In loving memory…

… of someone ever so special and made my childhood a lovely time. Someone who thought of everything and considered us his life. He spent e very evening walking us to the beach and letting us stand in the water with his ironhold to ensure our safety. A single lift to make sure we didn’t get engulfed in the giant waves. He was there to keep us company at night, to hug us and make sure the monsters didn’t scare us. He didn’t think twice before he took an hour long journey in the midst of a funeral to ensure that his grand daughter got to poop in the only potty she was used to. The one who always had a second pair of shoes hidden before the first pair wore off. He was ever proud of us and made sure all our creature comforts were taken care of. The first person to expose us to the pleasure of reading while we sat on his knees asking him innocent questions. Chilhood is filled with such lovely memories.

Too bad God didn’t let him stay with us for long and hastened his exit from our lives. Not a day goes by that we don’t think about him or talk about him. 30 years later, today we remember him just as vividly.  Thatha, we still miss you and you still mean the world to us!!

Bachchon ke muh se

I was on a long distance conversation with my mom, my 2.5 year old nephew kept interrupting her non-stop. After 15 minutes of trying to distract him and failing to get him to bug grandpa while mom finished the conversation she was totally exasperated and said “Patti tholainju poitten po” (translated literally to patti is going to get lost but is an expression to say I am going to get lost!) Pat came the reply from my nephew : “Patti inga dhan irukke. Tholainju pogalai” (meaning patti you are right here and not lost!) Mom & I just burst out laughing. The fact that her irritaion was totally lost on him was absolutely refreshing!!

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Was having a conversation with Raul about buying him a keyboard. He innocently asked me if the keyboard needs power to work. Given that I was in the mood to tease him I told him “Raul once we unwrap it the keyboard will play automatically.” He innocently looked right back at me and said “Really amma?”. That’s when his big sister decided to enlighten him that amma was pulling a number on him and I realized how my attempt had gone completely in vain

Puppets come to life & creativity makes it’s appearance…

…when the idiot box is banned from viewership. Mom at her wits’ end enforced the no TV during the week rule on the kids at the beginning of this week. One day into it the advantages are crystal clear. Presenting the puppet show the kids put together for amma and appa following dinner.

The two best friends start middle school

Now she meets yet another friend!!

Her dog "follows her to school one day!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And a change in hairdo is all it took. Pretty creative, don't you agree?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a fun evening it was. Left to amma, she will happily lock the TV off for the rest of their lives!!!

Variety – the spice of life

Meg:

Loves to sign up for every activity she comes across, never tires of trying them all and always is into way more things than she can handle. She likes to indulge in all but has to be pushed to practice. There is art work on the cover page of her science & math notebook and and long drawn explanations on the science assignment. Extremely caring and thoughtful but a terribly picky eater. Loves to sleep in and relax with a good book in bed.

Raul:

Too lazy to sign up for any activity until he is forced into it and then realizes he loves some and hates some. Real easy to then stop the ones he doesn’t care for much. Once he gets into a hobby he does it obsessively. Once he is hooked he does nothing else. This one can function great on very little sleep and thinks a nap in the afternoon is the ultimate punishment. He is all about getting things done and is not even remotely artistic. Loves doodling all over his homework sheet, folders and any paper he can lay his hands on. On the flip side he has one hell of a memory and loves the challenge of spelling words better than his sister He loves food and will try anything that is given to him.

Two peas from the same pod but as different as chalk and cheese. Now that is the variety that brings a lot of smiles and argghhhh moments to our lives

Many Lives, Many Masters…

by Brian Weiss is one of the books I recently finished reading. Hinduism believes in reincarnation and the concept of rebirth. Death only separates the physical body from the soul. The soul is eternal and it just moves from one physical body to another. This concept has been the basis for many movies as well but nothing I have read or encountered thus far has proven this concept… until now.

I happened to come across this title through a source that I cannot recollect for the life of me, but found it interesting. I found it at the local library and have been living and breathing it for the past few days. The book deals with a true life story of a psychiatrist, his patient and her revelations during her hynotherapy sessions regarding her past lives and the hand of God/Spirit/Masters in between each life. It has been extremely addicting and each day I made my way home from work impatiently to get back to the book. I finally finished the book last night and felt like capturing some of the book’s highlights here to reflect if I ever needed to at a later date. Feel free to continue reading but if you’d rather read the book, this is a good place to stop reading and find the book.

• As humans our task is to learn and it is only through knowledge that we approach God.
• We visit several planes that exist in different times. To moves across each plane requires mastery of certain knowledge areas.
• We relive each life with our family and acquaintances on some level of relationships. In other words people we know reoccur across various physical states.
• We need to rid ourselves of the bad habits that we accumulate in each life. Not correcting them only leads to us carrying it over to the next life.
• We should learn to reach out to people whose vibrations are different from our own even though it is natural to be drawn to those who share vibrations similar to ours. It is only this way that we help one another.
• People are not created equal but will eventually reach a point where everyone is equal.
• We as humans are not to kill. Only God can punish regardless of crime.
• We choose when we come into each physical state and when we will leave. When the soul is rested and re-energized we are allowed to re-enter the physical world.
• Life should be all about charity, hope, faith and love and doing all this with no expectations of return.
• Patience & timing are integral. Everything comes when it must come.
• Life is endless, so neither do we die nor are we born. We just pass through various physical states.
• When there is no end to the soul, there isn’t a need to fear death ‘coz it is just a continuum into the next physical state.
• It is only in the physical state that you experience relationships, pain & fear. In the spiritual form there is only happiness & a sense of well being.
• Just as we grow from baby to child to adult to old age, we grow into the spiritual plane as well. It is all continuous growth and learning. Leraning though is way more accelerated in the spiritual state than in the physical state.
• We have the ability to hear what people speak around us when we are unconscious at a subconscious level.
• Balance can only be found by coexistence & harmony. Humans have not yet learned that as a collective species.
• We all have debts to repay and we carry the unpaid debt across lives till they are paid off.
• We continue to arrive at various physical states until we have learned our lessons, paid our dues, repaid our debts and served mankind through charity and goodwill.
• The final analogy is that every human is like a flawless diamond. The only difference amongst us are the number of facets that have been cleaned.

If none of this made any sense but caught your interest, do pick up the book for a detailed analysis of each of these concepts. As for me, I am now all set to look for other books by this author

Restore a man to his health, his purse lies open to thee!

said Robert Burton. The truth of this statement hit home this past week.

Meg has flat feet. So does Raul now that we know to see and identify. Why is took us this many years to get it diagnosed and addressed has only one reason. Blame it on our ignorance of Meg being our first born or to the adage that you don’t fix something that ain’t broke. The flat feet has not bothered her and in fact still doesn’t. But it makes her walk funny and as she grows vanity intrudes everyday life and we thought it was a good time to address the issue. Issue was raised to the pediatrician who then referred us to a podiatrist for services.

Enter podiatrist into our lives. Appointment was scheduled. Said podiatrist was so swamped that the next available appointment was nowhere in the vicinity of the date the calendar displayed currently. The wait was endured and the date finally arrived. Meg & I made our way to the doctor. After forms were filled and another 20 minutes of us trying our best to keep ourselves occupied we were called in. Introductions were made, problem was explained, x-rays were taken and diagnosis was detailed. It all took a whole 5 minutes. Follow-up appointments were made. Meg needed two follow-up appointments. One to measure and size her foot for the orthotics and two to come get fit with said orthotics that would force her to correct her walk and delay the damage caused by flat feet and stretchy ligaments that she was born with.

We made it to the follow-up appointment for the measurement. Much plastering and setting ensued. Mould was made and we were sent home after another whopping 5 minutes with the podiatrist. It would take three weeks to get the orthotics custom made for Meg. This was going to cost us $400 in addition to the doctor’s fees.

Now if you haven’t realized it yet, things have a way on coming my way. In this situation it was through my bum elbow. I have been enduring pain in my right elbow for 3 weeks now. The pain has been excruciating and all my valiant attempts at ignoring it have miserable failed. After significant weekend research I made an appointment with my doctor to validate my conclusions and self prognosis based on my research. Doctor in turn did not disappoint. She confirmed that it was indeed tennis elbow and that I didn’t have to play tennis regularly to come down with this ailment. She suggested a cortisone shot and quickly suggested alternative treatment after she watched me freak out at the first suggestion (that’s a whole another post on why I am petrified of cortisones and steroids!!)

The doctor then gave me a prescription for a forearm splint that would alleviate the pain in addition to the ibuprofen’s she suggested that I ingest. She mentioned that the company she recommended for the splint will go through my insurance and that way have it covered. And yours truly made my way to the said company to get the splint. As I park I notice their sign that says that they do prosthetics and orthotics as well. While I wait my turn I can’t help but ask the receptionist what they charge for orthotics. She gives me a lovely smile and tells me that without insurance it will cost me $250. Doctors don’t share this information because they obviously want you to go through the insurance.

Now not only have I paid a $150 dollars more but I have also paid an additional $200 in doctor’s fees that I could have eliminated by going directly to this company. It is sad that I would not have known about this company if I had not come up with the bum elbow (how is that for finding the good in pain and sickness!) The doctor’s office tells me that the doctor is in my insurance network and that the $200 is after the insurance has negotiated my fees with them. I know now that I am so in the wrong profession.

This incident makes me wonder. We as everyday consumers believe in researching every minor detail prior to purchasing something as trivial as daily toileteries to electronics but when it comes to the most important health factor, we go blindly by doctor referral. All it takes is for the podiatrist to come talk to the pediatrician and have her/him refer patients to him. Bingo, he has a clientele now. Nobody believes in helping you as the patient, to come up with the best and cost effective alternative. This is still fairly insignificant in comparison to many ailments that are way more serious and expensive. The industry as a whole believes in taking care of one another instead of taking care of the patient, who is the reason all these parties exist to begin with.

I hope some day we can go back to a society where everyone knows to set their priorities right. Maybe I live in a land of dreams and that day is not to come. But hey, I am a gal who is an eternal optimist and can’t help but dream. In the meanwhile, I am $350 dollars poorer but smarter for the next time around when I have to do this for Raul. How is that for a lesson learned well?

p.s. in case you wondered, my elbow it is still in the splint and showing no sign of recovering. Maybe it’s time to let go of my paranoia and get that damn cortizone shot…

A Touching Story – a wish for peace

Before I go into any further detail, I have to confess am an addict of NPR. I listen to it each day to and from work. It is one of the main reasons I don’t find the time for audiobooks. Much as I would like to explore the land of audio books, I have never found the time since my drive times are booked for radio. NPR gives me my daily dose of current affairs, interesting stories and quality programming. This is just prefect since I hardly have the time once I reach home for anything other than the kids and their activities. As I was driving in to work this morning, they had a story that touched my heart yet again.

I recently read a thought provoking post on the moral and ethical ramifications of the act of killing and how some forms of killing are glorified versus other kinds that are punished and illegal. Having read and heard these stories I can’t help but wonder. We live in the same world where one set of the population is making money by participating in reality television like the one I talked about here while another part of the world is struggling to deal with the basics as in living, feeding, caring for their families. The person in the story beat all odds to be where he is today but still lives in fear each day as he goes out to earn his living. His family lives in fear, uncertain of the fact that they will see him at the end of the day. The people he employs endure and risk way more than an individual living in a different part of the world earning a living.

Inspite of all these hardships, he is ironically a success story. A story of survival and winning against the odds. But the price he pays each day is that of the fear for his life and the lives of the people he loves. It is extremely sad when you hear him say that they are often forced to barter the price of the deadbody of his employees shot and killed on duty or pay the ransom to get back a 4 year old who has been kidnapped and turned into a drug addict. What does he do to deserve any of this? He runs a trucking company that provides supplies to the military that currently resides in his country.

I have to admire the courage and spirit of this individual for trying and successding in earning an honest living and growing his business within a short span of time. He has endured and earned quite a bit in his life but would give it all up for just one thing and that in his own words is “peace”. He knows that the cost of peace is the loss of his business because no war means no military residing in his country for supplies and loss of his major client, but he is willing to pay the price.

Stories like these humble me and make me realize how fortunate we are to be where we are and not have to deal with such situations on a daily basis. Each time we have the urge to complain and bicker about the trivial blocks we stumble on in our day to day lives, we only have to remember these simple individuals and life is truly beautiful. What we take for granted is something that so many have to fight for day in and day out. Isn’t it reason enough to rejoice the very fact that we are safe and healthy? As I listened to this individual I promised myself that I would ignore the insignificant noise that’s part of everyday life and only appreciate the best things life has offered me.

It’s friday and end of the week. Go ahead relax, remember to thank the powers to be for the good life you enjoy, send a prayer for the ones not so fortunate. I plan to do just that. Happy friday y’all!!

Make hay while the sun shines

How to turn a dull boring long roadtrip into an exciting trip that you can’t wait to take…

• Reach out to friends on professional and personal networking sites who live in the neighborhood you plan to visit.
• Call and chat with friends who have relocated to that part of the country.
• Reach out and chat with family you enjoy hanging out with who live in the vicinity of where you intend to stay.
• Reach out to blog friends you would love to meet up with who happen to conveniently live there as well.
• Ensure that none of them have plans for the weekend you are visiting.
• Set up time to meet with each one of these wonderful folks.

and voila – you have magically turned the trip you are dreading turns into a lovely week of pleasant meetings and joyful moments

That my folks is what I intend to do this labor day weekend. Lovely city, great weather, good company — all the elements needed to enjoy a long weekend filled with fun and laughter!!

An award with a tag

“Feeling grateful or appreciative of someone or something in your life actually attracts more of the things that you appreciate and value into your life.”  says Christiane Northrup.

I have to thank Mythri for my very first award in the world of blogging. We do most things everyday ‘coz we enjoy doing it and rarely ‘coz we are looking for any rewards but one when it does come your way, it always brings joy, a smile to your face and a cheer to your day. Thank you Mythri for considering me worthy of this award. Now it’s time for me to do what is expected of me as part of accepting this award…

And here is the tag that goes with the award…

1.What is your current obsession?
Blogging, Reading, Watching movies, Working at the gym

2. What are you wearing today?
A pair of capris and a white top.

3. What’s for dinner?
no idea.  Will know when I get home tonight (am lucky to have mil cook for me during week days )

4. What’s the last thing you bought?
Milk at the grocery store!

5. What are you listening to right now?
Humming sound of my laptop as I blog

6. What do you think about the person who tagged you?
She is really sweet and I get to know a little bit about her each day

7. If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?
Maui, Hawaii or Sydney, Australia.

8. What are your must-have pieces for summer?
sleeveless tops, cotton kurtas, comfortable sandals and different kinds of perfume!

9. If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
To Sydney, and hang out with mom, dad, siblings, nieces and nephews and be part of all the birthday parties and fun get togethers!!

10. Which language do you want to learn?
Sanskrit (to appreciate religious literature), French (to continue what I discontinued as a teenager), Spanish (to be able to converse with my maid) and all the varied languages my friends speak (so I can freak them out )

11. What’s your favorite quote?
“Never Never Never give up”

12. Who do you want to meet right now?
Some of my blog friends that I interact with each day!

13. What is your favorite colour?
I have a few – black, white, green, red

14. What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own closet?
Everything that fits me well. I like my night clothes for their comfort!

15. What is your dream job?
One that lets me travel occassionally & interact with lots of people – like event management

16. What’s your favorite magazine?
Vegetarian, Money, Business Week, Readers Digest, Home and Garden!

17. If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on?
Gadgets – netbook, IMac and the likes…

18. What do you consider a fashion faux pas?
Wearing clothes that don’t suit you even if it is the latest craze.

19. Who are your style icons?
Too many to list here.

20. Describe your personal style.?
Comfortable and sexy.

21. What are you going to do after this?
Start working (stop blogging under the pretext of lunch break and get back to work!)

22. What are your favorite movies?
All SRK movies, chick flicks, action movies.

24. What are three cosmetic/makeup/perfume products that you can’t live without?
L’Oreal moisturizer/Eyeliner/Cleanser & Toner/Oscar de la Renta/Estee Lauder Silver

23. What inspires you?
Optimistic, high energy and high achieving folks (moms who create beautiful homes , presidents who are motivational and ooze charisma, people who are creative and can make beautiful pieces of art and decor from everyday items that are around the house!!)

24. What do you carry in your bag?
House/car keys, wallet, check book, tissues, chapstick, nail cutter, comb, safetypins, rubberbands, receipts, stamps, sun glasses, usb cord, chewing gum, emergency toileteries (no wonder small cute handbags don’t cut it for me!)

25. What do you do when you “have nothing to wear” (even though your closet’s packed)?
Go clothes eshopping and find space to squeeze the last one in.

26. Coffee or tea?
Tea, tea and more tea!!

27. What do you do when you are feeling low or terribly depressed?
Isolate myself to get out of it or vent to BFF.

28. What is the meaning of your name?
Means Twilight (I was born at that time of the day .

29. Which other blogs you love visiting?
Too many to list.

30. Favorite Dessert/Sweet?
Anything chocolate or milk based!

31. Favorite Season ?
Fall in Virginia, North Carolina!

32) If I come to your house now, what would u cook for me?
The usual suspects – sambar, curry and yummy dosas:)

33)What’s your current mood?
Happy & content – am mostly that way! There’s very little that dampens my mood…

33)What’s your sun sign?
Taurus

The rules are:
Respond and rework – Answer the questions on your own blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, and add one more question of your own.Then tag eight or ten other set of people.
I would like to share these awards and tag….

Asaan, Minal, Miss M, Poppy, Choxbox, Rads, MiM and last but not the least Sole.

Love Aaj Kal

If all the crazy shows on TV are getting to you then all you have to do to keep you distracted is…

During lunch hour, find a few minutes to search the online catalog of your local library and place some of your reading wish list on hold. You never know when they will all become available at the same time and you will have a measly three weeks to finish them all to avoid paying fines.

Register yourself for a free online membership to Netflix or something similar and they will start sending you movies on a regular basis. Between these two obsessions and the rest of life, there is time for little else.

Once you stop socializing, eating, working out, sleeping and begin taking your book to the pot, you will definitely make significant progress with the books. It also helps if the books can capture your attention from the very first page.

As for the movies, just invest in a relatively cheap DVD player for your bedroom and you are all set. A headset to avoid other people in the room getting disturbed and you are gold. A workoholic other half helps as well

That my friends are my latest obsessions. If you think I am kidding just watch out the frequency at which my latest read and latest watch columns on the right get updated!!!

On that note, Happy friday folks