Disaster Area

Amidst this rubble lies a kitchen in hiding.



Part 2 of renovations = kitchen installation. I am living through this and can't wait for it to be over. Ugh.






Everything in this truck is basically sitting in my living room now. It's not that big of a kitchen; it's all packaging. And I'm dorkily thinking of the massive carbon footprint this one little kitchen has already left behind.






It was pretty cool how they used the vertical lift to get it all upstairs through the window though. And that crane in the middle of the road was lifting the stone counter top. Fun muscle man action. :D







Soon soon... This mess too, shall pass.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
-----

Of Moving House and Visiting Teachers

Between work and dealing with the builder and figuring out what to get and what goes where in the new house and oh yeah, I moved in this weekend finally... I haven't actually had time to post updates! I don't think I've even shared a single photo of the new place here yet. I might just start posting random photo updates just coz that's faster and time isn't what I've got much of these days... (I actually started writing this post a week ago and haven't been able to finish it!!)

Oh yeah, and did I tell you Clayton Horton was also in town? He was here the last 2 weeks actually, and it's been great FINALLY having daily Mysore sessions at the shala. I'm totally lapping this up.

An observation I've made: I cannot function on 6 hours sleep, followed by a 2-hour practice, followed by a full-on 8 to 10-hour day at work. I used to make the joke that my yoga practice was the hardest thing I had to do of the day and since I'd be done with it by 8am, the world would seem all good after that. Unfortunately, I've realized that with what my job entails, I'm no longer sure if my practice is the hardest thing I do of the day. So you can imagine after Week #2 of Clayton in town, it's starting to kick my ass. I'm exhausted and miss the little afternoon naps I could take in Mysore to recover!

The first week Clayton was here, he also did a 3-day teachers' intensive. It counts for Yoga Alliance's 30hr continuing education credit. So glad I took some time off my day job just to reconnect with yoga and other yogis too! The first half of each day was spent discussing philosophy, and the second half of the day was spent on breaking down the Primary series and going through the various adjustments for it. It's been AGES since I've taught, and my adjustments are completely rusty now, I might need to start a little yoga-playgroup going to refresh my adjustments! Or maybe ask to assist my teacher at the shala... Too many things I want to do, so little time! Guess it'll have to happen AFTER the move and doing up the house. ;)

In the first couple days of Mysore classes, I was still getting back into my body and only doing Primary series. Like all teachers trained in the traditional Pattabhi Jois way, Clayton wanted to see me stand up from backbends, then dropback and stand up again 3 times before moving me onto Intermediate. I was totally crap the first few days - wobbly and crashing and hurling onto my knees... And then after a couple days, suddenly my body remembered what it had to do and everything clicked into place and it happened. WEIRD. I can't explain it except... er, muscle memory?

And since then he's been watching me do each pose at a time in Intermediate. He asked where I was up to, then said "Let's start with Pasasana". The next day after Pasasana, I lay down to do backbends then he told me to continue through to Bhekasana. And the day after that to go to Parsva Dhanurasana. And we're now up to Laghuvajrasana. I'm pretty happy hanging out here at this pose and working my way through it (my regular teacher M gave me Kapotasana about a week before Clayton arrived, but I am so totally not ready for it at all!) I've been so completely exhausted the past couple days of practice, I've been coasting my way through it, ie., not really putting in 100% effort. Conserving energy! I have my whole life to figure this out, I'm not gonna kill myself to try and impress a visiting teacher... ;)

There's something about this teacher-student relationship in Ashtanga that I find compelling. The student learning to submit to teacher - I totally get the humility and respect it takes to do this. Interestingly, I used to be of the theory that "you are your best teacher"... But I'm now going through the phase where I feel you can't really say you're your best teacher until you've had enough time and training with a GOOD teacher, who can spot your weaknesses and imbalances and guide you to where you need to be/ what you need to work on. Only when you've been shown the way and can feel it from within can you tap into that again when you're on your own.

A good teacher doesn't just help you physically on an asana level either...a good teacher can tell from the way you breathe how this can affect you energetically, or how it can affect your Vata/ Pitta/ Kapha doshas... (just from the quality of the breath, length of the breath, inhales versus exhales, at what point in the vinyasa you breathe and how this affects you, etc.) I realized this just from being in the same room as Clayton, seeing what he picks up on in different people's practices, including mine. Such wisdom comes from years of experience and a depth of study on various subjects.

While breaking down Laghuvajrasana with me one day, I had a moment of realization, that AHA! moment when I understood why some teachers put such a focus on learning to dropback and stand back up again before moving students onto the Intermediate series. It became totally apparent in Laghuvajrasana that day when Clayton was explaining how to use the inhale to come back up from the floor again (I still can't go all the way down to touch my head to the floor. If I do this, I get stuck and can't come back up). It's a totally similar movement/ action to standing up from a backbend!! It's using that inhale, pressing the hips up and forwards that's similar. Sounds easier than it is, of course.

A great thing that's spun off from his workshop series is there's a group of us who enjoy the regular morning practices so much to the point where we were bummed that the shala still only opens on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for morning Mysore classes. So we asked if the shala was STILL not gonna open on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, could we start a self-practice group on those mornings instead? And TA-DAH! We got a set of keys to share between us. :)

This morning, there were 5 of us in self-practice including Clayton (he flew off to Barcelona today and wasn't teaching; just practising). This little group feels really promising, hope we get to keep this up!

I have to say I've really enjoyed having a visiting teacher for a solid long stretch. 2 weeks is a luxury! Usually most workshops happen over a weekend or the teacher visits for a week... But having 2 solid weeks with the same teacher really helps expand one's practice just that little bit more. And the whole shala just feels a lot more inspired too.

So now maybe I need to start working on my next post - the before and after shots of the apartment!! Mind you, there's still sweet f**k all in the living room except for a TV. I'm thinking of having a ghetto-style housewarming party where everyone has a picnic on the floor (nope, the sofa hasn't arrived yet). And since the kitchen doesn't get installed until 2 weeks' time... People will just have to order takeaway pizzas or bring their own food. Hehe. Fun times!! :)


-----

Gas vs. Induction Cooking

Totally non-yoga post. But the topic that's been consuming me all week has been: Gas or Induction cooktop? Oh, the joys of home remodelling!!

Since I posted a photo of a pair of questionable shoes I put on reserve yesterday and got an overwhelming response of NO!! DON'T GET THEM!! from the good people on Facebook, I figured I'd also post another question to help me with my indecision of gas cooker or induction cooker?
Incidentally, those questionable gladiator-flipflop Converse here:

(HAHAHA! I think I've been well advised about not getting them?)

It all started when I wanted to get a gas cooker with a single burner on each grill. It's just easier to clean this than to deal with lugging the huge grill that traditionally goes over 2 burners. But Miele only does single grills on a glass top. Like this:


Super stylish in comparison to the boring gas on stainless steel that is the usual, no?


But then of course the Miele showroom people showed me their epic-stylish induction cooktop and explained the joys of induction cooking (more energy-efficient, safer coz no open flame, only the part where the pot touches the stove heats up. And "If you want a stove that's easy to clean, this is the easiest of them all". Blah blah blah)


My sister also said "Eric Ripert uses Miele induction, so should you." Okaaaaaay. I had to google who Eric Ripert is, so obviously this is not going to influence my decision. HAHAHA!

OK - barring the huge additional expense of an induction cooktop, my main concern is: HEALTH EFFECTS. Anybody got a clue?! Mr. Google is throwing up mixed reactions and pretty much "non-conclusive evidence since not enough research has been done".

An induction cooker works by electromagnetic waves reacting with your magnetic pots/ pans and heating them up. Some kind of (minimal) charge/ radio-frequency radiation can be transferred if you touch the pots or stand too close (like... about 30cm too close). Say what you like, but I fall into the "better safe than sorry" category and hardly use my microwave oven these days because of the same mixed reports people have had on its health effects.

Which is kind of why I'm eyeing this induction technology with suspicion too.

Anybody have an opinion on this topic, please? (Otherwise I'm gonna stick to good old gas and get them stylish gas-on-glass cooktops).

Discuss, please! :)

-----

Commitment Takes Surrender And Being Present

There are milestones in life that one hits. I believe I just hit one today. I bought an apartment. Or rather, I signed a purchase contract, with the sale subject to the bank approving the mortgage. If all goes well, the transfer of the deed happens in a couple months.

PHEWWWWWWWW!!!! How very adult. *Gulp*

Here's my housing agent and notary. HAHAHA! Yes, we took photos.


Needless to say the past month has been filled with house viewings (33 in total), agonizing over what compromises have to be made (Location? Square area? Condition of the house? Price?) and it's been a whirlwind of endless questions I've been asking myself, my closest friends and family. Many apologies to the ones closest to me who've had to hear me agonize over the issues. I am seriously a nut case.

HAHAHA!

Of course, I already knew this. But I guess it was when my housing agent looked at one of the conditions in my initial offer and said "Well, that's refreshing! I've never come across this kind of request before!" ...That I realized that... OK, I might be more of a basket case than I thought. I had requested to spend ONE NIGHT in said apartment because I was fretting over the potential noise at night. The flat is on a busy street corner and even though it's got double-glazed windows, sound insulated floors AND I couldn't really hear much traffic noise during the day, I was getting anxiety attacks that what might seem OK in the day may turn out to be annoyingly LOUD at night.

Since the apartment had just been renovated with no one living in it, I figured that seemed like a fair request. I thought I could do a sleepover there with a friend who was up for it too. "Just like going camping!" she said. HAHAHA! (Oh, the naivety)

In Amsterdam there are rules that allow squatters to live in your house if they've somehow managed to get into it (don't ask me about the details coz I have no idea) - since this was a case with "squatter potential", the seller was having none of it, of course. So we settled on a night viewing instead where the seller's agent patiently waited 45 minutes for me at 9pm on a Friday night where I sat in silence in the master bedroom and meditated.

Uh huh. Like, seriously. That's what I did. I am laughing at my own anal retardedness and that someone was patient enough and willing to put up with my nonsense in the next room! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Apart from the occasional scooter VROOMING past loudly, the rest of the traffic is a dull hum of city noise. I reckon I love everything else about the house to let this one go. So... Ask me again a couple weeks after I've moved in, I might be kicking myself then. Hehe.

In considering all the future possibilities of this place (as one does when making this sort of "big commitment"), I got kinda carried away with worry and anxiety especially with the rent-control regulations here. Y'know... If I decided to leave and didn't want to sell it yet and had to rent it out then what happens if this, and what happens if that, and blah blah blah. I was running around in circles. My very kind housing agent answered all my neurotic questions patiently, giving advice that was one-part life coach and one-part motherly advice.

She reminded me to bring my yoga off the mat and live in the present. She's no yogi (or at least I have no idea if she is), but she pretty much told me something along the lines of "Look, you've been pretty smart about this place - checking this and checking that and thinking of things in the long term, more than what most of my other clients would've thought of. It's good that you're aware of all of these things. But at some point, no one can guarantee what's coming in the future or what your situation will be like then. Why are you buying a place? To live in now. Don't forget that you're living in the present. It's good that you've got your eye on the future possibilities and issues with the house, but down the road your situation might change, the regulations might change and you'll have to deal with it then when it happens anyway. So remember about being in the present too."

Ha! Well said, lady. I was gobsmacked. She was right. I had done enough worrying and contingency-planning. Occupational hazard of being a Producer, I suppose... I just wanted to ensure my arse was definitely covered. Two times over. But at some point when the numbers check out OK and all the other things on my things-to-worry-about checklist check out OK, let alone the fact that I'd actually found a house I'd fallen in love with... Then at some point I'd have to let go and surrender to the process and trust in the decision I've made.

So... I guess I'm buying a house then! :)

Even though it's been renovated on the inside, they left out the floor, kitchen and bathroom sink/ cabinets. I'm quite pleased with this since this means I'll get to customize what I want done with the place anyway. And you know this means a gazilion remodelling photos coming your way. (I've already started hunting. If you've been following my tweets, you'll know Ikea does my head in.)

Oh yeah, in the midst of all this, I'm also in pre-production on my next work project and we're in Prague at the end of the week for a shoot. Umm... With all this going on, I have no idea how I got here today. No wonder my face is breaking out, my sinuses are inflamed and my yoga practice in the past couple weeks has been non-existent except for some Pranayama (which hasn't helped the sinusitis either. I haven't been able to breathe through my nostrils in 5 days now). I still haven't gotten the hang of finding the balance between work, life and asana practice... Sigh.

BUT.

I am still ever so grateful for the little reminders to stay in the present. Like that reminder from my angel of a housing agent.

----

Hello From Mysore!

I need to stop saying "Hello from _______". I've just run out of ideas of what to label my posts. I think it helps me take a step back and remember where in the world I am in too. HAHAHA!

ANYWAYS... I MADE IT!! I'M IN GOKULAM!!!! This is FUCKING SURREAL. Pardon the language, I really just can't believe it.

After a 4-hour flight from Singapore to Bangalore, I got picked up at the airport by my driver to continue another 4-hour car ride from Bangalore to Mysore. And then he goes and tells me that there's a domestic terminal in Mysore and you can get flights from Bangalore to Mysore. PFFFTTT! Note to self: Next time check out the Kingfisher domestic flights.

Practically all the cars on the roads here are tiny little 1-litre or 1.2-litre tin cans of cars. Imagine my nervousness when stepping into the car - errrr... We're driving FOUR HOURS in something that's essentially a little bigger than a Smart-Car?! I hopped in the front seat and buckled up. I think Chandra was a little taken aback as he's probably used to people only getting in the back seat (at least I think his name is Chandra). I hate that. If we're making a mini-road trip, we might as well make conversation and it's weird if I'm sat in the back. (Plus, there were no seatbelts in the back, I checked this later. HAHA!)


There's something magical about being in third-world Asia. Everything from the heat and humidity, to the roadside stalls, to the general pandemonium in the city streets heightens the feeling of "This is so foreign and AWESOME!" Haha. Sitting up front, I had the in-your-face experience of swerving through trucks, buses, motorbikes... And it is FUCKING CHAOS. People toot their horns all the time. It's more like a warning of "TOOT! I'm here behind you! TOOT! Now I'm in your blind spot! TOOT! Now I'm beside you! TOOT! I'm diagonally in front of you! TOOT! Now I'm in front of you!" ...Y'know, just in case you forgot where the other cars/ bikes/ trucks were in relation to you on the road. So it's a cacophony of TOOT! TOOT! TOOT! TOOT! (Even now that I'm settled in this residential area, you get bikes that go past you and there's NOBODY ELSE around for miles, and they'll TOOT! as they go past you, just to make sure you know there's a bike around. It's fucking bizarre. I'll just get used to it.)

Chandra started off with just a Ganesh statue in the front of his car for protection (and practically all cars here have some form of deity protecting their journey), but along the way, he bought this other solar-powered flower pot from a street-seller. The sun powers its leaves to move up and down. I don't think this flower pot has any other magical powers than this. HAHAHA!


About 3 hours into the journey, Chandra asks "You want some Chai?" ...Oo er, of course I was thirsty by this time, but at the same time I've also heard EVERYBODY'S warnings of "ONLY DRINK BOTTLED WATER!! NEVER FROM THE TAP!!" ...And who knows where the water from this Chai comes from, right? So being the Urban Bumpkin I am, I said "let's stop for a break, I'll get some bottled water." (HAHAHA)

We pulled up by a restaurant by the road, and instead of going inside to sit down, the waiter comes out and serves you in your car. DRIVE-THROUGH CHAI WALLA!! While waiting for my 1-litre bottle of water, the waiter comes out with an Onion Pancake. "Verrrry nice this. For you", he says. And Chandra says this place is famous for its onion pancakes "Try it. Verrrrrry nice."

GULP.

I had visions of me holding onto my belly while being doubled over in pain on the loo.

BUT... These people were so lovely, how could I be the rude twat foreigner rejecting everything they put before me? I'd already rejected multiple offers of Chai Tea from both the waiter and Chandra.

So... I said a little prayer of gratitude to the Universe for putting this Onion Pancake before me then said to myself "Here goes nothing. Bombs away!!" ;p


EFFING DELICIOUS!! So glad I tried it. And survived to tell the tale. HAHAHA.

Along the way, Chandra was asking me about yoga and whether I knew so-and-so and so-and-so... He was basically referring to all the famous ashtanga teachers by their first names. "You know David? David and Shelly were here on the 18th. Now they're in Goa." (Oh! Wow, he's talking about the Swensons... hehe) And he talked about how so-and-so is very nice and how so-and-so was also just here... And then he gets talking about Pattabhi Jois and has only great things to say about him. It made me smile when he said Guruji was a very kind man and got along well with his students. He seemed a bit more reserved in his praise for Sharath, which I found kind of interesting. It felt like he wanted to say something else but held back coz he didn't know me from Jack. Maybe I'm misinterpreting this, but hmm... ...!

It was nightfall when we arrived in Gokulam, and he drove me past the shala before dropping me off at my house. The shala's HUGE! It was dark so I couldn't quite see, but it looks like it's nestled in a residential area and is about 3 or 4 floors high. I'm going there to register later today, so will have more pictures to show.

In the meantime, I'm sharing the top floor of my landlord's house with another lady, and have my own room and bathroom. It's all very basic but the most important thing is: It's CLEAN!! And secondly, I have INTERNET CONNECTION!! (See, I haven't even unpacked and my laptop's already out.)




I was a little taken aback (and still am) when the landlord told me that I can't throw ANY toilet paper down the loo or it'll get clogged. It all has to go in a bin next to the loo "and tie up the bag and leave it outside by the gate in the morning". EEEEEEEEEK! *Mental shift from First World to Third World*. I can do this.

The one thing that's missing here: 3G connection. Which means: my iPhone is pretty much useless. I can't access Google Maps, Twitter, Foursquare, nor get push emails. And actually, that's not necessarily a bad thing either... Life just becomes a little simpler, no? (I'm still getting my head around this a bit. Feel a little naked without access to the internet on my mobile!)

This morning, I had a little wander around my neighbourhood. At the local friendly supermarket, I was delighted to find STACKS of incense. I mean... Only in India, right? An entire aisle dedicated to incense sticks.


And then I found the most unappetizing-looking neon cakes.


A random pothole house. Super random architecture.


My landlord drew me a little map of my neighbourhood and recommended different places to go to. I had me my first Indian breakfast this morning: Masala Dosai! YUMMY!


And then I thought "FUCK IT" and also had my first Chai Tea. After all, my landlord says this place is "safe for foreigners to eat at". Plus, with a signboard that says "Great Taste & Hygiene" (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!) how could I have any doubts. It's been 2 hours since breakfast and no rumble in my belly. Think I'm all clear. What was weirder for me was tasting the milk in the Chai. I haven't had milk in super ages since being vegan, but kinda feel like since I'm in India, how can I not have some Chai?! Milk now tastes super pungent and nasty and that was what kinda turned me off the Chai (not the alleged parasites in the water. HAHAHA.)


On my way home, I got ambushed by 2 bright, little boys who kept asking me "Do you have your country coin?" They're allegedly doing a school project and need foreign currency. So they say. I remember reading something similar on my good friend's blog, but they were both so chatty and spritely, one even said "You can come to my house for breakfast and I'll show you my whole collection." Bless them. I told them if they could wait for me, I'd go home and bring some for them. When they found out I was staying at _____'s house, they were like "Oh, we'll wait outside for you. _____ won't like it if we come in with you." HAHAHA! Good to know my landlord can pull rank in this neighbourhood. Hehe. What's even funnier is these boys took all my Euro coins, and gave me back my Singaporean coins. HAHAHAHA! They're pretty sharp little kids.


So that's about it for now. I'm headed over to the shala in a couple of hours to register for classes. I start tomorrow. And then Tuesday's a moon day break so maybe that will help me get over my nerves a bit.

I can't believe I'm in Mysore!!

-----

Busted Foot Practice & New Home

Yesterday, I had the most horrific practice. My foot is still busted, but I can put a little bit more pressure on it. So I figured "OK, let's try the primary series and see how far I get".

In the Surya's, I couldn't quite jump back properly. Or rather, while jumping back, I was putting more weight on the right foot. So... I really shouldn't have been jumping back at all. Turning my left foot in in B version was a little bit painful but I thought "my foot is just stiff. It hasn't moved in a while so let's just warm it up". When I got up to Trikonasana, it was OK on the right side, but on the left side, the muscles on the left foot arch were not happy. So then I decided I'd better just back off and don't be a hero.

I then went straight into the seated poses, but still had to modify quite a bit coz my left foot can't turn beyond a certain point. This led to a practice that was all about breath, bandhas, ow-my-foot, drishti, oh-I-need-a-pedicure-wait-where's-my-drishti-again, breath, bandha, oh-my-god-my-toenail's-falling-off... I was completely distracted, unfocused, and all over the shop. Only because I let my busted foot consume my thoughts rather than embracing the fact that "OK, my foot's busted. I know I have to modify so why am I whining. Get on with it."

In fact, I was so unfocused, I actually stopped mid-practice, got my camera out and took a photo of my baby toenail that was falling out. I couldn't wait until after practice coz "what if it falls off completely then I can't get the shot?"

*** GROSS PICTURE OF FALLING-OFF TOENAIL COMING UP ***

You were warned.


(I am purposely covering the rest of my toenails coz I NEED A PEDICURE!)

And the whole practice was really short but it was so laboured it took me too long to finish... I mean I pretty much did a reverse half-primary. No standing, only seated poses... which shouldn't have taken me more than 45 minutes to 1 hour... But I finished it in 1.5 hours. Um... My usual full practice up to Laghuvajrasana takes me about that long (then another 15 minutes for closing). So... it was a super loooooooong, drawn-out, all-over-the-place practice.

Oh well. I got on the mat. HAHAHA! I kept thinking the whole time "This is when the real yoga kicks in..." Y'know... Having to do your regular practice with an injury, but still maintaining that same, steady concentration the whole time, unfazed. For me, it was... YOGIC APPROACH: FAIL!

When I was done, I checked my phone and a friend had invited me to a jazz brunch at the Hotel Americain (Yes, that's the "American Hotel" but spelt the French way. And it's in Amsterdam. HAHAHA.) It's a beautiful old Art Nouveau (or is it Art Deco?) hotel, and the architecture's just stunning.



When I got home, I was finally in the mood to take more photos, so here's the long awaited pictures of my "new" apartment. It's actually in an old Dutch gabled house... and because it's a really tiny house over 2 floors (they're usually about 4 storeys high), the entire house is MINE! I HAVE NO NEIGHBOURS!! :)

The ground floor is a parking garage that I have no access to - the landlord's daughter parks her car there.


It's so adult, but everyone has their names on their doors here.


Since the ground floor's the garage, my flat technically starts on the First floor (for my American readers, "first floor" is actually the floor up the ground floor, what you would call "second floor"). So when you open the main door, you're greeted by a flight of stairs to go up. I like that they're painted white. But this means everyone has to take their shoes off!


From the reverse angle at the top of the stairs:


So the First floor's an open plan living/ dining and kitchen area, and I've also got a small terrace by the kitchen.







I added some wall art with these flowers. And I like my little falling-man-door-stopper. Because I've got no time to look after a cat here, the next closest thing I've got is this grumpy cat timer.



Going up the white spiral staircase, there's a skylight. Important for grey & rainy Amsterdam!


The second floor is built right up into the roof, with exposed ceiling beams, and I love how everything's painted white. There's a bathroom at the top of the stairs. The loo is in its own separate room (very European!)... And there's a tiny room on one side of the house - big enough for laundry and storage, and the other room's my bedroom. On the side of the tiny room, there's another terrace that looks out into the nothingness view of neighbours' windows. From the top terrace, you can look down into the kitchen terrace. :)










I love how in the bedroom, there's another tiny skylight at the top and the landlord's put in a stained-glass picture. Thank goodness it's not The Crucifixion or anything religious. I think they're... Potato Eaters? (HAHAHAHA!)


And I put in more wall-art: silver dragonflies in the bedroom!


That's all... I'm really liking how I'm going more girly with this house. I guess after living with a boy for many years, my previous apartments were all kinda gender-neutral or bordering on the masculine (coz somehow masculine home decor seems more gender-neutral than putting up flowers and dragonflies on your wall! HAHAHA!)

I'm really liking the light and airy feeling of this new place. Feels like home. :)