Monday, November 24, 2008

It's not your fault. It's me.

Dear India (Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India)

We need to talk. It's not your fault. It's me. I'm sorry i have to do this by blog, but I'm taking some time off from our relationship. I think it would make our bond stronger. I also think we should start seeing other people. I just never felt completely comfortable with you. You and I are too different and it seems like we come from different worlds. You like to measure rain in centimeters, while i like to measure rain in millimeters. From what I've seen of you, you like the heat and humidity, while at this time of the year, I like to see snowflakes, Christmas lights, and a Winter Wonderland. You like to drive like crazy maniacs and ignore the safety of pedestrians, while i like to drive speed limit and obey the rules of the road. You like to bargain and haggle people, and I believe in honestly and like to pay a HONEST fee/price. At the hostels, you like to limit internet connectivity, in fear of others abusing the internet and affecting their grades, and i believe in freedom and taking responsibility for my own actions. You like to take 'red tape' and bureaucracy and take it to the next level (that is unimaginable by a normal human being) and I am am just content with just plain regular 'red tape' and bureaucracy (thank you very much!). You treat the environment poorly (Litter Bug!), and i value and like to protect the environment. I like spending time in the unpolluted outdoors. You like to make things super complicated and I'm just your regular simple Canadian guy searching for some simple answers and his way in the world. You like to squat and I like to sit and I like to use hand soap and toilet paper. But hey! Look on the bright side, we didn't have to argue about the toilet seat being up or down!

I'll be leaving in 5 short days, in that time I'm just going to pack up a few things and take some time off from you. I'm going to see a different side of you, hopefully a more relaxed side, with charming beaches, friendly faces and away from the hustle and bustle of the urban city. I'll also be going to see other people and spend some time with them over Christmas and New Years. I need to get my head on right. At this point in my life, I just can't commit.

I'll be back by the middle of January. I hope we can work things out. Maybe I'll have a whole new perspective when i get back.

We're still friends right?

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Intern's Log Star date 11.22.08

Intern's Log - Saturday, November 22, 2008 - Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.

Saturday: Thunderstorms. High: 29`C, Wind ENE 21km/h. Chance of precipitation 100%
Night: Thunderstorms. Low 24`C. Wind ENE 18km/h. Chance of precipitation 80%.


12:00 pm: Woke up to overcast skies, light drizzle. Running out of clean underwear, decided to do some laundry. Decided to washed my luggage case (Nike duffel bag - jammed it in the washing machine), washed underwear, bed spread etc, hang dry.

Made my way onto my bike, proudly named "Brakeless Kickstand" (because it lacks brakes and the kickstand is broken). Made my way to the local cafeteria (Tifany's) for some breakfast/lunch (Brunch). Ordered Gobi Masala Dosa and a bottle of water (Brand Aquafina).

Went to the scholar's lab to check e-mail, Facebook, check my online globe and mail, listen to music. Most played song - Michael Buble's Home.

"Another aeroplane
Another sunny place
I'm lucky, I know
But i wanna go home
Mmmmm, I've got to go home"

4:00pm: Coffee and newspaper break at Cafe Coffee Day. Cappuccino with extra espresso shot, Veg Puff and Masala Garam tea to go for the lab (drinking it right now - delicious (it's the only tea i drink so... relatively delicious - miss my Chinese Tea - Iron Goddess).


Newspaper article (The Times of India - November 22, 2008)
"Ban on doctor couple who let minor son do cesarean lifted"
- doctor couple let 15 year old son perform C-section, in hopes of getting him into the Guinness Book of World Records.
- Left utterly speechless and can't help but think WTF?!

5:30 pm: To Work or to pretend to work - that is the question. Ponder what to eat for dinner - most likely Paneer Fried Rice, Alu Gobi Masala, and Naan - Rice, potatoes, cauliflower - a starch filled redundancy.


Intern's Log End for star date 11.22.08

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time." ~ Sir J. Lubbock

Robin signing off.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Newspaper Articles Part 3

The Times of India - November 20, 2008
"70-yr-old knocked down by bike, run over by bus"
"12-yr-old boy tricks old man of Rs four lakh"

The Times of India - November 19, 2008
"19-yr-old girl immolates self inside supermarket"
"For falling in love, boy thrown in front of train"
"Man takes divine path to escape marriage"

The Times of India - November 18, 2008
4-yr-old burnt alive by mother's lover"

The Times of India - November 17, 2008
"Toxic fumes kill two workers in septic tank"

The Times of India - November 15, 2008
"40 held for stone pelting":

I am left utterly speechless, every time I read the newspapers here. For people who know me, Robin with nothing to say, is a rare rare thing.

Cheers

Robin

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Symbolism

Hi Everybody,

Again, my favorite movie is "Stranger Than Fiction" and "that all these things, the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties, which we assume only accessorize our days, are effective for a much larger and nobler cause. They are here to save our lives."

The part "...save our lives" can have a myriad of different meanings, but I like to think of it as a way to tell me something or point me in the correct direction - I did decided to accept the internship to India for several reasons: to learn more about my field of study (health policy, health economics, population health), to travel, and for personal reasons.

Well, onto the symbolism in my life. Today, I went to T. Nagar shopping for a Backpacker's backpack. I did buy one for about 50 dollars Canadian at the Witco store and it's of "Questionable" quality, let's hope it stays together for at least 4 weeks. I slowly made my way back to campus and placed the backpack with the pile of other backpacks/bags that i have accumulated. I currently have 3 backpacks/bags: 1) a BLACK Wegner laptop backpack (however the Wegner symbol is a RED cross) 2) a RED North Face Messenger Bag that i use for daily use (going out of campus, walking around campus to carry umbrella, water bottles etc. and now my new additional backpack (I have been accumulating lots of CRAP) 3) a RED Fantasy Backpacker's backpack. I also noticed that every morning (like clockwork) i go to the local cafeteria to purchase a RED labeled 1 liter water bottle. I also have RED bracelet still around my right wrist from the Diwali Puja.

This post could either be due to the fact that 1) i have WAAAY to much time and i possibly need to get a life or 2) the belief that life CANNOT be a serious of meaningless accidents and coincidences, or is life a tapestry of events that culminate in a exquisite and marvelous plan. It could quite possibly the former, and it's true that i have way too much time on my hands. But we cannot disprove the latter, scientifically. We can choose not to believe, but I think in some ways, people believe that some proportion of their lives is uncontrollable and unchangeable.

So, as i realized this and after i have read my online daily Globe and Mail Newspaper from Edmonton and made an effort to get some work done. I proceeded to investigate the symbolism or meaning behind the 2 colors, red and black.

This is what i have found.

From the website: (www.three-musketeers.net/mike/colors.html)

Red
"Red can symbolize many things; from blood, to love, to infatuation. Basically red symbolizes strong emotions, or things of strong emotions rather than intellectual ideas. For example, red can symbolize excitement, energy, speed, strength, danger, passion, and aggression.

According to Henry Dreyfus, it is popularly felt that red, the color of blood and fire, represents life and vitality. Red also signifies the color of the sun: a symbol of energy, radiating its vitalizing life-force into human beings. Red is also looked upon as a sensual color, and can be associated with man's most profound urges and impulses."
Hmm.... quite interesting.

Now onto the color black

Black
"Black is the color of the night, and of "evil." Black can also be a color of elegance or class (such as a black-tie only event, and black evening gowns.) Black can also represent ideas such as power, sexuality, sophistication, formality, wealth, mystery, fear, evil, unhappiness, depth, style, sadness, remorse, anger, and mourning. Black can also represent a lack of color, the primordial void, emptiness. It can also mean sorrow or mourning, in the Christian tradition of wearing black to funerals.
According to Henry Dreyfus, Black, sumi, is the color of mystery and solemnity; the color of the night. Black expresses the depths of the unknown, and encourages the imagination of a different world from that of daylight realities. Used by itself, black can represent bad luck or misfortune."

Red representing life, vitality, and strong emotions (passion) and black representing the color of mystery and solemnity or the depths of the unknown.

Hmm.... Interesting... Black and Red... Red and Black.

"You know the Greeks didn't write obituaries. They only ask one question after a man died: "Did he have passion?" ~Dean from Serendipity~

Back to work!

Cheers

Robin

Friday, November 14, 2008

Irony

Hi Everybody,

One of my favorite movies is "Stranger Than Fiction", and there are times where i wonder what type of story my life is - comedy/tragedy/drama etc. I still haven't figured it out yet... i hope it's a good story with a happy ending. My favorite part of the movie...

"As Harold took a bite of Bavarian sugar cookie, he finally felt as if everything was going to be ok. Sometimes, when we lose ourselves in fear and despair, in routine and constancy, in hopelessness and tragedy, we can thank God for Bavarian sugar cookies. And, fortunately, when there aren't any cookies, we can still find reassurance in a familiar hand on our skin, or a kind and loving gesture, or subtle encouragement, or a loving embrace, or an offer of comfort, not to mention hospital gurneys and nose plugs, an uneaten Danish, soft-spoken secrets, and Fender Stratocasters, and maybe the occasional piece of fiction. And we must remember that all these things, the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties, which we assume only accessorize our days, are effective for a much larger and nobler cause. They are here to save our lives. I know the idea seems strange, but I also know that it just so happens to be true."

Anyhoo, back to the point of this post. Before i came to India, i asked myself "what would i do in India, that i can't do back in Edmonton/Canada?" The first answer to that question was Yoga! I'm going to go to India and learn some Yoga. I mean 4 months of yoga, would almost make me half decent. The Yoga Center that has been recommended for international students is the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres , which is about a 10-15 minute bike ride off campus to the beach in Chennai, which ironically is based out of..........Montreal, Quebec, Canada, established in 1959 (they have centres all over the world - North America, Europe, Middle East, India, and South America. Then I realized, what i already knew before that, CANADA KICKS SOME SERIOUS ASS; that we are an INSANELY multicultural country and that i would come home to the "Cultural Mosaic" that is Canada and learn some Yoga.

Well... that being one reason, it's also due to my laziness and fear of dealing with Indian traffic especially during rush hour and most importantly, my lack of a bicycle (8+ weeks and counting!!). They drive like they're walking through a crowd... a good accelerator and a working horn are essential. You're right...a horn and fuse business in India/China would make a FORTUNE!

My life has a superb cast but I can't figure out the plot.
~Ashleigh Brilliant~

Well said Ms. Brilliant... well said.

Cheers

Robin

PS. What does this post have to do with "Stranger than Fiction"? Good question.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Robin's Limited Vocabulary Defined

Hi Everybody,

I promised that i would define my limited vocabulary.

Awesome
formidable, amazing, heart-stirring, wonderful, cool, hip, exciting

Bon Jovi is AWESOME!

Wicked
US--> really, very, extremely
UK--> cool, good, great, funky

That was a wicked awesome concert (Adverb).
That was a wicked concert (Adjective).

Super
good, excellent

"You Give Love A Bad Name" by Bon Jovi is a super wicked awesome song.

I will keep adding to this. When you guys get back to Germany... nobody will know what you're saying!

Articles in the Newspapers

The Times of India - October 25, 2008
"The stench in farts can control BP"

No word of a lie...

Monday, November 10, 2008

Daily Happenings

Hi Everybody,

Sorry that i haven't written in a while. I am still alive and well and still in relatively good health (starting to get sick right now - sore/itchy sore throat) - hopefully i win.

From my last post i haven't done any major traveling. Just been sticking around campus and celebrating Diwali with the Department of Management Studies. We went to our India Supervisors house for Diwali dinner with his family along with another PhD student from Korea, his wife and their 2 children (1 boy, 1 girl - very cute). We got a tour of his house that he built himself - very large, marble floors etc), we sat around the living room and feasted on Indian Cuisine (Chicken Biryani, Curd rice, Roti among many many other dishes that they explained to me but still can't remember - it's like learning a new language - nothing really sticks until you don't need it anymore - i'll probably remember everything when i get back into Canada!).

We then celebrated Diwali with the MBA Students - We had a Puja and then we lit firecrackers in the field. it was pretty crazy! I personally like the firecrackers that give off really nice lights, but apparently in the "Firecracker" category are crackers that go BOOM, kinda like a bomb. Those freaked me out, i'm sure all the students had a nice laugh about the scared Canadian guy 30 feet away from everybody else with his ear plugs on. I still got my hearing!




Yesterday, we were invited to a wedding of one of the students brothers. It was a very nice wedding, very colorful. Then we had a awesome North Indian Cuisine, and fresh fruit and ice cream.. Yum. It was a great experience!

When not out and about in town. I'm usually in the Scholars' Laboratory (with the masters and PhD students). I set up camp in a small section of desk and claimed it as my own. i put all my CRAP there, daily newspapers, copy paper, folders, water bottles.. you know... the usual. It's very cozy... this one place is probably the only place where i don't think i'm in a foreign country. I usually put on my "noise isolating headphones" (best investment ever!) and just get lost in the music and work. I haven't been very productive the last week, but now i'm back in the working mood or "workish" mood as the germans' say!



For Halloween, we didn't do anything special. We went to a nice little cafe called Mocha about 20 minute rickshaw away from campus. We snacked, drank really GREAT Coffee (i have had a coffee everyday since i was here - i'll cut back when i get back to Edmonton!) and smoked some Sheeshah - green apple (DON'T TELL MOM!).

So far, being away from home I've realized that it doesn't matter where you are in the world, but there is nothing better in the world than meeting passionate, kind, friendly and loving people and having great conversation over food and drinks.


Sitting around chatting and waiting for some food.


Chai latte, a very huge cup by only 1/3 full. Delicious!

Sheeshah on the porch, with one of the German students (He's AWESOME!)

Anyhoo... that's all for now... Pictures of wedding are on another camera, i'll post those up as soon as i get them!

Cheers

Miss you all!

Robin

"Every man must decide whether he will walk in the creative light of altruism or the darkness of destructive selfishness. This is the judgment. Life's persistent and most urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'"
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.