He did what? She said that? Who would do such a thing?

Today I had a realization.

Life is as amazing now as it was when I was 2, maybe more so.

Examine the relationships, actions and decisions made by people as if you're seeing them for the first time. Do they make sense? Do they seem thoughtful? Are they GOOD decisions? What constitutes a good decision?

Take this opportunity to examine your decisions and give some thought to why you do the things you do. Are you stuck in a rut or heading towards a dead end?

Let's bring meaning back!

Wedding Speeches

This past weekend I was a part of 2 amazing weddings. On Saturday, Margaret and Dmitry tied the kn0t in a small and intimate affair. On Sunday, Jon and Maria got married. There were a number of interesting aspects to both these weddings. For one, they both took place at The Old Mill. This is a beautiful venue and the people there are very nice and helpful. It was a little surreal to be heading to the same place both nights. and recognize the bar tenders.

Having two weddings in a single weekend is a challenge. Talking in two weddings in a single weekend is an even bigger challenge. It reminds me of my school days and working on multiple assignments for different courses. I believe it's harder than school since writing speeches is a very open ended process. This past weekend I had the honour to be the MC on Saturday and was one oft the best men on the Sunday.

Since I'm sure I'm going to have to speak at other events, I've decided to write this blog to give me some tips for the future.

1. Always be prepared, this means making time the day of to spit out that last version
2. Don't say anything you're not comfortable saying - if you don't like a joke or story, don't say it. It won't come out right
3. point form is better than paragraphs. Some key sentences can be written down. This is way easier to read and allows you to interact with the audience.
4. Practice the speech out loud a few times. This will help iron out the kinks
5. When printing the speech notes, print landscape, double lined and with a large font.
6. I'm a big fan of warming up. If I can introduce someone else or announce something, I feel a lot more comfortable talking to the group.
7. Don't be afraid to shush the audience. Some people can have too good a time at a wedding. If people are talking, it makes it a huge challenge to engage people and can be very distracting. if a regular shush doesn't work, point out the offending person or section in a positive way.
   

Both events went off extremely well. I was nervous as hell but the second I had to be on, I was on and pulled it off. It's good to have some energy.

As Stuart Smalley used to say, I'm good enough, I'm strong enough and Doggone it, people like me.

where's a poet when you need one?

Today I saw the Taj Mahal in Agra. It truly is beautiful. Last night Lila and I treated ourselves to a "fancy"buffet dinner at the Sheraton in Delhi. Unfortunately it was already dark when we were driving there because it looked to be a completely different Delhi than what we are familiar with. The dinner itself was nice, the restaurant was great and the bathrooms were almost top notch. It felt like a timeout from Delhi; as if we were stepping into a different pocket of the universe which we understood. It also showed us that travelling in India could be a lot easier and nicer than what we've experienced. That sort of trip would also be a lot more expensive. Dinner cost the same as a few nights at our current hotel including meals.

To jump around a bit, the rest of Agra is not at all pleasant. Not only is it the home to the Taj Mahal, it's also home to a lot of people who prey on tourists and greatly detract from the experience. That's life.

Purell-er-ific

I don't even know how to start this. Purell, I bring it everywhere I go. I use it all the time, all over. I only brought one bottle. This is not even close to enough. Fortunately, Lila brought another 4 or 5. You see people urinating and defecating all over. There's no facilities to wash and if there are, odds are the water isn't any good. Kids love to come up and say hello and shake our hands. I've seen where they play. It's necessary. So far I've seen cows, horses, donkeys, camels, pigs, dogs, cats and elephants walking around the streets. This ignores the pigeons, rats, chipmunks and other "normal" animals I'd expect to see looking around. Most of the animals wallow in rotting garbage and crap. Both sleeping in it and eating it. At times, the smell can be overwhelming.

On to better things, in Jaipur, the pink city, we saw lots of nice palaces and other sites. We went to a bollywood movie (all in Hindi) and even had a bit of an idea of what it's about. I've had masala flavoured chips and eaten lots of food on the Shibati Express trains - it's the only train where they serve you food and it's ok to eat it. Right now I'm back in Delhi, staying at the Metropolis in Paharganj. It's going to be a slow day. Tomorrow we're hitting up the Taj and then we fly out to Goa.

so, since i last wrote we also went to McLeod Ganj, up in the Himalayas. We met a Tibetan monk Dawa who showed us around and also visited the Dali Lama's temple. All in all, a great place. I went for walks in some of the local villages (no cars, just paths on the mountain) and we also went to a waterfall where we met a bunch of overly friendly Sikh men who invited us to their house in Punjab. We're constantly being photographed by people. We now reciprocate and take their picture too. hmm, not a very interesting post.

I'll end it by stating how unprepared I was for India and how glad I am that Lila is here. She's a walking pharmacy. Imodium, anti bacterial wipes, purell and everything else under the sun. there's nothing like a very upset stomach and 19 hours of travel with either no bathrooms or very gross ones to make you appreciate the marvels of modern medicine.

Here's to surviving and thriving.

p.s. Yes, i'm going to Purell my hands after leaving the Internet Cafe, I can feel the layer of grime transfer from the keyboard to my hands..

a shout out to all my homies

This is a very quick hello. I'm in India and thriving. It's hot as hell hear and it's all I can do to stay hydrated. I've only been ripped off twice. After getting off the plane a sneaky government taxi official convinced me that i gave him a 100 ruppee bill instead of the 500. i'm sure he does this to all tourists. someone should take him out back and shoot him. I also purchased water that both Lila and I are convinced was a refilled bottle despite the plastic covering. needless to say we didn't drink it. the moral of the story is that your hotel is your friend and the rest of the world is trying to rip you off. The other moral of the story is that it is best to hire a rickshaw, auto-rickshaw or a driver to take you around. it's all the rage and makes everthing possible. Finally, I give my heart felt thanks to the person who invented air conditioning. When the days are above 40 and the nights not much cooler, it's a life saver.

I've toured New Delhi, checked out some bazaars and am now in Amritsar which is close to the pakistani border. Today we'll go to the border to see the changing of the guards and then check out the Golden Temple which is Sikh holy place.

Namaste.

and so it Begins!

Wednesday April 30th 2008. I'm at work making sure everything is settled. Very soon I'll be on my way to the airport and heading to New York to meet up with Lila and catch my connecting flight to New Delhi, India. In preparation for strange food, I've been eating all sorts of yummy meals. Franks and beans, macaroni, fajitas, some BBQ express bulgogi, Chinese food and Japaneses food. Thoroughly stuffed, Adventure, here I come.

Hello

Jello