Not Reading Is Difficult

Can someone explain how a factory packaged product can have a million bugs, of two species, within the package? I'm seriously low on food in the house -- and unwilling to leave the house, more on that later -- and thus took out my package of soya for dinner. I had a little pasta left and some sauce, so I thought the soya would be a good addition to this meal. So I emptied the package into a bowl and poured boiling water over it. Then I thought I saw something move. I looked more closely and there were ants and weird beetle-like creatures crawling (and dying -- I did just pour boiling water over them) all over my soya. I'm not talking about a couple -- when I poured out the water it was a massacre of epic proportions. Needless to say I did not add the soya to my pasta.

So onto why I didn't leave the house. I'm slightly embarrassed to admit this, but I spent all day downloading podcasts. Some of you already know about my difficulties downloading podcasts here in Sri Lanka. I can download six months of podcasts in less then a day in the States, but my computer can work all day on a three megabyte podcast here and never get the entire thing. Others staying in my house have been able to download them; people I know in other parts of the city have no problems. I've been so desperate (is life worth living without This American Life and Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me?) that I have actually biked into town with my computer and hard drive on my back (the combination being incredibly heavy) to try my luck with the internet service in various coffee shops. My luck is really nothing on which to rely.

Then randomly, today, I've had incredible success. So far today I've downloaded about 30 podcasts varying between three and 40 megabytes. My theory: I'm the only one on the internet today. Yep, Aya is to blame for my inability to get podcasts (and the people in the various coffee shops I've visited and other houseguests; oh, and my coworkers). My computer, like me, is subordinate. It doesn't like to take too much power from others. I've never been in this house by myself. Aya never leaves and she is on-line the entire time she is home, so this is the first time I was the only person on our wireless.

This theory could be completely bogus. Now that I think about it I have been the only one home before (there have been several days where I worked from home and Aya went to the office). If you know why today I've had incredible success downloading podcasts, please let me know.

I had this idea I was going to go for a bike ride today. I was hoping after two days of fairly fierce rainstorms it would be cooler. This was how I planned to avoid reading today. Instead, I've been looking for various chores to complete that would enable me to keep the computer on, but monitored (I'm uncomfortable leaving anything electric plugged into the wall without being around as the electricity here is not stable). Anything, but reading. I drew some pictures of my room; I did laundry; I did my arm exercises; I cooked. Oh and I bothered you guys by writing two blog entries. And I listened to podcasts -- all day!