The Great Saree Adventure pt 2

Welcome to part two of the Great Saree Adventure, which is as much about the great kind of people I've met here as it is about my saree.

When I bought the saree this past weekend I was thinking that I had nearly two weeks until the wedding, imagine my shock when I realized I had less than a week.  This is a problem because typically when you buy a saree it comes with a piece of fabric that you then take to your tailor and have them use to make the top and things like that don't happen overnight.

When I arrived at work on Monday I started asking friends if they knew of a tailor who might take a rush job.  One of my colleagues stepped up and said she'd make a few calls for me.  She got her mom involved and next thing I know I had an appointment with a tailor Tuesday evening, right after I picked up the saree.  My friend's mom had called and some how convinced her tailor, who usually takes 1-2 months per order, to do a rush job for me.  At 7 PM I showed at Mrs. J's house (who I'd never met before) and sat down for a visit and some wonderful fresh juice which was prepared when I explained I didn't drink tea or coffee while we waited for her tailor (yes he makes house calls.)

When he arrived, she kindly explained that I wanted my shirt a bit longer than usual (no way am I baring my belly!)  This led to a LONG conversation in hindi with much measurements of the fabric.  The fabric had been specifically created with bands of the printing placed where the waist and the arms would end on the normal length, but since I wanted mine a few inches longer there wasn't enough fabric.  Eventually we all decided to go with a fabric dyed to match with the printed bands added after the fact, seems like a workable solution to me.

How kind was it for Mrs. J and the tailor to spend part of their evening helping out a total stranger at the request of my friend.  The more I travel the more I'm convinced the world is full of amazing people, you just have to see through the differences to realize it.

As I dashed out the door due to a call from my driver telling me he had to leave Mrs. J presented me with a little goodie.  I thought it would be a savory, vegetable type thing, but instead it was a sweet.  I love when I'm brave enough to try new things, like wearing a saree and strange looking food.

Finally got around to downloading the new Lady Antebellum and am loving this song:
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Dealing

I learned a good lesson today. I came home from work exhausted and not particularly loving my job or life. After a good rant (thanks for listening Nic.) I was getting ready for bed. I realized that after tossing and turning last night, I needed to refocus my mind and get it away from work and into a happier mental place so I could get some sleep tonight. I instantly remembered something I saw on my way to work today.

Each morning we drive past a tent city set up on the side of the road. I watch the women cleaning up from breakfast and doing laundry and the children playing around the tents. The kids are always doing something different, whether it's building things with the firewood they've collected or playing on the dirt hill.
Today I happened to notice one of the women watering two potted plants in front of her tent. I thought that was amazing, it really doesn't matter what challenges life throws our way - what matters is how we chose to deal with them. She doesn't have a big house with lots of beautiful furniture that many of us (ok, I) feel are requirements for a happy life, instead she has a home made of a tarp and some "found" bricks, but she's doing all that she can to make it a beautiful, pleasant place. A lesson for me to sleep on.

I need to end this blog with a song that will give me another boost towards optimism, so from one of my favorite discoveries of the summer, Lady Antebellum's "One Day You Will."

You feel like you're falling backwards
Like you're slippin' through the cracks
Like no one would even notice
If you left this town and never came back
You walk outside and all you see is rain
You look inside and all you feel is pain
And you can't see it now

But down the road the sun is shining
In every cloud there's a silver lining
Just keep holding on (just keep holding on)
And every heartache makes you stronger
But it won't be much longer
You'll find love, you'll find peace
And the you you're meant to be
I know right now that's not the way you feel
But one day you will

You wake up every morning and ask yourself
What am I doing here anyway
With the weight of all those disappointments
Whispering in your ear
You're just barely hanging by a thread
You wanna scream but you're down to your last breath
And you don't know it yet

Find the strength to rise above
You will
Find just what you're made of, you're made of

One day you will
Oh one day you will



Sorry for the slightly cheesy video - it was the only decent version of the song I could find.

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