A Ho-Hum Sort of Day!

Tuesday, May 21, 2019
Bombay

A Ho-Hum Sort of Day!

     Namaste from Bombay!
     Summer days see me arise later from bed. It was 6.30 am today. Not that I am too elated about this as it means I can get much less done with my ultra-sharp Morning Brain. Such a waste!
     Still, I began blogging as usual, checked out my Twitter feed and my email and without wasting too much time actually decided to get to the Gym today--after absolutely ages! I had a quick breakfast of chapattis with spreads and coffee (yes, chapatis as I am trying to finish my stock before I have to leave on my travels again) and I donned my sneakers and was off. I was at the gym from 9.30 till 10.30pm and got back home for a very refreshing shower.
     Then, it was work and more work as I began transcribing interviews in a determined effort to finish all of them before I leave--this is the backlog that still haunts me following the loss of my computer documents. I did one of them, then stopped for lunch (elbow pasta with mince and mixed veg and a bit of delicious Waldorf Salad and fresh mango for dessert). I swear--these Alphonso mangoes are making the sweltering heat of the summer month of May so very bearable in Bombay. They are succulent and sweet and super-flavorful. I am enjoying them after absolutely ages.
     Then, I sat down to transcribe a second interview (my goal was three) but I had other things to do such as putting the finishing touches on to our itinerary, calling Hinduja Hospital in Khar to make arrangements for Russel's hospitalization soon after my return from South America, email correspondence with my friends in London whom I shall be seeing on my brief day's layover in the city on my return (I have been invited for lunch by my friends in Chelsea and shall be seeing my friend Roz for a late-ish Tea on the King's Road before I hot-foot it back to Heathrow!), plus Heathrow Express train tickets to book--round-trip (from Heathrow to Paddington and from Paddington back to Heathrow). I pray God that the weather will co-operate on that one precious day I have in London. My friends finalized timing arrangements with me and I was all set.
     I then put together the last bits of our itinerary and chatted with Llew about what we need to pack for the weather and for the skinny weight allowance on his international flights (I swear American Airlines is the pits--he is being asked to pay for anything other than a 10 kg carry-on bag--even for international flights). I manage to do quite a bit of packing myself as I hauled out my suitcases and decided what to take, weighed things and then decided to leave the lot behind and just take my small stroller. I shall deal with excess baggage on my return to the USA through the excess baggage allowance to which I am entitled through Fulbright. I also did some reading and some research using Lonely Planet on the highlights of Buenos Aires that Llew and I will cover before my conference begins and I am tied up with it. It seems very exciting indeed and we are looking forward to a really good time.
     It was time for a pot of tea and a snack of nuts and then I got dressed and went off to church.  I spent some time with Russel, as usual, before we left for Mass. Right after church, I got home and organized my dinner--a repeat of the afternoon. I channel-surfed a bit and found a Morse mystery that I thought would be very interesting to watch again as I can never remember who dun them! But then I was falling asleep within about fifteen minute of getting into the plot. It was time to bring the curtain down on yet another day.
      Tomorrow, shall be one more day at the library for me before I put an end to my work and focus on leaving.
     Until tomorrow...