Man of my dreams

Back in the age when dinosaurs were roaming the earth, grandma and grandpa started the process of finding the best person who would fill the life of their daughter with so much love and care that she would lead the life of a princess and queen then and for ever after. They approached their daughter and asked her to name a few traits that her partner to be should absolutely have for her to like and choose him as her partner in crime. Here are a few that topped her list then. Just as is the case in life, she got some and didn’t get a few others. In spite of it all they learned to live happily ever after…

1. Height: That he be really tall that even the tallest heels she wore wold still not be tall enough to match his height. She still loves the fact that she got one who towers over her not so small height and she is free to shop for shoes with heels that fancy her

2. Receding hairline: was a definite no-no. She wanted her man to have a mane that she could weave her hands through and get her fingers lost in. She was lucky yet again and though she knows that genetics can’t stop the receding hairline from happening one day, she is content with the fact that she has had the pleasure of many years on running her fingers through them

3. Mustache: Was then a very important requirement. On hindsight, this may have been because grandpa always sported one and so did the brother-in-law she looked up to, and thus was just a given. She had vivid memories of grandpa shaving the mustache once leaving her with nightmares about the dad who had morphed into a stranger. Now she is knows the inconveniences it comes with and can honestly do without it but the kids now have a memory of their appa that they don’t want changed.

4. Love for books: She would have loved to have her beau love books just as much as her, but that was not to be. A guy who can pour over those manuals and textbooks and research papers on chemistry has little or no fascination for the feel and touch of a well read book and the joy that comes from living the lives of the characters through the words of the author and through one’s own imagination. He instead gains his knowledge and trivia from spending endless hours on Discovery, National Geographic, CNN, History, Food network and HGTV on the idiot box.

5. Love for Romance: She would have loved to find a romantic at heart but instead she found herself a super practical dude. He is not one for mush and romance but can always find ways to pull a surprise. Surprise gifts and remembering dates his not his cuppa tea but once he is reminded he will stop at nothing to make your day ever so special.

No go ahead and tell me what were some of the traits you wished for the most in your significant other and how they matched with the one of your dreams, pretty please…

Exam frenzy

If you thought that education, entrance exams and college education was stressful in India, then go right ahead and read the following news bit from National Public Radio on South Korea and the college entrance exam there.

Here is an excerpt…

“The test, which is given once a year, largely determines a young person’s future. It is so important that aircraft are barred from flying near the test site, and the workday begins an hour late, to prevent traffic jams that might make students late….

At Jogyesa, the largest Buddhist temple in Seoul, monk Bon Gong performed a ceremony where parents prayed for high scores on their children’s college placement exams. Some had been praying for the past 100 days.

As parents and grandparents chanted, they knelt and bowed, facing three statues. Many concentrated on a thin prayer book with a photo of their child or children. Some had prayer beads, called yumju, circling the pictures…“

Full article

Apparently we are not alone in this.

New Milestone

Kids at home on their own with no grandparents/parents to watch & care for them

– Offer to pack their food was politely declined. The girl offered to make quesadillas for the two of them. She called me to comfort me that she had indeed turned the power of on the quesadilla maker!

– They emptied the dishwasher and soaked the dal midday for amma to come home and cook dinner

– The girl did her own laundry

– They both did their homework and read books (so I think!)

– Television was permitted only in the basement (so I hope!)

– Regular phone calls were made to keep amma posted

– They passed with flying colors. They are all grown up now

– On the bright side, given a choice, they still prefer having us around

At the end of the day, the kids got a day off from school, the dog got her day off from having to sit in her kennel and the parents spent the day stressing over the fact that the kids were alone at home!

 

RIP S Aunty

She often reminded me of my own mother. Right from her obsession with feeding people to her lively persona and energy level, she is one person I always loved. She never once let the sickness that bogged her slow her down. She always had a ready smile and the strength of mind to endure the pain she went through. She, like my mom spent a significant chunk of her life raising her grandchildren and cooking and caring for her daughter and son-in-law.  She would often joke to me that her daughter had given her a 3 week vacation to visit her home and relax. Once home she was only too eager to come back to her daughter and grandkids.

She finally gave up her fight this past weekend when she realized that the critters in her body were over powering her ability to fight them. It was indeed depressing & painful to watch her suffer those final moments when recognition and memory had parted company. I was told by my dear friend (her daughter) that she had waited for her son to arrive and for them all to finish eating their dinner before she decided to breathe her last. How befitting for a person who thrived on feeding everyone who visited her.

You will be much missed S aunty. I will always remember the joyful moments spent with you.

When he lifted her off her feet…

standing on one foot himself. Impressive huh? And the soon to be married watch closely for some lessons

At a close friend's bridal shower party for a game of which couple can dance/stand on the tiniest piece of paper

Pleasant Torture

Picture this…

4:30 pm : Pick boy up from friend’s house. Boy begins practicing his recorder. Boy has been learning for a couple of weeks not and so is a beginner learning the nuances of reading musical notes and transforming them into music. Resulting sound is what is a struggling wannabe of the true version of the song of the week.

6:45 pm: Boy is back from swimming and is on the couch practicing his recorder yet again. No amount of persuasion to take it to his room is successful. He is excited about his new lesson and can’t wait to practice it in front of amma and appa. Resulting sound is more struggling wannabes in various decibals.

8:00 pm: Post dinner. The practice continues.

6:00 am: The boy gets up bright and early to the alarm his sister has set. Has a quick shower and is back at his practice waking amma and appa to ear popping levels of said recorder.

7:00 am: Post breakfast. The practice is still on. Amma is just about ready to call the music teacher and recommend that the boy get all his ribbons for perseverance. Sister tries to help but brother is worried about germs that will be shared from a shared recorder.

7:30 am: Frustration levels are pretty high. The boy is frustrated he can’t get the notes quite right and tosses his head backward to bump it against the arm of the sofa in frustration. Sister claims “It’s a good thing that sofa arm is not brick.” Amma tries to explain that nothing comes easy and everything comes from practice.

Amma comments to daughter that it’s getting real hard to find a quiet moment at home but she is proud of the boy for not giving up. Daughter said she did the same and I had just told her it was annoying. At least I was being honest there and the girl turned out just fine with no scars to display.

The boy just started recorder lessons at school and gets a new colored ribbon for every song he masters and his goal is to master them all. My goal is to try really hard not to frown or laugh or over doze on medication to stop the head from hurting and encourage said fruit of the womb appropriately. If this isn’t pleasant torture I wonder what it. God, please intervene and bless child with needed skills to save our ears…

the bright side of this all : Two other best friends have kids in the same class and share the same joys. I so totally have people to laugh & cry with

Is this a sign?

I have come across the following lines at least five times at different locations in the past couple of days…

Be who you are, do what you want, and say what you feel.
Because those who matter don’t mind.
And those who mind, don’t matter.

Makes complete sense to me. Don’t you all agree? Most times in life we almost follow this mantra but use some personal judgment. Am tempted to try it with no restrictions. Will know where that takes me soon enough, am sure

Food talk

One winter night many years ago, a girl landed in a new country with a husband she had known for just about a month. After a 20 odd hour flight and a 5 hour long drive through ice and snow, they arrived at the city they would call home for the next 10 months. For dinner, they were offered pizza, food that his friends had ordered earlier. Given that she was a vegetarian, her choices were pretty limited. The salad to her was what cows in her home ate as and when they could steal some off the vendor’s cart.

Months passed and the girl started graduate school. She often had classes to attend in the evenings in addition to earning her penny at the computer lab in her department. Add to this the fact that she was pregnant, and she was eternally in need of food to ward off the morning sickness demons. She would take a walk each evening to the food court on campus to grab a bit to eat. Much as the heart craved for something other than a vegetarian subway sandwich, she didn’t have the energy to explain to the employee at the food counter that vegetarian meant not just staying away from red meat but also avoiding white meat and seafood. Her daily routine was to put in words to these employees that she didn’t eat anything that had once walked, flew, swam, crawled or slithered from one point to the next. She was though, fine with milk, cheese and yogurt.

In spite of it all, she has continued to stay vegetarian by choice. With a husband and two kids who eat meat, it sometimes makes an easy choice but she still has never felt the urge to go after a dish that contains meat as yet. When the husband returns from a work related trip to a fancy restaurant, she patiently heard him wax eloquent about the restaurant and what he ate. At times when he mentioned to her that he had turtle soup and frog’s leg for dinner, she just looked at him confused and wondered how he felt he could try it when all she could visualize at those words was the look of said creatures.

Over the years she has found herself vegetarian food to eat any place she goes. Be it the chef who needed to change into a new pair of gloves or a restaurant that has had to improvise to accommodate her dietary requirements, she has come to enjoy eating out in a country that thrives on the big Macs and the double whoppers. Her friends now know she isn’t going to change and always ensure she has food to eat when parties are planned.

Being vegetarian didn’t stop the girl from spending copious amount of time watching the food channels on TV. Given the fact that husband is a foodie and a wannabe chef, much time during the weekend is spent watching cooking shows. Much like the progeny adapt to the parent’s lifestyle, the kids also love to watch the cooking shows. It is not a rare sight to come by this household on a Saturday morning and see the family of four tucked into a king sized bed watching the most exotic food being prepared on the idiot box in front of them. The girl would close her eyes or turn away when a piece of meat was being chopped, pureed or minced and it was more than her senses could endure, but she would get right back to watching it akin to the addiction of watching a horror flick unfold on screen.

Thus family TV time is spent predominantly watching shows like the Next Food Network Star, HGTV Design Star and the Next Iron Chef. So it was a real treat to the girl when the most recent episode of the Next Iron Chef was dedicated to cooking Indian food and the first part of the episode was a challenge to the contestants to cook up a dish for the special Indian judge that was vegetarian. It was a moment of pride to see her favorite cuisine get noticed on the national spotlight. It was redemption of sorts and gave her an odd sense of pleasure similar to the joy experienced when a festival close to her heart and culture was acknowledged and celebrated by the President of the country.

 

Of surprise parties!

I met her one evening 9 years ago,

I had a new born and she was expecting hers

We connected soon

Two couples from different cities coming into one

To begin what would be years of lovely friendship and camaraderie

 

Oft we got together during parties

Comfortable in the thought, always confirming ahead of time

That we’d soon find each other,

Knowing the kids needed their company

Just as much as the adults

 

A racy driver, an excellent cook,

A lovely homemaker, a talented architect

A wonderful friend,

Always there

For that warm cup of tea

 

She says not much

But the twinkle in her eyes says it all

She lets the others do the talking

But when she does talk,

She is candid as can be

 

This weekend was a milestone for her

There were witches and bikers,

Devils, angels, sports stars and superheroes

Psychics, aliens and princesses

Waiting at her door to celebrate her day

 

She hosted them all with a smile

In spite of being caught unaware

Danced her way around

Entertained one and all and

Played her part to perfection!

 Happy birthday M. Hope you had a rocking day and didn’t have to spend the night away cleaning the mess. Here’s the power ranger wishing you a very happy birthday!

Halloween 2009

Pre-Halloween Scare

Boy had clear instructions to get off the school bus at Y Aunt’s stop and walk over to her house with friends, S & S.

Boy understood instructions and tried getting off the bus at the right stop.

Bus driver decides to enforce rules and refuses to let Boy get off the bus at Y Aunt’s stop. Instead forcefully takes Boy to his usual bus stop.

Good precaution on bus driver’s part except that there isn’t anyone home to receive the 9 year old Boy.

Boy does the right thing, walks home with bus friend and neighbor. Calls his amma from said friend’s home to let her know that he is there and will be going to a different friend’s home shortly.

Boy calls from second friend’s house to update Amma on his new location, all the while explaining why he had to do this. Unfortunately Amma is unable to pick up the phone both times, since she is stuck in meetings at work.

Friend S is in hysterics since Boy was not allowed to get off the bus and calls Y Aunt wailing and sobs into the phone that the Boy is off on his own.

Y Aunt rushes off work to go looking for Boy in his neighborhood. So the wild hunt begins. Y Aunt is knocking on random doors to figure out the Boy’s location. She tries calling Amma but Amma is still stuck at the same frigging meeting and wondering why everyone has chosen this hour to call her.

The third call from Y Aunty jettisoned Amma into walking out of the meeting to take her call. By this time, Y Aunty has mapped her way to the Boy’s friend’s house and is driving him to her house before she heads back in to work.

A scary situation averted thanks to Y Aunt. She is simply the best and she so knows that J

The best moment:

The Boy didn’t know his best friend was crying till a kid in the bus yelled at the bus driver for making the little girl cry

Aren’t kids the total riots? Got to absolutely love them!

p.s. The boy now has a piece of paper with Amma’s signature giving the bus driver permission to let the Boy get off at the friend’s stop on the designated days.

On that note a Happy & safe Halloween to you all!