taking requests

i reeeally wanted cookies. i could smell them all the way across the mall. when life smells like shit (literally) on a continuous basis, the aroma of fresh baked cookies is better than --well, just about anything! karilyn and i were looking or a baby shower gift, and could smell it all the way up to the second floor. we tromped over to cookieman, which is at the bottom, and i asked for a milk chocolate chip cookie and a raspberry white chocolate one. my mouth was waaaatering. i handed the cashier a 100 rs note for my grand total of 70 rs and the guy just shook his head. 'no change,' he said. i was like, 'this is all i have. if i had the exact amount i'd give it to you.' 'no change,' he said again, and set the cookies on the counter away from me and moved on to the next customer! can you believe it?! he wouldn't even sell me the stupid cookies because he didn't have change! nor did he try to do anything about it! he didn't give even half a hoot about the fact that he couldn't make the sale! he was totally unabashed about the transaction. and i was SO pissed. (yes exactly, i was caps lock and italicized pissed. still kinda am, apparently.)

the weather's incredible, still. i'm not even turning on the ceiling fans. and we've all been wearing scarves in the evenings, or hoodies. i love it! but it won't last. no siree. it'll be hot and i'll be melting very soon, i'm afraid.

it's been requested that i make my blog more interesting. more visual and with more frequent updates. i'll work on this. as long as you promise not to think that i'm a big, fat, whiny complainer, which is how just about all of my past posts sound. i'm finding it difficult to describe my experience here without a ton of negativity. it's not a horrible place, but it's also by no means an easy place, especially when describing it to someone who's never been here. it's not an exotic, tropical lifestyle. india is challenging in a physical sense for obvious reasons, and it's very challenging on the mental and emotional levels as well. that being said ... i'm honestly happy i'm here. india is pushing boundaries that until i got here, i didn't even realize i had! and that's a very good thing.

ok. enough hippie-dippie woo-woo. i've got errands to run, people to meet, and gorgeous weather to take advantage of before it disappears.

oh yeah ... we're going to france in april! more about that later.