Colourful Cows, Loud Horns: My New Settlement

My feet and ankles have become a mine-field erupting every so often with intense itching from countless bug bites; my ankles are even a bit swollen.  My nights are less than "comfortable" as I unconsciously battle with the bugs that invade my dreamscape.  Weird memories and awkward insecurities that would be better off left in the recesses of the mind--forgotten--are drawn to the surface as if by the mosquito's needle.  They are scratched and soothed out over a breakfast of remembrance with coffee, and then fade into background.
My days are full!
Life in Mysore is shaping out just fine.  A mosquito net and a bicycle are two remaining items of somewhat urgent need; I will also search for a small refrigerator and hopefully acquire internet connectivity over the coming week.
I am leasing a flat from one Dr. Shivananda, a retired physics professor from the University of Mysore, and his wife.  There are three bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen.  Two of the three bedrooms are, however, filled entirely with many many copies of books that Dr. Shivananda publishes.  This turns the three-bedroom effectively into a single.  Uncle-jii must be aboard this "Desktop Publishing" fad that, gauging by the number of shops and advertising around town, seems to have launched in the literary world of Kannada.  It's exciting!
In the bathroom an instant gas heater warms the water and fills a bucket; in the kitchen there is a microwave and a magnetic stove top (kind of neat!).  I bought a pressure cooker that I use to prepare dal and caaval (rice and lentils), two thalis, or "plates," and two katoris, or "bowls."
My room is painted in a sea-green that glows to almost neon when the fluorescent bulb is switched 'on'.  There are two windows providing excellent cross ventilation, and the temperature is ranging from comfortable to chilly throughout the day.
I bought a beautiful desk for 1,500 rupees that I know I'll be sad to part with when the time comes; and I bought bed sheets, towels, and some leisure wear--a lungi.
I have less-than-stellar luck keeping clothes on this trip.  On the first night, I lost a pair of jeans, a sweater, and several t-shirts as the cab sped off as soon as I got out of the car.  In all honesty, I am lucky it was only some clothes!  Next, I took my nice shirts to an old launderer I patronized last year, Sanjay of Jay Sri Ram Laundry on Prabhat Road in Pune.  I asked if he could have my clothes ready in four days because I was departing for Mysore, but he failed and he hasn't called me either.  Therefore, I am giving his business this plug in my blog space, and I've assigned a friend to go claim my clothes, give him a hard time, and not pay--or at least not full price.  Here in Mysore, I've ordered a couple new shirts as I wait for the old ones to make their way back to me.
An interesting note regarding the address of my new flat.  My address is 192 12th Main Road, Near Kamakshay Hospital Road, Sarasvathi puram, Mysore.  Two blocks away exists another, and more popularly known, 12th Main Road belonging to the neighboring Kuvempurnagar.  Needless to say, this has led to a lot of confusion.  Only here, only here...  I love it!
This will be my first full week of classes.  A description of Dr. Talvar's office is on its way...

Brief notes about my walk to the internet cafe:  There is this group of 'traditional' guys, I have yet to discover their name, who walk around with random, loud musical instruments--a large drum, a trombone, or a large clarinet-like horn--and a bull dressed with incredibly colorful pieces of fabric that make something of a saddle.  These guys post up in front of houses or business establishments or me and begin to make loud, obnoxious sounds until someone gives them an amount of money that seems to make them happy.  The large clarinet-like horn lifted toward me and sounded, so I gave over two rupees and tried to have a conversation--he didn't know Hindi though.  And then the beggar children saw me handing over money, so they, too, came running.  I asked them, "Where is your cow?  What instruments do you play?"  But they, too, didn't understand.  I didn't give them any money.