Trick or treat??

I have no idea why Halloween is celebrated. I even tried to look up on the net where one usually gets all the answers, but I just couldn't understand. There are just too many versions, or I should say stories on the history of halloween, and its trick-treating ritual, none of which made any sense to me. I could just gather that it has something to do with warding off the evil spirits, and/or placating them (I would assume by treating them ).

 

Anyways, a brief idea of how Halloween is celebrated in North America, with no lessons in history for you. Houses are decorated with ghosts and pumpkins (again I have no idea of the pumpkin connection). On the last day of October, i.e. October 31st, children dress up in costumes that may range from witches and goblins to princess and fairies. They go around every house trick-treating. In short, they are offered candies and the kids literally get their school bags or sacks to fill them up with as many candies, possibly stocking up for their annual supply. (Oh, did I mention 'chocolates' are called 'candies' here).

 

Anushka was a sugar plum fairy this year. She was adorable. she had a shiny purple dress with wings, a matching cap-like headband and green booties. She enjoyed filling her bucket with candies. But she also was good at giving it away when the other kids showed up at our doorstep. Her friend, Arth was here too and they both had a super fun time winding up their day with a pizza party.

 

For what it means or is worth of, Happy Halloween to all of you!!!

Sway to the tunes

Can dance be euphoric? Can dance leave you in the so-called alcoholic hypnotic spell where your troubles seem far away and you seem to be just enjoying the moment? Can dance be trance? Well, I wish that was the case for me now, it probably was at some time.....long back. This time, dance was more like pushing anushka toward jignesh as she tugged on my legs, or to give up trying and just pick her up and sway (not to mention that it can be pretty heavy on your arms and back).

 

It was navratri. Well, this year, like most other years off late, navratri passed by without sleepless nights, midnite meals and sweat-soaked chaniyacholis. There was a time when all this wasn't such an elusive dream. The nine days of navratri, or I should say the nine nights were the fun time that we all looked forward to. Getting our hands on the Phalguni Pathak's season pass was the uppermost thing on our mind in the pre-Navratri days. The other thing would be, do I have enuff outfits? Well, each euphoria has its phase, afterwhich it passes by only to linger on our mind at the same time of the year, every year. I am not complaining now. Especially when I know that Mumbai has strict 10 o'clock deadlines which just seem absolutely ridiculous to me now. In a city of long commute and congested streets, how can one ever reach that early to enjoy atleast 2 hours of dancing, which are a must coz the tickets are quite pricey and you have to make it all worth it. Anyways, as i said, I am not complaining now coz I ain't there no more.

 

We tried to go to a local garba event coz I had to wear my outfit atleast once a year. It was quite good. Though the music was louder than the singing voice, well, can't be really picky about it. But I was able to dance only for a few cherished minutes while my girl cried her lungs out with Daddy holding her back. Well, I finally gave up and just took her and tried to atleast sway. The DJ music was awesome. My 'nonbaby' friends had a crazy time while Shikha and I were 'preoccupied.' We also had our customary midnite meal, I should rather say a not-so-midnite meal, coz we were home by midnite . Anyways, as long as we get some desi celebration in a foreign land, our hearts are pleased and we lay our heads on our pillow with a smile. 

Have you ever...?

1. Have you ever fainted in a rock concert?

    I have.

 2. Have you ever sat in a police car?

    I have.

 3. Have you ever had your face blackened, literally? (Kabhi muh kaala hua hai?)

    Yes.

 4. Have you ever bitched about a person, just to find him standing right besides you listening to every word?

    I have.

 5. Have you ever slapped anyone?

    I have.

 6. Have you ever scored a higher overall percentage in the 12th than in the 10th?

    I have.

 7. Have you got married with no shoes?

    I have.

 8. Have you read a book in one day?

    I have.

 9. Finally, have you ever written a blog that is hardly read?

    Hehehe, I have.

 

EXPLANATION TIME:

 

1. Thi was at a Bryan Adams show in Mumbai in 2001. Needless to say, the place was packed like sardines in a can, and I got out of breath, literally. And no, I didnt faint on seeing Bryan Adams, i fainted before he even got on the stage. And I was just tugged or shall i say, passed on above the crowd to the fenced camera crew area. And when I opened my eyes, I was being sprinkled with water. But then I got to enjoy the show from the most coveted seats.

2. Two times. Once, in a police van, in Mumbai. I was a NSS committee member and we always helped the police during Ganeshotsav. The van would transport us to our spots where we would help manage the crowd and the traffic. Next time, in Kansas, our car broke down. And this cop offered me a ride back home with little 2-month-old Anushka while Jignesh waited for the AAA.

 

3. OH this was funny. My friends and I were conned by these two naughty boys from our travel and tourism class on our trip to Aurangabad. They practically fooled us into believing that they could hypnotise us and we would be able to see our spouse's face in the mirror (how absurd and silly this sounds to me now). I go into the room, he tells me to shut my eyes, and tells me he is going to massage my face and shoulders so that i could relax. What he really was doing was putting kajal on my face (thereby blackening it). And then he says, he's done, and i should slowly open my eyes and i'll see a flash of light after which I'll see the image. And when i open my eyes, I do see a flash of light, but it was the flash of the camera that he held behind me while taking a picture of my 'black' face staring at the mirror.

 

4. We had our accounts classes on a Sunday, and time was up, but this Sir would't let us go. Finally, after leaving the class, I walk up to this samosa store with my friend, and while i was waiting for my samosas, I kept complaining about this Sir and telling how stupid he was to take a class on Sunday and he had nothing better to do. He probably didn't have a wife or a girlfriend to hang around with and he probably was a big loser. When I turn around, he was right behind me, and fortunately, just laughing away.

 

5. The trip to South of India with my tourism class. We were at Vrindavan Gardens near Bangalore. After watching the light show, we girls were walking back to the gate together, while this guy tried to act smart and was passing comments from behind. I don't know wat happened to me, I just turned back, slapped him, then realized what i had done, ran as fast as i could to join my friends who had gone a bit ahead. He did come up with his friends with his hand still stuck on his cheek, but there wasn't anything that those three guys could do against we 7 girls and that too, in front of a crowd.

 

6. Yes, this was unbelievable coz thats normally not the trend. But I seem to have never followed a pattern, have I? I scored a 82% in 10th, while a 83.5% in 12th.

 

7. My family tradition goes as such: the bride's shoes are bought by the groom's side in the baraat, and then they give it to the bride so that she can wear it in the ceremony. Jignesh's family says: Shoes are unlucky. We won't carry it. And they say it after the baraat has reached and we ask for the shoes. So I have no shoes. I, size 5.5, have to wear a size, 8 (my friend's) shoes while I am getting married. And the result, my wedding saree getting constantly stuck in the oversized heels.

 

8. During long distance train journeys. I breath books.

 

9. How about this one!!! And if you are reading this, pls comment.

Sita-Ram

Did you know that Sita was the first single parent in history? Did you know that Sita gave birth to the twins in the forests and raised them all by herself? Did you know that though Sita was the ideal wife, Ram wasn't the ideal husband? Did you know that there can be a Sita without a Ram in a temple, but there can't be a Ram without a Sita? Did you know Ram, the perfect man, the perfect God, that we so worship, wasn't so perfect afterall?

 

My girl keeps watching the Ramayan cartoon DVD over and over in my car. That reminded Jignesh and me of the Doordarshan days, the days of Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan that kept people hooked to the television and off the streets. But as we reminisced, we kinda started arguing about some details on the legendary story leading to the birth of Lava and Kush. That made me don my googler gloves again and keying off to find the correct story that I seemed to have 'forgotten.' And I was just so shocked by my findings that I was compelled to write this blog. Maybe you all probably just are more enlightened than I am, or probably this will refresh your minds as it did mine.

 

After the victory at Lanka, Ram and Sita would have been thrilled to see each other after a long time of separation. Or we imagined so. But instead, Ram met Sita with a cold heart, eyeing her with suspicious looks since she was held captive by another man. Sita, heartbroken, summonded Lakshman to put forth a pyre and volunteered to give herself to Agni. Agni proved how pure her heart, body and soul were that Sita was untouched by the flames and emerged flawless. They went back to Ayodhya and Sita was soon expecting the heir to the kingdom. But Ram, though a great son, a great king he was, wasn't that trusting a husband. He was not able to escape the social slandering and took the allegations to his heart, and decided to banish, BANISH Sita from the palace. He told Lakshman to take Sita to the forest and ABANDON her. Sita gave birth to Lava and Kush in the forest, and raised her by herself. When the twins were in their teens, and the news of their valor reached Ayodhya, Ram summoned them and Sita back and asked Sita to give one final Agni pariksha. Insulted and embarrased, she said "If I have remained true to Ram in mind, speech and action, may the Mother Earth embrace me in her bosom." No sooner had she spoken than the ground beneath her feet split wide open, and before anybody had the time to react, she entered the depths. Thus ended the exemplary life of Sita with a bitter end.

 

Some say, inorder to defend Ram, that Ram gave up Sita for the kingdom's sake. It was his utmost personal sacrifice since he loved Sita more than anything in the world. He didn't abandon his wife, he abandoned the queen. He did not reject her as a wife, but Sita did reject him as a husband in a personal sense. This was evident from her act of denying to undergo a second agnipariksha and submitted herself to Mother Earth. Sita was clearly the winner.

In the words of Swami Vivekananda, " There may have been several Ramas, perhaps, but only one Sita."

The Picnic

It was ironic how I went thru the entire summer without once thinking of going on a picnic. And just when winter was around the corner, out sprang the idea of having an outdoor day. And well, fortunate that I am to have equally enthusiastic friends, we did go out to embrace the sun for one full day, from dawn to dusk, I should say considering the late lateefs we have in the gang, from noon to dusk.

 

We went to Burke Lake, though I never really got to see the lake or the row boats for which it is generally known. But we had one huge chunk of well-mowed lawn all to ourselves, not to forget that the space was fully loaded with three picnic benches, which we never actually make use of. The true indians that we are, we prefered to shun the bench and cool our "butts" on the green luscious grass. Speaking of which, we also had a true indian traditional picnic lunch of puri, alu sabzi and shrikhand. It was delicious. You would think we perhaps all just dropped down on the verdant 'carpet' for a nappie, but we didn't. The guys went ahead to continue their game of cricket, while we girls took a joyride on the toy train. Its truly blissful to take pleasures in these small 'kiddish' things in life. Life seems simple in such times.

 

Sumit's mom enthralled us with some old forgotten shayaris while we tried to play the school-time favorite games of "the chain catcher." Rosy and I were so out of breath in just a few minutes that we just gave up and left poor Krishna all by himself to catch the others. We were just complete misfits I should say. And while the sun was setting, we thought of buttering up the bread, and sprucing it up with chutney, tomatoes and cucumbers to finish our day with our true desi sandwiches.

 

The fun day however did end with a few injured friends, some limping their way back home, while some ending up with ankle or wrist sprains. This just proves how they all just literally "ran and bowled" their way to having a wonderful day. Take it easy friends and do not forget to see Deya's album.

Hello??

I remember the time when the term "dialing" actually meant dialing the number on the big black fone and not just pushing digitalized numbers on a sleek handpiece. I remember the time when "hello" was more of a question, an inquisitive, interrogative term of expression coz those were the days when the caller ids didn't exist. Hello???? (which meant who is it, who cared to call me, where are you calling from). All those interrogative adverbs (the true grammatical phrase for questions) all conjured up in just one word, hello.

 

The word hello, is now appropriately used, as a true term of greeting. The fone rings, you see the name, the number, and you say "hello." No questions needed. You know who is calling you, and you even know from where. It also eases your misery of having to put up with those marketing calls that you so want to avoid or even some unwanted friends that you don't want to deal with. Caller ID is a true blessing in disguise. However, it is not so good too in case you want to lie about your whereabouts. For that you have your cellfone though. So life is better.

 

And one thing I had always marked was that there are different tones of hellos you get when you call. There is the sultry lazy hello that sounds like "haloooo" or extra curious "hello..a very curt question" or the twirling of the tongue "halloouuu." Its funny how each one has its own distinct way of saying just one word. And another amazing fact about hello is that inspite of really being an english word, it is universally accepted as a telephone greeting in all languages. You don't really say "namaste" or "Guten Tag" or "Bonjour" on the telefone, do you?

 

Lastly, I remember reading somwhere, that when you leave someone you love, don't ever say goodbye. Goodbyes mean you might not meet again. Instead, end with a hello coz hello gives you hope and optimism that you will meet again. So I too end this blog with a big HELLO. Its weird, isn't it?

Can you forgive and forget?

Paryushan, the single most important festival for the Jains just ended. The last day ends with "pratrikraman" - a ritual in which our holy hymns/sutras/shlokas are recited abundantly. It apparantly is a process of absolving our sins by self realization and honest remorse. With this, we ask our family, friends and all aquaintances for forgiveness. Michhami Dukkadam - which truly means "I ask for your forgiveness for any hurt that I caused you intentionally or unintentionally" - becomes a form of greeting for the next few days.

 

Now, the moot question that is hovering on my mind is "Can you hold a grudge against someone till the end of time?" or eventually, you do tend to "forget and forgive." Yes, forget and forgive is the godly way to live your life. But can you truly adhere to it? Especially, if the person against whom you hold your anger, commited the deed well-intended, perhaps fully aware that you will be hurt.

 

I suppose we mortals are capable of forgiving those whose acts were pure accidental, not intended to cause any harm. But what about the other "species" whose contriving minds had every purpose to hurt you. Can you forgive them? I believe that your resentment, your anger, your hostility does tend to wither with time. The intensity does tend to narrow with time. And as they say, time heals all wounds, I will say, time heals resentment too. I might be capable of forgiving someone in some time, but to forget is what makes me think. I suppose, forgiving is far easier than forgetting. Forgetting would compound to be an act of godliness which is very rarely found amongst us. And if it were, then we would all be saints.

 

With this, Michhami Dukkadam to my family, friends and acquaintances. If it lies in your heart to forgive me for my sins, I humbly bow down to you. If not, my sins won't go unpaid in this cosmic cycle of karma, so don't bother worrying about it too much. Afterall, stress is not good for health.

 

Music, crowd and God

 feel there is a strong connection with music, crowd and God. At least for us Indians. Agar public nahi ho toh festival ka majaa nahi aata. And same goes with the music. When there is music, the ever chanting of the commonly sung hymns vibrating in the ethereal marbled space of a temple, it is very easy to get lost.....within yourself.

 

Yesterday was Janmashtami and I had a close tete a tete with this harmonious union of music and His Lord, albeit for just a few minutes while we made a beeline for His Darshan. When I closed my eyes even for those few minutes and let myself drown in the chant "Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Hare, Hare", letting the magic of the the holy sanctum sanctorum emanate into me, I couldn't help but feel closer to Him, or I would say closer to my ownself. Afterall, God resides in our hearts. And as the enlightened men have said, when we find our inner peace, we find Him. And strangely this "noise" how loud it can be, brings about a serene calmness in your ever-wondering soul and you feel at Peace. Peace with all your troubles that torture your mind day in and day out.

 

Anyways, coming out of my spiritual reverie, I have to write about the feast that followed the darshan too. And a feast it was. Sumptious, delicious and totally vegetarian, or i should say, jainitarian. Sheera, gulab jamun and paneer matar were absolutely made in heaven. So much for the sweet-toothed cheaters  to cheat themselves into the line to get a second helping.

 

Well, the next three months are thronged with festivals. Lets celebrate.

Cheeni Kum

Cheeni Kum, portrayed as sugarless romance is no way to lose weight. For that, there is WeightWatchers . But that pops a question in my mind. Is sugar really missing from romance? After a few years of being married and having a baby, does the sweetness go away from the relationship only to have the mundane routine staring at us. Or is it that even 2% fatfree is as sweet and likeable as whole?

 

Last Saturday we went to a 2nd anniversary party. Supriya and Ankit form a great couple, not to say that they have any sweetness missing. Infact, they can't even stay away from each other in a 4 hour party.  That is sweet. But does that mean if the relationship is not as sweet as it is supposed to be, there is no romance? Do I sound sane here? Some people lack the adequacy to be sweet, u know wat i mean (just like Amitabh in the movie). But does that mean they don't love? Well, i would say in such a case, you have to get your microscope out (or borrow it from the lab) and go skin-deep to fathom the underylaying metaphors of the unconventional romance . Now is that too heavy? It has to be, it is full of fat and sin .

 

We played the "not-so-newly-wed" game in which the spouses are suppose to know the likes and dislikes of their partners. And least to say, it was hilarious. Imagine Sanjay coming out with "daal-rice" when asked what his wife's favourite food is. I rolled laughing while Jhilly was fuming. Anyways, do higher grades in such a test bear testimony to your loyalty or dedication to a relationship? AFterall, choices keep changing, don't they? Anyways, i didn't really mean to be so serious abt this, it was fun and infact the game continued long after the party until home for everyone. Or atleast it did for me, coz while we were half asleep in bed, I asked Jignesh "since when did strawberry become your favorite flavor of ice-cream?" 

 

Perhaps we need to bring in Equal or Nutrasweet, the artificial sweeteners used to infuse or rather refresh the romance in our minds.  

60 years of freedom

We've come a long way. From dhoti-clad baniyas and pandits to tie-tucking software engineers. From a land ruled by kings, to a land ruled by its people. From bel gaadis, to underground metros. From choli ghaghras to designer dresses. The journey has not been easy. But its been fruitful.

 

Yes, our India still suffers. From power cuts to illiteracy, from money-hoarding politicians to bad roads, from corruption to pollution. But aren't we still proud to be Indians. Aren't we proud of our rich culture, and our age old heritage that instills important values in us. Aren't we proud to just go out and eat all the junk from the street which is always much better than any homemade food. Aren't we proud of our multilingual population and it's ever hospitality. India is our home. We mite settle in foreign lands for watever personal reasons, but our home is where our heart is, and our heart will always be in India. Jai Hind!!! 

Do you want a partner?

No I am not gonna list down any 10 ways to get yourself a partner, for watever it is you need. This is the song I am listening to now. . The title song of "Partner" and needless to say, I am hooked. Its peppy. Thats all i can say. (And yes, when i get hooked to a song, did i mention that i listen to it like a thousand times till i m pakaoed). The movie was fun, silly, but fun. The kinds when you can put your brains aside and enjoy the one-liners. In contrast to this, Cheeni Kum was refreshing too. It was funny, but the mature fun, u know wat i mean. The kind that makes sense. I love em both, Amitabh and Tabu. The little girl was surprisingly superb. I can't write more, am not a review writer so check out the movies yourself.

 

This blog is just ain't on just the latest movies i watched. I started to write just "watever" is going on.

 

Last Saturday we surprised a friend with a baby shower. Vibha just started crying when we all shouted. And it wasn't bcoz we scared her.... I was very happy to see this visible emotional display coz it just says a lot abt how much friends mean to us. We had a really good party, i arranged for some games which everyone enjoyed, there was great food, music and everything. And yes, to arrange this party , we had two 2-hour long conference calls with 9 girls, so you can imagine how chaotic that mite have been and not to forget, the hundreds of calls to each other to decide the trivial details to the point of going overboard our minute usage on the cellfones.

 

And now that I am the official game co-ordinator, I can't wait for another party to get myself rolling. 

India fights back!

Assuming you read my last blog of the big goof-up that USCIS commited harrassing the thousands of desis in this country. Well, the loss was tremendous. People cancelling their holidays, paying those exhorbitant cancelation charges, cutting short their trips and heading home to prepare the papers. And with the sudden revokal by the govt, Indians were furious. And guess what the desis did this time, they fought back. And this time, they adopted the Gandhi approach. Inspired by the recent movie, Lage Raho Munnabhai, they sent flowers to the USCIS office. Everyone knew this would not change the decision, but atleast it would catch the attention of the powerful media. And did this Gandhigiri pay off?

 

IT DID. Yes, there were rallies too, and other protests, and the Gandhigiri. The other lawyer foundations were ready with their lawsuit. What really worked we don't know. But, the govt took back its suspension, and opened up the doors once again to the ever-so-green card. I am just glad that this time, we just didn't sit idle, as is the underlying nature of Indians. We fought back and we got results.  

Popat banaya

USCIS ne popat banaya. They literally took millions of GC-aspiring immigrants for a ride. To spare you the details and give you just a gist, there are three stages in the Greencard process. We have finished two. They had stopped accepting the applications for the third due to their backlog. In June, they announced they are opening all of it up from July. Chinkus, desis, makkus, all made a beeline at the doctors' to get their medical clearance, spent precious dollars on getting vaccinations, fedexing documents overnite, getting birth certificates in order, etc etc.  And comes July 2nd, (1st being a sunday), they issue a bulletin announcing they have temporarily suspended accepting applications for watever BS reasons they give.

 

Sometimes, we really feel, damn this US govt, who is keeping us legal tax-paying immigrants submerged in their bureaucratic paperwork, while legalizing all those who have just run across borders. What if the entire H1B community just left this country at one time? That would really shake them off their BIG ass (sorry for the language but you can judge our frustration). Well, obviously you would question me, then why are you staying here? Why don't you go back? It is way too complicated to just leave and go back. Maybe i could explain this in another blog.

 

Well, as of now, everyone is disappointed on all the time and money wasted. A lawsuit has to be on its way. And our freedom, freedom from the paperwork, restrictions, portability, layers of bloodsucking middleman is again a distant dream away.

SFO (continued from the california trip)

SFO city, another gem in the country of great cities. The Golden Gate Bridge stands tall to welcome you; and not only was i enthralled at the size of it, but was blown away, literally, with the breeze. I thought it wuld be a nice sunny day; it was sunny, but with a mild chill and I had nothing more than a light jacket. Anyways, the view was amazing. The Alcatraz, lonely island, staring at the city's downtown, the hills, the vast ocean, the sailboats, the cargo boat, everything was mesmerizing. I immediately fell in love with the city.

 

The downtown was equally interesting, needless to say, inspiring. The ups and downs, the crooked streets, the slanted cars parked up on the angled paths, I loved it. Will definitely post pictures here. Beautiful downtown, I must say. And there were actual people who lived on the "Crooked Street." I found that a bit hard to believe, god knows why.

 

Headed to my friend, Kiran's place in the evening. Stayed with her and her very adorable son, Aryan, who happens to be just one day older than Anushka for two fun days before heading back to the East. The kids had a blast, and so did we. Giggled, and talked, and shared, and cooked. Fun, fun and fun.

 

A fun holiday that was.

Eulogy

I wish to dedicate this blog to my computer, who was just not a home pc, but a friend, guide and philosopher....and googler, and chatter, and a music box and ...well the list goes on and on. There was a flicker and my comp breathed its last. Though I admit I did rave and rant when it just refused to boot up, but the network guys informed me well, that it had lived its life and it was time for it to go. I shouldn't really complain. Instead, I should give it a well-meant farewell.

 

I stayed without a PC for a fortnight, which guys, is not a short time. The internet is your window to the world, isn't it? One day you don't connect to your messengers, and you feel so lost, don't u? I couldn't voice chat with my family, I couldn't listen to my music, I couldn't check my orkut,  and my message boards. Though I have to say my berry saved me from just tearing my hair away. I could atleast check my mails and read Bombay Midday. Berry was the blessing that kept me alive and helped me get thru this teary, lonely 15 days.

 

Jignesh has now left his laptop with me until we get a new desktop. Yes, the PC did get its replacement, but I just wanted to write a few words so that I don't delete my old PC off my memory.

Sunny California

Whom am I kidding? I loved it. I loved California......or should i say Kaaliforrnya (as Arnold says). The state has it all. Ocean, mountains, lakes, green verdant pastures, technology, and tech companies. And yes, the paper green too. And lots and lots of desis, with come hand in hand with a deluge of indian restaurants and stores. I wouldn't mind moving to Calif, only if it were affordable. The houses, the rents, the gas, everything is super expensive. Yes, I know the salaries are better too, but i don't think its proportionate.

 

Sacramento was affordable. Lovely city. Cheap, nice, and california.

 

Lake Tahoe was a 2 hour drive from Sacramento and absolutely breathtaking. If I may, let me jot down a few statistics here. The lake is 6K plus feet above sea level, 22 miles in length, 12 miles wide, 72 miles of perimeter, 99.99% pure. If you drop an object like 70 feet deep, you can still see it. We drove around the entire perimeter, and clicked a dozen pictures. It was beautiful, calm, and serene, and picturesque.

 

San Fransisco, to be continued.

The Blackberry season

It is certainly the time for blackberries. Everyone you see, is carrying blackberries. And By blackberry, I don't mean the fruit. I mean the blackberry fone. Wonder how they come up with names Blackberry, and you have the latest Chocolate by Verizon......whooaaa!!!

 

So as I have to try to live up with the Joneses, I bought myself a Blackberry too. I can't truly say I bought one, coz they are giving it away for free on the Internet. Infact, its not only free, I am getting $75 cash back. How better can it get? Well, I have to say, the Joneses had nothing to do with me getting a new fone. My old fone had lived its life, the charger had given up hope, and out of desperation, I keyed in to look for new fones. And I love it. It's sleek, and sexy and I am handling it like it were made of glass. Its funny how precious things are when newly purchased. And as it loses its "new" charm, its going to be lying around waiting to be picked and tossed by my girl and I won't even bother.

 

I am seriously impressed with the way these Americans run their business. They give away the best fones for free, only to get you hooked to their montly plans. Its an excellent strategy and I would love for India to follow suit. Its best for both, the company as well as the customer. The customer gets the coolest fones for free, the company gets a contract.

 

Anyways, I am gonna go enjoy my fone and sms my new number to "MyCircle". ;)

Fly In Fly Out

Fly In Fly Out has become a pseudo culture for the immigrant consultants (yes, i know, there can be american consultants too) in US of A. Have to stick to the same company for the never to fade desire of a Greencard ( ever wonder why green, and not blue and red that we are so used to seeing here). A consultant, I would describe, is a nomadic, highly skilled IT professional jumping from one client to the other, hopping from one flight to the other, all inorder to reap the dollars/hr.

 

Jignesh is off to California for a short project. Will come home not every weekend, every other weekend. I am bored. Anushka misses him terribly. Poor thing!!! And surprisingly, I miss him too.  With more green, comes more blues, wat can i say??

Twas my birthday

A woman never divulges her age they say, but I completely fail to understand why. Infact I love to throw around my age, coz that just invites compliments (picture me blushing and flattered). The minute I reveal my age, the immediate reaction I get is "Really!!!!!! You don't look that old. You are amazing!" And I bask in my 1-minute glory gleeing with joy.

 

Feb 9th happens to be my birth-day. I turned 29 last Friday. Oops!! So close to 30. Now this really scares me. 30 is the age they start using vanishing creams, and age-defying lotions, etc.  I perhaps need to start collecting info on this product line. I am turning old. I know, I know, age is material, you have to feel young at heart. I do feel young at heart. In fact, I feel like 20, or I should rather say, I want to be 20. The older you grow, the more the responsibilities, more the troubles, more the stress, more the complications. What's the fun in growing old? Perhaps I can console myself with the fact that as I grow old, so do my friends. I don't get left behind...hehehe. And as we all grow wiser together, the blogs keep getting better and better.

My Lord Buddha

I am talking about my little girl. We got her head shaved yday. Although its not customary in our community to get a baby girl's head shaved, but I chose to do it for more practical (read "volumizing") reasons. I call her Lord Buddha and she laughs when I do that. Some customs we Indians have, don't we? Its said that you are supposed to get the head shaved of the baby and offer the hair to God as a gift. But I don't understand why is it mandatory for boys, and not for girls.

 

Anyways, talking about traditions, there are quite a few that have more scientific or medical reasons to support. And those that just don't seem right to me, I would rather not obey. Now am I being too rebellious out here. One of my cousins just had a baby. When I asked him, have you decided on a name, he said he just looked up at the rashi and wants to follow it. Fine, its good to follow the rashi, but what if you don't like any name on the letter that comes up. I feel a name is a very important gift you give your baby. When my girl grows up, I want her to be proud of her name, and not ashamed. Whether she'll be in US or India, I don't know. But when I am here, I do want to make sure she gets a name that is not twisted or butchered by these goras. That doesn't mean I am gonna give her a name like Nancy or Michelle. I do make sure I give her an Indian name, but just which is a little easy for the people here to pronounce. Now am I being "unindian" here?

 

 This doesn't mean I don't follow our customs at all. I do. And some, yes, blindly. But some, I choose not to and I do stand the chance of being branded "too modern," but well, who am I fighting?

Love and hate my GPS

I have this Garmin GPS navigation system in my car. Loved it when I first got it. Took me exactly where I wanted to. Can really be dumb while driving and just follow the voice. But on our last trip to NJ, it took us at roads we have never been to. It took us 5 and 1/2 hours to reach, when according to Mapquest, its just a 3 and 1/2 hour drive. I was so mad. It was so frustrating. Lesson learnt: Never trust the GPS when you are going long.

Two good weekend trips

Trip #1: Fayetteville, NC to attend a baby shower. The only cousins I have in this country is this big family in NC. The baby shower was huge. Around 250 people which is the largest crowd for me in US in any particular family event. Had fun. Just had a teary adieu when I left.

 

Trip #2: Edison, NJ to attend a bday party. My friend Riddhi's daughter Dia turned 3. She is one cutiepie. The amount of bakbak she does. This was a decent small party, around 20 people, like the ones I am used to ;). That went well too. Its always so good to meet up with friends.

 

See, this is the reason I want to stick around in the East coast. Atleast I have friends/family that I can drive down to. Kansas was so depressing. Let me not even start with that.Post Options

Sick start of 2007

2007 didn't start on a good note for us. All three of us are sick. I am better now but I had the most severe cold this new year eve. I was barely audible.  Jignesh caught a ear infection and is still not completely out of it. And my poor little baby is coughing the first time in her life and that too so bad. We adults still manage to cope up; how do these little babies handle sickness? Well, they cling, and cling and cling and cling.

 

Anyways, of lately, I have developed a thing for pretzels. Each time I go to the mall, I want myself an Aunt Annie's pretzel with hot salsa cheese dip. Actually, the first time I ever had a pretzel was at a New York subway station and it was so hard; I never touched it after that. And now, when I had these ones, i can't resist it. They are ever so soft. That reminds me of doughnuts. Nothing can beat the Krispy Kreme's.

 

Leaving this here.....must hurry.