Hello, there!
It has been way too long since I last wrote (what's new?) but here I am again typing away. To tell you the truth, it has taken me this long to have the time or the space to write.
For New Year's, since we didn't get to go to New York (darned blizzard!) we stayed in a beautiful hotel in downtown Portland instead. During the days we slept in, traipsed around town, ate at food stands, went shopping, and had a great time. We walked all over downtown, past St. Mary's Academy, my old high school, and up to Powell's, the most awesome bookstore in the world. (I am biased, but any bookstore so large you need a map...plus it sells both new and used books!) One morning we walked down to Voodoo Donuts. It's a really popular place, which has many strange kinds of yummy donuts. I would not let Raja buy the two pound donut. As it was, we bought more than a half dozen. Even over two days, we couldn't eat them all.
On New Year's Eve, we had an awesome time. We went to a very nice dinner at the hotel, and then we took a cab across the river to a club called "The Woods." There we enjoyed some fantastic Bhangra and Bollywood music mixed up by the husband and wife DJ team Anjali and the Incredible Kid. I had a great time dancing, while Raja and our friend Regina sat and enjoyed the view. The place was very small, but by the stroke of midnight, there were over 500 people there. It was very crowded. There were a lot of interesting people there. First thing when I arrived, I noticed an old Uncle (in India, you call older people "Uncle" or "Aunty" as a sign of affection and respect) dancing on the floor. He was wearing a suit. He was in his 60's, it looked like, but he was happily dancing wih all the younger women. There was also "Sinuous Snake Woman." She was dressed all in black and purple, with gold jewelry and gold shoes with high heels. She also wore a gold belt with a snake on it. She had a slithery dance, slow and side to side, and she didn't really vary her tempo much. No matter what was playing, she just continued to dance the same way. I think she danced to her own, internal DJ. I noticed a bunch of cute young guys who spent a lot of time filming the crowd on their cellphones. I was laughing because it seemed like such a geeky thing to do, get all dressed up, come to a dance, then just film others dancing. However, as Gloria Estefan says, "the rhythm is gonna get you." ( A prize to anyone who can tell me from what movie I stole that last sentence.) They guys eventually gave up filming and started dancing. At some point, I had to go to the restroom. There was only one, and there was a pretty long line. There I became best friends forever with a girl named Amy. She was pretty funny, but then the energy was flowing wild that night and a lot of people were acting a little funny. I even got Raja to dance with me a time or two. He says he won't even dance with me at our wedding. Maybe I should have asked DJ Anjali to spin some tracks at the reception! In the end, I just danced with this other fun girl (not Amy.) I could tell she was a belly dancer by her moves. I danced with her and her friends, and had a great time! At midnight I gave Raja a big hug and kiss. Afterwards, we left and went back to the hotel. The next day we checked out, and went back to our home and our crazy lives.
It has been way too long since I last wrote (what's new?) but here I am again typing away. To tell you the truth, it has taken me this long to have the time or the space to write.
For New Year's, since we didn't get to go to New York (darned blizzard!) we stayed in a beautiful hotel in downtown Portland instead. During the days we slept in, traipsed around town, ate at food stands, went shopping, and had a great time. We walked all over downtown, past St. Mary's Academy, my old high school, and up to Powell's, the most awesome bookstore in the world. (I am biased, but any bookstore so large you need a map...plus it sells both new and used books!) One morning we walked down to Voodoo Donuts. It's a really popular place, which has many strange kinds of yummy donuts. I would not let Raja buy the two pound donut. As it was, we bought more than a half dozen. Even over two days, we couldn't eat them all.
On New Year's Eve, we had an awesome time. We went to a very nice dinner at the hotel, and then we took a cab across the river to a club called "The Woods." There we enjoyed some fantastic Bhangra and Bollywood music mixed up by the husband and wife DJ team Anjali and the Incredible Kid. I had a great time dancing, while Raja and our friend Regina sat and enjoyed the view. The place was very small, but by the stroke of midnight, there were over 500 people there. It was very crowded. There were a lot of interesting people there. First thing when I arrived, I noticed an old Uncle (in India, you call older people "Uncle" or "Aunty" as a sign of affection and respect) dancing on the floor. He was wearing a suit. He was in his 60's, it looked like, but he was happily dancing wih all the younger women. There was also "Sinuous Snake Woman." She was dressed all in black and purple, with gold jewelry and gold shoes with high heels. She also wore a gold belt with a snake on it. She had a slithery dance, slow and side to side, and she didn't really vary her tempo much. No matter what was playing, she just continued to dance the same way. I think she danced to her own, internal DJ. I noticed a bunch of cute young guys who spent a lot of time filming the crowd on their cellphones. I was laughing because it seemed like such a geeky thing to do, get all dressed up, come to a dance, then just film others dancing. However, as Gloria Estefan says, "the rhythm is gonna get you." ( A prize to anyone who can tell me from what movie I stole that last sentence.) They guys eventually gave up filming and started dancing. At some point, I had to go to the restroom. There was only one, and there was a pretty long line. There I became best friends forever with a girl named Amy. She was pretty funny, but then the energy was flowing wild that night and a lot of people were acting a little funny. I even got Raja to dance with me a time or two. He says he won't even dance with me at our wedding. Maybe I should have asked DJ Anjali to spin some tracks at the reception! In the end, I just danced with this other fun girl (not Amy.) I could tell she was a belly dancer by her moves. I danced with her and her friends, and had a great time! At midnight I gave Raja a big hug and kiss. Afterwards, we left and went back to the hotel. The next day we checked out, and went back to our home and our crazy lives.
Since then, I have been extremely busy unpacking and putting things in their place in my new home. If a thing doesn't have a place, it doesn't belong here. I have been pretty ruthless. The donation pick-up van has already been here twice, and I already have more stuff ready for pickup next month. I am going to be going through my storage, too, because I already know I have too much stuff in there!
I have been working on developing routines, as my schedule is very different here. Usually I get up between 7 and 8 a.m., get some breakfast ready for Raja, get him off to work, make the bed, load the washing machine and empty the dishwasher, take a shower, get dressed, pray or meditate for a while, plan my day, check the calendar, make a to-do list, make tea or coffee, eat breakfast, check my e-mail, clean a little bit, do some chores or errands, putter around, do some stuff, eat lunch, check Facebook, go to work, check the mail, make dinner, fold and put away the laundry, putter around, eat dinner, load the dishwasher, make Raja's lunch, watch TV with Raja or read or write. On Thursdays I visit my mom and Nyx (my bunny, who lives with her right now) and clean his cage.
Despite all my unpacking and putting away efforts, I still can't find my camera cord, so I ordered a new one. However, I also bought a new camera. It's so fancy that I think I need to take lessons to learn how to use it! My former students sent me a "Flat Stanley" to photograph on my travels, so I'd better practice. ("Flat Stanley" is a character from a book. He's squished flat, the upside of which is that he can easily be folded flat and mailed around the world. ) I'll take some photos of him and post them here. (I know, I already owe you!)
Raja and I get married in 23 days. I can't believe it! I can't wait to be Mrs. Raja. I have a lot to share about the preparations for the wedding, but that will have to be another post. It's already 9 a.m. and I have to get up and do some housework now. I'll write more soon, but until then...
Be good!
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