Wedding Wednesday Woes

So procrastination is not working in my favor right now. I woke up this morning, realizing that Wedding Wednesday is this week and that I have not purchased a sari, sari underclothes (because I could borrow a sari) or wedding presents yet. This may not sound stupid to you, but you don't understand Sri Lankan Sundays.

Basically, nothing is open. I don't know why as this is really the only day people get off, so you'd think today would be a key shopping day. Plus, isn't the tradition of closing businesses on Sunday a Christian invention? I mean, Buddhists don't have a day of rest mandated by Buddha, do they? That is what Poya is for, but that is once a month.

Anyway, this wouldn't be such a tragedy if I wasn't going to Hambanthota tomorrow. I can't reschedule this trip because the proposal is due at the end of this week, and with Wedding Wednesday in the middle of the week, we have to go at the beginning. So I can't go shopping after work tomorrow or Tuesday.

I should have gone yesterday, but I was so tired. I biked into Colombo at 8 a.m. for my photo class. Three hours sitting in a warm studio with more than 20 other people. Then I biked home at noon, in the heat of the day. I was soaked with sweat when I arrived home. I immediately took a cold shower (the only kind) and was still hot. I was meeting Amitha at 5:45 to see a dance recital, so I needed to rest. Thus, no shopping.

The dance recital was really good. It was performed by children, but they were really talented and apparently they had been working on this show for a long time. The dancers study at the Chitransena Kalayathanaya School, which is the most prestigious here in Sri Lanka. It was started by Chitrasena Vajira, apparently a very respected choreographer (now deceased). His daughter choreographed the performance we saw. It was based on a Russian children's story that I have never heard of, but is about a family of ants. So the kids were all dressed up in these amazing bug costumes. It was pretty incredible, actually.

So see, I couldn't miss that to go shopping.

P.S. (written at 5 p.m.) It has rained all day. Not just rain, but lightening storm rain, which mean, no biking. This means no shopping! Augh, what will I do? Aya said she isn't wearing a sari because it is too expensive. I hate to disappoint everyone, but I may need to go that route too. But that still doesn't answer my wedding gift woes.

P.P.S. Aya finally noticed I was saying three weddings on Wednesday and not just two. This means she needs another wedding gift, which is good news for me because she is going to get me my gifts when she purchases hers! Yeah, crisis averted.