Decision Time - Sept.27th, 2007

Well, I started making the resolution yesterday that I have to make a decision about what I am going to do for the relative long term. This would be the next 9 months or into next spring. I have 3 different ideas in my head. 1) to go to India at the end of November and finally go back to Varanasi to see Bijay and the Bhole Das' and pick up my bag with heavy winter clothes in it. This is should bring back here and put in the flat. 2) to go to Thailand and Sarawak, where I was as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Because I am now studying Buddhism, I thought this would be a good idea and I could maybe visit Cambodia too. 3) get the Residence Visa for 1 year and stay here for the cold months of Dec-Jan-Feb. just to see how bad it really gets and if Global Warming is affecting winter temperatures. Now today, I still can't see to come to some kind of decision on this although going to Varanasi/Sarnath and seeing Bijay is the most favoured because it is the least expensive. Next, of course, comes going to Thailand and visiting Sarawak and Cambodia, which could be fairly costly. I think I am down to these two choices because after these days of steady cold rain has not been the best. Actually, I have been in the mountains since April when I left Auroville for McLeodGanj. It was fairly "cool" there too. It was in this fated places that I had quite a bit of money stolen which has put me off for the moment. The money that was taken was to be for Tenzin and Lobsang, two monks of Tibetan Buddhism. Of course, today with what is going on, I feel pretty uneasy about this whole incident. I think it is the cavalier attitude that I had to deal with that put me off the most; it is very different here in Kathmandu. There, people can't seem to get a handle on "reality" and all they do is fool around with the "Westerner". This is not the monks, of course, but some of the others. Because McLeodGanj is the "homeland" of the Exile Tibetan community, these attitudes run a little thin sometimes. Back to being in the mountains. After McLeodGanj, I came to Kathmandu where I have made the decision about getting a flat. So, for the last 8 months I have been out of the hot, sweaty weather. Does this mean that Global Warming concerns are finally taking over my consciousness? This would be good because I don't want to be one those people who puts off accepting what this is. I know it might seem absurd to "plan" for this, which is probably one of the biggest reasons people don't know how to get a handle on this issue. How to plan for a catastrophic event if you are just one person? Here, in Kathmandu, it does not seem like anything is being done. I think if some NGO's formed, they would get a good response; but nothing so far. I, myself, have been thinking about the glacial melt, glacial lakes, rain, and weather change. So, this is why I can't seem to make a decision about what to do for the 3 very cold months.

These are my thoughts for today.