Random Thoughts

I don’t want to give the impression that I walk around everyday in a daze and feeling sad, but I don’t want to hide anything, either.   When people you love die, the grief goes on.   It is not something that fits neatly into a timetable.   The 3 days off work they give you for a funeral doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of the number of days, months, and years you will grieve. So, no, not all day every day. But yes, parts of most days.   Maybe the sadness is triggered by a memory.   A photo.   A scent.   A location.   Or maybe it is always there but only bubbles to the surface when triggered… Today was no different.   Started out fine (albeit sleepy and rushed).   Productive and stressful work.   Rushing about trying to complete a big project.   Working on not one but two computers trying to tie together all the loose ends before a big “production number” at 5:00 pm.   In the middle of the mess, my sist...

I have always been afraid of cold water. Growing up in a boating family, this was not a great trait to have.   I was, my parents said, “a percher”.   That is, I PERCHED on the side of the boat, sticking one foot in, then the other, then getting back IN the boat, only to perch on the side again, dip in foot one, dip in foot two, and repeat…   The idea that once I committed to jumping in the lake, my entire body would be cold literally froze me in my track and had me stay in the boat (unless I was gently pushed in…). I remember this as a story of my friend Monica and I, but it could just as well be a story about one of my sisters told so many times over the years that I attribute it to happening to me.   Monica (Monj) and I had been brought to the pool by her mom.   Looking back, it was a ridiculous pool.   A large chunk of it was SHADED BY TREES!   Who wants to swim in the shade??   Obviously, the shade meant cooler water, and on the day...

We have never had ayurvedic treatment.  But when our friend Abhishek told us that we could score super long massages in India for cheap, we were down with it.  I mean, you had me at "super long massages", let alone the "FOR CHEAP" part!!!  So when we got to Varkala (in Kerala, India, where this treatment is famous) we asked about where to make an appointment.  Turns out, because tourist season has ended, many places are closed for the season.  Luckily, a few are still open, so we popped into one our driver recommended called Ayur Clinic to ask about making an appointment for the following day. The lady at the desk asked what our medical issues are.  Ummm, none really...  I mean, like, sometimes I get sore (point to random spot) here, and he gets stiff (point to spot) around here...  Turns out ayurvedic is more related to medical treatment/healing than just relaxation massage.  But hey, we can roll with that, as long as there is MASSAGE thr...

So, the other thing in Mumbai that I was excited to see were the DABBAWALLAS!!  We almost didn't get to see them, because our main day in Mumbai was a Sunday, and they don't work on Sunday.  But I told the guide I realllllllllllllly wanted to see them, so we found time to take a peek before heading to the airport! Two dabbawallas ready to sort lunches Dabbawallas are one of a kind, the only ones in the world I think.  They are basically a LUNCH DELIVERY SYSTEM, but it is very intricate!!!  Every work day the dabbawallas stop at people's homes (I am gonna go out on a limb here and just gender this up, because I think the genders I will pick are right in this instance about 98% of the time...) - they stop at houses and pick up the hot lunches that MEN'S WIVES have cooked for them.  Indian people have different versions of "lunch boxes" than we are used to in America.  Theirs are called tiffin boxes and they are super cool metal multi-compartment round ...

We had a CRAZY January 2015.  I had gotten coveted tickets to see “Ellen” taping in LA for me, my sisters, and my partner David.  Since we were flying all the way across country, I decided we should try and make this vacation the TACKIEST trip ever and do anything and everything LA we could find to do!  So I went searched to see if there were any other TV shows we could go see tapings of.  As luck would have it, I got us tickets to THE PRICE IS RIGHT!  We are not fans of that show, but it does seem like a classic, doesn’t it??  Secretly, we were all hoping my sister Annette would get called down.  But lo and behold whose name got called?  DAVID’S!  Our posse in the photo taken before they filmed our episode.  We are standing in front of a green screen and they told us to look excited - as if we just won a new car.  I think we did pretty well, don't you?  My sister Sherry is in the back, sister Annette in the front, Davi...