Orlando

Orlando - Where a kid can be a kid!! (Yes, i know, thats from chuck-e-cheese but I m gonna alter it a bit). Orlando - Where anyone can be a kid!!!

The palm-lined streets lead you to the exotic, exciting, enchanting, exhilarating, eye-popping, enticing and the most extraordinary theme parks of the world. DISNEYLAND. and yes, the UNIVERSAL STUDIOS too. But since this time, we were accompanied by our starry-eyed, Princess Anushka, we decided to skip Universal altogether and just ball-dance into the Magic Kingdom first. From the moment you set your eyes on that beautiful fairy-tale castle that greets you on your way in, its nothing short of a truly magical day, for kids and grown-ups, alike. It makes you want to swirl around in the carousel, take the ride into 'Winnie-land', fly the magic carpet and line up to click pictures with the characters. Its funny. I can understand Anushka just exuberant about meeting her favorite princesses, but what was I jumping about? I guess the smile on her face made me glow with bliss too.

We did visit three other Disney parks. Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Disney's Hollywood studios, none of which can be missed. Each park is completely different from the other. And what should I say about the weather? How perfect can it be? While we 'jacket' around up North, the people here can be perfectly happy in their shorts and camis in the months of winter. Well, so much for geography and climate, huh?

Disneyland can be an album of memories for you and your family. Do not miss it. I know some people wait for a suitable age for one or multiple kids to make a trip here, but you know what, there is fun for all. While Mickey and Donald amuse a baby, a toddler can sing along with Barney and Winnie. The little girls can dance their way with the princesses and fairies, while the older ones can go crazy on the roller coasters. Don't make them miss out on any age-appropriate fun. If you are here in US, a trip every 3 years wouldn't be too hard, would it?

p.s. The fireworks I saw at the Magic Kingdom and Epcot is something I have never, ever seen in my entire life. They are nothing short of spectacular.

I am the Best Chef in this world!!!

After earning the earlier title of "the most beautiful person in this world", so honorably bestowed by my daughter, today I get a new one, that of being "the best chef in this world". Actually she first said, "Mommy, you are the best cooker in this world". Ouch!!! Anushka, I am not a cooker. Do I have a whistle on me. That sent her splitting into giggles. It was time to infuse her little brain with the more appropriate term here. Chef. Not cooker. So for Anushka, I am the best chef in this world.

Yes, this is definitely going to make Jignesh 'split into giggles' too when he reads this. Well, to be honest, cooking, isn't my forte. What really is my forte is still a mystery waiting to be unraveled. lol. But cooking certainly isn't. That doesn't mean I don't cook. That doesn't mean I don't cook yummy food. I do. I don't starve my kids. But its something that I don't like to spend a lot of time on. I find shortcuts and I spoon my way out with compact recipes.

Coming back to my title of best chef. Its touching, rather an endearing emotion that makes one feel that 'maa ke haath ka khana' is the best in this whole world. Any imperfection or any imbalance is completely ignored coz you ate this all your life. You loved it first, and you love it now. More than love, its the feeling of satiety it gives you. The feeling of content. Hearty content. You grew up eating it. You will always savor it throughout your life. I remember going on extended trips and eating out at all the possible dhabas and restaurants and dharamshalas. But when we would come back home, it was mummy's khichdi kadhi that made us feel complete.

A friend of mine, just recently forwarded a bhajan to me. Here is an excerpt from it that goes on to describe what Lord Krishna missed after he left Gokul and moved to Mathura.

Chappan bhog ahi roj pirsaata

Par makhan ne roti mari rahi gayi gokul ma

(We have a feast served every day in the palaces of Mathura, but it is the roti and makhan that I miss the most from Gokul)

So irrespective of my interest and level of skill in this world of pots and pans, I have earned the title of "Top Chef" and it is going to stay with me. Thank you Anushka. You make me so happy.

Liberating!!!

What can be more liberating than the truth, or freedom, or retirement, or getting all your debts paid off? Closet cleaning. lol. I know. As ridiculous as it may sound, it was liberating for me. Perhaps not as liberating as the above, but well, liberating enough to qualify as a topic for my blog. :)

Anyways, I spent the last weekend digging deep in my closets, shelving it a bit more, tossing the junk and re-organizing. And tossing the junk we so invariably collect over the year is what I am going to talk about today. As this American economy keeps flooding us with deals and we, naive that we are, keep buying and shopping, its finally left to the closet to bear the brunt of our hasty thoughtfulness, or rather, non-thoughtfulness. Though closets have proved to be very very accommodating so far, never complaining, just plain smiling their way through, there isn't much it can really do when your clothes start to spill over. No matter how much you kick them back in, they just overflow. And thats when it strikes us. Whoops, I have to fix this mess. And off we go hunting for closet solutions. I did the same. Dumped, dumped, dumped, till it literally yelled at me. Clean me guys, c'mon, how could you be so blind? And so I rolled up my sleeves and got to work. One thing I have to say is my kids had a ball. Pucho kyu? Coz when I got every piece of cloth out and made a big humongous pile, they had such a great time just jumping and falling on it. Anyways, in the process, I made up some tossing rules which I'd like to share with ya.

Rule #1: Some of the clothes are just plain old. No matter how dear it is to you or it has been given to you by some loved one, or you just totally love it, let it go. They are old. Your friends, your family, your neighbors are just sick of seeing in you in that uniform. SO LET IT GO.

Rule #2: Some clothes you'll find you bought for reasons you forgot. They stare at you annoyingly and ask you, if you didn't ever wanted to use me, why the heck did you bother picking me off the store. And what do you do? You keep 'em for a few years. Each year, putting them either at the bottomest of your pile, or so behind that you never have to look at it and feel guilty. LET IT GO. Even if its been just a year, let it go. Its not worth it.

Rule #3: C'mmon, face it. You have grown fat for watever reason there is. Either you have been indulging yourself into sinful desserts or you now have a pouch on account of child-bearing duties :). A little, more, doesn't matter and there is no way you are ever going to fit into those zero size jeans. LET IT GO. And if at all you do go back to your size, you could just go pick up a couple of new pairs.

Rule #4: Its out of fashion girl. Grow up. You can't wear those flared-up jeans or anarkali salwar suits. THROW IT AWAY.

Well, so you see, after some serious tossing away, I now have a few piles. A throw-away pile, a donation pile, some to pass over to friends and their kids, and some for the next season. And my closets now are a sight of beauty. Anushka just opens them and loves to look at it. I hope it stays that way. Touchwood!!!

P.S. Use, re-use the kids' clothes. Get from your friends, pass them on to others. Afterall, their usage is so limited with these toddlers just aching to grow and grow.

Miniature Golf

One day my cousin, who is the same age as I am, tells me he is taking golf lessons. I say I am appalled. Why do you want to play a game for 'buddhas'? Don't you have anything better to do. He tries to explain to me that it certainly is not a game for 'oldies' and that its pretty fun. Moreover, it helped him tremendously in his business, coz a lot of deals are 'dealt' with in these beautifully landscaped pastures. And I just kept laughing. I really believed its a total waste of beautiful land. Acres of plush green carpet to be trampled by the dimpled ball ....and the little golf carts. And to think of it, this oh-so-boring game came with its own gear, complete with its own line of clothing. I thought it was overrated. Politicians, celebrities, the 'corporates' and the like in their fancy golfing attire made a really good 'personable' picture in the Times magazine. And thats as far as it goes. As Mark Twain puts it, 'I consider golf to be an expensive way of playing marbles.' Little did I realize that one day, I would really enjoy this game.

A couple of weeks back, we went to Adventure Park USA. Anushka

s ticket included a game of mini golf. I had seen a lot of mini golf courses but I never bothered to venture out in any of these, thanks to my stupid preconceived notions. But as Anushka got bored with a couple of holes, it was left to me and Jignesh to finish the rest of the 18-hole round. And as I starting 'putting' up and managed to get the ball in the hole, I began to really enjoy. One time, I did hole it in just two strokes. Yippie!!! I was so excited. I can't wait to get back to mini golf, and this time, going through it with a score card.

Speaking of miniature golf, whoever thought about it. I googled up a bit and found that coz it was tough for the women to carry the bulky golf clubs, let alone giving it a hard swing, and traipsing around this huge field would be hard on the heels, they came up with this miniature golf idea. And how brilliant was it!!! Women, as well as the men, were able to get their hands around these loaded golf sticks and golf didn't remain an acronym for 'Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden'. And I also found that the 'dimpled' ball is 'dimpled' coz the 382 (wowww) 'dimples' help it to travel higher and farther.

Anyways, details aside, it is a fun game. And if you haven't tried it, GO. GO GOLF.

My dream last night

Since this blog has kinda become like my diary, I want to put my dream down in here so that I don't forget about it. It was just such a funny and an interesting one, wonder how my brain is super efficient in concocting some serious fiction. :)

So I have this neighbor, Petra. She is always doing something with her front and back yards. So I dream that she has this really windy creeper growing in her garden that sports tomatoes. Yes, tomatoes are hanging from these vines. The vines grow so long that they somehow make their way inside my kitchen, with the juicy reds just hanging from my ceiling. So when I want to cook, I just pluck one out right from my ceiling. (This is so hilarious). Anyways, I am talking to Petra about her tomatoes and she suddenly excuses herself, runs into her house, and then comes out all out of breath. She tells me this super super exciting news in a rather serious tone. She says, all the houses in our community are soon gonna be worth 1 and 1/2 million dollars. I obviously ask how come. She says someone is going to come visit us and explain why. Let me tell everyone in the neighborhood. Everyone gathers just outside my house. I notice a few desis that I never knew stayed in my community. We all are just abuzz with the million dollars, oops, million and a half dollars just twinkling in our eyes.

Just then, a fat chinku woman comes up. (I have never seen a fat chinku woman in my life). She takes on the stage. She explains: "A new Harry Potter movie is about to be released in a couple of months. This movie shows that the entire world is going to collapse. Or atleast America. All the buildings are going to fall, all structures will crush. The only community to escape this tragic phenomenon will be the Woodlake community. Which is our community. So the minute the promos start running through the TV, the home prices are going to rise and rise and rise. We estimate, atleast till a million and a half dollars. So guys, finish your upgrades, do up your houses, coz your homes are going to be the most expensive in this entire country." We gasp under our breath. The first thing I do is call Jignesh and let him know. The dream ends here.

Let me break my dream down and just try to analyse the circumstancial evidence for such an occurence....in my brain. :0

1. First, the tomatoes. I have to admit that I have longed for my very own vegetable garden. I'd rather plant veggies than flowers. Apart from the fact that I am a total 'duh' with gardening, I am unable to use my little backyard coz have rented out my basement. Front yard is for flowers obviously. But I shadow my laziness with my perfectly honest excuse of not knowing a thing about planting. But one day, I'll get my hands around the 'Gardening for dummies' book and I'll have the garden I desire.

2. We want to move to a bigger house. But with the home prices down, can't really talk about selling. So I do hope that the prices will come up a bit in a couple of years. Though a million bucks would definitely be a jackpot. That was an exaggerated dream I must admit.

3. I love Harry Potter. The book, the movie, the characters, everything about it.

4. I did catch the trailor for the movie 2012. So that explains the 'end of the world' part.

Well, goodnight, Bon Nuit, and long for continuity of life.

Connected globally!

Calling India was never...ever...so easy as it is now. What more could we expect? Unlimited free calling worldwide, especially to India, was a dream and its come true. Thank you Vonage. Thank you for connecting us globally and shrinking the 'virtual' distance even more.

Last week, when I heard about the Vonage World plan, I was pretty sure there is a catch. I call up the customer service and repeatedly ask the same question. Is there any hidden charge? She ended up laughing at me and assured me there was none. Then I make my first call. As soon as I finish with it, I go online, log in to my account to see if there was any charge. And there was none. Yippieeee!!! I am screaming. I call Jignesh and let him know. Liberation! Liberation! Liberation from those torturous calling cards and access numbers and pin numbers and lets not forget the pressure of the 'n' cents/minute. I have been enjoying this thoroughly as I pick one cousin or a friend every day and eat their brains.

Technology has come a longggggggg way. From letter-carrying pigeons to writing letters to making 'trunk' calls (I wonder why they were called trunk calls. Does anyone know why?) to making ISD calls to calling cards to VOIP phones offering unlimited calling at a very very reasonable charge/month. How does VOIP work, I have no clue. Jignesh has tried to explain it to me, but it goes right above my head. I can be plain dumb sometimes. And moreover, I really don't even want to break my head trying to decipher the server and internet highway lingo. As far as I am concerned, I am free now. I can call anywhere.....ok, almost anywhere in the world and that too unlimited. Technology rocks!!! and with it, so do I. By which I mean I am doing my happy dance. :) Helllllllloooooooooo India.

Movies!!!

Last weekend, I went for a movie, to a theater, and..., with no kids. Jignesh looked after them while I went giggling with my 'girl-friends'. You probably are thinking why am I making such a big deal out of it. Well, first of all, it has been ages since I went to a theater, and another thing, its been eons since I went without any kind of interference, ANY, whatsoever. I have got to do this more often. 3 hours of 'me-time' got me all rejuvenated to go running back to my kids and take them on.

I remember the time, back in college, when my preferences to choosing a movie were different. We have such a platter available to us. Artsy, mushy, bone-tickling, alien-y, dishum-dishum, cartoony, ghost-y and drama.

Of em all, the ones that I would totally avoid are:

Sci-fi: I kinda suffer from some intelligence deficiency. They go right above my head.

Horror/Suspense: I can't really have the demons and the monsters and the pyschos haunting me day and night. Bit of a scaredy cat here. Whats the point in watching those terrible, gut-wrenching atrocities? I still remember the theme music of 'Laal Killa' on DD. I would run away to another room when that started.

Action: Blood and violence, makes me nauseous. And obviously, the feats they show are totally impossible.

Extra-romantic: By which I mean the ones super suffused with extra sugar and unbelievable co-incidences that bring the hero and the heroine together. (yawn)

The ones I like and beginning to like:

Comedys including romantic comedys including chick flicks: Light, airy, fluffy, and funny, in that order. Can keep my serious side of the brain aside and switch the mode (read mood) to ...ummm unserious. Laugh through it and come out feeling literally lighter.

Artsy: By which I mean movies dealing with more real and factual issues, or even fictional but in a more real way. Something that touches the heart and makes you feel the world as is.

Cartoony: Wasn't Nemo and Lion King and Shrek so delightful and amusing?

Anyways, one thing I must add that reading the book first, and then watching the movie makes it more sensible. Like Harry Potter, or the Kite Runner, or even Namesake. It just made it so easy for me to understand. I'd highly recommend that.

Well, movies are stories. Stories that help keep our hopes alive. Stories that help keep us dreaming. Stories, that plain make us smile and laugh our hearts out. So always try to find some time to catch a nice one and let it stimulate your imagination.

Most memorable ones: Not Without My Daughter, Birdcage, Life Is Beautiful, Forrest Gump, Matchstick Men, I am Sam, Masoom, Slumdog Millionaire, Nemo, Lion King, to name a few.

Rakhi ka bandhan

I am not talking about Rakhi ka swayamvar if that's what you have in mind. I don't blame ya coz this new reality show on the Indian channels is as melodramatic as it can get and a good source of 'put-your-head-aside' entertainment.

I am talking about our good ole festival, Rakshabandhan. Come to think of this. We celebrate a lot of days based on relationships. Mother's Day, Father's Day, Teacher's Day, Valentine's Day, Children's Day, Friendship Day. So a Sibling's Day becomes more than just appropriate, doesn't it? Though most of the other days are 'amrikan' and not completely acceptable to our society (how can we forget the passion with which our beloved Shiv Sena loves to destroy any 'foren' culture invasion), Rakshabandhan, however, is greeted with honor and tradition considering its mythological origin.

Is Raksha bandhan still celebrated traditionally? Well, apparently, the rakhis are getting more and more traditional with every season. The silk dhagas come with beads and stones well accompanied by the choiciest mithai boxes, puja thalis or even chocolate hampers. Yes, there are designer rakhis embellished with pearls and gems, but they tend to showcase the most conventional form of our culture. The zardosi and meenakari painted rakhis come with an ethnic scroll that dole out sanskrit shlokas and poems on the love between a brother and sister. And mind you, they are not without an English translation to make them more comprehensible. With the invasion of technology and in the new era of E-commerce, we have all this available online. Beautiful rakhis and gifts are just a click away. Talking about gifts, not only do you have perfumes to microwaves for your sisters, there are also gift packs for brothers that include the latest gadgetry and spa gift certificates. Talk about a reverse trend here. In fact, I also send my rakhi to my brother with a gift pack. And yes, lets not forget the entire array of shinchan and doremon and spiderman rakhis and goodies for the kids.

Well, some say we have marred our tradition. I don't agree. Marrying the technology with tradition is I think the spice that'll enrich our lives and enlighten our souls. Changing times have made us geographically apart, but doesn't facebook and orkut keep us even more updated than ever before? So let the siblings who live overseas get their rakhis and gifts via fedex, it does definitely bring a smile to our faces. And for the locals, though the rakhi celebrations becomes a strictly Sunday affair, atleast you get to enjoy it without any work hurdles.

Happy Rakhi!!!

Strawberry picking

There is nothing more natural than being on an actual farm. There is nothing more organic than going down on your knees and plucking your fruit right of its stem. There is nothing more delicious than eating it right thereafter. 

We went strawberry picking last weekend, something that I had not done in a long time. The last time was a decade ago in Mahableshwar. The farm was luscious. Even the air smelled wonderful. The rows of the strawberry plant were perfectly parallel. The red shining through the green was a visual treat. More than the kids, I was super excited. I immediately got to work. I went about the plants looking for the most red and the biggest strawberry and I wasn't disappointed. It was almost thrilling to find a big one. While Anushka ran in the fields with a stick in her hand, I was not only plucking, but eating them as well. And boy oh boy!!! were they delicious!!!! I knew I had more than I wanted, more than I could finish, but what the heck!!! I just blended up a nice cool strawberry milkshake at night. 

Strawberry is indeed a very beautiful-looking fruit, isn't it? I would like to think of it as a royal fruit. Here are some fun facts about strawberries that I was amazed at:

• Strawberries were originally called 'strewberries' coz they lie just strewned across the leaves of the plants on the ground.
  
• They are the only fruit with seeds on the outside skin. Each fruit has about 200 seeds on it.
• Belgium has a whole museum for strawberries.
• Strawberries belong to the family of rose. 
• Big source of vitamin C and folic acid. And totally fat-free.

I would say that this is a really cool fun outdoor summer activity that every family should plan. June is the only month the strawberry harvest will last. July will be the month for blueberries. So get going you guys!!! Just google up the nearest pick-your-fruit farm and scurry away this weekend. 

P.S. Don't forget your sunscreen lotions.  

Cleaning fairies

I have a fairy who visits me once every month. She does magic too. She squeaky-cleans my house and transforms it into this lovely bright, extra-hygienic abode to live in. She is my cleaning lady and I do call her my fairy. How I wish I had another fairy who would visit my body once every month and clean it all up. Well, lets see, what would these body-cleaning maids really do. 

BRAIN-ATTIC: Lets start from right above. Clear out those cobwebs, dust those memory cells and make them shine again. Afterall, memories are our precious treasure. 

CONTROL ROOM: I'd like to imagine this as circuit board, with pins and chips. And since this is the most functional nerve area of our body, this needs special-care cleaning. The maids will use perfect little brushes to squiggle out the dirt on those boards and end with a nice moist layer of an antiseptic solution to keep it sparkly and 'well-oiled'. 

EYES: Coming down to the face, clean those eyes, with its lenses and leave it with a good spray of an anti-glare liquid given the fact that most of us are either facing a computer or a tv during the max time of the day. 

ENT: Then enter the ENT area which is sure to be all gooey with its mucosy and waxy secretions. Suck it all up with one of the heavy-duty commercial vacuum to leave it free of any dirty saliva or cough. 

LUNGS: Moving on to the lungs, check the little air bags and the right proportion of the oxygen and carbon dioxide leaving the body. Of course, in case of any discrepancies noticed that cannot be tended to asap, make notes that will be reported to the owner of the body. 

HEART: Check the chambers. Check the valves, check the good blood, bad blood. Check the flow. Check the pressure. And well, give the ole guy a nice big hug before making way to the tummy. 

TUMMY AND BOWELS: Check acidity levels. Check the walls. Pay special attention to any swellings, inflammations or similar if noticed. Make notes.

KIDNEYS: Yes, they have special masks and gloves to wear before descending into this bean-shaped organ. Check accumulation. Check flow. Check for any calcium built-up. 

As soon as all this is done, we get to review the cleaning maids' notes. Any special notes or tags can be discussed with the doctor and the necessary treatment or precaution can get under way without no further delay. Wouldn't this be revolutionary in the world of healthcare? Wouldn't it make us more prudent as far our health is concerned? And the healthier we stay, wouldn't we be happier? If only.....

Follow-up by Bhavesh

As a follow-up of my previous post, on the topic of parenting, my friend, Bhavesh, wanted to add his story. Here it is.

The entry on your blog reminds me of one of the episodes in my life, and how our perceptions and thinking changes as we grow.

Fresh out of college, upon being picked up at the campus interview by a small tech firm, I couldn't stop dreaming about my first paycheck on my first job. It was a trivial amount but it was important to me. But, little did I know that I was in for a rude shock of my life. My father, military-minded that he is, announces that I could use my first paycheck the way I want, but the subsequent ones will go into a savings account and I will be entitled to a monthly stipend to take care of my expenses. That was certainly a big blow to me as I watched my friends getting to enjoy their fair share. But it is now that I realize how the actions of my father affected me.  

A disciplined enforcement by him, that I hated at the time, made me clearer in my priorities that have truly been a blessing in disguise. Since money wasn't as important, I focused on honing my other skills, like my communication skills, PR skills and of course technical. The most important lesson I learnt, or realized, was money is not optional. Money is a necessary by-product of hard and sincere work. So while my friends changed jobs for better pay packages, I stayed in the same company for 5 full years, growing professionally, along with a super hike in my salary too, but on a gradual basis. I opted for a career than just money.

The moot point about this is as parents, we make choices. We pamper, yell, guide and support. We know each one comes with his own destiny and in the battle of life, each one fights his own war. We just try to equip them with the values and morals we deem are worthy. My father did what he thought was best for me, not what I wanted. Even if things hadn't gone the right way, his conscience would not have bothered him coz he knew he had given his best. And this is what I will strive to do as well.

I am the most beautiful person in the world!!!

No, I am not an egoistic, bragging, self-centered girl (I refuse to be called a woman) who thinks she has just won an international beauty pageant. These are the words of my daughter. Here is what happened verbatim.

Anushka and I have some argument, she gets her whiny self and is mad at me. 

Me: You don't like me, do you Anushka? Go find yourself an another mommy. A mommy who will listen to you, give you juice when you want, give you icecream when you want, lets you watch tv all the time. I am a bad mommy.

Anushka: Nooooooo. You are a good mommy.

Me: But I don't listen to you everytime.

Anushka: Thats okay mommy. You can say no sometimes.

Me: Are you sure?

Anushka: Yes, I love you. I think you have the best face in the world.

Me: Best face?

Anushka: You are the prettiest in the whole wide world.

Hallelujah!!! So there we go, I am the most beautiful person for my daughter. 

This reminds me of this chapter that we had in one of our school textbooks. It was about this village that was celebrating harvest time and all the people were out in the fields picking their crops. One of the villager finds a little girl crying. She had lost her mother and was hysterical. A few older men gather and ask her to give them something descriptive to identify her mom. Was she tall? Was she short? Was she fair? The girl then speaks, "My mother is the most beautiful person in the world." The men gather all the beautiful women and ask the girl if any is her mother. She says no. They are baffled. Then comes this little stout dark-skinned woman from nowhere and runs to take this girl into her arms. She was not what anyone would call beautiful. Then the men realize that for this girl, her mother is the most beautiful. 

Its a wonderful feeling how important you are for your kids at this particular time of their life. How long this 'importance' will stay, I don't know. And its understandable. As they will grow, they will have  other priorities to achieve. And I will willingly take a back seat in their life. Fore-seat, back-seat, doesn't matter, as long as I remain in their thoughts .....forever.

Coupon craving!

Conventionally, craving is associated with food. All sorts of food. Usually the time one is pregnant. Infact, pregnancy is the greatest excuse to express your weirdest craving and have your husband running around looking for it in the middle of the night. Anyways, I am out of my food-craving and am into coupon-craving. 

Call it coupon-craving, deal-craving, freebies-craving. All I try to do is get my hands on my laptop and look for the bestest deals of the day. And once I get it, I say to myself, whoaaaa, look at the money I am saving. Of course, there are things I wouldn't go looking for consciously, but c'mmon, the perks are always good. Perks are ego-boosters. Perks are exciting. Perks are thrilling. Perks are inviting. Perks are most welcome, aren't they? 

Over the past month, I have got myself a free pizza, free movie ticket, free 8x10 prints, free slippers, free cards, and have spent pennies on Anushka's dresses. Got a box of 100 paperclips for 19 cents. Who can beat that? Yes, I didn't need it, I know, but what the heck, its a deal you can't beat. And yes, I have been sharing it with friends. Sharing it around doubles the craving I have to say. Its hard to describe the sheer thrill you get out of getting things for free or just pennies. 

Anyways, I have to curb my enthusiasm before I become a laughing stock of my friends and people around. This has certainly changed the way I shop now. I would NEVER EVER pay full price for anything. I won't step out till I am convinced I don't have a coupon for my target store. I will hunt the net but it will be controlled. I promise. Cross my heart. All I need is some other addiction.....hehehe. Maybe I can just come back to my dear ole bloggin. :) 

Chopstick-Challenged!!!

Disclaimer: I mean no offence to the Chinese/Japanese culture. They command my highest respect. Afterall, if they can fly over roofs, jump over trees, and walk on water, I can only humbly bow to them.

Two little simple wooden sticks. Thats what they are. And it looks just so easy when they (by which I mean the chinkus/japus.....or should I say all the stretched-eye guys) eat their rice, noodles and everything with those bamboos spoons. But trust me, when you hold them in your hand, they can be very very tricky to maneuver around edible things. How on Earth do you hold rice with two plain sticks? Well, I guess it needs a lot of practice on talenting this skillset than just a few minutes in a restaurant.

And with that said, I officially declare myself as 'CHOPSTICK-CHALLENGED'. I can't work myself around those and I'd rather 'stick' to my fork and spoons. I probably would need to go to some classes if I really were to master the art and obviously, I don't have time for that.

P.S. The veg fried rice with the hot sauce is amazing at Sakura, the japanese restaurant. I'd highly recommend.

White vis-a-vis White

Yesterday, on my way back from Anushka's school, I saw the most weird combination Mother Nature could display. I see the trees heavily laden with white blossoms and in the middle of nowhere, I see a shower of flurries. At first, I kept wondering if its just the blossoms that are flying in the wind, but when they fell on my windshield and melted into water, I was zonked. Now what do you call this? Blossoms vs. Flurries?

Season Spring has arrived, budding has begun, squirrels are scampering away in the middle of the road scaring the hell out of me, bees are busily buzzing on the fresh flowers, geese are flying back from their south retreat, and people are making their camping reservations for the upcoming Summer. Then, why does winter refuse to leave? Why can't it just make a graceful exit for this year and hibernate till the next October? Why is it just hanging around like a lost spirit with an unfulfilled desire? (I just happened to watch 'Ghost' last week). 

Speaking about weird combinations, I also remember last Summer, in July, just before Raahil came, we took Mom and Dad out for a drive and on I-95, southward-bound, we witnessed hail. Imagine that!!! Hard balls of ice in the middle of summer. Unbelievable!

Well, as baffled as I am right now, I can't help but think of 'global warming' of which I know less. All I know is there is some kind of hole in the ozone layer which is responsible for the quality of atmosphere and also, of our atypical weather experiences over the last few years. Mumbai had a beautiful winter in 2007-08, something it has never had the pleasure of enjoying. While this year, there was absolutely no sign of it. Its just April and its already 40C there. Is Mumbai gonna just burn this year? The West also has its seasons messed up. Winter lingers, Summer shortens, Fall and Spring are short-lived. And if you do have a perfect day, temperature-wise, rain succeeds to ruin it for ya. I remember the days when rain inspired the romantic side of me and I loved it. But now, I just want a rain-less day for the kids to enjoy the outdoors. 

Well, all we can hope is Summer rushes in at its earliest and I am sure all of us can't just wait for the warmth to set in. 

Tip Of the Season: Get to the factory outlets to get the winterwear for the next season at the lowest prices. Especially, children's place. It has sweaters and turtlenecks for $2 or $3, the cheapest you could ever get. 

Jai Ho!!!

Note: (Sarcasm, well-intended)

Jai Ho! to Slumdog Millionaire.

Jai Ho! to A.R. Rehman.

Jai Ho! to Danny Boyle.

Jai Ho! to its million fans.

Jai Ho! to Smile Pinky, that also got an Oscar.

Jai Ho! to all the winners.

Jai Ho! to the economy. (How can i forget this?)

Jai Ho! to Barack Obama.

Jai Ho! to all the bailout-hungry banks.

Jai Ho! to the million dollar bonuses.

Jai Ho! to foreclosures, as opposed to this.

Jai Ho! to frugal living, as the westerners begin to understand its true meaning.

Jai Ho! to 'living within our means.'

Jai Ho! to India for her people manage to do that.

Jai Ho! to her extra emphasis on savings and less on spending.

Jai Ho! to Mumbaiites for their 'do-not-die' spirit, which I'd rather interpret as non-interference to the terror attacks.

Jai Ho! to the Indian government for the extra tolerance.

Jai Ho! to the Sri Lankans for the courage to step into the 'green' land.

Jai Ho! to the innocent victims that fell.

Jai Ho! to optimism.

Jai Ho! to praying. and finally,

Jai Ho! to blog-writing. 

Phewwwwww!!!!!