AS I SIT HERE WATCHING MY FRIEND REST PEACEFULLY IN MY OH-SO-COMFY INDIAN BED, ALL I CAN THINK IS "BOY, TOO BAD THAT'S NOT ME!" OK, SO NEEDLESS TO SAY WE NEED SOME BACKGROUND ON HOW WE GOT TO THIS PLACE: ME SITTING IN THE CHAIR, HIM ENJOYING A RESTFUL SLUMBER IN MY ROOM.
DAVID MADE IT INTO DELHI TWO NIGHTS AGO. SINCE IT WAS TOO LATE FOR US TO GET TOGETHER ON THE FIRST NIGHT, WE PLANNED TO MEET FOR DINNER AND EXPLORING ONE OF THE LOCAL MARKETS THE NEXT NIGHT (LAST NIGHT). AFTER GETTING A LATE START, BECAUSE HE GOT TIED UP TRYING TO GET A CELL PHONE ACTIVATED (TIED LIKE "DELAYED" - NOT LIKE "WITH ROPE." THANK GOODNESS!), WE FINALLY MET UP AND WALKED TO THE LITTLE MARKET BY MY APARTMENT. (THE ONE FROM THE PREVIOUS PICTURES.) WE HAD DINNER THERE AT THE LITTLE OPEN-AIR RESTAURANT THAT HANK AND I FOUND, AND DURING DINNER DAVID MENTIONED THAT HE MIGHT HANG AROUND MY PLACE FOR A WHILE ONCE WE GOT BACK THERE AND TRY TO GET SOME WORK DONE ON A MEMO HE HAD DUE THE NEXT MORNING (THIS MORNING). HE HAD TO SEND IT IN BY E-MAIL AND AFTER BRINGING TO HIS ATTENTION THAT HE'D TOLD ME HIS (SOMEWHAT SKETCHY) APARTMENT DID NOT HAVE INTERNET, AND THAT I COULD NOT ENSURE THAT THE LOCAL INTERNET CAFES OPENED BEFORE 9AM, WE DECIDED HE MIGHT HAVE TO SEND IT FROM MY PLACE (WHICH MEANT STAYING OVER).
AFTER DINNER WE BOUGHT A FEW SUPPLIES AT THE MARKET, BUT AS MOST SHOPS WERE CLOSED OR CLOSING, WE HEADED BACK TO MY APARTMENT. DAVID GOT HIS COMPUTER SET UP TO WORK, AND AFTER A LITTLE PRYING I DISCOVERED THAT HE HAD NOT 1 PAGE OF A 12 PAGE MEMO - DUE AT 9AM THE NEXT MORNING! WELL, THEN IT WAS CONFIRMED THAT HE WOULD BE STAYING OVER - HE WOULD HAVE TO PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER JUST TO GET THE THING DONE! (NOW, THESE "ALL-NIGHTERS" ARE VERY COMMON IN LAW SCHOOL, SO IT WASN'T A SHOCK TO EITHER OF OUR SYSTEMS. HOWEVER, SINCE WE'VE BOTH BEEN TRAVELING AND NOT SLEEPING WELL AT NIGHT -- WE KNEW IT WAS GOING TO BE REALLY HARD FOR HIM TO STRUGGLE THROUGH THIS TIME!) IT WAS AROUND 11PM WHEN HE GOT STARTED ON THE MEMO AND I DID MY BEST TO STAY AWAKE AND BE HELPFUL. I KNEW HE WAS EXHAUSTED AND ALREADY HADN'T SLEPT IN DAYS, (AND I KNOW HOW AWFUL ALL-NIGHTERS ARE!), SO I TRIED TO STAY UP TOO. I ATTEMPTED TO DO SOME READING - THAT WAY I WOULD BE AVAILABLE TO GET HIM SOME COLD WATER, CRACKERS, ETC. EVERY HOUR OR SO - TO KEEP HIM AWAKE AND ALERT (AND WRITING!). WELL, APPARENTLY I FELL ASLEEP WHILE READING ON THE BED AROUND 2 OR 3 AM. I GOT A COUPLE HOURS OF RESTLESS SLEEP AND AT 6:30 I HEARD DAVID STIRRING AROUND IN THE ROOM AND I WOKE UP. HE TOLD ME THAT HE'D JUST FINISHED AND SENT THE MEMO AND THAT HE WAS EXHAUSTED. NOW WE'D PLANNED ANOTHER ENTIRE DAY OF EXPLORING DELHI, SO THE SCHEDULE WOULD HAVE TO BE REARRANGED A BIT.
AFTER DECIDING THAT IT WAS UNLIKELY THAT DAVID WOULD WANT TO COME ALL THE WAY BACK INTO THE CITY ONCE HE WENT TO HIS APARTMENT, SLEPT, SHOWERED, ETC. - AND DECIDING THAT WE REALLY NEEDED TO GO TO CONNAUGHT PLACE TODAY TO BUY SUPPLIES AND SUCH, HE DECIDED TO TRY AND CATCH A FEW WINKS IN MY ROOM. (THEN WE COULD GO INTO TOWN AND HE COULD JUST HEAD HOME THIS AFTERNOON A BIT EARLIER THAN PLANNED.) WELL, I WAS STILL VERY, VERY SLEEPY, BUT AFTER A COUPLE MINUTES OF WATCHING MY FRIEND SLEEP IN THE CHAIR BY MY BEDROOM'S WINDOW, I FELT REALLY BAD FOR HIM. AFTER THE NIGHT HE'D JUST HAD, I THOUGHT THE LEAST I COULD DO WAS LET HIM USE THE BED IN MY ROOM. SO I GOT UP. UP - AFTER 2-3 HRS. OF SLEEP! YEAH, IT WAS AWFUL PRYING MYSELF FROM UNDER THOSE COVERS, BUT, I JUST THOUGHT THE POOR CHAP NEEDED A BREAK! AND FROM THE LOOKS OF HIS "DEAD-TO-THE-WORLD" SLEEP, I WAS RIGHT. I GUESS THE TIME WASN'T WASTED ANYWAY - I GOT TO CHECK SOME E-MAILS, BLOG, CHAT WITH HANKO, AND FEEL GOOD ABOUT HELPING A FRIEND OUT WHEN HE REALLY NEEDED IT. 6 HRS. OF MISSING SLEEP WELL INVESTED.
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