Happy Diwali!

Today is the Indian New Year: Diwali, the Festival of Lights. I know this because Sarika is trying to Brownify me. I don't really know why, exactly, but she has dubbed it her duty to make me Indian, or at least an honorary one. She has this strange obsession with making me her project for various things and I really just don't get it, but whatever. It's cool to be cultured. :) Anyway, Sarika has been counting down the days until this holiday; apparently, it's her favorite. She has been filling me in for weeks about the different traditions and whatnot because I was going to do everything in my power to celebrate it with her as best as I could. However, because our schedules were so completely different today, we had to celebrate separately until we could celebrate a little together. We started the day off by wearing new clothes (I wore my shirt that I bought when Alysa and I went shopping forever ago that I hadn't worn until now because it had been too hot. Apparently it looks good on me, says Sarika). We spent most of the day apart, doing more schoolwork than celebrating, but we got together later tonight. We went to Kabobaque (a fast-food Indian restaurant on University. It's kind of like calling Taco Bell Mexican food, but it was the closest we could get). We got our food and walked over to a shady place under a beautiful tree to have a picnic. We ate our food on new plates (apparently the food was said to be horrible by other Indians, but Sarika thought it was good and that Indians only say it's bad because they want to cause drama. I really liked it, too. Sarika said they did the spices correctly because our noses were running, whatever that means) and sat in the candlelight of these battery-operated candles that I bought when I was causing trouble with my sister's roommate at Walgreen's. When I first gave Sarika the candles (one for her, one for me), she was completely overjoyed. Squealy, even. She almost cried. She said it was the nicest thing anyone had ever down for her (which in my opinion is pretty lame sauce considering it wasn't even that big of a deal). She called her mom and told her about the candles (apparently they're a big deal in Indian culture and quite crucial to Diwali or something) and I think I got major brownie points with her mom, which I need. Not that I did anything for her to not like me, but she just doesn't like anyone really, so I need all of the help that I can get. We finished eating and then Sarika had to go to her chem lab. We were going to watch an Indian drama that's like, 5 hours long, but we just didn't have time for that. Another day. And then I will be really Indian. :) Also, you may have been wondering if we have seen the Diwali episode of The Office, and yes we have, and yes, we were going to watch that as well, but we didn't have time. I might watch it by myself before I go to bed because, well, I just can't get enough of The Office. In celebration of Diwali, I am keeping the lights on for as long as I can before Alysa goes to bed, and after I have to turn off the lights, my little candle will "burn" for the remainder of the night. Happy Diwali to all!

In other news, I got my cast off yesterday. It's amazing how much lighter I feel. They reweighed me at the doctor's office after I got it off and I had lost 2 1/2 pounds. The doctor said I am healing so well that all I have to do is wear a sling for the next couple weeks and do my own form of physical therapy. Basically I just have to keep my elbow moving and really work at having full extension and full usage of my arm, and so far, I think I am doing pretty well. I can move my arm so that it's almost straight (I basically look like I am doing the Mr. Roboto) and I am doing well with he suppination and pronation. I am actually typing with both hands for the first time in two weeks! Granted, it hurts like crazy, but I am getting used to it. I am in a lot of pain all the time, but hey, no pain, no gain. I am just really proud of my progress. I will be back to dancing in no time! In fact, cool story:

So I have been going to Ballroom like usual; I am just there to watch, not to dance. All of the advanced students have been really sweet and are always coming up to talk to me about my arm. Jake the Cake (my friend and Sarika's dancing partner) came up to me and told me that if I sit there and write all of the moves down that I have not yet learned, he would take time with me personally to teach me outside of class. Erin also offered the same thing, so potentially I will be getting double the one-on-one help. :D After practice, this guy Michael (Sarika has nicknamed him, her words not mine, McBastard because he is basically a pompous jerk. He doesn't really socially converse with people because he thinks he is too good for everyone else because he has been doing Ballroom for four years plus) comes up to me and asks how my arm was. I told him and he says, "I know it must be torture for you to just have to watch everyone dance [exactly what I had been thinking the whole time]. But you know, most of the moves are footwork and 95% of the time, the woman is led by her right hand; her left hand is merely for show. I don't know if you would be up for it, but I think you could should try dancing, even with your arm the way it is. If you want, I can be your partner and I will be extra gentle." I told him that it was a good idea and that I would consider it. I look over and Sarika's mouth is hanging wide open. We both could not believe that McB actually had a heart. Sarika thinks he has a thing for me, but I think he was just being nice (I have always thought he was nice deep down; Sarika was the one that thought he was "a hopeless case"). Either way, I am really thankful that the people in Ballroom (especially the advanced students whom I thought didn't know I existed) are being so nice about the whole situation and just really want me to come back. I think they see how much I just really want this.

Another thing that happened today...I had my follow-up appointment to get my test results back from "the worm doctor." Basically (as I thought), I don't have worms, a parasite, or anything creepy living inside of me (sadly the name I came up with for the potential tape worm inside of me, Herman, is no longer valid, but I do believe that I am going to keep the name in reference to my stomach nonetheless). I am, however, incredibly anemic and that is why I have been having so many physical problems. I think it's because I ate so many freaking goat kabobs and goat with rice and goat with cooked plantains and goat with ground nut sauce and goat with peas and just plain freaking goat that my body was pumped with iron (probably the iron it was missing all along), that when I came back from Africa and the goat supply was immediately discontinued, my body freaked out and yearned for its goat (or at least the iron that was in the goat), in which case I became incredibly anemic and hence my body was screwed over (the doc also said that that could have contributed to the breakage of my arm: I was just very weak and so a single fall just took me out). The doctor proscribed me with iron pills that I have to take three times a day for six months. Holy Goat Kabobs, I am just one messed up child.

Nothing much else to report...this week has been and probably will be a very chill week. I like it, especially since I am still recuperating from everything and I have been strangely tired all the time lately (probably due to the anemia). I do have a test on Friday and then a test next Friday (happy birthday to me...) that I need to study for and that is going to occupy a lot of my time. That's about it, though...

Sorry for another long post. I think I have realized that it is almost impossible for me to write short ones...