But even that exception, give the way it was happening, I think will end up more positive in the long run.  Now, the constitutionality of minority rights suppression by a simple majority voted proposition will be forced to be addressed in the courts.

In other words, we’ll find out just how ‘fundamental’ civil rights are.

That is all.

The views were gorgeous (esp. the New Mexico sunset), the service aboard the Amtrak “Southern Chief” and “Coast Starlight” trains was great.  The one dining car meal I tried on the first night tasted very good.

But alas… it seems I continue to be prone to motion-sickness.  The ABQ–>LA part of the trip, I didn’t really have any great trouble, although I saw the warning signs when I really wasn’t interested in 75% of the mahi-mahi dinner.  Coming into LA, I started feeling a little bit overtly queasy.  Then we got on the second train…and I knew right away that I wasn’t interested in an early lunch.  Not long after that, I knew I was going to skip it, and might also be foregoing dinner.

Then we pulled into a station around 11:30, and some vaguary of the air circulation system brought great lungfuls of beef steak being cooked somewhere.  (Mind, I’ve not eaten beef for over 3 1/2 years now…)

I won’t get into details, but let’s just say I was grateful we had a private bathroom in our compartment.  I horked just the once, and felt rather better afterwards…but it remained an unpleasant, nauseated trip virtually the entire way up the coast.  I had some motion-sickness pills, but they didn’t work; I also feel like an idiot for not bringing back the little electronic watch-type device — a ‘Relief-Band’ — sitting now in a nightstand next to our bed in India.  So I just read a book when I could, sat and meditated with my eyes shut the rest of the time, sipped cool water when I could, worked the pressure points on my ears and thumb-web, and just endured it.

If not for the motion-sickness, it was a nice trip and all.  However, I think I’m likely done with trains…

Today, we check out, go hang at the house of a dear, dear friend for a few hours.  After that, drop off the car, then it’s over to the Amtrak station where we’ll pick up the Southwest Chief bound to L.A.  It was a splurge, but we sprung for 1st class accommodations — full sleeper compartment — for both that leg and the one following (L.A. to San Jose) on the Coast Starlighter.

Should be fun, as it’ll be my first train trip ever.

This time, we decided we needed to be sure to connect with friends and family — in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  It’s just for a few days, and we’re at an inexpensive Econolodge just through the weekend.

Interesting vibe here, in general.  The folks we hadn’t seen in some years also were really, really glad to see us, too.

I’ve been having increasingly bad sinus problems for the last year or more.  Benadryl wasn’t cutting it, and I’ve been pretty much addicted to sinus sprays.  I actually time it back roughly to the last time we flew back to the U.S. a year ago, and during the first leg had a guy seated next to us who had a bad cold.  The entire visit, I was sneezing, clogged, and with frequent painful burning sensations up there.  Probably an infection.

This continued off and on for a long while, never totally clearing up.  In the last month, I’ve been having occasional sneezing fits, sometimes to the point where I’d have to leave the temple or excuse myself.

Back in the U.S. again, it continued, and I think was worsened by the horrid no-humidity air on the jet.

Finally, I saw this post by John Cole over on Balloon Juice:

But apparently half the readership of this website uses a neti pot, according to the last thread. I am already in love with mine.

I already think the neti pot is the best lifestyle discovery for me since since Hola Fruta, Grapples, the Bodum, and having an ice cold glass of Clamato with a tuna sandwich on rye. Oh, and cinnamon in coffee.

So, sick to death of this endless sinus pain, pressure, clogging, and running — and being in a place (Sunnyvale CA) where I could easily pop out to the local pharmacy or Whole Foods store, I decided to take the plunge.  Got myself a pot, one of the Himalaya brand types, porcelain.  I bought the nose-salt stuff later at a Walgreens (cheaper there by far).

Eventually I steeled myself for the experiment, nervous because I’ve always hated it when I got water up my nose when swimming.  Yikes.  First attempt, I got a little down my throat, but leaned further forward and that did the trick.  Felt damned strange…but good in a weird way.  When I came out of the bathroom, Stephanie said I looked stunned.

I had to admit — and this is no exaggeration — it was a pretty massive head-rush sensation.  Now, about an hour later, I can breathe, with none of the old sensation I’d had before as if some bug had crawled up into my sinuses and died there.  No stinging, a little residual runny-ness after until it all drained…a touch of ‘post nasal drip’ from the stuff that did go backwards instead of out.  But damn, I can breathe again.

Okay, another convert.  Wish I’d done this sooner.

Update - Day 2: I’ve used the neti three times now.  Twice I think I had some rebound congestion from coming off the nasal spray (late last night, and then woke up with it — but that’s been the norm for me for a long, long time now).  During the 2-3 hours after a wash though, my head feels extraordinarily clear and I can feel air moving up through a far greater percentage of my sinus passages than before.

It remains tricky to get the water to flow properly (up and over — not up and back).  Still, the results upon the first try were so obvious and positive, I’ll keep up with it.

Wasn’t this an episode of Star Trek (original series)?

Pretty massively jet-lagged though…  More later when my head is no longer the size of a watermelon.

Oh, I should add: Post trip takeout pizza.  Yum.  Very grounding.

Literally — the flight leaves at about 6am from Bangalore, connects through London, and ends at San Francisco.  On the clock, it’ll be around 4pm when we hit the ground, but actual flight time is 24 hours.  (Of course, we reverse this on the way back east, leaving on one day, arriving three later, with a sun-loss of that same half-day.)

We love India…but we also miss our other home, back in the States.  It was about this same time last year that we went back for about a month; this year, we’re going to stay 7 weeks.  And instead of sticking almost entirely to one place, we’ll be wandering a bit more.  A little time in Sunnyvale with some friends, then off to Albuquerque to visit family and other friends, then back to our favorite medium-term lodging place, Fern River Resort in Felton, CA.  Then back to Sunnyvale, and finally back once more to India to continue our extended education in spirituality, meditation, and Indian culture (both ancient and modern).

Had anyone suggested three years ago (Oct ‘05), that I would spend the bulk of my time between then and now in India, studying at an ashram, I’d have said they were nuts.  Sure, I’d always wanted to travel, see the world, experience new things — but for most of my adult life, stuff always got in the way.  When I had time, I had no money.  When I had money, I had no time.  I’ll also admit to a certain timidness, worried that I wouldn’t know how to handle myself in strange new places.

So far, we’ve done all right though.  Made a few mistakes; made more than enough friends to outweigh the lapses.  For instance, the hotel staff at the Ballal Residency Hotel where we’re staying right now (in transit) calls us “family”, and not only ask after our health and well-being, they really take care.

Still, when you’re away from what you know, your home culture, for long enough, you begin to crave things.  I want to be able to drive myself places (no way could I handle a car here — they drive like crazy people).  To go walking deep in forests, alone.  To eat familiar foods (for instance, I have a huge craving for a cheese omlette, maybe with tomatoes and/or mushrooms…Rocky’s Diner, here I come).

Today, we’ve been taking it relatively easy.  Taking care of a few loose ends, such as getting luggage tags & straps.  On a lark, we also bought a dozen premium donuts to bring back for the Ballal hotel reception staff, just to say thanks.  (They’ve already helped us out in so many ways, the most recent of which being to get prints-outs of our BA boarding passes.)

This time tomorrow, we’ll be somewhere in the vicinity of London, approaching it, I think.  A half an experienced day after that, we’ll be touching down in America.  Even though we were last there in November of last year, it’s still going to feel strange, I’m sure.

…big-big feer time for we Monkee-Tribe.  Big broun box come cupple days a-go, with EVIL Bunnee-God pikture on it.  Bunnee-God grin like it alreddy know taste of Monkee-Tribe feer.  Bunnee-God eyes closed to Monkee-Tribe big hoots for mercee.  It wants blud, me shur.

Me rite this:  It be the Bunnee-of-Doom.

Box be giv to mean nastee uglee pink Monkee-Warrier-Laydee.  She-Who-Spray-Water.  The Un-Afeered of Monkee-Tribe.  Deestroyer of Monkee-Tribe Resting Playses.  (We hateses Her, alwayz.)

Wun time, to get away from Her, Biter-of-Wirez jump from balcknee, but he miss tree, hit grownd.  He look big stoopid.  We teez, ‘Yoo like Big Monkee, cant clime!  Fall down, go thump.’  Him angree, go hide beehind Trezure-Pile-of-Big-Monkee-Trash.  Him now named ‘Ownlee-Frend-of-Cowz.’

The Un-Afeered of Monkee-Tribe open the box, & haz nu brite color thing.  Old brite color thing shoot little water little-far.  Befor, we a little afeered, runz away.  We wait, then come bak.  We laff, poop all over, make big happee stinkee.  Monkee-Warrier-Laydee juss big dum-dum.  Gud timez…

Nu brite color thing shoot BIG water far-far.  She now angree Water Monkee Goddess, make us Monkee-Tribe wet, make us shake all afeered, and take off us all the good stinkee.

And Grunts-With-Nanners so afeered the big-big water, he pee hisself.  Everybuddy laff at him.  Then he took hiz nanners away and nobuddy laffs now.

Old Monkee shaman — Steeler-of-Shooz — say we must appeeze Water Monkee Goddess.  “Find shooz.  Giv shooz.  Get food.  All happee.”  Steeler-of-Shooz so stoopid — we throw poo at him.  Nobuddy giv food for shooz long-time now.  Wuz juss crazee Big Monkee, not heer no mor.  (Shoo fetish?  Dunno…)

Monkee-Tribe try sneek…not work.  Water Monkee Goddess alwayz there, never go away.  Old brite color thing water end soon.  Nu brite color thing iz big-big & water never end.  Monkee-Tribe cant stay in good hi bilding playse, & hav Monkee-Tribe parteez no mor…  We all sad.

Me rite dis so Monkee-Tribe baybee-baybeeze heer truth:  Beware the Bunnee-of-Doom and the Water Monkee Goddess!

But Picker-of-Nits look at me funnee now.  She no like me riting like Big Monkee, so me end.  Monkee-Tribe go other end big bilding, mebee leeve — we be sayfe tonite.  No Water-Monkee-Goddess there.  Me rite more tomoro…

I post this ‘account’ with many thanks to my dear friend M (she of Bunnywarez.com fame)– who read one of my stories a couple months back, about our ‘epic battles’ with the packs of monkeys here at the ashram — and sent her own contribution to the arms race.  I happened to mention that the ‘Super Soaker’ toy water-gun clones available here are really cheaply made and didn’t work all that well.

Two days ago, we received a package containing TWO genuine Super-Soakers, the kind with a separate pressure chamber, toggle trigger, switchable nozzles, and a 1.5 liter reservoir.  That night, I took out one of the new water-guns…and the monkeys literally couldn’t scamper away fast enough.

Hee hee.  I’m so easy to amuse sometimes…