no such thing as "just another day"!

At two in the afternoon I don't know if there are any more excitements for this second day of Eid but certainly enough has happened already that it's time to get it down in the blog before I forget it. So I sit here with my mundu up around my knees allowing the breezed from ceiling fans to waft around and cool down somewhat while I type.

7.30am Raju promptly picked me up so that I could have my blood and urine samples taken and analysed for my local health insurance. We drove first to the EI (Endocrine and Immunology) Laboratory where, having handed over the princely sum of 25 rupees, blood was duly taken (and done very well I might add) and urine bottled. We were to return at 11.30am for the results! We then visited the Ashkaya hospital to confirm arrangements for the ECG and were advised to return at about 10.00am.

Raju dropped me back to the apartment, with plans to pick me up again at 10 and I took the opportunity to begin my photo diary with pictures of the apartment and its surrounds. As well as the shot here of the entrance to the complex, I've also got a whole bunch of photos on my Facebook website at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=5471&l=8e601&id=580793535 I also managed a load of washing which has been hung up in the laundry and should be dry by the end of the day, given the temperature (if the humidity doesn't keep the clothes moist).

Good news from the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) that our application for GMAT Using School status has been approved and so we'll be able to advise the applicants accordingly as part of the prospectus process. It was also a reminder to our colleagues at MCI that we're on the case and serious about our approach to the student recruitment and selection process. Cleaned up some more emails and so was ready for Raju to take me on the next stage.

We drove over to the hospital, were ushered into the doctor who was told about our requirements and then sent for the ECG on the next floor up, via the cashier, where 60 rupees changed hands. I'm not saying the equipment was antiquated, but I used the same model of ECG machine (with the six leads and the squeezy suction cups) when I was working in Ward 30 at Rydalmere hospital in the early 1970s! Still the measures were duly recorded and we were off to pick up a sari for Freeda to wear to her friend's wedding on Monday, then pick up the EI results (normal for both! yay!) to take back to the hospital.

I had underestimated our doctor friend on the first visit. When he went through the results of the ECG he asked "Do you take medication for high blood pressure?". Yes says I and yes, I thought so says he, the results show signs of elevated blood pressure (not bad, eh!?). Turns out there were a bunch of other blood tests we needed to have done (Full Blood Count, fasting cholesterol, and so on) and he wouldn't sign off until these were done, so we were back to the EI labs again (fortunately, I hadn't eaten in the interim so we could still do the tests on a fasting basis). This time, we had to pay out 360 rupees for the range of tests to be carried out (for a total of 445 rupees in diagnostic tests for the day; those of you familiar with the current $-INR exchange rate will have already worked out that the cost is $12.50).

My new sandals, purchased with Ajith last Saturday evening (these were relatively expensive at the equivalent of about $30) had come apart at the seams and so we needed to drop back into the Bata store where they were exchanged (I had to write a note to say I had mis-placed the bill, but it was otherwise a straightforward and unargued exchange).

Now the fun part - as it is Eid and a public holiday and, it seems, all the usual restaurants are operated by Muslim families, they were all closed! I'd been hanging out for a meal by this stage and wondered what would become of me. Raju to the rescue and we arrived at a local hotel with a vegetarian restaurant, where I've had dosa with Jay and Ajith before. We eschewed the buffet and went for the banana leaf special. Kerry and I used to talk about the way in which our son Luke would get up close and personal with his food (ie get his hands into it) and now I was doing the same. Lots of red rice and a variety of veg sauces and condiments (along with the obligatory papadums) and I've been done for breakfast, lunch and tea! A delightful meal and no washing up!

I had wondered as I was coming in the apartment door whether I had started a trend with song titles as the label for my posts but I think that, after these experiences, there is no such thing as "just another day" in India.