Technically Another Job Opening

Good news IMS fans! The job req is open again. It turns out the Department of State really needs IMs these days. Just think, you could have the pleasure of working with me at your first post! (You know, if it happens to be my second post.) So if you do join and go somewhere awesome, start convincing them they need me early.

Just think, this picture could be you! (Assuming you own a red shirt and look like me with a different face...)

HHE has Arrived!

Well, it's finally happened! Two days short of 4 months after arriving in India... our House Hold Effects (HHE) have arrived! Our general feeling of joy and celebration at this was quickly squashed by the realizations that:

A) We have way too much stuff.
B) We have to actually unpack all these boxes.

Right now it looks like our old house vomited (albeit using the Vomit-O-Matic) all over our new house. It's like Christmas in October... or what I'm calling "OctChristOberMas." I guess we have some unpacking to do.

PS: This is officially my 100th post on this blog... Whoo hoo!

Chennai Holidays: Deepavali

This week's bonus holiday is courtesy of Diwali or Deepavali, the festival of light. Let me just start by saying Diwali is a BIG deal. Most cultures/religions have an Autumn holiday to celebrate the harvest, but Diwali is the biggest and most celebrated holiday for Hindus, much like Christmas for Christians (slash most of the Western world). It was prefaced with several weeks of major sales and people cleaning and decorating. Starting nearly a week before the day we started hearing random fireworks going off. The evening before the holiday they began in earnest with literally thousands (if not millions) of fireworks going off. Diwali had scattered fireworks going off all day, but was otherwise one of the quietest days we've seen in India. There was almost no traffic and relatively few people on the streets. Once night fell though... the fireworks really picked up. The attached video (definitely watch it with the sound) gives you an idea of what it was like. We are lucky that we have roof access to our building and our building is higher than most of the surrounding buildings and trees. It was literally a 360 degree firework display. Every direction and every distance there were fireworks. From street crackers, to rooftop roman candles to professional grade sky bursters(?), you could literally read a newspaper by the light of all the fireworks. I know I'm using the word literally a lot, but standing on the roof seeing that many fireworks going off is... well, indescribable... I did my best, but it doesn't do it justice. At one point, I saw 5 roman candles going off on 5 different rooftops at the same time and that was in one direction. Oh yeah, and it went on for hours both nights!

Edit: It is now officially 2 days after Diwali... and there are still periodic fireworks going off (at midnight)!

Dogs and Traffic

I was eating dinner this evening and I saw a dog cross the road. That seems pretty uninteresting, right? WRONG! This dog walked to the edge of the road and looked both ways. He started to cross, saw some traffic coming and backed up. He waited until the traffic slowed, looked both ways again, crossed halfway, watched incoming traffic until a break opened, and then finished crossing. Honestly, I think he did it better than I do. Kudos to the feral animals here, I bet they're all good at that, because I haven't seen a single roadkill since getting here.

High Hopes = Higher Disappointment

Well, after nearly 4 months (!) of waiting, our HHE was finally scheduled to be delivered. Needless to say, we were pretty ecstatic. I was the first new officer to arrive this summer, and I'm going to be one of the last (at least not the last) to receive my stuff. If you find yourself packing out from DC and get assigned "Victory Van Corporation," I feel for you. My stuff sat in their warehouse for 2 months after I arrived at post until they got around to shipping it.

Anyway, as a cruel twist of fate, monsoon season appears to have decided to start in earnest... and our HHE delivery for this afternoon was cancelled on account of poor weather. Future delivery date TBD... I hadn't really been missing my HHE (other than my kitchen supplies), but having it dangled and jerked away was a real letdown. Oh well, at least it's in the country and presumably will be delivered soon.

Note: I doubt this infographic is accurate, but I can't help noticing that "Shame" turns you into Spider-Man.