Long-winded Update

I was extra holy yesterday, but the several drenchings I got from the pouring rain probably washed most of it away. The little flowers that sprout up in my foosteps aren't nearly as vibrant and most of the butterfly clouds have dissipated - but I think I'm still glowing a little bit. I got prayed upon by a group of ladies (aren't you jealous?) when I taught my seminar - thoroughly, generally, and specifically. They even blessed my little heart for resisting the chocolate pudding that was part of the catered lunch. It was a little bit weird standing there in front of everyone with my head bowed while my students blessed me for something or other.

Friday night was LA's Bollywood birthday party, which ended up being just the right mix of socializing, chilling, eating delicious food (a friend fried veggies breaded with chick pea flour and spices, I don't remember what this dish is called), and doing silly things like playing Twister in clothes that were probably not Twister-friendly... I'm kind of afraid of what pictures might crop up. I had on a strapless tank and somebody adorned me with a black mystery choli.

If you haven't seen Tashan yet and want to die laughing, you need to buy tickets... Saturday night, Redhead, her husband (need pseudonym!), LA, CA and CA's gf all went to a south Indian vegetarian restaurant (I had vegetable uttapam with coconut chutney, everybody else had various dosai). After we had finished our delicious meals and had all incorporated some interesting and rarely-used words into our conversations, we headed over to the theatre and proceded to laugh until we choked on our Yuenglings and mimosas (or in my case, an Altoid). L kept turning to me between bouts of laughter, wiping the tears from his eyes, and telling me that this movie was in no way representative of Bollywood cinema, but honestly I don't think I've been that entertained by any movie since Fellowship of the Ring. I had so much fun (and I bought the soundtrack)!

Oh! And The Clog! It's been defeated! And it was horrible. So on Friday night, my parents came over to my apartment secretly while I was out - they were worried about The Clog and how it might affect the company I have till Wednesday night. They tried various methods of dislodging it and only succeeded in completely blocking my drain, which forced my hand on Saturday morning... I called maintenance, and here comes Jonathan, the clog warrior, equipped with acid, enzymes, plunger, snake, and a more solid constitution than myself when it comes to clogs. It took him three whole hours to remove it, or obliterate it, or whatever he did to it - but I came back from the grocery store after leaving him to do whatever he had to do, and it was like a sewer filled with sulfuric acid exploded all over my lovely, sparkling bathroom. My hardwood floors are stained from the acid, which he'd accidentally spilled (he promised to come sand them this week). I spent the following 2 hours scrubbing, bleaching, and rinsing every surface in there multiple times, but the water just falls down the drain now, which is worth it.

I spent Sunday with my mom, chatting and eating sushi and getting five bazillion text messages that will tack an extra $10 onto my phone bill. We went to Lowe's, where I got the tools and materials necessary to repair the partition and linoleum in my kitchen that Jesper ripped up and ate. I fixed it yesterday, but I still need some wood-colored putty to fill in the cracks - and I might decide to redo it completely, since the wood I chose is slighly less red than my hardwood floors.

Noel is all settled in at my place and has commenced her exam-taking. Jesper is nosing around amongst her stuff, I hope she doesn't mind. I've been trying to make sure she gets enough to eat - I tend to get stuck on a couple staples (yogurt, cereal, fruit, cottage cheese) and don't eat anything else. At least Jesper sleeps at night, since Noel spends lots of time entertaining him!