Sunday, December 8, 2013

Plain soup and vet bills

Yesterday was our day off, so I went to the pool with Emily at the Regaalis hotel for a couple of hours, slathered in sunscreen, since I'm fresh out of snowtown. After that we walked down to the devaraja market with another girl for a look see. I've been many times, but it's a must for a Mysore newbie so I showed them the chaos that is the market. I bought a few cloth shopping bags, some malas (knotted ones, which weren't there last year, which are lovely) and a ton of fruits and veggies. Their eyes were wide and they were a little too nice to the touts. I guess I am just broken in and don't mind ignoring the questions "Where you from?" and "You seen incense making?" or giving a humorous answer or a sharp NO when it gets to be too much.

Oh yeah. Funny story about my mad bargaining skills. (I actually do think I am pretty decent at it, except for this one time!) I was looking at ankle bracelets, and here, it is the custom to wear two, one on each leg. So they were packaged as two in one packet. I asked "How much" for the one I liked. The guy said 90 rupees. I asked "For each?" He said yes. This is still a great deal, 180 rupees, which is around $3. I know though, that they always tell you way more, usually 2 x the real price. Already thinking it was a good deal I just tried to talk him down a little bit. "How about 150 rupees for both?". Then he said, "No, they are 90 for both." Hahaaa... I tried to pay MORE! Oopsie. He totally just should have gone with it. But he was honest. And must have had a good laugh at the white lady once I left the store.

This morning I had my second led primary series class. I woke up before my 315am alarm, at around 3am, which was nice, and I just took my time getting showered, dressed, teeth brushed, neti potted and fed the dog and took him out for a quick pee. I got Raaji a rawhide bone, a stuffed elephant, a ball and fed him his favourite wet food right before I left, so I didn't hear him cry when I shut the door, for the first time ever. I guess I distracted him enough. He may have whined later when he realized I was gone, I don't know. Yesterday I left him for a few hours, and he ate a piece of my manduka yoga mat, ripped my mat carrying strap into 3 pieces, ate the new leash I bought him, tore the curtains and ripped off the window screen. Oops. My bad. I am learning!


I got to the shala before the gates opened and snuggled into the bundled up crowd waiting for the creak of the gate to signal us in to the shala. I shuffled in with the rest of the pack and I found a decent spot for my mat, although there were some mild lumps under the carpet. No biggie. Sharath came out after a few minutes with a bundle of tissues in his hand and a scarf around his neck. He is still sick. I would not want to teach if I felt like that. The chant sounded a little scratchy but he mustered through. He didn't miss any poses this time. But, I apparently totally forgot which was my left and which was my right. TWICE I jumped through and started the wrong leg. I noticed because my knee hit my neighbour's knee and I was like... wait a minute, this shouldn't be happening in janu shirshasana! Doh! (quick switch, chuckle, head smack) Practice was fine all in all, nothing to write home (or blog) about. I had to shove my clammy sticky arms through my padmasana for garbha pindasana since Sharath ignored my plea for a squirt of water today and walked right by me. I got myself 95% into the pose. Good enough. Also my back muscles are gross and tight so my backbends don't feel great. I will explore those more slowly and carefully tomorrow in my Mysore practice.

After the last pose, when we usually jump to standing, do the closing chant, then lay down and rest for a few minutes, Sharath just said, when we were in downward facing dog, "sapta, go home". Uh... really!? Ok?! So we just stood up, rolled up our mats and staggered off. It felt so weird! I saw a few people lay down, and I so wanted to, just to catch my breath after 57 Shareen breaths / 10 Sharath breaths in Ut pluthih, but, I did as I was told. I went home and layed right on the bed and took my rest. A few minutes later I showered and got ready for my day.

Looking at Raaji, I noticed a white gunky thing on his tail. It looked like a booger. I cleaned it off with a tissue and looked closely at it. Indistinct. However, I immediately recalled many years ago when my cat had a tapeworm. I looked at his bed. Little white rice like / broken tiny noodle like things. Yup. Disgusting. He totally has a tape worm just like Beeker did. I collected the pieces and put them in a ziploc bag. I threw his blankets outside for cleaning. Then I looked online at the vet hours. 530am-130pm, 4pm-9pm. Whoa, unheard of in India. Usually things open whenever they want to, but surely not before 9 or 10am. I was to meet friends at 830am for brekky at Santosha cafe (my old stomping ground where I lived last year) so I walked him to the vet at 815am (very nearby). Closed. Of course it was!! The sign was not in english, it was in Kannada (the local language) BUT I could see that the hours were 11am-130pm and 4-530pm. That's more like it! Oh well, I took him back later after breakfast.

The vet saw him within 5 minutes, no appointment, checked his skin, inspected my bag of dried up worm segments and explained what I needed to do. 1 pill for the next 10 days for the skin, plus ointment and special shampoo baths every 2 days. 1/2 a pill for 2 days for the tapeworm. I went to the counter to get the medications and pay. 35 rupees. That is LESS than $1.00 canadian. More like $0.50 cents. Can you EVEN believe it?!??! At home that would have been way over $100. He said to come back in 3-5 days to check. Very nice man. Oh, and I only had either a 500 rupee bill or 15 rupees. She didn't have change so she said to pay the rest next time I come. THAT would never happen at home either!!! Some things about India are just great. Next time my cats or weasels need treatment I might fly to India to get it done, it will still be cheaper. My cat cost over $1600 a few months ago, to have 2 teeth out.

With all that out of the way I came home and made soup. Plain boring slightly but not really tasty soup. Garlic, ginger, salt, potatoes, carrots and peas. Not the most creative dish ever, but after all of the spicy crazy things I've been shoving down my pie hole lately, I think my digestive system will appreciate this meal. I made enough for 2 servings. It tasted.... just fine.

I have been trying lots of new restaurants with new friends lately, that I never went to last time I was here, like Anokhi Garden, Green Hotel, Hotel Bhavan (or something like that) - all good! It's funny how we stick to our own little comfortable perimeter and miss out on what's just outside the lines. I'm expanding my perimeter this year!

I hoped to include the notes from Sharath's conference in this blog, but it is at 4pm later today. I could swear last time I was here they were in the morning at 10 or 11. So, that will have to wait for the next blog. 

2 comments:

  1. Oh no! My dog had worms when I brought her home, too - the worst! But it sounds like you're both lucky to have each other. Thanks for sharing your experience in Mysore - it'll be years before I get there... - I'm captivated! Enjoy! xo

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  2. Sounds terrible! I feel like vet offices really just take advantage of us pet owners! You should look into some different Pet Insurance plans! I got one for my Bulldog Zoey and it has really helped cushion those financial blows from pet bills!

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