The unknown California

Since I went to bed at 8 p.m. the night before (see last entry), of course I woke up at 4:00 a.m. But I definitely felt well rested. I decided to get up and work on my book a little.

When I started this book two and a half years ago, I thought it would go fast. And I guess it would have, if I didn't take it seriously. But while I'm capable of doing something at a pretty-good level, I can't consciously do something mediocre. It's taken me this long to get it to a pretty-good level. And then I thought, well I really ought to go to Bangalore, since most of my book is set there.

I was afraid that coming here would just complicate things, that I would realize that so much of what I have written about the city is just wrong. And that has happened to a certain degree. I really will have to do another rewrite when I get home. But some of what I wrote is accurate. SO it's not like I have to throw everything out.

Of course, the book is mainly about the characters and what they do, their feelings and actions, and these do not depend, in large part, on whether or not the roads here are filled with potholes (they aren't, as it turns out). Other things will be fairly easy to fix. My character's assignations had been set at the Meridien Hotel; once I found out that the Meridien is out of the way, I'm changing it to the Oberoi. Other things are more difficult, the things that really depend upon geography, but that's what I came here to find out.

After working on my book some, I went out about 6:30 and took some more pictures, and then I went back to the nearby Catholic Church where there was a mass going on in the local language (I assume). I had already missed the English-language service, which starts at 6:00. Maybe tomorrow, if I'm still on this jet-lagged schedule.

Then I went to breakfast at the Jet Set Cafe (see this entry) which is, as I said, very close to the apartment. The breakfast was not on par with the Oberoi, which is like saying comparing a Day's Inn with the St. Francis Hotel.

I had a surprising interaction with the waiter. He asked where I was from, and I said San Francisco. Everybody knows San Francisco, right? But he didn't seem to know what I was talking about. Finally I said, "San Francisco, California." This evoked a glimmer of recognition. "California..." he said tentatively. "It's in America, right?"

That's not to say he wasn't a really good waiter. He was.

The only trouble was that the bill for breakfast used up all my small bills. And without small bills you can't take an auto -- the drivers don't even have change for a 100 rupee bill, much less a 500 which was all I was left with. So I ended up walking up to the tourist zone on Brigade Road. I was shlepping my laptop so I wound up at a Cafe Coffee Day with -- ta-da! -- wi-fi access. And hopefully they will be able to deal with the 500 rupee bill I am about to give them.