How to Tie a Sari

Or do it my way:

Step One:
Put on your petticoats.  You can do that yourself, though it is a bit of a challenge.  Saris come with a blouse piece, to be custom made.  But for lack of time,  I bought a pre-made blouse.  The ladies at the store thought I'd be a size 28, which felt tight.  Awfully tight.  I'm in the store, forcing the thing closed and I say, "I think this is too tight."
"Right size, madam."
"Uuuugh, fine."
But yes, you can do the petticoats on your own.

Step One and a Half:
Wrap the rest of the sari around yourself like a towel. Go outside and see if your neighborlady is home.  Since she's not, go to school and look for help there.

to find out why I'm a sweaty mess in this picture, read step four

Step Three:
Find someone who has 15 or so minutes to wrap you up like a sweaty-ass sausage.  At one point, I had three women working on my sari.  

Step Four:
Immediately, or as soon as possible (which, unfortunately for me wasn't until 4pm) rip your sari off and put on something more comfortable.  Little did I know going into this thing that saris are like straight jackets.  HOT, so hot, heavy, itchy, and impossible to move around in.  I have nothing but admiration for women who wear these all day, every day.  Don't know how they do it.    

And that's how you tie a sari.  

old trips

Sometimes I get caught up in this life here: work, traffic, rats... and forget to blog about the more exciting things.  Just before and just after Christmas we took two trips.  First to Goa, then to Bentota, Sri Lanka.

Thanks
Goa, India
I'm still stinging about working on Thanksgiving.  Really, that was one of the shittiest things ever.  But, there was the small consolation of going to Goa for that weekend, which made things slightly better.

We love Goa, but getting there has become difficult.  There are no longer direct flights from Chennai, which means connecting in Mumbai, which means taking two separate domestic flights, which means major frustration.  International flights out of India are pretty much what you would expect: check in, security, wait at the gate, walk down the gangplank (is that what it's called?) then get on the plane.  Domestic flights go like this: check in, stand butt to front in the security line, mill around the gate because the whole domestic terminal is absolutely crammed with people, stand in another line, cram onto a bus, ride the bus to the plane, stand in another line outside the plane, go through more security, climb the stairs, get on the plane.  And every step of the way, you will either push and shove or be pushed and shoved.  No joke.

It makes a miserable person feel that much more miserable.

 The Weary Travelers

The Line

But, getting to Goa was nice.  No need to search around for a good hotel or restaurant, we knew right where to go.  The Shore Bar.  Fresh seafood, salads, white wine, waves, and a good murder-mystery made for a fun and relaxing weekend.

Back to the Land of Buddha
Bentota, Sri Lanka 

Getting to Sri Lanka is muuuch easier than getting to Goa.  So, after realizing that, we planned a trip for just after Christmas.  We decided we would act rich for a weekend and stay here:  The Villa Bentota.

Ah, how can I describe this place?  Nicest hotel ever?  Fabulous?  It all sounds a little exaggerated, but it's TRUE!  The Villa Bentota is a destination all on its own.  So, so, so, so, so nice.  Go there.   

We spent that weekend playing in the waves, lounging and eating.  And...jogging.  Now, a few months ago, if you had told me that I would wake up each morning of my fancy vacation and go for a run on the beach, I would have laughed in your face.  HA!  But lately, we've been on a real exercise kick, and also found that a good run was a great way to burn off the bad effects of wine with dinner.

 I accidentally matched the decor.

Brad is awesome.  

rats! and other excitements

I know the blog has been a little boring lately, but that's only because our lives have been a little boring lately. Our biggest excitement, if you want to call it that, came last Saturday, when we discovered yet another rat in the kitchen.

For real-time updates, I chronicled it all on facebook:

I have to say, knowing there's a rat in the house makes for some pretty poor sleeping. Brad and I figured the rat would stay in the kitchen with the food, but then, we're no rat experts are we? Or are we?! Anyway, I spent the night half-awake, imagining all sorts of rat horrors.  IT'S IN MY HAIR!!!!  But we were safe upstairs.

Downstairs the rat had ventured out onto the awaiting sticky traps, where it stayed put, but also stayed alive, making for a disgusting, but exciting Sunday morning.

Since then we've been rat-free, but I feel it's only a matter of time.

Also, since then, we've been doing a whole lot of not much.  And thus, the blog boringness.  I'll see if I can get things back on track.