verdeSI - a desi's attempt at becoming more "verde" (green)

uncovering Maria's past

2010-02-16T23:54:00.000-05:00

so, one of the challenges of buying a century home that has been converted into a rental duplex property is that rather than fixing something, it is usually patched up. To what extent I had very little knowledge. Maria (house's name till ya'll come up with something better than the name of the street she is on... Maria St) has had many hands on her over the years. Not saying she's been an "easy" house but rather one with many touches... ok, I'll stop with the innuendo. So here's what we've discovered so far in our quest to green Maria.
- The main floor visible hardwood is the THIRD flooring material used (with at least 2 layers underneath). In some places its 2 layers and others 3 which leads to uh... interesting elevation changes. I'm going with the theory that our feet weren't made for perfectly flat surfaces and that these changes in flooring height are better for the feet!
- The first addition of the house was originally one storey i.e. the second storey floor has been places on top of what must have been a low-pitched roof.

- The ceiling on the ground floor of the original house has at least 5, yes, I said FIVE layers to it! Check out the photo on the left for the cross-section of a part that we opened up! So, our thinking is that with every change or leak etc that occurred the landlord/lady just added another layer on top rather than remove and start fresh. This lead to the debate of do we remove it all and send it to the dump (which has a physical and an eco-cost) or add another layer on top as it looks like crap and the stucco finish is very difficult to match. After much thinking and meditation, I think we will go for removing the layers as it will give us easy access to fix the knob&tube wiring which looks like it only exists in the ground floor ceiling. We can also then assess if we need to beef up the joists or fix anything that might be have been cut (including one joist that we already discoverered) and am trying to find a product that we can use as a ceiling that is attractive, not so expensive and removable so we can fix/change things without putting in a brand new ceiling everytime... we woulda scored big time! :)

Oh, and today on the second floor, I believe I've discovered the original (pine?) floor boards that were under the laminate. Luckily the laminate came up easy and will be donated to Habitat For Humanity Restore Here's to bring lucky and that we can salvage the boards and use them somewhere else in the house, just like the old studs! :)

Well, I hope I haven't bored all ya'll! Buenos noches! :)

thoughts of green

2010-02-05T00:50:00.000-05:00

So, the renos are well under way with MUCH help from friends, neighbours and new eco-minded buddies. The sense of being overwhelmed by a house that has more than a century of history with many of its recent years as a purely rental property creeps up more often than I care to admit.
She's (yes, a house on Maria St is a She) got good "bones" but in dire need of maintanence and in need of (the slippery slope of) upgrading. The eco-dillema thus arrives. A house mostly done up require much less... maybe a better thermostat etc.
The grey area of fixing vs updating etc is something I've been trying hard to resolve for this project. Saving something is more eco-friendly than ripping it out and replacing it with something "eco-friendly". Sounds obvious but much harder to do in this infectious HolmesOnHomes era. Yes, its like McD's....even if you hate it you might catch yourself wanting a Big Mac sometimes.
Also, it is MUCH easier to see what you're dealing with when everything is gutted but suddenly you have more than 2 tons of plaster, paint etc going to the dump. I keep trying to imagine the dump as if it at the end of my street and then think about how much I REALLY need to add to it.
For ease of construction, having a big bin at the back of the property and dumping everything in there is the easiest and fastest way to deal with demolition.
So far, thanks to Rhinobags I've got separate areas for old plaster, painted wood, drywall, metal and lath (and unpainted wood). We're also saving all the old studs and maybe use them for furniture.

So here she is from the front as it was before the snow fell. I know its hard to imagine what the inside looks like and I'll post more as I upload all the photos of the renos onto my computer. The car and driveway are not mine. Like many old Toronto homes, there's a laneway access and as slushy and icy as it gets back there, I do like it. :)

So, on the slippery slope of renovations I've tried to make a priority list:1. Safety (I don't want to electrocute myself or anyone else... ok.. so I've only shocked myself once sofar)
2. Environment and Indoor Air Quality - reduce waste but take out stuff that might reduce IAQ (no, that doesn't mean I'm going to take down all the walls incase there might be some lead in the pain a few layers deep... as long as we're not disturbing it, it shouldn't disturb us)
3. Cost factor - am desi and want to spend in other places... ice cream....mmmmm..... :)
4. Aesthetic - yes, its last on the list but doesn't mean its not a priority... just lower down.

Doh! Its almost 1am... buenos noches all :)

relearning blogging

2010-01-21T00:28:00.000-05:00

As you can tell, its been ages since I've posted and am trying to figure out the new tools they got going at blogger.com. So, here's a test msg to see how it works out! :) More to come on the house

Clean Train Rally

2009-09-30T00:54:00.002-04:00

_MG_5430.jpg
Originally uploaded by Ariel Estulin

It was great to see so many folks doing so much for our community. It sucks that we have to fight for our own dollars to be spent wisely by our elected officials who've handed the responsibility of public transit to someone else (and assume they'd look out for our best interest!) hmmm... Thanks for the fotos Ariel ( www.arielestulin.com )

contact info

2009-05-01T08:04:00.000-04:00

mah numbah in India is +91 9811792115
talk soon :)

hot? No...its not hot

2009-05-01T07:52:00.002-04:00

It passed hot around 8am as the temperature climbed above 35 degrees celcius. One day in Delhi and a minor sense of adventure mixed with a major case of stupidity lead us (SS and me) to walk around for AN HOUR in total. Here's an article to help give perspective of heat

I would like to write more but I need to get out more in this heat. Actually its relatively cooler in Dehra Dun... the BIGGEST difference being that attempting yoga on a rooftop at 5am will not sear my behind but around noon it hit 42 degrees!

time for some nimboo-paani

mah town! :)

2008-03-27T21:36:00.004-04:00

So its been a while since I've posted... ok.. a long while. I guess outside of move and Bijli's accident I didn't have much to report on besides the hunt for work, working on Mum's place in Loretto and slowly falling in love with this tiny neighbourhood in this tiny corner of the world.
Not long ago, I was heading to Lou's Coffee Bar for an evening fundraising event (I'll post the name of the charity as soon as this brain fart ends) and came across this sign across the street from Lou's on a street pole.

Note: I did remove the first three digits so none of ya'll can harass the good samaritan! :P
I guess there's not much else I'd like to this except that in this crazy world of ours with all the $hit that is going on... it's great to see someone so concerned as to return some $$ and ciggi's. :)
Have a happy day!

Oh.. almost forgot this link: and thanks to Mire for finding this on the net... someone else's take on TO!

real beauty

2007-10-04T14:17:00.000-04:00

its not often that I post somethin' from the web... but this series is fantastic! :)

bichaari bijli.... (poor Bijli)

2007-08-29T18:11:00.000-04:00

So, a lot has happened since the last posting... I'm settling quite nicely into my new 'hood, had an uh... eve to remember celebration at a local pub, a few guests including my first hosting thru Couchsurfing. All in all, a fine month and a half.
I've become a semi-regular at Lou's Organic Coffee Bar (514 Annette), and today I parked Bijli (i.e. my 14+ yr love affair with a KHS Montana Comp named Bijli - Lightning or Light in Urdu/Hindi/Punjabi) at the bike rack outside and went in for a cold coffee. Not ten minutes go by when I hear screeching of tires and Lou's buddy saying that someones bike just got run over by a TTC bus! I turned (slow-motion, hindi movie Ishtyle of course) to see my bichaari bijli lying on the sidewalk with her front fork on the road and one brake lever snapped in two dangling like a drunk pendulum. Trying to deep breathe and not let out an Amitabh inspired "NAAAAHHHHHIIIIIII!!!!!!!" (translate: NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!) I (quickly) walked over to her and the TTC driver standing outside who informed me that he had to "call it in". One cop and a TTC supervisor showed up sans a CSI team and we spent over an hour fillin' out forms and trying to figure out what part o' the bus hit Bijli as she had red paint and rubber compound added to her newly dented handlebar. The cop told me that I should be parking my bike on the INSIDE part of the bike rack!He said nothing when I asked if it was wrong to park on the other side. Anyhoooooo...Bijli WILL be ok, inshahallah... the front wheel might need to be replaced, as will 1 brake and maybe the front fork. We've ridden in 3 countries and 2 continents and still have many miles to go.

So, lesson is: To prevent injury, always keep your bijli inside. OH HELLO! ;)

the move...

2007-07-10T18:57:00.000-04:00

So, here I sit... appropriately at the "Kids' Space" computer (mentally refusing to grow up!) at the local library in "The Junction" . After living in the countryside of Loretto being around more people than deer & cows is gonna take some gettin' used to! But so far so good (its been 4 hours!) :) Its the first time I've moved (alone) and not been in a different country at the minimum! :) And YES, I've been living in Canada for the last three years and have ONLY traveled without the intention of moving there (wherever that was!) :)
For those of you in the area and those wanting to visit... my couch should be arriving within two hours so am ready for ya! :) And I gotta run and start exploring my new 'hood so that I can show you around where you're here! :)

time...

2007-06-08T23:07:00.001-04:00

Its been a month since I’ve been back and am realising that this time period has been affected by the same space and time phenomenon as my socks that go missing when placed in the washer or dryer.

The one thing I kept forgetting to post about and one of the few things I thought was important to share is the importance of visiting India or Pakistan soon, if your family was on the other side of the border prior to the Partition of India. Having visited the villages of my grandparents in Pakistan and meeting people who tearfully and lovingly remembered the days before the countries were split along religious lines, I had a stronger feeling of being Punjabi first and Indian a relatively distant second.
Even though there had been a lot, and I mean A LOT, of bloodshed as the religions crossed borders (read Khushwant Singh's Train to Pakistan), there was and is an underlying respect for the different faiths which had lived centuries together in the Greater Punjab. I know some of you will disagree but my experiences in Bhaun and Murid tell me otherwise. One of the most interesting examples was this doorway to a house in Murid. In Punjabi (Gurmukhi script), it says: Ik Onkaar Satnam - a section of a Sikh prayer.

It may not look significant till one realizes that a displaced Muslim family came from India and was "allotted" this house (as were Sikhs and Hindus in India) and took the trouble to wipe out the name of the previous Sikh owners (look carefully in the red circle under the Ik Onkar, if you can read Urdu) but did not wipe out the Ik Onkar Satnam. And till 2007, has not wiped out the Ik Onkar Satnam, which translates to "There is one God.Thy name is Truth"

Ok, I digress from the original reason for this posting... a reminder that time is running out. Simple math shows that a person born at the time of Partition is now 60 yrs old (2007-1947). And s/he is now at least 75 yrs old if s/he was old enough to have significant memories of the villages/towns you want to visit and possibly find your ancestoral house(s). This is the last generation that will remember life in the Greater Punjab.

my roots...

2007-05-23T00:57:00.000-04:00

So, in my post "Crazy days" I talked briefly about my trip to my ancestral villages near Chakwal. I didn't really touch on how emotional that trip was and still cannot find words to express the hospitality and outpouring of love in both Bhaun and Murid.

Going to my paternal grandfather's house carried a lot of emotion for me as no one since atleast the 1940's had been back to his village and house. After many hot hours on the road to get there, we worked our way through many of the raw, still unpaved roads of Murid... following the directions my grandfather had given one of the locals who had been instructed by the "Pir" (also in the Crazy Days posting) to help us find our ancestral home. I was VERY excited as I had had no luck finding my mother's family home in Bhaun nor my great-grandfather's store in Rawalpindi.
Imagine my excitement when we came across the house with the balcony "Crazy days" where I imagined my grandfather with his father and his grandfather looking at a sunset or more likely a buffalo tied not far from where I stood.It was not far from this spot that I took some dirt to pass on to my family members of my generation to keep for the future generations.

I got back to Delhi and developed the photos and had the negatives scanned onto a CD and made a full presentation to my grandparents. I was excited to show my grandfather his old house and curious to see his reaction.As the numerous images of the balcony, the old wooden doors, white washed, simple yet elegantly carved entrance, the crumbling walls and dusty roads leading to and fro the house passed in front of his thoughtful gaze, he got ready to say something seemingly deep and profound to me and then he paused, then got up for a bathroom break and as he came out of the loo, he uttered the following (translated and paraphrased): It was the house BEHIND this house, you simpleton!

For those of you truly bored...

2007-05-23T00:43:00.000-04:00

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When you don't have enough blue: you lack perspective and understanding

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You are dependable, popular, and observant.
Deep and thoughtful, you are prone to moodiness.
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You don't mind waving your freak flag every once and a while.
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Slightly exotic and perfectly gorgeous

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You Are Barney

You could have been an intellectual leader...

Instead, your whole life is an homage to beer

You will be remembered for: your beautiful singing voice and your burps

Your life philosophy: "There's nothing like beer to give you that inflated sense of self-esteem."

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Celebritease 'n me... what do you think? hot huh? OH HELLO!

2007-05-15T01:12:00.000-04:00

Inglaand to Toraanto

2007-05-06T03:56:00.000-04:00

well, its almost been four months since I left Canada and if all goes well, should be back in town tonight.Lookin' forward to the comfort of my own bed but will miss the many loved ones from the trip...

quake...

2007-04-28T12:07:00.005-04:00

I realised that I never really did write much about my earthquake experience... Here's the link for the actual quake info . It was a 6.2 on the Richter scale. What I've also learnt from a friend of mine is that the scale is exponential (i.e. 7.0 is TEN TIMES stronger than 6.0)... and thats why the 7.6 Richter scale earthquake in 2005 in Pakistan was so deadly.

I was sleeping in the 4th floor apartment of a friend's house iin Islamabad when I thought I was dreaming that the bed was banging against the wall... turns out it was the wall that was banging against the bed! It felt as if I was in a dream as my legs shifted under me as I attempted to walk. The feeling on not standing on a surface that we take for granted to be "solid" is a feeling I cannot forget nor can I fully imagine what it must've been like when the 7.6 earthquake hit.

Family portrait

2007-04-27T06:48:00.000-04:00

With all the talk of Gol Guppay on Facebook... here's an '80's family portrait I found in my grandma's house, when I most closely resembled a Gol Guppa (although this past trip to India is definitely giving my younger "healthier & big boned" days some competition!).

from 40 to 14 degrees...

2007-04-27T05:31:00.000-04:00

before I forget: My UK mobi no. is +44-7952239218.
The Jet Airways flight into London was great as they have personal inflight entertainment (don't think dirty, think tv screen behind the seat in front of you and with ability to pause, rewind etc over a 100 viewing options including bollywood flicks). The slit-yer wrist downer was Babel and worth watching are Volver by Almodóvar and Happy Feet except the Disney-esque ending as the humans actually learn!

Its tough getting used to the lack of horns and day 'n night ambient noises. I can't decide if I'm missing them or if I'm relieved. Probably a lil' bit o' both.

So, I'm now adding the last batch of photos from Pakistan of which, this is one o' my fav's from Anarkali Market in Lahore. There are also two photos added to the end of the India Album

attack o' the Delhi belly...

2007-04-22T14:05:00.000-04:00

be warned... THE FOLLOWING will CHURN your stomach.. stop reading if you have a) a weak stomach b) a sense of class and/or decency or c) something better to do!

This is one of the classic Indian experiences but not often discussed

(in mah overrated opinion, of course) I'm talking about Delhi Belly aka Montezuma's revenge

You still have time to skip this entry and look at the purty fotos under newest photos on the right side of this page.

Tracing the source of Delhi belly can go as far back at 48 hours... which in my world can be as many as 14 meals and snacks. Needless to say, I didn't figure it out! BUT the attack came on the Shatabdi train from Delhi to Dehra-Dun.The options... "western toilet" or "indian toilet". As there are only one of each per 70 or so passengers, I decided on the classic Indian toilet for sanitary reasons and, as a friend puts it, for shits and giggles. IF you clicked on the link for "indian toilet" then you have read the benefits of it.What I wanted to add (while burning wedding photos for relatives here) is the added drama of the squat toilet on an indian train.Unlike the european trains, desi trains have more horizontal movement and add an element of acrobatic balance while aiming for "the hole".The "modern" trains have graciously added a handle to hold on for dear life as the leaky wash-yer-bum tap (b.y.o.toilet paper) causes the entire steel loo floor to have as much grip as chopstix on gooey jello.THE reason to choose the squat toilet is to see how fast the train is moving... as you can see the ground through the hole. How's that for motivation?

feelin' hot hot hot

2007-04-17T08:54:00.000-04:00

It was 42 degrees in Delhi yesterday with the forecast of 42 degrees and no clouds! So, compared to that, Dehra-Dun is a balmy 36 degrees upon arrival here today! :) The heat definitely has changed the rate at which this country operates... and understandably so!I should be back to steamy Delhi by Thursday, in time for my dentist's appointment... YAY! :) Ok.. delirium kickin' in.. so time to sign off.. with well wishes and cooler weather for all of ya'll. :) You can always bundle up in colder weather but only so much you can take off without causing permanent damage to all forms of life... in heat. ;)

And she grabbed my......

2007-04-12T09:41:00.000-04:00

This was my closest interaction with the beautiful women of Pakistan in Pakistan... curious?Read on! So, Basit and one of his buddies took me out to Gelato Affair for coffee on one of my first nights in Islamabad. The evening was filled with tons of sugary coffees and ice cream... it was a moment to be captured in film.As most of you know, my digi has been unwillingly donated to a burglar in London, so it was back to the old film camera, a fact that I didn't realize had consequences for the latter part of the evening! Basit, being a growing celebrity, had some of the waiters talking to him and apparently he said that its quite common for people to just come up and speak to him or ask him for autographs etc.We got one of the waiters to take our photo with the gelato bar in the background (ALL the tables were behind the camera).A number of seconds after the photo was taken, a decently attractive woman in a hijab came up asking for my camera. I figured she wanted a photo with Basit but as she grabbed my camera, I realised she wanted my camera and kept looking for the LCD screen to see if we had taken her photo!Apparently, that was quite a huge deal to her and was ready to expose my film to keep a photo of hers from getting out.

As Basit, his friend, this lady, now her husband who's returned from making a phone call, his sister all got into an argument my thoughts turned to what it would be like in a Pakistani jail and how thats the ONE place I really didn't wanna visit for mistankenly taking a photo of this woman!All this, besides the fact that it was virtually impossible for us to take her photo without a SUPERwide lens as she sat at the back far corner of the Cafe. After what felt like an eternity with all of us up on our feet, arguing about what to do with the film and the camera, as I hung on to the camera strap while she tried fiddling with the camera, we had a rescuer.
He came to our rescue after the waiters, owner and tables from where we took the photo failed to calm her down.He was sitting with four or five other women, all of whom nodded their heads in agreement as he told this lady's husband that it would have been impossible for us to take HER photo without HIS ladies being photographed as her table was behind his (relative to ours) and he confirmed that we hadn't photographed them.So here's our photo!
Do you follow what I'm sayin' 'cuz I think I just confused myself. In the end, they left in a huff as I quickly put my camera away and we thanked the entire cafe for coming to our rescue.I've been a lot more conscious about taking photos since then!It was definitely eye opening in terms of how different man-woman relationships are in public in Pakistan.This includes the exclusion of women entirely at the local dhabas . They either have the food delivered or huddle in cars and eat.

Back in देल्ही॥ Delhi। देसी फॉण्ट मैं लिख रहा हूँ

2007-04-11T18:18:00.000-04:00

this is crazy... so, I managed to figure out that I can type in hindi in the title but not sure whats happening with this text! Hope ya'll can read this in Inglis! :)
So, crossing the border was almost uneventful except for the fact that there is no standard 15 day grace period for Canadians or Americans, as claimed at the Ministry of Interior Wagha Border office! So, essentially I was at the mercy of the five Pakistani Immigration officers, who after a detailed explanation let me go back to India as long as I 1. don't take this higher as they let me go on "humanitarian" grounds (i.e. no need to find my way back to Lahore and sit in an office for another 15 days waiting for an extension) and 2. don't give or accept any offers to bribe someone to cross. Quite the heartstopping event, if any of you have dealt with the desi borders! Followed by paying a guy Indian Rupees 75 (CDN $2) to get me a seat on the train from Amritsar to Delhi. Followed by funnily enough... Pakistani styled kababs near the Red Fort.
My phone number again is 91-997-131-3281

Lahore and Photos

2007-04-08T15:13:00.000-04:00

So, I've arrived in Lahore and thanks to Jamil Uncle that I've managed to upload all my photos to date (plus serious editing to keep ya'll from fallin' asleep, especially of the "scenic" shots of my ancestoral family villages).
The main updated albums are the Delhi album, now called INDIA and the new PAKISTAN album.

To keep ya'll awake... here's a photo from Holi. Hope you like the photos. If the top links dont work, then click on the "newest photos" link just to the right of this post and its ALBUM 20 and 22.

crazy days...

2007-04-07T05:52:00.001-04:00

So, its been a few crazy days... that seems to be the
theme of this trip. Yesterday and today have been
quite uneventful... in bed with fever and chills, and
one short non-productive trip to the Ministry of
Interior to check the status of my visa extension. Of
course, it would be too much if the concerned folks
were actually there or someone who also had the
authority to tell me whats happenin'!

Anyways, before this, I got to go and see Nankana
Sahib Gurudwara, which seemed pretty bare but packs up
around Baisakhi time. Apparently it goes from the
three or four turbans I saw to so many that from an
aerial shot you cannot tell where the marble floor is!
A chance meeting of the Delhi Rotary Club delegation
and their (appropriately named )host, Dilshaad Shah,
led to an adventure with Dilshaad the following day to
two of my ancestral villages.
I'm not sure how far back one has to go for a village to be ancestral but I
figure the house where at-least my great-great-grandfather grew up qualifies in these times. Our trip to Bhaun and Murid were filled with love-filled embraces from people who remembered not necessarily my grandparents but Sikhs like them and missed their company post-partition. I cannot help but think of the millions that perished not only in the Indo-Pak partition violence but in the cross border journey. It was a weird, not necessarily disturbing sensation watching Hindu Mandirs and Sikh Gurudwaras now converted to houses.

Many things happened during Partition and although those wounds may have never completely healed, I felt nothing but love for having visited. It was incredible how many people went out of their way and showed us around.

Chachaji Fateh Khan, a
burly dark stocky many with a massive turban which
looks like its constantly fighting a battle with
gravity and winning, took more than 6 hours just to
show us around from village to village AND tea at the
local truck stop. And this just after asking him for
directions! Thanks to Dilshaad Hussain Shah and also
to Munna Bhai (not from the movie) who took me for the
coolest tour of Purana Qilla in Rawalpindi on a
needle-haystack search of my great-grandfather's IRAN
HOUSE store!

So, now the plan is to go to Lahore tomorrow and move
onto India a few days later. Inshahallah!

lack of visa's and quakes

2007-04-04T17:19:00.001-04:00

I've been having issues checking my own blog... so
hopefully this works... Here's a lil' bit of an
update... at this point, looks like being born in
Bombay is causing a bigger deal than we all thought!
So, I'm being "checked out" by the Pak equivalent of
the FBI & CIA and wait for their answers regarding if
I'm a "threat" in the northern areas and will have to
wait anywhere from a week to 3 months for an answer.
In the meantime, my 15 day visa expired on Sunday and
am on their "Grace period", which is only good for
non-Indian applicants! Thanks! :P But ironically, the
reason they're checking me out in the first place...
is my Indian birth. Somebody should tell General
Musharraf and Manmohan Singh about that! Manmohan
Singh (prime minister of India) was born in what is
now Punjab IN PAKISTAN, and Musharraf was born in
INDIA!!!
Ok.. now that thats off my chest...
I felt my first earthquake yesterday while sleeping on
the 4th floor (generally, the higher up the more you
feel it). I'll write more about how that felt... but
certainly is scary when the realisation that even
ground ain't solid hits. Fragility is such an
important part of the human condition and yet why do
we so often feel falsely invincible?

Did I mention how much of this particular weed I saw growing just outside the US Embassy in Islamabad? :) LOL... you gotta see it to believe it!

still waitin'...

2007-04-02T02:44:00.001-04:00

so.. here I am... still waitin'... a lil' fatter and a lot of new experiences... and of course La Ley de Murphy (Murphy's Law) is in full effect here!

1. I can't post directly to my blog with photos as this cafe doesnt have Firefox (MUCH better than explorer)...

2. Being born in Bombay is apparently a crime that involves SERIOUS looking into... very annoying and ironic considering the person giving me the initial permission to volunteer in Pakistan is a Pakistani Army Lt. General! So a country that is essentially under Military rule cant get me to a military zone because a beaurocrat needs to "look into my background because of my place of birth". Ironic point #2: My ancestors are from what is now the Pakistani side of Punjab, not more than 100 kms from where I sit now!

3.Its been the best waiting time ever I could have hoped for... more on that later... but it involves sticking my hand in "Saheli's" mouth, an 18 year old beauty of an elephant belonging to the family of a new friend, Kash to hangin in the sound studio for a live recording at Pakistan Television, supervising the mixing for another new friend and fantastic Sufi musician (think Amitabh's deep voice in his younger days except with classical raga talent!)... Arieb Azhar to hangin' in Lahore and getting massaged by burly men at 3 am while eating great Karahi chicken on the street in Laxmi Chowk to seeing two of my fav living qwalli groups (Sher Ali Mehr Ali and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan) in the Lahore stadium to hangin' with the Aussies at the Aussie Club to driving the Islamabad roads and driving on the wrong side and no one really honking as folks do that here! :)

But more on that later... time to get down to what I came here to do... build strawbale houses... inshahallah (and more on that word also... it certainly doesn't mean "God Willing" here!!!)

still here...

2007-03-26T06:02:00.000-04:00

am in Islamabad... cant write long... but still waitin'... :( Wish me luck!!! :) Luckily, I've met some really cool folks and so am enjoying Islamabad. :)
p.s to Anonymous comment... Did you remember to say Hi to Sarah from me??? I STILL dont know who you are... so I'll tell Sarah that Anonymous from Strawbale Conference has said hi... twice!

waitin'.. and waitin'...

2007-03-21T06:31:00.000-04:00

Before I post... please write your name in the Leave Your Comment section. I have no idea who I should say hi to Sarah from (straw bale conference person, for sure... but out of 110 delegates... who are ya? ) -from the post below
I'm still waiting on my visa application! And tomorrow is Pakistan Day, hence a holiday and some type of arms parade... The run around has been crazy! The rest of the straw bale teaching gang is already up in Abbottabad working on work strategies and talking to different NGO's and planning the work that is to be done. The fact that I was born in Bombay is really slowing things down!And as I was told, its also done partially due to the fact that the Indians bug the Pakistanis when they apply!Holding a Canadian passport is almost irrelevant!Funny how a person's birthplace can change treatment and perception, on a macro level. I spent a month as a child in Bombay and that is how the way I'm treated is determined.And I'm still one of the lucky ones, BY FAR!
All said, I've had MUCH better treatment by the local Pakistanis than even the highly annoying Canadian Embassy!!! Two trips to the CDN embassy, soaking wet, waiting patiently to register myself in the country (for safety reasons) just to be told that they can't help me with registration, as now its only web based (and for a god-forsaken reason, the people at the front did not know that!) and can't help me dry my soaked jacket... for security reasons, and thats AFTER going through a thorough check while coming in!!!! Thanks! Oh... there's a Canadabad Cafe, for Canadians... wait... only for diplomatic Canadians... something they only tell you at the gate!Luckily, the local security guard at this Canadabad Cafe, seeing my sorry wet butt, gave me HIS umbrella for me to go to the Canadian Embassy! :)

In Islamabad and phone numbah

2007-03-20T10:35:00.000-04:00

So, I'm sitting in ATV HQ's in Islamabad... having arrived here yesterday and staying at a new friend TS's pad in what's probably the safest place in Islamabad, the embassy enclave. Met up with the crew and went for a proposal meeting with a Lt. General and his entourage to discuss strawbale in the earthquake effected zone. Had a number of meeting in a number of offices to get my visa extended and need to do the same tomorrow. The rest of the crew is on their way to Abbottabad, where coincidently my grandfather grew up! So, the surreal time continues. The dhaba food here is awesome and the people are unbelievably hospitable! So, its time to go and enjoy their hospitabilty (sp?) and their dhaba food again!
Oh, my number here is 011- 92 (country code) - 3212991610. If you're bored or can't sleep... gimme a shout (incoming is free.. yeah... cheeky... innit!!!) :P

going from Punjab to Punjab

2007-03-17T02:35:00.000-04:00

So, its 1251 am... many hours since a decent sleep... the 1910-945 overnight train journey from Dehra-Dun to Amritsar was apparently there in great time... ONLY an hour + late! Having forgotten its Sunday and that everyone and their mother-in-law were heading to the Golden Temple and that it would take me more than three hours just to get inside the main hall... compounded by the massive lack-of-chai-since-yesterday headache... I headed straight for the langar hall and chowed down... followed by quick, cold refreshing dip in the main sarovar. A lil' bit o' haggling later and I was off for my first Indo-Pak border crossing... and cool it was. First was the lecture that I couldn't take any Indian rupees across... which caused me to change SOME of my Indian rupees to Pakistani ones, at what I found out was a worse rate than the one offered across the border! Luckily, I know better than to trust the local Indian vendors (this'll sound quite harsh unless you've traveled here!). Immigration and customs on the Indian side introduced me to a Japanese fellow from Osaka who, on a Canadian Louis Garneau mountain bike, was cycling from Shanghai to atleast Iran. :) Who knows... I might join 'im! :) Anyhoo... the Pak side immigration was chilled out as Immigration was done on my behalf, while I sat on a manjaa and my passport and form went inside. Best was when I went for customs (i.e. baggage check) while my bags sat near the manjaa next to the really sweet guy who helped me with Immigration! All done, I went for a cup o' chai at the restaurant before crossing the checkpoint and the same sweet guy found my family friend uncle (who I hadn't met earlier and on whose laptop this is being typed on!). I guess I'm rambling on... but I gotta mention the Wagah border crossing closing ceremony. Totally cool... I'd say atleast 3000 ppl on the Pak side and 5000 on the Indian side... screaming, shouting while watching the border patrol guards trying to "intimidate" each other while closing. Never been to a more fun border than this... show and all!I think the link above even has a video... and the night ended at Lahore's famous FoodStreet for Lahori fish! Its 127am now and haven't slept for way too long... before I become incoherent, which I fear it might already be too late... so, like all the courteous ppl I've met sofar in Pakistan sofar, I'll apologize in advance! :)

updated: hail storm in DehraDun!!!

2007-03-13T04:57:00.000-04:00

changes are definitely abound... I have never seen such a hail storm... golf sized hail... unbelievable!!!! am sending this before the comps crash!!!
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update:

firstly... Anonymous comments... please give me your name too! I don't know who is "looking at Ldn and Spain in Early - Mid May!!"

As for my plans... here they are (but fully aware of what "God" does when told of someone's lifeplans.... she/he laughs!): Depart from DehraDun 17th by overnight train to Amritsar. Leave the same day or next via Wagha border crossing to Lahore or Islamabad (depending on bus/train schedule which I'll find out upon arrival to Wagah border). Get visa extension process started in Islamabad by the 19th/20th March and start strawbale work with PAKSBAB in Abbottabad soon after. Work/teach/learn for a month and return to India via same route and fly from Delhi April 18-20ish. Stop in London for family visit and be back in Canada for May :) Inshahallah (as we say in Farsi & Urdu).

As for the hailstorm, it was something never witnessed in the Doon Valley before. I exaggerated a little when I said the size of golf balls... I'd say about the size of Mike Tyson's knuckles and with about the same ferocity, as far as flora is concerned. As I'm back to my non-digital camera, ya'll will have to wait for photos!We also ended up rescuing two parrots who were literally beaten down from the sky by the intense hail. Entire wheat crops, lichee and mango seasons have been demolished in twenty minutes yesterday. The saddest look was on the face of the man who tends and sells the estate's mango's and lichee's, who at 10 am came and was happily proclaiming that this year will be a bumper crop of our homegrown mangoes and lichees. At about 4pm.... we'd be lucky if there are even 1/20th of the mangoes & lichees available!Here he is standing next to what used to be a Papaya tree!!! Not a single leaf left!!!

Well, its past dinner time here with my grandma (i.e. 1830!!!!) Quite the contrast to the wedding and Delhi timings! Dinner by 1830 and in bed by 2100 (but not sleeping and having snuck in a sandwich... till midnight... with my hotwater bottle, cheesey single station FM radio and those bloomin' honking cars breaking the gorgeous silence)

Wedding Photos

2007-03-05T07:03:00.000-05:00

its been too crazy busy and then too tired to write.. so I'm hoping these photos will say more than a few words... These aren't all by any stretch and even the selection was bordering on random due to tiredness and such... but I know a number of ya'll have been waitin' for 'em.. so here they are! :) I hope you like 'em.. grab a mug o' coffee or more before starting... even in slideshow mode.. there are over 200 between the two albums...
Devigarh Fort Palace scenery shots
Sanj and Suz's wedding photos
Enjoy! :) and buenos noches... even though its only 1730

all coloured up...

2007-03-04T10:08:00.000-05:00

Holi was today... crazy Delhi-style Holi... although less intense than two years ago!
Will write more as the "tiredness" wears off... ;)

back... but not done yet... :)

2007-02-27T10:26:00.000-05:00

so, just flew back from Devigarh Fort Palace yesterday afternoon after a truely exhausting, fantastic, over-indulgent (food et all) wedding! :) I got TONS o' fotos... so I gotta put 'em together, sort 'em and then post 'em. In the meantime, watch Eklavya-The Royal Guard, with Amitabh Bachchan and let me know how it is. I still have to see it and figure out what happened where in the Palace. Needless to say, sitting for 3+ hrs isn't gonna help the seemingly never ending expansion of the place where my waist used to be! :)
Talking of which, its time to go for a "family" dinner prior to the Delhi Wedding Reception tomorrow (as there was a reception in Devigarh as well).
Working in Pakistan is going to be quite the contrast to this opulent life.
It was with a sense of gratitude, pity, wonder and shock seeing the mud huts with the recently milked buffalos and crying babies just outside the fort walls. How many centuries has it been like that? It was no different than when the artisans were building those beautiful churches in Europe while living in mud huts. Poor but talented building for those with the means... many of whom who just by chance (or not?) born into it.

wedding frenzy...

2007-02-21T06:52:00.000-05:00

so, the wedding parties have started... last one at yesterday, at Sanj's cousin's place, with the traditional (and oh so awesome) Dholis, whole loads o' food (solid & liquid) and dancing till way past 5am!
And the day before... something that anyone visiting Delhi should not skip... Chandni Chowk and Paranthe vali galee (Road of Parathas)... where we had more parathss than I can count... and ALL were deep fried! Now THATS the way to have a paratha! The one's I remember (all stuffed much like us after): tomato paratha, paneer (cheese), aloo (potato), besan methi (in english?), dal (lentil) and the best... was last... a sweet paratha stuffed with malai (which turned to a cream cheese like texture post-frying), raisins, chopped cachews and sugar... all deep fried!MMMMMMM... kicks a Tim's donuts butt anyday! :)
Damn, all this talk of food is making me hungry... and I won't even get into the nuances of eating Gol Guppay at the M-Block Market, GK 1.
oh hello!

changes abound...

2007-02-18T12:34:00.000-05:00

So, the emotional roller coaster continues... that is something that I can't and don't want to avoid... but I wanna focus a lil' on a happier note in this post...
The first sacrifice of the wedding has been made! One of my fav. pants (trousers for you Brits!) has bit it... rather, I should say that cotton doesn't stretch the way it should to accomodate Indian Wedding food! No, it didn't rip down the middle but rather more slowly and of course, at a pre-wedding party/function, the secondary button that holds the remnants of my waist in place snapped off! And just one trip to the loo later took care of the other one! So, here I sit, insistant on wearing my fav. pants, held up by a leather belt that is also now one hole closer to not holding me up any more! Damn you butter chicken!
Oh, also, I've updated the #19 - London photos and a new album, # 20 - Delhi.
Enjoy! :)
buenos noches all!
Wish me luck! And yes, I'll be switching to the one-size-fits-almost-all Kurta Pyjamas soon! :)

the lost poem...

2007-02-15T05:34:00.000-05:00

Many of you know that I lost most of my posts from 2001/2002 travels when the blog company I was with "changed business focus" and deleted every blog! That'll teach me to back up! Anyways, thanks to M.P. and a chance inquiry, I got emailed a copy of that poem a few days ago. :) It feels somewhat appropriate to post it again. It was something I had written after witnessing a person die, 6 painful hours after we found him on the road in Bombay and stayed with him at a local hospital while feverently trying to contact someone... any one in his family.

I saw a man die today.
I saw a man suffer today.
I saw the fragility of life today.
I saw a lack of respect for life today.
I saw seeming strangers caring for life today.
I saw the transience of life today.
I felt a renewed respect for life today.
I know now that there is no tomorrow... only today.

sad news...

2007-02-15T04:52:00.000-05:00

I know I haven't posted any updates in a while... things have been crazy... I'm not sure if I can even write much about Kuldip Uncle's passing away yesterday. It feels so surreal as not even a week ago we were sitting in London, at an Iranian restaurant, joking and him making plans for a visit to Canada in August. A minor TN surgery a few days after I left his house was something we talked about in passing but could never imagine that he would not make it out of the hospital.
He was my Dad's business partner in Iran and our families have been very close for a very long time. I still remember his hard headedness and jovial nature especially when I think about his insistance that the Qutub Minar is taller than the CN Tower in a long and drawn out discussion at his house in Tehran many moons ago.
I'm not even sure why I'm writing this... maybe because if I write it, it might seem more real.
Kulid Uncle... your physical presence will be missed dearly. I know you and Dad are still with us and possibly having an other worldly banter about the Qutub and CN Tower.
love always
J

Delhi Mobile number

2007-02-10T11:01:00.000-05:00

here it is... 011-91-997-1313-281
okji... time to go eat again! Thank god for the stomach expansion room in kurta pyjamas! :)
oh hello!

squared

2007-02-09T10:14:00.000-05:00

so, as the wedding preps continue, I'm hoppin' around town with my Aunt trying to help...
We ended up at Square One today... and funnily enough I'd say its quite the opposite of Square One in Mississauga .Like the Mississauga Square One, this one is also mostly filled with Indians... and unlike it, there's no dollar store, walmart, McDeath or things of that "class". The Delhi Square One is an elite mall filled with Designer boutiques from 'round the globe.The immense growth and wealth (albeit not spread equally) of this country was exemplified when I was here last as I overheard a shop keeper say under his breath to show my cuz (an NRI-Non-Resident-Indian) last season's clothes as they can't afford this seasons! Today an NRI is also jokingly called a Non-Required-Indian... quite the contrast of a few years earlier...
Anyways, I can smell the great food cookin' away (not so far from me)... so I gotta go... :)
happy shopping... in either of the square one's (or even better... support a charity and go to Value Village!) :)
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Actually, I stand corrected... pls. see the attached comment :) So... go to GOODWILL instead! :)

Velkumm to IndeeAAAA!!!!

2007-02-06T11:57:00.000-05:00

so... am in India... a land where if your car brakes fail you can still survive but if your horn fails you'll bite it for sure! The flight was good... gotta hit the sack... yaaaawwwwnnnnn.... Don't have a mobi (or handy- in Germany) as yet but will post it as soon as I get it! :)

London to Delhi today... hopefully!

2007-02-05T06:14:00.000-05:00

So, I begin with looking outside at a gloomy, cloud-filled London sky and like the weather I want to rant a lil'. So, am still credit card less... even though AmEx and Scotia promised them to be here by last thursday. Its now Monday and funnily enough, the emergency card issuing office for both cards operate from 9am-5pm Eastern Standard Time- if you DO have an emergency and are in a different country, then you can call and complain but you can't speak to the emergency department. So, the Customer Service folks tell you to call back to complain again at a more convenient time (e.g. at 2 am London time!).Grrrr. You'd also figure if they are sending these "sensitive documents" with UPS or FedEx, which they both confirmed that they do, they'd have a tracking number to find out where are the cards.By my now-heavily-British-influenced-thus-oozing-with-sarcasm blog posting, I guess you can tell if I have the tracking numbers :)

Anyhoo... on a brighter note (and I thought I almost saw the sun come out but alas, it was a passing headlight!) I thought I'd write a lil' about words that make u think (if you're not from London or Germany) - Bad Essen (a spa town - NOT bad eating), Butt Strasse (BUTT road - damn, I wish I had my digi handy), Handy (a mobile phone... why "handy" 'cuz you use in in your hand, innit!), Pants (undies... not those long things that go ontop of your underwear), takin' the piss (bugging someone as opposed to emptying your bladder), Cockfosters (last station on a tube line and NOT a dirty adoption program) and last but not least... if you pronounce this drink very quickly... it sounds like... Faa-khing-er. :) I promise to write cleaner when I get to India. :)

trouble in the kitchen in Hitchin

2007-01-30T19:08:00.000-05:00

so... here's the update that some of you heard about today (the abridged version): Around 4am this morning, at 'M'&''S's house, while we were sleeping, burglars somehow entered the house through the backdoor and stole a number of things including 'M's wallet, laptop, watch and my jacket (which had my wallet and, stolen for a second time, my digi camera!).
The good news is that we are all safe and that they probably got scared off when lil''K' (now a healthy and super cute 5 months old) needed a feed around 4 am and 'S' was walking around upstairs.
The bad news (besides the immediate loss of cash and valuables) is the feeling of invasion in a supposed 'safe' place that lingers. And it is heightened by having a young child at home. I have to say that 'M' & 'S' handled it very well and we tried to make the best of a long day waiting to talk to the police (who came home) and a C.S.I. styled investigator who came to take the shoe prints left behind! Me, ever being the tourist (and to lighten the mood a lil') got photos of 'em! :) It certainly is a crappy feeling to be robbed in your own house esp. while you're upstairs sleeping. Now every noise for the next while will provoke thoughts of danger and alarm.
I am now on my old trusty film-backup camera so photo updates will be a while... but I think there are enough to keep ya'll happy for a bit... luckily I posted all the photos the day I landed in Hitchen.We're also lucky that there was no physical harm to any of us and mostly we have is the hassle of dealing with the beaurocratic process of getting things replaced.
Am now in Uxbridge and totally stuffed (once again!!!) so will sign off... as always... Mr. Lucky (even if 'M', jokingly, says otherwise!) :)

in the kitchen in Hitchin (England)...

2007-01-29T06:18:00.000-05:00

so, like the title says... I'm at a friend's place in Hitchin and thank God that my hour flight was just that! As I type, I'm uploading more photos to the German album. Included are the photos of "the wait"... and sorry boyz, the two beautiful blondes are spoken for! :P
So, now its time for some Inglish Curry.. innit? post more when I get some time :)

Longest shorthaul flight EVER

2007-01-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

ok... will write more about this as soon as I get a chance to calm down and then coherently vent... but have FINALLY made it to northern Germany (countryside) but got a short story about an hour long flight that ended up taking about 20 hours!!! Itsa crazy adventure filled story involving hot (yet oh so German) tempers, Motha Nature (in her full glory), Jalapeno Chocolates, beautiful blondes (beer and others!), slick runways, fight sequences (snowball ones as boarding the plane), Red Cross intervention, plane changes, missing (possibly exploded luggage)and more!
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all said and done... I am fine and getting fatter as am full of homemade Linzensuppe (german Lentil soup) :)

german mobi numbah 49-175-658-0034

2007-01-20T17:41:00.000-05:00

So, the update is that I personally would NOT recommend T-mobile to anyone comin here!I havent checked if the others do the same in Germany but it costs ya to call their customer service!So, if you have a problem with their service, you have to call them and pay, by the minute, to speak to an automated service to solve your problem!Needless to say I needed help in doing the hardest of tasks... changing the number of rings before kicking into voicemail from 5 seconds to 30 seconds!Thanks to the ladies of The Phone House! :)
Ok... so now that the rant is done, the unusually warm weather here ends tomorrow morn and hopefully the snow wont cause a delay for me to get to Osnabruck/Munster!

This first foto is something you have to click on... and then try and pronounce!!!It essentially an egg cracker... or (say it fast in German 5 times!!!)EIERSCHALENSOLIBRUCHSTELLENVERURSACHER !!! Really!

For all ya'll Torontonians... here is the first... the Original TV tower. :)

For more photos, including those of the first smiling Gargoyle I've ever seen (Some of you know the fascination I have with these protruding architectural art thangs!), click here
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got it today... ´tis 011 (or 00)49-175-658-0034 :) lets see how T-mobile is in deutschland.

first foto batch up....

2007-01-19T19:48:00.000-05:00

first batch o´photos is ready... albums 16 and 17. Look under LINKS on right side of this blog... there´s a link for NEWEST photos :) its da last two albums.
Enjoy!
jup
good nite all!!

Zurich... clean... cool... cash....

2007-01-19T07:56:00.000-05:00

the subject is my description of Zurich. Now that that is outta the way... I've been mulling over life and timing... (and my traveling nick 'Mr.Lucky', which still holds true as described below... should I feel egotistically inclined to state so,which I do!)
ETA bombing at Madrid Airport a few days before arriving there
Catching and landing in Germany literally hours before the start of the BIG storm
Getting off the autobahn as news of the winds causing a truck on our section of the autobahn acting like a sail and toppling over causing serious issues!
Couple of hours here or there and things would/could be very different.I guess I'm stating the obvious and have no answers for the 27 people who didnt make it through yesterday's storm.Maybe its something I'm pondering as I'm not in the percieved safety of my home or once again witnessing and realizing the frailty of our 'normal' routine-oriented life.
I am passing my (wishing for) siesta time in a local Technology Institute called ETH and not paying the insane amount of approx CAD10/hour at an internet cafe thanks to some nice students of the Institute whom I was asking directions & travel advice for spending my afternoon whilst waitin' for 'P's girlfriend, 'B' who is working in downtown Zurich.
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only in Zurich have I ever seen a sign where the SALE price is HIGHER than the regular price. :)

on the way to swtzerland

2007-01-18T09:10:00.000-05:00

so am on the way to zurich after arriving late last night to stuttgart and stayin with 'P' in scenic Esslingen.they are expectin a serious storm here today so am Mr.Lucky again as am not in a plane/airport today.had my first frankfurter here after searchin for them in TWO gas stations (which btw are are second in taste only to the ones in train stations).Hopefully this gets posted directly to the blog as have caved and borrowed 'P's CRACKberry.so,for now TSCHUSS!

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UK mobi: 44-7952239218

2007-01-14T07:37:00.000-05:00

so my old uk mobi works... but I wont have it on till I return to London Jan 29th :)
Gotta get back to the Madrid sunday morn :)

Madrid phone: 34-617553691

2007-01-14T07:22:00.000-05:00

uppdate from Zurich 19 Jan 2007
so, I never made it to 'Angel Caido' in El Retiro. But I did see many old friends, had many many types of tapas, vinos y vermut, napolitana de chocolate inside Metro Alonso Martinez, Chinese food near the underground parking in Plaza Espana and late night coffee an old haunt in Lavapies (with Ella & Louis singin' in the background... yes, not authentic spanish but neither is my memory or uncalled for cravings of VIPS burgers!)
I should be posting some photos soon!

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Madrid phone: 34-617553691
so my old mobi # doesn´t work anymore. Interestingly, my 2 year old unused chip from London seems to work here! Crazy crazy... So... sofar so good... its Sunday morning... I didn´t have a chance in hell of making it to El Rastro as Carlos and me were making early morn sandwiches at 7!
Well,gotta go and catch up with some old friends... hopefully make it to another afternoon goin' down memory lane in el retiro and see my favourite 'fallen angel' :) ciao!
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London part 1

2007-01-12T04:59:00.000-05:00

So, I arrived safely in London last night... just enough time to come home (c/o M & fam) eat, nap, wake up, have dinner, great conversations and sleep again... which brings me to now. I'm off to Madrid in a few hours.Coming back to London felt great... drizzly eve, the distinctive smell of the London underground and the walk from the bus stop... goin' down memory lane... which apparently has been renovated in my decade away!The two pubs at the corner have been replaced by 4 multi-million dollar/pound houses!Anyways, I digress (as usual).
alls good... post from spain next... yay!!!

test post

2007-01-10T11:31:00.000-05:00

hi everyone... this is a test post from email to blog.
I'm still trying to see if there is a phone text to
blog option! :)
cheers!
Jup

departing dearly...

2007-01-10T11:02:00.000-05:00

so... everything is as usual... last minute... I leave tonight for approx. 3 months and I'm still trying to find one of the suitcases I'll be using to pack (which I still have to start!). A few odd things cover the basement floor... and a realization (while typing) that packing for visiting friends & family in Europe, Wedding in India and strawbale work in Pakistan all require totally different attire and somehow have to fit into the now lowered international baggage limits! Well, what would be a trip without some challenges! On the upside, we finally have snow! :) Maybe... just maybe, I'll sneak out taboganning (post-packing ofcourse!)
So, if all goes to plan, I'll be outta here at 1055 and arriving in London tomorrow at 11:15am (AC 858) and off the next day to Spain. I'll try and keep posting regularly... and more importantly will keep posting #'s I can be reached at etc.
BIG hugs to all ya'll and hope to see you soon (sooner if I'm visiting ya and are here to figure out when the heck am I arriving!!!)
:)
Jup
p.s. anyone know how to send a blog posting via a text message? :)

tick tock...

2006-12-20T23:51:00.000-05:00

I know... I know.. I'm WAY overdue for a post... and as usual... it's gonna come like a flush... no action for a long time and then a sudden burst of blogs (The word has always sounded a lil' suspect to me!).
That being said... it ain't time to flush just yet!garden This is more of a false alarm... I promise I'll post something soon!

Here's a photo of a "dog" flower from my grandma's garden in Dehra-Dun (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dehradun) .I'm sure its not the real name but we call it so as you can squeeze the flower and make it "bark" like our canine buds.

The Corporation

2006-08-29T17:27:00.000-04:00

so... last night I saw The Corporation. As with all media... there is a certain bias to it but overall it was an AMAZING watch. Pretty freakin' scary yet entertaining (just the way I like it!). I definitely recommend it. Another one worth watching is Loose Change and related to this is the Wiki's take on Loose Change.
So, outside of death and destruction... the scariest documentary/movie I saw was Spellbound... ok.. so it was a movie about the National Spelling Bee where something like 9 MILLION kids start... and only one wins (and she was an ABCD - American Born Confused Desi ). It was surprisingly entertaining...
These are just some movies I think that are worth watching... above and beyond SuperSizeMe and Michael Moore's stuff.
(can you tell that I'm not writing this at our country home... just trying to find these links would take me hours!!! Thanx local library)

So... all links and no pictures while you're on high speed connection, you say???
I couldn't think of one appropriate for this topic... so here's one for an unknown bug that was with me on the swing. Maybe he's a corporate bug... hmmmm...

fall... again?

2006-08-20T23:22:00.000-04:00

Life is like a roll o' toilet paper.... the closer you get to the end, the faster it goes! -(unknown author)

I saw my first fall coloured leaf two days ago and felt like lettin' out a blood curdling scream that would put The Shining to shame. Is it end o' summer already? Its only 10 degrees tonight and you can smell the crispness of the air that signals the arrival of my favourite season (and yet causes sadness at the departure of summer).
Damn, its not even the end of August!

Time, like a roll o' toilet paper thrown in the air, flies... :)

Here are some pictures from Caribana... Toronto's tamed yet still fun answer to Carnaval :) And the last outing o' the summer! sniff sniff...

Well Quote Part 1

2006-08-11T19:03:00.000-04:00

"that one was as dry as a popcorn fart!" - G.M. (as told to mois 5 August 2006)
:)

6 'n 9's

2006-08-02T11:39:00.000-04:00

a lil' fuzzy... but a milestone nonetheless! Go BECKY GO! :)

alls well that ends well

2006-07-26T19:48:00.000-04:00

so... what have I been doing with all my time, you ask? Well, besides working on some of the internal guts of my Mom's old(er) house... I've been helping out with the digging of our new (dug) well. How do you dig a dug well, you ask? You dig a dug well by digging with a digger that has dug many a dug well. Can you dig that? :)
Ok... sorry... totally uncalled for... but funny in my head, nonetheless!

Essentially this is an old school well... to match our old school country home... and it all starts with the witching of the well .... yup... you heard me... and here's a picture of our second "well witcher" (apparently the first one didn't do such a hot job...) So... here he is dowsing where the water veins might be...
He's using the latest technology... two pieces of wire (possibly from a coat hanger) with non-functional pocket watches at the ends (you can see them if you look closely). It's pretty neat how he pointed out and marked the different water veins (underground streams).
So after marking and then choosing the veins to dig. Oh, we ended up having to dig THREE holes! Third time definitely is definitely charming as we now have a well. Apparently we have too much sand and not enough clay as the walls kept collapsing as soon as we hit moisture.

These are pictures of the digging rig with G.M. at the helm. Mean lookin' auger, eh? So, to put you to sleep... we ended up putting the steel casing in the third one as soon as there was a hint of moisture. This kept the sides from collapsing but we took a risk that the steel would not go deeper if there was too much pressure from the collapsing sandy walls (now held back by the steel tube). BUT it worked and now we have a 26 foot well with currently 10 feet of water in it! YAY! So, that was essentially the last six or so weeks,. Oh there's more to the well than just digging and putting in the steel casing and the concrete tiles on top. We ended up movin' quite a bit of stone (think tiny tiny gravel) that went around the outside of the well... then G.M. climbed into the well to seal joints using a concrete mix and adding bentonite clay on the outside and then packing it with dirt. NOW comes the fun part of digging a trench for the piping to the house... oh did I mention that the well is about a 100 feet from the house with a drop of 70 feet! So, this involves diggin' a trench atleast 4 feet deep and bloody long and digging around the foundation to drill a hole to get it into the house! It definitely makes one appreciate the ease of city living... but at the end of it, we should have a great source of mineral rich (glacier, I was told) water.
So, wish me well! :) (all puns intended!)

balls and fever

2006-06-23T15:17:00.000-04:00

so... its World Cup time again and for the first time I was in Toronto to experience it... and its been AWESOME sofar. Living in one of the most multicultural cities in the world definitely has its perks!
It doesn't matter which team you cheer for in the world cup, its all good here... In fact I've met a number who support at least two (e.g. Dad is Italian and Mom is German). Also, if you're just into the fever (i.e. postgame street parties) and don't care who wins... you can jump neighbourhoods if the team you initially supported didnt win.In some instances, even the losing team's neighbourhood will still party! The Iranians were still honking their horns and carrying their flags after their loss to Mexico. :) The fever certainly is contagious.

So here are some pictures from the recent games in the respective 'hoods... I'm sure you can tell which flag belongs to which nation... :)

And they call me Mr. Lucky

2006-05-03T19:28:00.000-04:00

In Salvador, at Albergue do Pelo (Pelo's youth hostel), my two roommates were not quite youths (60+) but definitely young at heart.We got along great and I learned a great deal from their travel experiences.It was them who nicknamed me Mr.Lucky... a name that I believe reflects my trip and life in general. Of course, we all have hard times but believing you're lucky somehow makes those (transient) times easier. Now, some of you (my fellow gutter minded friends) are thinkin' of Lucky in a whole other sense... and no... that's NOT what I mean! :P
There's a series of stories that I've been reflecting on... that make me Mr.Lucky!
Among others... not getting stabbed or seriously hurt while at the Rolling Stones concert! What exactly was I going to do if I actually managed to get to those two big guys who had my camera? And what are the chances that I managed to get home without incident while being totally bare-foot, after pushing, shoving, jumping, walking for over three hours through the throngs of people (estimated at 1.5 MILLION people) and their broken beer bottles etc on the streets and sidewalks.

And against the odds, managing to sell a single 'abada'(party ticket) in Carnival for the price that I paid for it.Considering most people go to Carnival in groups, the fact that I managed to find a single traveler who wanted to go the following day to Carnival in the evening (and I didn't even need to go o\ut and sell... he asked about it when he checked into the hostel!)

Oh... and I can't leave out this one... Some of you know my nickname in Doon School... Tam-Tam. I know you're thinking... why that??? Here is the link to that question.... yes... the geeky fat kid in the middle is me!!! :) But anyways... there is a Brazilian Airline named TAM and all their staff wear these really cool TAM pins which are in the shape of a heart with the Brazilian colours in the background and the letters Tam embossed in bright red on top. Quite striking and I thought that that would be the perfect pin for my travel hat. I searched through SIX airports and two TAM regional offices with no luck.My last hope was Sao Paulo airport where I was assured I could buy this pin (can u tell I was not gonna give up!).Long story short... that specific pin is not for sale and its for employees only!So, I had to give up. The day before I left Brasil, I was on a local bus heading back to a friend's place and was asking for directions from this young woman sitting next to me.In the course of conversation I found out two things... I was on the right bus and she worked part-time for TAM. I was in the middle of my complaining session and she opened her purse and presented me with the pin and would not accept any money for it. Minutes later, she got off the bus while my jaw was still hanging open!

There are so many other examples of this type of thing through out my journey... but I guess the reason I started contemplating this now was in my search for a new digital camera (upon my return to Canada).Getting a camera that has a swivel head didn't prove to be easy as there are only 2 or 3 models out there that have a rotating head (important feature for solo travelers and for taking funky angled shots) and all of them were quite expensive.I took the chance of going to the store where I had bought my old camera and he said that they haven't stocked that camera for two years.I asked him to check it and to humour me... he did.Long story short... we found one camera (missing a battery, hence not sold and 60% off the sale price!).So, now once I buy a battery, I am back in action! And his parting words to me... you must be Mr. Lucky!
:)

mas PHOTOS!!!

2006-04-18T19:51:00.000-04:00

so... am ALMOST done with the photos from my trip... I have added a few more albums... and more pix to the older albums. I am trying to put higher resolution images in the older albums. There are a lot of new pictures from Album 07 onwards... i.e. Buenos Aires, Iguazu Falls, Brasilia, John Of God (Abadiania) and Curitiba and Morretes.
I have ONE more roll left to develop and post. It shall be done soon! :)
Once again... here is the link: http://photos.yahoo.com/jupsphotos@rogers.com
Cheers! And enjoy! :)
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UPDATE: ALL pix have been posted. Last batch is in "01 Sao Paulo"... where the trip began and finished!

sleepy in Canada...

2006-04-13T22:14:00.000-04:00

I havent written anyone or any post since coming back yesterday as have been in a sleepy daze since arriving.Me thinks me needs a vacation from me vacation! ;)
Well... time to check mail and let me friendz know dat me is back! :) (or maybe I'll do that tomorrow) Hey, just found out that its Easter weekend!
Happy chocolate bunny hunting!

back to the beginning... Sao Paulo

2006-04-07T16:30:00.000-04:00

so.. here I am... where the Brazilian adventure all started... I have returned with about 10 kilos more in luggage and about 6 or 7 kilos in carrying around my waist baggage! :) And its been totally worthit... AND I aint done yet! Still have a few more days till Tuesday's flight home (hopefully)!
And I will be posting more pix as I get them developed (now probably after I get back) but there are still a few stories to be written and a few still to be experienced before being written! :)
Cheers all!

Curitiba... and a lil guessing game...

2006-04-05T21:20:00.000-04:00

ok... so now I am in Curitiba and feeling surprisingly chilly! Its the ONLY place where I have needed more than a tshirt! I cant believe its 15 degrees outside!!!!
anyways... I want you to check out this picture and tell me who are the Curitiabanas (i.e. the girl or girls who are Brazilian and from Curitiba)... post your guesses in the comments... I will let you know in a few days! THanks "A" for the pic! :)

REmind me to write about Morrette and the awesome train ride through the mountains! :)

photos link as requested...

2006-04-03T10:38:00.000-04:00

here it is... the photo link
http://photos.yahoo.com/jupsphotos@rogers.com
Thanks to E for the Iguazu pix! I have more pix to add from D but the net connection here is a tad slow for all that! But will do it soon! :)

Floripa!

2006-04-02T18:21:00.000-04:00

so, now I am in Florianopolis... in the southern coast of Brasil. Its surreal... beautiful beaches... and it feels like I am surrounded by Germans and Swedes who only speak Portugese! Quite surreal... thanks D... for the suggestion! :) Gotta run... but as usual... more to come! :)

Abadiania.... John Of God

2006-04-02T18:17:00.000-04:00

ok.. .so I still havent the slightest idea of how to start describing everything that I have seen... from the wierd feeling in the pit of my stomach for the first few days to the physical surgeries that I saw without any kind of disinfectant or aneasthesia to the seemingly miraculous improvements of so many people to the infectious positivity of everyone you meet there to "the casa" politics to the seekers and disbelievers and the new believers and the all believing folks... and on and on... maybe one day I can sit down and describe all this to ya! I will try and do that sooner than later! And yes... more photos are on the way! :)

Iguazu Falls

2006-03-22T10:05:00.000-05:00

so... to answer all the folks... Iguazu Falls is MUCH prettier and grander than Niagara Falls! I think just to avoid the questioning of that is the reason I came! And boy am I glad. Even the hostel here is great! Hostel-Inn Igauzu is considered the best hostel in Argentina... and it is!It feels like a resort as it has a swimming pool, fusball, tabletennis and pool... plus a bar with ok caipirinhas. :)
If any of you are coming to Argentina or Brazil... its worth the trip to the falls... and definitely take the "cama" bus... its like going first class... almost a complete bed with champagne, food and whiskey and cheesey movies (ice princess, must like dogs and assination of nixon) served... yeah... that was the bus ride from Buenos Aires to here! totally worthit...even just for the bus ride.
Am off to Abadiania now to hopefully connect with John of God. Lets see what happens. We had some solid rain here the last few days but the falls were still beautiful.Definitely take the boat ride that takes you under some of the falls... Maid of the Mist, eat your heart out! :)
Have a great day... gotta take off to Brasil in 10 minutes!!!!
Cheers!

in Buenos Aires

2006-03-17T14:58:00.000-05:00

so, I am in Buenos Aires... its rain´in outside... and this computer is super slow! :( I finally got my pictures... and I wanna share it with all of you (and thus also backing it up and making those of you who cancelled last minute a lil jealous!) :P BUT at the speeds this computer is working at... I am not sure if I can afford to pay for 20+ hours I would need to upload! But developing the negatives directly to CD seems a good idea!
Anyways, Buenos Aires is a beautiful city and a much needed break from beaches (yes, I can actually have too much beach... talk about a hard life,eh?
Buenos Aires does remind me a lot of Madrid... the architecture... the way people dress here... but the meat and the music aint spanish! :)
well, I have to run again... I know I keep promising longer posts.. .but it hasnt happened yet... this time its a legit reason.. its St. Patty´s day and we gotta go and dress in green and paint the town red! :)
cheers all!!!!
----
quick update... the pictures are up. Ive changed how they are set up.Instead of one mammoth album, its 5 or 6 albums and all in chornological order. :) I hope ya´ll like it! I think the pictures link should be the same as before... if not lemme know and I will find the new one! :)

in Olinda/Recife...

2006-03-02T19:04:00.000-05:00

as usual... am outta time... but just updatin that I am in Recife/Olinda :) And that all is good. :)
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so, here is the update while the pix are uploading... first... thanks to Xavi for the pix! :) As most of you know, I am back to regular & disposable cameras... so, it'll be a while before I can post some pix. I am looking for a place where they can develop straight to CD.
Anyways, Carnaval has now ended and the change in the cities (Olinda & Recife) is incredible.There was only one demographic that existed during Carnaval... the wild 'n crazy and young (and the ones at heart). The sense of normalcy (?)is truely frightning! Take the largest nightclub you know and imagine going there for one of the best parties you've ever been to and then go there again but now its daytime and an office space! It feels something like that. It feels good to relax again.
Having said that Carnaval in Recife (by night) and Olinda (by day) was wild 'n crazy... its still not as intense as Salvador. There's a little more (not a lot) of a family feel here... while Salvador was a mass of sweat, hormones and energy.
I think I had the perfect combination of 4 days in Salvador and then 3 days of relatively relaxed Carnaval in Olinda/Recife. Relatively relaxed doesn't mean more sleep but less jumping and dancing in smaller crowds (where I actually could scratch my nose if so desired!). The concept of personal space is non-existant in Carnaval, especially in Salvador and especially if you're a beautiful woman.The whole kissing thing is a whole other post!
Oh... the blocos in Salvador that I was in were... Rappazzola, Jammil and Timbalada
Timbalada was the best with some really solid African beats... and I had problems walking for two days as we danced solid for over 7 hours!!!! Imagine going to a party but not in your party clothes... you buy your t-shirt (which is your ticket) and you wear running shoes (stupid me only had my sandals, and boy did I pay the price!), shorts and many even had their CAmelback waterpacks... but something told me that they did not have water in it!
well, I gotta go... the pictures should be post soon... check the posts below for the link! LOVE TO ALL! :)

salvador... the organizing..

2006-02-23T09:06:00.000-05:00

so... yesterday was a crazy day... basically landing here.. spending two hours on a local bus to get to the city center (and admiring the beaches from the bus... mind you... I'm not sure that at 40 degrees and high humidity that I wanted to be there)!
The influx of tourists here has created a frenzy unlike anything else I have seen (barring the madness of the 1.5 million folks at the Holling Stones concert, as pronounced by the local Cariocas, the people of Hio!)
There is a great deal of African influence here because of the history of slavery.. it creates for awesome cultural blends and kickass food! :) So, I spent yesterday trying to organize an Abada (the ticket to the parties are t-shirts... the MOST expensive tshirts I have EVER bought!!!!). I will let you know if its worth it. I am not even gonna take my disposable camera to these parties... its gonna be too intense and even the disposables create too much attention! the Locals say that you have to remember it in your heart and mind...
ciao all.. time to go and make some musical memories! I can hear the drum beats of over a hundred drummers playing in the street.Someone should teach them how to play the DHOL!

rio... and off to Salvador

2006-02-21T20:29:00.000-05:00

so... my trip in Rio draws to a close.. its been awesome... and although I still feel the odd pang of loss of the digi.. its quite liberating not having anything of great value on me while traveling.I think disposable cameras and buying appropriate postcards is the way to go! :)
I would write more right now... but after a late night of dancing samba (at Circo Voador with the headline... Orquestra Imperial . It was awesome! Today was a walking tour of the largest favela in Rio
anyways... I gots to run to catch some zzzs before heading to Salvador tomorrow!
ciao all! :)

rio... the good and a lil of the ugly

2006-02-19T07:42:00.000-05:00

so... here I am on my second day in Brazil in an AWESOME guesthouse GUESTHOUSE RIO where Dirk and Roberto take the utmost care in making you feel at home and their homemade cake, coffee, fresh fruit juice and attention to detail. This is DEFINITELY part of the good!
ok... so lets get to the main story...
The Rolling Stones concert on Copacabana beach definitely showed me both sides.Like I've said before, there is a warmth in the people of Brazil that I havent been able to explain yet.From friends I met on CouchSurfing.com to the travel agency where they went out of their way to help me (knowing it wont make them any money) and in the concert everyone immediately around our group (7 of us from the guesthouse) were awesome and so friendly.We took many pictures and exchanged emails (while speaking in Portañol - Portugese and Español combined). Jumping up n down in a fevered pitch to the Stones and to the two Brazilian bands beforehand was good prep for Carnaval.There was a father who came with his two daughters and cousin who became more important than just being friendly.
Near the end of the concert, a big guy snatched the camera right outta my hand and obviously passed it to the person behind him.In my great wisdom (NOT), I followed the guy (not so easy with a million people around you) and actually caught him and his friend.As I reached for the camera, a fist came flying to my face and down I went (dont worry, I have thick skin and not even a bruise has formed!Just a lil tender).As I got back up and started my chase of the guy (I could still see my camera on!) the father of the girls came and caught me and pulled me back to where out group was. Which was the best thing that could have happened.The camera (and the awesome photos of the stones) were not worth the possible stabbing.The amazing thing was that all the people around me went SO out of their way to make sure that I enjoyed the last few songs of the concert!There was some serious calming down session by all of them (apparent strangers) and promises of THEM sending me photos instead of vice versa (from normal cameras).The hugs at the end of the concert by all of them definitely gave me chills down my spine and confirmed my initial thought that there is something in the air or water that makes Brazilians so warm and caring.And as I was told in Portañol, it is important to keep the memories of the concert in the heart not just in the camera! Being in the energy of a million people... its incredible!
Trying to get back home was a logistical nightmare and there were a few scary moments as the organization was lacking in this department for sure!WAVES of people...crushing towards the small streets... two of us got separated from the rest and we ended up going for quite a long walk.Oh and that was barefoot too! That was the biggest miracle of all!Walking barfoot for over two hours in a crowd of a million plus people on the streets where there were broken beer bottles and all kindsa stuff... unbelievable luck to not even get a scratch on my soles (just nastily dirty!)
So... word to the wise... (and thanx mom for the disposable cameras)... travel light in the technological dept. (it is more than double the price here to buy a camera.. hence the want to steal also)... travel light in the clothes(too bloody hot).... and travel open in the heart... you will be rarely disappointed in Brazil! :)
p.s. Dont ask me for details of the negative part of this story in real life... its over and done... Oh... did I mention I managed to get a Rolling Stones edition beer can! I dont know if it'll make it home... but I will try! ;)

photos...

2006-02-15T13:53:00.000-05:00

So... it seems a better idea that writing to let the pix tell a lil' story... otherwise I have a feeling that I'll be spending more time in here than out there! :) So... here are the pix.. I'll keep updating the album whenever I can download the pix! :)
JUPS PHOTOS

hot n wet in Sao Paulo

2006-02-10T12:33:00.000-05:00

so.. its my first full day in Sao Paulo and I have to say... its been a great intro to the country sofar.

My new friend, "D" who I met online at Couch Surfing has taken it upon himself to give me the authentic Brazilian experience... needless to say that I will be sleeping when I am on the plane heading back home! The vibrant colours of the houses, trees, flowers and of course the clothes definitely infect the senses and keep you going long after your physical body is tired. And we havent even gotten to Carnaval yet. The weather has been hot and humid but the afternoon showers cool things down to the manageable 20's (celcius). This is where I expect the beatings from my Canadian friends! ;)

So, if any ya'll wanna join me... here is the outline of the itinerary that I have sofar (i.e. the air pass) :
Rio - Salvador Feb 22
Salvador - Recife March 1
Recife - Natal March 7
Natal - Buenos Aires March 13
Buenos Aires - Rio March 22
And from then till April 11th... no idea!
Also, if you have any friends or friends of friends in these regions, PLEASE let me know... :)
Cheers all!

time to fly...

2006-02-08T08:11:00.001-05:00

so... in regular JupStyle... its the day of departure to Sao Paulo, Brazil and I haven't even packed yet! Instead, I'm procrastinating and typing this! :) I'm not sure what to expect and what exactly am I going to do beyond the first few days! Yeesh! I'm sure I'll come up with something! :) I'm hoping internet access will be good there and I'll be in touch via this blog.
In the mean time... enjoy some of our 2-3 feet of snow here! :)

time to fly...

2006-02-08T08:11:00.000-05:00

renos... YAY!

2006-01-06T23:39:00.000-05:00

I can't believe the stress of renos... man... this old house thang is starting to wear thin... we ran outta water again last night... we're definitely gonna have to get a new well dug but not a dug well... well, thats the thing... we have a dug well that was dug a long time ago... what we need is a drilled well. So, a dug well ain't the well dug very well for our purposes. Ok... ok... I'll stop! So, after priming the water pump, I got intimate with my sump pump for a number of hours... for some freaky reason the sump pump wouldn't pump... and I have NO idea why I'm sharing this on the blog...
I guess what I should be talkin' is the fun road trip to NYC, seeing close friends & relative for New Years and watchin' the Leafs kick some Devil butt! :) I'm not sure where to begin with that as its past midnight and more renos call first thing on sat. morn.... so... here's a pic of a Toronto vs. Devils fight (what would hockey be without it!) and no more talk about the renos being done at home! :) Although, I should mention that thanks to a number of friends, its going MUCH better and SUPER fast! And the woodstove is great! :)

winter wonderland

2005-12-26T23:03:00.000-05:00

so... our strawbale season is over and the season of home reno's has begun. I'd say the biggest drawback of doing lots of renos at home is : 1.More food 2.Bed is closer than it should be and 3. More food! :)

Anyways, we've had some seriously funky weather... 2/3 days of plus zero weather followed by some awesome snow... and it looks beautiful. And for all those who worry... the snowploughs are actually parked on our sideroad... so they're all clear! :) So, this was the view from our window this morn. :)

some photos...

2005-12-26T22:49:00.000-05:00

some more photos... hope ya'll like 'em! :)
http://pocoloco.blogs.friendster.com/photos/randompix/

oooh... scary!

2005-11-29T22:19:00.000-05:00

So... I thought I'd write about my first Halloween in Canada since Uni! I did celebrate it in Spain... but thats a whole other story!
This one will be in pix! It ended up being a two day thang and here are some photos from all those great events! :)

The ghouls & funky folks at A's party...

Chillin' with Natalia & friends! :) (see... I posted your name, as requested!)

With R,V & gang... Halloween Part II begins with great vino y tapas!

With the winners of the best costume... the Fallopian Swim Team at N's party!

I felt the exact same was as this unknown person at the last of the five get togethers (over two days).... till next year... and yes, I promise I won't be lazy and dress up as how I do for work (minus the straw hat!)... no more "Straw Bale Construction worker"! :) Promise!

damn I suck!

2005-11-26T14:19:00.000-05:00

wow! I can't believe its been over a month since I've updated the blog... I guess not a lot of people are checking this anymore! But fear not! I shall return with more updates... including... my first Halloween celebrations since uni... more straw bale house building... and other stuff that I can't remember right now! :)
ciao!

road trip... once more...

2005-10-25T22:22:00.000-04:00

so.. this last week, Dr. F. (a really close friend... actually more like my younger bro) came down from Jolly England to visit... and we had a blast... Our many adventures included an ol' fashioned Canuck road trip... ok.. maybe not so old fashioned but definitely more country than city. We were really lucky with the weather... rainin' while in the car... and sunny while traveling around. Our route was from Hockley to Bayfield (Grand Bend) on Lake Huron to Windsor by the backroads (yes, Windsor to visit his relatives... and boy, did we have a blast!) to Toronto. Here are some of the less "au natural" pix! ;)

These pictures are from when we we went for an afternoon hike in Albion Hills.

And here's one from Bayfield at D&G's place... thanks again! :)

update about when i'll be updatin'! :)

2005-10-15T10:03:00.000-04:00

yeah... my posts are becoming as frequent as a blue moon! Must be that work thang gettin' in the way. Actually, its been crazy busy (doesn't EVERYONE say that!). We're currently plastering the new Everdale office. I gotta say that I've definitely become more comfortable with heights and working on the fourth or fifth level of scaffolding while holding a hose filled with a concrete and lime plaster (weighing anywhere from 30-200 lbs!) Anyways... this update is about the update that I'll be updatin' the pix and blog soon!
--------------
so... here's the first part of the update....
this is the new office we've been workin' on.... BEFORE painting it... this is the colour it turns after the cement-lime plaster dries.
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Here's a picture of Anoushka Shankar... just post the Ravi Shankar Concert (which was great! It's hard to believe he was born in 1920 when he's playing... )
I HAD to ask her if she's gonna be playing a fusion concert thang with her half sister... two points for guessing... Norah Jones.... yup!

straw home tours...

2005-10-04T22:00:00.000-04:00

so, this past weekend was the Ontario Straw Bale Building Coalition's Tour. It was AWESOME to have 14 or so close folks come and check out a few of these houses! On that note, I think the huff-puff-blo-yer-house-down jokes have stopped after seeing the inbuilt strength of straw bale buildings. It was pretty cool to show everyone the house I've been working on at Everdale, even if it felt like I was goin' to work!

This is from M&C's place... check out the cool undulations (?) in the walls

This photo is from B&C's place (where I first volunteered to build their barn... and thus began my straw bale building thang!)

sunset...

2005-10-04T21:34:00.000-04:00

this was the sunset from the balcony a few days ago... fall is in the air & as the season changes, the sunsets become even more spectacular! :)
There's a lot of work to do on this "casa" but its eve's like this that make living here great! :)

new addition to the family...

2005-09-27T15:17:00.000-04:00

so THIS past weekend was quite busy (I see a trend here, don't you?)... on Sept 25th at 1205am my cousin's wife gave birth to a healthy baby boy (who's name is still undecided!)... I'll stop yapping for once and let this pic of grandson and grandma say it all! I need to go back to sleep to nurse this nasty flu thang thats goin' on! :(

TIMMMMBBBEEEEERRRRRR!!!

2005-09-18T22:14:00.000-04:00

its been a while that I've looked forward for the weekend to be over as going back to my construction job.... being high on scaffolding while tied to a truss on the roof... is easy compared to what we were doing (last) weekend!
I'd say this has been one of the busier, crazier, hard-workin' and yes... fun weekends! I think now I can be officially be called BUBBA-Jup! :) All I need is a pair of dem overalls! The weekend started with J,M & family comin' over to help move some of their things from the garage to the shed... which was in quite the state... so the weekend started with cleanin' and fixin' up of the shed... friday-- clean and re-insulate, saturday-board up busted sections (damn these country mice must have a tooth-sharpening contract with the local dentist or something!) and loading up the place. Lets not forget diversion day (http://www.simcoe.com/sc/alliston/lifestyles/story/3024605p-3506612c.html ) and that was followed by some serious tree cutting on sat & sun. Yes, I'm not big on cutting down trees but tall wobbley Poplars and electrical poles aren't a good match in the country! Now that Ontario Hydro is privatised... dealing with these high-tension & voltage wires is considered our fun time activity (as its on whats considered a "private" road). It was some serious hard work and it was awesome to have our neighbours involved (and M's awesome portugese food after)... Here's a pic of "L" climbing up one of the trees that was threating the electrical pole.See if you can spot him in the tree.S & J looking on in awe! Man that was a crazy fun time! :)

in Muskok at A's folks place

2005-09-11T21:57:00.000-04:00

so here are my happy toes... and man... was that a beautiful sunset. :) I'm not sure if I need to say much else! :)
It's funny how perspectives change with experiences... now the lil' mosquitoes of Hockley Valley don't bug me at all.. after the steroid-filled mossies up in Muskoka! :) The hockley one's are almost cute!
Enjoy this pic... 'cuz till I figure out how to reduce these in size... it takes too long to upload! I waited more than twenty minutes to upload a single pic! (must start multi-tasking again while on comp!) :)

dailup... oh yeah!!

2005-09-11T21:49:00.000-04:00

so... I FINALLY got my 'net connection hooked up in the country... so now I'm sittin' here... having gone from a VDSL connection (100 megabytes/second) to a dialup connection (possibly MINUS 10 bytes/second)! Time's goin' backwards now... It's funny how quickly we get used to technology and how we feel we're "suffering" if things are going "backwards".. and I still remember the days when a 14.4 baud modem was the FASTEST (and hippest for geeky folk like me). I wonder if someday a functioning 2400 baud modem will be considered an antique!
So... now my goal is to find a program to reduce my photo sizes to somethng more reasonable so that I can post 'em on here without taking two hours per photo!! :)
ciao all!

workin' away!

2005-08-28T21:43:00.000-04:00

well... there hasn't been a post for a while... mainly 'cuz I've been busy working near Guelph... in Hillsburgh at the Everdale Environmental Learning Centre... building their new office.
I'll try and post pics of the house... and the progress being made! And I thought my body would be better at handling the physical aspect of house building... but am still quite the city slicker!My fingers are still sore! But gettin' better... poco a poco! :)
well as soon as I get my photos uploaded... will have another update for ya (whoever is still checkin' the site!) :)
buenos noches all! :)

a toilet with a view

2005-08-08T00:03:00.000-04:00

ok... so I was debating if I should take this down a level but I figure I've posted stuff about toilets before... so why should this be any different! :) But before I get to the toilet... this is the house that I'm helping construct. I'm (sofar) a part of the "straw" crew (i.e. crew to work on the insultating and prepping of the superbly insulated walls for the plastering crew... which is the next stage of straw bale insulated houses)

So... I think I mentioned that there are elements of this job that are hardier than what I (as spoilt city guy) am used to. Mainly, thinking and prepping a weeks' supply of food in a cooler, tent sleeping (albeit more recently tent inside the house we're building with a friendly nightly visit from a racoon who is convinced there is food near me and has easy access as there are no doors, so I have to growl loudly to scare him away before going back to sleep again), showering in a lake or now the campsite not far from the jobsite and the best for last... going to the loo in the woods.

This is the side-view from this airy "facility". I have to say it is awe-inspiring and the only draw back is looking to make sure there's no bears in the vicinity! :)
Here is the cool throne. Thanks S. for makin' it! :) Many a contemplative moment to be had here. :)

balin' away...

2005-08-01T17:22:00.000-04:00

so... here's the latest update... I'm working now (yay!) in the Muskoka's (cottage country about two hours north of Toronto) on house constuction projects by Harvest Homes. Its definintely the most physical work I've done in a LONG time and sofar my body is quite angry with me! It's definitely "roughing it" by our Toronto city standards.
The crew I'm with is awesome... I'll post pix up soon. Building these Straw-bale insulated houses is definitely hard work but the area we are in is beautiful (except towards the evening when the BIG mosquitoes want to feed on us!).

Sofar, I've learnt a few things:
- a shower in a lake in the evening is great as the water is the warmest (don't try it first thing in the morning!)
- a "water-proof" tent isn't necessarily water-proof
- If you want it to rain, leave your shoes OUTSIDE the tent! It will DEFINITELY rain that night!
- Get a tent where you can zip up all the open-mesh "windows"! It WILL be colder than you think at night and that ventilation WILL NOT be appreciated!
- a TWO-person tent is for two midgets!I recommend a 3-person tent for a person and her/his gear!
- Don't drink tea/coffee before going to bed!

Well, I have to bale (bail)... as I'm late! But I should say that there will be more and more cheesey "bale" jokes...

C and A's Wedding

2005-07-19T13:27:00.000-04:00

So... now we are at 10 hours post the Chocolate con churros (see post below) and the REAL reason for me being in Madrid--> C&A's wedding... I thought I'd post some pictures... and mention the fact that we didn't finish again till post 8am. The wedding ceremony was beautiful and it was really cool as the priest summarized his sermon in english. A year of not practicing Spanish left it rustier than I imagined! "A" looked beautiful in her wedding gown and "C" looked funky in his tux and funky tie... (as u can see below)

So, here's the whole family in this beautiful church on Calle Serrano

DA BOYZ!!! There was some "camarero!camarero!" game going on which was remeniscent of Punjabi Boliyaan

This is from the NEXT morning... not long after the two hours of sleep I got after the wedding.Something about the unusual (for Madrid) colour scheme is what was cool (or could have been the lack of sleep!)

101 reasons for Chocolate con Churros

2005-07-19T12:27:00.000-04:00

this post is dedicated to all those who have over-indulged in BEvERageS while in Spain and needed to head for the local Churreria to recover. And thanks to Susana who pointed that I hadn't posted anything about this great Spanish tradition (read the comments of the post below this one)!
Let me preface this post by saying that the below experiences are not far removed from the fairly normal practice of "la marcha" in Madrid.

So, C&A's wedding festivities started with an all-u-can-consume (solid & liquid) Argentinian dinner.This is the picture of the gang, just post-dinner with loosened belts and big wine-enhanced smiles!So, while everyone else headed home to prep for the wedding the following eve, I continued (in the grand "la marcha" tradition) to B's birthday...
After hours of dancing, we were too tired to lift the camera off the ground! (just kidding!)

NOW... we went to San Gines which was CLOSED... but we got our fix of chocolate con churros at the bar next door... which was still serving drinks at 8am... it was funny as we were the only ones interested in winding!
So, here we are below... munchin' away long after the sun has risen but well before we are to see our beds!
AND the birthday boy just couldn't WAIT till he made it to bed! Sorry B... I just HAD to post this!

Bales... bales.. and more bales...

2005-07-13T13:25:00.000-04:00

so, the weekend before London and Madrid... was at the Everdale Center for a workshop on Straw Bale House building held by Ben Polley of Harvest Homes. An awesome experience... and a highly recommended way to build a house! And no... you can't huff and puff and blow it down (considering it is significantly stronger, more fire-resistant and has a higher insulation value i.e. lower heating and cooling costs).
Ok... enough of horn-tooting... its picture-time! :)

this is the house we built in that weekend... NOT!!! This is HOME ALIVE.. check it out!!! GO VISIT!!! :)

This is the inside of the walls of HOME ALIVE! :)

NOW... THIS is the the crew and the house we were learning to build! :)

Bride 'n Bhangra

2005-07-13T12:47:00.000-04:00

So... going back into my memory banks... lets start off with L&G's wedding... an awesome time... and one of the coolest parts was the two dholi's who were later accompanied by a Chinese Lion Dance troupe. The drum fusion was kickin'! This, of course, on top of the dancing, food and consumption of BEvERageS! :)
So, here are some of the pix... (I had some more "normal" ones... but whats the point of showing normal ones...
"G" is TRYING to be the sad and demure bride but quite unsuccessfully as you can see. She's just smilin' away...

The post-wedding siesta in the car after a quick run to Dairy Queen... Sorry guys... I HAD to post this one... I think its really cute... don't kill me for it!

This is one from the reception... "L' lookin' sharp!

crazy dayz...

2005-06-22T19:15:00.000-04:00

so.. instead of doing shorter, more readable posts on a regular basis... I have a feeling that one of these days... I'll be posting a MONDO-post...
the short version of the highlights of the last few weeks are as follows:
- L. & G.'s wedding (photos to be posted soon)
- More renos! (no pix to be posted) Some more renos in the country house also! (I figure no one's interested in pictures of how to install ceiling fans... although I have to say that the only energy star rated fan I could find in the major dept. stores was at Home Depot and it was also one of the cheapest!
- The Straw-Bale-house building workshop at Everdale - one of the most fun, hard-working and enriching experiences I've had. More pix and details to come. Many thanks again to Ben of( Harvest Homes), Lynn, Chantal and the whole Everdale crew.

Which brings me to now... I'm in London (NOT Ontario) and catching up with my dear cousin and friend. :) Reminiscing the times and lovely memories with Javed (scroll down a few posts...).

Damn... I'm being summoned for food... I guess adding a few more pounds to the fifteen or so I've put on since leaving Spain can't REALLY hurt! ;)