refocused

The dealings went on all day had a semi-formal interview where I gave no comment answers. Thankfully I think I can just move on. Alex appears to have smoothed things over. Apart from these guys need better things to gossip about not sure what the fuss was. Thankfully caused me to focus. I am not here to walk dogs or make friends. I took a look at the Certificate test. I could probably pass now but that's not really saying much since everyone passes. If I gradually build up my drill practice and basic memorization should be enough to do well. Thus I can spend teacher time going through Matthew. Easy pace I got nothing to prove.

Have minor contingency plans if the Princess is released this year. Just have to concentrate the meditation and prayer on that keep focused. Nothing else to do. Keeps me busy don't get drawn into other people's business or their suffering. Not sure if I am totally convinced by all is suffering there is that joy above it all but I am with Sri Aurobindo on that it has to be here too else what's the point.

Life is not a rehearsal, it's not merely the moon reflected in water.

So yep if not. After the anniversary symposium this autumn can pick somewhere for another year or three. Oxford isn't too terrible an idea if I can get the 10k scholarship apply to Benet Hall and stay with the local carmelites. Not everyone would be into that and I figure one year as a guest should be ok they only get strange when they get comfortable with you.

Oh yeah it's actually really far more enjoyable for me here if I go wholeheartedly into the independence, which is what the serious ones do here anyway. Just keep working on my own do my drills, do my meditations and minimize interactions to table talk occasionally. I really enjoyed the day today because there was such little contact with others and such there was friendly short chit chat at table. I think the meditation may help with the Princess but I must stay focused on what I truly seek and ignore the rest.

you call this keeping a low profile

So a little mishap this morning but this being where I am it seems to sum up things. So foolishly I decided to take Sam (yeah she has a name right the attack dog they are going to let out at nights only has a name) for a morning constitutional. Now the chain is tied to a rope which is tied to the cage so I carefully undo the knots, boyscout has tied them. Open the door and she bolts. Because she aint got no collar and the chain is not tied to her neck. Luckily she decided pretty much to try to eat the dog caged next door. I manage to lasoo her around her hind legs and gently but forcefully pull her back into her cage. I figure get her calmed down then see how she took to an actual collar which we had bought yesterday.

But this is the thing. There was a racket tops two to three minutes but yep dog was barking I can see how it might upset people. I should have waited for Alex but he is a later riser than I. The thing is not so much that they really want an attack dog. They may or may not have a plan. But for now they want to keep her caged. They feed her and hose down the cage daily this isn't england. For India it's luxury for a dog.

But they gossiped for half an hour in groups in Malayalam. That's the way of these places. All that silence just engenders gossip. And good old Fr Abraham the quietest man of all. Well it's put me off quiet men. He pronounces leave the dog alone. He is Fr Abraham senior patriarch.

As I was trying to explain to young Alex this isn't about my defending animal rights. I'd be happy to walk the dog. They might object they might not. But I want to stay under the radar. I don't want to be the object of gossip and I don't want to fall out with anyone over this. For now it's about respect and showing respect.

By the time the story gets to Sr Delphina it will have grown and I can concede to her desires which will probably just be leave the dog alone, which I think is fairly easy to do. Though I will probably be cited as the root cause of all the dog problems from here on in. Even when I am no longer here.

For some reason Alex seems to think if we talked to the peeps and explained that somehow. He really doesn't understand India at all. They treat the dog well for India. But they don't treat children that well compared to UK. Technically they abuse them but only if UK law applied here. We probably abuse lions and elephants but there you go.

Pity I was looking forward to walks with Sam. I am pretty sure if she got regular exercise she would be but it's never about the thing we are talking about. They need to know that I understand respect. I understand respect. If it came to a choice between Sam and losing another letter from my princess, sorry but you are a dog, I don't want to lose another letter it might be important.

My new friend Sam

I was very dubious about Alex the American's plan to befriend the new guard dog. Especially since my last experience with doggies here. The puppies the priest killed maybe that's why I still complain about him nope it's about the money.

But yeah we walked her. She had been in the cage past few days whining away. I think she is a puppy 3 months about just weaned but not fully grown yet. Tough little thing. She was overexcited on being let out. But she calmed down after we walked about a little. First little dog who came to sniff her nearly got it's head taken off, might have been an overfriendly nip but I think she will kill any small animal that comes near her.

Apart from that bought her some treats a new collar and lead which we can put on her tomorrow. It will end in tears I know for this is India. Things are here that are so beautiful and mystical the like of which the West does not know. And things so ugly and wicked the West does not have. And there be dragons here.

For now I have a new friend amd she is a beauty a German Shepherd/Alasatian cross, only in India does that make sense.

Sr Delphina's birthday

She was 70 today. We got cake icecream and that nice rice with raisins and vegetables and all sorts a sort of pillau I guess. No meat though but eggs. Wrote a complaint about financial abuse in the church to the new archbishop I don't know why but I hope he ignores it I do so hate it when they do that cover up thing but my son I am only trying to help if you can rephrase your complaint in serbo croat of course I will make sure that.
Anyway
Am reading the glass bead game I am at the right age.
Must write to my uncle and the bank. Prayer time call. Best not to ignore those. I am it seems a spiritual man. Not a great or good man as yet but it helps to know where you are.

registered

Finally and in the end we entered an a/c room with two large flags an aquarium and really small tv not even the flat screen type and the SI signed the papers and waived us off. I am now registered pretty much fully with the police and foreign registration officer and I have a residence permit valid till March next year which is for now as much as I would want. Though if I leave India have to go back and do this again. My man Manjoj his trick is to find a time when the SI is not unwilling to quadruple sign stuff. Now forget bribery my mother would now know to thank Manoj with a bottle of spirits so next time he'd remember us and speed things up. But that's not a bribe and though I mocked her ways it works equally well with dustbin men and GPs.

Finally decided to read the glass bead game and got a copy of a patanjali lite for the princess. Be fun if the LIberals came to power in Blighty wow now that would be fun. So dragon alert is cancelled lets see what the smog clearing terrain looks like.

admin

So Admin Man named after our Saint he turns out really helpful today. I was hoping just to use an old letter they had given me but oh no he wants to do a new one taking it all seriously. So an hour later he comes up with a letter that is designed for the DSP foreign cell and about me. So all set have the docs in quadruplicated which admin man wants photocopied I had to restrain him to just the one. Indians need to find an alternative to paper. They already have if you ask the Chinese. So long as you can write on the stuff they sell it as paper. Though sometimes not always that easy to read after.

So yeah then I phone Manoj up and he says no tomorrow come tomorrow phone after ten. If it were up north I'd assume the man was waiting to be bribed.

So no more news on the strike action in Manipur but there have been ferocious storms. hey did you see the pictures of the icelandic one which it almost looks like they are saying will never end but we don't like to use words like never on international media outlets that could affect the financial world. Lightening clouds magma if it were Star Trek there would be an entity within trying to communicate with some species not ours and not having any luck. If the Republicans were in power they'd have tried nuking it already.

Registration I really mustn't complain

So the Collective no it's the Collectorate. A maze of public buildings. But peeps are very friendly. I found the DSP Office Foreign Cell Fr Ragu gave me a piece of paper with the words on it in English and Malayalam. Paid 20 rupees for the rickshaw I am a big tipper. And 20 for the coconut on the way back did I mention I am a big tipper. I have four pieces of paper to fill in. Well it's actually one piece to fill in four times. Not sure why I can't just photocopy them but there you go. Once it's done he says come back tomorrow it will take him half an hour to get the package together they don't really take bribes this far south. The SI will see me tomorrow won't take long telephone first. Plus bring four photos for the four pages and a letter from the Uni. Well that don't seem to hard. Should be registered tomorrow then I guess. And to be fair I think SEERI have been doing other registrations either that or well anyway loads of pieces of paper are flying about and that feels like good old manly western action.

Oh and more importantly I think I sense why I sense her release is imminent. The strike which I had thought was broken by arresting people and not releasing them and then threatening their families (usually works). The strike is spreading. Different factions joining in today and tomorrow. Central government have told the CM to sort it. Plus the threat to kill all post 1948 immigrants hasn't gone down well with Central. I assume they mean by asking the CM to sort it that they intend to go for direct Presidential rule and then talk about fresh elections in a few years. But they would have to offer something different.

So yep the strike if everyone gets fed up and has had enough. That would do it. Don't need the Chinese or anyone else. I am going to save some emergency funds not stash them away just until Xmas just in case.

Registration with the FRRO

So I get the feeling that no one here actually knows how to register with the FRRO. They did have one student way back in the day who did this stuff but since then only people on tourist visas, OCIs and Indians. It took them a while to get there. Fr Jacob probably has more pull but he won't be back for a while. I think Monday I will head over to a place where it might be good to start asking. And then one bureacracy is pretty much the same as another. So long as you don't mind waiting. I'll take a book, and I still have a week to comply with the registration requirement. How hard can it be.

Plus I get an uncanny feeling that the princess is free. In the sense I started thinking well ok preps take a few months she'll want to see her mother. She should come to Kottayam for a visit probably after the service. Or I could go north Nepal Burma even Assam some of the North East I won't need a permit for. But if she were free today. She should come to Kottayam. I mean I stood by her while she needed to do her whole fast unto death in solitary. She can come support me while I study Syriac.

Asthma and the age of the dragons

Yeah so the hacking cough bronchial infection had gone. Replaced briefly by heat rash. That's theory goes salt deposits left when sweat evaporates clogging the pores. All you have to do is keep showering or some suggest moisturizer to loosen up the salt deposits or nanobytes trained to crawl around the pores clearing the blockages. But then the monsoons started weather temp dropped a little perhaps. Slight wheeze returned and cough. I think this is as good as it gets. Oh well one more shower. Then maybe some Tai Chi. Have some parcels to post but maybe leave that to Monday. No point having a few years of bachelor leisure if I don't make the least of them. Even if she does die and people who see her say she is frail, or weak. She is proud of the fact that she can walk around her corridor ward for two hours a day. The last one said she looked better than she had imagined. She could sit up in her bed and was able to walk a little. Well I intend to do nothing today even if I fail it's a solid intention. Oh yeah the dragon mist around n e europe. Overkill or what.

TVU and the OIAHE

Ok so last month I win a partial upheld thing with the OIAHE against TVU. Basically they accept my fundamental human right of a tribunal within a reasonable time was denied me by TVU so they suggested a refund basically 1500 quid. Now they don't uphold any of my other complaints which I think is wrong but who cares it's only a legal game. So I accept the offer and want it handed to John the Just. I was going to send it to three charities but as it's a token amount I thought easier just to hand it to John the Just at least he stood by me in this. Now odd thing. TVU then reply oh but do you mean John the Just (obviously I gave full name and address) or do you mean something else that you haven't said. Let us know and we will get going. So I told them to stop taking the piss and hand the money over. And I copied the letter to OIAHE.

Now odd thing OIAHE guy says doesn't look like you have accepted the offer and you aren't being very polite and if you don't accept the offer by tomorrow you lose it. So I replied with I want to make a formal complaint of racism against you. Odd though you'd think after two years they'd pay up the 1500 they stole from me and count themselves well lucky.

Oh well I assume I'll get another round of letters from his line manager, the Chief Executive and the Company Secretary saying he isn't racist but I figure that too is the game. Difference in India is there is far less paperwork.

connections and general gripes

Yeah I am having an easy time of it. That bronchial infection that had been giving me a hacking cough with green coloured phlegm well that went pdq in the nights after arriving. Don't sleep all that well but the heat and light is what I thrive on. So yeah one of the irritating dudes on the MA 1st year course strides up as I am trying to surf about a course in Lebanon asking me why I am not attending classes. Not a good way to start with me. But there you go I tried to explain that his attentions were not appreciated. I am not sure why I bothered to explain to the young lad, now they call him reverend brother which means he isn't a priest yet but still wants respect, the classes are in Malayalam. There are no classes in English save the ones I arrange. Then he helpfully suggests but I could stand at the back of the class and ask for translations from time to time. I replied I could but I'm not going to and went on to explain how he really wasn't helping me, I might have told him to bugger off I don't think I am as saatvig and calm as I thunk. He came back later with a real priest on a bogus request which I couldn't help with which was most gratifying.

The course in the Lebanon which I briefly considered as it had taken so long to download the five page pdf costs 2k dollars USD. For three weeks and they give you a certificate if you pass the exam. For 2kdollars I'd want a certificate in advance with gold ribbons and a cherry on top. Bloody Lebanese Syriac Scholar wideboys. It was one of the messages on the Hugoye list which is a peer reviewed syriac yahoo list for genuine academics not newbies who just want to learn stuff. I was so pleased they let me join being as I am a newbie who just wants to learn stuff. There was an interesting discussion on the diatesseron and St Ephrem's analysis of it (should Jesus pay the Temple Tax) all about foreigners and children and kings and priests and being taught by the sea, eastern theology is like french philosophy poetry smoke and pretty symbols no real logic or rational argument. Though the last line from one poster was to the effect that well obviously there is a secret tradition that Peter wasn't Jewish.

I am sorry that's bollocks but not my place to say. It was the last post I'll just wait for someone else to say it's bollocks. That and this new firefox sends everything to DNS and distrusts every certificate. I think I may switch to I dunno Safari or Chrome perhaps. Yep just to avoid the stupid messages though it may have something to do with the dodgey connections here.

So yeah I am more than happy working through the gospel of Matthew typing up stuff here waiting for my trulove's next letter promised via a human rights NGO (commonwealth) worker in Delhi I mustn't tell people to bugger off even when they are being nosey gits and need to mind their own bi'ness. They might steal her letter. These are Caflick priest types no telling what they might end up doing. But apart from that weather suits. Get bitten a bit but it's only blood and a possible skin condition better than the bronchial infection. And screw it I'll start something serious next week. For the next few days read through Matthew on my own. Start some drills learning vocab and concentrate on nouns and plurals for now. Ah I know what I am doing. Just have to learn a bit more patience and tolerance. Oh and get some meditation time in structured. I fear I am becoming lazy.

politics

So while I was out of town, wasn't me Sir, 100 soldiers were killed in an ambush by what they call Maoists in India. By Maoists they mean adivasi, dalits, especially those in villages. The PM considers them the greatest threat to national security. Taking out 100 armed soldiers is pretty impressive.

Problem is the squaddies want revenge now. So all the villages within 5 miles of the ambush have disappeared. They say the people have fled to the forests and if they have they mustn't come back ever. The only murder the army is denying is that of one man who didn't flee after the ambush. The story is the army took their evening meal at this village and then were ambushed the next day. They therefore argue that the village must have tipped off? the Maoists that there was a platoon strength force traipsing through the villages and since they were no match for the actual armed insurgents they beat this farmer to death.

They are claiming no they didn't beat nobody to death he must have been one of the Maoists the brave men of unquestionable integrity the soldiers of the whatever their acronym is bravely killed in self defence the day before. The SI local plod says no one has referred any incident to him. Given that all the villagers have disappeared and there is no one left alive to file a report well never mind. This too is India.

If the adivasi, the tribals whom I sometimes call gypsies given that foreigners tend not to know what I mean anyway these guys if they weren't maoists before doesn't look like they have much option now. If they try and return to their villages they will be killed. The army are looking for them. If the army killed them they tend not to worry about destroying evidence and people seem to believe the Indian army are clueless in the forests, the adivasi are the only ones who know their way around those parts of India. Whose side am I on. Oh there are sides are there.

I'll stick with the People's Liberation Army of Communist China then shall I. Qi Gong Jin you are the only one who can help us.

They come at night

So there is one theory that the whole daywalking vampyres started after 9-11 damn muslim just like the jews they walk among us and you can't tell them apart from normal folks, but of course at the same time they live in ghettoes refuse to mix with normal folks and have wyrd practices that they won't share with us. Apparently psychologists have given such a name not just racists bullshit a proper scientific term.

So no mosquitoes in the day mind and I have checked in with the office they are searching out a form so I can register with the copshop nearby and I chatted to Fr Dr Professor Ragu and he doesn't expect me to do anything apart from self study which is cool with me and now I have asked I am sort of free as the classes are in Malayalam. The classes for the MA are in English but it's still pretty informal everyone passes. Alex my colleague is waiting for an exam but it may not happen. He wants a career and to take things more seriously I am just trying to hide out till I can get married.

Yep did a fine analysis of her picture. I think it means she will be free in about four years. I am still banking on a chinese invasion circa end of 2012 but the unexpected does have a habit of happening whereas the expected just never turns up. Bit like SEERI exams suits me. Oh and i have a four way adaptor plug which means I can plug the laptop for recharging in my room and not have to wander outside. I'll get a printer soon, maybe tomorrow and some paper.

Sorted out the banking it seemed less of a lessness on my return they say I will have a debit card soon. No rush I'll wait for that to get the printer and paper. Tomorrow some books perhaps. It's really nice to be back. I'll treat myself to a faluda later. Mango season is coming soon and then it will be mango shakes. When Alex leaves I'll bump up the download speeds on films for now who needs films.

Nothing else to report for now. No doubt I am missing something essential but no worries.

Back to as close as you can get to home without actually having a home

So New Delhi immigration are really wasting all that money spent on incredible India. They sort of give you the creepy feeling that they aren't a first world nation and don't particularly want to be one. More a third world one where money and connections to a politician/bollywood star counts and others could have electrodes attached to their testicles on a whim. Well he didn't quite say all that more of general prattiness. Delayed me by two minutes trying to claim I didn't have a valid visa because I was entering his country before my two months absence had expired. And to be fair he was just as rude and unhelpful to the white female blonde signwriter whom he called a journalist whom he saw while he was delaying me. Then his supervisor turned up he stamps the wrong page of the passport and I left asking whether he thought that might cause me any problems later and would I need to bribe anyone and he just giggled. This is India.

Back in Kottayam I realize nothing matters that much. I have had another go at that text number ten in Healey about oops getting bitten here so I'll hurry. Yep she wrote back another letter slam dunk. She is hoping that I will gain strenght of mind or something poor thing anyway not to worry, got a picture and a protestation and possibly poems to come.

I may have to visit her soonish.

Nope too many bites gotta put some cream on or get under cover ciao all life continues it's warm here and I gotta do something about these mosquitoes

all set

So nice chappies at the bank told me I really should write a will but they can't assist with that. I have my money now tied up tighter than a nun's corset on three four and six year plans. I have my certificate from UCL plus they will post a transcript with a bow and stuff to make it look more official they understand India. Other countries are being more rigorous they say retaliation I say and they nod. Got my flight back to Kottayam. Got a letter offering payment from TVU so I gave them John the Just's details and told em I'd probably continue with the unresolved complaint of unprofessional conduct and racism via the British Psychological Society but that none need have any concerns now we both understand the process. I am sure things may unravel. Stevie is posting again in Chinese though the Chinese made more sense when they were pointing to porn sites. All's well then

poor at last

My mother knew how to do it Dom Vincent recalled. So I am going to put her money away in three accounts not so much frozen solid as pretty impossible for me to access even if I send them nice letters assuming I knew where to write. Now they might earn decent interest but the key is I won't be able to spend the money on flowers or orphans or lost causes.

Apart from that have enough to get my flight to Cochin. I have to make an effort to see the gel in Manipur but that's a bit terrifying I'd prefer to knuckle down to a marathon pace making run and send her another letter. I have postcards from the TATE to send her was going to send her a microscope but then thought nah she isn't a boy, and then a bop-it but she is a yogin human rights defendor ie she isn't a boy so I dunno if I see something small to slip into the parcel will do but it will have to reach out and grab me.

Otherwise all set, not sure if I care that much where the money goes but making sure I can't really access it. Ok three years or more in Kottayam. I'll leave off travels really till Xmas then I hope Nepal again in a monastery though I did say I'd go to a wedding in Goa but I am not that keen. I have to go to my own don't see why I have to go to any others. I'm sure something terrible may happen but it's too cold I am in lizard mode.