24th May - First birthday party

We had our younger ones' first birthday party over the weekend. I was truly amazed and touched by the willingness demonstrated by some of our friends and family to help out . Within minutes after lunch, family and friends helped us clean up the hall and pack up everything (left over food and presents, decorations etc).

 

 It felt really good to be surrounded by such supportive and generous people.

THANK YOU ALL !!! 

2009 - Indian Cabinet Ministers

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Complete-list-of-Cabinet-ministers/articleshow/4590365.cms

 a good list to be aware of !

Milestone ....

 My older daughter has crossed another milestone ... she can ride a bicycle.

 The look on my husband's face on the day she achieved this milestone was priceless. And she achieved this feat on May 5th 2009 ... much before her 5th year birthday ... due in July.

 We bought this bicycle as a present for her second year birthday. At that time, it was too big for her to even sit on it ... her feet were left dangling in the air if we did manage to put her on the seat. For the first few months after the purchase, she avoided going anywhere close to it. Hubby kept encouraging her to get familiar with its parts atleast ... but she would have none of it.

 After pleading and persuading, hubby managed to teach her to ride the bicycle a week before her 3rd year birthday. This was with training wheels though. 

 Ever since, she loved riding her bike and was quite comfortable riding it to grocery stores, library, parks etc. So it was only a matter of time that her training wheels were to come out. 

 This time though it did not take a lot of effort on hubby's part ... she was quite familiar with the parts and could reach the ground with her feet. But she did whine when the training wheels came out ... eventually she learnt to balance and now can't stop gushing about her feat. 

 Congratulations my dear daughter ! You have reached another milestone !

The same milestone your mother reached when she was 10 years old on her BSA SLR. If you are someone like your mother, you'll continue to love riding your bike for many many more years to come !

POWER OUTAGE

Its amazing how life comes to a stand still in the US with a power outage. This morning, with no warnings there was a power outage in our area. A very rare occurrence for sure. We were already tossing in the bed around 5:30am because of the humidity when the power went out. That woke me up instantly.

 I am known in the family for waking up from my deepest sleep within a second the fan in the room is turned off. It was already dawn .. but I didn't know what I could do being awake. So I lay on my bed. The things we missed:

* A fan to keep the room

* Stove to make fresh tea

* Stove to prepare breakfast / pack lunch

* Lights in the hallway / bathroom

* Garage key since the opener wouldn't function

* My cordless phone

* Internet connection

It was almost our entire morning had come to a halt. Thankfully the power resumed around 7:40 am and we were back to our normal morning routine.

Swine Flu

 The news of swine flu is all across the country currently. I got a scare of my life when the teacher from my daughter's school called up to tell me that the school was going to be closed for the next 10 days.

 I rushed to pick her up from school. There were TV crew members in the school campus and the Principal was seen assuring worried parents. I ran to my daughter's class. The teacher wouldn't give much details about the suspected student. But she assured that the student was a suspected candidate and not a confirmed one. She also mentioned that the student did not belong to the class my daughter studied. In fact that student was not in the same wing. (wonder what that means)

 But I drove back home with my girl ... all tensed up.

Family of Nobel Prize winners

 I have subscribed to A.Word.A.Day for more than a year now. Initially I used to read every single word that was sent across and tried to incorporate the word atleast once in a sentence that day. Lately I have not followed all the words and only occasionally practice them.

 But today, I found this interesting piece:

"Winning even one Nobel Prize is a big deal. Marie Curie received two (in physics and chemistry). But then hers was a family of high achievers: her husband, their daughter, and their son-in-law were also Nobel laureates.

Similarly, having one's name turned into a word in the language is a rare feat. Yet there are some, both real and fictional characters, who have accomplished this more than once. This week we feature five such people."

 I researched a little on this and found details about her family. This is what this site had to say:

"The Curie's elder daughter, Iréne, married Frédéric Joliot in 1926 and they were joint recipients of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1935. The younger daughter, Eve, married the American diplomat H.R. Labouisse. They have both taken lively interest in social problems, and as Director of the United Nations' Children's Fund he received on its behalf the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo in 1965. She is the author of a famous biography of her mother, Madame Curie (Gallimard, Paris, 1938), translated into several languages."

 A very talented family indeed !!

Baby Talk

Its official and crystal clear ... my second daughter's first "Clear / Meaningful" word happens to be "Amma". And she uses it ever so frequently. *
No prizes for guessing whose grinning ear to ear :))


* she jabbers lots of other sounds too like attaiiiii, akkkkkkkaoooo, dadadad, appppppppppp, aaa, yeeee etc

Photo Blog

I came across this photo blog very recently. All pictures are taken in and around Bengaluru.
Brilliant work ...
Kudos to the photographer !!!

Link

Cruel experience

I came to office at usual time 9:10am. I recognized the SUV in the parking lot .. it belonged to my manager. I made notes of the things I wanted to discuss with him today. We usually discussed about pending issues first thing in the morning since we got caught up in meetings almost all day long.
My manager sat in the cubicle next to mine. As I entered my cubicle, I saw my manager's manager by his cubicle. She stood there waiting for something.... perhaps a print out she wanted from him I thought and quietly entered my cubicle. As I settled, I heard some noises of desk/chair being pulled, wires untangled, coins being emptied from lockers etc ... "He must be really searching hard for those print outs" I thought. Someone from the neighboring cubicle even joked "Hey, you seem to have a lot of money" and he said "Yes, I have".
Within 5 minutes or so, everyone seemed settled ... no more voices heard, noises disappeared ... "Back to work" I said to myself and continued to read through the mails in my inbox.
As I was reading through the mails, my manager's manager stopped by my desk and said "Can I see you in my office for a few minutes?" I was surprised at first but nonetheless followed her to her office. We settled into the chairs around the small round table in her office. She started "There has been some changes in our team which might have an impact on you. Today is the last day of your manager in this company". I froze ... didn't I discuss a million things over the past few days with my manager and in none of those discussions was there a hint of his quitting ... didn't he mention even last evening about the slides we needed to include in design sessions to be played early April? Didn't he schedule a meeting only last evening? Was this something he knew about ? Why didn't we have any Knowledge Transfer sessions arranged considering he alone was handling some important stuff? - Many other questions buzzed in my head within a fraction of a second.
My manager's manager continued "I would like you to take on all his responsibilities until we find a suitable replacement". I nodded ... language/words chose to abandon me ... I couldn't speak ... "I'll set aside 1 on 1 time with you on monday to discuss specifics" I mumbled and walked out of her office.
I HAD to talk to my manager to understand what had transpired between last evening and this morning. I went straight to his cube ... but he had left. I hoped to talk to him during the day ... but he never showed up again in office.

Today was my first hand experience of seeing someone being laid off. What's more, he was my reporting manager. The experience was quite chilling to say the least.

Best Batsman Ever

I read this article in Times of India about Virender Sehwag being the best batsman ever.
This set me off thinking if its really true ...

For one, I must admit I haven't seen / followed enough cricket lately to comment authoritatively on this matter. But I do remember seeing Sehwag as a new member of cricket team ... I have seen him in his best form when the runs come so easily that every now and then you look and re-look at the overs and the runs scored and wonder, if this is really happening. I have also seen him fail ... throwing away his wicket so easily ... making me wonder how can someone so consistently fail and yet retain his position in Indian cricket team especially in a country where this sport is only next to God to many.

Haven't we heard the phrase "The Best Batsman" ever so frequently these days ? A couple of good innings and lo behold the batsman is considered the best.

Which brings me to the question who is actually the Best Batsman ... what parameters do you consider important to rate a batsman the best.
Is it technique OR is it strike rate OR is it entertainment OR is it class OR is it high spirit on field OR consistent performance ... what is it ?? Do let me know ...

As for me I have thoroughly enjoyed watching Viv Richards, Azhar and Jadeja's games :)) (did you say they were not the greatest ... well I heard that)

Relax ...take it easy

What do you do when your senior in the company comes to you and says ... "You need to slow down ... take it easy. You are progressing way ahead of the rest of the team!"

Namma Maneyalondu Gubbi

Have you ever heard this kids peom / song?

Such a powerful impact it had on me today.

Its a very simple song where a child narrates a story about a gubbi (sparrow). The gubbi lays eggs which hatch in time ... gubbi feeds the little ones and nourishes and takes care of them ... when one day the little ones grow old enough to fly away from the nest.

Isn't this the story of most of us? Our parents take care of us, raise us ... and then one day we just move to set up our own identity / family etc. Upon hearing this song, my 4 year old daughter felt sorry for the parent gubbi. But was quick to point out, "Amma, the kid gubbi will come and visit the parent gubbi ... right? The kids have not forgotten their parent. When I grow up, I will move out too. But I will be visiting you." she said. What a profound thought!
Easier for her to say this at this time ... but so hard for me to digest it. I am not ready for that as yet ... hopefully I will be ready when time comes.

Oh another interesting thing she pointed out, "Amma I will be in Chikki's house when I am grown up and working and will visit you every weekend". Now why Chikki's house I asked. "Remember you stayed in your mother's brother's house while you worked and visited your parents over the weekend".
I could now see the connection ... Indeed I stayed with my Mama and aunty during my initial days of career in a different town than mine. I visited my parents over the weekend. So my little one decided it was customary to stay in parent's sibling's house while working ... never mind, the sibling stayed 10mins drive from eachother.

Jai Ho ....

So Slumdog Millionaire sweeps the 81st academy awards last night ... Congratulations SDM Team !!
I understand that is a movie about a boy in Mumbai slum ... but I don't buy the argument of this being India's entry to Oscars. Sure many Indians have contributed to the success of the movie ... but it is not completely an Indian movie ... for one its Director is Danny Boyle, producer is Christian Colson ... but I surely believe that A.R.Rehman who won 2 oscars last night for best song (Jai Ho) and best score is a great musician.
Now then again, is Jai Ho his best composition ... well that's debatable. But I am glad that a person of Rehman's caliber won an Oscar. He truly deserves it for some wonderful contributions he has made to Music world.

As for my take on the movie, here it is.

Working Lunch

We have a meeting starting early in the day ... we are told in advance to not bring in Lunch. Its going to be working lunch, we are told.
And so the meeting beings ... its lunch time ... I step out for a minute and return to find No Veggie lunch bags. I let the person responsible for lunch know that there are no lunch options for me ... she points out she had ordered few veggie lunch bags ... and perhaps they were taken. She settles down with her sandwich ... uh??
What about me lady?? You were supposed to make lunch arrangements for everyone ... how can you just sit back and grab a bite?

I hate these working lunch session.

Pet Peeve

I grew up having no pets in our house at any point in time ... and hubby always had pets while growing up. I don't like having pets (cats and dogs) ... hubby thinks that because I have never experienced their unconditional love, I am unable to appreciate them. Perhaps true ... but somehow I cannot thinking of having a pet of my own.... atleast not now. With very little help from outside, hubby and I barely manage to get some rest ... kids, work, housekeeping, cooking etc take up most time.
But my older daughter loves pets ... her love for pets started even when we went out to parks with her in stroller. (she was perhaps about 5-6 months then) She'd get excited seeing pet dogs / cats and clap her hands in joy. No surprises there ... she gets her dad's genes in this department.
So, when her dad asked her what present she wanted for her 4th year birthday, madam promptly requested for a pet. Of course this conversation didn't happen in my presence. Her dad promised her a pet for her 9th birthday provided she convinced mom (thats me) Ever since this conversation, she finds ways and means to convince me to get her a puppy. Everyday as we step out of the house to drop her to school, she asks me, if I still thought pets weren't welcome in house. She also explains how she will take care of it and that, I would have to do nothing special for the pet. She also assures me that pets don't bite their masters and are always faithful.
She has atleast 4.5 years for her 9th year birthday ... but she sure is trying to lure me towards pets.

Padmashri

So Padmashri awards for this year list is here:

Carefully go through the list ... some names stand out more than others ... to me Helen (spelt Helan Khan) stood out the most ... I am still to believe it. So whats the criteria for this award?

And what is it with the list showing the state each awardee belongs to? Why is that so important?
Isn't is sufficient enough to be an Indian ... are these awards quota based as well?

Onake Obavva

Last evening I was trying to explain my daughter who "Obavva" was. (For the uninitiated: Obavva was a brave lady of Chitradurga, wife of a guard, who sacrifices her life to save her kingdom from enemies.)
Try as much I did to explain her the story, I was not able to put the best words to explain Obavva's martyrdom to my daughter. I was reminded to this wonderful song from the Movie "NagaraHavu". (besides being a great movie, it has some unforgettable songs). "Kannada Nadina Veera Ramani" song is one of my all time favorite songs. The rendition by P.B.Srinivas is just great ... but the song is par excellence because of Obavva's act depicted by actress Jayanthi. (in cameo).
This song being my dad's favorite as well ... he had trained me in it when I was barely 8-9 yrs old. I have sung this song in several competitions and have won many prizes. There was this one time when my teacher who was so impressed with my rendition of the song in our school competition suggested I sing the same song for District level singing competition. She even brought a cassette recorder to the competition and recorded my song. The speciality of this song was everytime I sang it, I got teary... so did my teacher. Just went on to show how much my teacher cared for me and our bonding.
Anyways, I digress ... so yesterday, in order to better explain Obavva's story, I played the song to my daughter on youtube. She watched it attentively. Obavva's death in the end started to haunt her... she could never understand why someone as brave as her could be killed ... but she appreciated her bravery and loved the video. She also understood the story much better than what I had tried to explain.

I hadn't heard this song in a very long time ... but yesterday when I heard it, I surprised myself by not only singing along without forgetting the lyrics .... but also crying at the end of the song.
Some songs are so touching, they never fail to stir you.

Circuit City woes

Read Here

Where is this economy going ... only recently Mervyn;s closed down nation wide ...
How many more people are to lose their jobs ???

Slumdog Millionaire

Watched Slumdog Millionaire over the weekend. This movie by Boyle is an adaptation of Vikas Swarup’s Q & A.
There is so much buzz around this movie that I had very high expectations from it. My curiosity grew all the more when Raja Sen (who normally rates movies very low) of Rediff, gave this movie 5 stars.

The movie is good ... not bad at all. But does it deserve all the buzz ... well I am not too sure. It won the Golden Globes. Makes me wonder if all this hype would still be there had the movie been made by an Indian director? Is it lobbying of the movie which has generated this buzz or has it really touched a chord with many?

To me, the movie was good ... the idea great... but the presentation, could have been better. This I say, especially since, some scenes do not portray India or for that matter Mumbai at its glorious best.

Would I recommend the movie ... sure ... will also ask them to go with No expectations.

Shocking ... Satyam

Read this ...

http://deccanherald.com/DeccanHerald.com/Content/Jan72009/national20090107111193.asp?section=updatenews

Shocking to say the least

2009 begins....

I am back to work after a short break ... I had got adjusted quite well to staying home and spending time with family. Hubby could not resist the idea of spending time with family and he decided to take a break as well. It was simply great and relaxing ... but it could have been spectacular if:
* My mom's visa extension did not get rejected on the first day of my break and she had to make immediate plans to leaving the country.
* My sister had told me she would go with mom to India and get some rest. (she had a baby recently and was hoping mom would help her)
* Company did not force me to study for the certifications (I cleared it :))

Did I make that sound as if I had terrible holidays ... well No. We spent as much time as possible with Mom, sister before they left. We went out for lunch / dinner just to get away from cooking. My cousin and his wife visited us and we went to Downtown sight seeing. (any day / anytime ... that will cheer me) We attended a modest New Year Party and I cleared one of the 3 pending certifications.

So, now I am back to work and it doesn't feel too good ... especially since some of the team members have worked during the break and expect others to be doing so as well. So, the first day after break, I am asked to give my inputs on a 90+ functional spec within 2 hrs of handing over the same to me. I almost wanted to yell back at the person who expected that ... but thankfully restrained myself.

2009 has started on a quiet note for me ... anything eventful for you?

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

We wish you a merry Christmas
We wish you a merry Christmas
We wish you a merry Christmas
And a HAPPY NEW YEAR !!

HAPPY 2009 !!

Games growing up

When I was a kid, we lived in a colony. There were 5 of us who were almost the same age and played with each other every single day from 5:00pm to 6:30pm. It was a fixed routine ... be it weekday or weekend. We came back from school, had snacked and reported our days activities to our respective parents and got together to have a fun evening sharply at 5'o clock. We had this strange way to addressing each other ... we spelt our each other's name ... for example, my friends called me "P-R-I-D-E-R-A" and never Pridera. Our parents hated it and tried to correct us ... but we continued to follow our chosen way.
We played various games like:
* Jhute ... pretty simple game "Catch me" as it is called in most places
* Crocodile crocodile can we cross the golden river - here one person stood in the middle of road and declared a color ... if one had that color in our outfit, one could easily cross the road ... else they had to dodge the one in the middle and cross.
* Hide and seek ... which we called eyes pies
* Queen's palace: where we imagined the huge rocks near the compound to be castles
* Tree climbing: We did this most of the times ... there were 2 chosen trees on which we had gotten comfortable maneuvering from one branch to another
* MIrror Mirror on the wall
* Char pattar
* Bachcha - where we drew patterns of squares we had to hop on
* Hop and catch

We played many other pretend games (pretend like teacher, like a sportsperson, like mommy etc)

I distinctly remember, on wednesdays uncle N (father of one of my friends) used to play music on his stereo system and we all danced .... we hated it initially ... but slowly began to have fun with it.
Once we moved to Mysore ... I played less frequently because of lack of time, friends and slowly my interests shifted to classical music and dance. They took up most part of the evenings.

Now I am in the US and kids play either their homes or in designated areas .... very different from the way I used to play outside my house while growing up.

White Elephant

We are having a White Elephant Event next week in our office ... I am new to this place and have no idea what to expect !
Any gifting ideas?

It happens only in India ....

Yeddyurappa, Chief Minister of Karnataka to receive Honorary Doctorate for his contribution in "Public Life".
WHAT?????? Read here for more ...

PLEASE REMIND ME ....

the kannada serial name which had introductory song that goes

Kaala Munde ... Naavu Hinde ... Jhootaata Jhootata ...

It was aired at 3:30pm weekdays ...

PLEASE REMIND ME ....

Software enlightenment

Have you made any presentations in your work place? What have you used for your presentations ?
Well... so far I had done presentation using only Microsoft Power point. Some time back I used, Pages, a tool within iWork from Apple. I was bowled over by the various elements of this. I mean, there were ready templates available in different formats from Summer Party Invitations to Daycare Notice to Surf School program to Yard Sale. The template had relevant pictures for the different occasions as if words were hardly required. I was confident, if I made presentation to a huge crowd, I could their attention effortlessly with my wonderful templates.
That was until I saw KeyNotes today. WOW ... thats the first word that comes to my mind after having explored some of its features. I mean, here is a tool which will help me build presentations using such lovely templates and formatting capability .. I am in awe. There is this "Smart Build" feature which will help build my presentation just the way I want ... I can set my presentation text to appear like sparkles in the color I chose and have my images spin and swap whenever I need them to. And the icing to the cake ... well the audio / video feature. Yup, you can play a pleasant violin tune when you want to make presentation to students about violins and play a video demo of a tool you want to encourage users to use. Awesome or what ????

You tell me if you are awestruck by any particular application !!

49-O

Learnt about it today ...
No more "Didn't find any leader worthy of my vote ... hence did not vote" reasoning. Apparently in India, a valid voter can go to the booth and need not cast his vote if the candidates are not worthy of his vote. If the number of votes that were not casted is greater than any of the casted vote for a candidate, it calls for a re-election. And the best part, the same candidates are not allowed to contest the elections.

Please make your vote count ... check out the details here.

Terror strikes Mumbai

Terrorists once again attacked India ... this time the financial capital of India, Mumbai.
I am just saddened and angry at the same time ... sad because innocent people are targeted and have paid their lives, angry because of my helplessness. I fail to understand their motive ... how can someone be happy when they cause pain and sufferings to others????

Movie - Matadaana

Watched the movie Matadaana (kannada) over the weekend. The movie is based on the same name novel by S.L.Byrappa. One of the few realistic movies ... I'd say.
Director T.N.Seetharam has roped in the right actors for the different characters. The movie depicts the various incidents that might happen during the time of election and how common man gets affected with all the politics around election. The story is quite gripping mainly telling of a contractor played by Anant Nag and his morales and political links.
The most irritable characters of the lot to me was "Puttathamaiah", the role so well played by actor Avinash. The moment he appeared on screen made me cringe. The thought that such people exist in the real world makes me really sad.
The best scene of the movie is when Lakshmi, wife of Puttathamaiah, unable to tolerate her husband anymore, walks away from his life. This guy then in his male ego shouts out "Lakshmi, I forgive you" instead of asking for forgiveness ... Lakshmi then gives him a pitiable look.
I wish the movie ended more realistically ... but then the ending depicted was not really very bad. It needed to end on a happy note ... so it did.
Watch this movie if you are looking for some realism...

warning: A very depressing movie ... if you watch movies for escapism from real life, this one is surely not for you.

Musical interests ...

Ever wondered...

why we say 2008 as Two thousand eight, while we say 1997 as Nineteen Ninety seven?
Why don't we say Twenty zero eight OR One thousand nine hundred Ninety seven ? (I know some of us say Nineteen hundred ninety seven)

Hmmm ... I am thinking why ... you tell me.

Sanskrit language - A class of its own

One of the few reasons I regret taking up Engineering was I missed learning Sanskrit language. I was introduced to this beautiful language very early in life in the form of shlokas. My parents taught me several shlokas as a kid and also explained the meaning of the same a lot of times. Performing pooja on various festivals increased my exposure to this language. I studied in Hindi medium school (meaning Hindi was the first language in Kendriya Vidyalaya, I studied. In fact Social studies was in Hindi ... anyway I digress). So I was familiar with the script of Sanskrit. (Hindi and Sanskrit have very similar script)
I could neither talk nor understand any conversation happening in Sanskrit.

And then high school happened. Sanskrit was my first language. Parents chose this language for me perhaps because it was easier to score better marks in the all important 10th and Pre-University exams. Anyways, I will always be thankful for me for making this choice. They introduced me to a beautiful language which had mesmerizing prose and lovely poetry. The Sanskrit grammar is rich and vast that one could spend their life time appreciating and understanding it in totality. I specifically loved working on "Chchandassu" ... and I how I can I ever forget those immortal lines of "Subhashitas" ??
Quote:
"Vjradapi kathoRani, Mruduni Kusumadapi
LotottaraaNam chetamsi Kohi Vigyantumarhasi"
- Genious lines ....

It helped that I had very good Sanskrit teachers who made sure we learnt our Ramaha, Ramao, Ramaaha along with appreciating the beauty of the language. I seriously considered pursuing higher studies in Sanskrit Literature ... but alas other interests took precedence.
Its been almost 13 long years since I have read anything in Sanskrit. Its a pity I have almost forgotten what I had learnt ...

Which is your favourite language?

Morning obsession

I had never tasted or tea for about 23 years of life. My parents (mother in particular) thought that caffeine would further thin my already slim physique. So when hubby ordered 2 teas during our Manali trip, I didn't know how to react. I was newly married and he didn't know my tastes / preferences. It was a very cold evening and we had been driving for almost 5 hours and were naturally tired and hungry. I desperately wanted to drink something hot and perhaps eat something spicy too. Obviously I couldn't get hot Bournvita in a road side tea stall and so I decided to try out "Chai" for the first time in my life. The tea stall owner gave us steaming hot cups and the aroma was itself very very inviting. My unsure self, took the first sip with a lot of apprehension. But one sip and I knew I had missed something so divine for such a long time in my life. I just fell in love with that cup of tea. (of course, I haven't tasted that special tea till date)
And so, I started drinking tea occasionally... gradually it become a habit. It replaced my morning cup of Bournvita and now it is almost an obsession. First thing in the morning, I need my steaming hot cup of tea.
I like my tea light and spicy ... little milk and mix of spices. I love it when I add ginger, 1 cardamom, 1 clove and just a bit of cinnamon. Over the years I have also learnt that boiling water with the spices and sugar for an extended time and then adding tea leaves and milk gives a totally unique taste. My taste buds jump with joy every morning when I drink the first tea sip. Its extra special to me since hubby makes that perfect tea for me. I prefer nothing to come between me and my tea during the morning. 5 minutes of divinity with my morning tea and I am good to tackle the long day with a smile. Disturb my morning tea time and I will grunt about something or the other for the next 2 hours ... well thats me :)

Amma

Amma is here with us for the past 6 months and what is relief it is to have her here. She is not currently staying in our house ... infact she moved to my sister's place almost 8 weeks back ... but the thought of she being around is very very satisfying. Sister lives about 10 mins drive from my house, so can visit her anytime. Of course I do visit her almost everyday on the pretext of dropping my younger kid.
Amma who came to help me out with the kid in May is now helping out sister's kid. She is also taking care of my little one.

Sometimes I wonder, isn't it physically very draining for her? She is missing daddy for sure ... so she might be emotionally drained as well. But she keeps going about her tasks everyday ... with no fuss. If this isn't love for her kids, what else is?

Simple pleasures ... and a milestone

Your everyday routine starts before sunrise ... you rush through the preparation of breakfast / tea, get 2 kids ready for school / day care (this takes more effort than one can ever imagine), pack lunch to self, kids, spouse, get the kid to do some reading / writing ... drop the kids off to school / day care ... work in office ... rush back home to energized kids , play with them, clean up the mess they have done, prepare dinner, do the dishes .... squeeze many more tasks in between ...
Thats one insane day if you ask me... and that is how MY weekday looks like.

So amidst this madness, if spouse and I squeeze in game of Carrom (unplanned) ... well thats priceless. Its such a simple pleasure.
Thats what happened yesterday ... we played a game of Carrom, with my elder daughter cheering us and younger one cooing every now and then.

Its a different thing that I lost the game 9-0 .... well my defense I couldn't concentrate .... too much cheering and cooing :)))

And on that note, I finish my 100th post !!
Hurray !! Cheers to me !!

Matadaana ...err ... Voting

And so Barrack Obama is the 44th President of USA. The votes were cast on the 4th Nov 08 and result announced the very same night !
This day brought back memories of my voting experiences when in India. I got to vote the first time as soon as I turned 18 ... I think it was for Corporation election. The enthusiasm of voting for the first time, the pride of feeling a responsible adult, strong belief of making a difference to the country ... and many more emotions were experienced by me at that point. My great grandma, (muttajji) who was a vociferous reader and a great enthusiast in politics was my motivator. She must have been around 85+ at that time and still was very keen on casting her vote. She was a retired head mistress who stayed in my grandma's house (her only daughter) After following the local newspapers and learning about the election contestants and the political party they represented I cast my all important vote at a near by college.
I remember showing the "Black Ink" mark (an indication of having voted) on my nail to my friends and debating with them what the outcome of the election would be ...

I got to vote the second time when Lok Sabha elections were held ... again I ensured my id was right .. went early to the booth and cast my vote. And that was the last time I cast my vote ... I moved to a different city and then to a different country, so have been unable to experience the sheer satisfaction of casting my precious vote.

Do you remember your first voting experience?

Gifting

When I was a kid, my parents bought us new clothes for very special occasions:
* Festivals : usually Ugadi, Ganesha Gowri habba, Deepavali ... sometimes for Sankrathi
* Birthday : No questions asked ... all my birthdays they bought me new clothes
* Important Family event: Like wedding of a very close relative

Rarely there were other occasions like when we going on a holiday or after securing good percentage in exams I would get new clothes.

And boy, there was superlative excitement each time I got new clothes. I don't remember ever going shopping for my clothes though. Somehow anything my parents bought was accepted by me. My sister got clothes for the same occasions as well, but she preferred selecting her clothes.

Today, I longer wait to buy clothes for occasions... may be I buy them before a vacation, but thats about it. There is no more charm ... in fact there is no more charm is getting gifts any more. Heck ... no one gifts me ... If I need something, I have to buy it myself :)

Its a boy !!!

Its a boy ... its a boy ... jump with joy jump with joy !!!

Yes my kid sister delivered little baby boy this afternoon at 12:21 pm. (8lb 1.9 oz, 20.5in) Mommy and baby are doing just fine. The labor lasted about 20 hrs from start to finish ... all is well that ends well ... and we have a lovely little fella in our family now :))

Congratulations sister ... I'm proud of the determination and strength you showed during labor. May God give the little one the best of health, wealth and happiness !!

Yippeeeeeee .... I am a DODDAMMA !!!!!

A milestone reached ....

Oct 15th will be an important day for me and my second daughter .... apart from being my aunt's wedding anniversary falling on the same day ... my daughter rolled over successfully on this day. By rolling over I mean, turning to her rides, lying on her tummy, successfully lifting her head and freeing her hands completely and stretching them forward.
She had been trying the same for couple of days ... but once she figured out the process ... she took a day or two to master it and now every time we put her on the mat, she rolls over :))
Its harder for her on the carpet .... but she is pro on the mat :))

Its official ... 5 days short of 5 months she rolls over !!

Car Sale

This April we bought a new Toyota Sienna ... rather husband gifted the same to me. With a 2 car garage already occupied by our 2 cars, we had to sell one of them. After a small discussion around which car to sell, we decided on the Honda. Honda being the first car bought, (husband referred to the same as "Darling") it was a hard decision to sell it. It was the car I had my first trip in the US, it was the car that I dare to drive around in the busy US traffic. I was quite emotional when we put up the ad on Craigslist to sell the car.
The car had to be sold soon since there was no room for parking in the garage and parking spaces in the apt we live does not permit owner's car parking ... its for visitors' only quipped the lady when I tried to request the homeowner's association. Anyways, within couple of days of the ad being posted, there were responses for the car. One lady came by, took a test drive and promised to stop by in the evening with the money. But for some reason chickened out in the last minute. Then this Indian gujju guy came. He took the car for a test drive and also took it to AAA to get it checked. The mechanic who checked the car gave it Thumps up all the way. The carfax report gave it high 87 score. (average was 76) The gujju guy also verified all the Car services paperwork. (we had religiously serviced the car ... not once had we missed it). He put his negotiation skills to best use and tried to get the price down. He also played the "I am a student" card (he had been working for the past 6 months though). Anyways, the car was sold to this guy at a reasonable ($50 less than KBB). I was sad and glad at the same time. Took pictures alongside the car before it went away from our parking space. All paperwork was completed. (paperwork was handled by AAA ... thats quite a nice service)

Two weeks into the sale, by then I had my second daughter and this gujju guy came to our house one evening all of a sudden. He demanded the Car service paperwork. By then we had got rid of most of the papers since it didn't matter to us anymore. He threatened to call the police if I didn't hand over the paperwork to him. Apparently he had disturbed husband at office by calling him and demanding the papers. Husband had asked him to come over the weekend and not disturb him at work. Immediately after the call with my husband this guy decided to show up in our house and demand the papers. I for one had other important tasks like handling my daughters on hand and did not care much about his threat to call the cops. I calmly responded him to go ahead with his call ... and that we had completed the required paperwork while we sold the car.
This guy dialed 911 right then. The folks responding asked this guy to go out of our house and wait for the cop. Within minutes a cop showed up at our front door. The cop was a calm smart young officer. Our conversation went like this:
Cop: Did you sell the car to this guy?
Me: Yes
Cop: He is asking for service paper ...
Me: I don't have them handy .. I can try to look for it over the weekend.
Cop(looking at the guy): There ... you have it ... she is going to look for it
Guy(trying to threaten me again): Officer I want to make sure you understand this ... she is saying weekend, but she will never give it to me.
Cop: She does not need to. The pink slip paperwork is already taken care of. She has no obligation to give you the service papers anymore.
Guy:(now slightly ashamed ... but trying to put on a brave front): Make sure the papers are ready this weekend, I will come and collect it.
Me: If I find them, I will post it, no need to come here.
Cop: Thank you M'am ... sorry for the trouble.

Both of them left. As I watched from my room window, the cop seem to give a long piece of advise to the guy before both of them finally drove away.
As for us, we were very disappointed with the attitude of the gujju guy and never bothered to look for the papers. Infact we had joking been contemplating calling the cop ourselves if the guy showed up over the weekend. We could have lodged a complaint of mental harrassment :)) Anyways nothing of that sort happened and the weekend remained uneventful.


ps: this happened May 08 ...

Jet Airlines and Lexus Car

Jet Airlines is canceling its flight between San Francisco - Mumbai beginning Jan 09.
I remember the end of May when my cousin had excitedly told us how decent the flight fair was from SFO to Bengaluru. She was visiting India with her family to conduct the marriage of her first daughter. She had several expenses to take care of and so the low Airline fare proved a boon to her. She mentioned that during the promotional 3-day period, they had managed to get 5 tickets for the price of 3 tickets had they travelled by their regular Singapore Airlines. The prices sounded so tempting, I wanted to book tickets to India immediately ... didn't matter that our plan of visiting India next year was still in not solid. Our neighbors booked flight on Jet Airlines as well. They sent that their experience was not bad at all. The baggage restriction on the flight was reasonable as well.
So we had almost made up our mind to fly via Jet Airlines during our next trip to India. The only hitch was that we had to change airports in Mumbai ... but we were ready to take up that challenge.
Now the flight is being cancelled ... guess without shedding the extra bucks we are not destined to make our India trip :))


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On a different note, did you know that there are self parking cars? Apparently Lexus offers this as an optional feature in one of their sedans.
Click here

Nepali Goddess

Nepali Goddess ??

I am in the state of shock ... right now. I don't know what to say or write except that I am sad .. very sad.
Sad not just for the little girl's future, but also all the tests mentioned in this article.

I have not witnessed this personally nor do I have a Nepali friend to check with. But if what is written in the article is true, then I am at loss of words !!

Tele Time

There was a time when I watched television no matter what was aired .... and my parents kept asking me to switch it off ... not because they objected me seeing what was aired, but because I saw it too much. These days the parents have to really be careful and screen the programs very carefully, before allowing the kids to watch television. (especially if they are of old school of thoughts like me)
Not getting into the debate of what is reasonable television time or what should kids be allowed to watch, let me recollect what I watched as a kid and now. (who knows I may forget the programs I watch now as they are not so etched into my memory as the ones I watched growing up)
During my school days: (pre-teen)
* Nukkad - Monday
* Buniyaad (tuesday / saturday)
* Khandaan (I did not follow this one keenly - wednesday)
* Satyajit Ray presents (thursday)
* Yeh jo hai Zindagi (friday)
* Quiz time (Siddartha Basu / Kavitha) (sunday)
* Giant Robert (thursday)
* Munnota (sunday)
* Sutta Mutta (sunday / monday)
* World of sport(sunday)
* Vikram aur Betaal (sunday)
* Dada Dadi ki kahaniyaan (sunday)
* Kachchi Dhoop (sunday)
* He-Man (sunday)
* Hum panchi ek daal ke (sunday)
* Chitrahaar (wednesday)
* Show Theme (saturday)
* DD's comedy show (saturday)
* Subah (wednesay)
* Trishna (sunday ??? - more like Pride and Prejudice)
* Chunauti (saturday)
* UGC programs
* Namma Nammalli

Some programs during my teens
* Neev (sunday)
* Indradhanush (sunday)
* Sanskrit news (sunday)
* Ramayan (sunday)
* Mahabharat (sunday)
* Chikka Chikki (sunday)
* Nirmaleya Saakshi (tuesday ???)
* Kashish (wednesday)
* Flop show
* Alpha Plus (quiz program)
* Sword of Tipu Sultan (what a master piece of music this one had when during the titles)
* Jungle Book
* Swabhimaan

All the above programs were televised on Doordarshan

Some of the programs I watched on cable TV were
* Sa re ga ma (TVS - Sonu Nigam)
* Close up Antakshari (occasionally)
* Henna (only couple of episodes)
* Saaya (only couple of episodes)
* Saans (Neena Gupta serial)

And what do I watch now ... actually nothing really is very interesting, but I watch
* Survivor series (people can be so manipulative ... really !!)
* ...

As can be seen, my interest with TV drastically reduced with time.

Some things money can't buy ...

And one of them is "Mother's love" towards her kids. Whether it is me trying to do my best for my kids or my mother taking the best care for me for the past 4 months or my grandma asking if my mother was doing ok amidst her own grief when grandpa passed away.
So I have been pampered lot for the past 4+ months since my mother came to our house. That was May 11th 2008 ... she arrived around 1:00 pm. That was just few days before my second daughter was expected. According to earlier plans our second daughter was expected on 13th May ... but plans changed and so the little one arrived 20th May. Amma took over the kitchen responsibilities from 12th May itself. She made various dishes like Bisi Bele Bhath, Veg Pulao, Halbai, Obbattu, Dahi vada etc before the little one arrived. My first daughter bonded with her from the first day of arrival and stuck with her the entire day ... save for the time her dad was home. For the first 2 months, I hardly went out of the house, expect for doctor visits. Started going out only from last week of July after visiting the temple.
Since August though it has been very busy weekends and I have not had amma's precious company for most weekends. Aug 16th my sister performed Sathyanarayana Pooja, Aug 23rd was Gokulashtami at sister's place, Aug 30th we went on vacation to southern california, Sep 6th was Ganesha Mangalarthi at sister's place, Sep 11 - 14th was planned baby shower (which had to be cancelled). So its been very long since amma has spent the weekend in our house :(
Yesterday after dinner at a nice chat place, we dropped her off at sister's place. Sister is expecting baby next month and amma is there to lend her emotional and physical support.
Even after a stranous stay at our place, she is all excited and geared by for helping sister. "Mother's love is truly GODLY"

time flying

Its already 15 days since ajja (grandpa) passed away and I am still not completely convinced its true.
Its so hard to accept these facts when you are miles away.
The reality will hit hard when the next time
* I face ajji (grandma)
* I will see empty ajja's house
* I will NOT see ajja at the gate of his house (the house we spent many many summer vacations) waiting for us
* I will NOT see ajja when everyone else including my dad, uncles and cousins will be watching a cricket match.
* I will NOT give those raisin packets to anyone
* I will NOT hear him call out my name ever so fondly asking me to "Make enough Money and come back home".

Ajja, No matter where I live,
everytime I see raisin packets, I will think of you.
For every penny saved, I will remember you
For every cricket match watched your comments and presence will be missed
everytime I narrate a story to my daughter, you will be my inspiration

You were truly the best ajja !!!

Sep 11 - Fateful day

Sep 12 was going to be a very special day ... amma and I had been planning for this day for almost 3 months now. We had reviewed, re-reviewed and reviewed some more the Hindu calendar ("Panchanga") before narrowing this day. This day was chosen for my sister's first baby shower. So excited was my mother about this event, that she enthusiastically volunteered to cook for the expected 80 odd guests. Sheer pleasure of cooking for my sister's baby and to save sister / BIL some bucks was her reasoning for volunteering.
We had made several lists ... one for the menu, one for grocery, one for fruits, one for items to be carried to the rental hall, one for items to be carried from my house to sister's place, guests list, decorative items list, gifts list (gifts she has brought from India to my sister and her baby).
Everything seem to go as expected ... we bought the grocery / veggies on wednesday. Thursday, sep 11th, amma got up early, finished her daily chores by 9:00am. I grated / cut the veggies with the food processor. By 12:00 noon, Carrot Halwa, Mysore Pak (sweet), Hunase gojju (for Puliyogare) was ready. We soon packed stuff and shifted them to the car. The plan was to go to sister's place and complete the rest stuff there.... afterall she wanted to be part of all the excitement.
And so we reached sister's place around 1:30pm. After initial chat, and some rest we got to business again. Now all three (mom, sister and me) were packing the return gift bags. The "Puri Unde" for the event was ordered from India. We packed Puri Unde,(sweet) Blouse piece, Silver item (again from India), "Hurgalu" (spiced lentils). We were almost done with our packing ... perhaps there were 3-4 more packets to be done when the phone rang. I picked the phone ... caller id said "Out of Area" ... my sister asked me to ignore it dismissing it as a junk call. Something told me it wasn't a junk call ... but I kept quiet. Within a minute or so my mobile rang.
It was from my hubby .... he asked "Aren't you home?" I got rather irritated ... afterall I had told him, I was coming to sister's place ... how could he forget that? He continued "Got a call from India ... your ajja (grandpa) is sick" he said. My heart sank ... I looked at the clock ... it showed 4:20pm (which is 4:50am India time). My heart sank even more .... no one would call from India at such odd hours if it is not a serious problem. I shared the news with amma and sister. We immediately called daddy's cell phone. Daddy mentioned that my ajja's (amma's dad) health condition was serious and that he had been admitted to Apollo hospital. I refused to believe what I was listening to. Daddy handed over the phone to one of my uncles. Uncle V said "Ajja's condition is deteriorating by the second. He is counting is last few breadths". Now tears were flowing uncontrolably. We talked to my other uncle M, who was so shaken by the sudden turn of events around him. After talking to him for few minutes, we disconnected the call. Now amma, sister and me were in a state of extreme shock. Only 4 days back had we spoken to ajja and ajji. They were just healthy then. Just then the phone rang. Cousin S had called and she mentioned that ajja had passed away.
All of us were just going mad .... we didn't know what to do. My sister who is 8 months pregnant now sank on the sofa and started crying so badly that I really didn't know what I should be doing. We tried to calm her, forced her to take a couple of deep breaths, drink some water.(her BP seem to raise). The entire evening was spent on phone calls to friends and family. For the first time in many years, I felt helpless. I was reminded of the distance separating India and US every second. My mother who had spent all her life staying in the same city as my grandparents felt miserable not being there by grandpa's bedside at this time.
Without much debate, we cancelled the next day's baby shower.

The day which started on such a high note ended at a very very dull note.
Miss you ajja .... words just cannot express how I feel at this time.

Ganesha Chaturthi

This year Ganesha Chaturthi was celebrated with so much enthusiam. This inspite of us coming back from our vacation to Los Angeles and San Diego just the previous day. Thanks to my mother, everything was so well done ... it didn't seem like we had just arrived from our summer vacation.

 The reason for this post, to detail out the menu

Gowri Habba:

* Saaru

* Anna

* Bisi Bele Bhath

* Raitha

* Carrot Palya

* Mosaranna

* Bele Obbattu

Ganesha Habba

* Gasa Gase Payasa

* Saaru

* Beans Palya

* Karida Kadubu

* Kola Katte

* Chatni

* Hagala Kayi Gojju

* Mosaranna

Our house Charpu : Ganesha Mangalarthi was on 5th 2008

* Chikki

* Cocoa Benne Biscuit

* Huliyavalakki

* Fruit Salad served at home for guests

* Mixture (Karida Avalakki)

* Banana

* Orange

Sister's house Charpu:

* Chakkali

* Huliyavalakki

* Shalya Anna

* Ribbon Pakoda

* Gasa Gase payasa (served at home for the guests)

* Rave Laddu

* Banana

* Orange

Thank you Amma ... I knew you were totally exhausted at the end of the week ... but your efforts are truly appreciated.

Divine Concert

Last Sunday Sep 7th 2008, I had the lucky opportunity of attending the divine concert of Violin Maestro Duo Mysore Nagaraj and Dr. Mysore Manjunath. The vidwans entertained the crowd with kritis after kritis. Both their individual styles was unique... Vidwan Nagaraj's music was extremely melodious while Dr. Manjunath's music was filled with calculated swaras.
The concert started off with Varna in Natakuranji. This was followed by kritis in Shanmukhapriya, ShankaraBharana, Raagamaalika, Suddha Dhanyasi to name a few and the concert concluded with Tillana in Hamsanandi. While all the kritis were simply superb, the Raagamaalika was just out of this world. I was so spellbound that it just brought tears of joy in me. All in all it was an out of the world experience for me.
It had been almost 8 years since I attended a live concert. I must say sunday's experience was totally humbling.

Federer Lost - Wimbeldon 98

Watched Wimbeldon after a long long time. What a match it was ... used to be a great fan of Tennis ... it is amazing that last Tennis match I watched was some 4 yrs back.
Anyway, yesterday's match was treat to Tennis lovers. A great game of determination between world current best players - Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Once Nadal won the first two sets 6-4, 6-4 I almost thought the Championship would end in 3 sets. I was to be proved wrong. Federer won the next 2 sets 7-6,7-6 ( in the fourth set he fought back championship points couple of times in the tie break). Nadal won the fifth set in great style 9-7. This ended 5 year straight winning record for Federer.
Though my loyalties are still with Steffi and Sampras, it was great fun to watch a great match. I hope to I start following the game religiously ...lets see.

Father's Day

I had done a post on my true hero,my dad few months back. Here is the link.

I still maintain that my dad is a wonderful person and great source of inspiration to me. Happy Father's day Daddy !!

All the while I thought my dad is the greatest, little did I know that I had been living with another great father for sometime now. I am refering to my dear husband here. He has proved time and again to be an excellent father. My kids adore their adore to the core. He never runs out of patience involving our kids. I wish I could write about everything he does for our kids ... but time being a constraint, let me just say "Happy Father's day !!"

Congratulations India !

India beat Pakistan to lift the first 20 overs limited Cricket world cup !
What a proud moment for the Indian Cricket team !

Congratulations India for a well deserved victory.
Infact the last few matches that India played have been some of the best cricketing victories.

It all started with the match against England, followed by a fantastic win against South Africa (completely eliminating them from the world cup) and then the much talked about victory over Australia.

India truly deserved to lift the world cup! Congratulations Team India !
Chak De India !!

Chak De India

Last evening, hubby and I went out to the theatre to watch this movie after almost 4 years. Thanks to my family who offered to take care of my little one.
We both thoroughly enjoyed the movie … there were no surprises … the story was predictable all the way. But what made it interesting was its execution ... err… I mean the narration, crisp editing and excellent acting.
There was no mandatory song / dance routine … the songs played in the background and were quite enjoyable and added to the mood.
The storyline is very simple … its about a disgraced hockey player guiding the Indian women’s hockey team from ground zero to World championship. I knew that SRK played a disgraced hockey player … I knew he would lead the women’s hockey team to victory … what made the movie interesting was the journey taken along.
The so called “Non actresses” did not come across as actresses at all … err … I mean, they came across as relatable likable characters and never once I realized they were acting. Well, that should say quite some thing about their performance. And SRK … well, this was the second movie, in which I saw an actor in him !! Wow … what a performance… Even without being a remote fan of SRK, I could not help but appreciate his performance in this movie. Its appropriate to his age (he should stop running behind heroines mouthing silly dialogues) …. He takes up a risk with this role, clearly not going with his image and delivers a punched performance. I couldn’t imagine a better actor for this role.

For anyone, liking pure family entertainment, with no frills … I would recommend this movie any day! It just doesn’t hurt if you are a sports enthusiast … more so, if you have loved “Hockey” !!!

Office rambling - 1

As much as I have been reading other people’s blogs, I am not writing as much.
The reason being the mental block … perhaps my creativity on what I should blog is gone for a toss amidst all the work pressure.
There are countless occasions when I have read someone’s blog and said I could write my take on this in my blog .. but that rarely has happened.
This saddens me … I need to write … and I know I am a happier person when I write … just that I am not prioritizing blogging !

Today my work began on a high note … there was this long pending task, which was not taken up by anyone until I volunteered to steer it.
This happened about 15 days back. I spent about 2-3 days just analyzing the information gathered thus far and wondered how such a critical module had taken a backseat.
To my luck, I was able to get time and commitment from the required folks to move ahead on this piece and we achieved quite some progress over the last week.

Coming back to my high spirits this morning … the client, higher management within my company have sent out appreciation emails on the tasks accomplished last week.
It sure feels good to be appreciated !!

Treasure hunt

My daughter's 3 rd birthday party was a huge success.
One of the games played with the kids (and of course parents) was treasure hunt.

Below were the clues for the hidden treasures:

CLUE 1:
Follow this clue to kids favourite space
Where the kids go higher and higher in this place
Go to this place to see the "Bling"
Come on .. its right here under the ________

CLUE 2:
There is no need to frown
The next clue is under a place you sit down
Track it down, but there is no Label
Thats' right, the treasure is in under the __________

CLUE 3:
You're almost there! Don't admit defeat!
Now, make your way to the street!
This clue is sure a ticket
Spill out the sand, inside the ________

CLUE 4:
All right ! Way to go and oh Boy !
Now this clue is one of kids favourite toy !
Don't run to hard, coz you may fall
The treasure is near the soccer ________

CLUE 5:
To find this clue you must look hard around !
Only then will the treasure be found !
Try harder... you see nothing comes for free
Green grass and its me, close to the _________

CLUE 6:
Observe around for the party theme
That way your thoughts will stream
Yes! You will fine me, come on go
Behind the seven colors of the ___________

As you may have guessed, it was a themed party ... can you guess the theme ?
The kids and their parents sure had loads of fun !

My true Hero

A little girl hurt her thumb, when she hit against the wall. Her mom ran to her, consoled her and tried to divert her attention to various other things around the house. There was no sore , or blood on the thumb. The girl held her thumb upright the whole day and in the evening her dad came. The magic rub of the thumb by her dad, followed with affectionate words seem to make a differnce. The pain on the thumb was soon forgotten. (wonder if there was any pain at all in the first place)
The little girl soon started school. She did quite well academically. She was enrolled in a school where the first langauage was Hindi. Her parents felt that Hindi Prachar sabha exams would help her with the new language. Her dad donned the role of a hindi teacher. The language was new to him as well ... but he never once showed his nervousness to the little girl. Before the girl turned 7, she had passed her "Maadhyama exmas" ... thanks to her dad. She was now comfortable enough to have a good conversation in Hindi. Along with her curriculum, the school encouraged all their kids to participate in Co-curricular activities. While the mom took the role of Arts / Music / drawing teacher, her dad took it upon himself to encourage his daughter to participate in Essay writing /monoacting / recitation / debate etc. Whether a prize was won or not, their encouragement did not stop. Of course, they tried to encourage the girl in sports as well ... but the girl did not show much on interest in that area. Soon, the girl graduated to Middle school. Her dad helped out in every possible way in her science projects and debate competitions. He was careful in his involvement ... he never once spoon fed. He always encouraged the girl to think out of the box. High school and college saw the girl take regular mathematics and physics lessons from her dad. She now discussed most subjects under the sun be it cricket matches or politics or a problem in Integratiom, or soaring petrol rates and its implication to common man ... she discussed everything with her dad. Soon she earned her Bachelors degree and found a good job in a different city. Her dad accompanied her first day to the office. After ensuring that his daughter's needs in the new city was met, the dad returned back to his hometown.
Then one fine day, the girl got married ... just a couple of days after the wedding, the girl had to locate to a different country to join her husband. The dad gave his most precious possession , his daughter away to this gentleman, her husband with a heavy heart. The girl started living in a differnt country ... her interactions with her dad / mom was not as much as it once used to be. But she always involved them in her world... though remotely. That girl is none other than me and today, I have a little daughter and am enjoying a whole new experience that life has to offer.
But dad, I cannot say enough things about you ...
I may not have been the best daughter one could have, but you still were there for me, when I needed you.
I may not have fulfilled your dreams by becoming an IAS officer, but you have never once complained about my choice of profession.
I may not have done a lot more things that you I could do for you ... but you never once expected anything from me.
Thank you daddy ... thank you for everything. You are truly a gem of a person .... I may have never said this to you ... but "You are my true Hero" ... my most admired person in whole entire world.
HAPPY FATHER"S DAY !

Downtown - Muni ride

Downtown offers a unique experience everytime you visit it. So far, I have never been let down ...

I was returning from office yesterday. The Muni station that I board is not one of the popular stations. Its an underground station and not many people board there. Muni arrived within couple of mins of me reaching the station. I paid for the ticket in the first car and looked around. There was a young noisy crowd in the first car. After a hectic day at work, I didn't want to be admist a noisy crowd ... so moved to the last car. I was pleasantly surprised to see my colleague from work in the same car. The next station approached and few interesting people boarded the muni. I keenly observed these people, while trying to have a conversation with my colleague. One of the person from the "Interesting crowd" ... with tattoo all over his arms, pulled something from his pocket ... it appeared like tobacco (or was it drugs ???) ... he rubbed it with his hands and started sniffing it. I could sense he was not satisfied just sniffing it. I have never seen anyone doing drugs in front of me ... so I counted this as my opportunity. Just then my colleague asked me something about my work experience .... I mumbled something and looked at this tattooed person ... alas. ... he was gone ... I had lost my opportunity :(

While I was observing this guy, I had not failed to notice another drunk guy moving from one end of the train. Then there was a huge huge guy (who occupied double seats) having some talk about a ballpark game with another equally enthusiastic / huge guy. In the mad rush, another well built lady weirdly dressed stood beside me enjoying music on her ipod (I cannot begin to describe her dressing sense)

As I observed these people ... I almost missed my station. Thankfully I had my colleague to remind me ... so that didn't happen.

Downtown muni rides sure is eventful most days :)

New project - 1st week

The new project is very interesting ... its a re-engineering project. I get to learn a new Business and a new technology. Well the business and technology are old by themselves... new to me.
In that sense its an exciting project. But couple of cribs:
12hrs of my day is gone in meetings ... yes, got that right. My ear hurts and my head stops functioning after a while. And my worst problem, my home phone battery does not last as long and I am forced to use personal cell minutes ... boo boo ....
The people on-board the project have been working in the team for the past 6-8 months ... but not much progress has been made. Most of the knowledge these folks have obtained is not documented. There is no time for Knowledge transfer session given the strict timelines drawn.
OK ... let me stop here ... there are many more positives and negatives about the project though. Its just been one week and I can already come up with a list ... amazing uh ? Thanks to my parents, a lot of things gets done at home. The only thing I do in my free time is run around my little daughter and have fun with her.
How would I manage if my parents were not here with me at this time ?? I cannot begin to imagine the situation ....

First day at work - new learnings

I began working on my new assignment from this monday. I had a good sleep sunday night ... surprisingly did not have any jitters starting on the new project. Got addressed at the right time and headed to the Caltrain station to catch the 7:13am train. The parking fee has been hiked since the last time I was there ... anyways, got my ticket and boarded the train. The ticket validator at the station was not functioning, so, as soon as I boarded and had found a comfortable seating ... I began to look for the Conductor. You see, being cited for ticket violation is no fun :(
Anyways, once I got my ticket endorsed my the conductor, I caught up on more sleep. The train ride to the downtown was more or less uneventful. I hopped on the Muni from the caltrain depot. Now, I wasn't sure which station I had to get off. Well, I had a vague idea of the downtown, but wasn't sure. With my best guess, I got off at the station which seemed closest to my office building. It was a subway station and I got back to the streets. The looked across the street and noted the office building number was close to my destination address. OK.. not a bad choice of station to get off I appreciated and continued walking in the direction of my office building. After walking a couple of blocks I realised I had missed my office building and so headed back in the direction I started off. I located a tall building from a distance and since I was going to the 22nd floor, I decided that the tall building was more than likely going to be my office and yep I was right. To my luck, the person who would escort me inside the building (secured building you see) was right behind me. Though we had not met before, somehow we recognised each other and he helped me get to my floor. He brought me a huge package which contained my laptop ... and all he had to say was he will be busy in meeting for the next 3 hrs. Great ... so what was I going to do now ??? I braved the odds and assembled the ever confusing parts of the laptop ... within about 20 - 25 mins, I was all set and connected to the office network successfully. I was all set for the day's work.
The entire day just went by in meetings and discussion ... soon it was time to leave.
I confidentantly headed to the muni station ... the trains were coming at regular intervals and I hopped to the muni within minutes. The muni headed through the tunnel and within a few secs the outside sunlight hit the muni (the sun sets at around 8:30pm these days) Something seemed wrong ... didn't the muni spend more time in subway in my morning ride?? Oh well ... everything was clear in mins ... in my anxiety I had jumped on to the muni heading the opposite direction. The next station never seem to show up ... how much more was I going away from my destination I wondered .... thankfully the next stop finally was made. I got off immediately only to be greeted by muni trains from all directions. (it was 5 roads junction) Welcome to downtown chaos I thought !!! There was no specific station there and the muni 's from all these directions had their own stations ... hmm well ... where would "MY" muni come ... I didn't know. I asked a lady in her 20's (looked educated to me) and she willingly spotted the right train for me and asked me to jump onto it. I thanked my stars for sending the train before I'd encounter one of those homeless vagabonds.
But there was another worry inside me... the Caltrain timings. I had barely 25mins on hand to make it to the train. With every inch closer to the Caltrain station, it appeared I had hopes to make it to the train. The last signal before the Caltrain station ensured there was a nail biting finish to this entire episode. The muni station is just across the Caltrain station. So I put on my best atheletic run from the muni station to the Caltrain station to make it to the train ... I almost felt a tear drop when the train left the platform right in front of my eyes ... anyone who travels by public transportation understands this feeling. It is a pathetic state of mind.
Before I could curse myself for choosing the wrong Muni, I noted that there was another Caltrain leaving in the next 10mins to my station ... and whats more it was a BABY BULLET with limited stops. This one would reach my destination sooner than the missed train. What more could I ask for, I gleed. "Ooper wala jab bhi deta hai to chappar phad ke deta hai"

Beginning of a new chapter

Friday was my last day at work ... no I didn't quit my job. I am moving to a different project.
My last day was very relaxing in the office (as expected). I went around thanking everyone for their co-operation during my stay in the project. note: I only went and thanked those from whom I had truly benefitted. My colleagues surprised me with a lunch out. We went to a nice Chinese Restaurant.
I have to write about my almost embarassing incident at the restaurant. Being a vegetarian, I had very limited choice in that particular place. I ordered for Seczhwan Eggplant (pardon my spelling) and steamed rice. Now, we were a group of 5 and I was the only vegetarian. Anyways, the soup was served ... it had a decent taste. I was looking forward to my order. The waitress served a huge platter of eggplant and rice. The food was inviting and I digged into it greedily. As soon as I put the food into my mouth I realised it was super super hot and I could see fumes from my mouth. If I was at home, I would have just cleared my mouth immediately. Here I was, in the company of office colleagues, I managed to control my tears ... held my napkin close to my mouth and gasped a few breaths. Thankfully everyone was busy discussing about this new application at work. For the next 300secs, I did not dare to touch the food.
After lunch, I offered to buy them all coffee. We chatted our way back to desk discussing about my next work location, technology I'd be working etc. The next 2 hours, I just sat there staring at the monitor trying hard to stop myself from drowsing. This is when I realised, it hard when you have loads of work to do ... but it is harder when you have no work to do.
As soon as the clock ticked 3:00pm, I got up and handed over my laptop, my badge and other office supplies. Bid my final good bye to my manager and walked out of the office building recollecting my experiences in the project. The drive home was uneventful.
I now look forward to my new project ... hoping to learn new things and enjoy my experience at my new work place.

Met Yamaraj* .. well almost ... and didn't even realise ....

This incident happened about 2 weeks back. Like I have mentioned in my previous post, I have never had respite from long commute to work. I have been so much used to it now that it feels part of my lifestyle.
Anyways, I was returning home after an eventful day at work. Little did I know that bigger events were in store for me. It was only 5 mins since I had driven from the office parking lot ... I had just entered the freeway. The traffic was moving at a nice speed and I was glad. Suddenly I heard a honk.** I looked at my speedometer ... it reflected 70mph and was satisfied. The posted speed limit is 65mph and the traffic was more or less going at 70mph speed. I ignored the honk and thought it was for a fellow driver. Just then I noticed a huge truck approaching me in the next lane. The truck driver had a horrified look and pointed his hands at something. I could make out that we was trying to convey some message to me. I just couldn't understand and had a quizzed look on my face. I then noticed that the car following the truck was that of a Cop. Oh ! I concluded, the truck driver was trying to alert me of the approaching cop so I could drive at the posted speed !!! What a gentleman ... I thought.
But the next moment, I said " Hey, but no body in the US does that ... why would anyone alert you of the cop especially being followed by one ????" .. All these thoughts came to mind in less than 5 secs. Something didn't seem right ... I realised that I was loosing the control of my car. I was in the left most lane ***. So I cut lanes and had almost made it to the right most lane and my car started wobbling crazily. Thankfully the pullover (emergency parking) was right beside me and I pulled over. I parked my car and causiously came out. To my horror, the left rear wheel had been torn to pieces. The truck driver's indication now made perfect sense to me.
I knew I had to call AAA ~. I had never dealt with them before and so wanted to consult my husband about the steps involved. So I hoped into the car. As luck would have it, my cell phone lay dead there ... and I hadn't carried the charger. I cursed myself and spotted the next exit in about a miles' distance. The last thing to happen in this situation was for me to forget my purse. Thankfully I had carried it along. (yes, there are times when I have forgotten my purse as well ... thankfully I have gotten well)
Anyways, I locked my car and started walking towards the exit ...not knowing where it would lead me to.Just when I had walked some 30 yards, a biker stopped and asked if he could take a look. He was a typical American male ... tall well built man, clean shaven, in his early 50's (perhaps) He was not riding a Harley Davidson ... a BMW bike ... I noted the memorised the number plate and accepted his offer. He took a look at the torn tyre and asked if I carried a spare tyre. I think I have one I mumbled not so confidently. He said, "Well, I can change it for you, if you like" he offered. With not much choice, I agreed. He also lent me his cell phone, in case I wanted to call anyone. I appreciated his kind gesture and tried to reach my husband. As expected he did not receive my call. (he doesn't answer calls from unrecognised numbers) I could hear the rush in my blood, when he didn't pick up the phone. While the good samaritan was replacing my tire... another fella in a sports car stopped. He was another 20 something male with tattoes, bandana ... the typical rock star look. He offered help, when the older guy politely refused. With not many handy tools, the older gentleman somehow managed to replace my tyre. He cautioned me to drive slowly and not make sharp turns. He pointed to the replaced tyre and said "This is almost like a toy tyre ...don't take your chances. Drive carefully... not beyond 40mph". I thanked him for his help .. he drove away on his bike with a smile.
I shared my experience with my husband and family later that evening. They were all thankful I had managed to reach home safe. One of my colleagues at work remarked "You are so little ... anything could have happened to you, You were driving at a good speed ... bikers are all not always nice ... you just got lucky !!"
Only then did it dawn on me that I was indeed lucky ... I had almost met Yamaraj .. what if my car just went completely out of control and I could never pull over ... what if another car speeding from behind just hit me when I was chaging lanes ... the consequences could have been fatal. I thanked my stars !


My little dictionary for the uninitiated:
* : Yamaraj: God of death
**: Honking is not common in the US ... one honks only when a fellow driver makes a mistake.
*** : Left most is the fastest lane
~ : American Automobile Association. When insured, they provide road side assistance for any problem with the automobile

Famine

I have no good reason for not blogging regularly.
I now vow to be reasonably regular.

HAPPY 2007

Wishing everyone a very Happy and Prosperous 2007 !!!

Shah Rukh Khan

Last evening, we introduced a new cartoon to my little one - "Jungle Book". I am glad she liked Ballu and is willing to see the video. Just a few months back, it Barney and only Barney. It was getting increasingly boring (for us ... she didn't mind) . We tried to introduce her to Angelina, Bob the builder, Wiggles ... with little luck. Dora was accepted without much effort and so were Thomas and his friends. Barney still occupied the Uno spot.
During my last visit to the library, I spotted "Lion King" and was reminded of my good old school days. We taken to the movie "Lion King" one of those days... the entire theatre was booked for just our school kids and we had thoroughly enjoyed our day out. I just wanted to see the movie again and brought copy the DVD. When the movie was played the first time, my little one watched it with keen interest and insisted on hearing the story from us. Soon, she mastered the story and especially fascinated by "Hakuna Matada" song.
Last week, we borrowed the jungle book video from the library. She seemed to like the movie when we played it the first time. The next day, when it was her TV time, she came to me and said, I want to see "Shah rukh Khan" ... I could not believe my ears ... How does she know about SRK , I looked puzzled ... only after a couple of more requests from her to see "Shah rukh Khan" video did I realise, she meant "Sher Khan" and her talented accent of saying the same "Shyer Khan" had sounded "Shah Rukh Khan" to my ears. With a little smile, I obliged and she blissfully watched the movie :)))

Doom ... sorry Dhoom!

Watched this one of a kind movie over the long week only because my sister wanted company. This was just a "Materpiece" that it forced me to write the review ... note I haven't blogged in almost a month now.

Disclaimers:
1. The movie has no story ... so if you are disappointed by the end of my review that you did not get to read the story ... sorry, don't blame me...
2. Logic is to be forgotten when watching the movie. Most of the scenes defy logic.
3. If you are Abhishek fan ... you will be disappointed. This is an out and out Hritik movie ... I can merely state Abhishek's role as extended guest appearance.

The movie begins with Hritik's look alike ... err... sorry, a queen travelling by train with a precious crown "Somewhere in the desert of Namibia ..." In the movie, the queen comes to make sure her crown is intact and orders the security guards to close down the window in the chamber where the crown is guarded... her statement "If I can see the skies ... so can someone from the skies see the crown". No sooner does she complete this sentence, we see, a person jumping from the skies and landing perfectly on the moving train.... this person is none other than Hritik. (going by the applause he got when we landed on the train ... he sure has ardent fans, who refuse to think logically). Anyways, Hritik dresses like the queen (not difficult ... remember, I told you queen is Hritik look alike) and steals the crown. Hritik is the most "Clever and Cool" thief ! (Bipasha's words in the movie).
The next scene has some mandatory fights, which are supposed to be introductory scenes for Uday and Abhishek, who play cops. Then there is a scene where Bipasha is practicing shooting ... she is supposedly Abhishek's friend from college and now his colleague.
When these guys dance to their college tune, Hritik prepares for the next robbery and well executes it.... then there is another ... and yet another ... may be not ... I never paid attention ... was busy looking at the kid who was muching pop corns.
Ash is introduced much later in the movie ... but she wastes no time in irritating the audience with her dialogue delivery. A lot has been written about Ash's looks / clothes (???) ... to me, she has definitely tonned her self, but her make up is hideous. Lame song / music scenes follow.
The movie shifts from Mumbai to Brazil where Abhishek swears to catch Hritik. After some more lame songs ... Abhishek finally manages to chase Hritik promising an end. In one of the chase scenes, Hritik falls of a cliff and opens a parachute (must say he is a well prepared theif). Abhishek who has been chasing him looks down the cliff and just jumps ... but wait, he has no parachute (not a prepared cop I should say) ... he manages to hang on to Hritik's parachute in mid-air and both land safely.... phew ... !!!!
After 2.5 hrs of such unrelated / illogical scenes the movie finally ends.
Must know:
* Dhoom was a complete timepass ... I think the idea of giving sufficient scene coverage for all actors, weighed heavily on Di-2. The director forgot to pay attention to the story.
* Except Abhishek, all the other main actors wear very little.
* Hritik's performance is just an extension of Krishh.
* Abhishek's make up is pathetic .... perhaps he was shooting for Umrao Jaan and Di-2 simultaneously, my sister reminded. He would have just changed clothes and continued with the make up :)
* Bipasha looks great ... but not sure why she featured in the movie. The movie could easily do away with her.
* Uday was a comic relief in dhoom ... here he fails to evoke any laughter.* Rimi sen has a guest appearance ... what a relief !
* Ash has never been an actor...
* Music is average.
* Nice photography !

Watch the movie at your own risk !!!

Trick Or Treat

If some kid were to ask me "Trick or Treat?" just a few years ago, the kid would probably stumble upon my answer. Now I know when this is asked. My first year of stay in the US included some interesting events... Halloween was one of them. I was invited to an interesting Halloween party in the office. It was a lunch party. I had little or no clue on I should expect at the party. It was one of the first parties I attended at work and I neatly dressed myself in one of my best formals. As anyone would guess, I looked very different from the rest of the "Veteran" crowd present at the party. Thankfully I had company in another friend "B" and we decided we would stick with each other the entire party. I remember twisting my eye brows on seeing spider webs at the cornet of the table as I entered the party hall ... I had whispered to myself " How untidy !!!" Now when I think back, I must confess it was one of the best arranged "Theme Parties" that I have attended.
My first Halloween experience at home was rather disappointing. My husband had informed that the kids in the neighborhood would come by for candies. So I neatly arranged our living room and spread a variety of candies and cookies on trays. I was eagerly waiting for the kids to show up .. but that was not to be... I was disappointed that evening I must confess. I later learnt that a pumpkin at the door ensured that the kids would stop by ... The kids took no pumpkins by the door as a sign for no candies. Of course, there were exceptions to this rule as well :)
I have never ever dressed myself for Halloween and I sometimes fail to understand why people dress up in scary attires. But this year, there is a Halloween party at my daughter's school and the teachers want all the toddlers to dress up for Halloween and participate in the potluck lunch. My brain started comtemplating various costumes for my little one from the day I learnt about the party. One thing I was sure was that my daughter would not wear any scary costume. Also, I didn't want to buy the costume.After a little thought / discussion we decided on the butterfly costume.
So this saturday evening was spent in designing / shopping and putting together the "Butterfly costume". I could have very well bought some costume ... but I knew of the emmense satisfaction that comes with making a costume from scratch at home. My husband helped in giving it some final touches as well. I must admit, it has turned out to be a unique costume and I seem to like it.
I now only hope that my toddler daughter does not play spoil sport and not wear it ... I would be disappointed then :(
I have been tuning her of the wonderful colors on the wings of the butterfly and how good she looks with the wings ... hopefully she is keep them on tomorrow for the Halloween party :)

Rain Rain go away, Come again another day

Its just the first week of Oct and its already started raining here and is getting colder by the day ! It had been raining all the way till the last week of April and some showers in May and rain is already here :( Summer felt way too short ! Had so many plans for this summer and now looks like I almost have to wait another 6-7 months ! My plans for this summer included

1. Atleast a couple of visits to the beach ... walking by the cold waves (because its Pacific ocean ... I am not crazy about the cold water, but I am used it now) in the hot sun. This followed by a light snack / lunch (never forget food anywhere I go.... do I ???) and may be beach volleyball or cricket or just sea shell hunting or making sand castle.
2. Visit the farmer's market at Half moon bay and taste their heavenly strawberrys and fresh peas.
3. A get-together with friends and family at a local park where the kids could get busy with slides and swings while the adults could play a game of Antakshari / Dum Cherrads or Bingo.
4. A visit to the local zoo
5. A visit to the water park (I am still not sure about this one, because I do not enjoy a lot of the rides here and the entry fee is way too expensive not to be used)
6. Couple of visits to the temple and if possible prepare some "Prasad" for the devotees.
7. Long drives
8. Ice cream at Ghiradelli square ( need not necessarily be summer ... but it featured in my "To do this summer" list. )

No I did not prepare a list, but in my mind I wanted to do all these things and more. Only a few of these were accomplished and now I have to wait for the next summer :(
Don't get me wrong... I don't detest the rains .... I enjoy them and am already preparing my list for the days ahead ... of course in my mind ! There are quite a few interesting things I prefer doing during the rains like

1. Cozing up with a warm blanket / comforter on my rocking chair and looking outside the patio door and listening to the rain and smelling it. (I just love that smell)
2. Watching an old comedy on TV with complete Bose stereo effect. If the movie happens to be "Makkala Sainya" (kannada movie) or "Andaaz Apna Apna " or "Chashme Baddoor" .. that would be almost perfect.
3. Listening to some soothing Carnatic classical music while rocking on the chair ... simply divine !
4. Then of course, muching on churmuri or hot spicy pakodas ... yum yum !!! (especially if someone prepared it for me)

I am sure there are many more things I could come up with for the rainy days ... its been just 2 days since it has started raining and I already have somethings planned out ! The only problem is most of these things end up just being planned ... there is something or the other that comes up and I end up not accomplishing most ! As you would notice most of my planing involves me doing "Nothing" and unfortunately with a toddler around in the house, doing nothing is almost close to "Impossible".
But as my husband keeps reminding me even Impossible says I m possible.... I would like to plan out my activities for the rainy days !