kittygutz!

listening to "The Animals-House Of The Rising Sun [maplestory channel] SUbscribe"

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 20:55:16 -0700

listening to "The Animals-House Of The Rising Sun [maplestory channel] SUbscribe":

Watching “The Best of The Ed Sullivan Show” with my mom. Damn we have some good music in our history.

listening to "My Morning Jacket

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:27:57 -0700

listening to "My Morning Jacket :

Damn Seth MacFarlane and his episode of American Dad that got me addicted to My Morning Jacket.

listening to "Ultra Chorus - Words Kept Talking"

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:22:49 -0700

listening to "Ultra Chorus - Words Kept Talking":

Newly discovered song that makes me want to wiggle my bum. \o\ \o\ /o/ /o/ (via 3hive.com)

listening to "Canned Heat - On The Road Again"

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:12:49 -0700

listening to "Canned Heat - On The Road Again":

How about a little bit of Canned Heat for dinner?

listening to "Hank Williams - Honky Tonk Blues"

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:08:43 -0700

listening to "Hank Williams - Honky Tonk Blues":

Listening to a little Hank Williams on vinyl while I clean house. Good times. :)

listening to "Golden Girls Theme Song"

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:46:13 -0700

listening to "Golden Girls Theme Song":

Picture it: Sicily 1912.

listening to "The Lumberjack Song"

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:13:37 -0700

listening to "The Lumberjack Song":

I am a lumberjack & I am OK. I sleep all night & I work all day. I cut down trees, I wear high heels. Suspenders & a bra.

listening to "Roxette - The Look"

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:42:35 -0600

listening to "Roxette - The Look":

Every time I hear Roxette, it reminds me of the many, many, many crushes I had in high school.

listening to "Dean Martin - Houston (Year 1965)"

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:59:39 -0600

listening to "Dean Martin - Houston (Year 1965)":

Dean Martin was a sexy, sexy man. Especially in that cowboy hat in Rio Bravo.

listening to "The Go Find - New Year"

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:03:37 -0600

listening to "The Go Find - New Year":

The Go Find was one of those great discoveries that I made. I want to share them with you too. Chill pop.

My cat Stubbs, purring. You’ll have to turn it up all the...

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:35:05 -0600

My cat Stubbs, purring. You’ll have to turn it up all the way to hear it.

I’m silly, I know. :)

India - Day 2, Shopping!

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:09:00 -0600

On day 2, the boys & girls split up to go shopping for clothing fit for the wedding ceremony. For the boys this meant pyjamas and a type of shoe called jutis. For the girls, saris and lots of jewelry! Why is it the boys are so easy?

Mysore Saree
We started our day at Mysore Saree, located on Commercial Street in Bangalore. Commercial street is an unpaved road with a mess of haphazard buildings and billboards. When walking into establishments, you do not expect them to be as pristine and modern as Mysore Saree. The juxtaposition was very interesting and jarring.

With the help of Shreya, a local Bangalorian and friend of Karthik’s, we spent 3 hours searching for the perfect saris for both the wedding ceremony and the reception. It is not appropriate to wear the same one to both.

I originally had only intended to purchase one and wear a dress borrowed from Archana to the reception. However, I was sucked in by the beauty of the silk fabrics draped over your body. I ended up purchasing 2 saris:

peach with gold trim and a gold blouse
red violet with gold pattern and detailing, red violet blouse.

I am very grateful we had Shreya to assist us. She is incredibly critical when it comes to sari’s and certainly did not lead us astray. When you tried one on, it had to pass her approval - MANY did not! The color would be all wrong for your skin tone, or it would look too old. In response to one I tried on, she told me it looked like something a 35 year old would wear. I kept my mouth shut about being 32. I suspect she assumed I was in my 20’s, just like everyone else does. Sometimes it pays to look young!

Wearing a sari makes you feel quite delicate and feminine. I felt beautiful and confident. A very different confidence from the one I have when riding my ATV or shooting my pink handgun. ;)

Jewelry Shopping
After each of us painstakingly selected our two sari’s, we had a delicious Indian lunch and then moved on to shopping for jewelry.

I’ll be honest with you that I was tired at this point. 3 hours of shopping is a lot for me. Little did I know it would take us another 3 hours just to find jewelry.

Jewelry in India is beautiful, but traditional jewelry worn with saris is quite gawdy by western standards. I would pick out something more modern that fit into my taste and Shreya would frown. It wasn’t traditional enough.

Initially I was frustrated because I didn’t want to buy something I would never wear again. However, I quickly realized just how inexpensive the jewelry was. It wasn’t going to cost me more than $10 to outfit my saris. So I gave in and purchased a set that although pretty, is particularly loud for what I typically wear. You can see the necklace and earrings in the picture on the right.

I’m doubtful I will ever wear this set again, however I did pick up a very pretty silver necklace, a ton of bangles, and nose pins while I was at it. So the afternoon was certainly not a loss.

Dinner at Thiagarajans
We ended this very tiring day with dinner at the home of Archana and Karthik’s parents. Hospitality in India is amazing and the Thiagarajans certainly do not disappoint.

I unfortunately did not carry my camera with me to dinner as I incorrectly thought it may be inappropriate.

The evening started with what they referred to as a “musical potpourri.” Words were presented on a TV and people sang to them karaoke style. Guests were welcome to sit on blankets on the floor in front of the singers. Archana sang quite a few songs and has a very beautiful voice. It was wonderful to hear her.

After the music, dinner was served. Sitting cross legged, while eating with your right hand is quite a treat. Especially when the food is absolutely delicious!

After dinner and some more socializing, we all walked back to the hotel and tucked ourselves in. The ceremony would start at 7 am the next day. The girls were to be ready by 5 am to have our sari’s wrapped by a professional. It was certainly going to be a long day ahead of us!

listening to "Baaba Maal - Souka Nayo (Thievery Remix)"

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 10:32:07 -0600

listening to "Baaba Maal - Souka Nayo (Thievery Remix)":

One of my favorite Thievery Corporation mixes… little did I know that it’s Baaba Maal. Sweet.

listening to "BAABA MAAL - Television Official Video"

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 10:15:56 -0600

listening to "BAABA MAAL - Television Official Video":

Thank you NPR for introducing me to Baaba Maal, West African pop.

listening to "Taken By Trees - To Lose Someone"

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:58:22 -0600

listening to "Taken By Trees - To Lose Someone":

2nd solo project of Victoria Bergsman. Really enjoying it. Recorded in Pakistan & very beautiful.

listening to "Eric Carmen - Hungry eyes"

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:17:23 -0600

listening to "Eric Carmen - Hungry eyes":

RIP Patrick Swayze.

India - Flights & Day 1

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 13:10:00 -0600

For my 32nd birthday, I decided to give myself a very special present.

On August 29, 2009 I embarked on a trip to Bangalore, India for the Hindu wedding of Karthik and Vyshnavi. Karthik is the brother of my good friend Archana. I’m so very appreciative of them for inviting me to participate in this wonderful event.

I traveled by myself and have had several people comment on how brave I am. While I was a little bit nervous, I didn’t let it phase me. I wasn’t going to pass up this opportunity. I am, however, taking applications for travel companions as this trip put a bug in me. :)

The Flights
The flights were as follows, both ways:

Salt Lake City, UT
Atlanta, GA
Dubai, UAE
Bangalore, IN

Total travel time to India was 24 hours, returning 27 hours. That’s a lot of flying… trust me!

Fortunately, sleep is my best friend, so I spent most of the flights dreaming. The only uncomfortable side effect of flying for so long is swollen feet.

Day 1

The Hotel
I got into Bangalore at 3 am and to my hotel, Casa de Bangaluru, at 5 am. The hotel was, in my book, a 5 star hotel. The room was like a small apartment with a bedroom, bathroom, kitchenette and living room. It also had 2 balconies - one off the bedroom, the other off the living room. It was quite cozy.

The staff was incredibly friendly and helpful. If I needed anything they were there.

The hotel also had a restaurant which included a delicious complimentary continental breakfast. The breakfast was certainly much more than I would expect here in the states - a buffet of several different types of Indian fair. I was also introduced to dosa by one of the wait staff. Dosa is a thin pancake which is broken off and dipped into two different chutneys. I very quickly became a fan!

Karthik set up the details for me and all of his friends. It ended up costing me only $50 a night! I am still amazed.

The Bus
In the morning I boarded a bus chartered by Karthik for a number of his friends from school. His friends were from many different places: Brazil, France, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Russia, Singapore and of course India. This in itself was a great cultural experience.

While I waited in the bus for everyone to arrive, I recorded the sounds of the road. The first thing a foreigner will notice is the amount of street noise - honking, diesel cars, & motorcycles. What you’ll very soon discover is that Indians navigate with sound - constantly honking at each other. Honking isn’t negative like it is in the U.S. It is instead a way to indicate to others that you’re there.

Click here to listen.

Mehndi Ceremony
The bus took us to the Mehndi ceremony, which was being held at a house in the country, just outside Bangalore. The meager house was surrounded by a beautiful garden, a couple of platforms and cages which housed 40 dogs. (I never did find out why they had so many dogs.)

The Mehndi ceremony is organized by the bride. Skilled artists are brought in to apply Mehndi (henna) to the brides hands and arms. All women in attendance are also invited to have Mehndi applied.

The Mehndi goes on as a thick paste which dries and eventually flakes off, leaving behind a deep orange or red stain. The designs which the artists apply are very ornate - especially those of the bride. My artist was incredibly fast and detailed. She was also deaf and mute - communicating through hand signals and writing. Very talented young woman.

The Mehndi is intended to stay on your hands until the day of the ceremony. Most brides take care not to get them wet until the day of the ceremony. For instance, my friend Archana placed plastic bags over her hands when she was married.

The Mehndi ceremony also included lunch, which was absolutely delicious. I honestly do not know what I ate - Archana told me, but I was so overwhelmed with new food the entire trip that I haven’t retained it.

As you’ll find out in posts to come - Indians are all about food. I ate so much on this trip! And I didn’t have a single bad meal. You can bet that I also picked up some cook books while I was there.

After the Mehndi ceremony, the bride and groom are not to see each other again until the day of the wedding ceremony. So, Karthik left with us to go to a still theatre production he had arranged for us to see.

Bimba: Still Theatre in Miniature Art Form
We headed back into Bangalore to see a still theatre show. A couple ran the theatre - the wife being the creator of the miniature art form. Her family has created this art through the generations and she decided to start sharing it with the outside world.

The particular still theatre she showed us was the story of Ganga, the River Goddesses descent to earth through her marriage to Lord Shiva. [Wikipedia entry.]

The story was told really well and the still life very well put together. You can tell a lot of love and care was put into it.

What interested me the most about this visit however, was the exterior of the theatre which this couple owned. It was very typical of the architecture in the city and I really enjoyed walking around the grounds to see fully intact buildings aside partially destroyed buildings. Building and tearing down structures seems to be common place in the city - however they leave remnants of such activity all over the place.

Fun End to a Day
After the theatre and a quick bite to eat, we all headed to NYK’s Lounge. The bride and groom had arranged for a private party at this rooftop bar. Only the young guests were in attendance. We drank and danced the night away to Indian dance music.

The most unique experience for me was shots of tequila. They don’t use shot glasses in India like we do. Instead, the owner of NYK’s walked around with bottle and poured it straight into your mouth. Being a lover of tequila, it was definitely tasty.

At the end of the night we all stumbled back to the bus and back to the hotel to have a good nights rest.

Note: All photographs from day 1 can be viewed on Flickr.

Road sounds in Bangalore, India. I recorded them while waiting...

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 13:04:33 -0600

Road sounds in Bangalore, India. I recorded them while waiting for a bus to leave. We were on a side road so the amount of noise is nothing in comparison to the main roads.

Your Guide to India

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 09:22:00 -0600

As you may well know, I am on my way to India today. I was invited to a Hindu wedding & could not pass up the opportunity. I can not contain my excitement!

I am hoping to keep everyone up-to-date on my trip as much as possible. However, I will not be as readily available as usual as the cost of international data coverage on my iPhone is prohibitive.

I will, however, have Internet at the hotels I’m staying at. So, if you are interested in staying in the loop, this is what I will try to do:

Post photos to Flickr
- Keep an eye on my Flickr page for regular photo updates. I have even set up a collection for it: http://snipurl.com/india_photos
Twitter & Facebook
- When I am able to update Twitter & Facebook, it will most likely be in the morning, U.S. time.
- I will tag my posts #indiatrip so you can follow easily here: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23indiatrip
- The flight is 24 hours, so it will most likely be a day or two before you see anything interesting from me.
Tumblr
- I will try to share my adventures with you via Tumblr as much as I can.
- My ability to do so really depends on how busy & tired I end up being.

I know it won’t be the same as being there, but I hope I can bring my enjoyment of the trip to you.

—-

Btw, it’s not to late to donate to my trip. I couldn’t really afford this trip, so I really appreciate the donations I have received.

And finally, special thanks to the following people who helped me go to India by donating. I will be bringing you back a special gift.

Dean (@dean)
Jeff McGrath (@youtah)
Marci Vasic (@marcimouse)
Ryan Shaw (@darthbender)
Sandra Pannell (@bunnieblog)

listening to "Depeche Mode - Personal Jesus"

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:39:36 -0600

listening to "Depeche Mode - Personal Jesus":

Depeche Mode always makes me think of my early 20’s. I then get nostalgic & think about all the awesome stuff I’ve done over the last 10 yrs.