Buzzzzzzzzzz

A bee stung me yesterday.

That hasn't happened since I was, like, eleven.

I felt bad for the poor little guy. I took entomology. We watched a vivid and traumatizing video that showed close up what happens to the bee when it stings a person. "Gross and less than fun" would be an understatement.

I was walking across the grass to go tan (I got burned by the way) and the little bee got stuck in my clog. So he stung me right by my ankle. It hurt more than I remember it hurting when I was younger. I suppose it was in part because the bee stayed attached to my ankle, pumping its poison into my foot.

I figured we couldn't spend the rest of our lives with him hanging from my foot, so I adopted the role of the bad guy. I waved my hand by my ankle and he flew off, leaving behind his stinger, butt and a portion of his innards. I was less than excited to have to remove them from my skin.

Poor guy. He had to of died within a few minutes of flying away.

Rest in peace, little bee.

Nummy, Nummy, Din Dins

This morning for breakfast I ate chips, pickles and then drank some pickle juice (because I am that much of a freak).

Then I went running.

My stomach in no way complained.

Stomach is back up to its impressive eat-anything status that it and I enjoyed before going to India. It only took a month.

Day Off

What does it say about me that reading Moby Dick makes me want to watch Pirates of the Caribbean?



If only Johnny Depp had done the audio recording of the book...then life would be perfect.

Rain Rain Stay for a Day

I just walked home from work in a glorious thunder storm. It made me think of India. Am wonderfully happy.

Of course I also have a good book to read...a good book that I legally borrowed from work...a good book that isn't technically on sale until tomorrow. Hee hee. Fun. I've already read the last page. Hee. Joy.

A few days ago Cute Semi-Regular Customer made an appearance.

CSRC: Skirt.
Me: Yep.
CSRC: So, do you tell all your friends that there's a weird guy who points out your apparel at work?
Me: Ummm, actually I call you Semi-Regular Guy.
CSRC: Wow! That's almost complimentary. That's a better rating than I normally get.
Me: Ha, ha...ummm.

"Girls Can Have Sideburns Too."

So, last night after work I went out to the bar with a few of my co-workers for the second time in history. (It's practically a nightly thing with some of them).

I enjoyed this time more because there were more people and it seemed a little less smoky.

I ordered a white Russian (Thank you, Jeffiner...it's the only thing I like besides a martini). And sat and listened to everyone talk.

About half-way through my drink, I was about ready to go home (that's my standard stopping point, oh me of little tolerance). But then somebody mentioned both Harry Potter and Firefly. Let the fun begin.

I stayed until 1 AM. I was mocked by various people for being:

1. Anti-social
2. A "Dandy" for having a low tolerance)
3. A nerd

One of my friends decided to inform the entire table that she had drunk three beers in the time I'd taken to consume 3/4th of my drink. All my ice had melted so they commented on how gross it must taste.

One of the guys bought me a second drink even though I said no repeatedly. I only had a few sips from that one, but I think I was close to going beyond my level of tolerance. I walked home just fine.

I may go out with them again in a week or two.

I'm trying to figure out if going out is part of getting older or a compromise of my strict morals? Am I starved for social interaction?

In other news, cute semi-regular customer keeps showing up and making random comments about my appearance. "You have your hair pulled back today...I'm getting to know you so well."

A Conversation at Work

Cute-Semi-Regular Customer: Hi. Oh, you're wearing pants today.

Me: I usually wear pants when I'm in the cafe.

Shane: I joined this conversation at the wrong moment.

Cute-Semi-Regular Customer: I guess that sounds bad.

Me (to Shane): You see, he was here a few days ago and he said I always wear skirts. But Julie said I always wear pants. But I wear skirts on the bookside and pants...here.

Me (to CSRC): Thanks for saying that in front of my manager.

Cute-Semi-Regular Customer: Sorry, if I embarrassed you.


In other news, apparently during one of my nights as a greeter we also sold a record number of memberships. One of the managers thinks there's a connection, so now I'm greeting people several times a week. I may have to curl into a ball in a corner of the store and feast on my own hair.

Also, it looks like I'll be in GR for the first week in August.

More Pictures

Henna fun.








Who wants candy?









Children jumping into the Ganges.





At the Taj Mahal.






Here's a snake charmer. They weren't so bad. It was the old ladies who would hold a covered basket in your face only to reveal a snake and then demand money that scared me. Those ladies and the one that carried a boa constrictor on her shoulder while begging for money.






I think it's obvious why I asked this security guard for his picture.

Random Selection of Pictures

The official comment that I'm using to describe my trip is: "It was an adventure, many good experiences and many challenges."

Speaking of challenges, the first day back at work sucked. Barnes and Noble has a new level of membership that includes a credit card. The bank is paying for employees to promote the card in stores. The employees who are doing this are to promote the Mastercard alone. They can't assist in the cafe. They can't ring up purchases. They can't help customers. All they can do is hand out pamphlets and explain the membership. I was assigned this job yesterday. For eight hours. EIGHT HOURS. I had to wear an apron with special pockets to hold the pamphlets. I was one step above a foam hat. All my fellow employees pitied me and feared they'd be the next to suffer. Dan, in contrast, threatened to take pictures.
To make matters worse, I get to do it again today. On the plus side, I haven't been yelled at...so far. But apparently there's a high risk. I've also established a method. Basically, I've become a greeter. Then when people would leave, I'd offer them a pamphlet with the credit card application. I'd say it'd be a good bookmark. That got the most takers.

Of course, one customer compared my job to that of the greeters at Walmart and my soul died a little. If I don't quit by the end of tonight, I'm calling myself a superhero.

Here's a random start on the picture sharing:









This was taken during a rain storm at one of our camps in the Himalayas. It will go down as one of my favorite memories of the trip...and possibly my year. I danced in the rain on one of the Himalayan mountains. I never thought I'd ever have that chance.









You might recognize this little guy from the movie "Outbreak." The monkeys were everywhere and were a little dangerous at times.








Several of us climbed to a top of a mountain to see a waterfall. I wasn't very happy with the situation, as I didn't know about the "climbing a mountain" aspect of the waterfall-viewing.









Here's a picture I took of the hike back down the mountain.








A picture taken as we bussed our way through the mountains. I'd say about half the trip was spent on the little unstoppable bus.









A sideways view of Beth sending a prayer down the Ganges.


More pics later!