whatever

Amma..

2008-01-26T11:12:00.000-06:00

KADAVUL THAVITHAAN...THAYAAI PADAITHAAN..
Could there cannot be anything more true than this?
The most selfless affection is a mothers affection towards her child..
in these 26 years that i've lived...my mom has been there for me ...she has felt and lived through all of my ups and downs...
There have been a lot of times, when i would be upset about something, and amma totally out of the blue would call me to find out if everything was ok...Is there some telepathic contact between a mother and a child? How does the mom know it all?
I have had some stupid thoughts arise in my mind sometimes that nobody understands me...and thats when I would call home and my mom would prove it to me without me saying anything...that she understands and accepts me totally and completely..
Thank You God for my mom...my most precious gift from God..

Back Again

2007-07-26T22:26:00.001-05:00

Its been quite a while since I wrote something on this blog...and the very little readers I might have probably had dont quite exist now...

Lots of things happened in these 6 months..

We went on a lovely vacation to Mauii..Awesome trip..I think I should write it down so that I dont forget that beautiful place and the activities we did there....Thats going to keep coming in the next few posts...

Three of my friends had their first babies.. :)
My best friend is getting married :)

We are well settled in our new home....Beautiful home....great neighbors ..cant ask for more.. I've never had such neighbors..new friends...new perspectives... its really nice here...am really going to have a heartache if we ever have to move out of this place...

Amma n appa are here ...thats even more sandosham! :D

New Year, Pongal, Happy News,Winter, Ice, Snow....et all

2007-01-17T12:02:00.000-06:00

Its been quite sometime since I actually penned things that are happening around ...was kind of busy at work and at home.. and things were actually getting to me that I was feeling frustrated with the mundaness of things and troubled S so much...

I've been feeling really bored with work and the daily chores that I've been doing and was cribbing a lot...and felt the new year 's really boring but then since the past couple of days I am realizing that this new year has started of pretty well and am not noticing it..
Have been hearing a lot of exciting things happening around my friends circle and thats made my spirits go high
Sudha's wedding news and Bush's baby news...:)) (Sounds weird when I think of the President Bush) ...all so exciting..

Babies...marriages...more marriages ..more babies....our families are growing.. :)

My mom's retirement...

....Also its snowing in Dallas, the max that I 've seen in the past is a thin sleet of ice...and today it was a lot more than that...

S woke me up in the morning and showed me how everything was white...it was a lovely sight to see that..dont know if we would appreciate it if we lived somewhere along the east coast...

Both of us ran out ...played in the snow...took snaps of our home's first snow..:)

Its great how such small things can change one's mood (for the better ofcourse)

Life is beautiful....and Dallas can u stay like this for one more day pls... :))

New Year 2007

2007-01-03T09:07:00.000-06:00

I usually make resolutions every year and try hard at keeping them.....
2006 blew past so sooon and its already 2 days into 2007 and I havent made a resolution yet...

Guess this is the year of no resolutions...Live every day as it comes....and I dont find this hard to keep..

Priorities...

2006-12-18T14:07:00.000-06:00

I feel like I need to go to a Life Management Class..
What takes precedence?
Long term goals...or short term goals...what does one do when one goal conflicts with another?

Should I think of the bigger picture or should I worry about the small things that make the bigger picture?

Life is unfair

2006-12-07T15:43:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I tend to not follow these stories cause they affect me emotionally atleast for a day or two and I would think shielding myself from not reading and hearing about such sad stories is better that brooding over such heart breaking events..

James Kim, a heroic dad...I had been one among the millions who were following the search for this man and his family...There are so many things he did wrong and had he not done them he would be playing with his kids today and getting ready for Christmas...but Life isnt so easy....one cant just use the rewind button and go back and erase all mistakes...

It ached so much to read that he braved 7 miles down a winding route to just be one mile away from where his family was...he supposedly had to swim in the cold....

I wish he had survived..all of us wish he did...

But such events really put us in the right perspective when we feel proud or expect return for the small things that we do for family,friends and others..

This dad did the ultimate thing ..gave up his life for his family....
Maybe had he survived he would have done a lot more for his family...I wish that had happened..

May his soul rest in peace...hope he somehow gets to know that his wife and kids are doing fine..

Lost

2006-11-20T17:45:00.000-06:00

How do I get lost so easily??..struggled to get onto I 40 and back to the hotel...Felt like a small kid lost in a carnival....and felt so happy to be back to the hotel..
Drove down to the Shelly Lake in Raleigh-Durham...I was so thrilled cos I managed to reach the lake without getting lost...and though fall was almost gone..got to see some lovely reds,purples and yellow leaves....
My happiness dint last for long when I got lost and dint know how to get back...and dint have a map in the car (not that I know to read maps... :( )...Anyways at the end of it felt proud of myself ..

Fall Back...

2006-11-20T17:41:00.000-06:00

Got to see a little bit of the lovely fall colors...made a short trip to NC sometime back..

We Moved In..

2006-11-08T10:10:00.000-06:00

We officially moved in last Friday into our house..thats the reason why I had to neglect my thoughts on other things.....its been 6 full months of visiting the site,looking at how things were going....and till today its still not sunk in that its home...I still feel that am visiting my house thats still under construction and will have to return back to my apartment.
We did a record move of sorts..We closed on November 1st ...got the keys on the 2nd and moved with all our stock by the 3rd..
We had our house warming pooja on the 3rd Morning, S's bro and his wife were there ..it was great that they were there, else it would have been just the two of us...such occasions are no fun when you dont have family around.
Once the pooja was completed in all its grandeur ..it was time to start moving...with our busy schedule's till the last minute there was almost three quarters of our apartment still unpacked...and all I did till that day was to think about this move and get psyched out...
Thanks to all the help A, N and S's friend gave us we were officially out of the apartment by 3 am on Saturday ...

The house is so beautiful...and the garage is sooooo full...the car will have to wait outside for quite sometime before it gains its rightful place.

Tomorrow might be the first day when I have to be all by myself...I am not so sure if am going to be worried ,cos the place has grown on me for the past 6 months..and I feel like I know every nook and corner of it.
Amongst other things S might be visiting China for 10 days starting tomorrow....Am so excited and at the same time worried for him..Hope he enjoys the work as well as the trip.

I cant stop admiring the house.....S tells me that I shouldnt keep saying that its beautiful.. :))..I feel like how my Dad always says there's no one more beautiful than me..

I think there are so many good things that are going to happen here...:)

Will post some pics when we are done moving /hiding the boxes ;)..

Happy Diwali!

2006-10-20T07:58:00.000-05:00

Wishing you all a happy , fun-filled and safe diwali.

Happy Diwali!

2006-10-19T14:57:00.000-05:00

2 More days to go...or is it just one more day to go...since today is almost over....Its Diwali.
Happy Diwali to everyone..

Thousands of miles away from home I miss the smell and sound of firecrackers...the dampness of the rain and the fresh smell of soil when the first drops of rain fall...there's no mom n dad here to wake us up early in the morning...I miss appa keeping the first drop of oil and mom massaging it on to my hair and it used to feel so heavenly...without all of this diwali doesnt seem exciting here..the excitement waiting for amma n appa to come home with a box of crackers for the two of us,carefully splitting it with my brother, waiting for Diwali day to wear the new dress......

No amma n appa, no anna...no relatives......just the two of us....Whats a festival if you cant spend it with family...I miss you Chennai..

Maybe few years down the lane when we add branches to our family tree and do all those things together ,Diwali would feel wonderful again.

After all this complaining that I've done..am thankful there are some friends around here....and its on a weekend..which means S would be home...I think this is a lot better than just me spending Diwali at work :))
There's always a good side to everything.

Death

2006-10-12T20:40:00.001-05:00

Is there a nice way to die..is it possible to die with a smile on one's face..Do we realize that this is the end a second before it happens? How does one face death? Does your whole life flash in front of your eyes? do we remember all our loved ones? do we feel sorry for the people we have hurt? how does the mind feel? Is it turbulence or is it to absolute calmness? I know its the most difficult one to imagine for me..and that too I can never imagine a loved one or someone known to me passing away..my heart shudders to think about it..

Why am I thinking about it today..no reason ..just that I read a couple of sad stories about deaths..

I've read somewhere that our fear of death arises because its considered as a point of no return. Maybe if we thought death as the beginning of a new journey things would have been better. I think its the fear of the unknown,maybe because no one ever comes back to tell us the story about the good times they are having...

I'll never live to answer this question.

Bush..

2006-10-09T16:19:00.000-05:00

This is not about the President of the United States..this is about a girl fondly called Bush by us..my roomie in college.
She is sucha lovely person and its been wonderful knowing her. I really do admire her calmness as well as the thadi she is..
I felt both of us were really inseparable during our second year in BITS when we were roomies. I usually get really attached to people and bush is one of those close friends...
Was she always like this and none of us realized it or was it all hidden waiting to come outside. Most of our personalities changed while in BITS..but I think Bush's personality changed once she got married..Once ,this calm composed girl in BITS has done a 180 degree twist..Or thats what I feel, maybe since we havent spent so much time together since we passed out and my judgement could be wrong..
I dont know whatever it is..but today is her Birthday...and I wish her many such happy occasions to come..
Happy Birthday Bush..

Playing with Kids

2006-10-07T13:02:00.000-05:00

A friend invited us over to their place for dinner last night. Another common friend also was invited. Needless to say her cooking was awesome and the food was great..S playing with their kids and I somehow got involved in their game. The game was S and I would hide the fan remote somewhere and the girls will have to locate it and we would give them 3 clues to find it..
Ours friends told us that kids usually crave for adult attention and revel in it..maybe its true but I simply loved playing with them..seeing them smile and get excited...all the hugs and kisses... felt really nice...gives a feeling of contentment..
All of us are going to be neigbours soon, hope we get many more such occasions to play with these kids..

Mom n Dad..

2006-10-05T08:55:00.000-05:00

Few of my cousins who got married recently or are engaged to get married have made their own choice of a life partner. Couple of years ago parents would have reacted by absolutely not accepting the idea and openly disagreeing with their children without really giving them a chance to explain. I think its bad only when parents blindly refuse without seeing any reason.My uncles/aunts have been really gracious in approving the choices of their offsprings even before meeting the boy/girl.
Even though they have done that, I am not sure if they are just as happy. In a society like India where the parents provide for the children till they totally complete their education and find a job, inspite of their unconditional love, parents do expect that their children would give them the opportunity of being a part of this. But when they dont get to do it, they reconcile to the fact that they want their son/daughter to be happy and if this is what is going to make them happy then they go ahead and do it.
I am not stating its wrong to choose your life partner. I just think once we find someone whom we believe could be a great partner one needs to let his/her parents know and should be able to convince them and reassure them about our choices.
What seems correct today might not seem ok tomorrow. Life takes one through its ups and downs.
I for some reason , could never bring myself to choose a partner on my own because I had this strong feeling that I would fail my parents. I dint want my dad, mom and brother preparing for my marriage with an ounce of displeasure.
My parents had always dreamt of my marriage and planned for it for years and I did not want to make them compromise on that.
Yes, they could have been just has happy as they are if they hadnt chosen S for me and I had chosen him, but I never know.
Our choices could be the best ones that one could make & our parents could go wrong..but today am happy that I let my parents do that and that is all that matters to them.

Hot Chocolate

2006-10-04T14:55:00.001-05:00

I started writing this blog because I developed this feeling that I was losing the little writing skills hat I believe I have. So this one was supposed to be a place to write whatever I felt about writing.
Today is just one of those days when I have nothing much to do and dont seem to know what to write about...so a short account about my love affair with Hot Chocolate.
I have never been a milk person, though I love cheese, sour cream,curd , yoghurt and ofcourse ice cream, I have never liked milk...My parents have tried all kinds of stuff to make me love milk...even scary stories of losing my teeth..
Then one day after our marriage S took me to Starbucks , since am not a coffee person either I settled for the simple Hot Chocolate there...and from that day I've been hooked on to it.
Now hot chocolate is become so much of a part of me..When am sad, when am happy, when am not well...all the time.. I need to stop myself these days from going there everyday..Its somehow sucha nice hangout place for us.S ,his friends and I have spent hours talking and arguing about nothing and everything.
During our last year's trip to Japan we noticed a starbucks outlet there and it felt like we met someone who speaks our mother tongue..thats how close the store it is..
I know that their coffee is over priced but for some reason it doesn't seem to matter and no wonder their stock prices are going up by the day...

Saraswati Pooja

2006-10-02T09:30:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was Saraswati Pooja , a celebration of Goddess Saraswati who is the epitome knowledge, learning and the arts.
Way back during our school days, this was one festival we used to eagerly look forward to..Usually it meant starting to learn something new ..Like dance, music,a new language or some art form…and it also meant keeping your books at the altar and praying that you get blessed with more knowledge.
There is this belief that you should not take your books out for the day once its placed at the altar..so this is what most of us did, Kept all our note books, text books, dictionary and any thing associated to academics out there and not study..
The day was well spent eating amma’s awesome cooking ,watching tv and hanging out with cousins without an ounce of guilt.

This is the first time we are celebrating saraswati pooja on our own.
I never thought I could get responsible enough to cook a grand meal and offer prasadam.I surprised myself by doing all that. S got his car washed and both of kept chandan and kumkum on all our books , laptops , mobile phones and prayed for better knowledge. S also blessed that I should work at becoming better behaved :)
Today’s vijayadasami and before S ran to catch his flight he played his keyboard for a few minutes..a fresh start.... I think these traditions will never die. It would just get passed on and generations to come would celebrate it in their own little way.

This..that..and the Important

2006-09-27T15:37:00.000-05:00

There are so many occasions when we dont do what we want to do, dont say what we want to say because we dont want to face the unpleasantness that might occur once we are done talking.
My mom always tells me "Unspoken words have more meaning than spoken ones" ...But I've also read "Ask and you shall be heard"..So I am always the true gemini who is not sure if I should talk or keep quiet and wait for the right moment.

"Speech is Silver, Silence is Golden, Speech at the right moment is Platinum"

But I think there's never going to be a right moment. Tomorrow is never going to come.
There are moments when it makes sense to keep quiet and talk later..but there are moments that pass because one dint talk and would never get the opportunity again.

Ultimately the choice is ours.

Flavors

2006-09-26T15:58:00.000-05:00

I was too bored one evening and so we went to the Indian movie store to watch a good masala movie.
As our luck would have it we had already exhausted their collection of new and old movies. So there was nothing left to watch & that’s when S noticed this movie “Flavors”

The movie takes a peek at the lives of different people and how they all come together. People of different kinds, different flavors is the concept of the movie.

First there ‘s a guy and a gal.. They are the best of friends…their conversations will make you smile…and you know for sure that this guy loves her. They are always talking to each other though they live miles apart and are technically only “friends” still. The way he cheers her up being so far away was sooo romantic and believable, not like our usual Hindi movies were the hero is actually at her doorstep the moment she is upset irrespective of where he lives. They way he turns jealous when she actually considers marrying another guy are all interesting and romantic.

Then there is this married to an IT guy and so single girl, getting completely bored in the US of A…since she’s stuck at home …but working at keeping herself busy and amused…am sure her character would strike a chord with most of the non-working married girls in the US.

Then there are these adorable parents from India visiting their son who is getting married to an American. Their apprehensions, the love that they share for each other, the way they try to fit into the culture that’s prevalent here are all taken out of day-to-day life instances.

There there’s the “Can I speak to Geetha” lover boy, who is in love with being in love.
Lots of instances taken out of our everyday lives, funny moments, chic dialogues, good editing, no over the top acting, down to earth portrayals..makes this one fun movie to be enjoyed by one and all.

They would all surely make you smile.

Its Raining..

2006-09-21T11:59:00.000-05:00

Who doesn’t love rains? If you’ve spent most part of your life in hot places like Chennai, Pilani or Dallas I am sure you just can’t stop loving the rains.
I love it when it rains.
One constraint though,I don’t love it when it pours throughout the day and I cant step out and do fun things.
As much as I can associate rain with the smell of sand when the first drops fall, chill wind, paper boats, holidays, bunking school,slush, I can associate it with food, not just any kinda food…Hot home cooked food. (Yummmmy…)
I love the way a hot water bath felt especially on a rainy day.

I simply need hot food when it rains. On one such day Amma made tomato rice with alu curry..that’s the best that I’ve had to date…
Anna, Amma and me eating that awesome food I can still see that right in front of my eyes.. We would offer to help amma out totally in the kitchen and she would gladly make all that for us…

Those were great days when we were all together at one place..(Sigh..)

During BITS, I don’t remember it ever raining like crazy….but I remember numerous occasions when we would cycle out on our bikes and the whole place would look like new…the trees greener than usual, the flowers smiling at us..and all the wet buildings..wet roads….Pilani is such a beautiful place…

Now, whenever it rains in Dallas, though we don’t do it most of the times, I just imagine myself sitting on the patio with a glass of hot tea or hot chocolate with S by my side and gazing at the rain. This is so beautiful and picture perfect for me to imagine.
But most of the days we are at work and I settle for a cup of Hot Chocolate at my desk..
But if it rains on weekends, then I would make hot tea and cuddle up with S and we would really enjoy the lovely rains.
This weekend when it rained S’s mom made hot pakoras for us.. that was one divine rainy day.

Color TV

2006-09-15T17:57:00.000-05:00

Does this make sense to anyone?Are we justified in doing this?
Did people really vote for this government for this?
In a state where Child Labor is still prevalent and is not 100 % literate. Where there is still unemployment, giving away color TV sets and allocating taxpayers money to do that..this really baffles me.
The news article states that the state government would spend about 750 crores of taxpayers money to give away 2500000 color television sets.
I strongly feel this is one of the worst that can be done.
You probably sell Rice at low prices…that was a good move , but not this one.
Why not open more schools, create more jobs and help people get out of the rut that they are in and aid them to buy the TV themselves?

You don’t always give food to someone who is hungry. You help them to find a job that will help them find food for themselves everyday.
That is what should have been done.
This is simply the worst that a chief minister who is an educationist himself can do to the state.
Is there any justification as to why this is done?
Why was it even a poll promise?
One more quote from the CM “We will create a situation where there will not be a single house in the state without color TV."

Why do we need a color TV in every single house? To watch all the crap that’s being televised. All those crying and conspiring women in serials…Wastrels…Useless movies…this is what occurs mostly on TV... There are hardly any good shows on TV that’s worth watching.

This is a sheer waste of power and money
No good can come from this.

I hope people don’t give in to these kind of freebies at least next time around.
Oh my god…. I feel and really wish I could do something about this, than just write about it. Maybe someday I will.

Memories

2006-09-15T08:55:00.000-05:00

You can take a person out of a place but never a place out of a person… feels so true sometimes .We tend to get attached to places over a period of time because of the bonds that we develop with the place and it becomes a part of you.
Most of the times I wonder if any place be the same without the people in it.
Would home mean anything if I knew S wouldn’t come back in the evening?
Will Chennai be the same if Appa and Amma are not there?
Will BITS mean anything without all the friends I made out there?
Will I remember school without all the friends…fights…games and fun?
Infosys would never have been such a great experience without the friends, co-workers and managers.Even though over a period of time we grow attached to a place…Life there would never be the same without the people around us who make it so special.

Happy Birthday Sudha!

2006-09-13T10:43:00.000-05:00

Today is Sudha' s birthday..Sudha is my best friend from college. Ours is the kind of friendship that just grew..She was a friend of another close friend.
I had heard a lot about her even before I met her..My friend Sharmila always spoke about Sudha.
We were really waiting to meet Sudha and as fate would have it Sudha joined BITS in the second sem during the same year we joined BITS.
There's something about Sudha that makes you like her instantly..She is warm, considerate, caring..all that you can expect in a friend.
There has never been an occasion when Sudha has not been around for me.
Even if she had an important assignment to complete , she would be there to talk with you.
A bad test..an argument with another friend..home sickness...fever..cold...cough whatever....Sudha used to be my Vitamin in college.Talking to her would make me feel so good.

I can never forget Sudha trying to take us the Cafeteria . Her direction sense is as bad as mine.
Eating up all the milk powder which her mom used to send for her(us :)) ....shopping in delhi...her paati's home cooked food packed for all of us...visits to c'not...the soft toy gollu we had in her room...sudha's advise on guys,acads,family..everything..
...All the times we spent together are so precious...
She is like the sister I never had...

Happy Birthday Sudha..
Hope we meet sooon.

Jilendru Oru Kaadhal

2006-09-11T15:18:00.000-05:00

We watched this movie over this weekend. One of my very few First Day First Show movies.
We initially were not very interested in hitting the theaters for this movie though am a huge Jo fan :)
But then when S's brother said he was going to watch it, we wanted to do it too..So after a quick Hot Samosa chaat dinner we rushed to the movie theaters.
We thought we were lucky to get tickets cos the movie ran a full house..Silendru Oru Kadhal is a classic case of too much hype and expectations...The movie definitely doesnt live up to the hype surrounding it.
The movie started off well..The marriage scene and the family's whistle talk were novel.

Then the movie started slacking mainly because AR Rehman's music was not used fully and also because the re-recording was too loud.
The portions after Jo read's his college days diary are plainly stupid.Who would choose to do something that Jo decides to do? She should have been totally out of her mind..or 'mad'ly in love.

I understand that she should have felt bad that he dint tell her about such a huge thing that happened in his life but the extent to which she goes to make him happy...Eeeeks! NO.

The dialogue that Bhumika says when she actually proposes to him is the worst of all!
Why doesnt Surya actually look for her after he recovers???
Why was NY nagaram song picturized in NY???? I really wish they dint screw it up so badly....

Munbe Vaa picturization was kinda ok..
Santhanam's comedy rocks! Vadivelu's portions could have been axed...They definitely dint add any laughs.
Though S thought the kid spoke too much...me thinks she looked really adorable so couldnt bother much about the talking.
Ultimately the movie was time pass.
If one has time to kill , one can definitely watch this movie.

Jo-Suriya look really great as a couple ...Off Screen or On Screen..my fav couple.

Confusion

2006-09-07T08:55:00.000-05:00

Is there someone who is never confused about what he wants in life? What he should be doing when there are two similar paths that can be taken?
I am perenially confused.I take some decisions which I cant stick to as time goes by.I am confused about why I chose to cut my hair almost immediately I cut my hair,I dont know why I do a lot of things when I am not so happy with it.

I am confused wondering if I should do what feels right to me, or what is right to the society.
I am almost always vascillating when it comes to any kind of decision I need to take. Maybe its a gemini trait. But I dont really believe in zodiac signs and traits..I dont read Linda Goodman.

I really am in awe of people who make decisions feeling absolute sure of what they do.

I just cant pin point and say why I get confused.
This feeling was compounded by a friend who told me yesterday that am always like this ..Confused and confusing!

I usually do what feels right to me at that moment. Though there have been situations when I really was not happy when I took certain decisions but later on was glad that I did the right thing.

That makes me think , that there is nothing that is perfectly right or wrong. What feels right today could be wrong tomorrow and there are no whites or blacks just greys.Everything varies depending on the dynamics of the situation that we are in.

Am I a confused individual who is selfish doing things that are only ok to me?.........Am i bad?
I dont know .. There's nothing as contagious as a smile from the heart ...and that is what I want to see in everyone....

Best Friend?

2006-09-01T09:13:00.000-05:00

In my previous post I wrote what I would do if some friendship of mine affects my relationship with my spouse.
What I would expect S to do, is to really understand and trust my friends, so that I dont have to really lose a good friend.
So i guess its a mutual thing :)

Best Friends?

2006-08-31T13:41:00.000-05:00

My friend and I spoke about this yesterday. My co-worker and I spoke about this today over lunch.
What did we talk about?
Do you need a friend from the opposite sex with whom you spend a lot of time and hang-out with whenever the opportunity arises after your married or you already have another special someone?
Is this friend just a friend? I am not talking about friends who are there for you always...to share with you your smiles ..your tears....
It is when a friend ceases to be a friend and could become something more than that and affect your relationship with your partner.

This question kind of brings about mixed answers from my mind. Sometimes I think that its ok to have a friend with whom you can share everything under the sun, but sometimes I feel the need for such a friend will not arise in a good relationship. The need is satisfied by your spouse itself.
Thats one side of me thinking.
I think its good to have a friend who is like a kindred soul,but my friend also has to be comfortable when my husband's around and vice versa.
I also wonder when it comes to friends why does the sex of the friend even matter. In a idealistic world yes ,it doesnt matter but practically , it does.
I would be happy and comfortable with a male friend only if S is ok with him.If S doesnt get along well with my friend I would eventually draw my lines.

When there's truth and sincerity in a friendship its usually met with by your spouse who would understand that.

I have good friends from work & college but somehow I dont talk to them much these days....I do feel like picking up the phone and talking like before. We still do that sometimes but most of the times I end up feeling I would rather talk to S than this once closest buddy.

He makes my life complete.

If this sounds like my life and friendship's are circling around this one person...yes, thats true.
No friendships are more important than him. I believe and feel he is my first priority.

Travails of a curly haired girl

2006-08-30T16:31:00.000-05:00

My dad has curly hair...and so my story starts...My mom knew I had lots of hair even before I was born..I was born with curly hair that was like ribbon pasta.
I used to go with my dad and brother for my hair-cuts till I was about 4 years old...and then my mom decided that I should have long hair..not realizing that I wouldnt agree with any kinda styling she did with it.
She would plait it and I would take it off within 5 minutes telling her the partition is not straight...she would ask if I had eyes behind to actually see that..:)...she would dread plaiting my hair.
I troubled her a lot during those days that by the time I was in class 3 she decided I needed short hair...So from this time around I went with her to the beauty parlor and not the men's saloon where the women would envy my hair for reasons best known to them.
I've always seen those shampoo and hair oil advertisements and wondered how those actresses and models have such beautiful hair...and after wondering for a long long time, I found out that they actually iron their hair ."Iron" ...sounded wierd to me..
I chose to remember that word and try it out when I turned 21...
I spent all those years always yearning for straight hair like my mom..like the girl who sat next to me in class..I always felt one looks extremely beautiful with straight hair..
I think curly hair is not so bad...
Its just that you cant do any kinda styling with it...and you cant leave it flowing for too long....
One fine day after always getting those boring trims or straight cuts or U-cuts..I decided to get a layered hair cut.
The hair stylist told me that layers are not going to be ok with my 'kinda' hair (read curly/wavy hair) and said if I needed a layered cut I need an "Iron"..now thats a good reason to get a layered cut..and so I did..S had dropped me off at the stylist and when he came back there I was ...the gorgeous new me with flat straight hair....I just cudnt stop smiling or looking at the mirror....
I immediately bought a flat iron ....supposedly the best that I cud get at 100 dollars.
I laboriously do it as often as I can....
and cant stop admiring my hair when its straight...
It still doesnt stay that way after am all sweaty after a work out...or if I get wet in the rain :(
And sometimes a colleague who curls her straight hair does look more beautiful to me :)
Guess the grass is always greener on the other side..

Fights

2006-08-30T11:02:00.000-05:00

People do come up with wierd statistics and conclusions.
Today's the day to pick a fight..
According to someone who really researched and found this out ,today's the day most couples are likely to have a fight.
Though I strongly believe none of the components of that equation would matter to us...
Let me see, if we manage to pick a fight.

Work-outs

2006-08-30T10:44:00.000-05:00

Someone please tell me how can one actually run outside when the sun is scorching at 115 F.
I think one seriously needs to love running so much to do it in that heat or does it give a better work out?
Whatever, I would rather wait till its 7 in the evening or run on the treadmill.
Just like how running during midday baffles me, so does running at 10 pm in the night...Where do people get the energy and enthusiasm to do that?

This is a land of extremes...

Vetayadu Vilayadu

2006-08-28T12:02:00.000-05:00

With so many reviews floating around..
According to me,Its the best Tamil movie I've watched in recent times. No comparisons with any other cop movie..
Interesting , gripping 3 hours...missed few scenes because I was hiding behind S not wanting to see the gory stuff.
At the end of it, felt happy that it was a well made movie..and hope the producer makes his money after all the trouble he went through making it.

Vinayaka Chaturti

2006-08-28T11:50:00.000-05:00

We celebrated Vinayaka Chaturti in our own little way yesterday. Since it fell on a Sunday and S was in town, I decided to make Kozhukattai's as prasadam.
Since both of us like only the sweet versions, we decided to do just that.
I made the coconut and jaggery filling and the rice flour shell batter. Looking at the size of my kozhukattai's S commented that its too big and only the huge ganesh idols from mumbai can have them...I tried convincing him that they do make big ones too..Apparently he has seen only the small ones..
So he decided to do it himself :).....And he spent the whole morning making kutti..kutti...cuttie ones.
Back in india, I used to wake up early to help mom make kozhukattai's...sad that this time it fell on a sunday for folks in India..festivals on a sunday make you lose that one day off from work :(!!
Then I made some sundal while S got ready to do the pooja
Though the kozhukattai's weren't the best that the two of us have had before, I think it was good enough for a first timer like me.
Then we went to the temple in the evening...where for some reason they were singing all Shiva songs instead of vinayaka songs. (?!?)

It was a day well spent...except that I bleached S's thalai deepavali trousers by mistake :(....but it was so nice of S to not yell at me for doing that stupid thing .:)

Home Sick

2006-08-25T17:35:00.000-05:00

There's a saying "people who are closest to our hearts are only a thought away".They are always there in my thoughts but I miss the physical presence..
Was just looking at some pictures taken a year back when Mom and Dad came all the way to Singapore to see me for a week...I sometimes feel so blessed for the love and affection that my parents shower on me...
Hope I'll be half as good as my mom ... half as affectionate as my Dad is..
I really miss them a lot..
My eyes well up with tears...why am I living so far away?
I talk to them almost everyday but still miss them so much...
Its become a norm for me to always keep missing something..someone..
I miss S when he travels... I miss amma and appa ...I miss my brother....I miss chennai...

Its Official

2006-08-24T10:48:00.000-05:00

Its Official!
Pluto is out of the esteemed Planets List.
My Very Educated Mother Just Showed Us Nine Planets , this was the line that our geography teacher taught us so that we would remember all the nine planets and now Pluto has been thrown out of the list.
This is not going to make any changes to my day-to-day life...but feels a little sad..
Like someone telling me something that I assumed was always mine is not mine anymore...
Just a random thought...why do we take so many things for granted..like me taking my job for granted right now (sitting at work and blogging)..
(Sobs..sobs..)....I need some hot chocolate to recup..

Home Sweet Home

2006-08-22T15:35:00.000-05:00

About 4 months back we decided to buy a place that would be ours..which would be home for us in this country miles away from Home Sweet Home.
Its been a hectic four months for the two of us watching and monitoring every little progress the house makes.
I think its close to having a baby or seeing your new born grow...the first time it smiles at you, the first time it turns around, the first steps, the first words all these and many more make you happy ,but am sure there are moments when things which are not really big that could happen to the baby like a flu,a cough, a tear that could scare you to the end...thats how this has been to us..
Though most of the mistakes could be rectified whenever we see something go wrong with the way things are going we would be psyched.
Add to that, a non-responsive builder...and some bent columns and shaky steps...
I seriously think its easy to build a house using bricks, concrete and mortar than build a house using lumber only.
Our baby is steadily growing now and the first frontal brick was layed today.
I cant imagine that this place the way it is right now would be our home in a couple of months.
A place where an hoping and praying that lots of nice things happen to us.
A Home for the two of us.

Marriages!

2006-08-22T08:43:00.000-05:00

Yesterday over lunch one of my managers asked me how we got married. Which is a usual question when you say you have been married for about a year or more.Then when I tell them its a modern day arranged marriage and tell them how my husband and I got married they are invariably surprised that this concept works very well in India.
So here I am trying to find reasons why a marriage succeeds...Most of us already know what makes a successful marriage...but its easier said than done.
I feel the fundamental neccesities for any relationship in any part of the world to succeed are the individuals who are the key players.I agree the two families coming together, parents liking the kids etc are also important, but even if our parents bond well together there is no reason the two of us should.
When the parents try to do the match making all that they are trying to do is match educational/socio-economic patterns...So a marriage being an arranged/love marriage really doesn't matter.
All that matters is we are married and we want to make this work!
Even if you have known your spouse before you get married , you never know a person until you start living together...there are so many little cute/irritating things that we notice when we start sharing space.

So any marriage does throw in a few surprises cause no one can get married without any expectations. Inherently there are lots of things that you want your spouse to do..some things like your father ..some not like your father...some like your brother...some not..somethings like madhavan...somethings like vijay (he is my favorite actor)...some like Richard Gere from Pretty Woman...Am sure guys do have their own expectations...

These are small things that you dont know about in an arranged marriage but you would definitely know in a love marriage.
There are the other important situations were he doesnt like the way you do certain things or your view points differ which you would know only when the situation arises.
Your spouse could be right, but if it needs to be changed, the inclination to accept and do the change should come from within u and not be forced upon.
Your life partner should accept you as you are and not try to change you into another person...The feeling of making the change in yourself for the good of the marriage and the love that you have for him should come from you...thats when a marriage succeeds.
Both of us should be willing to accept , change and learn from each other's mistakes.

A marriage is not just a bonding of two hearts and souls...its also the minds...

My mom also tells me the arrival of kids dynamically changes the equations of a marriage.....and both of us would feel complete only when we have kids. That really should be true..dont know yet :)

The feeling of superiority , ego etc kills a relationship...there's always something to learn even from a kid..so never look down or feel that you know better...you earn more...etc..

All these thoughts dont apply if you are in an abusive marriage...but for most normal marriages according to me the ingredients of success are love,understanding,adjustments but not compromises.

All said and done....though are marriage is too young ....and we fight over lots of silly things...
I know that I love S and he knows that too..and thats what is really needed for a successful marriage.

Krishna Jayanti

2006-08-18T09:29:00.000-05:00

It was Lord Krishna's birthday 2 days back..with busy hours at work and monitoring the construction of our own precious home where I cant think of hitting a nail (does everybody feel that way??) and laundry and cooking and groceries and so many other 'important' things to be completed I had almost forgotten how much fun this day used to be back in India..
Though I hadnt cooked anything special for Lord Krishna I was sure I wanted to go to the temple.
The dallas temple relaxes me and makes me feel peaceful.Today, it brought back so many fond memories of the past...
When I saw kids dressed as kutti Krishna, I remembered how my grand mom used to dress me up as Lord Krishna complete with the attire and flute in hand...I used to be a girl Krishna...and my cousin who dint get a chance to wear all the glitter was calledKrishna's brother to pacify him ....
On every Krishna Jayanti while making cheedais and all that exotic food mom told me the same story. Even though it was the same story I wanted to hear every year because it fascinated me.She would tell me how she used to dip my foot in the white rice batter used to make kolam (this is a south Indian version of drawing decorative patterns on the floor) and make me walk from the entrance to the Pooja room..This symbolises Lord Krishna walking into the house.
Though its not very hard for me to cry..all this nostalgia brought out tears ..S says I have taps right under my eyes which I could open at any given moment for no good reason :(

Memorable moments..so picturesque in my memory...am sure all of us have such wonderful moments intermixed in our busy lives where we dont have a moment to stop and think about all the small little things that make us smile and miss Home sweet Home...

Weekend trip to San Antonio..

2006-08-14T09:19:00.000-05:00

This weekend we made a trip to Sea World, San Antonio to see Shamu and ride the thrilling roller coasters over there.
It was like any other amusement park not too different but still was lots of fun.
Our spirits were soaring high just like the sweltering heat of Texas. It was a hot day even for someone like me who just needs a glass of iced water to start shivering, but Shamu and the rest of the shows out there kept us entertained.
We started from Austin around 10:30 in the morning and reached Sea World around 12:30.
We went to some of the shows out there…like Shamu rocks Texas and then some Sea Lion shows.
Even more than the sea lions and the whales and fishes out there what really impressed us were the trainers.
The way they bonded with the animals, the way they petted them…the smile on their face while they were doing that…the dexterity and poise with which they did the act, Wow! Hats of to them.
They really did instill the feeling in me, that if you believe you can do something you can do that.
All we need is the confidence and the will to try out new things.

With this feeling at the top of our minds we set of to do a couple of thrill rides. One of them was called the Steel Eel…S’s dad who has never done any kind of rides before also agreed to come with us, I really appreciate him as well as for S to have taken them on the rides because if it were me I would have refused to have taken him and decided to not go on the rides for the fear of him hurting his already not so good back. It was about 45 stories high…. one huge roller-coaster ride with a lot of turns, ups and downs. At the end of it we really enjoyed it and would always cherish that ride though we screamed our hearts out during the ride. Some of us just for the sake of screaming…and some of us because we felt that screaming loud is going to stop us from falling.

There was this 4D show out there. My husband’s parents who were visiting us from India had never been to a 4D show before. So his mom kept asking us what it was all about, my hubby managed to keep it a secret till the show started…and the expression on my in-law’s face was one of thrill and shock when water unexpectedly sprinkled on her.

We did couple of rides called the Steel Eel…it was one huge roller-coaster ride with a lot of turns, ups and downs. The other ride that I enjoyed was the water splash one, it’s a pretty common one but then with all the heat it felt heavenly when the water splashed on us.
On the whole it was a day well spent!

Again!

2006-08-11T14:18:00.000-05:00

After spending almost a year reading blogs and attempting to create my own space, I have made myself do this yet again, start another blog...I've already done this twice without success...Hoping to start posting regularly from today!..My August 11th resolution....
Here you can find my thoughts, opinions, dreams,moments that make me happy...instances that make me shed tears....and mostly unimportant things to the world....but part of my own little space.