Room service

Well, my shampoo spilled into my luggage and all over my clothes, some batteries were stolen from another bag sometime between luggage check-in in Denver and baggage claim in Hyderabad, and when I went to put on my brand-new mail-order excellent anti-pollution respirator mask, it was while we were hurriedly transferring from one vehicle to another, and that happy shiny mask was lost to the streets before it ever even met my face, perhaps even now residing in the belly of some poor itinerant bovine.

And we've had a couple of very rough days, working like crazy and without much sleep. Then we had to switch hotels this morning and this new one is...well... It's called Casa Luxurio, now not-so-fondly known by us as Casa Misfunctio, or sometimes Dysfunctio. We've occupied the hotel room only a few hours now, and these are the things that have not worked so far (mind you, we opted to pay extra and are in what is called the Luxury Room): the shower, the TV, the lights, the toilet, the a/c, the internet, and the mini fridge. At one point we had four guys standing around trying to figure out why the internet cable thingie in the wall wasn't working.

Maybe we should've been warned by the hotel's motto, which is Expect an Experience!

Fortunately, much-needed comic relief was provided by the room service menu. I couldn't believe it when The Husband handed it to me. It looks like every teacher's nightmare of a term paper. The thing is about twenty pages long, single-spaced, with a hundred thousand items listed on it. I asked for translations on some of the things, and The Husband said he had no idea, so he got on the phone with room service, and spent quite a long time, leisurely flipping pages and inquiring about many things. Then he couldn't decide what to get, and settled back on the bed again and called back to discuss some more possibilities. And then a third time.

-----

Sure am missing my animolecules. Here's some photos so you don't have to miss them.

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Back to India

(Artists, check out the awesome reflected light on her face!)

Tomorrow it's back to India, for round 2 of work for the natural-clothing company that we're starting. I bought an anti-pollution mask with a charcoal filter to try wearing in traffic this time. I should probably wear it non-stop rather than just in traffic, but I get claustrophobic, so I'll do the best I can with it.

So I guess "y'all" will have to wait a couple of weeks to see the last two white paintings, and then I'll put 'em together and photograph that (still not sure in what configuration[s] they'll go).

-----

I am going to miss my animolecules so bad...not to mention I hate missing out on some of the time that Gadjo will be little (I just love it when they're kittens and you can carry them with one hand, and scoop them up as they go running by). He's going to be gigantic in two weeks. The other day he went in for his first vaccinations and got weighed again, and in a week he had increased 30% in size. Not kidding. The vet was astonished. I think he's going to be really long and tall and have really long legs.

I'm going to be so homesick. Sigh.

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

White 6

Number 6 of 8. Oil and cold wax on museum panel, 6" x 6".

-----

Note the teeth holes in that cardboard.

-----

In Jaipur, India.


More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

White 5

Number 5 of 8. Oil and cold wax on museum panel, 6" x 6".

-----

Goofball in the laundry basket.

And little monkey curled up on the couch. He looks like a baby panda there.

Gadjo is growing at about an inch a day...or at least it seems that way.

Gadjo is a very confident, self-possessed kitten. When he's not being all attitudinal about what he wants or doesn't want, he can be very sweet.

-----

In the state of Bihar, India.

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

White 4...and a sleepy monkey

Number 4 of 8. Oil and cold wax on museum panel, 6" x 6".

-----

And who is a very sleepy monkey?

Kittens are so funny in that they have only an on/off switch, no modes in between. Gadjo is either being a holy terror perpetual motion machine, or else he's sound asleep and whines if you disturb him (which you just always want to do, because he's so irresistibly adorable while asleep).

Doesn't he just look like a little lima bean? (Or, I suppose, a cute, furry fetus.)

-----

I love the abstract images one can find anywhere there are old materials. This is a wall in Jaipur, India.

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

White 3...and a pile o' kitties

The third white painting, 6" x 6", oil and cold wax on museum panel.

-----

Behold...the kitty pile.

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

White 2

Oil and cold wax on museum panel, 6" x 6". The second white one.

-----

-----

In the state of Bihar, India.

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

White

I've made eight small minimalist abstract white panels, oil & cold wax. They're each 6" x 6". I'm not sure yet in what configuration they'll appear, so I'll introduce them here one by one. When I figure out their configurations, I'll show them together and post a price.

-----

And what else is white? And who has a new best buddy?

Gadjo already has several nicknames from me. "Mouse" is one. And he looks like a little spider monkey, so "Monkey" has become his most frequent nickname, along with "Hanuman" (Hindu simian god), "Monkeypod" (after the Monkeypod tree), and "Monkey Puzzle" (again, after a type of tree).

Rumi and Gadjo are hysterical together. They wrestle like crazed puppies, including loud growly sound effects (from Gadjo) and mock fatal bites. Then eventually they get tired and nod off together, after a bit of mutual grooming.

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com