The Promise

Been to Italy and back and didn't write once. In my defense, I didn't bring my Macbook and it was too 'hard' to write on my iPhone.

So the trip was great. Realized that I can't eat bread, pizza and/or pasta 9-10 days straight, but when it comes to gelato, not a problem. If I had to put the cities in order of my favorite it would go as follows: Rome, Venice, and Florence. I had been really excited to go to Florence, but maybe I had expected too much and I also didn't have a chance to visit the countryside. It seemed that all the loud, obnoxious tourists were all in one vicinity, whereas in Rome, they were far more spread out. I do have to say that Florence has amazing museums. Michelangelo's 'David' and Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" is enough to make a trip.

When I was arranging my itinerary, Venice was a second choice if I couldn't make it to Cinque Terre. I wasn't at all interested in visiting Venice. My opinion was that the only thing to see in Venice were the gondolas going through the canals, which at the time wasn't enough for me to be excited and conclude my trip there. To my chagrin, the gondolas going through the canals was enough for me. I love water and the whole city is built on water. Only upon research did I discover that Venice is an island. Maybe I hadn't put much thought into it or never really cared. I knew that there were canals, but there are also canals here in Venice, CA and it's not an island.

Since Venice was more of an afterthought, as part of the compromise was visiting Murano. Anyone who has seen the ceiling of the Bellagio knows what I'm talking about. I didn't get to see someone actually blowing glass, but did see this guy make an ornament of some sort (maybe butterfly?) right in his shop. Witnessing this artistry first hand led me to believe that the items in his shop were not made in China and if I were to purchase a souvenir for myself it would be there. Not only did I make my best purchase in Venice, but I also had best meal of the trip in Venice (no bread, pasta or pizza were harmed).

What is there to say about Rome? Rome is simply Rome. It's one of the most amazing cities in the world. There is so much history that lies beneath the ruins and the monuments that still stand after 2,700 years. While touring the Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheatre), I was listening to a podcast about the Colosseum's beginnings and the type of events that were held in the arena. Typical entertainment was gladiators vs. animals or prisoners vs. animals, etc. The event that resonated with me and made me laugh out loud was a midget vs. a one legged or one armed man. I wonder who in the emperor's court thought up this idea and who won the battles. I'm probably just as sick as the ancient Romans, but the midgets or little person would dominate - hands down. When in Rome....

Lightly Toasted

Seven days and counting and I'm still researching and trying to book a hotel room.  The B&B I had reservations to, only booked us for one night and we are staying for 3.  The error was completely on my behalf. I have a bad habit of reading/responding to my emails from bed with one eye open first thing in the morning. Now as I type this, I'm in bed with both my eyelids half closed.

As I sign off, I'm left wondering what the correlation is between the biblical sense of tomorrow's holiday and the Easter bunny. Also, when the German immigrants introduced the Easter folklore they were referencing a 'hare', not a bunny laying egg like we have here in America. 

Happy Easter!

Dory Would Approve

Goldfish are so juvenile

When I Was In....

Many months and many moons have passed since my last post and I know I keep saying I need to write more.  Lots of things have changed in my life and all of them for the greater good.  I've been living in my own apartment for the past 5 months and been at my job for almost 10 months.  Living on my own has been the best decision I've made in the last year.  I quite enjoy it and it's rather nice not having to clean up after anybody.  My job is going well.  I'm in an industry that I absolutely love and work with a great group of people.

I work for a great company that creates 'dream trips', that in most cases for some people, a once in a lifetime opportunity to travel.  Being in that environment on a daily basis has me daydreaming of the next stamp my passport will earn.  Having a steady job and a consistent paycheck is rewarding and comforting, but at the same time I feel landlocked or cabin fever, with the United States as my cabin. It has been almost two years since my last trip and I'm sure my friends and co-workers are tired of me starting every sentence with, "when I was in India".... India is so 2000 late and as much as I loved being there, I'm ready for a new cultural experience.

With that being written, I'm currently in the planning stages of my next trip.  As the date gets closer and more plans are finalized, I will be more inclined to share the news to anyone that cares.  I must say though, this trip is a much bigger headache than planning a trip to a 3rd world country or maybe it's simply, I'm actually 'planning'...

Too Ambitious

Another 6 months has passed since I thought about this page.  I need to make more of an effort to write.

Mr. Joseph

The last time I posted on this thing was about 6 months ago and lots of things in my life have changed since then.  Reading my previous entry, the frustration I felt about the direction of my life 6 months ago gave me relief that I'm no longer in that same place.  My frustration actually worsened and I found my self depressed and out of sorts.  Yes, things are different now, but that is not the inspiration for this post.

On Monday night, I read on FB that Mr. Joseph had passed away.  Mr. Joseph was the guy that I stayed with my first month in India and helped me establish myself in Mysore.  Hearing the news that he had passed really tore me up.  In the short period that I have known this man, he made a huge impact on my life.  My plan to travel to India wasn't well thought out.  I basically woke up one morning last June and by the third week of August I was on a plane.  If you have never been to Mysore, it's not the easiest place to make accommodations from overseas.  Searching online I found a blog of this guy's house that rents out to yoga students.  I emailed an inquiry and when I received the email with the cost for the month, I emailed the guy back and told him that I thought his house was nice, but it's out of my budget.  The next day I receive an email back asking me what I can pay.  I replied with my budget and just like that I was paying half of the cost of the room.  To be honest, I was a bit weary that someone who I've never met before was willing to help me out so much.  As it turned out, my yoga teacher had known Joseph for years and even prior to his knowledge that I was Diana's student, he helped me.

Mr. Joseph helped me with everything and anything during my stay in India.  He was a father figure I never had and a teacher who opened my eyes to so many things.  I will never forget his generosity, he's awesome fruit salad, the motorcycle rides and all the time he spent with me perfecting my headstand.  I will truly miss him and feel fortunate to have met someone like him.   

Falling Into Grace

It's been a while my last update and honestly, there hasn't been anything interesting in my life to blog about except for the 30-day yoga challenge.  I've spent the last 7 weeks "adjusting" or I should say resisting to being back.  Everyone is probably tired of hearing me say how much I miss being in India and how I hate being back, but that is just the way I feel.  Since I've been back, I've been applying for employment and going through the motions of a normal job hunter that is slightly desperate for a job.  There is a part of me that stresses out about not having a job and going through the financial stress, yet there is other side of me that is content not going to a job that I'm miserable at.  Everyone has their opinion about me not working or being socially irresponsible and until you are in my situation then it's unfair to judge. 

So it's day 5 of the yoga challenge and the past few days have been difficult practicing.  I'm not trying to wuss out, but my sciatica is still bad and I hurt my wrist climbing the other day.  Every Vinyasa and anything that has to do with my left leg is so painful.  I've mastered the lopsided Vinyasa and have been getting through the practice, just not gracefully.  Yet again, when have I ever been graceful about anything.  Last week I was in a yoga class and the teacher was having us do this movement and her comment was for each individual to find their "state of grace".  I began to laugh when I heard that.  The word 'grace' and 'graceful' does not exist in my vocabulary.  Just the other day I was attempting to do a headstand and the moment my legs went up, I knew that I was unstable.  Instead of coming down and readjusting, I tried to adjust my body while upside down.  Well, that didn't work out so well.  When I over rotate, I usually end up crushing my fingers and it hurts like hell.  To avoid crushing my fingers, I roll over to the side or somehow lift and roll my head.  In this situation, since my wrist was in pain, I didn't want to do anything to create more damage.  It happened all too fast and to save my wrist and fingers from pain, I rolled to side and tucked my knees.  I have no explanation for what happened next, but it was so painful that I would of preferred crushing my fingers or hurting my wrist more.  When I rolled to the side and tucked my knees, my right knee came up and my kneecap hit me in the eye.  I had a Bugs Bunny moment and saw stars after the impact.  The following day as I was applying sunscreen on my face, I looked in the mirror and noticed a bruise around my right eye and eyelid.  With that said, next time someone tells me to find my "state of grace" I may actually pay attention and not berate the suggestion.  Still the little kid in me wants to say "ha! to your state of grace". 

Michelle and Tweedledum's Yoga Challenge

For the past month I have been receiving emails about a 30-day yoga challenge to start off the new year. Michelle and I thought it would be a great idea, but instead of waiting till January we decided to start ours sooner and create our own rules. We figured we would be more accountable if we post it here. Here are the parameters of the challenge:

Purpose of the Challenge:
Michelle's purpose is to get stronger and ready for her teacher training coming up in January
Tweedledum's purpose is to relieve boredom and have a challenge

Challenge Requirements:
- 30 days of yoga starting December 14 - January 14 in sickness and in health

- challenger is allowed to miss 2 days of practice within the month, but will have to "double up" (practice twice) on the following day

- self practice is allowed with a minimum of at least an hour and a half. 10 Surya Namaskaras do not count as a full practice

- if challenge is forfeited, at stake is a pair of yoga pants from lululemon

Contract Clause
regardless of injury ie. sciatica, deltoid pain, shoulder pain, tendonitis etc. challenge shall continue. in the event of a kidnapping or death, challenge will be terminated without consequence to challenger

Sit

It's been a while since my last post and since I've been back, I haven't been excited to share any information with anyone.  Today marks 3 weeks being back in the United States.  I finally finished unpacking yesterday, but still slowly putting my room in order.  Last week, I decided to paint my room and also rearrange the furniture.  There wasn't much to rearrange.  The only furniture I have in my room is my bed, a small dresser and a nightstand.  Painting my room is a huge change.  I've been living in the mental hospital mentally for so long and having some color and pictures on the wall makes a huge difference.

As the weeks go by, my resistance to being back is slowly dissipating, but there hasn't been a day that has gone by that I wish I were still in India.  With the holidays coming up, the more reason for me to want to disappear.  For the past few days, my friends have been asking about my plans for Thanksgiving.  I received a few invitations, but with my one hour threshold of commitment, I can't make up my mind.  I'll figure it out when the day comes.

Slowly, I have been transitioning back to my other activities and I'm unsure if it's all the other activities or the weather, but my body has been in pain a lot.  All of the aches and pains I had before I left are back with some friends.  The other day, I had a bad wipeout and my foot and leg hit the fins on my surfboard.  I tried to stay in the water and shake it off, but the pain was so immense and I started bleeding and was at risk of being shark bait.  I was able to paddle in and the lifeguard had to bandage me up and drive me to the car.  The good news is that nothing is broken and I didn't need stitches.  The bad news is that I've been laid out for the past 2 days and everything is irritating me.  My foot is badly bruised and very tender.  I tried practicing yesterday and couldn't do a lot of the asanas.  I guess this is the only way the universe can make me sit still and be me with me.  Ick!

Song of the Day:
"I Hope" by Dixie Chicks

Asis

Today marks my first week back in the United States.  I got more sleep this week than I have been getting in the last 6 months.  Traveling back home was a lot more difficult than I predicted.  The night I left India, I cried on my way to the airport.  The driver was barely 10 minutes outside of Mysore and I was already crying.  The airport is about 3.5 hours from Mysore so it was a very long ride. 

From Mysore I had a red eye flight to Singapore and had 24 hours in Singapore till my flight back to Los Angeles.  I'm not sure if it was from anxiety, but I didn't sleep till I got on the plane to leave Singapore.  From Singapore I had a short layover in Hong Kong, then Hong Kong to San Francisco and from San Francisco to Los Angeles.  I slept a few hours on the plane, but I was mentally and physically exhausted. 

The first few days being back was more of a culture shock than it was being in India.  Everything was familiar and the place was the same, but it felt like time had stopped for me when I got on the plane in August.  All of my friends have moved on and are busy with their lives and here I was lost and trapped 2.5 months back.  When I left for India, I didn't tell very many people and it was the same with my return.  I guess it's just easier for me to deal and ease into things.  I'm horrible at goodbyes and didn't really say goodbye to the people in Mysore.  My last day there I went to practice and left right after.  I spent the day shopping for last minute presents and got henna on my hands which took longer than expected.

One of my friends today asked me how I was doing and my response to him was that it has been emotionally rough.  He asked if I felt any disconnection since I've been back and when he said that everything made sense.  I've spent the past week slightly in a funk and even though I've been catching up with my best friends and family, I still feel blah.  The best way I can describe it is waking up from a coma.  Since I've been gone, life for everyone has moved on.  My life here in the South Bay stopped the moment I got on the plane.  It also doesn't help that the girl subletting my apartment hasn't left.  A few of my friends suggested that I need to get back into my normal routine and slowly things will start falling into place.  The only difficult part about that is that I spent the summer playing and I don't know how much longer the playing can last.  At some point I will need to figure out what my next step in life is going  to be.  I don't need to figure it out right this second, but I am in limbo and hate the gray area.