When it rains, it pours. I decided I needed a copy of the New York Time on
this Starry night, and so far I've been dissed by Ralph's Triangle Square
("We cut our order back, but with this report..."), Barnes & Noble ("I don't
read the newspaper -- they're all biased -- and if it's important it's on
the news anyway" -- so instead I bought Wallpaper*, *surface, limn, Ocean
Drive, and Metropolis on a design kick), Tower, Rite-Aid, Sav-On (a division
of Rite-Aid), Ralph's Newport, Hughes Newport (a division of Ralph's),
Diedrich's Coffee, 7-Eleven, and Circle-K. So instead I'm blowing my
budgeted $4 on a Widmer Hefewizen and whining to the list...
Speaking of, I'm not even going to bother decrying the cocktail-party
chatter dribbling out around here while Adam and I were off on the
Rifkin-Gardner world tour -- but I *am* a little miffed that the VOID of
VOIDposts has gone unnoticed...
I finished moving today. I'm in unit 3207, a considerably larger unit, with
a real bed (on loan from a friend to be named later -- thanks!). Much to my
surprise, I actually managed to extricate myself from my previous warren...
got new neon yellow sheets and covered an entire wall in an Indian camel
batik print. Gotta get a 10BaseT hub for the passel of computers, too.
* doctor's appt tomorrow at 9
* petition for California residency (for tuition purposes)
* review Cal Sw Symp XML/DAV/ISEN slides JimW whipped up
* create CSCW and FSE XML tutorial slides
* change address at DMV amd Registrar's
* establish new landline phone service (6,000 ff miles!)
* announce housewarming party two weeks from Saturday: Sept 26.
All&sundry...
Then, of course, are the real problems:
* choose classes for fall (prolly just networking)
* finish the previous four incompletes
* reply to Patrik and the notify community about... well, everything
* backlogged professional correspondence (~1,000 msgs -- if even 3% require
reply, that's a day)
* lose enough weight to get back to where I was a year ago
And the big one:
* justify my existence.
(if munchkins matter, wtf am I doing with my life?)
Earlier tonight, I had dinner with an 'uncle' at UC Riverside. We (well,
auntie) got around to trying to hitch me up, caroming off the subject of a
well-turned out desi dentiste he met on a flight from YVR coming to the
Labor Day meet market of the 600-strong Network of Indian Professionals
(www.NetIP.org and http://indianmall.com/netipla.htm). Got so far as to
explain my search for a consummately independent and ambitious beau, uncowed
by the latent sexism of the IA community. She kept asking why I wouldn't go
home to collect one of those smart girls, and I failed to explain my
standard of smart. Sigh.
At least I know that in the end, I'm not as constrained as it all sounds.
It's not a brown search... in fact, it's been nagging me recently that brown
makes things harder. Bring home a Daughter of the American Revolution (TM),
and they'll be gasping deep enough to merely be amazed her parents haven't
divorced yet. Bring home a South Indian girl, or hell, a Banarsi bibi from
the wrong side of the Ganges, and the higher the eyebrows rise. The closer
you get, the higher the bar. One of my uncles pulled me aside at one in the
morning to, quite earnestly declare that I could bring home any girl I want,
except a Black or a Muslim. Frankly, that sounds like Daily Double territory
to me. Hell, I could bring me home a dimpled Nation of Islam boy and score a
trifecta!
This past week, I was stood up by a stunning investment banker and a
Japanese travel writer; and did meet my high school crush, a Yalie I was
chasing a year ago, the woman who broke my heart in Boston, and, in a
completely random street encounter, the first woman I ever kissed. Lots of
closure, indeed... a prerequiste, of sorts, for truly opening up to new
possibilities.
You know, it probably would be just my luck. I'd find the perfect gal,
dynamic and cultured and dramatic and nurturing and mobile and assertive and
polymath and beautiful to boot, and ...
Loungin',
Rohit
PS. Last month's cellular bill (est): 3152 minutes. Yes, that's right
Virginia, a likely $500 void in my pocket... just under 10% of the entire
month. How, I don't know. I think someone's software is a wee bit off... or
I really am such a chatterbox I forgot to FoRK a whole month... and I
already thought the month before's 1250 ($251) was insaaaaaaaane... So what
am I doing about it? I'm buying a fancier handset next month... the
voice-activated SCH-2000 -- gotta love that depressed won ($170)...
PPS. I passed up a chance to go to Delhi on a United e-fare today. Depart
LAX Sept 21-24; return Monday 28th for $850; collect 32,044 frequent flier
miles (-$640).