Miscillaneous Meanderings

It's been over a week since I last posted, ad it's hard to find a common theme for the last nine days or so. Interviewing has started but continues slowly: most of the guys I interview are not in the office regularly, certainly not before 11 am or so, and you have to go through some ridiculous (company) bureaucracy to get to them. Lately, a number of them have suggested I email, and then they'd set up a meeting. This is rich: I have yet to receive an email response from an interviewee -- and this includes over eighty interviews conducted in Pakistan, too. Mostly, it's just tiring, trying to set up interviews, heading out for them, and then wondering in the end whether it's all going to turn into something worthwhile someday. At times, I think that 'rigourous methodology' is just merely people's way of assuring themselves that their work will be taken seriously.

Cell phone problems seem to have resolved themselves (in sha' allah), but still having internet troubles -- more specifically with the completely ludicrous idea of 'address verification' for a completely mobile internet device. Really just astounds me the level to which modern, private companies are unable to reduce stupid transactions costs that are not at all imposed by the government. The idea that someone can and should be at home to receive representatives from the company at random hours certainly does not accord with India's image of flexibility and productivity.

It seems like I'm here to carry out the work of tarnishing shining India.

As for life, it's going well. I got rather bitter taste from the ex pat researcher social scene one evening at this too-high-end-for-its-own-good joint in GK-II. Drinks cost much more than most people earn in a day here, the music was too loud, and the crowd was a bit too self-referential. Didn't feel a great deal of inclusion. I can't decide whether it was the people or the scene or perhaps a combination of the two that led to this feeling. Since, I've had a number of very pleasant interactions, so I actually feel relatively blessed... much rather be sitting around someone's apartment until 2 am (last night) than be out when the bar scene jarringly shifts to the club scene.

Delhi's getting nicer -- still warm during the days but increasingly cool at nights. The leaves are falling everywhere but you see little evidence of it on the trees: nice to hear the crunch of leaves under feet and the dance of leaves as cars barrel down large shady avenues near the centre of the city.