Checking in from Toledo, OH

Oh dearie me – so much has changed since the list time I opened my blog’s dashboard that I don’t even have the faintest clue as to where to begin. But since I am dead certain that my grasp over the recent past will drop substantially the farther back I go, chronologically, it would be wise to begin with the most recent items.

The setting: I’m alone (in a double room, which has the distinct odor of old socks, or it just might be my own feet…) in a hotel in Toledo, Ohio. It’s about 11 PM EST (that’s UTC -5), and I need to wake up by 6 to get going on my way to a place I will call home for the next 4 years. I’m traveling by road, with my cousin’s entire family, consisting of herself, her husband, and their 2 daughters (i.e. my nieces – who are 5 and 8 years old, respectively). Been on the road for about 7 hours now, with the monotony of the motorway broken only by Daft Punk on Sennheisers and Tom & Jerry episodes on the in-car entertainment system.

But that’s just a minor sit rep. There’s obviously a lot more changes where that came from. The fact that I’m no longer a citizen of the soil beneath my feet is one. The fact that this post is being typed out on a piece of aluminum with some silicon inside it is another. I haven’t texted anybody in over 2 weeks, and my thumbs are thanking me profusely for the sabbatical.

On a deeper note, there have been some other changes – the loss of immediate proximity to close family and companions being one. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a social guy – I like to make friends wherever I go, and that, yes, I will be making loads (apart from the ones I’ve already made) at CMU. But not being able to be in as close touch with of my closest friends is going to be a bit of an issue till I get my hands on a decent prepaid plan for my Nokia and a Vonage line. Facebook, Skype etc are alternatives. Oh well, at least I can still receive texts on my Airtel number at no expense. Though only a handful of friends bother to text me anymore…..

Family? Yeah, I miss my parents, but not in the way you’d imagine. First and foremost, there are no heart-rending moments of homesickness. Neither are their breakdowns over the phone. There aren’t even any “I miss you“s in the conversation. But they realize that I’m missing when, say, for example, the set top box for the satellite TV decided to commit suicide. And I miss Mom’s nagging – the fact that she wasn’t around to prevent me from re-entering my cousin’s house to pick up my guitar (which I’d forgotten, and remembered about only once we set off) struck me as odd. (The logic behind  being nonexistent – it’s all superstition) I’m used to a world where restrictions are placed on me, which I proceed to wriggle out of. The lack of that white noise is oddly disconcerting.

Moving on, thought I’d make a few choice observations about my new habitat (hint: it’s the place that required me to board a 15-hour flight to get to)

• All the power outlets just look like D: (that’s a frownie rotated 90 degrees clockwise)
• The weather seems to be good (but then, this is between seasons, so to speak – things will get frigid soon)
• The people seem nice and friendly (at least on the surface – oh, and no, I have not been subject to racial prejudice – yet)
• There are way too many ugly-ass (and I really do mean that literally - but that’s just my opinion, not a fact) Chrysler PT Cruisers in this country
• Pedestrians have first right-of-way (a shocking revelation, if you’ve lived in India all your life, where you are an insignificant peace of undead roadkill)
• Phones are cheaper, once you get onto a soul-sucking 2 year contract with a service provider
• There’s on-demand pornography on cable TV (not that I billed my cousin for any)
• Walking about in your birthday suit in a YMCA locker room is perfectly acceptable
• Food here can be extremely fattening if you don’t watch what you eat
• Going down the initial drop of the Raging Bull at Six Flag, Great America, in the front row of the coaster, with my arms in the air, was one of the more exhilarating experiences of my life
• I need to end this list right now…

Due to a severe lack of free time, thanks to prepping for an inter-continental shift, jetlag, settling down, me babysitting my nieces, semi-unpacking and re-packing, visits to the local YMCA and more, the posts-per-week ratio has dropped drastically over the past few weeks, as has the overall integrity of the post structure and coherence of information relayed. Bear with me during these times of turbulence. Things aren’t going to get any better over orientation week at college.

Unfortunately, the photo doesn't really do the place justice...