Freshlimesoda

1:46 PM Monday, November 15, 1999

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It's what I'm drinking right now. Sitting on the porch of the Breach Candy Club. There's a smattering of tourists here, or are they professional loungers? Deep tans and sparkling gold jewelry. Well, it was 200 bucks to get in. Oh, my chicken, onion rings and French fries just arrived. It's what I'm having for lunch. It's also the first thing I've eaten since Saturday morning. I looked on the register here and the last 5 people to come in were all from the US. It is a truly gorgeous day here in Bombay. It was cool enough for me to sleep with a blanket last night and today is warm sunshine and cool breezes. The club is right on the ocean. I think it has the biggest swimming pool I've ever seen. Breach Candy Club ROCKS.

I haven't eaten anything since Saturday because I was sick. I was really sick. But it's over now. It was lucky for me that I got sick on a Sunday and Ami was hanging around. She got me Imodium and made me freshlime juice and put in this stuff called "Electronic" which is kinda like Gatorade powder. It's supposed to help you rehydrate. I can't figure out what made me sick. I've been eating all kinds of stuff since I got here, just like last time, and haven't even been slightly sick. The only thing I did different was miss a malaria tablet. Even though I couldn't sit up for more than 2 minutes, I don't think what I had yesterday was Malaria.

My friends work too hard. More on that later.

I've decided that my writing has gotten too stale. It started off last year being journal entries that happened to be fit for public consumption, now I don't think what I'm writing qualifies for journals. I liked my writing last time better. I need to keep it raw and personal I think — even if it is embarrassing. Dirt's what the people want after all. I'm just not going to write any personal crap that affects people who I'm dealing with now. These people are going to get enough exposure as it is. And I'd like to apologize to Brian for all the times I've typed Brain instead of Brian. It slips past the spellchecker.

Anyhow, the meditation class didn't happen but I ended up hanging out with the teacher and Swati and Natasha all night. Not enough people showed up. I had all the water and bananas and rugs set up. The teacher seemed fine and we talked about what happens in the course but then he started saying all this evangelist bullshit like telling BriBri and me stories about people with multiple chronic diseases that were instantly healed by his technique and holy miracles and shit. I think he was trying to sell us but he should've checked that technique at the door. Yo.

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What's it like here? Just like any other place really. The biggest change for me has not been cultural or weather but the amount of contact with people. I have a roommate now for the first time in 5 years and I've been adopted into a whole new social scene. I mean, a whole scene when I've got no base to work from so I sort of drift. I've met about 30 people since getting here, we go out 3 nights a week, each with a new group of people. I was a loner in SF and so having all these parties and people to hang with is kinda weird – but I love it.

I've been unsuccessful finding an underground youth scene here. I've been trying hard though. I straightup ask people, "Where are the young, pissed off, artistic types?" People tell me to hang out at the bowling alley. Uh huh.

More on the bowling alley later.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to educate the people I am hanging with about stuff like 'zines and putting on shows and all that Do-It-Yourself punk stuff that seems so far away now. The few people who've understood what I'm trying to do have said that I'll definitely get people to come out to shows because there's just not that much going on and there's a lot of bored youth. I'm going to try to hook Brian and I up with a DJ or two that put on raves and maybe we can be the intermission entertainment. One thing that's kinda kool that I found out last night is that you can go to the newspaper distribution stands and give the guys 100 rupees and they'll put your flyer in all the newspapers they deliver. I could cover all of the Colaba area for 100 bucks for example.

I've gotten fully used to eyeballing Indian women. I saw about 15 western girls today when I went to the tourist queue at the train station and damn, were they ugly. Gawd what a mess they were. Maybe traveling here takes it out of them or it's just that I'm now used to lean, brown and exotic. These women were fat, white and European. You know what I mean by European? Where the colors are all wrong? I don't know what it is, but keep me away from them. However, I'm trying to be careful 'cause Indian women seem so innocent in comparison to American babes. They live with their parents after all.

More on the prostitutes later.


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