Owner: david mctavish photography URL:http://www.davidmctavish.com/blog/ Join Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2007 21:37:11 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: simple photos of every day life by david mctavish Site statistics:Click here
momma said knock you out 2007-11-17 04:11:00 zen's taking a liking to listening to music via the laptop; however the availability of children's music through dubious sources is somewhat anemic. i suppose the barney and raffi demographic just aren't as underground as i am... i suppose my expectation of 3-year-olds being bit-torrent savvy is a bit extreme. (and i thought we'd all be wearing jet-packs by now). hopefully busta rhymes and ll cool j can pick up the slack.
test of the emergency broadcasting system 2007-11-16 04:11:00 for those that waited out the zen-week marathon, i'm pleased to present some new material. for those that are requesting zen re-runs; i'm sure that he will make an appearance shortly. that loud-pitched buzzing? yeah, it's all in your head.
week of zen 2007-11-15 04:11:00 now don't you feel relaxed?
the soothers' POV 2007-11-14 04:11:00 before zen was born we were adament that we wouldn't succomb to the soother. well, that didn't last long. pure bliss for only $4.95.
yogacise 2007-11-13 04:11:00 zen's finally discovered his toes which is keeping him pre-occupied 24x7. fortunately, he's not flexible enough to deposit them into his mouth, but it's not for a lack of trying. the best part of all of this is that he's learned to do this on queue which means he's at that impressionable point where i can start teaching him annoying habits. :)
babies without borders 2007-11-21 23:20:00 it's a bit of a relief that zen's broke through his first contagious bout: chicken pox. while mom's never had it (although was immunized before he was born); i can at least sympathize with the little stinker. although, it seems to be a lot easier to deal with when you can't reach all of the places that need to be itched. a couple of days of fussiness and now we're off to the races.
Van sneaking in a comment here - or rather an apology. It seems that I was too excited and broke the news to some about a photo contest and now you are eagerly waiting to see which picture was entered...unfortunately it will not be posted until the 25th, I promise - extremely sorry:( I had no control over it. That's my story and I'm stickin to it.
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TKO 2007-11-20 23:20:00 zen + the beach = instant knock-out. it's nice to have some artillery up our sleeves when things go rough. not that they do often, but when it seems that nothing in the world will calm him down; it's time for a trek to the beach. i imagine buying one of those new-age nature cds would be more efficient, but i'm a bit attached to the outings myself.
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lil' man 2007-11-20 04:11:00 somewhere along the way dinner-time turned into play-time. i don't object to the independence, but it sure is taking a toll on the face cloths. good thing he's so stinkin' adorable.
smoke break 2007-11-19 04:11:00 so you might think with all of these photos posted that all i do is run around india with my camera in tow. the truth of the matter is, i spend less than four hours/week taking photos. as much as i'd love to be taking more, it's just difficult to find the time when i could be spending it with zen.
purple haze 2007-11-18 04:11:00 sometimes i wonder if malaria may truly be more tolerable than the mefloquine. last night's lucid dream was a rendition of war of the worlds; complete with close encounters of the third kind. at one point there were fighter jets coming to our rescue, but a flick of the wrist and they were swallowed up by a tornado. ominous! i'm sure the symbolism only confirms that you should just say no to drugs.
everything's gonna be alright 2007-11-27 23:20:00 sorry to leave you hanging like that, but the boy turned out fine. he's graduated to the sippy-cup, but still hasn't quite mastered the motor skills. he's close, but fortunately he's figured out the mechanics of gravity to help him out. Read more:gonna
you bought no-name brand? 2007-11-26 23:20:00 i'm not aware of any secret recipe behind the original arrowroot cookie; at least not to my distinguished palette. but lo and behold, try to farm off some knock-offs to the boy and things go down in a landslide. i tried the cookie afterwards... the boy makes a good point; they're terrible. so we're instigating a new rule: mom tries everything before he eats it. i would have volunteered for the position, but i have other commitments. :)
swimming in circles 2007-11-25 23:20:00 van purchased me a new book entitled games indians play; which has been rather illuminating. it attempts to tackle the ugly step-brother of the 5W's: how, and certainly achieves its objective. weighing in at a hefty 220 pages, i'd wager the last 120 are pure fluff; solely added to pad the book for the publishers' satisfaction. that said, the first half is actually quite spot-on. now, you might want to know why people here behave and think the way they do, and the author quickly declares that this is not the scope; which is a wise decision indeed. i'm not sure there is a reason why anymore; and just understanding how indians think is enough ammunition to survive. i wouldn't suggest that living here is a picnic, but little tidbits like this bring a certain amount of clarity that equal parts cynicism and humor can help you deal with the every-day stories. now you're probably asking what does this have to do with swimming pools? nothing; this is just a photo van took of our pool that Read more:circles
photo contest 2007-11-24 23:20:00 i'll prefix the post with an apology for the double-post; i'll be sure to not let it happen again. last sunday marked the 10th annual chennai photo contest celebrated at the taj (no, not that taj). anyway, at van's behest i finally entered a few photos on the eve of the deadline. my expectations weren't overly optimistic, i sometimes believe that i have talent, but i've never really measured myself in a real-world competition. further the fact that i didn't properly fill out the application form probably wasn't helping matters either. but a few weeks later and we receive an invitation to the awards ceremony... free brunch? i'm sold.
so we arrive at the hotel with zen in-tow; and i approach the registration table to pick up my name tag. things seem to be going normally, but when i told them who i was it seemed the entire staff swarmed around us and whisked us away into the atrium. apparently, there was a special section for participants; however, there wasn't room for van (or z
ganesh 2007-11-23 23:20:00 i'm not sure how the hindu pantheon was established, but it certainly seems that the deities were put together by marketing representatives for an action-figure toy company. how can you compete with an action figure with an elephant head and posable limbs? now, i know a bit about the background story, and if i were shiva and saw that my kid had the head of an elephant; there definitely would be some questions being raised with mrs. shiva.
our house 2007-11-22 23:20:00 now it might not have the white picket fence, it certainly has a barricade encrusted with shards of glass. we're roughly a stones' throw away from the beach; and have a shared pool all to ourselves. it would seem that the average indian does not know how to swim. i'm not sure why, but it seems the proximity you are born to the ocean, the less likely you are to know how to swim. personally, living in 45 degree heat, i'd be an olympian by now.
thank you for your support 2007-12-03 23:20:00 there's something to be said about the adrenaline rush of doing business by cover of darkness. while i commiserate with the early prohibitionists, i'm not yet at the point where i want to partake in the risk-for-profit side of the equation. as appealing as sitting in a dingy in the wee hours with cases of alcohol may be, i'll leave the heavy lifting to the locals. sure, i end up paying a premium, but sometimes a good stiff drink is in tall order. while i realize that moderate drinking is healthy for the body, sometimes a little over-imbibement is healthy for the mind.
mmmm-tasty 2007-12-02 23:20:00 i should say congratulations to my lil' sis. she's recently had another little one to add to her family; sophie. it's times like these that you miss home when you can't share with such exciting events other than through photos. it's ok, we're tough, but it reminds us of why we don't play the "what do you miss about home" game, that's just off-limits. of course, i do miss bacon... and starbucks, and all that good stuff. but there's certainly elements here that are encouraging. we get to spend more quality time with zen, and that makes it worthwhile in spades.
fast lane 2007-12-01 23:20:00 so from my experience of living in the caribbean, i expect a certain change in pace on life when i'm abroad. the jamaicans have certainly earned a reputation for manipulating the velocity of time. but there was always the realization that things would eventually be done. indian-time however is an altogether new concept. progress is promised, but you'll wait an infinity before it will materialize without direct intervention. i've realized my job here now, it's to encourage the discussion, but be the little pain in the ass that makes sure we weren't wasting our breath in the first place.
wicket cricket 2007-11-30 23:20:00 so i received my first lesson in cricket, purely educational with no hands-on experience required. the big series has been on-going for a month, pitting the best of pakistan with the formidable indian team. anybody with a sense of national pride is watching the games, and seeming as we're one of few people who own a tv, it's convenient for people to drop by. no worries though, it's an entertaining break from our regular routine. anyway, based on my experience of how the scores are displayed on tv, i was under the impression the score was 245-8. quite an overwhelming deficit to work your way out of... potentially a point where perhaps some sort of mercy rule should be considered to spare the embarrassment of such a prolonged whippin'. apparently, the second number isn't the score, but how many wickets have been made (outs for us north americans). the other teams' score? you're just supposed to remember that, you are rooting for them aren't you?
peek-a-boo 2007-11-29 23:20:00 van and i made a day-trip out to a local orphanage for mentally handicapped children. van'll provide a more PC-term if required, i'm of the opinion that it's the intent that makes the words malicious, not the actual words. anywho, we were quite impressed with the facility and the focus on improvement for the children. what seem like normal every-day activities to you and i, are daily successes for these children. the best part? seeing the pride on their faces as they performanced an authentic indian dance routine to the vengaboys. because you know they like to part-y.
return to sender 2007-11-28 23:20:00 so this coming saturday marks our third shift since arriving in india. so all of those letters you sent us that were returned, well, now you have an excuse. as much as we enjoying packing all of our belongings and living like gypsies out of suitcases propped up like teepees, we'll be glad to know that this next place should last the duration of our stay. we know it's different because we've allowed it to domesticate us; we've purchased plants and lights and outdoor furniture in an attempt to transform a house into a home. there's certainly something more inviting about opening the front door and seeing pictures of your family instead of sterile hospital-white walls gaping at you.
david, van, and zen
House No. 3, Shanti Sumudra
Chinnandi Kuppam Road
Injambakkam, Chennai
600041
fish fry 2007-12-05 23:20:00 sometimes it's my turn to cook; which leads us to today's photo. these trusty guys have saved me time and time again. it's surprising how delicious portable fried fish can really be; perhaps there's a market for expansion back home. you work on the financing and i'll acquire the franchising rights.
vertical horizon 2007-12-04 23:20:00 some sappy goodness, as i don't have anything else today. Read more:horizon
bangkok 2007-12-18 03:32:11 we arrived in bangkok this morning and are amazed at the difference in our spirits. we're still quite tired from the red-eye flight (seems any escaping flights from chennai are scheduled after midnight), but things are definitely looking up. despite the troubles we've been through today (zen's first tooth cracked through during the flight) and my inability to sleep on an airplane, it's been a long day indeed. to make matters more interesting, it seems that i'd forgotten all of our documents, passports and cash at the airport in a convenient to carry ziploc bag. d'oh. anyway, it would seem fortune is looking down on us, as it has magically made its way back to our hotel. i'm completely at a loss for words, but it seems that things are going our way for a change. we might not be posting for a few days, but know that we're thinking of our friends and family during the christmas holidays, and look forward to spending more face-time next year.
harumph 2007-12-13 15:03:52 in the interests of diplomacy, i've tried to take the high road and not post anything lately. perhaps being quite aways from home has something to do with my outlook, but some time away is definitely in order. the photos haven't been flowing, and as such the well was a bit dry this week. apologies, i should be able to correct that in the new year.
loungin' 2007-12-12 15:03:52 we won't lie, this is our favourite room in the house. although it seems the tv might be the central attraction, i can attest that the ocean view gets more appreciation. zen's daily ritual includes watching the sunrise and listening to the waves roll in. yeah, he'll be a romantic when he gets older. ;)
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