Sunday May 30 Day 89

Sunday May 30 Day 89

I am writing this at the internet cafe. I came in yesterday and the internet was down so I tried this morning and it popped right up.

This the last time I shall be at the internet cafe in the mountains of India for this round of my project. My next posting will be after I return to the US. I will make notes so that I can let you know how getting thorough security in India and in London. I am seeking special treatment to avoid the possibility of fogging my video tapes with x-rays. I am actually having trouble sleeping because of my concern.

I have packed my suitcases and prepared the stuff I shall be leaving in India. This includes all my extra video tapes, 2 pairs of jeans, transformers and electrical connections, shaving supplies etc. This will reduce the weight on my suitcases upon my return to India and provide room for sugar free chocolates. You all have no idea what it is like to without ANY chocolates for 92 days.

See you all in the States!!!

Saturday May 29 Day 89

Saturday May 29 Day 88

Do you all know that each drop of rain that falls is formed around a single grain of dirt. So after a rain storm everything hit by the rain has dirt on it. We had a good downpour a couple of nights ago and now everything in the yard is very dirty. The flower blossoms and leaves of the plants are dulled by the dirt. You can get a very dirty hand by wiping it on a stone.

I have just completed the organizing of my file for my memories. I created over 800 documents in the process. each individual memory is now in its own separate file. This was all done by copy/paste from the edited document.

My next project is to complete the book Moll Flanders, just 30 pages to go.

I have just run out of one of my insulin today. I picked up the insulin a couple of weeks ago and hoped I could leave it here to use when I returned. No such luck but I am lucky that I have the insulin available now rather than trying to get some when the chemist shop is closed on Sunday. I do suffer from planning ahead, must be the residue of a career in accounting.

Friday May 28 Day 87

Friday May 28 Day 87

I thing that the local electric company is celebrating my eminent departure. For the first time in almost 87 days the power has been on most of the time. There has been no shut off for the usual 2 to 3 hours in the middle of the day. I have been able to work at my computer for almost 8 hours and it looks like I may get my memories data organized completely.

Last night i attended the Senior Recital at Woodstock Parker Hall. It was uncomfortably warm and very humid. Early this morning there was a real rain storm including rain, hail and strong winds. North India is in the grip of a major heat wave and is praying for some relief. We gat a little today.

There is not much to report when you spend 8 hours at the computer.

Thursday May 27 Day 86

Thursday May 27 Day 86

We have been having trouble with the electric supply. It turns out that the problem is in the fuse box on the front veranda. The cook was playing around with a screwdriver and got the electricity to come on and go off by moving the screwdriver. The power is 220 volts and it is nothing to play around with. but he left the screwdriver jammed in the fuse area and the electricity continued to flow until the city turned it off at 11:30. My major problem is getting enough power to charge up the batteries in my computers, Ipod, Sony Reader, and video tape player. This is usually taken care of during the night. But the juice was off for the entire night and I was not getting by batteries charged. My Ipod is on its last fumes (are there fumes in a battery) so I plugged it in when the power was on. Here in India the wall plugs are individually controlled with a switch. I failed to turn on the plug and so I ran out of Ipod power just before lunch. I use the Ipod to entertain me while I eat lunch. Today, lunch was silent and over cooked to boot.

I find myself much less patient with things here, such as electricity. Perhaps I am suffering from “short timers disease”. My taping is done and I even packed my equipment suitcase today. I cannot wait to get out of here and on to the next adventure, like living where the electricity actually works most of the time. My mind is actively working on the new equipment I need to obtain for my second stay in India, trying to figure out what I can leave here so I will have available weight for sugar free chocolate on my return, how am I going to find a phone to call Travis, my son, when I arrive in Seattle, (that way I won’t have to live at the airport but they will have electricity) etc

Wednesday May 26 Day 85

Wednesday May 26 Day 85

Only 5 days before I leave the mountains.

I am on top of the world!! I increased my sleep quotient by 50%. I slept until 4 am and got 6 hours of sleep instead of yesterday’s 4. It is amazing how a little extra sleep will improve your mind.

I am though logging my shots for the project. I only have 1,378 different segments in the can (as they say in the old movie business) or on my master tapes. My next step is getting them through security at the airport without putting them through the X-ray machines. Just the slightest variance in the settings of the X-ray equipment can ruin the video tape. There was an Indian producer of television documentaries here at Kilmarnock and he said that security can do what they call a “hand check” of critical video tapes. The greatest problem is have the security operator accept my request for a hand check. Some of the will and some of them won't. Then I have to go up the line to a supervisor. For this reason I am planing on getting to the airport 3 hours early. This problem is a major contributor to my not sleeping well.

I think I have solved the problem of organizing my memories. The only problem is that the electrify has been off since 9 am and it is now 2 pm. I have used up all my battery power in my laptop and need to charge it up before I can test my thoughts.

Tuesday May 25 Day 84

Tuesday May 25 Day 84

I did my final taping today. I had to outsmart some rapidly moving clouds but was very successful. Walking to and from the trail took over an hour. I then spent 20 minutes taping and waiting for the clouds to clear. I ended up with 3 1/2 minutes of tape. Such is the life of a great video artist. I must get all the trails and this was the last one.

I am having trouble sleeping. I woke up at 2:00 am and only had 5 1/2 hours of thinking time. I did solve a lighting problem which has been on my mind for weeks. So the time is valuable. I find that I am really running out of petrol at the end of the day. The evenings are so long and I do not have the mental energy to be productive.

Monday May 23 Day 83

Monday May 23 Day 83

I lied to all of us all, including myself. I said I was done but I am not. There is one segment of trail that I have passed over several times that needs to be taped a second time. It is a highly improved connection between a couple of major trails. I have skipped it because it is not a very interesting trail due to all the improvements. Fortunately it is less than half way down the hill so it. Coming back up will not take much effort. The weather is beautiful today and the clouds should not start to gather until after I am done.

Well, the clouds are smarter than I am (not that is saying much). At noon there were no clouds and by 1 pm they were all over everywhere. I figured that they were just fooling with me so i took off to do my taping. That was the longest walk for absolutely nothing I have taken in my entire time here in India. I also found out that my energy reserves are very limited. I basically collapsed when I got back home.

I started working on editing my memories manuscript before lunch today. I am making progress but not too much. I need to get all the corrections I found when reading through the manuscript in to the computer. I should get it done in the morning since I am through with my logging.

The temperature today is supposed to be 95 degrees in the main bazaar or Mall. Up on top of the hill, my room has yet to hit 70 degrees though it is pushing that today. The temperature difference in 2,000 feet of elevation is interesting. When you go out in the sun it is very warm but we nedd to sleep under a light quilt.