A wedding and an Anniversay

Tim and I celebrated our one-year anniversary this weekend - I can't believe that a year ago this week, I was frantically trying to get rid of all my stuff to prepare for life abroad! And we were fortunate to be able to attend two swanky parties, thanks to the fact that the CEO of my company was getting married. Here are some of my favorite pictures from this weekend.

Reena, Chandini, Archana, and Asmita



Sad the elephants were not alive





Somrita and Viny





Prathap and Tim





Viny, Arvind, Stuti, and Pradeep





With Arvind and Anil - a year to the day, in the dress I was wearing when we met.

Click here for the whole album

Many Happy Returns

That's what they say here to wish you a Happy Birthday. And they shake your hand. It's somewhat awkward to be repeatedly interrupted at your desk by coworkers who want you to stand up and shake their hands throughout the day. But very sweet. They also make you bring treats for everyone, like when you were in grade school and brought Little Debbies in for your class. I distributed Kit-Kat, Twix, and Snickers bars. People seemed into that. They "gifted" me with a homemade card (courtesy of Viny), some glamourous jewelry, and a new sari. They also made me give a speech, because whenever anything happens in the office, multiple speeches must be made. I gave a good one, and got all fahklempt, which they loved. The more emotional and grandiose, the better the speech. So that was my birthday. Over the weekend, I also went to the fish spa, where little creepy fish nibbled on my toes, tried Bengali food for the first time (really good), and lounged around my favorite local resort pool. Next weekend is the CEO of my company's wedding, which promises to be a lavish affair. Then 60 hour workweeks until I come home. God, I can't wait!!

Cat Genius (Or, I have created a monster) PLUS bonus footage of Indian children yelling at us

This will not seem as awesome when I come home to a flooded apartment.





AND, as an update to my vacation post, this is what happens when you buy a postcard in Agra;

Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (sorta)

One of my favorite things about living in an undeveloped country is the relative disregard for trademarks and copyright, as compared to the U.S. For instance, a tour of any neighborhood in Bangalore will take you past several bootleg dvd vendors, and usually a bootleg book seller, too. In my neighborhood, though, there also seems to be a curious number of misappropriated celebrity images! Especially on beauty parlor signs. It's weird to be walking down the street and to look up and see Zac Efron or Kate Hudson smiling down, luring Indian patrons in with the promise of their white Western good looks. I am basically the only white lady in these parts, and yet, there is not one beauty parlor nearby that has a picture of an Indian lady outside of it! I went walking through my 'hood today with the express purpose of photographing these celeb images for my blog. But, of course, there were a lot of other interesting sights to capture as well, so this is just a mix of shit I saw today while walking around.



Kate Hudson?




Resume booster or resume killer? I'm thinking of asking for a course catalogue.....





There is also a "European Fried Chicken" KFC rip-off further away.




Baby cutting?!?!




Excessively fly-covered cow friend number one



Posh Spice?



Zac Efron...I'm ashamed to admit that I actually know who he is.




Bunny and chicken friends waiting to become someone's dinner. Sad times.




Even sadder times!! Deformed ox-like something or other being led around by beggar. I gave the guy money because I felt sorry for the animal, but I'm kinda thinking the guy made the poor thing look like that to begin with. Ugh.





Very proud and somewhat hostile cow friend number two



This guy isn't a Western celeb, but damn, he should be!



Goat friend



Hot.




David Beckham




Jared Leto and gunshots! This is where Tim gets his beard trimmed, so maybe the only one of these places that actually has a white customer.



We asked that guy if those big hangy things were testicles. He said they were not, then grabbed the testicles of that goat carcass and kept pointing at them and saying "balls, balls, you want?" He was really disappointed we didn't buy any.






Charlize Theron?



Cow friend number three




The Happy Shoppy! It's the place to go for all of your hideous pink stuffed animal/plastic flower needs.





Yum.






Mariah, Heather, and Jenny. Jenny's features "sheep foetus extract."

New Apartment (Same Building)

So we moved last week - up to the "penthouse" of the Nehal Residency. You can't see it very well, but our apartment is sort of on the roof. Not only does the penthouse come with two large balconies, it's got a glamorous chandelier, a glass curio cabinet housing a lop-sided taj mahal replica, white silk couches(not for long), heavy window treatments, and several vases filled with plastic flowers. I hid the fake flowers as soon as we got up here, but I'm loving the rest of the over-the-top decor. It's like living in a crazy Indian grandma's wet dream. The balconies are definitely the apartment's best feature. We need to buy furniture for the empty front patio, but on the back side of the apartment, we have a small table, chairs, and a swing, so we have been spending a lot more time outdoors. Gulabi is a huge fan of being able to roll around in the dirt. Of course, we are all sad that Esteban has been missing since I went on vacation - now that we are on the top floor, he won't be able to find or reach us if he ever comes back. If you want to find us, slightly different address than before:

The Nehal Residency
4th Floor Penthouse
#807 8th Main, 4th B Cross, 1st Blk
HRBR Layout, Kalyan Nagar
Bangalore, India 560 043