To the Most Beautiful Woman in the World

From the luckiest man in the world…

Thank you for making everyday extraordinary.
Thank you for making me laugh everyday.
Thank you for coming to India with me and supporting me in my dreams and sharing my passions with me.
Thank you for supporting me through years of unemployment as I pursue my dreams.
Thank you for your passion and compassion for others.
Thank you for loving me no matter what.
Thank you for dreaming with me and imagining the life that we want to create.
Thank you for the hard work and efforts of our wedding and for learning our vows in Sanskrit and making our wedding so very special and unique – a day I think of often and fondly.
Thank you for giving me something to wake up for every morning and for making everyday an adventure.
Thank you for showing me that philo-sophy is not just the love of wisdom but also the wisdom of love.
Thank you for two years of sheer joy and the promise of many exciting years to come.
Thank you for keeping me in a blessed state of 'started dismay' J
You are my sacchidananda… my being, my life, and my bliss.
I love you more than words could possibly express.

यदिदं हिदयं तव तदिदं हृदयं मम ।

Happy Anniversary,
Huckleberry

Strange Reactions

This week, I received a package from home. My mother just finished reading Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides and felt that I would like it, as we have very similar tastes in literature. After a few mishaps of delivery, the book arrived on Saturday. I opened the book and began to flip through it, like we all do when standing in a bookstore. I flipped to the last page and saw a few words my mother had looked up while reading the book. After a year of not seeing my mother, the mere sight of her handwriting, for the first time in a year, brought tears to my eyes.

It's strange, the things that remind me of home. We had a party over the weekend to celebrate our niece's marriage in the US. (Go Chelsea & Shawn!!!!!) While preparing, I found myself thinking that I was preparing for a Thanksgiving feast at our house in New Jersey. I had to remind myself, actively remind myself, that I was not in the US, but instead in India. It was such a bizarre sensation. It was more than a mental game I played on myself. I physically felt that I was back home. I don't know how else to explain it except to say that it was one of the most powerful moments in my life. And all I was doing was sautéing garlic!!

With my one year anniversary of being in India looming, it's difficult to ignore all that I've missed back home. It's not just the large events that have taken place, but the minutia of life. The dinners that my brother has with my parents every Sunday. The lazy afternoons that Brad's family spends around the pool. Shakespeare in the Park with friends in NYC. All the little things.

I wonder, when we're back home, what things here I'll miss. That, for me, is one of the most exciting things about coming back home. Something that I am anticipating. What memories will be evoked back home? Will I be more forgiving of the things that drive me insane here once I have the perspective of distance? What are the things that will strike me when I'm driving on a back road somewhere?

More than anything, though, I would just love to see more of my mom's handwriting.

Rising Out of the Dark

Well, I guess it's my turn to beg our audiences' forgiveness. I know that so many of you have been checking this on a regular basis to discover what is new in the world of Bangalore, and we have been remarkably lax in the updating process. It is extraordinary how busy we become in life, quickly neglecting that which we thought we held dear.

As Brad mentioned in his post, life is terribly busy right now, for both of us. In April, I applied for and was accepted to do a Masters of Medical Physics at GA Tech. It is a distance learning program, which will enable me to study here for the next year, before we move home. It also opens all options to us in regards to moving home, as we won't be limited to finding a place that suits both our academic interests. It takes the pressure off. My classes begin on August 20th and while I thought I was only going to take two classes a semester, it looks like I'll be taking 5 instead. Quite a load! We have on deck: Radiation Physics, Nuclear Medicine Physics, Radiation Biology & Oncology, and Special Topics in Imaging. Then, as a co-requisite, I must enroll in an anatomy & physiology class. I've already begun one, also in a distance learning format, through The College of St. Scholastica.

In addition to that, I've spent the past two months working at a local NGO, called Belaku Trust. While there are many different aspects of the work they do, I am currently involved with the income generation units. There are two units, one that does paper making, the other block printing. (If anyone is looking for custom made paper products or custom designed block printed items, you now know where to go!!) It's really inspiring work that keeps me out of the house for 12 hours a day, running around the city or to the villages of Kannakapura, 50KM south of Bangalore. The women are wonderful and have fantastic spunk. I don't know how it will work out to continue to work with Belaku while I study, but I'm hoping to do it all!

In addition to that, we're jumping with anticipation. In the next month and a half, we have two separate visits taking place. First, in the beginning of September, our good friends Josh & Megan will be arriving for a few days. If you haven't checked out their blog, you should! For the past 4 months, they have been backpacking through SE Asia and they are wrapping up their trip with a visit to us! (Okay, actually their last spot is the Maldives for scuba diving, but we're second to last! Wait, that makes us sound like chumps...) We are VERY excited to see them and have them exist in our space for a little while. A few weeks after they leave, my roommate from NYC is coming to visit! Kathrin has been diligently sending me lists of all the places she'd like to see in her 10 days here. Now, Kathrin is a bit of a picture whore (I'm sorry for the harsh language, but it's true!) so I know there will be tons of pics to upload for all to see.

As far as the year beyond that, we don't know what will happen yet! But if I am a good person, I will keep you updated.

Finally, an update!

First, I want to apologize for not updating this blog. The good side of it is that both Elizabeth and I are very busy these days. The downside of it is… Elizabeth and I are very busy these days.

This is turning out to be one of my busiest semesters ever. I would say it is the busiest, but I think my last semester at Drew will hold that title for a while. In addition to a heavier class load than last year, I am also preparing to take the GRE (Graduate Record Exam). It sucks. It is the biggest waste of time, in both my opinion and Elizabeth's. There are so many other things I could be reading, writing and working on, but instead I am trying to memorize the definitions of countless obscure vocabulary and trying to learn how to do geometry quickly and correctly. Unfortunately, my scores on the GRE are the biggest obstacle facing me with regard to getting into PhD programs. Since I know some of you have taken the GRE, I would greatly appreciate any tips you might have – especially where to find practice tests that don't cost a fortune. (Kaplan charges $1,499 for access to their online tests – I'm neither desperate enough nor wealthy enough to pay that!)

Some exciting news… During my summer vacation, I wrote a book. It is not exactly a best-seller or an Oprah book club selection, but at least it is somewhat of an accomplishment. The title is The Quest for Postmodern Ethics: A Phenomenological Comparison of Martin Heidegger and Sri Aurobindo Ghose. I don't have a publisher yet, although Dharmaram publications (the press at my university) has indicated that they would like to publish it. I hope to shop it around to some US publishers, also. Any suggestions?

I've come to realize that the book needs a lot of work. A number of family and friends have tried to read it, but so far none of them has made it through. The first few chapters, I'm afraid, will have to be re-written. I don't know when I will find the time to do that, but I think that if I can finish it before I send out PhD applications, it may improve my chances there. I've also had two articles published – one on Raimon Panikkar and ecological implications of the Trinity. That one was published last month in the Journal of Dharma. A second one, also in the Journal of Dharma, is being reviewed by the editor and is likely to be published next month. The topic of that one is terrorism and global responsibility.

Elizabeth is doing lots of exciting things, though I will let her update you on that.

We'll both try to be better about updating the blog. If you read it, please let us know that you were here – that will encourage us to be more diligent about updating.

Namaste,

Brad