"More bread, please"

Good news! My cold and sore throat are getting better. I'm excited. It's the little things that I have decided to focus on and start ignoring the things that drive me crazy. Or at least try too. I'll share some more stories about that later in this article. But now for some fun stuff. Oh, before I do that, my last couple of blogs have been a little on the negative side, sorry. It's been a little miserable the last couple of weeks and I'm sure I will have my moments later on, but I'm going to try to be a little more positive. First; because I believe that I'm here because God wants me here. Second; because I don't like to be negative. Onward.

I decided to just laying low this last Saturday; try to get over my sore throat. But after being cooped up my little room I started to go a crazy. It was actually a really nice day outside. The sun was out with high clouds, the smog/haze was thinning out, and there was a nice light breeze blowing. Nothing like the NW, but the nicest I've seen so far. Of course people were freezing! Cracks me up! Scares me too, cause in the summer I'm going to fry like a slice of bacon. Anyway, nice day, so I decided to cracked open my bike box and reassemble my bike so I could go for a ride. It took about an hour to put everything together. Surprise, surprise; nothing was bent or broken! Made me very happy. So anyway, got it all together, took it downstairs in the elevator, and went outside. The elevator dumps you off right in the lobby and I was a little afraid that the hotel might have some objections to me dragging my bike around in their 5 star hotel (seriously, 5 stars! I stay in style). Just the opposite! I could barely get out the door. I was mobbed! I felt like a rock star. So, once I fought everyone off and got out the door, I peddled around for a bit and then came back. Everyone was waiting for me when I came back! I rolled up to the door midst the crowd and flashbulbs going off. It was awesome! I later found out that I was the first guest to bring a bike into the hotel. Not sure why more people don't. Just makes sense to have a bike over here. Out on the road, I am able to keep up with the majority of cars and actually pass the tuc-tucs. I'm glad I didn't plan on buying a bike over here. So far I haven't seen anything but older, single-speeds. They are OK for in town, but not what I want or need. My bike is light years ahead of everything in sight. Might be a market for good bikes over here.

Had class on Sunday. Wasn't sure if the schedule was wrong or not. Nobody does much on Sunday. When I got to the ops building and nobody was there, I became a little worried. But someone showed up and we had our little safety equipment class with a few of the flight attendants. About 12:45 we took a lunch break and were told to come back at 2pm. OK, I'd rather come back earlier, but OK. At 2pm we spun back up and went for a total of :15 min, which is when our instructor said; “OK, Captains, you can go now. You guys are done now!” You've got to be kidding me! I almost started laughing at that point! Oh, these guys kill me! So I went back to the hotel, switched rooms, and then went for a bike ride.

My new room is just like the last one, except that it's on the 4^th floor and in the middle of the hotel. It's quieter and that's nice. I get a new view too. Last night there were fireworks going off from about 9 to 11pm. If I had stayed in my old room I could've had a great view of the show. Oh, well, this will be better in the long run.

Not sure what I'm doing in class this week. More of something valuable I guess. I do know that one day is spent in the pool. Or rather, about 30 seconds is in the pool practicing our swimming with life-jackets on and then the rest of the day we do nothing. That's efficient. Oh well, more time to bike ride!

The tea is really good over here.

So last time I told you that my voice left. Well, it came back. Wasn't gone long, so that was a relief. I figure that I needed to bump my water intake up a bit, like double, and that's been well received by everyone involved. I'm changing my diet over here too. At first I thought that I'd never be able to give up the craving for a big, juicy hamburger or a nice thick, cut steak. But I'm starting to think that I am wrong. Actually, I don't crave any meat at all. Funny, cause back home I was a carnivore. The food here is so good and most of it's vegetarian. They just say “veg” or “non-veg”. You need to learn the lingo. Every once in awhile, I'll have a small piece of chicken, but that's it. In the long run, I think that I will just go “veg” completely. Even when I come back to the States. It's healthier in the long run. The breakfast in the hotel is a buffet and it's wonderful. They always have different foods out, but always fresh, sliced fruit. Mango, pineapple, watermelon, some other kind of melon, and various things that we have back home. It's nice. I'm in love with the mango! Mmmmmm! The dinners are great too. I have decided to try everything local that's on the menu. They have local (Indian) and then “traditional” items. The local food is just fantastic. Most of the time it comes with rice or this yummy flat bread. Can't think of the name right now. They make about 4 different types of bread. It's always hot and fresh when I get it! It pays to be nice to the hotel staff. They treat me so much better than anyone else. I pester them about food, the local stuff and playing cricket. They seem to like it.

It's about 7am, couldn't sleep last night, so I'm writing and drinking delicious tea. About time to go get ready and pester the hotel staff some more.

I write a lot and I enjoy it, but I would love it if you guys would just write what's going on over there. You don't have to write a lot, but it's nice just to hear from you. It's very encouraging when I get something in my email box that I can save. Just mundane stuff for you is exciting for me. Just a thought. Thanks for the prayers and well wishes.

I love you all, Darin