ARRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!!

DNS is doing my head in!!!!

Subnetting is doing my head in!!!!

Exam next Tuesday...

Panjim, Goa, 28 Dec

ok, so my small amount of hair was beginning to sprout randomly and I was starting to look a bit like a mad professor - time to get a haircut...
But where, how?, etc etc.

After much walking about, I found a back street barber shop called "Modern Barbers". It was a very small fluorescent lit shop with 3 old style barbers chairs and two guys. As I approached I saw a young lad was sitting outside the shop on a concrete block. He must have been about 13. I noted that his shirt closely resembled that of the two guys who were cutting and shaving two chaps inside. I concluded, rather like Mr Holmes, that he must be an apprentice.

As I walked past him I smiled and in an instant realised that if I sat in the free chair, it would be he who would be shaving my head. Oh well, in for a penny... It wasn't as if he could really ruin my complex and sophisticated hairdo, now was it?

When I walked in, the shop felt thankfully cool due to the relatively massive air-con unit that was whirring away in the corner. As I went to close the door I noted that said young lad had indeed followed me inside and was motioning me toward the vacant chair. As I sat down I saw the older guys exchange a knowing smile and a chuckle. My guess was that the exchange went something like:-

1st guy: look at this bloke, he's so pale he must be English
2nd guy: yes. What's he think he's doing in here?
1st guy: well, he's brave I'll say that for him!
2nd guy: well let's see how brave he is. We'll get the apprentice to shave his head!
1st guy: ok, good plan - this guy's got hardly any hair so it will be difficult (even for him) to muck it up!!
2nd guy: ha ha ha! You got that right!
1st guy: ha ha ha!

The administering of the sheet that gets put round your neck went really well. Swiftly but professionally applied with the minimum of fuss. Good start, I thought.
Then, apprentice opened a small drawer and pulled out the shaver. I made a 'thumb and forefinger' gesture that let him know that I wanted a very close shave and that he wouldn't need a spacer attachment on the shaver.

When he plugged the shaver in I realised that the cord wasn't really long enough to reach right round the back of my head and that the young lad wasn't actually tall enough to reach the top of my head. Un-deterred by this minor detail the lad put the shaver close to his lips and blew the excess hair off the blades. OK, so none of those ultra-violet sterile cases here then. Nope, just finish up the last chap and put the shaver in the drawer. I hoped the previous customer had had a clean head.

More worryingly, when the lad switched on the device, a fizzing sound came out of the two-pin electrical socket. As he put the shaver to my head the wire became increasingly taught and, when this caused the plug to move in the socket, the power failed. Again, un-deterred, laddo 'wiggled' the plug and the power was restored (together with more 'fizzing').

In the mirror I caught the older chaps' eye and gave a mock 'grimace' as if to suggest (jokingly) that I was petrified of being electrocuted through the head by an apprentice brandishing a shaver. He smiled and then laughed and then got on with his customer's hair. I got the impression that this was not an uncommon occurrence. This didn't reassure me.

The lad cracked on at a pace and was soon finished, or, so I thought. He blew some of my hair off the blade and put the shaver back in the drawer. Then in the mirror, I saw him reach into his pocket and pull out a cut-throat razor.

I cleared my throat (possibly for the last time) and began to run through all the exotic blood disorders I could contract from a dirty blade, should he nick me. Thankfully, before I got too far down the list, I saw him fit a fresh blade to the razor. Then it was on with the lotion, a pull on the ears and the feel of cold steel down the back of my neck.

To take my mind off what was happening with the cut-throat, I watched as the customer next to me began to receive an 'Indian Head Massage' from the chap who'd just trimmed his hair. I concluded that these are given as a matter of course following a haircut. The technique was interesting. It started off as gentle rubbing using the palms all over the head and neck and became increasingly vigorous, culminating in the barber basically 'smacking' the customer about the head. The sound of palm on scalp sounded like a tennis shoe being struck on a concrete surface. Apart from anything else, I thought it odd that this customer had just had his new hairdo completely trashed by having the head massage. Oh well.

When laddo had finished with the razor, he asked me if I wanted a head massage too. I considered it, but having witnessed the guy next to me being basically assaulted, coupled with fact that laddo couldn't really reach the top of my head anyway, I respectfully declined. I think he breathed a sigh of relief too.

Payment for all of this? 50 rupees (about 75 pence). I gave him 100 rupees, felt like a 'bigshot', thanked everyone very much and took my leave.
Back at the hotel room, I examined my head more closely looking for any rogue hairs. But no. There were none at all. In fact, he'd done a top job. I'll definitely recommend him to anyone that asks.

One thing I've realised about the people here is that they work really hard. There are people working wherever you look. There are huge gangs of people working on the streets, on building sites, in restaurants and hotels, in furniture repair shops, etc etc. There's also a great emphasis on craftsmanship - doing things by hand. You can see it everywhere from the shoeshiners' stands to the carpenters' shops.

There's a spirit here too. People work hard but they don't look miserable. In fact there are lots of smiles. The streets in Panjim City are full of people, scooters, auto-rickshaws, cars, vans, trucks and yesterday I even saw an elephant (!) on the main street. It's vibrant but in a completely different way to anything I've seen anywhere else.

OK, it's chaotic and shambolic, but people have accepted it and seem to enjoy it. If the 'nanny state' is a reality in the UK (and I say 'if'), it certainly doesn't apply here in any way, shape or form. And that's a refreshing change.

I must say, I'm beginning to really like it here...

Quest update: MCSE 2nd Exam: Passed!

Yes!!!

I just left the test centre having passed exam 70-290 (Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Environment).

Pass mark is 700 - I got 871 which is a good result for me!

Granting access to network resources let the side down a bit, other than that, all good! Only another 6 to go...

Panjim, Goa: Christmas Eve

Hard at work today. I have 450 test questions to go through ahead of my next exam (Boxing Day!).

Merry Christmas everyone!

Panaji Church, Panjim, Goa

Panjim, Goa: 20 Dec, 15:43

Woken at 08:30 by reception calling on the room phone.
I couldn't really understand what was being said and so assumed he was asking if I was coming down for breakfast. I said "yes, I'll be down in 15 mins".

Still feeling drowsy I pulled on some clothes and headed down to the restaurant.

Freddy, the guy who met me at the airport was there and waved 'hello'.
Some 'Christmas' music was playing. This consisted of traditional Christmas songs sung with an Indian accent with accompaniment from a Bontempi organ.

Things became even more surreal when I realised I was about to eat curry for breakfast.

Buffet breakfast consisted of pilau rice with a bowl of daal. I grabbed a coffee too and noticed that toast was available. A waiter who was on toast duty that morning stood behind an ordinary kitchen toaster. I waited until the toast popped up. It took a while. The waiter peered in to look at the bread every so often as if to try and speed up the toasting process. When it eventually did pop-up he buttered it and handed it to me.

Whilst I was eating, Freddy came over and asked me if I was going to Koenig office this morning. I suddenly realised that it had been him on the phone this morning and that he was waiting to take me there in the taxi.

I explained that there had been a mistake as my training was not due to begin until tomorrow. Poor guy must have been waiting for me for over an hour. He smiled without a hint of frustration and went away.

I returned to my room and called Maria, the Koenig concierge. She confirmed that I start tomorrow and that I could hire a mobile phone which will act as a modem to connect me to the internet.

So, reconnected as of tomorrow...

Panjim, Goa: 19 Dec 2006, 01:27

Flight left Heathrow at 21:00
Didn't sleep much on the flight - watched Jenifer Aniston "The Break-up", "You, Me and Dupree", drifted in and out to a Keanu Reeves film, the name of which I forget.

Arrived Mumbai on schedule - uncrowded and efficient at the airport - collected suitcase and transferred to the internal flight to Goa. Left on time at 14:35 (India time) and arrived Goa 15:35.

I noticed that the shanty town dwellings (basically sheds with ramshackle rooves) were pressed hard up against the boundary walls of the airport. This was my first sight of the abject poverty one hears of in India.

Met rep outside airport arrivals - good to see a friendly face. He explained that due to "Indian trouble" the car wasn't available to take me to the hotel and so he would arrange a taxi for me. I looked around and immediately realised that most of the cars at the airport were "vintage" looking - then I saw my taxi.

The taxi was actually a very small van with a seat in the back. In the case went and then we set off.

I had heard other students comment on their taxi ride from the airport in Delhi but thought that out in the countryside things might be a little more relaxed. I quickly realised that this wasn't necessarily the case as the driver pulled out into traffic and immediately started leaning on the horn.

After a few minutes on the major route my driver pulled off on to a country road. I got my first look at the countryside - it was jungle. Tall palm trees, luscious green vegetation, people working the fields. Absolutely beautiful.

The driver continued down the lane at break-neck speed. Rounding a corner, suddenly another taxi was right in front of us - we were on a collision course - the driver blew his horn. So did the other taxi. How we missed each other I'll never know as I had my eyes closed awaiting the inevitable impact. That was pretty much the theme for the next 30 mins.

As the traffic on the road increased (mopeds, trucks, pedestrians, oxen), so the driving style adjusted accordingly. The basic idea seems to be: get past the driver in front at all costs - surviving without injuring yourself or the person coming the other coming the other way is down to technique, skill and experience.

Going up a reasonable incline, I noticed that a van and a moped were 3 abreast trying to get past a slower vehicle. Oncoming traffic was swerving in order to prevent a pile-up. My driver joined the pack of vehicles swarming all over the rear of the slower vehicle. How we got passed I don't know (my eyes were once again tightly shut!).

As we sped on, the driver continually blowing the horn, I noticed that cricket was being played everywhere. In fields, in playgrounds, on waste ground, groups of children were playing - a great sight to see.

On our way down a hill into Panjiim (my destination), I could see a sharp bend ahead. The sharp bend became a mini-roundabout as we drew closer. My driver went straight out on to it without slowing for any oncoming traffic - as we got round suddenly there was a cow the road. Mopeds (driven by riders with no crash hats, often with women riding side-saddle-pillion carrying unfeasibly large cardboard boxes) and other vehicles were swerving to avoid it - we were heading right for it. I said to myself "um, there's a cow in the road, there's a cow in the road, THERE'S A COW IN THE ROAD!!!". Luckily, we missed it.

I arrived at Hotel Menino, Panjiim (in one piece) having gained somewhat of an understanding of the way to drive in India - on the surface it is chaotic but the horns are used to warn other road users that you are coming and will most likely attempt to overtake. It must work to a certain degree, I guess.

Once in my room I check for mozzies - none. The room is cool and the air-con works well (if a little noisily). So this will be my home for the next few weeks - it's basic but comfortable and the staff seem pleasant and efficient.

Sleep for 5.5 hours.

AT 11pm I ordered chicken and rice with 4 large bottles of water and a cup of tea. Very welcome indeed. Kofi Annan is on BBC News 24 talking about his biggest regrets during his time as UN Secretary - I think he is a very brave and humble man.

As I write this I'm growing tired again and am looking at the bed. Tomorrow I get a day to acclimatise before the work begins. I'm going out to explore...

Counting off the days...

Less than 14 days to go - then I'm off to Goa!

Obtained visa last Friday. Took 4 hours! Queuing was never my strongpoint - I was severly tested. Once in the visa hall (along with 1500 others), there was sort of a process going on (somewhere deep beneath the surface).

Reminded me of a 1950's post office - all brown mahagony coloured wood and an ancient display which flipped over number after number to indicate who should try to approach the counter next.

Anyhow -all done now.

Next Monday I start taking malaria tablets...