Sunday was Made for Chillin'

Sunday, September 23, 2018
Bombay

Sunday was Made for Chillin':

     Namaste from Bombay!

     I am always grateful to the Lord that He rested on the seventh day! Today, all of us did so too!

     However, my day began early as usual--darn body clock! I awoke at 5. 30 am and got a bit of blogging done before I realized I had to rise and shine and get to church for the 8.00 am Mass. I washed and made my bed and got dressed and was out like a shot at 7.40 am as I was meeting Dad at the end of his building's driveway at 7.45am. He arrived on cue and off we went.

Sunday Mass Starts Day Off Right:
     I have always preferred to go to Mass on a Sunday as that makes me feel as if I have kept the day of obligation. As someone who goes to daily Mass, it makes no sense to me to go to the Saturday evening mass and not go on Sunday.  That said, since I arrived here in Bombay, I have been accompanying Dad to the 7.00pm Mass on Saturday evenings as that was his routine. So I was quite happy to leave early in the morning for the 8.00 am Mass as that is the one that Llew and I attend at our own church in Southport, Connecticut.
     I do not enjoy the Masses here in Bombay.  In general, I find them boring.  Added to which I am not a fan of one of the priests here who is a lousy preacher.  Why is it that the ones who cannot speak to save their souls give the longest sermons? Do they think that length will make up for quality or delivery or ability to convey a message? I try.  I Honestly do try, to give them my fullest attention. But two minutes into their monologues and they have lost me. Most of them have absolutely have no idea how to formulate a speech. As someone who speaks for a living, I often wish I could teach them a thing or two about drafting a sermon that would hold the audience's attention! Would they care to learn from laymen? Why must we be subjected to this kind of torture, Mass after Mass, day after day? If I were this kind of a speaker, you can be assured I would lose my job in a jiffy.  Why is it that just because they have no danger of losing their 'jobs', we must have this inflicted upon us????
    So my mind just wanders as this priest drones on.  I told Dad, the more I get to know this priest, the less I like him. OK, enough said.
     The best part of the Mass was interacting with friends outside church once Mass was over.  There was coffee and batata wadas--an Indian snack that consists of spiced potato balls that are batter fried. These are often sandwiched inside a soft loaf of local bread called pau to make a popular Bombay street food called wada-pau. I have never tasted one of these and decided to take one home for Russel as Dad picked one up and I did too--for us.

Breakfast with Dad and Russel:
     On the way back, as Dad disappeared to run an errand, I passed a popular local eatery called The Bagel Shop.  I decided to go in and find out prices and if they also sold cream cheese.  Then I got so tempted to buy one and decided to pick up an Everything bagel (for Rs. 56--that's about 75 cents) and some cream cheese--that was Rs. 192 for 100 gms. They have it in varied flavors and I tried Pesto Cream Cheese. I asked if he could toast my bagel--which, he said, would take 5 minutes.
     I intended to eat my bagel at my studio with hot coffee but Dad invited me to have breakfast with him and Russel and I decided to pay Russel a visit anyway to see how he was doing.  So with coffee at Dad's, we all ate our wada-paus! It was a nice breakfast and it was a nicer visit.  Russel is in great spirits and so thrilled to be back home. He is moving about the bed quite easily--he sits, turns, can swing his good leg down, etc. We ate our breakfast by his bedside so that we could all be part of the chatter.  Dad then told me to return for lunch.
     Then, I left and reached home and decided to complete my breakfast.  I made myself another cup of coffee and had half my bagel--which had become so horridly soft by this point--with cream cheese.  The pesto cream cheese was absolutely delicious! How come I have never thought of doing this--adding pesto to cream cheese???

Just Chillin':
    I spent the next couple of hours just relaxing.  I became acquainted with the channels I have on my TV and the many different programs that are available.  I also reviewed my Iceland travelogue as Llew requested me to email it to a friend in Connecticut who is planning a trip there.  I chatted with Llew and with Chriselle online and the time passed quickly.

Lunch with Dad and Russel:
     I then took to Dad's place my Tupperware containers with my food which was delivered on Friday and which I had not touched.  I also took four slices of pizza from my dinner last night with Shahnaz at Bandra Gym so that he and Russel could enjoy them. With Dad's tiffin also opened up, we had a grand buffet with Chicken Curry, Pomfret Curry, lady fingers with potatoes, snake gourd with lentils, pan rolls and chicken cutlets. For dessert, there was fresh pomegranate that Dad had painstakingly cleaned. I love it but do not ever buy it as I do not have the patience to remove each little seed!
     After visiting with Dad and Russel for another hour, I returned home to my studio for a lovey Sunday nap.

A Lazy Afternoon and Evening:
     Apart from finishing up a Powerpoint presentation that I wish to make in Hyderabad as part of my plenary address at the conference on Translation at Maulana Azad University, I did not do any work today. I have been put down in the program and I am looking forward very much to the entire experience. I do so hope I can attend, what with everything that is going on at Dad's.
     So I continued watching TV and emailing and texting friends.  I was determined that I was going to completely relax today. I stopped in the late afternoon to take a shower and then made myself a pot of tea which I ate with chocolate biscuits.
      In the background, I could hear the festivity associated with the last day of the Ganpati festival when the clay idols are immersed in the sea. There was drumming and music and also the sounds of fireworks.
     I started to think about dinner but then I realized that I had left my food and my Tupperware containers in Dad's house! This meant that I would need to hop across again for dinner!
     My friend Delyse from Connecticut and I then sat on the phone and chatted on whatsapp for about 45 minutes.  We had so much to catch up on.  It was a fabulously satisfying conversation and I felt so fortunate to have the close friends I do who enrich my life in such meaningful ways.
     Meanwhile, the India Versus Pakistan match had started in Dubai and I knew that Dad would be glued to the TV. He told me to arrive at his place at about 8.00 am which I did--good job he literally lives just five minutes walk from my place!
    Right enough, both he and Russel were watching the match. Pakistan was doing well. We stopped and finished off all our leftovers between the three of us and are now ready to receive fresh food tomorrow morning. This meal delivery service is simply the best!
    Back home, I served myself some lovely fig ice-cream and enjoyed it while watching Line of Duty which I am finding compelling.
    I switched off the light at about 10.45pm and went straight to bed.
    It was a grand Sunday--exactly as Sundays are meant to be. Tomorrow, I will need to catch up on everything that I have kept pending over the last 13 days and get back again into the swing of my work here in Bombay.
     Until tomorrow...