Tid Bits

First off, I thought I'd put in the location of my work and general location of our new house.
Maya found my work on Google earth. On the map, don't look for the green dot, Google marks it wrong. But you can find SN Towers. That is the location. On the picture to the right, you can see the stickpin.

My office is on the 9th floor. The ground floor is '0' and then the next floor up is 'P', and the '1' so in the mornings when I get my exercise by walking up, I actually have to go up 10 floors of steps to get to the office. Since we get driven almost everywhere and the sidewalks are atrocious, I decided for now, until I can get in a routine to actually get some real exercise soon, I will walk up each morning while it is still cool. I wonder what the guards think of me as they see me go by each floor in the mornings. They always watch me closely-- I guess it is unusual, and I do stick out a bit. There are 2 elevators, they seem to operate fairly well, although there are prominent notices about what to do in the event of a power loss. Top of the list is "Do not panic". Second on the list, is that the ventilation will keep working and you won't suffocate. Good thing that, given the frequency of 'power cuts' here in Bangalore. When you get in the elevator, you immediately notice a stool underneath the buttons. Sometimes there is a man sitting on it. I was confused about why he was there and I was told he is the elevator operator. Now the reason I was confused is that half the time he will just sit there reading a paper and people push the buttons themselves. Tough job I guess. Better yet, he is not there all the time. And his absences are randomly timed, not at any specific times I can figure out. Or maybe I should say his presence is randomly timed. You would think that maybe he would be useful when people are showing up to work or at lunch when the elevators get busy, but no, there is no correlation. So again being confused I asked another co-worker. She said, well I guess he has figured out that we can push the button ourselves, so he takes breaks when he feels like it. Ok, but then why do we need an operator at all??? I have been having trouble getting work done at work, since getting a hookup at my desk for either of my computers. Cindy suggested I should threaten to take on the Elevator Operator's job till I could get access, I guess I'm just not sure I could stand so many breaks...

Our house is in RMV IInd stage.
I'm not going to locate it on the map for you, safety reasons with a young teenage girl in the house. Generally if you look for outer Ring Road and New BEL road, you'll get the general location where we are located. Friends and family can ask for a map or picture from me by email.

Furniture
Yesterday we finally went looking for furniture. It was an experience like no other. We met Rohit close by to the market (at the FRO), and then followed him to Russell market (
View Larger Map ) area where we found Adams Furnishings. We went into a small shop, and went all the way to the back. There we met a gentleman who was sitting behind an old metal desk with 2 ancient, dusty, computer monitors on his desk. We were introduced and he asked what we wanted, he started off with "washer, fridge, microwave-no?". We said yes, and then listed off what we need to get situated. He said, "ok, ok, ok" and we then followed him out of the shop, next door and up some steps. You could see the 6 generators at the front, looking like they had just been dropped off and piled there. In we went, it was a small room, probably 30 by 30, and it was jam packed with appliances, washers, fridges, microwaves, ovens, cooktops, TVs, dvd players, and even stereo systems, all used. We picked out some-- no chance to check if they work, but he guarantees them and if they don't work, we can exchange, "no problem". He offered us a toaster, mixer grinder, and even a juicer, we didn't take the juicer. I didn't see anyone writing anything down, but there were several men in the store taking note of what we chose. Now on to a second warehouse, up the street and around the corner. I do wish I had taken a couple of pictures, as the array of goods for sale, number of people and the narrowness of the street with cars still driving down the middle, fighting with the foot traffic, bicycles etc. was right out of a movie scene market set... Anyways we got to the second warehouse, this was larger. Beds, couches, tables etc. We found a few items. Much of what he had there was "antique". More older heavy Indian style. Some of it very nice, some not so, but not much would fit the style of the house. So on to a third warehouse, this time we had to go back and get the car, it was further away. There we found things piled 3 and 4 high (imagine tables stacked 3 high, on top of a bed set, or beds with couches with chairs on top). So we chose a couch, which was terribly stained, but he promised to recover it by Tuesday if we needed, all we had to do was choose the fabric. We decided to tell him to use same colors, which will fit the house. We found beds, chairs/dining table, bookshelves, couches, small table for by the door, nightstands. It all needed to be spiffed up and delivered. We'll see how that goes. He is supposed to send us a quote for the rental and we'll finalize the negotiation Monday. So, I'll let you know what shows up to the house later.

Today
I got a haircut and beard trim. I wasn't brave enough to try one of the local barbers along the street outside the apartments. I'll do that when we have moved into our house. I went to a salon in the mall. 450 INR for haircut and trim, not bad. Cindy even likes it, I think. We did a bit of shopping, mostly school things for Anna, but we also got a sim card for Cindy to use temporarily, it will probably become Anna's if my source at work comes through with one for Cindy.