There's plenty that has transpired in the last few days, so here goes.

Saturday morning I woke up to the vigorous oscillation of my bed which turned out to be part of the earthquake that was centered near Islamabad, Pakistan. At the time I was too drowsy to realize what was going on, so I merely tried to go back to sleep content with the unexplained fact that the world around me had just finished vibrating. But on a more serious note, the structural engineering work done at eMi is often significantly better than the engineering involved in cheaper construction in the developing world, a fact which is particularly exposed on days like that. In that respect at eMi we're glad to be part of the solution, though there are rumors of expanding into disaster relief one of these days. In any case, we've all been watching the news pretty intently the last few days.

Sunday morning was an interesting chapter in the history of my endocrine system. Apparently it was then that I passed a grain-sized kidney stone, which was painful enough to infer that passing a regular-sized kidney stone is quite an ordeal. Fortunately the guys in the office (many with our chivalrous beards) had moved out of the office/house where we were staying to a separate house which, prase G-d, happened to be much closer to the community hospital. It was also kind of nice that the chrch I've been going to meets in the same hospital and is attended by many of the staff there. The doctor complemented me on my singing after we finished discussing my symptoms, which, given the state of my kidney, was appreciated. Anyway, I'm fine now except for the fact that I have to drink three liters of water a day (which implies that I have to pee three liters of urine a day).

The last ancedote is from monday night when I went to an Indian engagement party at the invitation of my pstor. It was an interesting experience. The last wedding I went to the bride and groom had been dating for 7 years. This wedding, being an arranged one, the bride and groom are practically perfect strangers. I can't imagine an engagment party being a very good first date, but that's how it goes in India (and it seems to work, if the divorce rates have anything to say about it).