Last thoughts on Trip; return to normal
Mood:  special
Topic: General

Last thoughts on India and then I'll return this blog to it's original purpose - keeping track of the kids and their activities.

On the flight back the plane passed over the Caspian Mountains in Iran. They were various shades of brown. In the valleys you could faintly make out the roads. Some of the mountain tops had snow on them. It was quite a sight, mountains as far as the eye could see.

Many of the Krishna temples had swastika's on them. It is a symbol of good luck. It is hard not to think of Hitler when you see them. Odd that a symbol has one meaning in one culture and almost the opposite in another.

Temples are sprinkled all over. At one point we parked to stop at a restaraunt and a large tree across the street had fixtures for incense, flowers, and a bell. When I asked what was up with the tree, they told me that it was used as a temple. I guess god is where you find him.

Vanessa will lose her temp job soon. They are keeping the 11 temps that have been there the longest. I told Vanessa that it sounds like management took the easy way out. They could have put some thought into it and kept the 11 best workers. So she will be looking for a new job shortly.

Chelsea is doing OK at Wendys. She got a good report from school, she seems to be doing well.

Joe is studying nightly although it takes some prodding. Hopefully his grades will come around.

Chad is starting to actively search for a new job. Both of the positions that he is looking are for delivery. Maybe he is getting burnt out on being a mechanic.

Getting close to the end of the trip
Mood:  energetic
Topic: General
Tanmay brought in his coin collection, mostly Indian, but also singapore, hong kong, and Arab countries. Several of the coins predate British rule and are very valuable. One of his uncles travels and that is where all of the non-Indian coins came from.

Some random info:

Traffic lanes are few and far between - turn lanes are seldom marked and most drivers face a broad expanse of pavement. However that helps during rush hour. The flow one direction expands to take up 2/3 of the width of the road. And during rush hour the maximum number of cars can fill the road with motorcycle rickshaws, motorbikes, cars, and delivery trucks in a random order somehow fill every square meter so that there is scarcely room for pedestrians to cross.

Women wearing sari's will ride on motorbikes side saddle. Quite unnerving to me to see this on the flyovers where they go zipping by. The younger women wear a pants suit type of outfit. They ride on back of the motorbikes western style, the way we are used to seeing women ride on back of motorcycles. Seems like that would be safer and more balanced. Oh, and it is not unusual to see a family on a motorcycle. Child on gas tank, Pop driving, a another child followed by Mom. Although helmets are required few wear them. One bad accident and a branch of the family tree is lopped off.

Speaking of pedestrians, walking along a street is semi hazadous. Many times the sidewalks don't exist, are under construction, or are filled with shops. So most walking is done at the edge of the street. Of course there are no crosswalks and few traffic lights. So crossing the street is quite an undertaking. I cheat and wait for a native to make a move. Then I move along side of them. I figure they know the traffic - and maybe their body will provide a cushion if we are hit ;- ) You can generally make it to the median where you have to stop and wait for a break in the flow from the other direction. The concrete medians are generally 2-3 foot wide, so you dare not lose your balance as you wait to make a break for it.

Work hours are interesting in the office. I generally arrive shortly after 9 and stay until about 7. There are few early risers in Mumbai. The office fills around 10. Then there is an ebb and flow thru out the day. They go to the canteen for lunch, then have an afternoon tea. When I leave at 7, the number of engineers has trickled down significantly.

My workday routine is this. Up around 7am to workout in the gym at the Hotel. 10 minutes or so in the steam room and then a shower. Back to the room to get dressed and have breakfast. Work in the office and have lunch courtesy of Datamatics. The driver takes me back to the Hotel shortly after 7pm. Some days the drive is quick and I am back at the hotel in 15 minutes. Other days for no apparent reason the traffic backs up and the drive can take up to 45 minutes. Supper, then a night cap in the lounge. The food at the Hotel has been great. I have to pull myself away from the dessert section. Back to the room by 9, watch a little TV and drift off to sleep.

During lunch today one of the Indians made an observation. When we make food he can detect the cheese, but in India they use yogart and creams made from milk along with their main courses. Just a difference in the two cultures.

Oh and although arranged marriages are still the norm, the process has changed. Where before the bride and groom could be almost strangers - maybe having a chance to meet each other for a few hours during the process. Now it is more often the prospective bride and groom talking to the parents saying this is who I want to marry, then the parents meet and give their stamp of approval. One single engineer here said that his parents told him to go out and just find a girl and bring her back, we'll give our approval.

Aliba
Mood:  happy
Topic: General
Spent the weekend in Aliba(sp) it is a seaside resort about 5 hours from Mumbai. 3 Datamatics engineers went with me. On the way up I saw monkeys by the roadside in a couple of places. The roads and driving are something else. The driver took things as a matter of course, but you have to watch for stray dogs and cattle wandering onto the road. Once we passed a motorcycle rickshaw and a motorcyclist came at us head on. the motorcycle went to the shoulder to avoid a collision. The bigger vehicle rules here. At times it is like a video game as you weave to avoid cows, dogs, motorcycles and people.

In the smaller towns the roads are narrower. I joked that we needed some butter on the sides of the SUV to squeeze thru a very narrow street. Oh and horns here are a way to communicate, not to express anger as they are used many times in the US. So a quick toot is a way for the driver to let another vehicle know that 'hey I am overtaking you on your blindside, don't change lanes.' Or get out of the fast lane, I am overtaking you. This weekends driver was very liberal with the horn. I'll bet we did not drive 10 minutes without the horn sounding at least once. So much for a quiet country drive.

On the way I also saw my first water buffalo and miles and miles of rice patties. Also saw a few poor people with grass huts. The majority of the population seem to have regular housing, but the poor are very lacking. Once at the resort we ate and watched some of the people dance. They played Indian music and also music with a disco beat. It was a family resort so there were not many singles for the Datamatics engineers to dance with. They stayed up until about 1:30am - I told them that I was old and tired, I went to bed shortly after 10, I am not a party animal any more.

At the resort, I noticed a higher percentage of Indians in western dress. I sat on my balcony and watched the people pass by. A boy got to ride on an Indian horse(about the size of a pony in the US), children with ice cream, a young couple collecting their bags to depart.

The next day started with a massage - 22 herbs according the massagist. They start at the belly button and work their way out. Then we went to the ocean. We played some beach volleyball, then went for a swim. I have now swam in the Atlantic, Pacific, and now Indian oceans. We ate before heading to the fort. I tried the mutton, and found it tasty. I remarked to the engineers that my grandmother would sometimes make leg of lamb. They told me that sheep are not very common in India and that mutton is actually goat. It was my first time eating goat - and it actually was not that bad.

The fort was about a quarter mile or so offshore. The town at the shore was a muslim town. I saw burkas, but also western dress - blue jeans. We sailed out on a 30 foot ship. they pushed us off with bamboo poles. Then when we got out far enough to catch the breeze they unfurled a triangular sail. The fort was made in 22 years in the 1500's, it had survived the Mongul invasion without being taken over. There were huge cannons on display. The bigger ones were a series of rings soldered together with lead. The biggest was big enough that a small man could crawl inside. There were 3 muslim and 1 krishna temple inside. A muslim holyman was buried there as well. There was a huge 60 foot well and in its heyday the well was covered with a dome made of pieces of various colored glass.

On the way home we visited a very nice Krishna temple made of marble. It was on top of a hill. Quite a walk up, but the statues with gold decoration were worth it. Sadly they did not permit photographs. We were hungry on the way back and stopped at a McDonalds. They do not serve beef, but only chicken. The fries were very similiar, the big mac was very different. It was had a sauce and lettuce, and of course was made with chicken, it reminded me of some of the Indian food that I had eaten - still it was rather tasty. Also in Mumbai you can find Domino's, Pizza Hut, Subway, Baskin Robbins, and Ruby Tuesdays.

When I got back to the Hotel I talked to Becky on the phone, then lay back in bed while watching TV - I must have dozed off and slept soundly, I awoke the next morning with the TV still on.

Week one
Mood:  a-ok
India has been a whirlwind. I went to a hindu Wedding reception. Very colorful and the bride looked like a princess. Visited a house that gandhi lived for like 17 years. Saw the gateway to India as well.
Oh and I did visit a Hari Krishna temple! Very nice, made of marble and the center was open to the evening sky. Went to the Indian Ocean, they have a regular nightly carnival at various locations along the beach. Bright lights, cocoanuts, sugar cane juice, rides for toddlers, and even a palm reader. I just took in the ocean and the scenery.

Jet lag has not been too bad. Todd said that I am handling it better than he did over the first week. The hotel will have turkey, virginia ham, and colorado beef for Thursday. So my holiday meal is set.

It is a land of contrasts. At one location I saw a chicken, a dog, and a man digging thru garbage. A block or so later we passed a shiny new 12 story office building. People everywhere, cars, motorcycle ricksaws, the city never sleeps. We saw as many people on Sunday midnight as we did during noon midday.

parrot
Mood:  hungry
Topic: General
Saw a bird out of the corner of my eye while reading the paper this morning. Looked up and it was a parrot. About the same size as a pigeon. Saw another Brahma bull this morning on the way in. On the first day there was a horse that must have broken loose and was trotting along in traffic. No body paid it much mind and it seemed to run along as if it knew where it was going. Todd saw an elephant in the city the other day. Dogs are everywhere, almost all are strays. Saw my first pups this morning. Cats are far fewer, but I have seen a few.

Cricket is very big here. Any where that there is a park, there will be a cricket field. Mumbai is known as the home of great cricket teams and youth will come here and pay coaches to teach them to become become good players. A match can last 8 hours, and a test is 5 matches on consecutive days. What a marathon. There is a big 30-40k seat stadium in Mumbai. Soccer (football) is a poor second on the sports scene here in India. The first night I watched the sports channels I saw a NBA game. But that has been the only one. There was one nascar, and one formula one race, but 90% of the time there is a cricket or soccer showing. I am generally too tired in the evening to watch much TV. But I can generally watch a movie on HBO, Discovery or History channels.

This weekend Datamatics is taking me to Gora. We drive 3-4 hours to get there and then stay overnight. Should be an interesting trip.

changes
Mood:  not sure
Topic: General
Well Chelsea has elected not to play basketball this year, citing differences with the coach. I think that she is just lazy. I told her that in the real world you are going to have bosses that you don't like, so you may as well get used to it. Anyway we told her that she has to get a job to pay for her own car expenses. She has an interview at Wendy's today.

Joe had some bad grades for his midterm report. So his computer time has been severely cut back. He is grounded until the end of quarter when we get his grades. We told him that he has to study every night whether or not he has homework.

Chad is unhappy with his work. They switched his position around and changed his work hours again. He is tired of getting the short end of the stick. He is working on getting his CDL for work, then he may start hunting for another position elsewhere.

Vanessa and Eric are excited about the baby. They are taking extraordinary care. Watching what she eats, drinks, etc. I think she maying be playing up the pregnancy thing a bit much. She is already ordering Eric around - get this for me, get that for me. I can see it when she is 8-9 months along, but not now.

I am going to hijack this blog to track my adventures in India. This was originally intended to track my kids. But I want to document this journey.

Driving home last night I flip over to country music because the talk shows are boring. The first song I hear is a new one in which the theme is, "I wonder what they will think of me when I am gone." Then on the news they are searching for a missing plane. What uplifting things to hear before departing.

Air India didn't inspire confidence when I attempted to sign up for their frequent flyer program. I kept getting unspecified error messages on their website. I called the NY office. I was on hold listening to Indian music for like 15-20 minutes. When they picked up, I was half way thru my sentance when I was transferred. When the next extension picked up I tried to quickly report my problem and click, the connection was closed.

Next I called during second shift to the Chicago office. The resolution was to fill out the form on the webpage. Lady, I've tried that form like 4 times and it won't work for me. So she gave me a number to call, a fax number... I finally discovered the problem by trial and error - it does not like the "ChrisT" part of my home email id. When I use my "Chris.Tilton" work id, it took it just fine. While I am working with software engineers in India maybe I should stop by their HQ and show them how to have their software show meaningful error messages...

Well the excellent adventure will begin in a little over 24 hours. It should be an interesting and enlightening visit. Who knows, maybe I will join the Hare Krishna while I am over there!!!

Pappaw Gone
Topic: General
Chad, Joe, Becky, Tom, and then Jessica & Jimmy were there at the trailer when Pappaw passed away. Jessica just got there for his last few breaths, it was almost like he waited for her to arrive before letting go. He was born on a farm and died on a farm, I'm glad that we were able to do this for him. Although it was a hassle sometimes having him there, it was also good for the kids and him - they got to be closer to their grandfather. Even Joe's friend Cody had a good time visiting and staying over at Pappaw's trailer.

It has been a trying time for the family. It has taken a lot of Becky's attention. At the funeral they asked for anyone who had any last words. Chad and Vanessa got up and had a nice little speech that Chad had written up. Chelsea also stood up and gave a last commemoration of their grandfather. They did a good job of capturing what he meant to them. Joe got to lead the horse drawn carriage to the gravesite. So everyone got to participate. Little Kaitlyn even got up to say a few words.

Glad to see the family come together when the pressure is on. Joe asked why we did so much - I told him that when something needs to be done, the Tiltons stand up and do it. When he asked why, I told him because we always believe in doing the right thing. I don't know if he bought in to it or not, but hopefully it will sink in.

Surprise
Mood:  surprised
Topic: Vanessa
Vanessa and Erica came up to visit the family this weekend. They visited the Deeters first then came down from Covington to visit us. They had a small gift to us from Eric's Mom and Dad. We were puzzled but Becky opened it up. It was a set of babies bibs, we both looked at each other - does this mean what I think it means? Vanessa verified that yes she was expecting and would probably have the baby in June! What a surprise, I had the impression that they were going to wait 2 years. Life changes quickly sometimes. It is an exciting time for us.

Joe got into a fight at school, but did not get into trouble as he was not the aggressor. The other kid started it. He held his own from what I understand. However he did have to attend a Saturday school for goofing off in class. Chad is down in Kentucky attending a rally for vintage cars. Sounds like quite the weekend so far. He got to attend a breakfast banquet sponsored by Auto Zone. Then got to ride in a pleasure boat on Lake Cumberland. His reaction to his sister's news, "Gee, and I'm not even married yet." Chelsea is in conditioning for basketball. So far so good. She should have a good shot at varsity this season. She had her best game in the fall league, scoring 6 points, getting some good rebounds, and making a few steals.I let her and her boyfriend take Joe and Cody out to the cheap theatre to catch a movie, then goto to a haunted trail.

Chels
Mood:  don't ask
Topic: Chelsea
Chelsea is going thru another mood swing. She didn't want to play basketball. Then she decided to give it another shot after I reminded her about the deal. You have to play sports if you want your transportation take care of. No sports = no car. So for now, she is playing. She seems to be enjoying school so that is a plus.

Joe is maintaining. Seems to get taller everytime I look at him. Saw Vanessa briefly last weekend. Chad doesn't like his transfer to the Dayton hub. They have him on first shift and he doesn't like those hours. Plus his boss is a lot tougher. He misses being at Middletown.

Vanessa's wedding
Mood:  happy
Topic: Vanessa
Vanessa got married on September 10. The day got off to a shaky start when they arrived at the hairdressers for their noon hair appointment. They were a no show. After waiting for 15 minutes Becky made some calls and found someone to take care of them - thank goodness.

The rest of the day went rather well. The ceremony itself went just fine. I didn't step on her toes during the father - daughter dance, so that was a plus. I told the story about how Becky had bought Vanessa's wedding dress at a garage sale for a dollar. Then I related how Becky promised her a husband for a dollar. Then I gave Eric one of my silver dollars as payment.

A big highlight of the wedding was Chad presenting Vanessa with a car as a present. It was a nice 1995 Buick. He got it for $300 because the transmission was bad. When he was finished working on it. He had about $500 total in it and the vehicle was worth about $3000 to $4000 dollars.