Whisky Lady – Speedy September
My Whisky Lady posts kept speed with lots of activities in September… including celebrating the 300th post!
The month was supposed to welcome the return of all three tasting groups… However my Jakarta trip derailed our Bombay Malt & Cigar night… oops!
“Please take pictures during our show” in Mumbai
Normally when you see a play, there are stern reminders to “Turn your phone off!”
Ignore at your peril. That annoying @$$hole who thinks he’s more important than everyone else not only leaves his phone ringer on… but even answers a call while others shoot visual daggers at the perpetrator.
And photos? Often also a strict ‘no no’ with ushers rushing to admonish stealth photographers from the audience.
However the approach at a recent musical on the life of Gandhi went against such warnings.
Instead their stance was “We welcome your taking pictures… just as a courtesy to the actors and audience, please no flash and keep your phone on silent.”
Transforming the taboo into a viral marketing campaign.
Now, while my photos may be crap, I did indeed snap a few… hence this one makes it into this week’s Sunday Snaps!
What do you think about taking photographs or videos of live performances? Artist infringement or an optimal way to advertise?
Related ‘Sunday Snaps’ posts:
3rd year + 13th Quarter – Belated update
After a bit of a hiatus, time to bring back a quarterly summary of what’s been happening.
In real life, there have been a few fairly momentus changes in the last few months. Most are ones I don’t tend to talk about. Bottom line is I had to leave India to change my visa… thankfully was successful!
There were many hopeful moments of a return to Indonesia or Malaysia or other opportunities that have finally materialized with a project in Jakarta starting later this month!
I also had my first article published on Scroll.in :
A foreign woman’s response to Mahesh Sharma: It’s got nothing to do with dressing modestly (more…)
Sunday solo salmon in Mumbai
Just after I booked my flight and stay for Jakarta, my attention turned to what needs to get done around the house before I take off for 3 weeks…
Did a little fridge digging and freezer check, discovering a frozen Atlantic salmon fillet just begging to be consumed with some assorted veggies….
My partner was on tour so it was just me, but one of the things about work travel is you learn to revel in the occasional ‘proper’ solo dinner…
So why not get into practice at home?
There you have it… found myself cooking up a storm to produce a scrumptious yet reasonably healthy Sunday dinner just for me, myself and I!
- Poached salmon with a crazy yum citrus dill reduction sauce
- Steamed cauliflower with a dash of tumeric
- Toasted roasted beans with sesame, sunflower, yellow mustard and cumin seeds
- Carrots with cumin and dill
- Potatoes sautéed with onions a special home-made olive oil my partner picked up in Beirut, cracked black pepper and seasalt
What a pleasure… a good proper home cooked meal, at our own table, with a little music in the background. Yup… think I have my ‘home fix’ and easing beautifully into solo meals!
Related posts:
Watch out Jakarta!!
I’m coming back!!! To say that I missed being in Jakarta is putting it rather mildly…
After a nearly two year hiatus, I finally have another project back in Indonesia. (insert image of mad happy dancing)
Can’t wait to be re-united with the guys and dig into the work!
No wasting time apartment hunting – chose a serviced apartment walking (hopefully not stumbling!) distance from the project office in Kuningan. Almost booked at my last Jakarta ‘stay-cation‘ spot, however bagged a slightly better deal nearby.
Where I’m not staying this trip…
I also can’t wait to see a couple crazy friends… earlier trips resulted in an ad voice over (“Can you drop the Indian accent!“), overnight drive just for 1am dinner at a hill station, joined family time in Bandung and a slightly random road trip in Java.
I expect there will be an art amble, some Friday night fun with gal pals, malls can’t be avoided so will use these forays to stock up on a years supply of tolak angan!
And the food – OMG!! There will be feasting fit into all the focused work…
Related posts:
Holiday headaches – competing cacophony
You must be kidding!? There is yet another religious celebration to be fetted at full volume!
This time it happens to be Ganapathi and the clanking of bells, thrum of drums hasn’t relented for hours. And soon it will be joined by the Bandra Fair celebrations (aka Mount Mary feast) with folks walking down our lane with kazoos at 2am. Seriously… Plus Eid with all the goats that have been trotted around for their walks now trotting to a different destination…
During a different festival, there was a hilarious moment on a Skype call to get the background on a project. My buddy could hear the ever increasing decibel level. And this after all the windows, doors were firmly shut, curtains drawn and extra ‘sound proofing’ added! I was even using my noise cancellation headset so I could hear clearly…
My partner has railed against religions blasting music at ear bleeding levels. More than once he has burst out in exasperation with “Does louder equal a bigger d#@k?” (more…)
Rooftop Views in Mumbai
During monsoon, going out for walks along the Bandra sealink promenade is less than appealing.
On days when sitting at the computer working at home, I try to take a break to run up and down the stairs in my building just to get the blood pumping for a few minutes.
As a reward, sometimes when the rain abates slightly, I step out to our rooftop…
The air may be polluted but there is something about seeing the cityscape and sealink in the distance that makes one breath a little deeper. Looking up, I can sometimes spot kites spread their powerful wings and soar above the crows.
Then I head over to the other side for a completely different view. A tarp town… impossible to see the narrow winding lanes between the homes of the old village, covered with blue tarps and old plastic signs pined down with rocks.
Two different perspectives… one city, one village from one rooftop.
Related ‘Sunday Snaps’ posts:
Neglected blog
You know you have a neglected blog when you are inundated with offers for content ‘support’ from various corners.
A year ago, I felt the need to change the way I approached content on Everyday Asia to give greater focus to four different areas: Home, Away, Work and Play.
Did it stick? Not really… partly as my travels significantly reduced and the work situation became complicated. Even on the play front, I would attend so many amazing events but these did not translate into posts… (more…)
When you can’t keep silent…
Some politicians have the most remarkable ability to say things that just make you go… huh??
The latest was Mahesh Sharma, India’s Union Minister of Tourism and Culture, stating foreign women should not wear skirts.
Really… I’m not making this stuff up!
Those who know me well, know I clearly have something to say about such comments!
No surprise then that a friend called up inviting me to write a piece from my perspective – looking back at my experience as a ‘foreign woman’ with a 26 year relationship with India.
It started as a fairly typical rant against chauvinism… then morphed into sharing quite personal stories…
The result?
An article published today in the quite fabulous online newspaper Scroll.in.
Curious? Read on…
“A foreign woman’s response to Mahesh Sharma: It’s got nothing to do with dressing modestly”
What do you think?
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Manitoba musical memories… a tribute to cold winters, warm hearts
In June I was in my home town of Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is always good to be back and there were so many special reconnects.
One evening in particular reminded me how blessed we were to grow up in a place bursting with musical talent.
Living room jam
I looked around the room at familiar friends… folks I grew up… folks with many shared experiences… folks whose lives have gone through many twists and turns… folks whose hearts have been broken, mended…. folks who faced trials and many triumphs… folks who still turn to share with each other life through music…. relationships that span several decades.
After all, we were there to celebrate a friend’s 60th birthday. Six fabulous decades of merriment, mischief and more. (more…)
Everyday Asia 