About
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a random photo of me from Flickr
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This is always out of date
My name is Indrajit Samarajiva. My Montreal friends call me Indi. My parents and people in Ohio call me Jit. People in Sri Lanka call me both, but I think I prefer Indi.
I was born in Vancouver in 1982, while my parents were in Grad School there. My family is Sri Lankan. My dad Rohan (who I call Tha Tha) and mom, Sujata (Amma), grew up in Sri Lanka. They worked really hard and got into University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser, and I got born with a Canadian passport.
We moved to Sri Lanka when I was 3. We lived with my Achi for a while, I forgot English and learned Sinhalese, ate some fruit, stepped on the dog’s tail. When I was 5 me (and me two new sisters, one in Amma’s tummy) moved to the USA – Columbus, Ohio. Thatha taught Communications at Ohio State University and Amma worked in the Chemistry Department for a while, then for the Ohio Board of Regents. I forgot Sinhalese and learned English again.
I grew up in a typical US suburb. Rich, white, and boring. but good schools and safe. As soon as I got the hell out of high school I came to McGill University in Montreal, Quebec – which is my favorite city ever. I still love America, especially the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. And the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Boston Red Sox (for Merit).
I graduated from McGill with a degree in Cognitive Science. I’ve studied Psych, Linguistics, Education, Philosophy, and Computer Science. In my last year I learned about DNA and Brains. I also worked full-time for the McGill Faculty of Education (and took breaks for class). I guess I’d describe that job as Office Geek.
I live in my Colombo. I can be contacted via indi@indi.ca
Mahinda has got a two thirds majority in Parliament and is using it to extend his term. This is not because he was necessarily so powerful, it was more because the opposition was so weak. Mahinda told Ranil that he was going for an Executive Prime Ministership, invited Ranil to Temple Trees, gave him a new car, visited Ranil’s mother in hospital. Then he turned around and stole two Tamil MPs (got them to cross). Ranil was like ‘harumph’ and went back to meet Mahinda again. Then Mahinda patted him on the back and stole eight Muslim MPs, enough for the two thirds. Now he’s tabled a revocation of term limits for President and a President who also goes to Parliament. One could say this is all Ranil’s fault, but it’s also the fault of people like Sajith for not having the courage to wrench the opposition leadership away.
Today the SLMC will probably cross to the government side, giving Mahinda more than a two thirds majority. This is the final crumbling of Ranil’s coalition which began in 2001, hastened in 2004 when he didn’t fight President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and now almost completed since he has not fought President Mahinda Rajapaksa. With the last two Presidents he’s tried to negotiate and they’ve simply picked his pockets of his MPs. Now the UNP’s fall is almost complete, but Ranil will probably stay there until there’s no party left. Today the greatest impediment to democracy is not Mahinda but Ranil. The MPs he’s lost over the years now comprise the better part of Mahinda’s government – G.L. Peiris, Bandula Gunawardena, Keheliya Rambukwella, S.B. Dissanayake, etc. Most party leaders would step down to prevent such an implosion, but Ranil hasn’t. So now it looks like Mahinda will get enough to change the Constitution entirely.
Ah, the mosquito. Bane of my existence. Like Twilight, they both drink blood and annoy. Only female mosquitos bite, and they are basically molesting us, using our blood to trigger their ovaries. Grossly, they need something called a blood meal in order to produce eggs. Males, by contrast, sip flowers and stuff and then buzz around in big orgy parties for the females to fly into and mate. The female mosquito can take in three times her weight in blood, as you may have noticed from slapping them and getting a handful of your own blood. The horrid creatures sense body heat, breathing and sweat, making it difficult to get away. More dangerously, mosquitoes also spread dengue, malaria and killer blood diseases which hit places like Sri Lanka basically every time it rains. I hate the mosquito, but it was still interesting to read this
Sri Lanka is having its first
I am part of a dwindling and slightly pathetic race called the English Speaking Elite, or the 