Haribo macht mir froh ...

Today I went to a different supermarket and bought some Haribo Gold Bears. They are delicious as ever. They have the ones from Germany here, which have a few extra flavors (usually I only get those from my friend Julia when she goes home to Germany and comes back to Providence!). They had others that were extra soft, but I didn't try those ... maybe next time ... 

Doodles

Alex has a new category on her blog for doodles that she does during philosophy talks / classes. I've seen a lot of them and they're pretty darn neat so have a look!

Here's a page of a legal pad that I've been doodling on for the past week. I'm working on some real comics but they won't be online for a long long time since I have no scanner here.

Sadly, no Batcave ...

I forgot to post pictures of the coolest part of the house I'm living in ...

Oh, what a nice shelf for knick-knacks ... 

POW! Secret bathroom ... 

Current reading: Useful Work Versus Uesless Toil

What is the nature of the hope which, when it is present in work, makes it worth doing?

It is threefold, I think - hope of rest, hope of product, hope of pleasure in the work itself; and hope of these also in some abundance and of good quality; rest enough and good enough to be worth having; product worth having by one who is neither a fool nor an ascetic; pleasure enough for all for us to be conscious of it while we are at work; not a mere habit, the loss of which we shall feel as a fidgety man feels the loss of the bit of string he fidgets with.

                                  -- William Morris, Useful Work vs. Useless Toil

"Visiting Cards"

Today I got my "visiting cards" (aka business cards) from the Fulbright office. They're on Nepali paper with blue ink. I previously had ones with Brown University on it made (against the wishes of the philosophy department for some reason ...) but these are better because they have my cell phone number and "Brown University" means absolutely nothing to most everyone here, while "Fulbright" actually means something to some people (at least that's my experience). Anyway here they are (and the neat box they came in:

Some photos

I went on a long walk yesterday and saw a Tibetan monastery and a Hindu shrine. Here are some pictures:

At the Tibetan monastery

This is a huge tree / shrine thing at the Hindu temple. 

One of many stupas at the Tibetan monastery

Current reading: Old Man and the Sea

Luck is a thing that comes in many forms and who can recognize her?

-- Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea

Birthday / Chinese New Year

Today is both Chinese New Year and my birthday. It's the year of the rabbit and I'm 28. I decided to celebrate with a haircut and a shave. It was pretty nice and pretty thorough: two passes with the razor, slathering by head and face with several creams and liquids, and a shoulder / head /face massage. Getting a shave in Indian and Nepal always reminds me of the Bug Bunny cartoon Rabbit of Seville. The guy seemed reluctant to shave off my mustache; he saved it for last and asked me three times if I was sure. He also made sure my hair looked just the way it did for my high school homecoming dance. Here's a before and after:

 

Load Shedding

Since Nepal can't make as much electricity as it consumes they do "load shedding" which is really just a euphemism for power cut. They at least tell you when they're cutting the power so you can plan around it (if you're really curious you can see the schedule here; I live in Group one). 

It's a fair amount of time some days but I'm getting used to doing things by candlelight (not as romantic when you're alone and doing it every day ...). I figured out that my cell phone has an FM radio so I can listen to the BBC world service. I hear the load shedding is primarily a winter thing (low water in the reservoirs that have the dams that make the electricity) but word on the street is that things will get worse before they get better.  

Nimbooz

Today I tried a drink called "Nimbooz" by 7up. Despite the name, it does not have any alcohol in it; it's a version of nimbu paani, which I guess is the Indian version of lemonade. The label says it has "asli lemon juice" (I think 'asli' means 'natural' in Hindi). I guess it is true, but the back reveals that it has 0.08% fruit juice. It tastes like someone put some lemon dish soap in a jug of water. 

I hope it doesn't give me high bone fever.

Encouraging Slippers are Encouraging

Some days you'll take any encouragement you can get. Even from slippers. 

(Update: In case it isn't clear from the picture, they each have double thumbs up!)

Fun facts about Nepal

Here are some neat facts about Nepal compared with the US from ifitweremyhome.com. Apparently, the per capita GDP of Nepal is $1,200 compared to $46,400 for the US ...

Current reading: Hell's Angels

Nearly everyone who has ridden a bike for any length of time will agree. The highways are crowded with people who drive as if their sole purpose in getting behind the wheel is to avenge every wrong ever done them by man, beast or fate. The only thing that keeps them in line is their own fear of death, jail and lawsuits ... which are much less likely if they can find a motorcycle to challenge instead of another two-thousand-pound-car or a concrete abutment. A motorcyclist has to drive as if everybody else on the road is out to kill him. A few of them are, and many of those who aren't are just as dangerous - because the only thing that can alter their careless, ingrained driving habits is a threat of punishment, either legal or physical, and there is nothing about a motorcycle to threaten any man in a car.  

-- Hunter Thompson, Hell's Angels

 And that was written in 1966, way before texting and driving ...

New home

I'm finally getting settled in the new apartment.  When I arrived in Kathmandu I was staying in a monastery guest house. It was nice, and particularly nice for a friend of mine to have set it up in advance (there is a nice peace of mind in knowing you will have a bed!) but it had a hotel room feel and I didn't feel like I wanted to live there. Also, I was told there was a desk in the room, which is true but it's not exactly the kind of desk one could do work at :

The "desk" in my guest house ...

Maybe it's nitpicky, but for me I can get work done only if I have a decent desk (well that's not really true, but it makes working much easier / more pleasant). So now I'm living in an apartment rented by the Fulbright people which is really nice. It's part of a house and has an upstairs and downstairs. Here are some pics:

Dining room

Kitchen

Stairway

My room (it has a nice balcony, which is not pictured)

Now that is a desk ...

\

Living room

There is one other Fulbrighter in the house. She's also a PhD student so she's pretty studious, which is a good match and makes the house quiet and peaceful (I had worried before that it would be full of partying undergrads ...) Anyway, load shedding begins soon, so I'd better wrap this up.

In case you were wondering ...

That's right, "punk not dead" ... turns out it has been living in a Tibetan monastery in Kathmandu. Who would have guessed?