Road To Mysore

This week has been and will be my most difficult week here in Mysore. By Saturday, I would have said goodbye to at least 20 maybe 25 close friends. It's like the changing of the seasons. Most of the people I have started with have either left or will be leaving by the end of the week. Many are going to Goa to be with Sharath. Those of us who will still be here expect the shala to be relatively quiet. Everyday, I seem to be having a goodbye breakfast, lunch or dinner. Kevin who lives here told me that most of his November friends are gone and his expecting his December friends to arrive soon. I wish I could say that too. There are a lot of new faces and I've met a few of them. It's not the same though.

Last Monday, I started my first Kanada class. Shobha introduced me to my Kanada teacher last week. It's been difficult focusing and practicing my Kanada because I've had a very busy social life. It will definitely slow down next when everybody leaves so I hope to focus more. Vijayalakshmi(my teacher) is a beautiful young lady with long black hair. She has taught me some useful words and phrases. I just need to memorize and practice them more. She lives across the street from the Lion's school and sells food to the children. When she does that, I try to speak to the children. They enjoy talking to me and they make me feel like a celebrity. I always ask them,"Enu beku?"(What do you want?) or "Nima heseru enu?"(What is you name?) I love the smile of their faces when I say it correctly. Rima has given me a hard time about my learning Kanada. She feels that I should be learning Sanskrit because it is the mother of all Indian languages. I think learning Kanada is more practical so I'm sticking with it.

I haven't seen much of Vincent, Rhonda and Phil this week. They've been practicing every day for the fundraiser tonight at Tina's. The money will be given to a non-profit organization which care for disabled children in Mysore. Vincent official "Diva" of Mysore and Phil are going to do a drag show. They will be backed up by Rhonda and Mabel. Vincent said he already knows the reaction of the audience because his done it before. There is no doubt in my mind it's going to be good. Vincent leaves for Goa on Saturday too and heads back to LA after two weeks. This will be his farewell performance.

A lot has happen this past week or so but I've been on a blogging slump. I just haven't felt like blogging. I think that's a first. The fact that so many of my closest friends here have left has been overwhelming. A part of me has left with them and I am sad to see them go. I have taken comfort from those who are still here and will be here much longer than I am. A few days ago I told one of the yoga students who lives here how I felt. She told me that if I ever felt overwhelm again to come and visit her. I don't know her very well, so I was pleasantly surprised she offered. It's nice to know I have someone I can lean on.

I've been here for over two months and I get adjusted every day from either Sharath or Saraswati. Yesterday I had my first Guruji adjustment. I think the stars were aligned yesterday because Guruji rarely adjusts beginners. He had just finished helping Gabriel who was practicing beside me when I started working on the utthita hasta padangusthasana. The next thing I knew he took my foot and I just surrendered into the posture. He is a very sturdy man. I felt comfortable shifting my weight forward. I've never expected Guruji to adjust me so it was a real treat. Sharath and Saraswati has alway had my back and they alway come over when I need them.

Aside from the Guruji adjustment, I got back Mari B on the right side. Ever since my left knee cracked over a month ago, I haven't binded on my right side. Saraswati helped me bind yesterday. Today my body felt stiff so it didn't happen. I know now that it's only a question of time before I can bind on the right side consistently again.

Last Monday one of my favorite ashtanga teachers arrived. I've only practiced with him twice about 4 years ago but when I met him then I was totally impressed. He is such a sweet and humble person. I couldn't help but take a glimpse of his practice. If there is one word to describe his practice, it would be... "peaceful". This morning I approached Eddie before practice and introduced myself. He said he vaguely remembered me. I didn't expect him to because a gazellion people go through his shala everyday. One day if I ever get the courage to live in New York, I would practice with him. For now I get to practice with him in Mysore. That's not bad at all :)

Last week during breakfast we notice a shift in the balance of power. Vincent, Rhonda and I noitced that we have been out numbered by the English. There were two and half Americans and 4 English on the table. I consider myself half American because I never really grew up there. Anyway ever since that day I have noticed that I have been surrounded by the English. I am slowly learning a new language. They insist that I learn "Proper English". I now catch myself using the words "fabulous, spendid and lovely" frequently. They have also tried to teach me "irony" which I still can't seem to understand. I think it's some sort of dry sarcasm. Kate frequently uses the word "cheeky" which seems to have a different meaning everytime she uses it.

Last Sunday, Kate, Rene and Nick hosted an English tea parteee. It was my first formal English tea parteee. Aside from the tea, Kate prepared cucumber and marmide sandwiches. I miserably failed my first English test when I took a bite at the marmide sandwich. I didn't make a face and I swallowed it but I told them it was "fabulously disgusting". No more marmide sandwiches for me in the near future. I was told that it was an acquired taste. I know it's not a taste I wish to acquire. The cucumber sandwiches I could take especially with cheese and pepper. I didn't realize that the English taste bud like the American taste bud could be so bland. I still prefer Asian food.

Last week and this week has been an emotional rollercoaster. I've gone from sad to see everybody go, confused on whether I should do this or that, happy for doing certain things, flat out embrassed, happy again for whatever reason, angry for being so clueless, too tired to feel anything and anxious for this week to end so maybe a new week will bring hope.

"Follow your inner voice and often times it will bring you to the wrong place and it will bring you to many wrong places but eventually it will bring you to the right place and when you get there you will appreciate it because of all the wrong places you've been to"(I don't know it word for word but I got this from Osho)

I feel like I'm in a wrong place right now. I just want to move on and get out of this place. I'm grateful for the experience and I know one day I will understand why I had to go through this. I'm ready to move on now but I have to wait out the storm.

I've recently forgotten why I enjoy blogging so much. Yesterday I felt like I was in the middle of a maze and I didn't know how to get out. All week, I have been going through a whole range of emotions which I had no control over. After I released my last blog entry I felt like I released all those emotions out to the universe. I instantly felt a sense of peace and calm. I'm still riding out the storm but I am at peace with it. I feel like I have better days ahead of me.

After blogging yesterday, I went to Avi's house for a Hanuka Celebration. I've never been to one so I thought it would be exciting. Most of the shala was invited so it was a pretty big group. I sat beside Johnny Smith who I had met 3 years ago at the Heartwood Institute in Gaberville, California. Johnny has been coming to Mysore for over 10 years and he talked about the old shala. I love hearing about the old shala stories. I wish I could say I was part of the old shala. I guess I can only experience the old shala through people like Johnny.

There was something really special about Avi's party. Avi was in Mysore last year so he knew a lot of the old students and a lot of them were there. He serve Hanuka donuts and they started singing Hanuka songs while lighting candles. He even had eggless donuts for the vegans in the house. There were about 40 people at the party but there were only 5 Jews. I thought that was funny but really cool. Most of us did not know what was going on but was just happy to be part of the celebration. I wanted to sing with them but I didn't know any of the songs. I loved the energy of the room. It felt so warm. I felt grounded and just so happy to be surrounded by lovely people. I needed to be there.

Avi is one of my favorite people here. I practice beside him everyday and we just draw from each other's energy. We save each other's spot and for the most part nobody messes with us. I think that's because we're heavier and wider than most yogis. He'll also been one of my inspirations here. Avi is about my size right now but at one point he was 295 lbs. His lost all his weight by having a daily asthanga practice. Like me, his tried everything but nothing has really worked. There's something about this practice because I've been slowly losing weight. I still have my beloved belly but when I look at my pictures when I first arrived, I can see the difference. Ashtanga rocks!!! :)

Earlier that day Jennifer and I ate at the Mysore Mandala in Laxsmipuran for lunch. After lunch Jennifer asked me if I wanted to see the old shala which was about a 5 minute walk from the Mandala. I've been wanting to see the old shala for a while but didn't know where it was. Jennifer was last here 3 years ago so she is part of the old shala. It was strange to see the old shala. It was such a tiny old building. The shala was closed so we peeked through the window. I was so excited to be there. I could not see the shala practice floor but I saw the legendary staircase to the finishing room. This is the same staircase they would sit on and wait for Guruji or Sharath to shout, "One more!" Jennifer said that Sharath still teaches there in the afternoon to the locals. We hope to ask Sharath if we can visit the old shala while he was teaching so we can see the shala floor. I would love to walk into the old shala, sit in a corner, close my eyes, take a deep breath and imagine how it used to be.

This morning I had a great practice. I've been really focused this week. Manju(Guruji's son) arrived last Monday and has been assisting all week. I got a lot of great adjustments from him. His adjustments are firm but gentle. I love his energy and sense of humor. I spoke to Manju briefly after practice. His really easy going and approachable. He said that he'll be with us until the first week of January and that he has no plans of travelling out of Mysore while his here. Nothing is definite yet but there seems to be a good chance the shala will not close in January. I'm crossing my fingers.

It's always cool when the blog world and the real world collide. That has happened 3 times the past 2 weeks. I knew that the legendary Russell of "Mysore Musings" was arriving a few weeks ago but I wasn't sure who he was. I had a feeling I knew who he was because he was the only one in Mysore who dresses like a lawyer. He seriously needs some Indian clothing. I would see him enter the shala as I was wrapping up my practice but hesitated to approach him because of his "Mysore blog star status". I've been following his blog from the very beginning and always envied his writing style. I wish I could write as well as he could. I lived in Mysore through him earlier this year.

Fortunately, Fabio his flatemate broke the ice when he asked me if I was an ezboarder. He told me that he was Russell's flatmate and that Russell was also trying to figure out who I was. Once I was certain who he was I approached him and introduced myself. It was easy to talk to him because I sort of already know him. I have to say he's not you typical uptight big city lawyer. I've worked with a few lawyers in LA and there not the most pleasant people. His pretty easy going and we're constantly laughing. I think ashtanga has soften him up a bit.

Last Saturday, Phil and I joined Russell and his crew to their weekly "Saturday Afternoon at the Movies". Everyone present would nominate a movie and we would vote on which movie to watch. No one is allowed to vote on the movie they nominated. I noticed that most of his movies were the intellectual type, so I was really happy that the movie "Old School" was chosen. When it comes to movies, I prefer the brainless ones so I can just laugh and not have to think. I watch movies to be entertained and not intellectually challenged. I wouldn't consider "Old School" a great movie but it was definitely entertaining. I think next week there's a campaign to vote for "Single White Female". I hear it's the "Fatal Attraction" type of movie. I think I could watch that.

The second blogger I met was Stephanie of "Ashtanga Traveller". She's the first ashtangi.net blogger I've met. I've been expecting her for awhile because she's been asking me questions about Mysore. I told Vincent to look for her in Goa at Sharath's workshop. When I saw a few of the people who went to Goa come back to Mysore, I knew it was any day before I bump into her.

Last Sunday, Phil and I went to the Green Hotel for breakfast. It's organic market day and I needed to pick up personal cards I had made. During breakfast, I noticed a couple with two adorable children. I had a feeling it was her but I couldn't see her tattoos because her shoulders were covered and she was wearing a long dress. If I could only see the tattoos, I know it would be her. I bumped into her at the buffet table and caught a glimpse at the tattoos on her legs. I introduced myself and talked a bit. I'm always happy to meet a fellow blogger. We spoke a little and then I hooked her up with Shiva. When she first emailed me a couple of months ago, she said she was booking a room at the Green Hotel for 10 or 20 days. I told her that she should be able to find a place in 2 to 3 days. That day she found a place, got a scooter and the following day they moved to a temporary place. They're waiting for the people to vacate the house they want to move in. It doesn't take long to get settled in Gokulam.

Yesterday, I was at Tina's for breakfast. I dropped by Russell's table just to say hi. On his table was a couple who looked very familiar. I couldn't place them. I eventually talked to them and introduced myself. It was Anne and her husband of the famed "Yoga is Youth". I could not help but smile when I found out it was them. They stopped me in my tracks before I could say anything more. Anne said she does not plan to blog while she was here. A big loss to the Mysore blog world. I'm still glad to have met them. I have always been thankful for all the Mysore bloggers before me. They have all inspired and confirmed my desire to come to Mysore.

Last Tuesday, I went to Barath Travels to pick-up my airline ticket. It was the first time I took my scooter to Laksmipuram. Vincent would be proud of me. I have moved my departure date 10 days earlier. I now leave Mysore on January 21. I was supposed to leave on January 31 and arrive on Feb 2.

A couple of weeks ago, a former co-worker told me that they may need some part-time help for this coming tax season. I emailed my boss and he told me he could use me starting Feb 1. It was hard to pass up the opportunity and since my driver's license is expiring on Jan 28, I wanted to leave earlier. I like the thought of having a job waiting for me when I arrive. I've been unemployed for more than 5 months already and my funds are slowly dwindling. I don't love being a tax accountant but I like the fact that I will always have a job from Feb 1 to April 15. So now I have less than a month to go before I head back to the real world and leave this paradise I call Mysore.

After picking up my ticket from Barath Travels, I decided to drop by the old shala since it's just a block away. Sharath had told me last Monday that Guruji is always in the old shala every morning from 10:30 to 11:30. I knocked on the front door and asked Guruji if I could see the old shala. He let me in and told me to go ahead and look around. I like the fact that he let me wander around the shala while he sat in the living room talking to his friend. I walked in the main practice room which is about 1/5 the size of new shala. I think the room can only take 12 people at a time. There were a lot pictures on the wall. I recognized a few of the western students. David Swenson had more hair and Tim Miller looked much younger. The carpet was old and moldy. I think they were the original carpets. I then walked up the legendary stairs to the finishing/changing room. The room was about the same size as the shala floor. It was nice to just wander around and take pictures. I have always wanted to be part of the old shala so being there was the next best thing. These rooms are part of ashtanga history and just being there was special.

This week has been a great practice week. Having Guruji, Manju, Sharath and Saraswati at the same time on floor has increased the energy of the room. There are more eyes looking at you and more adjustments to go around. I don't know why I didn't do it earlier but I sort of changed the approach to my practice. I think the fact that I'm leaving soon, I've felt a sense of urgency. I've accomplished everything I've expect to accomplished and more but I think it's human nature to even want more. I've always started my practice with 10 Suryanamaskara A but now I'm doing 10 B's too. I've adapted a give it everything you've got attitude. I've also been holding my postures much longer and doing 2 or 3 extra backbends. By the time I'm ready for savasana, I just pass out. I'm told I snore but I already know that...oh well. I'm so tired after practice that I end up taking a nap.

Everybody here knows that Sharath will eventually run the shala. He has been authorized by Guruji to give or take away postures. Since coming back last Sunday, his been taking away more than giving. While Sharath was in Goa, Guruji gave some postures to one of the advanced students. When Sharath came back, he went after that student and made it known that any additional postures should be cleared through him. He kept telling the student, "Why are you in a hurry?"..."Posture incorrect"...I haven't seen that student back in the shala lately. I hope she doesn't take it too personally. I think Sharath was just trying to get a message across at her expense. Matt Corigliano(Dominic's son) told me he never asks for postures. The more you ask for it, the more you won't get it. I think patience is a big part of this practice and a lot of students come here with a false impression of how advance they are. They've been doing 2nd or 3rd series postures at home and when they come here that's all taken away. Noah & Kimberly has always told the LA crew, "When you're in Mysore, you're all beginners." I'm so grateful to them for preparing us for Mysore.

When Sharath was gone, Saraswati told me to do navasana even if I normally stop at Mari C. I know you're not supposed to do navasana until you get Mari D. I did navasana while Sharath was gone but knew better not to do it when he came back. I'm really in no rush and I'm more than happy to stop at Mari C.

This week Saraswati reminded me to do navasana after she helped me with Mari C. I told her that Sharath said "No" because I had asked him earlier in the week. Saraswati insisted, "You do!" When she walked away, I tapped Sharath and told him that Saraswati told me to do navasana. He just smile and said, "Yes, you do" Nothing here is official until Sharath says it is. So I'm back to doing navasana after Mari C but I'm aware that he can take it away anytime. I think he allowed me to do it out of respect to his mother but I don't think that's normal procedure. I really don't care either way. I'm happy where I am right now. I just don't want Sharath asking me, "Why are you in a hurry?"

Yesterday one of the advance student was practicing his backbends from a handstand. I think it's also called tick tocks or something like that. He was grunting and muscling his way through the posture. The whole shala could hear him. All of a sudden, we heard a big crash, slam and bam. He fell flat on his back. Sharath from the other end of the floor shouted, "Be careful...don't break the floor." The whole shala had a laugh and then Sharath came over to help him out. That's a good Mysore lesson... don't take you practice too seriously...

I never realized that Christmas in Mysore could be so much fun. The past two days I've had a full schedule and no time to rest. I passed out early last night.

The celebrations started with a Christmas Eve party hosted by Joseph at the Southern Star. Joseph is a long time yoga student and has been hosting a Christmas party for yoga students for the past 13 years. He is also responsible for coordinating most of Guruji's world tours. It was a white elephant party(my first, never knew it existed) which means we were all expected to wear white and bring a gift for exchanging.

I met up at Anthea and Graham's place at around 5:30PM. The women where still doing there finishing touches when I arrived(some things never change). It felt like prom night because we took pictures at Anthea's before leaving for the party. We were also getting into the Christmas spirit by singing Christmas carols. I think we screwed up the "12 Days of Christmas" because somewhere between the 9th and 11th day we mixed it all up. When the women were finally ready, we scooted our way to the party. Anthea road with me and we continued to sing until we got to the Southern Star. We got a lot of stares on our way to the hotel for a couple of reasons. First we were all decked out from head to foot in white and second, Anthea and I sang our lungs out.

We continued to sing at the parking lot where we bumped into Abi, Geraldine and others who join us singing. We still couldn't figure out the arrangement of the "12 Days of Christmas" but we tried. When we finally got to the party, it was just sweet to see about 150 to 200 people all decked out in white. There was obviously a few people who needed to stand out so they wore black(why doesn't that surprise me.) I'm so used to seeing everyone sweaty in yoga clothes so it was really different seeing everyone dressed up. I have to admit that Mysore has one of the greatest concentration of naturally beautiful women...sweet. Another reason why I love being in Mysore(ha ha ha). I'm sure a lot people would argue that LA or New York has more. I live in LA and there's too much silicon going on. I don't live in New York, so I wouldn't know. I think it also has the greatest concentration of "wanderers"(me included).

Dinner was served at around 7PM and as usual, I ate too much(when will I ever learn). The food was great and the dessert was even better(my weakness). After dinner, we moved our chairs close to the pool and started the gift exchange. One by one we got up and Joseph would give us a gift. We had the option of keeping the gift or stealing someone else gift. There was a lot of stealing going on. I got a tacky book which I used to steal a nice green shawl. I must have bad karma because the person next to me stole the shawl away and I ended with a stupid looking wall clock which I just gave away...oh well.

After gift exchange, most of the guest started to leave. A handful of us just hung out in the pool side while we listened to an Indian band sing "Hotel California". I was getting a little bored but didn't want to break up the party so I decided to join the Indian band and started to sing on stage with them. I convinced Graham to come up with me and the Indian band were so accomodating. Our first song was a Beetles song. I think the title is "I Want to Hold Your Hand" or something like that. We had a small mini-concert going on. Anthea then joined me and sang "Just Seventeen"(another Beetles song). Then Feather joined me for "Another Brick in the Wall" and "Careless Whispers". I'm not a drinker and I wasn't in the mood to talk so singing and dancing foolishing seemed like a better alternative. I think we entertained our audience though. For our final encore, Anthea, Graham, Feather and I sang "Silent Night". It was an appropriate song for the night. Just like they play "Last Dance" in the clubs(that's what they use to play anyway...am I aging myself?)I'm a terrible singer but I love to sing so if your in the area..run.

Our mini-concert ended around 11PM. Anthea and I followed Graham to Laksmipuram to drop off Feather. Anthea loves to sing too, so we continued singing on the streets of Mysore and all the way back home to Gokulam. I think we woke up the neighborhood...oh well.

On Christmas morning, Phil and I went to Anthea and Graham's to help prepare breakfast. They were both hosting a small breakfast gathering at 10AM. Phil and I prepared the fruit salad. Our fruit salad was the bomb. It had papaya, pineapple, jackfruit(my favorite), oranges, strawberries, pomegranite and bananas. We put a lot of love into it so it was exceptionally good. Phil was getting grouchie because he normally has breakfast at 8AM and his last meal the night before was at 5PM. Anthea would not allow us to eat until the guests arrived so he remained grouchie until then. There were about 12 of us for breakfast including Abi, Geraldine, Thomas, Lynne and some people I just recently met. Breakfast was eventually served and it was nice to get back Phil. Shawn and Karen brought a huge box of chocolates(I like them already...remember to invite them to all parties). After breakfast we just hung-out and played some charades. Anthea had prepared some gifts and prizes. Graham had also brought some Christmas stuff from Scotland. It was a nice intimate gathering. I noticed that I was again surrounded by the British. Thank God, they didn't serve marmite and cucumber sandwiches.

Later that afternoon, I scooted to Russell's for "Saturday Afternoon at the Movies". There has been a campaign to watch "Single White Female" so like the US elections, the voting was rigged. I haven't seen the movie so I was looking forward to it. I must be really simple to please because I was the only one who enjoyed it. Ten minutes into the movie, Geraldine was reading a book. I guess you can't please everybody. Next week, there's a campaign to vote for "Moonson Wedding". I think it's appropriate since we're in India.

After the movie, I scooted to Kevin's for David's last kirtan. David leaves for Bangalore today and for Seattle the day after. It was already 6PM and I was already tired and hungry(not a very good combination) but I just wanted to say goodbye to David. After the kirtan, Julia joined me for dinner at the Green Leaf and then we scooted to the rooftop dance party at Ken's. Ken was the one who hosted the infamous party early this year. It's the party that woke up the neighbor, was visited by the police and announced in the shala the following day. When Ken arrived a few weeks ago, Saraswati told him, "No more parties." Since then Ken has made peace with the neighborhood by bring each house a cake and made it known that the music will stop at 10PM. The party was actually really nice and the set-up was sweet. The chocolate cake he served was legit...no "space cake" was served as far as I know. In the spirit of Christmas, the coconut man at the shala was there giving everybody free coconuts. I think I got to the party at around 8:30PM and by then I was just exhausted. I tried to dance with Anthea but I was just too tired. I must have left the party at around 9PM and just crashed. Between the Christmas eve party, the breakfast, the movie, the kirtan and the dance party, I ran out of gas...oh well. I can't complain though...I haven't had so much fun in Christmas in a long time.

So it's been officially posted this morning. The shala will be closed from January 5 to 10. The question now is what to do with all those days off. Initially we were decided between Pondicherry or Goa. Since the earthquake affected Chennai which is close to Pondicherry, we've ruled that out. Goa is a little bit pricer and it's peak season which means it could be a little chaotic. I estimate 5 to 6 days in Goa would cost around $500 give or take. I've never been to Goa so I'm really inclined to go but I'm not sure if I want to spend the money. The other option now is to stay in Mysore and maybe practice with Sharath. I spoke to Sharath earlier today and he said he would be closed only for 3 days but he was not sure if he would take students from the main shala. He said he would get back to me. Let's see how things will unfold in the next few days.

This morning I had my first rolfing session. I'm been often asked about rolfing since I'm a bodyworker but I don't have a good answer because I've never experienced it. There are a handful of rolfer's here so I took my time on who I would asked. I decided to get work from Jennifer since I liked her energy and she wasn't selling herself when I asked her about it. I've committed for at least 3 session which I think is minimum for most rolfers. They prefer that you do 10 session. I told Jennifer that I would probably pass out since I had a really hard practice and I was tired. I've gotten a lot of bodywork done on me and I'm very good at just letting go and not worrying about the pain. She looked at me funny and didn't believe that I would actually fall asleep during the session.

The session started with me walking back and forth in the room. I guess she wanted to know if I walked funny. She then asked me to stand still and take deep breaths. I was just dying to get on the table because I was really tired and I needed my daily after practice nap. The session was relatively painful but bearable. She would often anchor on a specific muscle then ask me to either move my leg or arm one way or another. True to form, midway through the session I passed out. I was asleep but very concious of what was going on because she would ask me to move here or there. I know I fall asleep because sometimes my snore will wake me up. I always tell whoever works on me not to tell me that I snored because I already know that.

The first session eventually ended after an hour and a half. It's hard to have any opinion on it yet since it's the first session and I still have at least two more session. I did feel a change in the way I breath. It was much easier. She had worked a lot on my chest and between my ribs. She also worked a lot on my hips and glut area but there was no significant change. Too early to tell. Maybe if I could get into padmasa tomorrow, I'll be sold on it(wishful thinking).

This afternoon I went to the shala to pay my last month for this trip. I can't believe it's already my fourth month. Where has time gone. My month officially ended on the 25th but since the shala had been closed since then, I did it today. Guruji is funny. When I came to pay he says, "Second month?" I wanted to say "Hey dude, where have you been, why don't you try fourth month!!!" I didn't have the heart to say that so I just smiled and said, "No, fourth month Guruji, last month!" The countdown begins, 25 more days...nooooo...

This morning I had breakfast with Russell and we decided we were going to have a BLOG WAR!!! He hasn't gotten over the fact that he dresses like a lawyer, even in India. It wasn't hard singling him out since on his first week he was wearing slacks and a long sleeves polo shirt when he entered the shala. Only a lawyer would wear something like that. At least now he wears jeans instead of slacks. His still holding on to his long sleeves polo shirts though, maybe one day. I believe in miracles. Being the lawyer that he is, he did point out that even if he gets Indian clothing he would still stick out like sore thumb. He's been considering some tattoos and piercing so he could blend in a little more. I don't think so.

Since meeting him a couple of weeks ago his been trying to figure out what he has to say about me. He wanted to tell me that I dress up like an accountant but he knows that's not true. I'm expecting an all out onslaught soon so I decide to take the first shot. I think I've bitten more than I can chew. Lawyers are known to go to war on a daily basis and Russell has the battle scars to show for. That seems to be their favorite past time. Accountants just count the dead bodies for them.

My friends have to told me to be careful with what I say. He might just sue me. I told them not to worry, I'll just get myself any lawyer down the street. I know I won't need a very good one.