12...

A weekend and the teens are over!

12 days to go. Shopping's started - picked up a pretty decent all-purpose cam case that can take the 'corder as well as the cam. A trekking torch acquired, and the good 'ol woodlands dug out.


Man these woodlands are tough. I got 'em after my class X exams and they've been all over... Cal, Goa, Maharashtra, Himachal, Dubai, and Uttaranchal. Thirteen years and still going strong... not a single repair or even lace-change needed. They've been drowned in Mumbai monsoons, filled with Goan sand, baked in Dubai desert, ski'ed over Himachali snow, tramped the Himalayan and Sahyadri trails, done it all.
The Final Destination in trekking is about the only thing still left...

16...

When you're waiting for something, everything related seems to become more visible. F'rinstance, I am currently surrounded by people going to, coming from, or expressing a desire to visit.
Saw some of the already-visited's albums. Some awesome pics and some awesome camera angles... which reminds me, all my cams are the recharge kinds. Which means that unless I recharge every day, I will be running out of snap opportunities. An AA-batt cam is ideal for these kinda treks; you may pay a bit more and lug some more weight, but there's peace of mind. And photos galore.
Batts also drain in cold weather faster; so I ought to carry 2 cams. 1 spare, worn as deep inside clothing as is possible.
Movies also drain battery; so a camcorder for dedicated movies.
Which means a camcorder bag. The half-ripped nylon waist pouch won't cut it.
And a bunch of ziplocks for the dew / condensation / sleet / snow.
And a moisture-absorbent pack.
And multiple chargers.
And a spike guard to charge the same in hotel rooms with a single point.

And a pack mule to carry it all.

Why can't you get dynamo-input 220V AC output conversion kits that can be powered up by a hand crank? Or a solar-powered one?

Anyone reading this - if you live in Bombay, and have a 10-megapixel, good working condition, AA-battery powered digital camera, and are okay with lending it to me for a month, get in touch instantly!

17...

and one more thing to worry about...

18...

Researched AMS with the favorite weapon in the armory, MS Excel. Realized I'm going to be guaranteed to get it not once but thrice.


Now looking for Diamox.

19...

It's in the teens!
19 days to go and I'm already having difficulty concentrating on everything.

Started drawing up the checklist - 78 items so far and the list is growing. Have no fuckin idea how I'm going to lug that around at 16000 feet.

25 days to go

It's unbelievable how time flies. when I started the counter, it read 144.
Now... 119 days have just vanished. Four months of waiting. Over.

Now, it feels like a countdown. Every day that passes.
On track and on my way.

More Monsoon Madness

Have you ever felt like putting on your shorts, taking your umbrella and a bucket of water, and going out into the pouring rain to wash your car?

Yeah, me too. I can barely stop myself, every time.

parel reservoir

hah! Bet you didn't know there even was one.

I didn't either, until I looked out of the window from the pantry earlier... HR has issued instructions that owing to the expensiveness of the carpets, potentially drip-able coffee cups are not allowed to be taken into the cubicle area.

Actually dripping employees walking in are not subject to the same restrictions, unfortunately.

Anyway, here it is, in glorious cinemascopic panavision 3-d whateveryoucallit.

A Monsoon Blogging

They've started, and baby, they have started wee-ith ishtyle! This will be the first of a series of Rains in the City posts... Bombay becomes a world apart in wet weather.

I am already keeping a change in the office and wading to work in sandals. The AC, as always, remains intractable; here's how it would behave in summer. What it does when the temperature drops, and people are damp or wet and already sniffling... your guess, as good as mine.



Floods, storms, and awesome landscapes and images I never get elsewhere. Life is good and getting better.