6.5 months hence

life is now quite hectic, specially at work, where i have several travels coming up. Now that the future is also getting busy, i can say that i am beginning to lay down some roots here. I'm interacting with a wider circle of people, spending more, shopping more and filling out forms and giving passport photos for everything! (a sure sign you've arrived in india!)

family-wise, i'm learning that readjusting even to your own family is non-trivial. when i left my folks 11 years ago, i was still very much their kid and listening to their advice. now, having returned after "growing up" in the states, i find i behave and react quite differently with my parents. apparently, and this honestly comes as a surprise to me, i am more argumentative, inconsiderate and individualistic than before. on introspection, i believe this is true, and independent living in the US perhaps has this consequence, which is somewhat unwelcome in india. anyway, a person is the sum and more, of his/her experiences, so i plan to take this in stride and see how far my present persona survives in the company of "family". certainly, i cannot change my personality, but i'm sure it evolves with time like most reasonable people. a person who hasn't been changed by experience cannot really have experienced it anything. perhaps i will become a softie and abide by local customs here in due time, but for now, i'm still part-languishing in the phase of "i dont give a damn" (probably a phrase i never knew until i went stateside). i think i should definitely start to give a damn about lots of things because in india, you are not just you, you are also what other people perceive you to be.

i also need to learn some more tricks of bargain shopping, as the price range for the same product varies hugely in india depending on where you buy it from. this is not like the US where you get quite different versions of the same product at different stores. its more arbitrary here, and it literally "pays" to do a few hours of research and running around before buying something valuable. i already paid 10000Rs extra for a pair of spectacles than i need have. more patience, more research, and you can really find what you want in india, and at a good price to boot.

my wife is to visit from the US soon. looking forward to that immensely:) she will finish her PhD later this year, and we can look forward to the future as a couple, and not each be in professional flux. perhaps i should write a blog on how to manage a long-distance marriage, but we are only 7 months through this, which is nothing compared to the decade-long horror stories i hear in academia. anyway, skype is the greatest boon to the likes of us - bless you, Friis and Zennstroem - scandinavians may live in cold climes but they know that hearts are warm-blooded.