cape town

Happy end of 2005! I'm in sunny, a bit hot, Cape Town, South Africa with my sister. We arrived here two nights ago where we started off with staying at a backpacker. It was unique and all but unfortunatley we were in rickety bunk beds with what seemed like 5 other people in a dorm room and shared bath. Having a bar next door and me not having slept in 24 hours, we tossed and turned. The next morning we booked rooms at a luxury hotel.

Yesterday we went to the Waterfront where we enjoyed fresh sushi and oysters. Took a catamaran cruise out to the bay and saw table mountain and the city from the water. Ogled the racing sailing boats in the Volvo Ocean Race. All the teams are berthed in Capetown for the time being and are taking off on 2 Jan. Today we hiked up table mountain, it was pretty strenuous and hot. Opted to take the cable car down.

It doesn't really feel like I'm on the African continent. Capetown is super developed, I could be in any mediterranean cosmopolitan European city, or San Francisco. It is beautiful here though. Wish you all a Happy New Year!

well crap

I had just written a beautiful post on the virtues of traveling with friends and family, and also the surprising virtues of traveling alone internationally ... and then blogger refreshed itself and erased my five thoughtfully written paragraphs. Oh well. Main point, when traveling alone, meet cool new people, have conversations I wouldn't have had with people I already know, and may lead to do doing new things, having cool new experiences. Don't worry, nothing crazy happened in Dubai. Just left the airport and found someone to discuss cinema with during the intermission of King Kong.

screening

I just tried to look up pictures posted on my Flickr! account in a public internet terminal in Dubai International Airport where I have a 9 hour layover (due to New Delhi flight being delayed taking off and then the airstrip in Dubai being temporarily shut down). None of the pics on the blog are working from this terminal. When I tried to go to my Flickr! account this is the message I got:

We apologize the site you are attempting to visit has been blocked due to its content being inconsistent with the religious, cultural, political and moral values of the United Arab Emirates. If you think this site should not be blocked, please visit the Feedback Form available on our website.

Temple

Old Delhi
Originally uploaded by ScelestiX.

Old Delhi, India, my last night in India! Woohooo, Dubai here I come! For 10 hours anyway.

No comment

Red Fort
Originally uploaded by ScelestiX.

Red Fort in the Old Delhi section.

Lake Palace

Lake Palace
Originally uploaded by ScelestiX.

Yes, in the city of fairyland palaces, lakes and hills --- Udaipur, Rajasthan.

Prince

Monkey Love
Originally uploaded by ScelestiX.

Yeah, what a darling, so much love. Glad to be recognized by my fellow primates. At Jagat Retreat outside of Udaipur, Rajasthan.

Swimming Boy

Swimming Boy
Originally uploaded by ScelestiX.

In the city of lakes and palaces, Udaipur, Rajasthan.

Village Street in Rajasthan

Donkeys
Originally uploaded by ScelestiX.

Two days before Christmas ...

Bangles!

Bangles!
Originally uploaded by ScelestiX.

Colorful sparkly churris, worn with bright matching outfits on the first official day of wedding festivities in New Delhi. Mine are the gold and white ones.

School Boys

School Boys
Originally uploaded by ScelestiX.

In Rajasthan.

Rajasthani Elephant

Rajasthani Elephant
Originally uploaded by ScelestiX.

Just a sight you might see while on the road in India. This happened my first full day in Rajasthan.

Laj Path Market

Lagh Path Market
Originally uploaded by ScelestiX.

The first afternoon I spent in Delhi at the THIRD market.

kilometers

I'm back in Delhi now. Have a day and half left here before I take off again for another destination.

Last night we had Pizza Hut, it was the first time I had a western chain restaurant food in India. And I must say it was yummy, with chilies and lamb sausage. The dough was NOT soaked with nasty oil substitute like in the States, instead, the pan pizza was made with ghee (clarified butter). Today we're having McDonald's for lunch. I can't remember the last time I had MickeyD's in the States but I've been craving french fries, Big Macs, thick chocolate milkshakes, and soft serve sundaes.

Over the pizza we went over photographs taken while in Udaipur. There's a bunch of short videos of me partaking in camel abuse for the sake of tourism. For fun's sake I was convinced to take a camel ride down from Kumbulgarh fort. It was nice to see the view from up high on a camel's back but about part way through I felt the saddle listing to the side and thought I was gonna take a header down the stone path.

Today we're just relaxing, making some room for friends coming in tonight. Until later.

the land of the brave and warrior kind

I'm in Rajasthan now, specifically Udaipur, which is known as the 'Venice' of the East. Well truthfully I like Udaipur more than I like Venice. And the two are as different as night and day. In a backdrop of pointy hills like the kind I drew with my crayons as a child, lakes, and palaces by the water, it definitely harkens back to another era. I couldn't have asked for a better respite from New Delhi. It is quiet, the air is fresh, there are beautiful hills, clearer water. Definitely a good place to rejuvenate. Yesterday we visited the impenetrable fort, a structure that dates anywhere from 1000 to 500 years back. Only once taken by the great Mughal emperor Akbar but then only held for two days. Many many ancient temples, pre-Mughal era.

Today we went to the city palace and then had lunch and the lake palace, the white confection of a royal home-turned-hotel. Good stuff. Tomorrow planning to relax, go to a lake and to the Monsoon palace. After that, we are driving back to Delhi. Anyway, friends are waiting ... staying at a real nifty cool retreat, with real black panthers lurking in the woods.

hallo!

From New Delhi. Hmmm, international flights arrive at atrocious hours in New Delhi, so even though it meant a long a queue at immigrations, my flight was not the only one that arrived at 1:40 AM. The first day we shopped and went to various markets and I picked out all my outfits for the wedding and bought some presents. The second day was a beauty day. After the relaxing beautiful morning/early afternoon of getting a trim, hot oil treatment, massage, pedicure, manicure, and eyebrow threading, we visited Humayun's tomb, precursor to the Taj Mahal.

After that, I left a plastic bag filled with what seemed like a gallon of vomit on the side of the Indian highway. Welcome to India, gastranomically anyway. I seem to be the only person afflicted with stomach woes. And don't worry mom, I'm still taking Immodium AD, Pepto Bismol, vitamins, and drinking plenty of fluids. I've just progressed today to the extremely gassy phase.

For those of you worried about the dance that a bunch of non-Indians who had no experience dancing to bhangra who then would perform in a foreign country in front of one hundred fifty people, don't worry, we got to do it twice! And no, not because the first time people laughed so hysterically that they didn't pay attention the first time, but as an encore :)

Well, phew thank goodness that's over. Amazing how quickly my appetite returned. Although I still have the bhangra/hindi version of "Pretty Woman" stuck in my head and every now and then I find myself shrugging my shoulders to the beat.

Yesterday we went to Agra, home of the India's national monument, the Taj Mahal. Leaving early enough we managed to avoid a lot of traffic and saw camels traveling on the highway. I used to think driving DC streets was pretty bad with Virginia and Maryland plates running around, especially Maryland plates :) but India's a whole 'nother experience, three wheel rickshaws, bicycles, holiday processions during rush hour, people deliberately going up the wrong lane, cows, women carrying baskets on their head ... I mean utter chaos, usually the people move out of the way when you honk, but the cows take their time. The Taj Mahal was well the Taj Mahal, you've seen the pictures. It's still a sight to see. I was rather amazed that the whole thing is inlaid with semi-precious stones like carnelian, onyx, lapis lazuli, and the like. For a man who had a thousand or five hundred wives, he certainly had his favorite.

I've got two more full days left of Delhi really, and then I'm off to Udaipur for a few more days. Hopefully with less pollution. The guides claim that Delhi gets covered in fog, perhaps, but given the black snot we have been blowing, I think the more appropriate term is smog.

Right now I'm definitely taking it a half day at a time. I haven't quite come to grasp that I have already been on vacation for four days and still have three more weeks left. Work couldn't be farther from my mind :)

a new chapter

Tonight's my last night of class, I'm finally turning in this pain-in-the-ass paper. Twelve footnoted pages on what I learned in PSC 248 National Security Policymaking Processes class. Did I mention it was primarily a theory class? Have one more final to go, and then a week from now I will be a grumpy cat at Heathrow airport awaiting my flight to NEW DELHI!!!!

In three weeks I will partying it up with backpackers in CAPETOWN!!! Hence the light blogging, I can't really write so much about what I've been doing (nothing really) when I feel as if I have so much more to look forward to in the next few weeks. And it's nice that I officially only have four more days of work, hopefully working my last weekend shift for years and will be returning to the 9-5 living since May... an end to shift work for now anyway.

freedom for my lungs

Hell ya! DC voted 12-1 to institute a smoking ban. I am really not crying. Phew, the relief of not smelling like garbage when I get home from a bar or club. Or spending the next day recovering and trying to feel like a normal human being after injesting stale concentrated exhalations of smokers. Not having to face this scenario again: my favorite tuxedo black shirt still crumpled on my closet floor because it costs $4.50 to dry clean it, from my last outing. I know other smokers will cry but NYC has instituted the same ban, and I haven't heard any rumblings about loss of business. And face it, DC has bars unlike VA, although Guarapo's and Eleventh can compete, you can't really find the same stuff in Arlington than you can in DC. Also I'm glad to hear they are seeking exemptions for hookah's, because they don't seem to bother me as much, lack of additives perhaps?

tube series

I'm not a t.v. person. It may come as a shock to you that I have a 32" flat LCD panel Philips television hanging on my wall. It looks quite pretty, and collects a lot of dust. I can't really take advantage of its HD capability because I do not have any type of home A/V system. In fact, I still have the Sony boombox my dad bought me from Costco, in the 8th grade, which hardly gets radio reception, won't play CD-R's, and the tape decks don't even work anymore. Really, it does nothing. I should get rid of it. But I get attached to things people give me for sentimental reasons.

Recently, I have gotten into a couple t.v. series. Usually my interest runs out on them after I realize they've disappointed me and that I'm getting fat sitting on the couch watching them when I could be making good use of my gym membership. The first is Six Feet Under, which I know already ended. But what an intriguing well-written show, I've seen the first five seasons and have yet to watch the 6th ... waiting for someone's HBO On Demand to come around. Seeing it before a bad Hollywood movie, specifically, The Notebook, comes to mind, reminds me that there is quality tv and very awful cinema.

The second is Lost, which I've commented on before. So far I REALLY like it. But I fear J.J. Abrams is going to disappoint me again by trying to make me suspend my willful disbelief far further than I'm capable of separating from it ... like he did in the 2nd and 3rd series of Alias, which used to be my favorite t.v. drama. I watched the entire first season in the past 48 hours ... yeah, it was awesome. I have about nine episodes to catch up on and I'm already hearing mixed reviews. From it's getting better with the character development and drama, to it's getting slower and dragging on further. Oh well, perhaps why I only like to commit two hours to a movie versus an hour every week for years.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I worked on Thanksgiving and will be going to work shortly. But I am thankful that when I do have to work holidays I was fortunate enough to have a team of colleagues who are more like my sisters and a brother. Sure, I missed the yearly crowded house at either my mom's or dad's side, the number of first cousins easily going upwards of 20, the freshman college boys playing basketball or football, the girls going shopping with the under 30 uncles (hard to think of them as uncles as some of the cousins are older than they are), the middle and high schoolers playing video games, the elementary and pre-school ones playing imaginative games that none of the adults can figure out, and the adults pouring over sale papers, arguing about politics, and cooking up a storm, or the mass exodus from the crowded house to the movie theater to see the perennial extended fantasy holiday flick, all before the massive meal where either we all commence to drinking tea, finding corners to nap in, or flock to the video store to rent something to occupy our time.

arm pains

The blog is still alive. I've meant to write but my laptop was undertaking a sea voyage or something and I finally got it back yesterday. I saw Ft. Lauderdale all torn up three weeks ago, the Airport Wyndham Hotel without electricity or hot water (I arrived Oct. 31st way after Hurricane Rita) and was told it may not resume until Nov. 8th. But I've been back in DC for last week and a half so no more tropical hurricane ravaged places for me.

Both of my arms are INCREDIBLY sore. This is the first time I've had three shots at the same time. The left arm hepatitis A and flu, the right arm tetanus. In a few weeks I'll be on so many pills they'll constitute an entire meal: typhoid vaccination, malaria pills, etc. This is all in preparation for my trip to India, which I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT!!!! I just have to get through writing three papers before I jump the gun, pack my bags and go without a care to finishing this academic semester.

It's definitely trepidation mixed with overall excited. The last time I went to the South Asian continent (Bangladesh) I HATED it. My family went on a open return ticket and every time my mom returned to the flat without a set date to go back to the U.S. I threw a tantrum and screamed. I was all of 11 years old and really could not handle the heat, humidity, mosquitoes, stench, weird native Bengalis, giant flying cockroaches, two weeks of dysentery, pick-pocketing and beggar children with missing limbs. I think I'm a mite bit more prepared this time around, and its been 14 years!!! I'm ready to go back. With woodsman strength OFF! a month's supply of anti-diarrheal and a set return ticket. Don't get me wrong I am excited but prepared.

hash

Saturday afternoon, away from DC, somewhere tropical without a car, and at the mercy of those I was visiting I decided to give in to two things I'm not particularly crazy about: drinking beer and running. Yes, I was supposed to do both at the same time. Since college I've been told about a peculiar club that likes to run and drink beer at the same time, singing bawdy songs, and partying afterwards. Billed a "beer drinking club with a running problem," I met with the local hash club. No, not that kind of hash.

We set off into the hilly scrub land, avoiding large cactuses, and trying to get through a few bogs left by the rain a couple weeks ago. Vistas of the sea whenever we managed to get to a ridgeline. I can't say I finished the 6.2 mile trail the hares set for us, I dropped my contact lens (seems to be a recurring experience whenever I'm on TDY in this part of the world) in the last 1/2 mile of the run. Then the mosquitoes descended. Screw the contact lens. A 'virgin' runner, I can't say I see myself doing this again, although now I can say I've done it and crossed it off my list.

The point of the group is to be silly, social, and have fun. I like to think clubbing and concerts takes care of that for me. The ribald singing and all that was good but I've decided I'm more of a dancing martini girl when I want to be goofy. Or you know re-enacting Lord of the Rings on a ridgeline on Harper's Ferry ...

exercise in energy

Thursday morning: climbing at Carderock, knocked out one I've been dying to try, although went a bit off route
Friday night: dancing with the co-workers at Gua-rapo's, closed it down (have been doing that a lot recently--amazing how partying intensifies with the coinciding of school work getting heavier)
Saturday night: pig roast, NC style; followed by Octoberfest party, and nightcapping at a dive bar in Clarendon
Sunday: tasty breakfast at the Original Pancake House, followed by hiking at Big Schloss in GW National Forest, followed by seeing Death Cab for Cutie at 9:30 Club

In case you're wondering, I will be WORKING on Halloween weekend.

weekends

Last weekend I went to my second Christian wedding. It was loads of fun, in the middle of scenic Roanoke, where surprisingly I found a supermarket ... um okay not the most exciting of discoveries. But anyway, I found it an interesting cultural experience, since most the weddings I attend are Bengali Muslim weddings.

Things I liked:

Priest asks: Who gives her away? (or something like that)
Father: Her mother and I

Also after doing a father and daughter dance at the reception, the groom also dances with his mother

I have to admit I tuned out during the evangelical bits, but otherwise quite excited to see the bride was very there, not like how I imagine I would be, a couple servings of bourbon with a side of valium.

blog lite

When I came back from Qatar, I was plunged into mid-term hell. I'm still recuperating and about to take another final gasp of air before I plunge into the pool of graduate school finals and preparing for another big trip for work.

So I will summarize. Had fantastic food at Oyamel (its been so long I don't even remember if I blogged about this). Heartily recommend it. Not too keen on Acadiana though, newest venture from the group that brought DC Ceiba, TenPenh, and DC Coast (I've never dined at the latter two). Also if you want fresh, inexpensive, delicious quick sushi that's not your grocery store variety, only three words: Nooshi Carry Out (on 19th between L and M).

Nooooooooooooooo

Red is dead. There is no place like Red, and no place that has music like Red. I guess I'll just have to go to NYC more often.

ninja women

Thank you New York Times for reporting on this. I am consistently pounding my head against a wall when I'm trying to break down stereotypes Westerners have of Muslim women. When I went to Qatar I tried to use humor to make the American guys I was with see the other side of the story.

Me: I want to buy an abaya and wear it.
Them: (look of concern on their faces)
Me: That way I could wear it at meetings and nobody would know that I was asleep
Them: (howls of laughter)
Me: And I could walk down the street and pretend not to see people that I didn't want to talk to, and best of all, they wouldn't even know it was me!
Them: (howls of laughter)

GMT +7 Pic

Yea, of all the pics I took in Doha, they were mostly of Western establishments. One night we went to the souqs (street markets) but I forgot my camera and will ping my colleague who had taken pictures. Also I mostly took pictures of people in Doha because, honestly that was all there was to see!!! Yes I suppose I could've taken a picture of the expansive desert (but not even a picturesque kind with large sand dunes). The people pictures may eventually be posted on my Flickr! account.

A nod to a Portuguese chicken place!!! Finally I tried it after my colleagues and cousins raved about it ... in Doha of all places, and on the first night of Ramadan.

The infamous Sheraton in Doha. The top is where I had dinner.

Unfortunatley I didn't take very many pictures in Qatar. Whenever we were out it was during the evening so it wasn't like I could take very good pictures of anything. But here's me in front of the Lebanese restaurant on the south end of Corniche.

Street festival in Frankfurt.

Main River in Frankfurt.

The post WWII rebuilt square.

Frankfurt street scene.

The requisite fort on each hill top above Idar.

So I promised pictures. Idar Oberstein. I got into town just as everything closed, hence the deserted feel.

flights

Six hours from NYC to Washington. The plane was on the verge of a mutiny but I was surprised by how most people kept their cool and didn't complain too much. The problem was Reagan Airport. The weather had deteriorated so much that by the time they opened, and we had the go ahead (my flight from JFK got cancelled so they cabbed us to LaGuardia to catch an another already delayed flight) after sitting on the tarmac for almost 2 hours, we took off. I opened my eyes 45 minutes later to see fog. Or a cloud or something. And then a brief moment of DC's city lights, the quick strip of runway which quickly flew under the wheels before the jet climbed back into the sky. Thirty minutes later we landed in Richmond. The pilot, after only being able to see the runway after descending to 7,000 feet decided not to risk landing at Reagan and took us to Richmond to refuel. My fellow seatmates were seriously considering renting a car and driving.

6 Hours. That was my flight from Heathrow to JFK. Next time I'm just flying to Dulles and putting the cab fare on the company account.

outside the beltway

The District of Columbia is a very different place than Columbia, MD, Arlington, VA, Richmond, VA, Los Angelos, CA, or New York City, New York. And its the most interesting thing to hear what people think of DC even though their experience is based on miserable tourist trips with a vehicle (remember METRO, use the METRO outside travelers!!! It's the city's not so well kept secret). I've only heard two positive things about my beautiful dear and lovely city that I call home while talking to other fellow Americans. I heard from them: great culture, arts, museums, theaters, dining, and concerts. And then I hear them speak miserly of the traffic, the people they hate, the beltway bandits, politicians, bureaucrats, lawyers, and again the people they hate.

Thanks for making me feel welcome. And I'm sorry they have such a limited view of what the city has to offer. Surely if they were standing on the wrong side of the escalator at Metro Center and got run over by a stampede of harried commuters, they might've found the lack of apologies intolerable. Surely if they were in traffic and found when they turned their blinker on to merge, it seemed everyone sped up. Perhaps when they were starving, they nearly collapsed waiting in line at the McDonald's, or when they planned a trip to the monuments, they were unhappy to find themselves emptying the contents of their bookbag to the security guards. Well I don't know if any of these things happened to them.

But surely I think they would change their mind if they saw what I saw. Beautiful weekday afternoons hiking along Mather Gorge (or better climbing in Mather Gorge), biking along the Mt Vernon trail (laughing at the traffic), the down-to-earth people chilling at the Red Room (Black Cat), rockin' out at the 9:30 Club, hanging out with our neighbors at the local bar--only a block away, taking a stroll in Dupont on a Sunday morning, reading the paper at Teaism, getting a recommendation for a painter from a Reverend at the Rhode Island Home Depot, admiring fresh vegetables at the farmer's market, seeing a friend unexpectedly while walking around the block, the transexual prostitute who asks me how I'm doing when I step out of my building to go to work at 4:30 AM, and frankly the cure-all to all the city's woes: a gin martini from Zaytinya's exquisite bar (or any of the other notable DC bar). So my DC readers, tell these people who think we're cynics because we have "TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION" on our license plates why they are just as cynical for thinking our lovely built-on-a-swamp city is a crap hole.

small worlds

The funniest thing about traveling is I get extremely geared up for unfamiliar sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and faces. However the most stunning thing about traveling is realizing how familiar everything really is. In my case, I was flabbergasted when I saw a person I had known to be in a different part of world to call my name from the sidewalk. As I looked at him, the name and face registered and then my eyes immediately refocused so I could look at the background (the ruby colored sky turning violet during twilight over the desert). I honestly had to do a mental check to make sure that a) I wasn't dreaming b) I wasn't hallucinating c) I really was in Qatar. I can't even begin to describe how ecstatic I was to see someone from home, who had been away from home and in a place neither of us expected to be together. The evening became a surrealistic familiarness ... we went to a 'Western mall' which we immediately exited to see how pedestrian friendly Doha was. Yesterday night I saw him off as he returned home. Its interesting how our out-of-context meeting helped us see different sides of each other. Soon enough we'll see each other in the familiar surroundings of our beginnings.

rest and relaxation

Regardless of what I think of this war, tonight I had an experience that put everything in perspective. The kind of perspective that makes me feel like none of the bully pulpit pounding that goes on in Washington DC means anything and the type of perspective that puts razor sharp lines around purpose like a glaring street light. I was surounded by young men and women taking a break from the war up North, emotionally battle scarred, worn, eager and hungry for a friendly face. I overheard their stories, stories of uncommon heroism. A mechanic, not just any mechanic, but an infantry mechanic whose job included cleaning out vehicles that came back from the combat zone, covered in his comrade's blood and bones. Of a young woman who had the bottom half of her face torn away, survived for a day, and then died, leaving behind three young children, none of whom were her own. When I was listening uninvited to the conversation, the heat of tears filled my eyes. This is the closest I've physically gotten to the war in Iraq, and I almost felt selfish for wanting to cry. Maybe I felt they (soldiers) bleed inside in a different way, wondering which one of their friends would make it back to the barracks, or if he would be able to console his wife if he gets back at the end of his tour. Crying felt very selfish then. I would never know the bounds of their sadness and pain. At the same time, maybe I would never feel their happiness to be have a few days respite from battle. They were relieved with joy: to go shopping in an Arab country that had a mall rivalling Tyson's Galleria II, cruise in a dhow in the Gulf, and jump sand dunes in SUV's without being shot at and then have Applebee's for dinner. In a few days they will return to the front lines, the days they slept here without the sounds of mortars and gunfire above them and swam in a clean freshwater pool a hopeful memory; while I fly back to DC, return to my loft condo and have dinner at a trendy restaurant downtown. At the same time I may never know what they actually feel.

Crag log

Last Wednesday (not this past one but before that) I went climbing at PATC's Carderock Wednesday. Became more smooth on Sterling Crack. Tuesday morning before I left for my trip I hit Great Falls and finally finished my nemesis: Romeo's Ladder, woohoo! Also attempted a 5.10 crack to the left of it but 2 feet from the anchors figured out why it was a 5.10. Right now I really miss climbing, there's not a bouldering site or crag to be found in this barren wasteland. I made some pretty good progress on those days and can't wait to tackle Splinters again, also Cornice. Hopefully my arms won't have deteriorated too much.

lebanese doha

During the day, with no air pollution to refract the light, the sun beats down in the desert. It's about a 100 degrees and its good weather. However it's fairly humid and there's always a breeze. At night it cools to 80 with the same wonderful breeze. The sand gets everywhere. Where am I? Qatar, on one of the most inhospitable land masses on earth. Why do people live here?

Much to my surprise, Doha is quite lovely. We went to a Lebanese restaurant, in the form of a sprawling castle on the Corniche (a concrete upscale boardwalk along Doha's shore). There we enjoyed fantastic mezzes, followed a fantastic dish of grilled fish. Afterwards I smoked possibly the finest smoothest sweetest hashisha. The buzz was instantaneous.

I took some pictures. On photgraphy etiquette: for the most part we're not supposed to point our cameras at locals without asking permission. They could take offense. One being in a Wahhabi Arab country: I was surprised that not only did I see Arabs in their traditional dress, but I saw Arabs in contemporary dress. And not as conservative on the women as you might think. I wore jeans, a blazer, and sandals, whereas I saw women in knee high skirts and sleeveless tops. The locals seemed very friendly and pleasant. Most know some sort of English, and the place we went to wasn't entirely frequented by Westerners but by Arabs as well. People didn't stare or give us unpleasant looks. All in all, a very enjoyable and lovely evening.

Zieg honey

Thursday morning, the day of our checkout from the Frankfurt Airport Sheraton and an impending evening (unknown to us at that time a horrid flight) to the desert (where I am now), I fulfilled my body's request for some rejuvenation at the hotel gym. After enjoying a delicious breakfast buffet of yogurt and muesli (among other things like meats and fruit), myself and one other intrepid friend took the train into downtown Frankfurt. We came out on Zieg street where I immediately hit the shops: H&M and Zara to be exact. Why is the H&M in Europe so much better than the ones in the States?

Some type of fall festival was going on downtown as the entire street was filled with vendors: winemakers, country honey, sausages, apfelwein (regional specialty drink), wood carvers, soap makers, etc. Four years ago when I first came to Germany, I ate my host out of her creamed German honey, in three days. I have craved that honey, and I found it on the streets of Frankfurt and now there is some in my suitcase, which will hopefully not break on my flight home. I wandered around and took pix of the crowd (which will be coming soon when I get home). After tiring my feet we returned to the hotel, picked up our bags and then took a ride on possibly the worst airline I've ever ridden in my life.

bloglite frankfurt

So very sparse on the blogging. I take back what I said about commentables in an earlier post. Yes, I want you to comment. Even if you are cloak-and-daggering! ;)

It's been sparse because I've had scarce internet access. Tuesday night I flew out of Dulles and landed in Frankfurt Wednesday morning. I admit I wasn't super excited about Frankfurt, or Germany for that matter. From what I read in the guide books, Frankfurt was the 'headquarters of the EU currency,' the financial capital of Germany, 'modern,' and billed itself as Mainhatten (a play off Manhattan--a definite sign of banality when a European city is nicknamed after a much livelier and character-driven AMERICAN city). Mostly destroyed in WWII, everything rebuilt is modern, and anything that looks like it maybe 'Germanic' is fake and a replica.

The first day I arrived I forgoed the promised jog to my body to work out jet lag, plopped down on the Sheraton Frankfurt Airport's plumped feather bed and napped until I realized I would miss my train to Idar-Oberstein. Idar is a tiny hamlet to the west of Frankfurt, off the Main River and closer to the Rhine. On the way from Frankfurt the train cut through large hills that had been blasted away and terraced for optimum grape-growing. Apparently the region is famous for wine. Meeting an old college buddy in Idar, we sat down for dinner at one of Germany's few family friendly restaurants, as we had a two year toddler with us.

One thing I love about Germany is it seems every major hill has a castle or fort built on top, sometimes overlooking a tiny town. It makes me believe in Beowolf (hah, am I even on the right continent? someone correct me). Dinner was some type of steak, a bit chewy, marinated and cooked over a pit fire with a side of crisped homestyle roasted pototos. Yum.

And then I somehow figured out how to switch trains in the middle of the night to arrive back at the airport. Pics will come once I've returned home and downloaded them to my laptop.

changing season gastronomes

Its still hot outside, but breezy and comfortable enough to climb in the various river gorges. It also means a change in my gastronomic tendencies. As a creature who's happiness is expressed by the palette and having an eye view of beautifully prepared food (to eat!) I can say, I'm saying goodbye to the fruit accented salads of summer, and cool sushi fare of the evening (although I will revisit both no doubt in the cooler seasons). Now I can eat at 2 Amy's without guilt, inhale Vietnamese noodle soup and indulge in another Fall raw treat-oysters. DCist alerted me to Old Ebbitt Grill's Oyster Riot. Now I imagine Oyster is a totally acquired taste, much like many things like beer, wine, sushi, but all of which have great rewards after having acquired said taste. Yes its a bit funny looking, tasting, feeling, smelling, but mmmm mmm the salty sweet complexity of an oyster is frankly, well, I haven't found it anywhere else. So anyone up for a November evening of slurping and imbibing?

le climbin' log

snack'in climber
Originally uploaded by ScelestiX.

You haven't had a good climbing day until you've nearly pulled out your shoulder and lost some skin. Today's climbing was accentuated with a light shower of blood. We went to Degree 101 and did an nubby face climb and then back to Aid Box to tackle Splinters, which we finally finished, next time with 1/2 as many falls! And yes, we're still trying to forget the un-jubilating memory of seeing a 6'6 red headed guy bound up the climb in 2 seconds.

le vote

When I was 18, I admit, I was too lazy to register. As the 2000 elections drew nearer, I mailed my voter registration twice and never got a registration card so figured rather than wait hours in line with a slim chance the vote would count (on so many levels), I would continue with my ordinary day.

As I watched election results that fall, I saw an anomaly that lessened my faith in America's elections. A President who lost the popular election but won because of electoral votes (which later turned out to because votes weren't properly accounted for in certain SE states).

In 2004, after switching my residency from VA to DC, I registered and vowed not to let this election slip me by. On a beautiful crisp autumn day I strolled five blocks to my polling station, a charming red brick church and stood in-line. When I got the ballot, I checked off Kerry. That night I went to Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse to watch the election results. What started as an exuberant hopeful celebration, turned into people finishing, ordering, and crying into their beers. Supposedly this last election had a higher voter turn out, and this time the guy got a mandate.

I live in a 'pseudo-state' that voted 91% blue in the last elections, has no voting representatives in Congress (the 'Taxation Without Representation' plates I have on my car were not a choice at the DMV--they are standard), prior to that I lived in Virginia which was traditionally red and has fairly strong and senior members in Congress.

Now tell me about disenchantment.

commentables

It gives the heart joy to see people leaving comments on my blog, and I'm afraid this new feature will curtail that :( Basically, you can't comment unless you are a registered user of blogger. Yes, encouraging the bubbling Google conglomerate.

If you give people allowances, they will shamelessly exploit them. They do not care that they can comment anonymously (or callously) or create false identities to tease a girl; whereas I have left my life as an open book on yours truly, kneepains.blogspot.com.

Thank you for reading.

mail guilt

Don't you hate it when you get free things from non-profits??? Without asking for them? I mean really, on their paltry budgets, they give you a little token--like pre-gift gratitude, for which you are expected to make a donation worth 100 times more? I feel guilty, WETA just sent me beautiful personalized mailing labels with pretty pictures of DC's monument's on them. I'm keeping the labels, and umm, maybe when I see them again, I'll remember to write a check.

So does that make me a bad person? I MEAN I DIDN'T ASK FOR the PRETTY LABELS!!

Shrubs vs. Climbers

Check out this Washington Post article, in the Metro section. I have already said something about this debate. And judging from the discussions on the PATC mountaineering and DC outdoor rockclimbing listservs, climbers are not enamoring people with them. Okay, some may ponder the utility of implementing costly new regulations that impact climbers for the sake of saving two shrubs ... but what concerns me is this 'no compromise attitude.' The climbing community has decided if the NPS takes this one step to regulate and restrict climbing, it will become a downward spiral.

I say let 'em bolt the climbs, how many times have climbers expressed happiness that crags were bolted anyway? Other parks already require permitting for climbing (yes it makes it more difficult) and for a popular area like GF, this could cause some serious climbing scheduling havoc ... and if they are shutting down two areas, namely Dr. Needlepoint and Sandbox (temporarily they claim) that could also be problematic. Right now climbers look like they don't give a sh*t about the environment and are holding a victory (keep the status quo) or nothing approach ... which may soil our reputation.

a chance to see Thievery

In an anti-war protest. I'm not going to get into the issues involving withdrawing US troops from Iraq (that's a dissertation and would come too close to the issues I deal with on a daily basis outside of blogging, climbing and eating); but this is a great chance to see a wonderful DJ outfit. I'm particularly curious to see what they would be like outdoors, so let me know how it is if you go!

Sept. 24, 2005 - A FREE MUSIC FESTIVAL TO STOP THE WAR IN IRAQ! THIEVERY CORPORATION - BOUNCING SOULSLE TIGRE - THE COUP -STEVE EARLE - TED LEO + THE PHARMACISTSWAYNE KRAMER OF THE MC5 WITH THE BELLRAYSSweet Honey in the Rock and The Evens.HEAD-ROC -HOSTED BY JELLO BIAFRA

disappearing karma

When one's time is consumed with trying to decide what she should do with the scant free time (work out, do homework, see friends?) I will try to break up what would be an ordinarily boring day. For example, looking for Karma, a lounge coffee bar somewhere in Foggy Bottom. Now I've rode my bike past this place dozens of times but whenever I actually go to look for it on foot, I can never find it. And I never seem to remember the intersection. Senior moments.

Looking at the menu I'm surprised it's focused on Mediterranean foods. Particularly since Karma is a Buddhist concept, starting from India that spread to East Asia and definitley not the Middle East. Oh well, next time.

bad for you good food

Fried chicken, curly fries, Wendy's burgers, Jerry's potato wedges, Haagen Dazs ... Despite what one might think its fairly easy to replace these unhealthy choices with grilled chicken, boiled potatoes, the Gardenburger, roasted potatoes, and um, frankly there's really no good substitute for ice cream, except frozen custard which is probably worse for you. Now that's nine days out of ten, that I'll eat healthy, and then I'll splurge--even though I know this sits like a brick in my stomach, chipped beef on toast. Mmmmm mmmm. If you look at it, it's pretty gross. Lumpy cream colored (or orange if you go to Bob & Edith's) gravy with bits of shaved super processed beef on two slices of buttered toast. Even though its a treat that I'll pay for in a couple hours by multiple runs to the bathroom, I'm always quickly shoveling it down my throat, in hopes nobody stops by and looks at my food like, What the heck is that???

Commemoration

For many today was a day of remembrance, sadness, or for a lot of my colleagues, working. In another part of the world, some wretches were celebrating the anniversary of a (pyrrhic)victory. Terror seeks to make people afraid to live their lives (I think perhaps the UN almost agreed on a definition for terrorism?--US's definition), but in general that's the gist.

Now to keep it lighthearted, I and the teeming masses at Great Falls NP enjoyed the beautiful weather, not unlike four years ago (amazing that much time has passed) with their families and friends. I was also ripping my arms out again on Splinters (The Aid Box), inappropriately rated a 5.7 ...

the point guide

I can't say this speaks for all women, but I figure it's time to put it out there. Particularly given how the change in a women's status and opportunities have also confused relations between the sexes. So here's a sampling of behaviors that are rewarded and infractions that may be grounds for dismissal:

Rewarded:

Courtesy, ie:) opening doors, saying please, thank you, I think Cleveland Park Men's Best Practices actually does a good job of explaining this) (100)
Paying for a meal on the first date, but if she insists (ask if she's sure) on splitting the check, then do it (100)
Flowers, particularly unexpectedly (100)
In general surprising her in a good way (500)
Being romantic but not in a gag reflex kind of way (you have to figure this one out on your own, see the next point) (500)
Listening to her (you can show you are by asking questions about what she's talking to you about) (500)
Making her laugh (500)
When introducing you to your friends, making it easy (500)
Cooking her a meal (not appropriate for the first date) (500)
Being confident and sure of yourself without being egotistical and arrogant (750)
Having her parents get along with you (1000-not necessary for everyone)
Having her friends get along with you (1000-not necessary for everyone)

Infractions:

Trying to get her drunk on the first date (-100)
Eying other girls in her presence (-500)
Hitting on other girls in her presence (grounds for dismissal)
Making fun of her -and not in a good way (grounds for dismissal)
Being on a completely different planet during a date (-400)
Hiding something bothering you by repeatedly saying you're fine! (-50-you can admit it without divulging details)
Not returning a phone call (-10, if repeated grounds for dismissal)
Standing her up (grounds for dismissal)
The mother hates you (grounds for dismissal-can depend on the woman)
Fighting with her friends (depends on the situation--I've been both: the disapproving friend, and the datee caught between a rock and a hard place)
Obsessive, jealous or manipulative behaviors (grounds for dismissal)
Cheating on her (grounds for being strung by your balls from a tree branch)

conservative vs. liberal

Exactly what does it mean? You think there would be a clear answer, but there isn't. There's the international level of conservative and liberal, the domestic version of conservative and liberal, and the social version of conservative and liberal. Frankly, I choose independent because I'm completely confused. They seem to have morphed into labels, into us vs. them, with very little differences between them.

Please pipe in. So what brought on Bureauqette questioning the meanings of conservative and liberal? Probably because I've been utterly confused when I found myself agreeing with people who outwardly claimed they were conservative Republicans.

There are the obvious humorous stereotypes (I don't advocate them but this is what I hear) we make:

In General: Liberal-tree hugging effiminate peace loving, hippie World Bank protestor; UN & Nader champion
Conservative-religious rich tie-eating, pro-military anti-abortion, unipower world advocate; Bush lover

In International Affairs: Conservative means realist, and liberal means, well liberal. Realists are obsessed with states and power calculations, liberals are obsessed with multi-national organizations.

Domestically, conservatives are suburban/rural or who have money; advocate less government. Liberals are midde-class young urbanites who want accountability from the government.

Socially: Conservatives are religious, anti-abortion, traditionalists. Liberals are secular, testing social boundaries, pro-life.

Well who gives a sh*t? I'm speaking in generalities here, but here are my thoughts. In all three cases I'd probably claim I'm a liberal. One guy told me that men are hesitant to claim they are liberal because it's emasculating. However, sometimes I find myself distanced from some liberals because I don't really appreciate their talking about the opposition in rabid foul language, where on the contrary I've met gentlemanly soft-spoken respectful conservatives (I've seen vice versa as well). Although this is all situation and personality dependent, I've observed that both sides are sometimes unwilling to hear the other side, and maintain they are right no matter what. Additionally, both sides often generalize their arguments, and seem to think one or two factors have made the situation what they are, ignoring that most of the issues they disagree on are incredibly complex with factors not readily apparent influencing the issue. And that makes liberals and conservatives all the same to me.

Powell Commission

So Powell is possibly going to lead a commission to investigate the handling of Hurricane Katrina?

Just as a point, I find that fascinating given his admission about the infamous speech he gave to the UN:

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said Thursday his prewar speech to the United Nations accusing Iraq of harboring weapons of mass destruction was a "blot" on his record.
"I'm the one who presented it to the world, and (it) will always be a part of my record. It was painful. It is painful now," Powell said in an interview with Barbara Walters on ABC-News.

Is this a recovery attempt?

Roosevelt island memorial. Again. not. very. exciting.

On the Roosevelt Island Bridge looking towards Georgetown. Not. very. exciting.

quelling anti-arranged marriage

I get into arguments about people who seem to know more about my culture than I apparently do. Example, arranged marriages means forced marriages. B u l l fucking s h i t. I don't deny that in some rural water-logged or water-deprived developing country, far from central government influence, 11 year olds are married off to spindly mean red-eyed seventy year olds who beat them and essentially make them slaves, but I object that all arranged marriages are characterized that way.

The simplest way to think about it is your family or close friends of your family playing matchmaker. Okay, maybe you do only get to meet them once or for a week before you have to say yes or no, and um that sucks, but in some families, you can date for months. The point is, it depends on the family and individuals. Islam prohibits women from being forced by her parents into a marriage. I can't deny that families can pressure their daughters, but again, that's a case-by-case situation. Families are very close in other cultures, its not about the American 'nuclear' family, which I think most sociologists can debunk; but the extended family.

Imagine meeting a dude: "Hey here's my dad, here are my brothers, here are my uncles, and cousin-brothers." READ: You f(*& with me they'll break your legs and string you up from a tree branch. Yeah! It's like Godfather. But with a less unhappy ending. It provides the marriage with a readily available support network, but anyway I'm getting off the topic. Tradition is not necessarily something to demonize, neither is a practice that once everyone in the world practiced, including Americans, a godawful thing.

bike accident log

If anyone cares, today I hit a woman's minivan's side view mirror, veered off and crashed into the curb.

Don't worry mom, I'm okay!!! No somersaults and I was wearing a helmet, although, boy do I have a nasty charlie horse from the pedal slamming into my calf.

bonefish grill

So after a not so strenuous day of climbing at Talking Head Wall (because the parts that were strenuous, I couldn't even do) and still being sore from climbing at Great Falls, (the log: The Right Stuff, attempting some crazy 5.10 my friend told me was a 5.4, Splinters, and then being so worn out from Splinters I couldn't even complete the corner of Aid Box--how pathetic) I decided to eat with friends at the much talked about Bonefish Grill. Normally I wouldn't review chain restaurants but I figured this one wasn't as prolific as Red Lobster or Ruby Tuesday's.

Starting off with a Georgia Peach martini (very tasty) I joined my friends at the table. They're into having you dip your bread (which tasted warmed, not recently baked) in pesto and olive oil. For an appetizer we had calamari, which according to my friends, is usually excellent, but that night was chewy. This is place where you get fish, grilled, like the name suggests, in a variety of preparations: lemon butter sauce, lime tomato garlic sauce, warm mango salsa or pan-Asian style. For everyone else, it seemed the lime tomato garlic sauce (seemed best on the white fishes) and pan-Asian style (particularly good with seared Ahi tuna) were a hit. I ordered the dismal overpriced halibut rockefeller, topped with crab meat, spinach, and three kinds of cheeses, which all tasted American. I also got the potatos au gratin which again were cheesy, but in an unflavorful American kind of way. Yeah, I should give up right??? This is why I won't dine at chain restaurants, or I just ordered the wrong things.

However, Pesce on P Street is a great fish restaurant, as is Oceanaire Seafood Room if your're looking for a loud boisterous atmosphere.

Frankly, I still think Bengalis do fish better :) ... mmm sauteed onions and chillies in garlic, cayenne, turmeric, cumin, and salt ... all in a frying pan. Or in a nice tangy mango curry, mmm ..., don't get me started ...

the constant gardener

Something about this movie was disturbing. It's a serious film, supposed to be a thriller, but in that intellectual kind of way that makes a commentary on world affairs or society or something. But frankly it falls flat. Supposedly based around a love story, where Justin, a British diplomat begins to investigate the brutal death of his young activist wife Tessa. First, it's a weird relationship to begin with, and not convincing at all. Justin is a quiet soft spoken green-thumbed gentleman who's probably in his late thirties if not early forties. Tessa is an outspoken, mischievous, bleeding-heart, 24 year old vixen. An unlikely pairing if you ask me, and let's not get into how they met, with her embarrassing herself during one of his speeches, asking him for drinks, and then sleeping with him afterwards.

Oh yeah, and how does she get to Kenya? By asking him to take her with him, even though goodness knows how deep their relationship is. Justin 'is flattered' that Tessa would allow him to take her as his lover or wife. WEIRD. On top of that, he takes her without fully knowing exactly what she wants to do in Kenya, and it isn't until after her death that he tries to figure out what she was doing.

**** SPOILERS***** And the ending too. A bit pat that a pharmaceutical company would hire goondas to take her out, and then later the grieving Justin **** SPOILERS*****

Oooh, if you want to see a creepy thrilling movie, Cronicas is out. Check out my review here.

comments

I love getting them. I think I've mentioned this before. Although I realize I have to have a thick skin about somethings. For the most part I don't want this blog to get bogged down with heavy stuff (did you see my class list???? and I'm not even going to get into what my job is like), so normally I'm going to write about very uncontroversial things. Hence the 'lightness' aspect of it. So keep the comments coming! Spammers go away.

GWU review

So classes have started. For the most part I've tried to avoid writing about school, but it has happened, and now I'm going to purge this need by writing about my classes. Yes, if you've ever been curious about classes for a Master of Arts in International Affairs at the George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, here's your chance to read up.

IAFF 290 US Foreign Policy in Gulf--Not the Gulf of Mexico, which given the state of affairs, any policy would be useful; but the Persian Gulf, also in a sad state of affairs. This class is taught by former Ambassador Edward Gnehm, and I when I took it, not only was it my first graduate course, but it was his as well. Hopefully he's made some improvements, like no required SINGLE SPACE 15 page paper for a final. There's a ton of reading, but it is a seminar like class so expect to raise your hand.

ECON International Trade and Finance (the one for dummies who don't want to take two semesters)- I'm wretched with economics. I don't get it. To me its a pseudo-science based on assumptions about human behavior that got turned into hard science. That's my rant and I'll stop now. This class was taught by Skancke, who mostly lectured. I have to say I did learn something as he required us to analyze a news article each week relating to our lessons.

IAFF 201 Diplomatic Negotiations Skills-Taught by former Ambassador McNamara. Actually was quite work intensive for a 1 credit, had a paper due nearly every week. Requires lots of class participation, but it's fairly easy to stay anonymous. Actually learned some non-intuitive things about negotiating. Useful also for job or other negotiations.

IAFF International Affairs of South Asia-My one class taught by an academic during my entire 04-05 Academic year, Professor Ollapally. Background in this subject is useful prior to taking the class. Requires an in-class blue book midterm and a final research paper.

PSC Theories of International Relations-Taught by a Foreign Service Officer, Edward Lacey. Lacey knows his stuff, and he will not shy away from letting the entire class know that he's a realist. However, I was not a big fan of his in-class midterm which was a T/F multiple choice thing mainly based on memorizing the readings. How awful, I took several theory courses in undergrad and I was pretty sure you could only explore this subject via discussion and writing theory papers. Although I have to give him credit for giving us a rather 'fun' take-home final exam which was a policy paper.

IAFF Responses to Terrorism-So far most awesome class to date. I have to admit, because of work I'm fairly inundated with this subject but I liked Rhea Siers, who's a policy person within the Department of Defense. It's primarily a discussion course and we had a great mix of former military, NGO & non-profit workers, lawyers, and government employees, so it was LIVELY.

IAFF Transnational Security Issues-Taught by former CIA analyst George Fidas. Fairly interesting as it covers the broad spectrum of transnational issues, from AIDS to ethnic conflict. Primarily lecture based with two policy papers (means little research--woohoo!).

In December or January, look for a review of HIST Uses of History in International Relations, PSC National Security Making Process and IAFF Introduction to Formal Briefing.

Well that's it folks. Apologies to those who could give a sh*t about my GWU classes.

digital vs. film

I recently commandeered my sister's graduation present, a Canon Powershot 4.0 MP A520. I was excited, a relief to carry rather than the veritable rucksack that contains my film SLR. But what I found is the Powershot is pretty much a point and shoot camera and maybe a bit worse because its takes a while for the camera to save the image and make itself ready for the next shot. How annoying. My SLR can take pictures as long as 30 seconds or 1/4000 of a second. That's freaking exhilarating. Not too mention, that heavy baby can take about 2.5 pictures a second ... it's a Ferrari Modena compared to the digital. If only it wasn't a Hummer H2 :( body style.

I know the digital SLR, four times the cost of a film SLR are approaching if not surpassing picture quality, however I'm still curious if their speed is close, particularly between shots. Also the instant gratification of seeing my picture after I take it is not really gratifying. Instant gratification seems to be a oxymoron when it comes to picture taking. Sending film off to the developer and waiting for it in my mailbox (don't trust the teenagers working the one hour photo shops) is like getting an unexpected bouquet of flowers.

Valdemar

valdemar
Originally uploaded by ScelestiX.

Isn't he the cutest most adorable thing???

The wedding party

the future of climbing at GF

There's a raging debate going on in DC's small climbing community. A new management plan for Great Falls is underway that if agreed on will limit the usage of Great Falls as a climber's haven. The proposed plans involve 1) maintaing the status quo OR 2) (which is recommended) a) installing anchors for climbs b) control access through permitting c) closing some climbing sites.

I think installing anchors is a good idea that will benefit the park and climbers. Many times I've seen trees that have been gnarled, particularly in heavily used areas like Aid Box because they've been used as anchors. Also I've seen too many climbers make improper anchors and installing hardware will make it safer for climbers and reduce environmental impact. Although the weekends are crowded, I'm not sure about controlling access through permitting. Right now I think first come first serve suits everyone well. As for closing climbing sites, I only think two are in consideration: Sandbox and Dr. Needlepoint. Which I suppose if they are temporary closings with some access for climbers I don't mind so much. Also, I've never been to Sandbox so I guess you can't miss what you haven't experienced.

There are some good points though in the discussion. For example, why are climber's being targetted when the park is more heavily trafficked by hikers, tourists, and the like? Simple things like permitting one car in when car goes out in super busy times seems to solve some problems concerning overcrowding. Anyway, if you are a climber and care about climbers, the meeting to discuss the proposed plan will be on the 17th of September (Saturday) from 1 to 3 PM at the Great Falls Visitor's Center. Come out, enjoy a morning of climbing and then make your voice heard!

weddings

At one point do they become a disaster? This weekend I attended two lovely ceremonies for members of my family. The first involved my cousin who's wedding was very last minute. They had originally cancelled it because of some difficult news. We had it at my aunt's. Tens of us crowded in a townhouse in Centreville. It made me appreciate the simplicity of having close friends and family, to not worry about wedding photographers, a venue that doesn't require a contract, home cooked dinner instead of questionable catering, and all that other racketeering that goes on with weddings.

The second wedding I went to was unexpected. I thought it would be an engagement party, instead it turned out to be the actual exchanging of the vows (the reception won't be until December). Again, close family, no acquaintances, or people crashing just for the dinner ... it was nice that it was simple and not too frilly.

Luckily these were both Muslim weddings so there was very little complications. Both services used the same imam. But what do you do when you've got two different cultures? For example what if Asian (South-Muslim) marries a WASP-y type person? No alcohol at the reception first off. Second, how do you agree on a cleric? A Muslim family will never accept a Christian or Jewish cleric, has to be an imam. So then what do you do? Also there are other interesting issues. For example, parents who are divorced. If you have two families who cannot stand eachother at all. I'm sure these are old questions that have solutions for them, but since I've got two colleagues who've got weddings on the mind, I've been avoiding this stuff. Apparently I'm next on the chop block. The only conclusion is to elope!!! Haha, not that I'm in any danger of that since there are no prospectives (and the idea is still abstract to me).

Happiness

Happiness
Originally uploaded by ScelestiX.

That's not me climbing!!! But I did go up the route he did, up until that roof where I decided that I needed to go around it. So that is Talking Head Wall. Most of the climbs are rated in the 5.11 and up range, the cruxes are all overhangs and roofs like you see in the picture. But the way up to them is as easy as climbing a ladder. Good place to practice roofs if you've already got the capability, and a good place to start practicing lead climbing. Although for the intermediate climber, its too easy mixed with impossible.

soulfood

It would be pretty funny if I found out that people who are attracted to spiritual stuff found this website, hoping for revelations from the Bhagavad Gita or something or at least a discussion thereof. Instead they find a whiny government employee/graduate student spouting ill-informed opinions on things nobody knows everything about or trying to outdo DC foodies on eating. Well that will all stop (for at least this post) because at the request of a friend, I will once again delve into territory which I admittedly have no experience in. The friend wants insight into the super exclusive world of indie rock, because the damn radio stations rarely play it, it will not always make into the Grammy awards, or be featured on MTV, I will date myself and be really unhip by posting songs I love. Songs and bands recommended to me by friends, or being trapped in their cars and forced to listen and love. Not all may 'classify' as indie and some maybe downright pop, but I'm not a purist about music genre or labels. If you have other recommendations, please post and let me know!!!

Ash--Anything by them "Free All Angels" is an awesome album
Belle & Sebastian--"Get me Away from Here I'm Dying" &"Boy with the Arab Strap" among many other jewels
Ben Harper--"Steal My Kisses" &"Faded"
Blur --"Coffee +TV"
Broken Social Scene-- "Shampoo Suicide" &"Cause=Time"
Built to Spill-- "I would Hurt a Fly"
Cat Power-- "He War"
Death Cab for Cutie--"Photobooth" & "The Sound of Settling"
The Decemberists--"Legionaire's Lament", "Angel, Won't You Call Me", & "Billy Liar"
The Dismemberment Plan--"Superpowers"
Elliott Smith--"Baby Britain"
The Flaming Lips--"Fight Test"
Frente!--Anything by them
Guster--Anything by them
Interpol
Jeff Buckley --"Last Goodbye"
Kasabian
Modest Mouse --"Dramamine" & "Float On"
Pavement --"Cut your Hair" & "Spit on a Stranger"
Phoenix
Spoon --"The Way we Get By"
Stephen Malkmus--"Do not Feed the Oyster"
The Unicorns--"Jellybones"
Wilco--"I'm the Man who Loves You", "Heavy Metal Drummer",
The Wrens--"This Boy is Exhausted"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs--"Maps"

sympathy

Everyone is talking about how awful Katrina hitting New Orleans and how awful the devastation is. I wonder if they really feel it, because yes it's awful, and yes you're a cold mean person if you think disasters are hilarious and don't really give a shit. Well, yes, here comes the part where I'm revealed to be a cold hearted person if I say Katrina hasn't affected my moods at all. Except for the part where I'm uncomfortable commiserating with other people's sympathy about it. Maybe we all harden a bit. You can be sensitive to everyone and everything. Be upset by things that only affect you emotionally, for example wars going on in distant places.

Katrina was a fascinating spectacle to watch yes. But shit happens, life goes on. Hurricanes, earthquakes, tornados are things humans have no control over. It's like death, we all have a 100% certainty we'll all die. We have no control over it. I have to think about Katrina because its on the news and everyone is talking about it. Yes, it's awful that emergency medical services are inadequately prepared to do their jobs because of loss of electricity, roads that are impassible, and other difficulties. That the superdome is overcrowded and there are some huge issues with sanitation. And here I'll be brutally honest. I'm just glad the past two days in D.C. have been absolutely gorgeous.

Because I'm honestly more affected by the hell that is Iraq. I'm more affected when I hear a suicide bomber to target one American soldier, blew up the 10 children the soldier was passing candy to. I see the images on aljazeera of their crying uncles, brothers, and fathers carrying their bodies away. That my friend, is what I see when I go to work. And I won't go into the graphic details. Again I'm not belittling anything else that is going on in New Orleans or the Sudan, it's just not everyone has the same issues close to their heart.

Hurricanes happen, we may be able to prepare for them. Given their unpredictableness and their uncontrollableness, all there is left is recovery. And then there are human disasters of our own creation, I find those the saddest of all.

UPDATE:

Well actually the more I read about New Orleans the more awful I feel about it for those people.
But I don't know. I'm suspicious of the media. I've been suspicious since up to the Iraq war, most broadcasting stations were juxtapositioning images of 9/11 with news stories on Iraq's alleged WMD program.

Maybe I can't shake the feeling Americans are resilient beings, and somehow everything will be okay; it must the be the denial phase.

WTF

University of Virginia disturbs me. As much as I hold my alma mater in esteem, and look down on people who went to those 'other' state universities, I admit I was feeling eager to leave the school as early as half way through my third year. The feeling the University was more concerned with its image and prestige than the welfare of its students resounds to me in this article, brought to my attention by Catherine.

Why does UVa have a separate board for sexual assault??? I remember learning about it but I thought it was ludicrous while volunteering for the Women's Center. I'm not sure what the purpose of it is, except 'mediation' and it was nearly marketed as a much better alternative to bringing charges in a court. College students are adults and under Virginia code, rape is a FELONY. Five years to life imprisonment. Down with the school and its secretive extra-judicial proceedings ... and its amazing to me the school does not advise taking a victim's complaint to a real court.

The University's Take Back the Night with its speak out and candle light vigil, which I have participated in twice, is telling. Hearing stories of those affected by sexual assault, one sees the long line of speakers, and then the remarkable observation that half of those people were assaulted on Grounds by people they knew.

Is there something I'm missing? Does being on a University campus automatically or legally exempt the administration, students, faculty, and/or staff from the laws of the city, county, province, or country?

katrina

bd monsoon
Originally uploaded by ScelestiX.

Wow. New Orleans has just dropped off the developed world's map. A colleague finds it funny that a city could've been built below sea level ... and I'm thinking how the government of Louisiana and New Orleans, its denizens consisting of poorer ethnic working class people, was so negligent and unprepared for a storm of this magnitude (its happened before!).

The images of the storm reminded me of South Asia during the monsoon season. I can't really compare a monsoon with a hurricane (gale force winds, the amount of water, the violence of the storm), but at least in respect to flooding there could be something done. This is a snapshot of Dhaka in July 2004 ... amazing how one of the poorest countries of the world adapts to seasonal natural disasters unlike our own Gulf of Mexico states.

missive

Just when you were complaining about getting colds from the A/C my sister sends a little note from a southern continent:

Sorry to hear that work/school is ruining your life. I sent a letter to you last week, which you'll probably get in a month or two.
PC put us in the middle of butt fuck SA. Our training is alright, but they seriously baby us. We're not allowed to go anywhere w/o a chaperone or w/o their permission. We're all looking forward to when training will be over.
Next week should be interesting since I'll get to meet my supervisor and visit my site of work. And it will be a nice change from Moletji, where we are staying now. The bucket baths aren't helping w/my personal hygiene standards and I am contemplating shaving my head since doing a head stand in a bucket to wash my hair isn't the best methods for getting it clean. But otherwise I am having a good time :) Yeah, go ahead and post my e-mails about my BO if you want...not sure how interesting your friends will find it.
glad you had a good b-day, wish I could've been there.

wes craven

"I had only one thought (as he held a knife to my throat the whole time)."

"You thought," he replied, "It was all beyond your control."

"No, that I would never let it happen again."

And then she plunges a ball-point pen into his thorax (or is that a part of a bug)? Red Eye, good freakin' edge of your seat movie, and refreshingly under an hour and a half.

UPDATE:

I wonder if half the attraction of this film for me was that the characters meshed so well, specifically Cillian and Rachel. The whole time there was an underlying sexual tension, even after he reveals himself to be a cold-blooded terrorist. **SPOILER ALERT*** The look they give eachother at the end of the movie does not seem to be one of hate. Rachel's character almost looks at Cillian's like, "Man, why did you have to go and be such a homicidal freak?? We could've been perfect together." And its seems they could have since the strength of her character is a match for his. ***End of Spoiler***

At the same time I'm disturbed by the trend of overt graphic sexual situations being turned into graphic misogynistic violent situations to bring down the rating. Entertainment Weekly did an article on how the new drama sitcoms involve more violence against women, to attract viewership and avoid jeopardizing networks fearing FCC wrath in the wake of Janet Jackson's nipple exposure. Hmm, what's better? Violence against women or sexual situations/nudity?

spices

Apparently when I don't have to worry about having class at night or studying after work, I eat. And so I did again, this time at Spices in Cleveland Park. I expected good things after I discovered its by the same people as Nooshi Oodles Noodles, from which I've had great take-out . The decor reminded me of a futuristic cafeteria, particularly with so many newly moved-in undergraduates dining there. The staff was extremely attentive and I'm impressed they didn't charge extra for the rice (which I had to order two more times because I finished the first tiny bowl) I judge a good sushi restaurant based on their spicy tuna rolls. Frankly the only place that has impressed me has been Sushi on the Rocks in LaJolla, California. But the roll was still good, maybe a bit fishy for my taste. Tempted by Washington Post's reader's reviews, I had to try the Suicide curry, and my friend had the Chicken Ginger (spicy). First off, I like that their curries were super flavorful, without one spice dominating over the other (except for the suicide curry), and they were able to do this without excess grease or oil. The Chicken ginger curry was exactly like a dish I had at Nooshi, except with rice instead of noodles. Still very tasty. The suicide curry is not for the faint-hearted. As a seasoned American of South Asian descent, fond of chopping thai green chilies or jalepenos into my salads, I have to say, I was sweating, sniffling, and my eyes were watering while eating this. But still extremely good, I dare you. Not quite the flatliner at the Wing Factory, but you know, good in that spicy sense. For dessert we finished with green tea pudding, which was served with diced mangos on top. Interesting, and not too sweet. Perfect for soothing the tongue after a fiery meal.

vma

The part of me that likes to watch train wrecks had to watch this. I have to admit, I'm not terribly in tune with pop culture, but I had a hard time not envisioning the entire event as an unintended hilarious comedy routine. Like how Gwen Stefani can so adoringly look up at Snoop Dog when they are both given P. Diddy's fashion award, or the bathing suit Eva Longoria wore, but the funniest of all was 50 cent routine. Is this still going on? The constant crotch grabbing? I couldn't figure out if his barely-on leather pants were chafing that much or he was insecure about whether he still had testicles. Either way I was laughing too hard, and it didn't help the man did this about 30 times in a minute.

birthday week=restaurant week

Means eating a lot week. Besides trying out Corduroy, which I loved and raved about, I also went to David & Greggory's, Zaytinya's, and Cafe Atlantico.

So David & Greggory, bustling happening golden triangle restaurant which had quite the happy hour scene. We started with the mushroom, manchenga, and almond croquettes. Which were awesome! Nice chunky bits of mushroom, crispy on the outside, with manchenga melted on top with some type of crushed tomato accompaniment. We also had the tostones with black bean mash, habenero salsa and crema. The salsa was not spicy ... at all ... and if you're curious tostones are similar to plantains, just less sweet. For the main entree I got the seared halibut with spaghetti squash and seafood stew. I think someone was afraid to season this dish, kind of bland. For dessert I got the cloud-in-a-pudding, basically chocolate pudding, richer and more satisfying then a normal cup of jello. My friend got the bread pudding which advertised Mexican chocolate, but seemed to be missing. We had some pretty good martini style drinks, I started with a Blue Heaven, super sweet and super blue, for the next round I went with the tarter, slightly bubbly mango-tini. The service was a bit spotty, more likely due to ours being a bit in the weeds. Also kind of felt bad for them because they had to wear really ugly shirts, but maybe its because it made me think back to my days dishing cheddar bay biscuits at Red Lobster in hideous Hawaiian shirts. Overall a great place for a happy hour, if I came back, I would have to go for something else, but for some reason I feel it's utter travesty to order Garam Masala Salmon outside of an Indian restaurant.

As usual, I have nothing but praise for Zaytinya's. My main complaint is that even if you make reservation for over 20 people, the restaurant will not budge from its pre-theater dinner reservation times before 6:30 PM, which causes problems when they ask you to have all members of your party present before seating. Normally on any night, around DC dinner time (around 7 PM) you can expect a 45 minute wait, but the bar is trendy-chic, has great drinks with attentive bartenders, and it's a pretty good singles scene. Arriving with a large group of people is challenging, and I worried about a place that served only mezzes, the ordering would be a mess. Thankfully, our kind server saved us from that predicament by informing me of a tasting menu, roughly the same cost of ordering a la carte. He explained the chef would prepare a variety of dishes that exemplify Zaytinya's range. And I'm glad we chose that option because otherwise I wouldn't have tried many many tasty dishes, including: Ottoman rice pilaf, tzatziki, scallops, shrimp, a bunch of salads not on their regular menu, including an incredible tomato and caper salad, orange and feta salad, and kibbeh nayah. Zaytinya's is an old favorite for me, but the next time I come, I'm going to ask if can go for the chef's tasting menu, even though I didn't see anything regarding it on the regular menu or online.

Having such high regards for Zaytinya's and Jaleo, I had high expectation's for Jose Andre's first restaurant, Cafe Atlantico. That said, it's difficult for me love Latin American food in the states (except in Mexico, the only Latin American country I've been to so far). For an appetizer my mom and I ordered the table-side prepared guacamole, which although good, I'm convinced I do a much better version at home (the secret is hot green chillies). My mom got the salmon sandwich, which was excellent, and I sprung for the exotic: sea scallops in coconut cream, crispy rice with squid ink. I wasn't expecting the sauce to be mostly coconut cream, which I normally find undiluted too much. And I have to admit, although the dish looked pretty with its startling white contrasting with a nice circle of black squid ink, the thought of eating squid ink and watching it turn gray as I dipped my fork in, grossed me out. Oh well, maybe another time, but not in a particular hurry. I'd totally be up for another tasting menu evening at Zaytinya's though.

rockets

"The one good thing about heading out at night is looking up and seeing the stars. Here, when the dust storms pass, there are a million. If you stare long enough, you'll see at least one shooting star overhead, which is a lovely thing, especially after you verify it's not an incoming rocket."

This is an excerpt from Juliet Macur's blog from Iraq, where she is covering the war for the New York Times. I am fascinated by the lives of people during war time in a war zone. None of us can really imagine what it's like to be there, but she writes some pretty good entries.

for love

This is something I've been meaning to post for a long time, the incredible feeling after climbing. However, its a feeling that more like renewed but empty-charged batteries, so instead I end up productively lying in my bed until I realize I'm already two hours late for something and have to get up. I admit I dread getting up on a Saturday morning, knowing the Friday before when I'm drinking and staying up late with my friends, that I will be dehydrated and annoyed at my alarm clock the next day. That'll I'll forget something like food or realize I'm out of clean cargo pants to climb in, or clean socks. But the disappointment of rain falling, my greatest inhibitor to a day climbing, is worse.

It starts with a drive manuevering out of DC's re-routed grids, thankfully its usually early enough in the morning that I'm not dodging tourists and late enough that I'm not too worried about the previous night's revelers. After crossing Roosevelt Bridge I'm on the GW Parkway, nicely canopied with leafy branches, or during the fall and early spring, glimpses of the Potomac. Either Clara Barton Parkway or Columbia Pike comes next, Columbia full of turns, which I'll break fast before hitting a curve and then quickly accelerate out of, something I learned from an ex-boyfriend. Its a nice journey.

Climbing is a third social, chilling in a pristine setting, if Great Falls, a loud rushing river (or in low level times-a seductress tempting you dip and rinse off sweat), a third grunting in frustration or executing a shaky manuever, taxing your muscles, and a third moving up the rock like a ballerina. I'm skipping the part about belaying, cuz like with any careful climber, its the most worrisome. Has the most room for human error. I tell people I bring out for the first time, climbing isn't kind of dangerous, or a little dangerous, it is very dangerous and could result in serious bodily injury and death.

So that brings up the exhileration, the exhileration of executing moves flawlessly, challenging yourself to push harder than you've ever gone before, even with beads of sweat splattering below on the dry rock. Sure, if you fall, and say your belayer isn't paying attention, you could face some crazy bone fracturing injury on unforgiving rock, or unforgiving river, or the more forgiving bank of Carderock, but isn't that part of the exhileration?

I say there's no better cure for a hangover, no better cure for boredom, no better cure to make myself feel normal. That's not an easy feat when I'm regulating my sleep with Benadryl when I switch from the night shift to the early morning shift, when I'm eating irregular meals at odd times, drinking after long dry spells, and am not only stressed by deadlines at work, but deadlines for school.

This past Wednesday I went to Carderock, and I immediatley felt revived and energized, even though I hadn't slept well the night before, drank and ate too much the previous two nights, and spent a dreary blah day at work, the kind that sucks a person's soul and energy. For a warmup I climbed one area (don't have my book on me) and went for Sterling Crack again, this time got over the jug and got stumped an inclined crack which should've been a piece of cake. It was getting dark and other people were getting antsy ... well again this week, hopefully twice!!!

new

Look! I decided it was time for a change, the last template had 24 stamped in the corner, and when I started this blog, it meant something, it was my age. Now I've left 24 behind, can't claim I'm in my lower 20's anymore and can rent a car without paying a premium. woohoo. For my next few birthdays, I'll probably let by pass quietly, in pajamas, some good DVD's, at home slacking. I'll actually do my laundry, clean my place, do all my shopping, and not have any chores to do. Maybe if I feel like splurging, I will rent a cabin somewhere far from civilization. Is it possible to say the city is wearing on me? Maybe because the last week is definitley about celebrations. I have to say, I'm not used to having such an active social life so it wore me out :) In a little more than a week I'll be starting classes again. Somewhere in there I'm going to maybe get a closet organizer, finally install the track lighting I bought, and maybe get rid of the boombox I have from 8th grade.

vicariously

I think I partially started this blog to convince myself that I could have interests outside of school and work and still maintain them. Well my little sis has taken the less beaten path and is now training as a Peace Corps volunteer in South Africa. So far this is her first communication to us (besides the initial one where she told us she got there safe):

Hey Everyone!
I am in a township near the village where I am living at an internet cafe. We're staying in a small town called Moletji. On Wednesday we left our campus for our homestays. My homestay family is really nice. They've adoped me as their daughter and given me a Tshvenda name "Humbulani" which means: to remember. My homestay mother has started sewing me a traditional dress as well, which I think is pretty cool. I am learning the language Tshvenda
which is spoken in the northern part of Limpopo Province. I don't konw my assignment yet, but that will be on September 5. I've heard that the area where I'll be living is very lush and green. Plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. I'll probably be near Kruger National Park as well.
There are a total of 88 volunteers, 37 in the NGO HIV/AIDS program and 51 in Education. When I find out more details about my assignment I'll send out another e-mail. When we find out our assignments on Sept. 5 I'll go on a 3 day site visit to get oriented to my work place. The people in our group are really nice...lots of different backgrounds. There are 3 other people in my language group, so I'll most likely be near them. Our language instructor is from the area (called "venda") and my homestay mother is from there as well so I get a lot of practice.
The food here is good. They feed us a lot of this maize porridge called "pap" similar to "ugali" for those of you who have visited Kenya. I am not a fan of it, which I think my homestay mom noticed because she's been serving me rice. There are 8 children in my homestay family, 4 girls/4 boys, ranging in age from 6 months to 20. We have electricity, but no running water so I've been taking bucket baths and using a pit toilet. Its not that bad..I am able to be relatively clean and deoderant helps a lot. Hope everyones doing well and I'll send out my next update when I next get access to e-mail, which may take a while.

bang

this is more appropriate for a diary entry. sometimes we mix wrong chemicals, sometimes we mix wrong people, and sometimes there's an explosion. call it a premonition or something, but i spent the whole week trying to shake off the feeling that all i planned would reveal that my machination would result in an incendiary mix rather than a nice harmonious gathering, where e-mails and phone numbers are exchanged. Well there were thank god. that is both ... thankfulness that friends were forged, and somehow the nodding acceptance that i was right about my failure.

and its upon me

Thank you to all the wonderful friends who spent a beautiful evening out in the terrace, drinking wine, sharing laughs, bantering, and bringing each other up. What better way can a girl celebrate the eve of a quarter of a century?

See you tonight!!!!

city treasures

Yesterday I hiked to the Indian Embassy to apply for a Visa, I must say, having garage parking available at home and work has made me the ultimate lazy cat ... so I decided that the walk and back was enough to supplement my running later in the evening. After I had relinquished my passport for that afternoon in the hot basement that was the consular section of the Embassy, in search of shadier sidewalks flanked by leafy trees, I headed East on S Street, and found the Textile Museum. As with many musuems, the gift store articles were unique, however over-priced, and the exhibits were over in a quick stroll. However, they had a really nice garden, which would easily make a nice lunch spot. Leaving the museum, I came upon a cul de sac, the top of the Spanish Steps. What a nice little romantic grotto! Shady, with a fountain at top, and no less than two couples meeting on those steps under the trees.