4:00 am

4:00 seems to be my new wake up time, which doesn't get easier each succeeding morning. It's strangely quiet and dark at 4:00 in the morning. I usually assume that people who are up and out at that time in the morning are up to now good. This makes me a little paranoid standing outside of Starbucks waiting for my fellow opener to arrive. My imagination likes to think of the strangest things.

The thesis is progressing. I just keep telling myself that it'll be done, if for no other reason than I always get things done. I'm dependable like that.

In other ramblings, I have a new favorite Bollywood song: "Maahi Ve" from Kal Ho Naa Ho (Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, and Saif Ali Khan). It used to belong to "Chale Jaise Hawaien" from Main Hoon Na. And I'm beginning to crack my Shah Rukh Khan dilemma (I'll explain this in further detail in another blog. It probably deserves its own anyway).

I must thank Michelle from my French class, graduating this summer with an MA in History, for bringing me the information I requested about Amritsar (that's in India) and a special surprise of the "Divas of Bollywood" DVD for me to borrow. I proceeded to make my class watch parts of the DVD before class started. I blame Michelle.

And Scott finally got the tattoo he's been wanting for years. It took a little perserverence (ha!), but he got it done! I hope you're forever happy with it, Scott, because that's how long it'll last.

Ugh, Humidity

Today is my parents' 37th wedding anniversary! Congratulations!

The heat is insufferable! I feel sticky, smelly, and hot all the time. Maybe it's a good thing Peace Corps isn't sending me to Africa and is instead placing me in an arid and freezing place.

Being in California was great, but the heat aside, I'm glad to be back in Ohio, if only because I'll be more productive here than at home. I don't think I was home more than a few hours last weekend, not counting sleeping time. Here's the rundown of my weekend:

Friday: I flew in and almost immediately went to In 'n Out. I've decided that heaven tastes like an In 'n Out burger. I was so excited I told the In 'n Out worker it was my first stop in California. Later, Scott and I drove to Little India where we saw Bunty aur Babli, my first in-the-theater BW film, starring Abhishek Bachchan and Rani Mukherjee (see two blogs ago). The movie was awesome; I laughed a lot and enjoyed the dance sequences and didn't mind the kissing scenes (BW movies don't usually have kissing scenes, so they're usually shocking when they do happen). The best part of the evening was that Scott and I were the only non Indians at the theater, and I amused one lady by seeing "You Are My Soniya" from Kabhi Khushie Khabhie Gham along with the theater music. I guess she didn't expect that from a non desi. The night was long. The movie didn't start until 9 and lasted over three hours (including intermission and previews). By the time I got home I had been up for 24 hours.

Saturday: Nicole's wedding. Beautiful, relaxed, and simply elegant. I was exhausted the whole day but had a great time. There was a mariachi band and Mexican food at the reception, the latter fact actually brought me to tears. I'm not kidding; I have four witnesses. The corn tortillas melted in my mouth!

Sunday: Ate Indian food with Scott and then watched Hum Tum (see two blogs ago) at his apartment, walked his dog, and hung out with Phil and Jen.

Monday: Drove to Little India with Scott so we could see it by day, ate In n' Out again!, and went to the dentist and found out I have a cavity. I guess there's a first for everyone. I also met the adorable Julian, Steve and Shelby's baby. He didn't like it so much when I held him, but he was so much fun--always bouncing around. If he ends up being a jock, I'll laugh. Who knows, maybe he'll be some sort of dancer. S&S, that's still connected to music.

Tuesday: I was so tired I fell asleep before 9pm.

Another Wedding...

I get to go home for the weekend to attend another wedding. Nicole, one of my college roommates, is getting married on the cliffs of the Pacific Ocean in San Diego, CA. I'm looking forward to the wedding and seeing some of my best friends and talking to people I haven't seen in years. I'm getting ready for replying: "I've been in Ohio blah, blah,.. master's degree in English blah, blah..., Peace Corps, blah, blah...." I'm already sick of answering these questions for people who know a little bit about what I'm doing, so having to give full explanations is going to get old really quick. I complain, but it should be a lot of fun. I'm going to attempt to dance the night away.

I'll take advantage of my time in California. I already have a big list of things I want to do before I return to Ohio:
--Eat at In 'n Out at least once
--Eat good Mexican food (nacho cheese on a burrito does not make for good dining. I don't care if you claim your food is authenic! I've given up on eating good Mexican food in Ohio.)
--See Bunty aur Babli in Little India--this'll be my first Bollywood film in the theater!
--Eat at Wahoo's Fish Taco (it'll be nice to be somewhere where people know what a fish taco is and don't give you an expression of disgust at the thought of seafood and tacos merging)
--Get some great Indian food
--Meet Steve and Shelby's baby boy
--See Scott's apartment
Hmm, most of my to dos have to do with food. I guess that's what happens when you spend two years in a culinary wasteland.

Linsey and Tyra--fantastic dinner tonight! You spoil me.
Kari--It was great having you back!

Be sure to check out the trailer for my most anticipated movie of 2005, Pride and Prejudice:
http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/prideandprejudice.html

Hum Tum

Where has Bollywood been all my life? It's rare that after I watch a BW film, I am anything but happy. Hum Tum, scandal and all (those of you familiar with the unspoken rules of BW and have seen the film know exactly what I'm talking about), is wonderful. It's basically a BW remake of When Harry Met Sally, only I think I like Hum Tum better (I can't take Billy Crystal seriously as a romantic lead). There seems to be no end to BW remakes of Hollywood movies. Watch out for Dhoom 2, which is somewhere on the horizon. It's the sequel to, you guessed it, Dhoom, a sort of Fast and the Furious meets Torque. The sequel does star Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai--arguably the two best looking people in BW, so I might see it against my better judgement. And then there's the BW version of French Kiss, Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha, starring real life couple Ajay Devgan and Kajol. If only Netflix carried this movie...

Anyway, back to Hum Tum, starring Rani Mukherjee and Saif Ali Khan. It's rather extraordinary that every movie I've seen Rani in she has amazing chemistry with the leading man, be it a romantic relationship or not (see Black, Veer-Zaara, K3G, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai...). This is really a testiment to her acting ability. She's now called the best actress working in India, and I'm starting to agree (along with Tabu and Kajol, of course). She's mesmorizing. And she's not like Shah Rukh Khan or Tom Cruise who can do one character really well but aren't so convincing otherwise. Even when SRK plays a bad guy, he's still the same character; same thing goes from Tom Cruise, who managed to be Tom Cruise even in Collateral. I've seen Rani play a woman deaf, blind, and mute, a feminist Pakistani lawyer fighting for a wrongly accused Indian man, a rejected suitor, a dead mother, and she's done them all convincingly.

So what about Bollywood actors? Saif Ali Khan? He's good in this movie. This is only my second Saif experience, and he hasn't disappointed me as an actor, but he hasn't wowed me either. Apart from Aamir Khan or Akshaye Khanna, no BW actor has impressed me. I blame it on their looks. Shallow, I know. But in a film industry with gorgeous women, some of whom are former Miss Worlds, Miss Universes, and Miss Indias, the lack of gorgeous men is disappointing. Granted, what these men lack in movie star looks, they make up in charm--a little singing and dancing always helps. I just can't help but think that Saif belongs on Sesame Street.

I didn't expect this to be a Bollywood rant. I had hoped to write a review about Hum Tum. Oh well. I highly recommend it, even if Saif looks like a muppet. But muppets are cute, right?