Friday April 30 Day 59
This has turned out to be a :day of rest”. The clouds have covered the sky and I had a major low blood sugar attach. It was just before lunch and I went to bed after lunch. I am up and getting ready to go the internet cafe. So not much to report for today but yesterday’s shooting was a great success.
Thursday April 29 Day 58
Well, I am impressed with the Indian weather reporting service. Last Saturday I looked at the weather report for Landour and breezy conditions were predicted for yesterday. That is exactly what we got. This morning there is dust and grit in the bathroom on the, moderately, white tiles. The windows are not very tight here and the wind blew a lot of stuff around. There was a small bit of rain and hail yesterday afternoon.
This afternoon the weather was perfect. I was out for 3 and half hours. I was shooting many of the trails I had done at the be=ginning of my project. I find that I am much smoother in my camera control and having taped the trail before, I have some idea what works. I did about 3 days taping in one long afternoon. I hope for similar weather tomorrow.
Wednesday April 28 Day 57
The ain’t no justice in this world. I evidently overdid it in an attempt to keep my blood sugars from being dangerously low. This morning it was 2 times as high as it should be. I suppose that moderation would be good but this yo-yo drives me nuts (not that I had far to go to achieve that exalted position). Today for the first time I am having pain in one of my feet. This is the direct result of high blood sugars and using ones feet too much. So, in the future I shall learn to walk on my hands to save my feet. I do have medication that relieves the pain quickly. I should have no problems this afternoon. (The pain was completely gone in 15 minutes and there was none this afternoon).
I went out this afternoon and successfully captured the replacement shots I needed. I had not been done for more than 5 minutes when those friendly clouds moved in. They got more of their compatriots together and whipped up a good thunder storm with large raindrops. The first flush of rain lasted about 5 minutes and I never did get wet.
While the clouds were doing their thing I got a cell phone. This included my having to get passport sized pictures of myself, signing a flock of documents including one where I had to have my signature across the attached photograph. It took close to 2 hours to complete the process. I have 200 rupees of prepaid air time. The charge is one pice per second. A pice is 100th of a rupee. I have 333 minutes of air time which cost $4.40. There is a per call rate of 50 pice each Each 2 minute call will cost me about 4 cents. I have purchased 110 calls to order a taxi good until 2013. The phone cost me $42 which included the air time. So my 110 calls cost me $.30 cents each.
The cost of living here are what one would call low. 2.2 pounds of Mangoes cost $1.15, a dozen bananas are $0.69. an individual bags of chips (the larger Costco size) are $0.46, half an hour at the internet cafe is also $0.46, a gallon of bottled water is $1.03. an 11 oz jar of jam (imported from Denmark) costs $3.44 and I use about one jar a week. The jam is my most expensive luxury. It is no sugar added jam and I use it on my toast at breakfast and on the native “flat bread” the other 2 meals. It is my taste treat and I need something to elevate my blood sugars during the day.
Tuesday April 27 Day 56
I had a minor adventure early this morning, or at least I think I did. Somewhere between 5:30 and 6:30 I thought I felt a mouse run across my bed. I had both hands under the covers and flung the blanket off or at least tried the fling the “mouse” off. There has been a large muse, too small to be a rat, hanging around the door to my room the past several nights. Perhaps he/she had been in my room all night having gained access last evening. I opened my door a small amount to allow the visitor to escape. Then again, it could have been my imagination.
I have been trying to gain better control over my blood sugars. I have reduced my amount of exercise, increased my food intake by munching on snacks, lowered the amount of insulin I am taking, etc. The results have then that this morning I sent a new LOW for blood sugars. Today I have just felt plain old bad. I do not know if is the result of low blood sugar or just meanness coming out causing my lowered blood sugars. I may actually cancel my shoot for the afternoon if I don’t feel better after lunch.
I shall not be shooting today. The clouds have come in and are producing “dog sun” where there is a circle in the clouds around the sun which changes all the colors recorded by the camera. I am trying to do “catch-up” shots from roads I taped on fully sunny days. The change in the color would be extreme between the shots taken today and those taken earlier.
I went after lunch to discover that the clouds have cleared off just above us but are hanging around on the edges. I do not trust the clouds to behave themselves so I shall be going nowhere. Besides I still feel generally yucky.
Monday April 25 Day 55
I have had a wonderful day. I went to Woodstock and taped some trails just below the school. I then checked into the cost of a taxi from Woodstock School to my home. It is twice as expensive as from Mullingar which is on the same level on the hillside but 3/4 of a mile out from the bazar. It is a very leisurely walk and quite enjoyable so I walked to the bazar and took a taxi to the top of the hill saving me 100 rupees. The driver picked up 5 preteen girls and took them to the top of the hill on my dime. He was the uncle of one of the girls and it was fine with me.
Five weeks from today I head down the hill to Dehra Dun, take the 5 pm train to Delhi and the next morning I fly out of Delhi, June 1st. I shall be at Sea Tac at 4:45 pm that same day.
Sunday April 25 Day 54
Yesterday afternoon I went down the hill to talk with the owner of an internet cafe on the Mullingar Hill. I knew he would give me the straight story. He just happens to sell cell phones but was out of stock. He told me where I could get a cheap prepaid cell but I would have to go to the ATM machine to get any money. The electricity was off and had been due to come on 20 minutes earlier. I headed on down to the ATM machine hoping that the electricity would come on in the meantime. About half way there I realized that I did not have my ATM card with me and so I turned around. I stopped at the internet cafe and found out that they would have phones on Tuesday morning. I they asked them about the cost and availability of the taxi. The cost is between 100 and 150 rupees or $ 2.30 and $3.45. I got a taxi at the top of the Mullingar hill and it was 100 rupees. The cell phone will cost $45.00 which includes the minutes. If I used the taxi for 80 of the 90 days on the next trip to India it would set me back $320 in total. My health is definitely worth the expenditure. I will test it out for the rest of my time here on this trip.
I got home from the bazar feeling rested and great. Now I shall have to see how this change in regimen will effect my blood sugars. I am also NOT cold because I did not get soaking wet during my trip back of the hill.
This morning the sky was clear and the snows were out in all their splendor. I took some vista shots of the hillsides and of the snows. I doubt that the snows will be vary visible on the tapes but it is good for comparison with the fall shots.
I went 3/4 of the way down the hill this afternoon to get some trails I had missed before. They were rather successful. While taping I had to walk up the hill part of the way. By the time I was done taping I was most of the way back up to the top of the hill so I just walked home. I arrived home dry.
Sunday April 25 Day 54
Yesterday afternoon I went down the hill to talk with the owner of an internet cafe on the Mullingar Hill. I knew he would give me the straight story. He just happens to sell cell phones but was out of stock. He told me where I could get a cheap prepaid cell but I would have to go to the ATM machine to get any money. The electricity was off and had been due to come on 20 minutes earlier. I headed on down to the ATM machine hoping that the electricity would come on in the meantime. About half way there I realized that I did not have my ATM card with me and so I turned around. I stopped at the internet cafe and found out that they would have phones on Tuesday morning. I they asked them about the cost and availability of the taxi. The cost is between 100 and 150 rupees or $ 2.30 and $3.45. I got a taxi at the top of the Mullingar hill and it was 100 rupees. The cell phone will cost $45.00 which includes the minutes. If I used the taxi for 80 of the 90 days on the next trip to India it would set me back $320 in total. My health is definitely worth the expenditure. I will test it out for the rest of my time here on this trip.
I got home from the bazar feeling rested and great. Now I shall have to see how this change in regimen will effect my blood sugars. I am also NOT cold because I did not get soaking wet during my trip back of the hill.
This morning the sky was clear and the snows were out in all their splendor. I took some vista shots of the hillsides and of the snows. I doubt that the snows will be vary visible on the tapes but it is good for comparison with the fall shots.
I went 3/4 of the way down the hill this afternoon to get some trails I had missed before. They were rather successful. While taping I had to walk up the hill part of the way. By the time I was done taping I was most of the way back up to the top of the hill so I just walked home. I arrived home dry.
Saturday April 33 Day 53
Yesterdays success is today’s failure. When operating a video camera you poke a button to start recording and you have to poke the same button agin to stop recording. Yesterday I forgot to stop the recording and ended up recording the moving of the camera and the setting up of the shot. When I got ready to take the shot I poked the record button. This promptly turned OFF the recording and I did not get the shot. I got some excellent shots of men walking up a steep section of hill, a woman and her child coming down the steep hill, a group of milkmen and school boys going up the same hill, but NO shot of the road. Needless to say I am very disappointed. I shall now have to go back and re-record those shots. I did the same thing on the Mullingar Hill and will have to reshoot. This entails a rather long climb back up the hill after shooting with my full load of equipment. That is the hard part.
Today the clouds are moving in so NO shooting. I cannot reshoot the Mullingar Hill because it is the weekend and the traffic on the Hill is very heavy. That will be a Monday or Tuesday afternoon shoot, depending on the sky and our overly friendly clouds.
I have not felt well today and while resting I suddenly thought about how to better preserve my health. Most of my problems are from the expenditure of energy to climb back up the hill after finishing my various shooting expeditions. If I were to take a taxi back up the hill many of the problems of low blood sugars would be non existent. Taxis will come and get me take me home with a call on a cell phone. So, this afternoon I shall look into the costs of a cell phone and what I can expect a taxi to cost getting me up the hill. I shall let you know the results of my investigation on the morrow.
Friday April 23 Day 52
I awoke at 3:45 am this morning and basically did not get back to sleep. I solved the following problems:
How to carry a lunch with me for longer taping times in September. Peanut butter sandwiches and Lemonade plus chips and a banana.
Align the clocks on my video and still cameras to make sure I was taping the correct section of the trails.
Make sure that I proactively get enough sugar while out on the hillside.
What words to use when searching google for British currency during the time of Charles Dickens. What is a gold sovereign and a half crown.
How to find classic computer games for Mac and PC to bring back for my next tour of photographic time in India.
Today was successful. I taped the roads down to Mullingar and the Mullingar hill itself. I got some interesting moving people in the various shots. I am looking forward to the logging in the morning.
Thursday April 22 Day 51
This morning I was actually awakened by the alarm clock. I am usually awake for 2 to 3 hours before the alarm clock goes off. Today I find myself mentally fuzzy because I have not been thinking for several hours before getting up. I am really rested and as the morning has gone on my mind has gotten much more crisp.
It looks like today will be available for taping. The sky is clear but not the dark blue of March but usable. I hope the clouds hold off till later in the afternoon. I shall see, literally,
The sun shone and I shot. There was one shot the other day of a vista at the bottom end of trail. The shot included a large fly who was absolutely captivated by the dark hole of my camera lens. When I reviewing the shots of the day there was the fly literally destroying a rather nice vista. So today I walked all the way down to get the vista again. I got there and the clouds began to cover the sun. Like all great photographers I first cursed the clouds and then waited hoping they would move out of the way and give me good colored light. My patience was rewarded. An hour later I was back up to the top of the hill and there were NO clouds visible anywhere. The only clouds for the entire day were out and about while I was trying to take that one shot.
I ended up the day walking much further and up and down more hills that normal. I discovered that I must take a sugar pill before I start having problems if I extend the amount of up and down hill climbing from the norm. I ended up with sever low blood sugars that came on while I was resting from my afternoon efforts. I became totally disorientated and could not remember what I was doing in the mountains of India. I even got out my video camera and looked at it wondering what it was for. The lady cook called me for dinner and I went in and ate out of habit. She asked me several times if I had a “problem”. Anyone, with super low blood sugars, will insist that they are in complete control. Evidently I had the glassy stare of the spaced out and it concerned her enough to ask me several times. I realized that I did not have a large enough Hindi vocabulary to explain what was happening, so I just muddled through. The food I ate got me back into the real world and I proceeded to shiver violently from the reaction of the body to the low blood sugars. I went to bed with wool sox on, long johns and a extra top to the pajamas. Needless to say, I was awakened at 3:45 am much too warm.
Wednesday April 21 Day 50
The weather gods are in opposition to the completion of my project. For the 4 day in the past week we have had clouds, thunder but no rain yet. The “blue” of the sky is rather milky and the light of the sun yucky (that is a precise scientific description). I could not go out taping so I went and got my insulin. This process involves about a 2 hour hike into the bazar but I at least made good use of the day and my limited energy resources.
I find when I cannot go out a work I become extremely bored. I have spent most of the last 4 days reading my memories manuscript and filling in the time with solitaire and reading Charles Dickens. The Old Curiosity Shoppe is turning out to be a pretty good book. There is a large cast of characters and such dated but interesting descriptions of these characters both physically and emotionally. I am really hooked but the actual process of reading tedious.
On my way to the internet cafe I discovered that I had a blister on my left foot. I stopped off at the store in Sisters Bazar and bought 5 Band-Aids for 21 cents. I sat on the wall outside the store and put on my band aid. I am much more comfortable now.
Tuesday April 20 Day 49
Today was goosebumps day. I actually raised a pretty good crop of them this morning. It is a whopping 66 degrees in my room so the “bucket bath goosebumps” were much more wimpy than at 48 degrees. It is definitely not fun raising goosebumps. Doing comparative studies on the height and duration of goosebumps stretches my scientific curiosity.
Speaking of curiosity, I am currently reading “The Old Curiosity Shoppe” by Charles Dickens. Reading 19th century literature is a lot more work than I had expected. I enjoy the turn of phrases used but many of the phrases are so long it is hard to keep them as a coherent thought. I can only take Charles in short doses but they are delightful doses. I guess that is the difference between moderately good literature and the “bus trash” I frequently read for late evening time filler. The pace of the story is much more leisurely than I am used to. Well, at least I shall come out of this “experience” with some refinement of taste in reading.
Last night was the first time I went to sleep without an additional cover on my feet to warm them up. The flip side of that is the blanket in the morning is too warm for snuggling down. Or perhaps the air is not cold enough to snuggle down from. I would rather be too warm of blanket than too cold of air.
This is really NOT my day. I have gone out and taped the eyebrow trail, except for the last 2 sections. The clouds rolled in, the thunder began to roll and I headed home. I made it home but was rather damp from large raindrops and perspiration. The rain is on the outside of my shirt and pants and the perspiration is on the inside but still WET. Fortunately it is not very cold so I will eventually dry out.
Monday April 19 Day 48
Looks like another day of NO taping. The thunder is rumbling across the sky and there is the threat of rain. If there is no torrential downpour, I shall go into the bazar this afternoon. Mangos have arrived here in the mountains and the fruit seller is to get a new shipment today. I shall wear my light weight rain gear.
There has been no electricity for most of the morning. It is now “on” but that is questionable. The power is very weak this morning. I feel like I am living in the catacombs of the early christians. It is very dark because there is no sunshine filtering into the small windows. With weak power I can not read in my room. There is less light than a candle would provide.
There were a few sprinkles of rain during my 5 mile down and back up trip to the bazar. I purchased 1 kilo (2.2 pounds) of mangos and a dozen bananas. Getting back up the hill was hard work. I am off to the internet cafe to post this and check my email.
Sunday April 18 Day 47
I sure wish my old body with stabilize itself. This morning I set a new low for my blood sugars. Last evening the cook was preparing the evening meal and the smell made me nauseous. That is the first time that has happened since the first week here. I asked him to fix me another bowl of oatmeal instead of the normal rice, dahl and veggies. I must have needed the regular stuff to keep my blood sugars at the correct levels. Though I had very low blood sugars I feel great this morning. Looks like a periodic day of rest is definitely in order because my mind and body generally feel good.
I plan to tape the “eyebrow” trail this afternoon. This narrow trail has had a lot of safty features added taken out some of the sport of traversing it. What is interesting are the rock cliffs at the far end of the trail. The forest is missing and is replaced by rock formations. It is unusual for this area to have open ground. Most of the ground is covered by rather dense forests. You cannot see very far unless there happens to be an opening in the trees. My taping of the eyebrow was cancelled because of clouds. This day is going to last for ever.
I did the laundry this morning. By 2 pm it was dry. The heat of the sun and the slight breeze helped. The first time I did the laundry it took 2 full days for the t-shits to get dry.
The electricity is shut off here for 2 hours each day between 1 and 3 pm. (That does not include the times it is just OUT at any time of the day or night.) Tourist season is here so evidently the electricity will not be shut off for 1 - 3 on the weekends. The electricity is off from 9 to 11 am instead on Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday April 17 Day 46
Today is an enforced “day of rest”. I have had 2 major insulin attacks within 18 hours which tells me that my body needs a break from the strenuous exercise I have been performing. I shall spend my time logging yesterday’s shots and continue reading my memories. I shall also take a short walk to the internet cafe (this short walk is a total of 1 and 1/2 miles so I do not know just how “short” it is).
Friday April 16 Day 45
Today it finally happened. I fell down with my video camera. No damage was done to the lens or anything else. I have a lens hood attached to the camera and it protected the lens. At this time of year there are large amounts of leaves left on trails from the winter. This leaves are very slippery and a great deal of time is spent racking them off the paths. It looks very nice and the trails are safer. I was in an area where this cleaning has not been done. In fact I think that leaves had actually been racked to this area from trails higher up the hillside. I was carrying the camera on the tripod and miss judged the height of one of the steps. My foot slipped a bit as I stepped up and down I went. The first thing to hit the ground was the lens of the camera. There was a little bit of dirt scooped up by the lens hood that I brushed out and also blew out with my blower (this is a rubber bulb with a spout to blow dust away from the lens).
I shot from 1:30 to 3:40 and then headed into the bazar to offer obeisance to the ATM god. I had been told earlier this week that there was a new ATM machine just at the Clock Tower in Landour. This would save at least 20 minutes and an mile of up hill climbing if it really existed. I stopped at the Ram Chander and Bros. store to ask for the location on the ATM. I informed the man behind the counter that I had patronized this store in the 1940’s. It has been moved across the street in the past year. Just down the street a few shops was the sparkling new Bank of India ATM. It works very well. I am so pleased to have a more convenient ATM. It is now only a 40 minute climb back home rather than an hour. I got home about 5:15 pm and shortly after 6 I had a major insulin attack. This happens when my blood sugars drop very quickly from to much exercise. I took a sugar pill and the sweats stopped fairly promptly.
Thursday April 15 Day 44
Well I did it again. I walked much further that I should have and actually had trouble getting back up to the top of the hill. I went exploring trails on the map. I went to an area called the Eastwood Estates. I may have actually gone there one time. I walked my girl friend, Judy Howard, home after track and field practice. Other than that one time I do not believe i have ever been there. The forest canopy is much different there than anywhere else on the hill side. Most of the trees are so covered with leaves that one cannot see the ground between the trees at all. Here there is an open feeling between the trees. It is most startling and beautiful. I shall be taping there tomorrow afternoon.
On my lengthly way back up the hill I found one of the trails that we used frequently. It goes from the residential area up to the main road that leads to the bazar. It is the shortest way to get from the Hostel to the Landour Bazar. I am sure it is still in use. In 1959 the school had a Jeep pickup. In October the jeep was used to transport the food for Woodstock to the Olympics (the inter school track and field competition). It was the first time that a motorized vehicle made it up the hill from Ridgewood to the Tehri Road. They had to actually lengthen the curves just before the trail reached the main road. The Jeep had to go up a stretch then it would backup the next stretch. The curves were too tight to drive around them. It did this forward / backup maneuver about 5 times. We thought it was a great bit of engineering to get the Jeep up the last stretches of the trail.
Wednesday April 14 Day 43
This has been a very uneventful day. I logged in the morning and went out and shot in the afternoon. It was rather warm during the shooting. I was concerned about the amount of sun and heat my camera was getting. I did go to the internet cafe and make sure my bills were paid for the month of April. It was rather interesting that the only charge on my AMEX card was for the rent on the storage unit in Renton. That is the least activity on that card since I got it years a go.
Tuesday April 13 Day 42
Last night was a red letter night. I went to bed without my long johns on and had only one layer on the pajama top. My from is is fiercely warm 61 degrees this morning. That is the high for the year. The temperature yesterday during the afternoon was supposed to be 95 degrees (on the warm side of the hill). I have talked with a couple of other people on the hillside and they agree with me that the temperature was not 95 degrees. In the high 80’s but that is about all.
This afternoon I went down and shot the zig-zag trail just above Woodstock. It was rather hard getting the twists and turns of the trail and I hope it works out. I also had and appointment with the Development Director, Steve Alter, concerning my access to the interiors of the various buildings on campus to tape the interiors. There will be no problem and he is going to give me a letter to the effect that I am welcome to video tape the buildings inside and out. This is the first step in setting up shooting schedules with the various facility managers. I do not have the lighting I need with me now and plan on doing this during October. I was concerned about this permission because there have been terrorist threats recently and producing a DVD with all the interiors might be a problem. I guess they figure that I am not much of a terrorist threat.
A major disaster was barely averted this afternoon. While shooting near the Woodstock buildings I was asked by a security person for my name. I reached into my pocket and dragged out my Visitors Pass. I have a couple extra ones that I have failed to turn in earlier so I always have one with me. As I got it out of my pocket my AMEX card came out at the same time and landed on the ground. The young man stopped me as I stepped away and returned the card. I need this particular card when I get on my flight back to the US. This is the card that was used to buy my ticket and I must present it to the ticket agent before I can get on the plane.
Monday April 12 Day 41
Today was a day for successes. When I got up this morning there was NO sunshine. This is only the second time this has happened since my arrival. It was semi cloudy all day and when the sun did shine there was a strange color to the light which made it wrong for tapping. I went down to Woodstock to get my AMEX card approved for use in India so that I may make a reservation for the train at the end to May. I got there and the lady indicated that she had forgotten to tell me who to get to the screen that allowed one to charge to a Visa card. I did not need to talk to AMEX and together we logged on to the the Indian Trains Internet Reservations site. As I started to type in my Visa card number a siren goes off. It is a Fire Drill for the entire school. 25 minutes later I am back at the computer and of course the site has logged me out. I subsequently got my reservation, paid for the ticket and printed up the e-ticket. I am ready to go!!! It has only taken 5 different times on the internet to succeed which included dodging the cars and busses as the entire population of Woodstock stood on the side of the main road. Organized they are not!
Now for my other success. I went into the bazar and had my memories document printed up. I had gone to the bottom of the Mullingar to accomplish this. I walked the entire distance back up, 1 and 1/2 miles, mostly uphill, without stopping once. I feel I am at last really in shape. I got to the top of the hill and was not huffing and puffing. A couple of minutes of rest at home and I was breathing normally.
Sunday April 11 Day 40
This morning I went exploring in an attempt to figure out the map provided by Woodstock of the trails in the area. There have been major revisions and one to the homes has basically blocked off the trail which used to pass through their front yard. I finally figured out the bypass used to get by and will identify it as the old trail number. Just above the school there have been major revisions of the trail. The staff had identified this area as the zig-zag. In my day the name was used for a different portion of the trail higher up the hill. When they say zig-zag they mean it. It is a series of short stair groupings that go straight up the hill. This had confused me for several weeks until I figured it out this morning. I shall tape it tomorrow afternoon on my way down to get my AMEX card to work.
I had super low blood sugars this morning and after I had clomped around the hillside for almost 2 hours I had to eat a couple of bananas and go to bed to recover. Now I am freezing to death from the low blood sugars.
Saturday April 10 Day 39
I think I am guaranteed to have problems with credit cards on this trip. I have gone to the internet cafe 3 times this week trying to make a reservation on-line for the train from Dehradun to Delhi on the evening of May 31. Yesterday I got to the point of paying for the trip with my credit card when I discovered that the only one available was my American Express card. There was no generic Visa card payment selection available. There was also one minor problem, I had failed to bring my credit cards with me. So today I am really jacked because I had my AMEX card with me. It will not work. I had carried it for identification purposes only to prove that it actually was the card I had used to purchase the ticket I was flying on. This is a new wrinkle in the prevention of terrorism. You must present the credit card you used to but the ticket. I guess I had never contacted AMEX to approve the use of this card in India. So I shall tramp down the hill this week and get the card approved for use in India.
On my way back from the internet cafe, a 15 to 20 minute walk, I got very weak and dizzy. I got home and decided to check my blood sugars. They were the 2nd lowest I have had since my arrival in India. I grabbed an orange, it was rotten at the center and then ate my last orange. When I go the to school I shall come back via the hospital and go up the hill from Claremont (this is for my sisters). This side trip adds about 3/4 of a mile of “level” walking to the trip but it allows me to buy fruit without an extra trip down the hill.
This morning it was above 60 degrees in my room and I actually had to take off my long johns to get comfortable. I may even have to adjust the top of my pajamas to keep from getting too warm in the early morning.
I got my reservation for my hotel room in Delhi for May 31. I had tried 3 times via internet with no success. The phone call took 3 minutes and cost me a grand total of 7 cents.
Friday April 8 Day 38
I guess I shouldn’t complain about week electricity.. This morning there was NO electricity until about 9 am. It is very difficult to recharge your camera batteries when there is no juice. I was logging this morning and the still camera I use for record keeping was running out of power. I finished the logging and shortly there after the electricity came on. I will now have a camera to use this afternoon. If I didn’t have the camera I would not be able to tape for lack of location data to log the shots.
The afternoon was spent shooting the trails around Woodstock. The main trail up to the school from the New Tehri Road and then on up to the Community Center and around the Community Center to the trails above it. This took several hours to complete. I will log it in the morning.
Thursday April 8 Day 37
There have been additions to the trails around Woodstock in the last 30 years. The hand drawn map I have been using (distributed to WOSA people by the office) is rather inaccurate to say the least. I traced the original map and then increased the size on photo copiers. I then gave each segment of the trail an identifying number which I use to log in the video of a particular trail. Today I was wandering (literally) around trying to get a particular trail segment and its number clear in my mind and on paper (computer screen actually). I got totally confused (not a new experience for me) and I will have to just assign one of my numbers to segments of the trail that most closely appear on the map. One of the problems was that I had to climb up and down various trails while trying to identify them. It appears that a particular part of a trail keeps moving its geographical location from where it is in my mind from a couple of days before. It is one of those things where I shall just have to wander the area and refer to my map on a regular basis before the trail quits moving around the area. This of course has nothing to do with my aging mind or body.
Wednesday April 7 Day 36
One of the more interesting aspects of living here in Landour is the fluctuation in the voltage of the electrical supply. At 4:45 am this morning there bulbs were very bright and the florescent tube went on readily. My 7:30 am there was not enough voltage to keep the florescent tube glowing. The fluctuation is caused by the number of lights burning on the hillside at any particular time. By 9 pm there is hardly enough electricity to keep one standard bulb glowing let alone burning. Therefore reading as the evvening goes on becomes more and more difficult. The one type of bulb that gives enough light to read by is one of the new energy efficient bulbs. The only problem is that the last 3 nights the room that has these bulbs was not available to me because of guests sleeping in that room. Everyone is gone now and I am here alone. Therefore I shall be able to read this evening (I hope).
After reading the last paragraph, you may wonder why I was up at 4:45 in the morning. My mind works all the time and if I have a problem (or a perceived problem) I wake up early and worry the thing. This morning I decided to get up and see if I had a problem. I have been concerned whether my 2 video camera are exactly the same in the quality of pictures they record. This problem popped into my mind and I got up and checked it out. Both cameras are the same and I can now quit worrying about that.
Todays shooting went well and I got some good shots of Ridgewood in the morning when the sun is on the front of the building. I have shot so much lately that I am behind in my logging. I must catch up and keep up every day.
This past week my blood sugars have jumped around a bit. I had high levels on Monday morning. That is the day after my “day of rest” and I had done no walking at all. My body had not consumed enough of the sugars that my food produced on Sunday. Today the levels were a little bit low and I walked a great deal yesterday. There is a direct casual reletionship between exercise and sugar levels.
Tuesday April 6 Day 35
I spent a while this morning logging in the taping of yesterday and putting my still shots of Flag Hill into recognizable folder on the computer.
My project this afternoon is to go to the far end of the Woodstock buildings (Midlands) and video tape the paths back up to the school. I am having lunch 1/2 hour earlier to get a head start on the shooting. It will take me around 35 to 40 minutes to walk to Midlands. If I waited to start till 1:30 pm I might run into students coming down the hill by 3:30 - 4:00 pm. I mustn't have students on my master tapes. It is now 4:30 pm and I have just returned home. One of the shots I took is of a long panning shot of the elementary boys dormitory, Ridgewood. The light was all wrong so i have to go back down there in the morning to get the light correct. I shall do that tomorrow. I ended up there too late and had to leave the area because of students returning to the residences. I shall tape the remainder of the trails early on Friday afternoon.
The young lady who manages this property left for Delhi as I was heading down the hill. Her friend and her husband will be staying until tomorrow. The room they are sleeping in is the one I use to get in and out of the front of the house. So until they leave I will have to use my bathroom door that opens on the passage at the back of the house. I cannot lock anything up when using the bathroom door.
Monday April 5 Day 34
I went over to Flag Hill this morning. At the top of flag Hill are hung Tibetan prayer flags. There are prays printed on each flag and when it wind moves the flag the prayer goes to the god. There is an open space at the top of the hill with several large stones and a couple of fire rings for people to build bond fires in. Rhododendrons are in full blossom and add their color to the various colors of the flags. The path to the top of the hill is rather torturous and rather demanding. In high school I attended several East Sunrise Services on flag hill. The sun rises around 5:45 am and in order to get to the top of the hill before that event took some planning. We got up around 4 am and it was a full hour to hour and a half climb in the dark (it usually is dark before sunrise).
The afternoon was spent shooting a couple of the trails and then walking around the area trying to identify the various trails on my map. It is beginning to make some sense and I discovered that I identified some of the taped trails incorrectly. I will take my laptop with my video log and my video walkman down the hill thursday morning on my way to the chorus rehearsal. I will be able to correct the trail designations then.
I washed my jeans and work shirt this morning. I had put them on to soak overnight yesterday evening. There was a light wind today and both of the items got completely dry. Nature’s drying was working well.
Sunday April 4 Day 33
Today is an official “day of rest”. NO climbing around the hills today or bending over a hot video camera to create great art. I guess that is a bit like cooking over a hot microwave oven. That is one of the things I miss, my microwave oven and all the treats and flavors one can get out of the thing. “My kingdom for a bag of microwave popcorn” done in my best Richard III accent.
I never left the grounds today. I finished reading “Robinson Carouso” and started working on “Catherine De Medici” working my way through the introduction which contains much more history than one would ever want to know.
Saturday April 3 Day 32
I went down the hill and prayed to the ATM gods and I was given money. On my way back I stopped at the Chemists (pharmacy) and bought some insulin. The stuff only comes in cartridges of 300 ml each. My vials of insulin in the US are 1000 ml. So it takes 3 of the cartridges to equal one vial. I use 2 different kinds of insulin, one I take 3 times a day and the other I take at night. The amount of insulin used is basically the same, around 22 ml a day. One cartridge will last about 13 days. The cost are: Humalog 544 rupees ($12.09: $36.27 a month) and Lantus 884 rupees ($19.64: $58.93 per month). My copay on my insurance is $36 per month. I shall be paying a little more ($23) for the Lantus in India. I am very pleased. Now I will have to learn how the use the “pens” or cartridges.
The young Indian lady who is managing the property is up here for the weekend. I have had delightful conversations with her and her “friend”. He works for GE Financial out of the US. He is in mergers and acquisitions, just the kind of thing I did repeatedly in the final years of working as an accountant. He directs various teams working currently in India, China and Singapore. The young lady is an “alternate medicine” practitioner.
I was brought to my attention that the distance views are pretty good now. In May the fire season starts and the smoke will start to obscure the vistas. So, I have to get some distance shots of the surrounding scenery. That will be my first project this coming week. I will be able to the “trail or path” shooting as long as there is sunshine so I will dedicate time to the scenery shots.
I have learned that there are 2 renewable pleasures for mankind. The first is procreation activity and the second is eating. I will leave the first to your imagination but the second one is definitely missing from my life. Eating has become a chore since there is so little variety in flavors. I have finally gotten a menu that does not upset my stomach too much. So I am sticking with it. Last night the cook prepared a vegetable for me that looked like cricket bodies without appendages. I tasted one of them before placing it on my plate and was I ever glad. It was not the remains of a creature but very bitter tasting and rather woody. Needless to say, I rejected the offering. Perhaps it is an acquired taste but I would just as soon stay ignorant of this particular “delight”.
Friday April 2 Day 31
While logging my tapes I review all the shots. I have a winner already. While doing a shot where I pan around a corner to get the perspective of sharp corners, a woman and her daughter entered the frame. I followed them around the corner until they were out of the focus range. The young girl was skipping down the hill with the mother walking behind. They were absolutely delightful. If people are on camera I must make certain that their faces are not visible or recognizable. If I wanted to use their image commercially I would have to get a signed “release” which would allow me to use their recognizable image. Most of you have seen some reality television where the faces of some of the people have been blurred out. That process makes them unrecognizable so that the producer of the show can broadcast their image without specific permission.
I was able to go out and shoot for almost 3 hours. I got another good shot with a Indian woman walking along a level trail and my following here showed the twists and turns of the trail. A good but exhausting day. I am finding the stress of shooting to be more tiring than I had thought. I have to maintain such control over my whole body to get smooth shots that I hurt all over in the evening.
Thursday April 1 Day 30
I have been in India for a month today. This morning I headed to the internet cafe to activate my ATM card. No luck. I was informed that I needed to call Portland about the card giving me a toll free number. I went down the hill to Woodstock to attend the choir rehearsal. The school is on Quarter Break. This was happening last year when Judy and I were up to see the school. It is closed from Friday noon through Monday evening. Needless to say, I did not attend the rehearsal because all the kids were gone. I took the opportunity to go to the Development Office where I had used the phone before. There was a hold on the card and I was transferred to Fraud Prevention. The man on the phone asked if I was in India and using the ATM card to get money. I answered in the affirmative and he released the hold on the card. Evidently that was why I was unable to use the card for the past week and a half. I shall find out on Saturday if it really works. Keep your fingers crossed.
The wind last night knocked many more blossoms off the rhoddies. I went out and taped them adding one more snippet of images to my rhododendron tape.
I spent much of the morning after my return from the internet cafe on logging the tape I have shot so far. It is slow and tedious but getting easier as I learn new tricks on controlling the equipment.
