Kearouac’s On The Road was fantastic. I had started it some time back, before leaving New York last July in fact. When I was last there in February I picked it up again as I did several other titles. I have gone through phases of reading and not reading on this trip, and I decided that I would finish several pieces before returning home again in April. I can relate to Sal Paradise’s frenetic travels and though I have not encountered anyone as crazy as his Dean Moriarty I have come across quite the character or two. It was great when they arrived in Mexico and how they freak out about being able to enjoy life in greater abundance. I have experienced that also along my way. That was what it was like for me when I was in Ukraine; I saw the rows upon rows of inexpensive quality Vodkas, what a sight that was. Now it means high quality professional photo processing at inexpensive rates. Yesterday I got back the first role of black and white film, and I was quite pleased with the quality of their work. When I was in Nikolaev, Ukraine I told Laura the processing quality was lacking. She told me that I didn’t take very good pictures. Well, I can’t argue for the content’s quality so much; even though, I do know what I like to see in a picture. There is a distinguishable difference in the care that this lab is taking in their work from that of Nikolaev. Speaking about content with Prashast he said 10% good pictures in a role constitutes a ‘good role’, and I was pleased at the printing potential for around 10 to 12 shots out of 36. It is decidedly a good role!

My cooking lessons have commenced. Trilochan and I began with the traditional Indian gravy’s. There are four which are the start for most dishes: Masala, Butter, White and Yellow. As he was explaining this he emphasized the color of the dish a great many times. This would appeal to Dana’s aesthetics more than my own initially, but perhaps as we spend some time in the kitchen it will begin to ring a bit clearer with me also. Then we proceeded to a spice shop where we collected most of the ingredients we discussed earlier, and I acquired a nice stash of Kashmiri saffron to dole out back home. I have a meeting tomorrow with the people that own the restaurant Trilochan works in for permission to apprentice in the kitchen with him, and I am hopeful that they’ll approve.