315am. alarm goes off. i hear raging monsoon rains outside of the window. i think, hmm, maybe it will stop in 45 minutes before i have to walk to the shala. snooze. snooze. snooze. i get up, putter around, do my morning things. have the thought "gee, maybe no one will go today because of the rain, maybe i shouldn't go either" but it is my last sunday and i really do like the crazy early 430am practices, so i get my yoga clothes on, and on top a hoodie and baggy pants, which can get wet and dirty and peeled off in the changeroom. by the time i got to the shala there was a huge mud spray up the back of my legs and i was pretty drenched, but it was sort of fun! they must have opened the gate and shala early so people didn't have to sit out in the rain (very nice) so when i got there most people were in and set up. i had to either go in the foyer (chose not to) or this weird little spot up in the right front corner, facing the opposite direction from everyone else. so once again, it was as if everyone was staring at me! they weren't of course, but the 3 or 4 people directly in front of me were literally right in my face and i was right in theirs. we only kicked each other a few times! practice did not feel as physically hard or tiring as the led class on friday. maybe Sharath went a little faster this morning, or maybe my body had more energy, either way, it felt good. or wait, maybe i was still too asleep to realize how hard i was working?! it's 7am now, and i've practiced, showered, made tea, had cereal, washed and hung out my laundry, dressed, sent a few emails and now blogging. serious start to the day! we have conference early today, at 930, then i have two sanskrit classes to attend. productive is good!!
yesterday was a rest day, and i actually rested. went for a wee walk around 8am for some water, milk, fruits and veggies. not one yogi was out! we had a friday night party for some peeps who were going away, and i think some people stayed up reallllly late. i went to bed at 11pm and i thought that was the latest ever! the rest of saturday i just stayed in, put some new chanting CDs on my computer, made a nice veggie lunch and relaxed! for once. i was hoping to make a movie with some friends at 545pm but i also had plans at 4pm with a few other friends to go to the hospital and have our noses pierced. it's true! we talked about it a few weeks ago and let the idea swish around in our heads. i had my nose pierced when i was 13 or 14 and it lasted a few years until i had to take it out for work. i always liked it and have missed it ever since. but it was never a good time to get it redone. in india though, it's second nature. i'd say at least 50% of girls and women have one or two nose piercings. the first time i had it done, i went to a sketchy blackmarket clothing place in kensington market in toronto (eww!!) and they pierced my nose with an earring gun (so bad!) and the gun even got stuck in my nose for a few minutes. classic. but there was never any problem with it. here, it's a medical procedure, in a surgical theater, with a doctor and many nurses, and freezing... what a fiasco!
we didn't make an appointment, just showed up. (we bought the jewellery the day before) you have a quick consult, then they send you to the 'medical canteen' with a note about what you need to get: an insulin syringe needle and an 18gauge needle (HUGE!). 10 rupees each for that (about .20 cents). then *I went first* you go the the little surgery room and you lay on the table. the doctor was nice and there were a ton of nurses around doing who knows what, most likely just gawking. everything was clean and sterilized. the doctor told me to move up closer to him, he grabbed my head in his hands (i'm thinking - nice! a massage!) then he started banging/slapping the sides of my head (see photo below). HAHA! trying to shake the nerves out or something?! he turned on the little light, looked at my nose closely, played with the left nostril a bit, i guess seeing it's thickness, flexibility, where the cartiledge is, etc. then he drew a dot with a pen. i got up and looked in the mirror. WHOA! way too high. practically piercing my eye! no on no, i showed him where the dot was from my previous piercing. no, no, no he said, way too low. it would be on the cartiledge and would be more prone to infection. hmm, i sort of want to have it where i want to have it, and deal with possible infection! ok ok ok, compromise. i drew a dot in between where each of us wanted it. he still said too low, but i said DO IT HERE!!!! dammit. it's my nose. it was fine last time! he said ok.
i laid back down and he said close your eyes. he put iodine inside and outside my nose. it stung and smelled bad and dripped up my nose. ick. he started singing, which was kind of funny. then came the tiny freezing needle. which hurt like a bitch, because he did it so slowly and left it in forever! he put the needle eventually all the way through my nose. it stung. then it went numb. i guess it's like the little hole you drill through the wall to guide the bigger drill bit?! then he left that needle hanging out in my nose for a few minutes for all the freezing to work. laura was there watching and i could tell it was gross from her sounds! at that point there was no pain and i had no idea what he was doing, until i watched him do it to laura and allie after me, and was like, OH, that's what was happening! it seemed to take forever, and there were a lot of fingers in, up and on my nose. they put the big fat sharp long scary needle through, then threaded the earring through, then inserted the screw part of the earring, then screwed them together, then cleaned it all up. quite the ordeal! no pain, after the first little needle. hey, not so bad!
i looked in the mirror and liked it a lot. it's a tiny stud with a stone, and it's 22k gold, best for avoiding infection. laura's turn! i bought the needles for her so she wouldn't chicken out. she laid down, wanted me to hold her hand and i could tell she wasn't quite as calm or good with the pain of the first needle as i was, but she was being tough. half way through the procedure, i started to get super dizzy, felt sick, got hot, and thought, holy god, i'm going to pass out! why? am i queasy from watching the needle? no! what the... wow, i better sit down before i crash to the floor. i told laura i had to let go of her hand for a minute and slid down the wall. i broke out into a sweat and grabbed my water bottle and coached myself to relax and take deep breaths. the room was spinning and my lips felt tingly. meanwhile, the doctor and nurses were concentrating on laura and i didn't want to interrupt or ruin her procedure. i also felt bad for not holding her hand! i had a few thoughts like, oh dear, i must have been allergic to the anesthetic and now i'm going to die in a hospital in india. OOPS. but i kind of didn't really care either, i felt so awful. after maybe 2 minutes sitting i started to feel a little better. the crazy fever subsided. my vision got less fuzzy. i could breathe. i stood back up and felt so-so, i kept drinking. they were putting the jewellery into laura's nose. i told her she was doing great. allie came into the room at that moment and looked at my and said 'are you ok'?! i must have looked like shit! and i said "yes!" because i was feeling much better than a few minutes ago and hey look at my nose! haha... laura was done. i went to the canteen and bought allie's needles, so she couldn't back out. she hopped on the table and had her's done. during her freezing needle she yelled "OWWW!" at the doctor and the nurse grabbed her arm and held her down. that was pretty funny. laura held her hand and it went well. i felt 95% better by the end. i think the sudden wearing off of anesthetic plus my generally low blood pressure was just a bad combo. laura didn't get that feeling at all, she was fine.
we went out into the lobby to pay, and allie said "whoa, i'm getting that dizzy feeling now too" then she put her head on the counter, and passed out, slowly sliding down, so i grabbed her and slowly lowered her to the floor, protecting her head. i actually wasn't worried, i knew she just needed to lie down for a few minutes, have some water and it would be ok. BUT, 8 men flew out of who knows where, grabbed her, picked her up in the air, body parts everywhere and carted her away to a room. we grabbed her stuff and followed. it was a little dramatic! and of course she came back while they were carrying her, looking like "what the fuck is happening to me!" and they plopped her on a bed and the doctor appeared. her face was white and her lips were purple. he was slapping her saying "deeeeep breaths, deeeeeep breaths" and we told her it was ok, she only passed out for a minute, and she relaxed. after a few minutes, and some water, her colour came back. their prescription for recovery was chocolate (they brought her some) and said go for chai. HAHAH... oh India, you are hilarious. Poor Allie!!!
We went to get her a coconut for some hydration and electrolytes then we went to the pharmacy to pick up our meds: antibiotics, vitamin c (?!), pain meds (none of us ended up taking it) and antibiotic ointment. what a day!
this morning we all felt and looked fine. slightly tender, but no pain and not red. *phew*
here's the picture story....
yesterday was a rest day, and i actually rested. went for a wee walk around 8am for some water, milk, fruits and veggies. not one yogi was out! we had a friday night party for some peeps who were going away, and i think some people stayed up reallllly late. i went to bed at 11pm and i thought that was the latest ever! the rest of saturday i just stayed in, put some new chanting CDs on my computer, made a nice veggie lunch and relaxed! for once. i was hoping to make a movie with some friends at 545pm but i also had plans at 4pm with a few other friends to go to the hospital and have our noses pierced. it's true! we talked about it a few weeks ago and let the idea swish around in our heads. i had my nose pierced when i was 13 or 14 and it lasted a few years until i had to take it out for work. i always liked it and have missed it ever since. but it was never a good time to get it redone. in india though, it's second nature. i'd say at least 50% of girls and women have one or two nose piercings. the first time i had it done, i went to a sketchy blackmarket clothing place in kensington market in toronto (eww!!) and they pierced my nose with an earring gun (so bad!) and the gun even got stuck in my nose for a few minutes. classic. but there was never any problem with it. here, it's a medical procedure, in a surgical theater, with a doctor and many nurses, and freezing... what a fiasco!
we didn't make an appointment, just showed up. (we bought the jewellery the day before) you have a quick consult, then they send you to the 'medical canteen' with a note about what you need to get: an insulin syringe needle and an 18gauge needle (HUGE!). 10 rupees each for that (about .20 cents). then *I went first* you go the the little surgery room and you lay on the table. the doctor was nice and there were a ton of nurses around doing who knows what, most likely just gawking. everything was clean and sterilized. the doctor told me to move up closer to him, he grabbed my head in his hands (i'm thinking - nice! a massage!) then he started banging/slapping the sides of my head (see photo below). HAHA! trying to shake the nerves out or something?! he turned on the little light, looked at my nose closely, played with the left nostril a bit, i guess seeing it's thickness, flexibility, where the cartiledge is, etc. then he drew a dot with a pen. i got up and looked in the mirror. WHOA! way too high. practically piercing my eye! no on no, i showed him where the dot was from my previous piercing. no, no, no he said, way too low. it would be on the cartiledge and would be more prone to infection. hmm, i sort of want to have it where i want to have it, and deal with possible infection! ok ok ok, compromise. i drew a dot in between where each of us wanted it. he still said too low, but i said DO IT HERE!!!! dammit. it's my nose. it was fine last time! he said ok.
i laid back down and he said close your eyes. he put iodine inside and outside my nose. it stung and smelled bad and dripped up my nose. ick. he started singing, which was kind of funny. then came the tiny freezing needle. which hurt like a bitch, because he did it so slowly and left it in forever! he put the needle eventually all the way through my nose. it stung. then it went numb. i guess it's like the little hole you drill through the wall to guide the bigger drill bit?! then he left that needle hanging out in my nose for a few minutes for all the freezing to work. laura was there watching and i could tell it was gross from her sounds! at that point there was no pain and i had no idea what he was doing, until i watched him do it to laura and allie after me, and was like, OH, that's what was happening! it seemed to take forever, and there were a lot of fingers in, up and on my nose. they put the big fat sharp long scary needle through, then threaded the earring through, then inserted the screw part of the earring, then screwed them together, then cleaned it all up. quite the ordeal! no pain, after the first little needle. hey, not so bad!
i looked in the mirror and liked it a lot. it's a tiny stud with a stone, and it's 22k gold, best for avoiding infection. laura's turn! i bought the needles for her so she wouldn't chicken out. she laid down, wanted me to hold her hand and i could tell she wasn't quite as calm or good with the pain of the first needle as i was, but she was being tough. half way through the procedure, i started to get super dizzy, felt sick, got hot, and thought, holy god, i'm going to pass out! why? am i queasy from watching the needle? no! what the... wow, i better sit down before i crash to the floor. i told laura i had to let go of her hand for a minute and slid down the wall. i broke out into a sweat and grabbed my water bottle and coached myself to relax and take deep breaths. the room was spinning and my lips felt tingly. meanwhile, the doctor and nurses were concentrating on laura and i didn't want to interrupt or ruin her procedure. i also felt bad for not holding her hand! i had a few thoughts like, oh dear, i must have been allergic to the anesthetic and now i'm going to die in a hospital in india. OOPS. but i kind of didn't really care either, i felt so awful. after maybe 2 minutes sitting i started to feel a little better. the crazy fever subsided. my vision got less fuzzy. i could breathe. i stood back up and felt so-so, i kept drinking. they were putting the jewellery into laura's nose. i told her she was doing great. allie came into the room at that moment and looked at my and said 'are you ok'?! i must have looked like shit! and i said "yes!" because i was feeling much better than a few minutes ago and hey look at my nose! haha... laura was done. i went to the canteen and bought allie's needles, so she couldn't back out. she hopped on the table and had her's done. during her freezing needle she yelled "OWWW!" at the doctor and the nurse grabbed her arm and held her down. that was pretty funny. laura held her hand and it went well. i felt 95% better by the end. i think the sudden wearing off of anesthetic plus my generally low blood pressure was just a bad combo. laura didn't get that feeling at all, she was fine.
we went out into the lobby to pay, and allie said "whoa, i'm getting that dizzy feeling now too" then she put her head on the counter, and passed out, slowly sliding down, so i grabbed her and slowly lowered her to the floor, protecting her head. i actually wasn't worried, i knew she just needed to lie down for a few minutes, have some water and it would be ok. BUT, 8 men flew out of who knows where, grabbed her, picked her up in the air, body parts everywhere and carted her away to a room. we grabbed her stuff and followed. it was a little dramatic! and of course she came back while they were carrying her, looking like "what the fuck is happening to me!" and they plopped her on a bed and the doctor appeared. her face was white and her lips were purple. he was slapping her saying "deeeeep breaths, deeeeeep breaths" and we told her it was ok, she only passed out for a minute, and she relaxed. after a few minutes, and some water, her colour came back. their prescription for recovery was chocolate (they brought her some) and said go for chai. HAHAH... oh India, you are hilarious. Poor Allie!!!
We went to get her a coconut for some hydration and electrolytes then we went to the pharmacy to pick up our meds: antibiotics, vitamin c (?!), pain meds (none of us ended up taking it) and antibiotic ointment. what a day!
this morning we all felt and looked fine. slightly tender, but no pain and not red. *phew*
here's the picture story....
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