black puddings and beer

I have never been a big fan of black puddings. They are made from meat and blood... I like my meat not to remind me of the bloody past that they have been through. Juan Carlos Gomez Martin, a friend of mine in Leeds got back some really good black pudding from Spain the last time he went and I quite liked it. The taste was very strong and I could eat only a bit at a time, but I really did enjoy the little bits.
Today, Micke, my flatmate taught me how to really enjoy it. He shallow fried a lot of the pudding for a long time, and then served it with some Jam and bacon. He topped it all with some beer. The combination works.. it not only works but the taste was completely out of this world...! Dinner tonight was spent engulfing the bloody meat in a matter of seconds and then smacking my mouth for the next 30 minutes reminiscing about the taste which had eluded me through my entire life.
I strongly suggest that you try this!

papering

I have been papering, which means that I have been writing a paper. This is going to be the first complete paper that I am writing on my own. I am not enjoying it. It is not going fast. It feels like I have writer's block. I am learning a lot. The last point overshadows everything before that.

26

I am 26 today... but does that mean anything at all? Growing up has defintely not been on the agenda thus far and I just checked, it is not on the agenda for the next year either.

party time

I had a brilliant time last night. Thanks to everyone who was there to help make it so special. We had a good bunch of people , some nice food, plenty of alcohol and some fabulous music. All in all, it was the perfect recipe for a good night!

Pictures from the party will be up shortly, but this is just to say that coming back to Leeds does feel pretty good. I have to admit that although the travelling around the world has been enjoyable, coming back home does have its own charm.

Also, listen to 'The White Stripes', they are pretty good.

will ferrell

Will Ferrell is quite funny. A link which some friends sent to me a few months ago got me laughing for a long time. Check it out.

back in Leeds

I am back in Leeds. It took my a long time to get here, but here I am. Unfortunately I did not have much time to talk about the project when I was in Borneo, but hopefully soon I should be able to update you on what has been happening.

But for now, lets hear the story about me getting back:

My visa for Malaysia was valid for 30 days and during our stay there, I was supposed to get a research permit which would have entitled me to stay there for 5 months all together. Unfortunately, as it always goes, the bureaucracy was slower than expected and my research pass did not come through. So after a final night out in Kota Kinabalu, I made my way to the airport unaware that this could cause such a big problem.

At Kota Kinabalu, after begging and pleading and with only 5 minutes until take off, they did let me through.. which was rather nice of them. On getting to Kuala Lumpur, I checked with the immigration, who asked to me to pay only while checking in. So I went into the city and had a fantastic time out there... did the normal touristy thing. Some shopping under my belt I headed back to the airport where they refused to let me board. They said that I had to go to the headquarters in Putrajaya to pay for the extension. So I had to change my flights and next day in the morning I headed to Putrajaya.

Putrajaya is a city built only for administration purposes. So, as you can imagine, there are not too many tourists there. In fact, there is hardly anyone there who doesn't have business in the courts or the immigration department. I had business in the immigration department. On giving them my passport and asking for a visa extension, this is how the conversation went:

Me: Hello, I have overstayed my visa and would like to get a visa extension.
Lady at the counter: Sure that is no problem, can I have your passport please. (Takes a look at the passport). Oh, you are from India, Indians are not allowed visa extensions.
Me: Oh right... so how do I get out of the country
Lady: Yeah, you need a visa extension.
Me: Ok.. so can I have one?
Lady: No, you are from India.
Me: Ok.. so how do I get out of the country.
Lady: Oh, you need a visa extension.
Me: Right, we went through that.. I am from India and I cannot get a visa extension, but I need one to get out of the country. I would like to get out of the country in spite of being Indian.. is there any way to do this?
Lady: Hmm.. good question, let me see. (Calls some superior, speaks for 20 minutes in Malay, I think it was mostly about some sitcom on TV last night) So, we will have to deport you.
Me: Aah.. but I have my flight tonight, can I not deport myself and save the trouble?
Lady: No, we want to do it.
Me: Okay... so how long do you think this will take?
Lady: It takes about a week to process all the papers
Me: A week?! Then should I go and book a hotel until then?
Lady: No, we will have to put you into jail.
Me: What?!!??!?!

At this point, the panic button was pretty close to being hit pretty hard. But I asked her to talk to her supervisor, with whom I had a repeat of that conversation. The there was another superior, and then another. Finally after spending 8 hours in the office, they realised that this would be a pretty good system for Indians who want to stay there, to come overstay their visa and never worry about getting out.

I had to pay the extension charges, and I got the extension. I was finally on my way to the airport again, where I checked in 24 hours before the flight just to be sure... I was pretty shocked as you can see.

So, as it goes, I am back home, enjoying being back in civilisation, and with a few more stories to talk about in the pub.