Happy Birthday !

Last week my birthday was celerated in a most delightful way by my spouse and family. Birthdays were special days a few years back. It was a time when I felt special and got a chance to meet near and dear ones. After moving to the US, birthdays almost had lost the charm they had back home. I missed my family more than ever on birthdays ... but this time, I felt really touched with all that my spouse planned for the birthday.

• We went shopping for new clothes for me ... and to my luck found a pair of clothing which I really liked. (thats unsual ... whenever I intend shopping, I never find anything satisfactory.)
• I was wished "Happy Birthday" right at mid night.
• I woke up to the Birthday song from my little one.
• The little one and my spouse had decorated the house tastefully.
• A nicely wrapped gift awaited me.
• As I thanked my spouse for the thoughtful gift, my parents called me and wished me.
• Few other family member called to wish me as well from India.
• This was followed by a nice rendition of the Birthday song by my sister and her hubby.
• As I was sipping my tea, my good friend who had not been in touch for a while now, called me!
• I had several e-cards from friends and family.
• I planned to take a day off .... but the work pressure never gave room for that.... and I didn't complain. (I worked from home though)
• I picked up the little one from day care and headed home after a quick stroll in the park.
• Got dressed up in my new outfit ... and so did the little one.
• My spouse came back from work earlier than usual.
• My sister and her hubby were expected to join us for dinner ... and I heard the door bell ... and then surprise!! My cousin and her family were there !
• In a few minures my sis and her hubby came .... we cut the cake (another surprise).
• As it was dinner we debated over the restaurant and then finally decided on one. We headed out and I was about to start the car when another surprise awaited me .... the food was already ordered and was there in the car !
• All my favourite dishes were ordered (my better half had paid special attention to my favourite food) We had a hearty dinner and had a nice family time.

I really had a great birthday ... except for the fact that I missed my parents .... my spouse had carefully planned my birthday in keeping my interests in mind.

Wash a Day ...

A new washer / dryer was always something me and my spouse had contemplated for a few weeks now. So, when my spouse started bouncing the idea of a new washer / dryer last night ... I thought it was one of those days again, which would begin with us discussing everything about the washing machines including price range, capacity, color, company etc only to conclude later that perhaps we could do with our current set for some more time ! But that was not to be.
We began our saturday morning rather early ... thanks to the little one... who figured it was weekend, which meant she had to get up earlier than weekdays ! That has almost become a norm! A quick visit to YMCA and we headed to our washing machine hunt.
We started with Fry's where we looked rather excited since it was the beginning of the day. After deciding on our model, color, I suggested, we note the price / model number and shop around in a few more stores before we invested the money. So promptly we wrote down the details. We headed to other places and found a rather good deal at one of the stores... we made a lunch excuse from the store, returned home for a thorough online research. Finally we decided that we were indeed getting a good deal. So we returned back to the stores and made our selection and payment. We were told that the delivery would be made on tuesday at their conviniece. (not ours ??? ) My over excited spouse would not hold his excitement till tuesday. Besides, we both were going through a very busy work schedule and a leave on tuesday almost seemed impossible. We enquired if the machines were very heavy. The sales guy assured us that with two people, it was quite an easy task. We took his words and decided to carry / hook up the machines ourselves with the help of family. (thankfully my sister and her husband had no prior plans and offered to help out). Boy ... what an effort it took to get the 2 machines hooked up ! The sales guy was way off the mark in his weight estimates. It felt atleast twice as heavy ... we cribbed about his wrong information all the time. It took almost 4 long hours to get everything in place.
Finally we thanked our family for helping out and decided to checkout our new machine .... but then again, I guess we were not destined too :( We had not placed the machines in the right position ! So we have put off the idea of washing today. (since it's already 11:00pm and we care about our neighbors !) But I cannot wait to test these machines which claimed our full day !

Admire you Daddy

I am going through a strange feeling ... reason ... well, I will be changing my client at work soon. I have been with this client for a year and half. There was an interesting project that came up and I was the one who initiated my release from my current client. But then somewhere inside I am sad that I will be leaving this client. I am anxious about my new project as well.
As strange as it might sound, I think my daddy is going through the same feelings as well.... let me explain. Daddy will be retired soon. Infact daddy is getting retired today. (he is getting an extension... but that is a different story altogether). Officially he has reached the retirement age per his company policy today. (note: I say officially because, my grandparents didn't have the right records and my dad ended up losing atleast one year of service). Today is one of those days which remind me of my helplessness being away from home ! I know that when I am going through this "sadness" being associated with this client for just a year and half .... daddy who has had a long association of 35+ years with his company must be feeling really sad. If only I were in Mysore, I would received daddy home on this day with so much pride. He has done so much to us .... and I am not there for him on his important day to provide moral support. I am missing you daddy.... I truly am.
But let me tell you that, I admire you for your work dedication ... for your honesty, modesty, simplicity, team spirit, thoughtfulness and many many more qualities. I have seen you rise to such a high position starting from the grass root level, purely on merit and hardwork. I really hope, I will be able to follow your steps.
I also want to say that, retirement is your time to see life in a more relaxed way. You have worked all this while and have provided us with a lot of comforts. Now its my turn to do the same. Distance may be separating us at this time ... but I will always be there for you ! Thank you for being such a wonderful daddy !!

Operation Diamond Racket

I recently heard the song from one of Rajkumar's movie. Thanks to the blog world! The song goes like this:
If you come today ... its too early
It you come tomorrow ... its too late
You pick the time ... tick tick tick ... tick tick tick ... darh.....ling
I just can't get past this song. Whats surprising is everyone around me seems to be familiar with this song except me. I usually am familiar with or would have heard the famous songs. How did this one just escape my list ? The lyrics of this song is hilarious ... especially the second stanza ... when I heard the song the first time, I thought the singer had switched from English to Kannada for the second stanza.... which is not unusual for in Indian cinema. There are many songs which switch lyrics from one language to another ... I thought this was one of them and I had no doubts about it either. Only when my sister sent me the lyrics of the song as I was listening, I realised it was after all in English all this while !
For those of you would are deprived of the pleasure of this song ... here you go. Enjoy the song !
http://tinyurl.com/a8jgu

For the uninitiated who are still trying to connect the Subject with the blog contents ... the song is from the movie Operation Diamond Racket.

ps: Thanks to the blogger who had the above link

Action ... reaction!

Have you ever wondered how different individuals re-act when they are sick (I mean not well). I think it is the fever / cold cough or the most common of them all "Head Ache" which alters the person's behaviour so much. My little one has been down with cough / fever for the past few days and I am drained of energy just taking care of her.
It made me sit back and realise how each person reacts so differently when they are not well. Here are a few:
"Chatter Box" : These people just keep talking and talking till the listener's head hurts ! They are not normally all that talkitive, but acquire this special status only when they are not well.
"Philosophers" : The so called not so philosophical bunch start analysing everything through their newly acquired "saintly" eyes. To quote an example: One person I knew sharing their views on Crocin (the tablet generally used in India for fever) ... Crocin = Crow (the bird) + Sin
"Silence is golden" : These people prefer not to not speak about anything. They just wind into themselves and lie with a blanket in their rooms, not to be disturbed by anyone.
"Pity Me" : These simply feel a whole lot better if people around them said showed a little sympathy towards them. This bunch likes to share their pain and expect others to feel sorry for them.
"The Fighters" : This bunch simply refuse to accept that they are sick. They pretend to be just fine even if their body feels otherwise. They think that calling themselves sick is simply degrading !
Which group do you fall under ?

Doing Nothing !

This happened the first time in my career as a working professional. I took a day off for just doing "Nothing". Yes ... doing Nothing !! I had been really very busy at work for the past few weeks ... and I was really drained of energy. The night before my day off, I decided I wasn't going to work the next day. A slight guilt crept into my mind, as soon as I took the decision. But then I told myself, I hadn't taken a day off for the past 6 months and had never ever taken a day off for doing "Nothing". So I decided to stick to my decision.
The next day morning, my work consicous mind, forced me to check my mails ... then my spouse reminded me that I was on my day off so I deserved to take a break from work ! So I sent a mail to my manager about my day off swore to not check my mails atleast till the evening. My little one was not sent to the day care and we decided to venture out. I called my sister to check if she was free and want to come along with us. She readily agreed. So I drove to my sister's place and picked her up and we decided to start our day with Chapati Chat ! I ordered Kachori Chat and my sister Papdi chat and the little one got Thandai. It was a little spicy .. but delicious. Then we went to a kid's store. My little one had a great time there and picked some of her favourite items. I was surprised she already knew what she wanted. We bought those items and headed back home coz it was lunch time and the little one had to be fed. We reached home, and the little one had her lunch and promptly went to sleep. It was time for me and my sister to enjoy "Bollywood Calling". Most part of the movie was enjoyable ! By the time we completed the movie, my little one got up.
It was evening and my sister complete her much pending visit to a jewellery store and there we headed out ! After our visit we came back home and prepared dinner. After dinner and putting the little one to sleep, we played few games of Sequence. (me, sister, her husband and my spouse).
As I went to bed, I realised that I my mind and spirit was feeling so energetic and I thoroughly enjoyed my day out!

Dr.RajKumar

As I was getting ready to start my long day this morning, my phone rang. It was from my sister. It was unsual for her to call so early .... either because she is not up herself or is getting busy with morning chores. But no... today was wednesday .... she had her school in the morning. So it was even more unlikely for her to call me.
I answered the phone and she didn't say .... she screamed ..."Did you hear .. Dr.Raj is no more " It didn't register immediately ! My mind went blank ... she repeated again. I was too busy in my world to react ... she was busy too so she hung up. I didn't think too much about it during the day ... in fact I couldn't afford to ... my meetings, discussions, chatting, email kept me busy the whole time. And then it was time for our late night calls with the India team.
Thats when it dawned on me, that Bangalore office would be closed on account the tragic dealth. I finished my calls with other teams in different locations and finally got to sit and think back about the events of my day. (I usually do this before going to bed) As I was recollecting my bad, I remembered, the tragic death ... I just couldn't get past it.
I have not been a huge fan of Dr.Raj but I do realise what he means to a whole lot back in Karnataka. He is an iconic figure there. I have myself appreciated his acting skills in some of the old movies like "Kasturi Nivasa", he did a commendable job in "KrishnaDeva Raya" (though I think Pantulu got an edge as far as I was concerned). He was not a good dancer and had refrained from it in most of his movies. (in the recent ones he attempted, lets just say I wasn't impressed) I would have to admit, that no body could utter the dialogues with such authority and clarity like him in Mythological / Historical movies. (especially his sons) (though I appreciated Pantulu earlier, I cannot imagine him as "Krishnadevaraya").
I am sad with his death ... one of the most Iconic stars of Sandalwood is no more !

Healthy Diet

I am one of the last persons to pay any attention to what I eat.... I eat almost everything that is vegetarian ... hmmm ... well .... that must be streching a bit too much. I don't eat everything vegetarian either ... I eat anything that satisfies my taste buds. Usually they are Indian spices. But recently I have started to enjoy Thai cuisine as well. I am ok with some of the Chinese dishes too ... I fine with a Chelupa or a subway sandwich once in a while ... but mostly yearn for Indian food when I have these. Sometime back my sister took me to Falafel . I did like the taste ... it reminded me of "Ambode" (south indian fried dish made of Chana dal).
Yesterday we had been to "Sweet Tomatoes". I was amazed with the varieties offered there. There was every item on the buffet for Salad lovers.. then there were variety of soups (though for the vegetarians like me, there was just one ... a mild spicy variety). Then there was herb rice as well. I enjoyed all this while my little one was getting impatient being tied to a toddler seat. But I was most impressed with their "Brownies". The pineapple upside down cake was good and the muffins were fresh and satisfactory.
For all those who are concious about their diet, this is a good place to go ... but a word of caution for them ... do not indulge in their desserts ! (ironically desserts were my pick yesterday).

WOE ... World Of Emails

My hands ache badly ... guess why ... mail typing :( I have been so busy with emails / chats (official) today that, I just didn't have time for a peaceful lunch. Most days for the past 2 weeks have been the same. This reminded me of my association with emails !
I was introduced to this wonderful world of emails when I started my first job. The excitement of having successfully sent my first email was written all over my face ... I was glowing that day. And because I sent the mail to myself, (most of my friends didn't have email ids either), I had double pleasure of reading my first mail as well !! Sounds familiar ... I am sure most of us go through this excitement, some earlier than others. Customary "Hi" emails were then exchanged among friends ... then began our "Email Forwarding" phase. Anything, that came as a decent forward be it a PJ, an image, a write up, a virus warning, "Wish Comes true" etc etc was religiously circulated. Sometimes, the same forward came from more than one sender ... but not many complained. (you see the mailing excitement was still alive).
Soon, most of us got busy in our own world, and the mailing rate reduced. (read mail forwarding ... of course, official email were sent galore) Today, we exchange mails regular enough to know what is happening in each other's world. Forwards are sent occasionally as well .... no more crazy stuff.... its more meaningful stuff now ... mostly personal pictures and information ! There are days when I miss those old forwards (some of which are still alive in my inbox. They bring back a smile on my face when I read them)
I enjoy mailing (if not for this wonderful world, I would have missed some very special emails) ... but on days like today, I wish I was never introuced to this world !

Rang de Barney / basanthi ... I don't know

As mentioned in my earlier post, me and my spouse are not "Theatre / Cinema Hall" buffs. With all the hype created around Rang De Basanthi by media, friends and of course my sister, I really wanted to see this movie. I was eagerly waiting for the DVD release. Then my wait before I could rent the movie began ... watching this one over the weekend seemed distant possibility. With my anxiety to watch the movie building as each day passed, I decided to rent it out on a weekday. (yesterday)
Bad idea ! I should have known ... but I took a chance. With a little one who wants to watch nothing but Barney (Baby Einstein is no longer in the list of preffered videos!) and a spouse who has calls to attend in the night ... and the fact that I had to catch the train at 6:45am in the morning ... watching a movie on a weekday was just not an option ... but my anxious mind wanted to believe otherwise.
I did not set my expectations high when I better half said he would come home early for the movie. (remember I told him about the movie at 6:00pm). So yeah ... he came home earlier than usual by when I had the dinner set on the table. I justed needed to roll a few chapatis. So we started off the movie around 8:00pm. My little one's antics seem to compete with movie dialogues... no prizes for guessing where my concentration was. We watched the movie till 9:00 when it was time for dinner ... especially for the little one. We decided to take a break for a few mins ... but ended up taking 2 hours break. After feeding the little one, had to play with her and put her to sleep ... in the meantime it was "Meeting time" for my spouse.
The call ended at 11:00 and my dear hubby prompty woke me to complete the movie viewing ... but I was already thinking about status reporting the next day :( So he ended up seeing the movie alone.
The DVD had to be returned today .... after office and picking up the little I watched the movie this evening with constant interruptions from ... of course the little one !! It was a good movie ... though I could not call it "Great" ... perhaps because, half the dialogues I heard during the movie were .... barney songs.

Sports and me

Badminton is perhaps the only "sport" that I have actually enjoyed playing. I must admit I am not a sports person, meaning I don't play a spectrum of sports. But I am an ardent fan of Cricket and Tennis. During my Engg days, I closely followed NBA as well.... and like most was a great fan of MJ. I have watched most NBA games with my sip of morning Bournvita.
Then there were days when I had to get up as early as 3:30am in the morning to watch cricket matches ... but I never complained. It was all the more enjoyable since I had an ever enthusiastic uncle "M" and always dependable daddy for company. If the cricket matches were played during the weekends, then the entire family would watch the game together. The family included amma, daddy, uncles, aunts, cousins and the best critic of the family "Grandpa". We would plan well in advance and get some snacks for munching along the way.
While cricket was a favourite sport in the family, Tennis was popular among friends. There were two groups .... Aggassi fans and Sampras fans (me included). When it came to female tennis stars, almost everyone bet on Steffi. We had long discussions in college about the match played the previous night or early in the morning before classes began.
While I never watched Badminton games, I enjoyed playing it. Daddy introduced me to the game when I was about 7-8 years. I did not play a lot during my school days. I was attracted back to the game after marriage. The fact that my spouse played it was just a bonus. I even tried my hand at Volley ball ... but soon gave up. Me and my better half played at the mixed doubles badminton tournament a few years back ... I was miserable. I stopped playing after that. But I have taken up the game again. But now, I have limited time... my entire schdule is driven by my little one. I am playing in the hope that I can someday win the "Recreation Level" mixed doubles tournament.

Evening snacks

Its been a very gloomy day ... thankfully not raining ! The weather has been the same for almost a week now. Its a perfect evening today to snack on something spicy ! So here you go ... this blog will list the items (evening snacks) that would really make me a hungry Bakasura !

1. Chur muri (thats at the top of my list.... I reminded of the churmuri gadi that came around just the perfect evening munching time in Mysore every single day. We have given him quite some Churmuri Business.)
2. Hot spicy Vegetable Samosas with Maggi tomato Ketchup
3. Hot hot "Bombai Bonda" (potato / onion curry bonda) with coconut Chutney (one of my dad's favorite item)
4. Chilli / Capsicum (bell pepper) Bonda with Ketchup
5. Gobi Manchurian (especially the Shanthi Sagar item)
6. Onion Pakora with Coconut Chutney
7. Pani Puri / Masala Puri (especially the ones' near St.Mary's convent or Chamundipuram circle)
8. Dahi Vada and Carrot Halwa (hot hot)
9. Hot Kachori (C.V.Raman Nagar complex)
10. Kesari Bhath / Usli (greengram) ... both freshly made

I have reached a count of 10 and I can't wait to eat atleast one of them .... I am heading out now ... I am not counting on Churmuri , (out of question to get one here) ... but atleast hope to get other items (if they are not fresh, I will not savour them).