david mctavish

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greeting cards
2007-10-07 23:05:00
I know it's a good sign when Van's finally interested in shopping for items that extend beyond diapers and tissues. So, on Saturday, we were on a mission to find greeting cards. Now, not just any greeting cards, but hand-made specialty cards. If you know Chennai, there are streets dedicated to selling one particular item. There's a street for buying rubber tires, another for eye glasses, and yet another for, you guessed it, greeting cards. After some mangled english translations and much hand-gesturing, we found an entire alleyway full of cards to satisfy anyone's demands. So, if you're getting married or perhaps having a baby in the foreseeable future, I'm sure Van's got something nice in store for you.
More About: Cards , Greeting Cards , Greeting

very copa cabana
2007-10-07 23:01:00
Van and I were exploring our local neighbourhood and came across essentially an abandoned amusement park/hotel. The weathering of the buildings provided an amazing backdrop, and even the locals use the place as a family picnic site. It's interesting to see so many people living in the city without so much as a tarp over their heads, and here's a gold mine of housing completely empty.
More About: Copa , Abana

how can you say no?
2007-10-06 22:51:00
I'm not sure if this is the poster-boy for UNICEF, but I couldn't resist his plea to have his photo snapped. I find it quite invigorating that people here are more than happy, in fact, line up to have their photos taken all in exchange for a simple glimpse. The alleyways quickly swell with children with their parents-in-tow, all lining up to have their photos taken as if it were Christmas. The best is when a father will drag his too-old-for-this-son to get snapped, and then the shimmer of pride in his eye as he sees the photo and is certainly thinking "that's my boy". Which reminds me, more photos of Zen in the works!

rock is dead
2007-10-06 07:06:00
long live paper and scissors. While we try not to focus on the things from home that we miss (in an effort to guard our sanity), we had a moment of weakness and both relished the days of being able to turn on the radio and listen to some familiar music. While the local fare is interesting, I won't suspect that it will be moving up the charts back home anytime soon.
More About: Rock , Dead

welcone
2007-10-05 20:31:00
I'm not sure why this reminds me of the hotel orientation video in Fight Club where all of the staff cheers "Welcome". I imagine the person who created this spent a good four hours and I didn't have the heart to ask how well their cones really were. I'm not sure how dilligent the florist shops are back home, but I'm pretty sure they don't create a new sign weaved from flowers every week.

sleepy time
2007-10-05 09:49:00
I find one of the most difficult things is to force myself to put zen back into his crib after he's spent a good five minutes burrowing his face into your chest to find the most comfortable sleeping position. I suppose mom's got a point that in two years time we really don't want him plopping down in the middle of the bed with us; but she doesn't know that I sneak him out of the crib at 4am while she's still sleeping. :)
More About: Time

satisfaction
2007-10-04 22:48:00
So I hear from the grapevine there is a lot of rumbling about not posting enough photos of zen. So, by popular demand; I present the wee lil stinker himself. Green bean's recently been switching over to a tofu-based formula which will hopefully help with that triplicate chin issue. He's definitely been the wee lil piggie having roast beef; I don't even try to get between him and his dinner anymore: he's got a mean left hook. Oh, I was supposed to inform you that there are new videos posted.
More About: Satisfaction

a new definition of fresh obsessed
2007-10-04 20:22:00
If you like your mutton fresh, do I know the place for you. There's something a little unnerving about pointing at a live goat and correllating it with supper. I guess we've been insulated from such activities by having large-chain grocery stores serve us meat in nicely vacuumed-sealed packages. Perhaps if goats weren't so domestically cute it might be easier. Now I didn't say it was impossible, and that was one tender slab of mutton. (BTW, they call goats mutton if you were thinking I was errantly referring to lamb. :)
More About: Definition , Fresh

out for a swim
2007-10-03 21:49:00
So Monday was an interesting day. Apparently, all of India comes to a halt while the government decides on calling a mandatory strike. It seems that a lot of companies take this very seriously, as there have been reports of debauchery in the past. Even my work took matters of precaution by claiming it as a national holiday. We were suitably warned to stock up and stay home for the day, which we were more than happy to accommodate by spending a day at the beach and swimming in the pool. Now, I have to admit, I'm not responsible for the shot, but isn't he adorable?
More About: Swim

objects in mirror are closer than they appear
2007-10-02 21:40:00
So our new rental car finally arrived; and today was officially the first night parked in the drive-way. It's nice having the luxury to be able to go where you want, when you want. And the timing couldn't have been better seeming as we once again without power for over 24 hours. We decided that the subconscious confines of being at home were enough to drive us onto the insane roads of India. With me at the wheel, we headed into the unknown; with the back-seat driver providing some timely reminders of how cars drive on the left-side of the road; and some not-so-timely reminders of "look out". Sure enough, first day out, and I took off the passenger-side mirror overtaking a bus. If you've been to India, you'll know that the roads are fairly tight, and the traffic likes to stop on a whim; so defensive driving is taken to a whole new level. I'm just glad the mirror was all we lost. Fortunately, we have a driver that comes with the car on Tuesday; I believe I'll be leaving the rest...
More About: Mirror , Objects , Closer

howdy
2007-10-01 21:20:00
I find I get one of two possible reactions from people when they see me walking around with my camera: either the nasty sneer or the come-hither and take our snaps. Occassionally there is the third reaction of the person being overtly shy, but a well-timed smile generally moves them back into one of the two categories. When I first saw this group of old foggies, I was fully expecting the "get off of my yard" treatment. Fortunately, they seemed to be captivated by the camera and wanted several photos taken of each. By the end of it, I thought I'd run into a bunch of divas, they spent a good twenty minutes looking at their snaps and claiming 'superb'. Probably the highlight of both of our days.

zen
2007-09-30 21:20:00
Saturday mornings have been designated "dad's time to satisfy his photo bug", where I take an auto-rickshaw into random places in Chennai. I'm sure the rickshaw driver loves me by now, it's a guaranteed 3 hours of driving all around with zero destination. So far, I've been finding some incredibly interesting locations. As part of my daily routine, I always sneak a photo of zen so that I can look at him on the camera view-finder while I'm out and about. I'm pretty sure he doesn't even miss me while I'm gone, but I know I steal a good three or four glimpses of him while traipsing about Chennai.

fragrance
2007-09-30 02:11:00
To contrast yesterdays' post, we were quite pleased to find a little oasis of florists; who were all too pleased to have their photos snapped. The scent of fresh jasmine filled the narrow walkways; and somehow, the eerie glow of the sun beating through the over-hanging tarp provided just the right ambiance.
More About: Fragrance

lost and found
2007-09-29 02:25:00
It seems that with the commotion and complete insanity of traffic here, losing your shoes is a common occurance. From what I gather, the courteous thing to do is post it along the street. I wonder if these shoes somehow make their way to the same place in the sky as their lost-mitten and single-sock brethren?
More About: Lost , Lost and Found

closing time
2007-09-29 02:11:00
I'll hazaard a guess that the aroma of fish baking throughout the day is somewhat responsible for the mass exodus of the farmers' market at closing time. While I'm sure that everyone has their own incentive to be heading home; there's that certain je ne sais quoi about lingering around such a fresh aroma for an extended period of time. Now, what I was shocked about was not having to weigh the cost/benefits of any lucrative last-minute bargains. Do I really want this half-baked fish for 20 rupees? Probably for the best, I'm sure the inner cheapskate would've won out.
More About: Time

thank you for smoking
2007-09-28 05:51:00
it would seem that India missed the memo on the public outcry against smoking. Still, I'm sure she's sucking that ciggie back and thinking; damn that's good... We've got our first appointment with the "baby doctor" today. I've been nominated for the task of holding the poor sucker as he gets shivved with his regularly scheduled vaccination. Nothing like scarring him for life early on; fortunately, he's a tough lil' bugger.
More About: Smoking , Hank

moove over
2007-09-27 05:51:00
I'm not sure if we were temporarily transported to Pamplona, but there was certainly the sense of a good cow race in the air. Ole Betsey here was taking up the rear, but the fancy-shmancy stroller would prove no match over the long haul.

relief
2007-09-26 05:51:00
Some days the heat can really creep up on you and the back of your brain craves relief by sitting back and enjoying a cold one. I'm sure this guy would have gladly traded his water bottle for an ice-cold Heiney. Now here's where he and I can commiserate: the 12 USD asking price. At that price, he's not the only one that can use his imagination and turn water into beer. Shuffle on down, let the drinking begin.
More About: Relief

car troubles?
2007-09-24 20:58:00
some times you can't win for trying. What was meant to be a full-day excursion quickly turned into a comical display of what can go wrong next. Our drivers' short-cut turned into a four hour harikari drive at 100km/h with no seatbelts along the back roads of India's interior (all this despite the fact that we were only 100km away from our intended destination). For our troubles, we were rewarded with this road-side pit-stop for directions and the mandatory cool down period. And who said they don't make 'em like they used to.

haven't you always wanted a monkey?
2007-09-24 08:51:00
What's cooler than having a pet monkey? That's what I thought. Admit it, you're jealous too.
More About: Monkey , Wanted , Haven , Always

waiting for change
2007-09-23 08:51:00
One of the most difficult things about India is accepting the fact that you can't help everyone. The level of poverty is intense and the flood of good intentions will quickly overwhelm you. Sometimes, the help you provide isn't the help they search for, but you can only hope that they will grow to appreciate the lesson.
More About: Change , Waiting , Chang , Chan , Wait

watch your step
2007-09-22 11:54:00
Another location in the Mohabs area; these steps lead up to a lighthouse that is over 500 years old. The amazing part about it is when you walk around the base you realize they carved the entire mountain to appear as an elephant carrying the lighthouse.
More About: Watch , Step

Mohabs
2007-09-22 11:50:00
Mohabalipuram, or better known as Mohabs to the locals, is the first authentic tourist attraction we've been able to venture out to. And being a UNESCO World Heritage Site, we had high hopes which were not disappointed. The craftsmanship is absolutely awe-inspiring when you realize that these people spent 200 years carving ONE big rock into all of this. (You'd also hate to be the guy who accidentally chiseled off the elephant ear after 150 years of development :)

displaced
2007-09-22 11:39:00
Three years ago, nobody in India even knew the word tsunami. Today, this temporary refugee camp is still fully inhabited. With tarps and thatching for homes, these people make their lives the only way they know how. It certainly illuminates the difficulties you witness on TV when you can see the faces that were affected.

resilience
2007-09-22 10:41:00
Our first day in Akkarai introduced us to a lifeline: Christine at the Ayur Grammam massage spa. After seeing my camera slung over my shoulder she gasped and knew right away who I had to take a picture of. Within minutes we were all on a rickshaw to her place to visit her housekeepers' mother. Christine told her that a photographer had arrived to take pictures of her for her wedding day, and they dressed her up in her finest saree as she beamed with pride. I like this picture because it shows the grace that she exhibited in such a fragile state.
More About: Resilience

field trip
2007-09-22 00:23:00
Our trip to Mohabs was fairly short, it was the first time we tried to venture out while trusting Zen at home. As one would expect, we worried about him the entire time we were out; only to find that he was quite fine when we arrived back home. As we arrived at the main site in Mohabs we came across a convoy of school buses full of students on an outing. The entire bus was watching us diligently; however, these were the first two to beam out a smile. Once the camera came out, there was a lot of smiling and waving to greet us.
More About: Trip , Field