screwed into the base.

There was a small hassle buying them given they only had one in a box and it took about 30 minutes to disassemble and wrap up the floor model which, at the time, I thought was a bit ridculous – until I got them home and tried to put them together.  I remembered the "you get what you pay for" adage as soon as I started.  The first mishap was the three holes in the outer clear glass tube didn't completely align with the holes on the frosted glass tube (not to mention the holes in the base) and as we all know, glass is not REALLY all that flexible.  So I figured out a solution and after about 30 minutes, got the first one put together and ….SWEET…. we had a lamp…until….I carried the lamp to its new home, set it down, and heard a crack.  Apparently, the immense force with which I placed the lamp on the table was too much for the outer clear glass shade to take and it cracked into 8 pieces….@#$#@

Oh but that was just the beginning…I decided there needed to be an outer shade because I trashed the outer shade on both.  Well, I am pretty industrious and had time…..so I started to make shades for both.  I had great linen paper I bought in Berkeley and a glue gun… I could do this.  After I figured out the basic structural integrity issues, I put them together and was quite chuffed with myself because, while they were a bit rough, I loved them.

 So, in great anticipation once the two outer shades were finished, I excited started to put the 2nd lamp together and again when to put it down and …… CRACK!!!  Double, TRIPLE @#$#@!!!

Ok, has anyone out there ever tried to glue back together cheaply manufactured FROSTED glass???   Well, lets just say I viewed it as an opportunity (retroactively of course) to work on my patience and as stupid as this sounds, I was not going to be beaten by these lamps!!  I brought superglue and spent the next two days painstakingly putting the lamp shade back together – I should say, quite badly – as you can see, the final product is a bit crooked.
 

Repaired

I finished last night (a little unsure if the repair would hold up) and VERY gently, replaced the shade but fingers crossed, it has held…yes, I know it has only been one day but here is final product (frosted shade under the new paper outer shade)……

Lampshade

Some of you may know that Darren and I caught a rather nasty bout of Delhi Belly a week ago and were down for the count for a few days.  Well, we suspected that it might be our water – even though a "new" water purifier was installed in the house for us and was "serviced" (read – only proof of the service was initials on a sticker on the side and our landlords word).  Anyway, we told our landlord our water purifier needed to be cleaned and the filters changed.

I have been doing a lot of research on water filteration and water purifiers and ours is a very good one – with one caveat – duh….clean filters are really key….

Needless to say, the gentleman showed up and serviced our filter…and I, being curious by nature (and frankly to make sure the job was done throughly), watched.  I actually think the guy really enjoyed someone taking an interest and asking him questions and he was diggin' the fact I was keen to take pictures of the filters …but I digress…..

I was quite shocked (albeit not surprised) when he pulled one of the two filters out of our "brand new water purifier" that our landlord said was "just installed for madam and sir" and found the following (the old – obviously on the right with the new one on the left for comparison)

All I can say is, another lesson learned in India … never again will I believe "installed just for you"….

Clean and Dirty

Diligently working this morning at my desk I heard rustling outside my office window.  I though it might be Morris (a chipmunk who comes and hangs out in the tree occasionally) so I poked my head out my window and this is what I saw:

Coconut Thief Butt

Needless to say, I was a bit shocked.  This guy had free climbed the tree (4 stories tall) and was sitting in the tree.  To add insult to my shock, he cut my coconuts down and TOOK them – so no coconut water for us.

Hanging